All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn

All the Lovely Bad Ones
By: Mary Downing Hahn
4 STARS

Travis and his sister Corey decide to boost business at their grandmother's Vermont inn by staging a few "hauntings" that soon draw tourists from across the country, but when their antics awaken a dark force, they must find a way to put to rest the ghosts
they have disturbed.

I will admit that at the beginning I wasn't a fan of the two main characters because I thought they were very impish and immature for their age. Once the ghosts were "awakened" however, I was pulled into the story and started rooting for the main characters in their quest to help the shadow children and completely rid the property of the dark force. This book kept me interested and wasn't over the top scary, in fact, I read most of it in the dark by book light on a drive home from out of town. It has a mystery feel to it but it is certainly a ghost story and a read worth picking up.

When You Reach Me & Schooled

When You Reach Me
By: Rebecca Stead
4 STARS
Great pick for any lover of time travel or the book A Wrinkle in Time.

As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.

While the setting of this book is 1979 and it appears to be written as realistic fiction with mystery undertones it turns out that it is a time traveling mystery. Who knew? I guess you do now! However, this does in no way spoil the book for a reader. In fact, it is likely that it makes it that much more appealing. Trying to solve the clues when you don't know what the clues are is a very intriguing plot. It could, at times, be a little confusing but I think that was more because of my nature to attempt to over analyze the plot and try to figure out the book before the reader is meant to figure it out. Those kinds of books frustrate me but they sure make for an interesting read.


Schooled
By: Gordon Korman
5 STARS

When his grandmother falls and hurts herself, Capricorn Anderson is forced to move leave his commune behind, move into a foster home, and attend the public school. At Claverage Middle School, Capricorn's name is put on the ballot for the election of class president.

Gordon Korman never fails to deliver. This book makes me want to be a tree hugging, environmental, corn husk shoe wearing, tie-dye making, peace and love for all hippy throw back. I also want to personally proclaim that it is now a life resolution of mine to be like Capricorn Anderson in mind and spirit as much as possible. Reading this book made me feel good and made me think about how I act, how I react, how I treat others, and what it is I can do to give back to the community and to the planet we all share. Great book with memorable characters and a wonderful moral.