The Christmas Hope by Donna VanLiere

The Christmas Hope by Donna VanLiere 213 Pages I am really enjoying this series and author. The first 2 books were turned into movies and I loved the books and the movies. This one touched my heart because my daughter is a social worker and I know how hard her job is to see children suffer. This story mixes real life with Christian ethics. I enjoyed the realistic fiction Christmas stories and seeing characters from one story show up in another book. I think I'll read the rest of the series now! Meeting a troubled five-year-old girl during the holiday season, social worker Patricia Addison and her husband, Mark, find themselves working through past sorrows and reevaluating their faith.

Raising Lumie by Joan Bauer

Raising Lumie by Joan Bauer 267 pages Olive Hudson desperately wants a dog. But that doesn't seem to be a possibility right now. Newly orphaned, she's moving in with the half sister she hardly knows and their life is too chaotic to include a dog. But then something wonderful happens: Olive gets a chance to raise Lumie, a guide dog puppy. Discipline. Rules. Lots of hugs. Only the best of the best puppies continue on to become guide dogs, and of course Olive wants Lumie to be chosen. But if she is, that means that Olive will lose her. Once again, the incomparable Joan Bauer tells a touching story that is full of heart and warmth and unabashed idealism"-- This is one of next year's Mark Twain nominees, and since it is about a dog it will be very popular. I liked this one because it told the story of the young girl who cared for the dog and the dog's are being raised to become guide dogs. Very touching story!

Magic Below Stairs by Caroline Stevermer

Magic Below Stairs by Caroline Stevermer - 202 pages

Frederick can't believe his good luck when he is chosen from his orphanage to work as a page boy in the local magician's house.  However, it looks like there is a curse on the family manor that only Frederick can see.

This book is part of the Sorcery & Cecilia series by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer.  It is a great addition to the series -- focusing on a young boy in the employ of the main characters of the series.  A great fantasy read for kids.

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier - 381 pages

Peter Nimble has lived a hard life.  Found by sailors with his eyes pecked out by ravens, he grew up on the streets an orphan until the evil Mr. Seamus took him in and taught him to be a thief.  However, when Peter picks the locks on mysterious carriage he is whisked into an adventure with a box of mysterious eyes that can do magical things.

This was a great book to listen to on audio.  The characters were interesting.  The plot twisted enough to keep you fascinated in the story.  This would be a great book for those who like the Peter and the Starcatchers books.

Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb

Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb - 376 pages

Eve Dallas has one of her most difficult cases yet.  A whole family was murdered in their beds, including the housekeeper.  While examining the scene, Eve discovers a young girl hiding in the bathroom.  Turns out the young daughter had snuck downstairs in the night for a drink and had hidden during the attack.  Her friend who had spent the night was killed in her place.  Now Eve must hunt down the killers while keeping the girl safe from them.

I listened to this on audio.  It was a great entry in the Eve Dallas series by J.D. Robb (aka - Nora Roberts).  I really enjoy listening to these books on audio and need to hunt more of them down.

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster - 219 pages

Jerusha Abbott has grown up in the John Greer Orphan Asylum.  She's about to graduate high school and have to make her way in the world when an anonymous trustee decides to send her to college.  The only stipulation is that she must write monthly letters on her academic progress.  Other than the first chapter, the entire story is told through letters.

I had read this book as a teen and absolutely loved it so when I found out we had a copy of it on audio I decided to listen to it again.  I still really enjoyed the story.  The narration was excellent.  The narrator put so much emotion into the reading without over-emoting.  I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Little Women or the Anne of Green Gables series.

Rose by Holly Webb

Rose by Holly Webb - 234 pages

Rose is thrilled when she is taken from the orphanage to be a maid in the house of an alchemist.  It's been her lifelong dream to get a job and support herself.  But there are problems with her job.  She keeps seeing magic all over the place, and even worse, doing magic herself.  Then her friends from the orphanage start to disappear.  Now Rose must work with the alchemist's apprentice to try to save the missing children.
I really enjoyed this book.  It had great atmosphere and Rose was written really well.  It was refreshing to see a character in kids fantasy that didn't think magic was the greatest thing in the world.  I was also interested to see while reading the author's bio in the back of the book that this is the first book in a popular series in England.  I'll have to look into getting the other books for the library also.

Lost in Bermooda by Mike Litwin

Lost in Bermooda by Mike Litwin - 140 pages

Chuck is shocked to come face-to-face with a real live hu'man.  They were thought to be extinct by the animals on Bermooda.  Now Chuck must disguise Dakota as a cow so he can fit in while they try to get him back to his family.
This was an amusing early chapter book for kids.  The premise was intriguing.  It was interesting how the animals all revered the cookbook as it described all the ways they could be killed and cooked.  It also looks like this will the be first in a series so kids could continue reading the stories of Chuck and Dakota.

Yes, Chef: A Memoir by Marcus Samuelsson

Yes, Chef: A Memoir by Marcus Samuelsson, 336 pages

Samelsson was orphaned at three in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden by an adoptive family.  His path from absolute poverty and despair to being a world reknowned chef is an inspiring look at what anyone can accomplish with the drive to be the best.  Samuellson explores the dichotomy between who he was born as and who he became through the influences on his life in both the kitchen and in the everyday world.  I found his perspective on being treated as an outsider due to skin color or accent in every culture: in the professional kitchen, in Sweden, in America and even in Ethiopia, to be an intriguing look at what it means to truly feel like you belong somewhere. 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - 352 pages

Young Jacob has always idolized his mysterious Grandpa Portman.  When Grandpa dies under mysterious circumstances, Jacob is thrust into trying to figure out if the fantastic tales Grandpa told him about his childhood in Europe after escaping from the Nazis might actually have been true.  Intriguing real-life period photographs are scattered throughout the book and add a whole other layer of creepiness to an already haunting narrative.  This book was marketed for teens but definitely has enough action and higher level writing to appeal to adults.  Fans of the Dark is Rising and Lemony Snicket will find much to love here.   

Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones

Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones - 117 pages

Earwig does not want to leave the orphanage she has lived at since a baby.  She can get everybody to do whatever she wants there.  Unfortunately, the day comes when she is taken home by Bella Yaga, a witch, and The Mandrake.  There she is to be Bella Yaga's assistant.  Earwig however does not want to just clean up the messes and fetch the supplies, she wants to be a true assistant learning magic.
I love Diane Wynne Jones' books.  Unfortunately, this was the last book she wrote before her death last year.  I wonder if she completed it before her death as it has a very rushed ending with an epilogue that jumps forward in time.  I wonder if she meant to flesh out the story, but was unable to.

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

Daddy-Long-Legs by  Jean Webster - 183 pages

Judy Abbott has spent her entire life in an orphan asylum until one of the trustee's decides to anonymously send her to college.  For repayment, all he asks is that she sends him a monthly letter detailing her studies.  Instead,  Judy writes long, rambling letters telling him everything going on in her life.
I picked up this audio to listen to as I vaguely recalled reading the book back when I was in middle school.  I enjoyed the audio.  The narrator was excellent - always using the exact emotion needed for the letters being read.  The story was an interesting look at girls and education at the beginning of the 20th century.