The Ghosts of Mercy Manor by Betty Ren Wright

The Ghosts of Mercy Manor by Betty Ren Wright, 172 pages

After losing her parents in a car accident, Gwen goes to live with her great aunt. When her great aunt passes several years later, Gwen is distressed when her older brother, the only family she has left, refuses to care for her, leaving her instead to foster with the Mercys.  Once at Mercy Manor, Gwen discovers the house is haunted, but no one in her new family believes her. Gwen knows it's up to her alone to figure out what the ghosts want before everything around her falls apart. 

I have been revisiting the books I haunted as a child. I remember checking and rechecking out this title until someone finally bought a copy for me. Unlike some other books I've returned to, The Ghosts of Mercy Manor held up well. 

 

The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart

 The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart 342 pages

In the dead of night, a truck arrives in Slaughterville, a small town curiously named after its windowless slaughterhouse. Seven mysterious kids with suitcases step out of the vehicle and into an abandoned home on a dead-end street, looking over their shoulders to make sure they aren't noticed. But Ravani Foster covertly witnesses their arrival from his bedroom window. Timid and lonely, Ravani is eager to learn everything he can about his new neighbors: What secrets are they hiding? And most mysterious of all... where are the adults? Yet amid this shadowy group of children, Ravani finds an unexpected friend in the warm and gutsy Virginia. But with this friendship comes secrets revealed--and danger. When Ravani learns of a threat to his new friends, he must fight to keep them safe, or lose the only person who has ever understood him.

This is a Mark Twain nominee for children.  This book has humor, danger and friendship.  A very lonely boy who is getting bullied by boys at school and has no friends, finds friends in the most unusual place and most unusual people. A very unusual ending, also.  Some of the story seems very unrealistic but other parts you can actually feel what the characters are feeling.  

 

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus 309 pages What a wonderful book! Orphans trying to find a "forever" home in London during World War II. This book truly depicts the horrible conditions of the times as well as how hard it was for children during this time period. I highly recommend this to readers aged 10-13. In World War II England, orphaned siblings William, Edmund, and Anna are evacuated from London to live in the countryside, where they bounce from home to home in search of someone willing to adopt them permanently.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett-266 pages

This is the story of Mary Lennox, who as a young girl lives in India with her neglectful, selfish parents. An Ayah (Indian servant) attends to Mary's every need and Mary is kept out of sight of her parents and their friends. When tragedy strikes and her parents and Ayah all die of Cholera, Mary is sent to England to live at her reclusive uncle's (Mr. Archibald Craven) estate, Misslethwaite Manor. It is here that Mary finds a secret locked garden and slowly transforms from a bratty, selfish child to a mature young woman. She befriends Martha (her maid, sort of), Dickon, Ben Weatherstaff, a robin, and Colin Craven (her cousin). Colin also makes a miraculous change from a spoiled hypochondriac who lays in bed all day feeling sorry for himself to someone who is full of energy and runs around the secret garden. One thing in the book that I enjoyed that wasn't in any movie adaptation that I've seen is Dickon's and Martha's mom, Susan Sowerby. She plays a big role in helping Colin and Mary get well in the book and I enjoyed her character. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would rate it 4 out of 5 stars. I have enjoyed 2 out of the 3 movie adaptations that I've seen, also.

City Spies by James Ponti

City Spies by James Ponti 378 pages Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City foster care system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead of being hailed as a hero, Sara finds herself facing years in a juvenile detention facility and banned from using computers for the same stretch of time. Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but also offers her a chance to make a home for herself within a secret MI6 agency. Operating out of a base in Scotland, the City Spies are five kids from various parts of the world. When they're not attending the local boarding school, they're honing their unique skills, such as sleight of hand, breaking and entering, observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to go places in the world of espionage where adults can't. Before she knows what she's doing, Sara is heading to Paris for an international youth summit, hacking into a rival school's computer to prevent them from winning a million euros, dangling thirty feet off the side of a building, and trying to stop a villain...all while navigating the complex dynamics of her new team. No one said saving the world was easy... This is a Mark Twain nominee. I was not as impressed with this book as the other nominees. It has a good story but very difficult to follow. I really didn't like the idea of filling chilren's minds with being a hacker and it being legal or being a thief and it being legal. Some children may enjoy it, but it just wasn't my kind of book.

No Ocean Too Wide by Carrie Turansky

 No Ocean Too Wide by Carrie Turansky-354 pages

Inspired by true events, this story takes place in London in 1908.  It was a time when there were many orphans on the streets of London and they thought that the program of shipping them off to Canada, to loving homes was the answer. 

The McAlister family is living on the edge of the poorhouse after the tragic loss of their father.
When the mother falls tragically ill and is hospitalized, her younger children are forced to go to the orphanage.  When they are shipped to Canada their oldest sister knows that she must act quickly if she is to bring the family back together again.

This book brings to the fore what situations these poor children found themselves in.  Yet, the love of their true family is what strengthened them to endure.

I enjoyed this book very much.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince
The Folk of the Air Series #1
by Holly Black
370 pages









Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth
by Carrie Ryan
310 pages











In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future - between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks-240 pages

Admittedly, I do not usually read many romance novels, but since that is this month's challenge, I decided I could read some of Nicholas Sparks' novels of which I have previously seen the film. In this case, the book is better than the film although the film isn't bad, either. Landon Carter falls in love with the unlikeliest of girls named Jamie Sullivan, the preacher's daughter who is different (in a good way, I think). She has a secret, however, that Landon doesn't learn until near the end of the novel. Overall, A Walk to Remember was an easy, good (albeit somewhat sad) read.

Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie Davis with Beth Clark

Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie Davis with Beth Clark-280 pages

My mom read this book and recommended it (and actually left her copy for me to read last time she visited). I wanted to read it for last month's memoirs and biographies challenge, but didn't get around to it, so I decided to read it this month. I really liked reading this book and didn't want to put it down. It has really changed my outlook on life and what it means to do missions work and to truly do what God has called us to do. Katie Davis leaves everything behind in the U.S. and moves to Uganda shortly after graduating high school. She ends up adopting several young Ugandan girls and sponsoring hundreds to go to school and get proper health care and such. She creates a non-profit organization called Amazima (which means truth in Luganda) Ministries to help sponsor even more kids to get an education and live "better" lives. Throughout her time in Uganda she her faith is tested and stretched and God blesses her immensely and touched many Ugandan lives through her. Overall, I could not put this book down and recommend it to anyone interested in missions work of any kind, here and/or abroad. It has really opened my eyes and changed my outlook on what living in "third world" countries is really like and what God has called us to do.

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo  432 pages

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can't outrun her past or her destiny for long.
The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling's game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo  358 pages

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life - a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha.and the secrets of her heart.

Confessions of a Wild Child by Jackie Collins

Confessions of a Wild Child  by Jackie Collins  294 pages

This story takes you on a trip and navigates the teenage years of Lucky Santangelo. In "Confessions of a Wild Child" we follow Lucky on her trip to discover boys, love and how she fought her father to forge her own individual and strong road to success. "Chances" is the first of eight books in the Lucky Santangelo series.  

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

The Willoughbys by Louis Lowry, 174 pages

What an absolutely hilarious tale of four children, one orphaned baby, a nanny, a benefactor and two horrible parents! I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story and highly recommend it for kids. At the end of the story, Louis Lowry includes dictionary definitions of the larger words she used. She also gives a short summary of the classics she mentions throughout the story like The Secret Garden, Toby Tyler and Little Women. The story begins with a description of the four Willoughby children and their horrible parents. The parents decide they wish to be rid of their children so hire a nanny and take a long vacation (a dangerous one, in fact, inspired by their children). While away they attempt to sell the house and render their children homeless. A second storyline involves a billionaire candy maker who lost his wife and son in an avalanche. When the Willoughbys find a baby on their porch, they deliver it to the billionaire's doorstep who then takes the child in and raises her as his own. This, of course, changes his whole life for the better.

Survivor in Death by J. D. Robb

Survivor in Death by J. D. Robb -- 384 pages

A family murdered in cold-blood and no one seems to know the reason.In comes Eve Dallas and her partner Detective Peabody. Was the whole family killed? When Eve realizes this it is up to her to find out who did this to this little girl's family, but does not want the killers to find out that they have not completed their mission. 

My Favorite Witch by Annette Blair

My Favorite Witch by Annette Blair - 294 pages

Jason is coerced by his grandmother to head up the family foundation's charity fundraising while he is recuperating from an accident.  This means working everyday with the "witch" Kira - organizing fundraisers and coaching the orphanage hockey team.  This also means sharing an apartment with Kira as his grandmother gave her free room and board as part of her salary.  Will he be able to fulfill his grandmother's wishes, work with Kira, and recuperate enough to return to the NHL?
This is the sequel to The Kitchen Witch.  I didn't find this book as funny, but it definitely kicked up the "sexy" component.  It was a fun book to read and I look forward to reading the last book in the series.

Lie by Moonlight by Amanda Quick

Lie by Moonlight by Amanda Quick - 385 pages

Concordia Glade has engineered the escape of her five young students from the prison-like school they are being kept at.  During the escape they literally run into the mysterious Ambrose Wells who has tracked a pair of possible murderers to the school.  Together they join forces to see how their circumstances are related and to keep the girls safe from a criminal mastermind.
Amanda Quick is the pen name used by Jayne Ann Krentz for her historical romances.  I have enjoyed her paranormal romances in the past and thought to try a straight historical romance.  It was an entertaining read.

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

The Flight of Gemma Hardy: A Novel by Margot Livesey --- 446 pages

An updated version of the Jane Eyre/Cinderella tale, set in Scotland and Iceland in the 1950s and 1960s.  Gemma Hardy, left orphaned by the deaths of her mother and father, finds a new home with her mother's brother and his family in Scotland. Unfortunately her uncle's wife and children are jealous of the love and attention he gives to her, and when her uncle dies in a skating accident, quickly make it clear that they regard her as an unwanted obligation.

When the hostility reaches the point of physical abuse it attracts the attention of the local doctor who tries to help by suggesting Gemma apply for a scholarship to attend a private boarding school as a "working" student. Gemma soon discovers that Claypoole School's "working girls" are little more than unpaid servants left to pick up what education they can in their few spare moments, and not expected to qualify for any thing better than servile jobs when they leave school at sixteen.

Gemma is determined to qualify for a university scholarship, but needs a job in order to support herself while she prepares for the entry examinations, so when she leaves Claypoole she takes a position as an au pair or nanny at Blackbird Hall in the remote Orkney Islands. Her one pupil, Nell, has been left to run wild on the island by her uncle and guardian, Mr. Sinclair, a successful businessman in London who only occasionally visits his ancestral home.

Fans of Jane Eyre can see where this is going. . .but with a twist. When Gemma runs away from Mr. Sinclair and Blackbird Hall, she too finds refuge in an unexpected place. Still obsessed by questions about her past and the parents and places she can barely remember, Gemma takes off for Iceland to look for the answers she needs in order to repair the broken promises of the past and face the future with confidence.