Kids Books - Mysteries

The Secret Zoo

The Secret Zoo

By Bryan Chick

I loved this book so much! It was adventurous and had mystery at every turn. My favorite part was when they discovered way the secret zoo and why it had too be kept a secret. the only thing that I didn't like was how it ended on a cliff hanger.

The Candymakers

The Candymakers

By Wendy Mass

This book reminds me why I always tell fellow readers to give young adult books a chance. The only complaint I have about The Candymakers is due to the fact that these books are unfortunately targeted towards young adult readers rather than adults that are young at heart. On that note, the only real problems I had were the same reasons this was not targeted to me. Again, unfortunately. The sentences were more concise and simple then I believe necessary for teens; there was a lot more telling than necessary, although there was notable detailed showing. Some of the plot was rather unbelievable; it all came together a little too easily. But, it is a fantasy world filled with candy, after all. How could I not fall in love with this book? The only other two fictional books that I have read set entirely in the Candy World are "True Confections" by Katherine Weber and, of course, "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl. And now this one, which holds its own among them. My favorite thing about this novel is its structure. The author is able to successfully write from different points of view- something many adult books cannot get right. Furthermore, these accounts are sold separately, in different chapters- a difficult thing to do. With impeccable exactitude, no facts, no details, none if the timeline, not the characters are mismatched. Readers get the feeling that they are experiencing the event as they switch between the four childrens' minds, each with their own secrets. They all have their own reasons for being there and all eventually really want to win competition. At first a few are enemies, but, of course, they eventually grow to really care about one another and sincerely can each other friends as they learn each other's secrets and inner thoughts. **** Spoilers **** Logan, The Candymaker's son, feels the need to prove to his parents that he is worthy of inheriting his father's position. He has no other friends because his parents have kept him sheltered since he was a young boy. During the annual factory picnic, he met Philip, who was touring the area. This was one of the first boys had met and he was excited to find a new friend. After playing like boys do around the candy factory for most of the day, they were at the chocolate vat when Phillip lost his toy truck in it. Not wanting to upset his friend and wanting to return it, he crawled into it. He ended up not getting it in time and scarring his entire face. He is still a very happy boy; it seems that he notices his scars far less than anyone else does. In fact, he often forgets that they are there. Daisy, who grew up in a special family- spies with all the technology and ninja moves- is on an assigned mission. She is there for reasons that at first she does only because she was told; until certain events cause her to truly consider what she is doing. And what is right and wrong. Finding and taking Life Is Sweet's secret ingredient with the goal to shut down the factory? Certainly in the latter category. Miles, whom carries a life jacket around everywhere and has taken an interest in the afterlife ever since he was out boating and watched a girl drown. He eventually funds or that girl was actually Daisy, who of course never died because she was utilizing her super powers. Last but not least, there is Philip, whom is extremely negative, pretentious, rude, and full of animosity as soon as he meets the others. We eventually find out that he is the former boy with the toy truck. As expected, he typically is not this type of guy. But as an equally lonely child, when he was erroneously informed by his father that he had been banned from the Life Is Sweet candy factory (he was actually invited back by the family), he is there to win the competition; to take Logan's thunder. I also loved his secret violin talents and music genius. Looking forward to reading her other books!

Scat

Scat

By Carl Hiaasen

The name of my book is Scat by Carl Hiaasen. The story is based around a group of characters that all have their own secrets behind a mysterious fire that broke out in the woods while a school was on the field trip. A teacher goes missing while trying to find a little girls inhaler and hasn't been seen in days. Detectives find evidence of arson, and all eyes are wandering. A mysterious arson, a missing teacher, a juvenile student, and a greedy business company all have their secrets that have yet to come out. Two students, Nick and Marta, are the only ones who have the curiosity to piece it together. With them only being in seventh grade, it is hard to convince anyone. All the people in town are turning against each other, yet a culprit is hiding right under their noses. This book is truly amazing. It not only represents mystery well, but it's relatable dialogue and characters add onto the realistic fiction. The clues are given ever so subtly, and connections are cleverly imputed. It switches off between characters, almost telling different stories every other chapter. This gives you different background knowledge and curiosity involving every character as a suspect, instead of having a seemingly one sided story. I believe that this genre is realistic fiction because all the events that happen in it could happen in real life, but the characters are fiction. There is no sort of fake elements to the book, which makes it relatable and realistic. The characters are made up by the author, but the events are based around true life events. The characters are fiction, but the plot is far from fake. A school teacher disappearing, and the students trying to solve it, are things that can happen in real life and have most likely happened. People who would enjoy this book are fans of mystery. The book is based around a mysterious event, but it has a lot more to offer than just that. It has relatable characters, interesting dialogue, and most of the things that make realistic fiction great. Audiences who love relating to characters and plots that involve clues given ever so subtly are going to be more than impressed by what Scat has to offer. An example of an internal conflict would be with one of the characters Duane, or Smoke. He struggles to find his true self throughout the book, as people try to tell him who he should be. This internal struggle is shown throughout the story, as it comes up often. His grandmother wants him to be a gentleman, while his father isn't a big fan of that. Since Smoke lives alone with his father, he hasn't ever had the chance to find out who he truly is without someone telling him. This is an internal conflict because it is man v.s man, meaning he is against himself throughout the story. Although there are no external conflicts, the book is interesting in many different areas. Scat is a book that creates a relatable connection between the reader and the characters. Whether it is the struggle of being at home, being at school, or feeling alone, Scat has all the different types of struggles that readers from different backgrounds can enjoy.

Holes

Holes

By Louis Sachar

If I had to choose one word to describe this book, it would be: AWESOME! Hit rewind-- flashback time! The great-great-great grandfather of present day Stanley is chasing after a girl. Not just any girl, but the most beautiful girl in town. But someone else also wants to marry her- an old 60-year-old farmer! The only way to get her hand in marriage is to bring her father the largest, fattest pig. Not having something to bring, young Stanley goes to Madame Zeroni, who gives him directions to climb the mountain, and have a pig drink water from the river, while singing a special song. On the last day, he should bring Madame Zeroni up the mountain and have her drink while he sings the song. If he doesn't fulfill this, his whole family will be cursed. Stanley never carried Madame Zeroni up the mountain. Is the curse real? OK, fast-forward to now: Present-day Stanley Yelnats is an average boy, until one day fate hits him in the head. No, literally, it hit him in the head!😂 A pair of valuable sneakers fall out of the sky as Stanley is walking home from a hard day at school and the police believes Stanley stole them! He has a choice for punishment once he arrives in court: he can either go to jail, or go to Camp Greenlake. Easy decision, right? Camp Greenlake, of course! But Stanley soon figures out that this camp doesn't even have a lake! It's been long dried up. Every day at this camp Stanley must dig a 5 by 5 hole in the hard, crusty, desert ground. Not much better than jail! One boy nicknamed Zero asks Stanley to help him learn to read and write in exchange for help shoveling his hole. After Zero runs away, Stanley runs after him-- but they have no water. Can they survive, and will the curse finally be broken? And what are the holes kids have been forced to dig really for? This book was so good! The plotline flowed together, and I was hanging on the edge of my seat to read more! The story itself is brilliant, I would have never thought of it myself! 5/5❤

A Night Divided

A Night Divided

By Jennifer A. Nielsen

Gerta's family is split. Gerta, Gerta's mom, and one of Gerta's brothers are on the east side, and Gerta's dad and Gerta's other brother are on the west side. The wall divides them. Earlier that week, Gerta's brother and dad went over to the west side to look for work, but the wall went up before they could get back, dividing their family. People try to escape from the west, but the soldiers are not afraid to kill. Even after its been up for a year, Gerta still finds herself staring at the wall, wishing she was on the other side. One day when she was walking to school, Gerta sees her brother and dad for the first time since the wall went up. Her dad does a silly dance they used to do together, but he keeps emphasizing on the "dig" part. After other clues come, Gerta concludes that her dad wants her to tunnel across to the west side, along with her mom and brother. But the bloodthirsty soldiers could very well end Gerta's life, so the risk is huge. But since this is her only chance to get across. Gerta and her brother Fritz try to tunnel their way to freedom, with many challenges and consequences along the way. This page turning book will keep your heart beating, and you can really feel Gerta's emotions. I love this book SO MUCH, and I know you will too. I recommend this book to boys and girls ages 9+.

Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Boys' & Girls' Library)

Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Boys' & Girls' Library)

By Mark Twain

A classic by Mark Twain of "Adventures of Tom Sawyer" which is about a boy who goes by the well-known name of Tom Sawyer with at first mischievous and immature boy at the beginning of the story, often getting in trouble with his aunt Polly often scold her nephew. You would often see that Tom would be with his friend, Huck (Huckleberry Finn) whom Tom really close to, getting in trouble, too with him. Then Rebecca (known most of time as just Becky) Thatcher, a daughter of the town's new judge, as Tom got the romantic interest in Becky, got "engaged" due to the kiss until it's revealed by Tom that he actually "engaged" by another girl, Amy Lawrence, had the fight with Becky about it. Then, we have Injun Joe, a Native American who would defend himself most of time but got the racism from Tom and Huck. Later in the book, as Tom grew more considerate, kind, funny, and more mature than the beginning of the story. I had to read this for school and finally finished with this book today as I didn't really enjoy this due to the type of English which is Old English which can make me more harder to understand and also with the racism against the colored or even Native Americans. - Happy Reading...maybe!

Lunch Lady and the Video Game Villain: Lunch Lady #9

Lunch Lady and the Video Game Villain: Lunch Lady #9

By Jarrett J. Krosoczka

I love this series of book, because all of them have great adventure, excitement, action, and mystery! This book is about a guy stole tech, from student, and make them into a monster. the school Lunch Lady is a hero, who fight bad guys, she is going to stop it.

The Spy School Collection: Spy School; Spy Camp; Evil Spy School

The Spy School Collection: Spy School; Spy Camp; Evil Spy School

By Stuart Gibbs

Don’t get me wrong this book is AMAZING and you DO have to read it (along with every other book in the series) but, the Spy School series is a bit repetitive and it usually goes something like this: an evil group of people try to do something bad Ben going into the seen as bait, usually without realizing. There is an obstacle the have to get around, nobody can figure out there plan but Ben figures it at at the last minute. The world is saved! Although this is the mane gists I totally recommend.

Bad Blood (The Naturals #4) ((The Naturals #4))

Bad Blood (The Naturals #4) ((The Naturals #4))

By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The plot twist were AMAZING and the ending made me cry!!! It s such a great ending and my favorite in the series!

Snakehead (Alex Rider)

Snakehead (Alex Rider)

By Anthony Horowitz

Remi Shehab

Great book if your taste is adventure. Alex is a fourteen year old boy whose parents were killed so his uncle looked after him. Little did Alex know that they were all training him to become a spy so Mr Alan Blunt who is the chief executive of MI6 special operations and he asks Alex on mission after the next. On his first mission book1 STORMBREAKER, Alex is sent to investigate Herod Sayle who invented stormbreaker computers but for a purpose that could result in lots of schoolchildren dead. Several missions Alex finds himself on a mission he set himself. I have read now eight Alex Riders and it is best u read the, in order. My favorite is Book three skeleton key which is him sent to go to investigate around General Alexei Sarov but finds himself in a life or death situation. If adventure is your favorite genre then I recommend giving these a try.

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