Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Interest Level: YA - up

Reading Level: 8.4
Lexile: 990L
Genre: Science Fiction

In the year 2044, Wade Watts, like the rest of humanity, chooses to escape reality and spends his waking hours in the limitless, utopian virtual world of the OASIS, but when Wade stumbles upon the first of the fiendish puzzles set up by OASIS creator James Halliday he finds he must compete with thousands of others--including those willing to commit murder--in order to claim a prize of massive fortune.

This book was AMAZING! I decided to read it because the audio book (which I listen to while I workout) was available and it was read by Wil Wheaton. I got so into the book I was reading it when I wasn't working out. I thought at first that I would get lost in the geek speak but it wasn't necessary to know exactly what the author was saying. Cline used the terminology in such a way that I was aware that he was speaking about a computer or a game system or whatever. It didn't matter that I wasn't familiar with each device he spoke of. I cared about the characters. I routed for Wade and the High Five. I wanted the Sixers to get what was coming to them. Although I highly recommend this book, I will not be adding it to the middle school collection. I am going to write the publisher and suggest the make a middle grade edition. I think that minus a couple of passages that this book would be a big hit with the middle school students.

Sal & Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez

Interest Level: 3-6

Reading Level: 5.8
Lexile: 700L
Genre: Fantasy

When Sal Vidon meets Gabi Real for the first time, it isn't under the best of circumstances. Sal is in the principal's office for the third time in three days, and it's still the first week of school. Gabi, student council president and editor of the school paper, is there to support her friend Yasmany, who just picked a fight with Sal. Sal prides himself on being an excellent magician, but for this sleight of hand, he relied on a talent no one would guess . . . except maybe Gabi, whose sharp eyes never miss a trick. Gabi learns that he's capable of conjuring things much bigger. There's only one slight problem: their manipulation of time and space could put the entire universe at risk.

I like how this fantasy novel reads like realistic fiction. The mixture of English and Spanish is fun. In the Acknowledgements at the end of the book, Hernandez explains why he uses both languages in his own unique way; such as calling someone a sandwich. I choose to read this book because it was a Rick Riordan Presents title. I enjoyed it so much that I am buying it for the LRMS library collection.

Lost and Found by Orson Scott Card

Interest Level: 7 to adult
Reading Level: NR
Lexile: NR
Genre: Fantasy

Ezekiel Blast has a superpower, or a micropower, if you will. He can find lost things. The problem is most people think he steals them. When the police ask for help finding a missing girl, though, he may have a chance to redeem himself, Ezekiel isn't sure he can do it.

I really, really, really, really, really like this book. I so wanted it to be something that I would add to the middle school library collection. Sadly I must report that I disagree with "Publishers' Weekly"'s September review in which they reported that the book was for ages 12 and up. The topic of kidnapping and the horrors that surround that heinous crime make this book unsuitable, in my opinion, for a middle school library collection. I myself anxiously await book #2.

The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen

Interest Level: YA

Reading Level: 4.5
Lexile: HL660L
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Emma Saylor doesn't remember a lot about her mother, who died when she was ten. But she does remember the stories her mom told her about the lake where she grew up. Now it's just Emma and her dad, and life is good, if a little predictable, until Emma, is unexpectedly sent to spend 3 weeks at the lake with her mother's family, who she hasn't seen since she was a little girl. When Emma arrives at North Lake, she realizes there are actually two very different communities there. Her mother grew up in working-class North Lake, while her dad spent summers in the wealthier Lake North resort. The more time Emma spends there, the more it starts to feel like she is divided into two people as well. To her father, she is Emma. But to her mother's family, she is Saylor, the name her mother always called her.

I was looking for an audio book to listen to while I worked out. When I saw that Dessen had a new novel and that the audio was available through the library, I thought I would give it a listen. Although there are 14 Sarah Dessen novels in the LRMS collection, I have not read any of them. I was hoping that this would be a new Dessen novel for the middle school collection but sadly no. Due to the fact that there is under-age drinking in this story, I will not be adding it to the library collection. Although the message is a good one.. underage drinking is dangerous.

At the Sign of the Star by Katherine Sturtevant

Interest Level: 5-8
Reading Level: 6.3
Lexile: 860L
Genre: Historical Fiction

Meg is the only surviving child of a late-17th-century London bookseller whose wife died in childbirth. Interested in books and education, Meg often works with her father and has great plans as her father's sole heir of the bookstore. But her father's remarriage to a young woman who is only slightly older than Meg, appears to have ruined her plans. Her new stepmother makes friendly gestures to Meg, but headstrong Meg resists all the woman's efforts and almost alienates her father and stepmother. Through visits with another girl her age, Meg matures and learns that most girls of the era face futures out of their control.

I found this book in a pile of giveaways. I read on the back that it was about a young girl and her love of books. The first 20 pages were difficult to get through. At about page 60 I was ready to quit but I cared about Meg and wanted to see how her story ended. The book was slow and hard to stay with but since I did care about Meg and what happened to her, I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.