Tag: Mystery

The Magic Misfits

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Hello, and happy summer break! I haven’t had much of a chance to write, but now that I’ve gotten out the issue of Best Friends Essential that I was working on, I should have more time to blog regularly. This post will be about The Magic Misfits, Neil Patrick Harris’s middle grade debut. It’s filled with adventure, friendship, and some hidden codes and secrets that make you pay attention.

Carter Locke is running away. Away from his Uncle Sly, who took him in when his parents disappeared, and who has never given Carter a real home. When you trick people out of their money and valuables, you can’t really settle down. Away from his old life as a vagabond, this could be a new chance for him. A chance to live a normal life. However, when he gets to the small town of Mineral Wells, he doesn’t find normalcy. What he does find is secrets, mysteries, and new friends. Can this band of magical misfits outwit an evil villain who may have more in common with them than they think?

I hope that you enjoyed this blog post, and that you decide to try out The Magic Misfits. In addition to being a successful comedian and actor, Neil Patrick Harris has proven himself a talented author. The Magic Misfits in the first book in the Magic Misfits series. There are four books, with a wonderful cast of characters. I have read them all, but am still in the process of uncovering their secrets. Until next time, keep reading!

The Magic Misfits (The Magic Misfits Series #1) by Neil Patrick Harris, Lissy Marlin, Kyle Hilton, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®

City Spies

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Hello again! It’s been a while. I recently went to the book store, and after a lot of consideration, I decided on City Spies, a great book by James Ponti. That’s going to be the subject of this post.

Twelve-year-old Sara Martinez has lived in a few foster homes, but the worst has been Leonard and Deborah Clark. They take in a lot of kids, more than they have room for, because the state pays them by the kid. Sara was determined to expose them so that the she, and the kids she lives with, can get better homes with families who actually care. To do that, she has to hack into the juvenile justice database to see how many kids are being fostered by the Clarks, and then into their bank accounts to see where they were spending the money. Instead of being greeted as a hero, however, she is arrested for hacking. Her lawyer isn’t being much help, until she meets a strange man called Mother, who gets her a six-year sentence in Crunchem Hall, a school that really only exists in Matilda, but Judge Pancake doesn’t need to know that. Mother takes Sara to FARM, a secret base for M16, where she will learn to spy. Hopefully, she’ll be ready for the mission in a few weeks, where her skills as a hacker will be invaluable.

This is a really good book. I like it in part because I figured something out, which is fun, but it wasn’t the whole story, so there was some element of surprise. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. Tell me in the comments below!

Amazon.com: City Spies eBook: Ponti, James: Kindle Store

Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew

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Hello again! This is going to be my last post before I go on vacation. I will be gone for two weeks. I will still post about normal books and such, but also look out for special vacation posts! Today, I will be blogging about one of my favorite easy mystery series, Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew. This series is kind of like Nancy Drew for kids.

There are a few different Nancy-Drew-for-kids series, but this is the one I found, and I really like it. Nancy is in 3rd grade, and goes to River Heights Elementary School with her best friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne. Bess and George are cousins, but they’re nothing alike. George’s real name is Georgia, but never call her that. She likes computers and comfy clothes. Bess, on the other hand, is super into fashion. The three of them make up the Clue Crew, a club where they solve mysteries. When something mysterious happens, they are called upon by their classmates to help figure out what is going on. In the book I just read, Earth Day Escapade (Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew #18), the Clue Crew has to figure out who sabotaged their class float for the Earth Day parade before it’s too late!

I hope you like this series as much as I did when I first discovered it. It’s a great easy read. Until next time, and watch out for a vacation post!

Sleepover Sleuths (Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew Book 1) - Kindle ...

The Westing Game

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This is a good book that I read a while ago, and just reread. It is kind of confusing, but it is still very good. I hope you enjoy it!

When dared to go into the spooky Westing House, Turtle discovers that Mr. Westing is actually dead, as some had thought when he disappeared from the public eye years ago, after a carriage accident that was nearly fatal. Sixteen heirs are chosen, and brought to the Westing house for the reading of the will. Instead of just plain inheriting things, the heirs discover that they are to take part in the Westing Game. The object: To win. The heirs are divided into eight pairs. Each pair gets 10,000 dollars. Absent pairs forfeit the money. There will be sessions in which to announce your one and only answer. The winners will inherit about 2 million dollars. Who murdered Mr. Westing?

As I said in the first paragraph, this is a great book I just recently reread. I like rereading this book because, if you wait long enough, you forget what happens and you can experience it all over again. I hope you enjoy The Westing Game!

The Westing Game (Puffin Modern Classics) - Kindle edition by ...

The Egypt Game

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Hello again! This is a great mystery book that I just reread. I think that many people will enjoy it. However, there are some kinda scary parts, so if you don’t want anything scary, you probably shouldn’t read this book.

When April Hall moves to the Casa Rosada from Hollywood, she is sure that her mother, Dorthea, will come take her back soon. Staying with her grandmother, Caroline, is completely temporary…right? Meanwhile, April meets Melanie Ross, another girl who lives in the Casa Rosada. At first, they don’t think they have anything in common. However, they soon discover that they share a fascination with ancient Egypt. When they find a deserted storage yard behind an antique store run by the Professor, they decide it’s just the spot for the Egypt Game. Soon, four more Egyptians join the fun. Then, strange things begin happening. Is the Egypt Game the cause?

I hope you love this book. I really enjoy it every time I read it. I’ve never read any other books by Zilpha Keatly Snyder, but based on the excerpt in the back of the book, I’ll enjoy them. Have you read any other books by the author of The Egypt Game? If so, how were they? Tell me in the comments below.

The Egypt Game: Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Alton Raible: Amazon.com: Books

Thea Stilton Series

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This is a series similar to the Geronimo Stilton series, but starring the Thea Sisters instead (I’ll explain in a moment). As with Geronimo Stilton, I like to read these for an easy mystery with fun characters.

The Thea Sisters are 5 mice who loved Thea’s journalism class at Mouseford Academy, and remain close friends with their old professor. Violet, Pam, Paulina, Nicky, and Colette are close friends who attend Mouseford Academy and are nicknamed the Thea Sisters. Violet is shy, and loves art. Pam is a mechanic who is always hungry. Paulina is a computer genius. Nicky loves the outdoors. Colette is a fashionista who always looks picture-perfect. Although they are very different, they are incredibly close, and solve mysteries together all the time. They travel a lot, and Thea sometimes joins them for their adventures.

As with the Geronimo Stilton series, these books are written by Elisabetta Dami, under the pseudonym of Thea Stilton. Another similar element between the two series is that they both have special editions. There are more special series and books for Geronimo, but I have been reading my special editions about the Seven Roses Unit, Will Mystery, and the fantasy worlds. Have fun in the world of mice, and see you next time!

Thea Stilton #1: Thea Stilton and the Dragon's Code - Thea Stilton | I ...

The Lady’s Slipper: A Melody Mystery

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Hello again! The book I will be blogging about today is an American Girl book. I might do another post on American Girl books in general, but today, I’m just going to talk about this book featuring Melody. Also, Melody is part of American Girls’ Beforever series, which take place in the past. This story takes place in the 1960s.

Melody goes to a picnic for the Fair Housing Committee with her cousin Val, excited to get to spend time with her. There, she meets Leah Roth, a sophisticated older girl who wants to be her friend. However, Val doesn’t seem to like Leah as much as Melody does. She starts being standoffish around Leah, and Melody doesn’t know what’s wrong. When Melody goes over to Leah’s house, she meets Leah’s grandfather, Dr. Roth. Dr. Roth is a botanist who loves orchids. He has a special lady’s slipper orchid that he brought to America when he escaped the Nazis. The orchid is the last object of his homeland that Dr. Roth still has. When Melody’s grandfather, Poppa, is questioned in the wake of a theft, Melody turns to her two best friends, Val and Leah, to clear his name. But Leah appears to have a secret -something to do with her grandfather?- that could put them all in danger.

I hope you like this book as much as I did. All the American Girl books are fun mysteries with twists and turns, but if you pay close attention, you might be able to guess the outcome. Do you have a favorite AG character? A favorite mystery? If so, reply in the comments.

The Lady's Slipper: A Melody Mystery (American Girl Beforever ...

The Boxcar Children

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The Boxcar Children is one of my favorite easy-read series. I love reading about the different ways Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny find to solve each and every mystery.

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, also known as the Boxcar Children, lived in a boxcar for a while when their parents died. They had heard that their grandfather was a very mean man, and they would rather live in an abandoned train car than live with him. When they meet a kind old gentleman, they grow to look up to him. Little do they know, he’s their grandfather! Once the children realize that their grandfather isn’t a mean old man, they go to live at his house. They earn a reputation for being great mystery solvers and hard workers. People come to them with all sorts of mysteries.

If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll try the Boxcar Children. I love this series. It’s good for beginning readers as well as more advanced readers. I really like it, and I know you will too. Until next time!

Image result for boxcar children book 1 amazon

Geronimo Stilton Series

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This is a series I enjoy reading when I want something easy and fun. The target range for Geronimo Stilton books is ages 6-12.

Geronimo Stilton is a mouse who runs The Rodent’s Gazette, a daily newspaper for New Mouse City. Geronimo also writes bestselling adventure books based on his crazy life. Thea Stilton, Geronimo’s adventure-seeking sister, Trap, Geronimo’s food-loving cousin, William Shortpaws, founder of the Rodent’s Gazette and Geronimo’s grandfather, Benjamin, Geronimo’s favorite nephew, and Bugsy Wugsy, Benjamin’s friend, are a few other main characters.

The Geronimo Stilton series currently has 72 books. The series is written by Elisabetta Dami, under the pseudonym of Geronimo Stilton. There are also quite a few other series related to the original, such as Spacemice, Kingdom of Fantasy, Thea Stilton, Creepela Von Cacklefur, and many others. Below is a picture of the first book of the series, Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye. There may be small mentions of other plot lines, but these books can be read in any order.

Greenglass House

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Hello again! Happy summer! Greenglass House is the first book in a series. I read it, and it wasn’t my favorite, but I think that’s because I’m not a fan of scary books. Hope you have a better experience!

This is a book that I recommend to readers looking for a good mystery with a bit of a scare. I can’t say much more than that, as it would give away the plot of the book. 13-year-old Milo is the adopted child of Ben and Nora Pine, owners of a smugglers inn at Greenglass House, where famous smuggler Doc Holystone once lived. Normally quiet during the winter holidays, Greenglass House has 5 unlikely visitors, who all have secrets of their own. I liked it until the end, where it got a little scary.

There are 4 books in this series by Kate Milford. The second book is called Ghosts of Greenglass House. Greenglass House has won the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery.

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