Geo Librarian

THE FAMILY ROMANOV Murder, Rebellion & The Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming Schwartz & Wade Books, 2014 ISBN: 978-0-375-86782-8 YA Nonfiction Source: purchased All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK “[A] superb history.... In these thrilling, highly readable pages, we meet Rasputin, the shaggy, lecherous mystic...; we visit the gilded ballrooms of the doomed aristocracy; and we pause in the sickroom of little Alexei, the hemophiliac heir who, with his parents and four sisters, would be murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918.” — The Wall Street Journal   Here is the tumultuous, heartrending, true story of the Romanovs—at once an intimate portrait of Russia's last royal family and a gripping account of its undoing. Using captivating photos and compelling first person accounts, award-winning author Candace Fleming ( Amelia Lost ; The Lincolns ) deftly maneuvers between the imperial family’s extravagant lives and the plight of Russ...

NIGHTINGALE'S NEST by Nikki Loftin Razorbill, 2014 ISBN13: 9781595145468 Middle Grade Fantasy (Magical Realism) Grades 4-8 Source: NetGalley/purchased copy All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK A powerful novel about friendship and family that calls to mind Bridge to Terabithia Twelve-year-old John Fischer Jr., or "Little John" as he’s always been known, is spending his summer helping his father with his tree removal business, clearing brush for Mr. King, the wealthy owner of a chain of Texas dollar stores, when he hears a beautiful song that transfixes him. He follows the melody and finds, not a bird, but a young girl sitting in the branches of a tall sycamore tree. There’s something magical about this girl, Gayle, especially her soaring singing voice, and Little John’s friendship with Gayle quickly becomes the one bright spot in his life, for his home is dominated by sorrow over his sister’s death and his parents’ ever-tighten...

A SNICKER OF MAGIC by Natalie Lloyd Scholastic Press, 2014 Middle Grade Fantasy Grades 3-6 Source: publisher through NetGalley All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Introducing an extraordinary new voice---a magical debut that will make your skin tingle, your eyes glisten . . .and your heart sing. Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart. But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck's about to change. A "word collector," Felicity sees words everywhere---shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog's floppy ears---but Midnight Gulch is the first place she's ever seen the word "home." And then there's Jonah, a mysterious...