Category: NetGalley

Book Review: The world-Famous Nine by Ben Guterson

1/27/2024

If you're looking for a mystery with a fantastic setting, surprises and danger throughout, and coded messages you can solve along with the characters, The World-Famous Nine hits the mark.

When Zander's parents are involved in a research trip for work, he gets to spend a few weeks at The Nine, his grandmother's amazing nineteen-story department store.

The Nine is an enchanting department store that feels more like a self-contained city peopled with interesting characters and places. Zander's family has owned the store for generations - I love that the women of the family have always run the store - and have built a caring community of employees and customers. Much of the story feels like a giant scavenger hunt as Zander and his friend Natasha scour the store seeking clues and collecting information. I loved getting out a pencil and paper to decode clues along with Zander. Students will be hungry for their own scavenger hunt and code-breaking activities after reading this engrossing mystery.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Publication date: January 30, 2024. Advanced Reader's Copy provided by NetGalley.

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Book Review: The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie

1/21/2024

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Fans of mysteries, solving puzzles, and escape rooms will find a lot to love in Lindsay Currie's The Mystery of Locked Rooms. When a trio of 12-year-old friends sneak into an abandoned fun house looking for a treasure that could solve Sarah's family's money problems and prevent her from having to move away, their problem solving skills and friendships are put to the test. The escape room-like challenges are unique and the story is full of surprises. The relationships between the kids is believable and relatable.

The story is full of surprises and twists and will make readers eager to try their hand at escape room challenges. It would pair nicely with a classroom or library escape room or Breakout EDU challenge.

Give this to fans of the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series by Chris Grabenstein and the Book Scavenger series by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.

Rating: 4/5 stars
I will definitely purchase this for my school library.

Publication date: April 2, 2024. Advanced Reader's Copy provided by NetGalley.

Something new for the new year: I have recently dipped my toe into the waters of getting my hands on ARCs (advanced reader's copies - uncorrected proofs of books given out to teachers, librarians, reviewers and booksellers) when I received several at the AASL National Conference. I then found out about NetGalley where you can register as a librarian and request digital access to ARCs. I am reading a few ARCs through NetGalley and will post reviews on my blog.

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Book Review: The world-Famous Nine by Ben Guterson

Book Review: The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie

Amy Brownlee

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