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Editorial Content for The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Norah Piehl

A natural-born skeptic must learn to trust both her head and her gut in this suspenseful supernatural novel set against the backdrop of World War II.
 
Certainly there have been plenty of other novels about children being evacuated from London to the British countryside to avoid the Blitz during World War II --- but it’s probably safe to say that few of them have taken an approach quite as creepy as the one Janet Fox explores in her new novel, THE CHARMED CHILDREN OF ROOKSKILL CASTLE. Read More

Teaser

 

“Keep calm and carry on.” That’s what Katherine Bateson’s father told her, and that’s what she’s trying to do:  when her father goes off to the war, when her mother sends Kat and her brother and sister away from London to escape the incessant bombing, even when the children arrive at Rookskill Castle, an ancient, crumbling manor on the misty Scottish highlands. But it’s hard to keep calm in the strange castle that seems haunted by ghosts or worse.  What’s making those terrifying screeches and groans at night?  Why do the castle’s walls seem to have a mind of their own?  And why do people seem to mysteriously appear and disappear?

Promo

“Keep calm and carry on.” That’s what Katherine Bateson’s father told her, and that’s what she’s trying to do:  when her father goes off to the war, when her mother sends Kat and her brother and sister away from London to escape the incessant bombing, even when the children arrive at Rookskill Castle, an ancient, crumbling manor on the misty Scottish highlands. But it’s hard to keep calm in the strange castle that seems haunted by ghosts or worse.  What’s making those terrifying screeches and groans at night?  Why do the castle’s walls seem to have a mind of their own?  And why do people seem to mysteriously appear and disappear?

About the Book

“Keep calm and carry on.”

That’s what Katherine Bateson’s father told her, and that’s what she’s trying to do:  when her father goes off to the war, when her mother sends Kat and her brother and sister away from London to escape the incessant bombing, even when the children arrive at Rookskill Castle, an ancient, crumbling manor on the misty Scottish highlands.
 
But it’s hard to keep calm in the strange castle that seems haunted by ghosts or worse.  What’s making those terrifying screeches and groans at night?  Why do the castle’s walls seem to have a mind of their own?  And why do people seem to mysteriously appear and disappear?
 
Kat believes she knows the answer: Lady Eleanor, who rules Rookskill Castle, is harboring a Nazi spy. But when her classmates begin to vanish, one by one, Kat must uncover the truth about what the castle actually harbors --- and who Lady Eleanor really is --- before it's too late.

March 15, 2016

This Bookreporter.com Special Newsletter spotlights a book that we know people will be talking about this spring. Read more about it, and enter our Spring Preview Contest by Wednesday, March 16th at 11:59am ET for a chance to win one of five copies of HEART OF GLASS: A Memoir by Wendy Lawless, which releases today. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!

Harry Mahtar

A lurking pun is the worst pun, one the offender has been waiting to spring on you.

Attribution

Harry Mahtar

March 2016

March's roundup of History titles includes RIGHTFUL HERITAGE, in which Douglas Brinkley chronicles FDR's essential yet under-sung legacy as the founder of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and premier protector of America’s public lands; David Reid's THE BRAZEN AGE, an unparalleled look at the extraordinarily rich culture and turbulent politics of New York City between the years 1945 and 1950; STEALING GAMES, in which Maury Klein explains how the 1911 New York Giants (a team that stole an astonishing 347 bases, a record that still stands more than a century later) embodied a rapidly changing America on the cusp of a faster, more frenetic pace of life; and THE PAPER TRAIL by Alexander Monro, a sweeping and richly detailed history that tells the fascinating story of how paper --- the simple Chinese invention of 2,000 years ago --- wrapped itself around our world.

Editorial Content for Mission Mumbai

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Christine M. Irvin

In MISSION MUMBAI, young Dylan is going to Mumbai, India, with his friend, Rohit. Rohit is traveling there with his family to attend a wedding. They will be gone for three weeks and Dylan is looking forward to the trip because he doesn’t want to stay with his parents, who fight all the time. But, Rohit doesn’t want to go to India as he doesn’t like it there. He would much rather stay at home in New York, but his parents won’t permit him to do so. Read More

Teaser

 

When aspiring photographer Dylan Moore is invited to join his best friend Rohit Lal on a family trip to India, he jumps at the chance to embark on an exciting journey just like their Lord of the Rings heroes, Frodo and Sam. But each boy comes to the trip with a problem: Rohit is desperate to convince his parents not to leave him behind in Mumbai to finish school, and Dylan is desperate to use his time in India to prove himself as a photographer and to avoid his parents' constant fighting. Keeping their struggles to themselves threatens to tear the boys apart. But when disaster strikes, Dylan and Rohit realize they have to set aside their differences to navigate India safely, confront their family issues, and salvage their friendship.

Promo

When aspiring photographer Dylan Moore is invited to join his best friend Rohit Lal on a family trip to India, he jumps at the chance to embark on an exciting journey just like their Lord of the Rings heroes, Frodo and Sam. But each boy comes to the trip with a problem: Rohit is desperate to convince his parents not to leave him behind in Mumbai to finish school, and Dylan is desperate to use his time in India to prove himself as a photographer and to avoid his parents' constant fighting. Keeping their struggles to themselves threatens to tear the boys apart. But when disaster strikes, Dylan and Rohit realize they have to set aside their differences to navigate India safely, confront their family issues, and salvage their friendship.

About the Book

When aspiring photographer Dylan Moore is invited to join his best friend Rohit Lal on a family trip to India, he jumps at the chance to embark on an exciting journey just like their Lord of the Rings heroes, Frodo and Sam. But each boy comes to the trip with a problem: Rohit is desperate to convince his parents not to leave him behind in Mumbai to finish school, and Dylan is desperate to use his time in India to prove himself as a photographer and to avoid his parents' constant fighting. Keeping their struggles to themselves threatens to tear the boys apart. But when disaster strikes, Dylan and Rohit realize they have to set aside their differences to navigate India safely, confront their family issues, and salvage their friendship.

Editorial Content for Beatrice Bunson's Guide to Romeo and Juliet: A Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Janine C., Teen Board Member

Paula Marantz Cohen’s new novel, BEATRICE BUNSON’S GUIDE TO ROMEO AND JULIET, chronicles the life of Bea Bunson, a freshman learning to navigate the challenges of high school. Bea struggles with her daily life like any teenager, as she grows apart from her best friend, Nan, and deals with the dramatics of her older sister, Jen. Bea also begins to find first love, as she meets a cute boy while visiting her grandmother at her retirement home. Read More

Teaser

 

High school begins, and it seems to Beatrice Bunson that nothing is the same, not even her best friend, Nan. The "new" Nan doesn't hang out with Bea after school; instead she's running for Student Council and going to parties and avoiding Bea at lunchtime. On the bright side, there's English class with Mr. Martin, where Beatrice discovers that Shakespeare has something to say about almost everything --- and that nothing in life is as dramatic as Romeo and Juliet. But when Nan gets in over her head in her new social life, it's up to Beatrice to restore her reputation --- and she may need to make a few new friends to pull it off. One of them, the slightly brainy guy that Beatrice meets at her grandmother's retirement home, is definitely kind of cute, and probably dateable.

Promo

High school begins, and it seems to Beatrice Bunson that nothing is the same, not even her best friend, Nan. The "new" Nan doesn't hang out with Bea after school; instead she's running for Student Council and going to parties and avoiding Bea at lunchtime. On the bright side, there's English class with Mr. Martin, where Beatrice discovers that Shakespeare has something to say about almost everything --- and that nothing in life is as dramatic as Romeo and Juliet. But when Nan gets in over her head in her new social life, it's up to Beatrice to restore her reputation --- and she may need to make a few new friends to pull it off. One of them, the slightly brainy guy that Beatrice meets at her grandmother's retirement home, is definitely kind of cute, and probably dateable.

About the Book

High school begins, and it seems to Beatrice Bunson that nothing is the same, not even her best friend, Nan. The "new" Nan doesn't hang out with Bea after school; instead she's running for Student Council and going to parties and avoiding Bea at lunchtime. The boys who were gross in middle school have become surprisingly polite, while the "cool" kids are still a mystery. Bea's older sister, meanwhile, acts like she's living in a soap opera.

On the bright side, there's English class with Mr. Martin, where Beatrice discovers that Shakespeare has something to say about almost everything --- and that nothing in life is as dramatic as Romeo and Juliet.

But when Nan gets in over her head in her new social life, it's up to Beatrice to restore her reputation --- and she may need to make a few new friends to pull it off. One of them, the slightly brainy guy that Beatrice meets at her grandmother's retirement home, is definitely kind of cute, and probably dateable. (Fortunately, nothing is the same in high school.)

As Beatrice and her classmates tackle Romeo and Juliet, they unveil the subtleties of the play as well as broader lessons of love, family, honor, and misunderstandings. Guided by Mr. Martin, these ninth-graders help us to understand Shakespeare, as Shakespeare helps them begin to understand themselves.

Editorial Content for Ten Days a Madwoman: The Daring Life and Turbulent Times of the Original "Girl" Reporter, Nellie Bly

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Aimee Rogers

Elizabeth Jane “Pink” Cochran was born on May 5, 1864. Although you may not recognize her name, she would go on to become one of the most well-known personalities of her time. Pink’s childhood would shape her future life, as many of ours do, but perhaps more so for Pink as she developed a keen sense of the plight of of poor, growing up poor herself, and the rights of women, as she watched the abuse her mother endured at the hands of her stepfather. Read More

Teaser

Young Nellie Bly had ambitious goals, especially for a woman at the end of the nineteenth century, when the few female journalists were relegated to writing columns about cleaning or fashion. But fresh off a train from Pittsburgh, Nellie knew she was destined for more and pulled a major journalistic stunt that skyrocketed her to fame: feigning insanity, being committed to the notorious asylum on Blackwell's Island and writing a shocking exposé of the clinic’s horrific treatment of its patients. Nellie Bly became a household name as the world followed her enthralling career in “stunt” journalism that raised awareness of political corruption, poverty and abuses of human rights. Leading an uncommonly full life, Nellie circled the globe in a record seventy-two days and brought home a pet monkey before marrying an aged millionaire and running his company after his death.

Promo

Young Nellie Bly had ambitious goals, especially for a woman at the end of the nineteenth century, when the few female journalists were relegated to writing columns about cleaning or fashion. But fresh off a train from Pittsburgh, Nellie knew she was destined for more and pulled a major journalistic stunt that skyrocketed her to fame: feigning insanity, being committed to the notorious asylum on Blackwell's Island and writing a shocking exposé of the clinic’s horrific treatment of its patients. Nellie Bly became a household name as the world followed her enthralling career in “stunt” journalism that raised awareness of political corruption, poverty and abuses of human rights. Leading an uncommonly full life, Nellie circled the globe in a record seventy-two days and brought home a pet monkey before marrying an aged millionaire and running his company after his death.

About the Book

Young Nellie Bly had ambitious goals, especially for a woman at the end of the nineteenth century, when the few female journalists were relegated to writing columns about cleaning or fashion. But fresh off a train from Pittsburgh, Nellie knew she was destined for more and pulled a major journalistic stunt that skyrocketed her to fame: feigning insanity, being committed to the notorious asylum on Blackwell's Island and writing a shocking exposé of the clinic’s horrific treatment of its patients.
 
Nellie Bly became a household name as the world followed her enthralling career in “stunt” journalism that raised awareness of political corruption, poverty and abuses of human rights. Leading an uncommonly full life, Nellie circled the globe in a record seventy-two days and brought home a pet monkey before marrying an aged millionaire and running his company after his death.
 
With its sensational (and true!) plot, TEN DAYS A MADWOMAN dares its readers to live as boldly as its remarkable heroine.

Tom Hodgkinson

When the going gets tough, the tough take a nap.

Attribution

Tom Hodgkinson