Fun Fiction Friday - July 14, 2017

Fun Fiction Friday

I thought I would try a couple of new weekly features, seeing as I struggle so much in getting Week-in-Review posts up. Fridays are going to be "Fun Fiction Friday," while Saturdays will be "Picture Book Saturday." 

In my "Fun Fiction Friday" I will share the books the older girls and I are reading, and a short review of a Young Adult or Juvenile book I have finished, if applicable. I will also ask the girls to tell me something they would like to share about the book they are currently reading. As I am also reading books for adults, I was thinking about starting my book blog up again, sharing my reviews of any adult books over there. So, if I do, I will share links to those reviews in my Fun Fiction Friday post. 

In my "Picture Book Saturday" posts, I will share the picture books I read to the children during the current week, with a short synopsis of each book (hopefully). I will also ask the children to share which were their favorite books. Sometimes the books will go with our units, other times they won't. 

Fun Fiction Friday

July 14th, 2017

I am currently reading four books.

Time Stoppers by Carrie Jones was recommended to me by a fellow homeschool blogging mom. It is a juvenile fantasy book. I was thrilled to find out that my library system had it. I am not quite finished with it, but am enjoying it very much. I plan to share my review of Time Stoppers in next week's Fun Fiction Friday post. 

The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen is a Christian Historical Fiction book. A couple of years ago I read another book by Julie Klassen and really enjoyed it, so I am hoping I will enjoy this one just as much. I haven't gotten very far into it as of yet. 

I am rereading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling. It has been years since I finished the series and haven't reread it yet. Used to be, between the release of each book, I would reread the books. When I was talking to someone a couple of weeks ago, I realized I had forgotten quite a bit about the books. Especially the last couple of books because I hadn't read them as much. 

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore was a suggestion by the librarian the other day. I wasn't going to read it right away, as I have a slew of books out thanks to the Summer Reading Program for adults at my one library. But while I was sitting in my car I started reading it because I didn't have Time Stoppers with me. I was hooked at once. As it is a Young Adult book, I will probably share my review over on Me, Myself, I Read (and Write). 

Tabitha recently finished reading Rush Revere and the Star Spangled Banner. She decided to read them on her own seeing as we are taking a while in our bedtime reading time to get through them. I shared my review of the series a few weeks ago, if you would like to see what we think of them. 

She is currently reading Danger at the Wild West Show by Alison Hart.

Tabitha likes how the book is a mystery. She started it a few days ago and is almost done with it. She says, "It's exciting and definitely mysterious. The girl's name is Rose, and her brother is Zane. He performs gun-shooting tricks at a wild west show. He's called 'The Sharp Shooting Cowboy' and Rose is his assistant. General Jutson was shot and they need to figure out who shot him. Zane was accused of shooting him, because he was the only one in the show with real bullets. And the part that I'm up to now, they were just visiting the mayor's daughter who is Zanes 'sweetheart.'"

Amelia is reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling. 

We have a deal with her. Once she reads each book, we will rewatch/watch the movie.

This is what she would like to share about it:

"It's about a boy who was treated badly by the Dursleys because he was living with them because his parents were killed by Voldemort. He went to Hogwarts and made two friends, Ron and Hermione. In this second book, there's a house elf who wants Harry Potter not to go back to Hogwarts, but he goes back anyway. And his friend gets petrified. There's a diary from 50 years ago that Harry and Ron find after it's been thrown through Moaning Myrtle in the girls' bathroom. I like that it's Harry Potter." 

Fun Fiction Friday

Book Review

York: The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby is a Juvenile book that was on display in our library. I saw the cover and was intrigued. (Very sneaky librarian trick). I have to say, this book caught my interest at once, and I had trouble putting it down. 

This story takes place in an alternate type New York City. The premise of the story makes me think of the old show Sliders where there are alternate universes. In this world the Morningstarr twins arrived in New York in 1798. They had visions of technology that were way beyond their time. Though most of the history remains the same as what we now know, these twins created quite a different NYC with their inventions. Supposedly they also have a treasure that is to be found. Many people through the years have tried to solve the cipher, to no avail. 

In the present day where the majority of the story takes place, we discover that one of the buildings of the Morningstarrs is to be torn down by a developer, displacing many families. The preteen twins Tess and Theo Biedermann join with Jaime Cruz to try to solve the cipher in an attempt to save their home. They are given information about a second cipher, a shadow cipher, that no one had seen before. The clues lead them from historical clue to historical clue, and as they travel around the city, we learn more about the amazing technology that fills the city. It wasn't clear to me whether this technology remained in the city or had spread throughout the country. 

During their adventure they had some help from the Old York Puzzler and Cpherist Society which their grandfather had been a part of. They had to be very careful though, as they were told to trust no one. Sadly they did end up trusting someone they shouldn't have. There were twists and turns throughout the story as they rushed to save their apartment building from demolition, while at the same time they had to help their families pack and move out. The final unseen twist came toward the end of the story, when they thought they had found the treasure. It was quite a shock, I have to say. 

I truly enjoyed this story. I loved the unique look at Manhattan with the different and better technology. The mystery of the cipher is quite intriguing. The ending left me aching for the next book, which sadly I haven't been able to find anything about. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for the sequel.