My attachment to Zenta and Matsuso, the two ronin detectives in Lensey Namioka’s series brought me to Village of the Vampire Cat, the fourth in the series. Tea ceremony, New Year traditions, and missing girls. Serafina’s Promise is a novel in verse set in Haiti, where life is hard. Her family scrabbles for the barest necessities, and tragedy strikes. Resilience and love are certainly themes, but a sobering read. And my read-through of Jenny Nimmo’s series (which is technically called The Children of the Red King even though I tend to call it the Charlie Bone series) continues apace. Charlie Bone and the Shadow is the penultimate title (6 of 7).

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Part Two. I seem to be reading a lot of duologies lately. Stories in two parts. My current read fits the July BINGO board because it has a character with a disability. (Kitto Quick was born with a club foot.) I’m midway through The Dagger X, the second half of Kitto’s pirate-laced, ocean-faring adventure by Brian Eames.

Highly Recommended!

Hundred Percent is the nickname of a girl named Tink (well, that’s also a nickname, but she’s been going by Tinkerbell since she was little) who is navigating the special drama that comes with being twelve. Mostly friendship drama. In Charlie Bone and the Beast (Book 6 of 7), a new boy brings trouble to Bloor’s Academy, and an old enemy is in need of rescue. More backstory, more connections. Plenty of tension to keep the pages turning. And The Return of Zita the Spacegirl is the culmination of Hatke’s graphic novel trilogy. (But it’s not the end of the story!)

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Charlie Bone and the Hidden King is the fifth book in the Children of the Red King series. At this point, there’s very little I can say without spoilering early books in the series, and I do detest spoilers. Needless to say, new problems are multiplying nearly as quickly as old ones are settled. It’s similarly difficult to say anything about The Creeping Shadow, which is Book 4 of 5 for Lockwood & Co. Eerie and edgy and exciting straight on through. My affection for these characters flourishes. And you really need to grab Ben Hatke’s graphic novels. Legends of Zita the Spacegirl is the second in the set. Very much a favorite!

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