My Life as a Smashed Burrito

Author: Bill Myers

Series: Incredible World of Wally McDoogle #1

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Release Date: September 10, 2019

The first book in the Wally McDoogle series is fun, adventurous, and a great start to a kids series!

Wally McDoogle is twelve years old and forced to go to church camp where he is up against a bully the likes he has never seen. Every step he takes puts him right in the crosshairs of this bully and everyone else at the camp puts Wally on a pedestal thinking he is the one to take down the bully for them all. Wally ends up learning a very valuable lesson that it is more important to love your enemies than hate one other.

This is the start of a fantastic series for young readers, it is fast, fun and purely entertaining that will keep reluctant readers engaged and ready to turn the pages. I love fun books for kids with a great message; this is one that parents can feel perfectly capable letting their kids read and not worry that there is any questionable material within the pages. So many books out now that are even marketed to kids have material that is questionable in it. I know that some of the material may not bother some people but for parents that want a good book for their kids to read without worrying about language or anything else, this is a great one for them to pick up and feel good about.

I Funny

Author: James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein

Series: I Funny #1

Publisher: Little Brown

Release Date: January 26, 2015

James Patterson crafts a wildly funny and enjoyable children’s book that readers of all ages will love!

Jamie Grimm is not your ordinary middle schooler; no matter how much he wants to be normal. He lives with his aunt, uncle and their son Stevie after his parents and sister die in a car accident that left Jamie in a wheelchair. He loves to make others laugh, mainly to keep his mind off his own difficulties. When his uncle tells him about an upcoming contest to find the Planet’s Funniest Kid Comic, he is a little afraid but knows he has to enter the contest.

James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author for a reason. The books that he writes have a way of connecting with readers young and old alike. These are the types of books that don’t take a lot of thinking, you can just sit back and enjoy a story. There is not a ton of depth to I Funny but it is a perfect book for younger readers that have a hard time looking forward to reading. Jamie is a fun main character that young readers will connect with and be pulled into the story. This is a super-fast read that I read to see if it would be a good fit for my son and I know he will love it.

Enola Holmes: The Case of the Left Handed Lady

Author: Nancy Springer

Series: Enola Holmes Mystery #2

Publisher: Philonnel Books

Release Date: May 15, 2008

The second book in the Enola Holmes series picks up where the last left off and is another smart and funny read!

Enola Holmes may have helped solve one case, but now if she can’t keep herself from being found by the famous Sherlock Holmes, her brother, all might be lost. As she tries to stay safe and away from her brothers, she comes across another mystery that she feels the need to solve. Lady Cecily has disappeared from home and her mother reaches out to Enola, without knowing who she is, to try and find her daughter. In order to find Lady Cecily and keep her identity a secret, she is going to have to do all she can to solve her biggest mystery yet.

The second book in the Enola Holmes series is another fun and smart read that is good but not great. I read through this very quickly but there wasn’t much memorable about it. Once again it is a case of the movie being better than the book. The second movie came out and is not much like the book. I enjoyed the movies but found the books lacking and not living up to my expectations. They are a good read that young readers will enjoy and be able to work through the mystery without much of a problem. I recommend to readers that want a mystery that is clean and fun and can be a quick read.

Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess

Author: Nancy Springer

Series: Enola Holmes Mystery #1

Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group

Edition Release: August 4, 2020

After watching the movie on Netflix, I decided to check out this series and had fun at the beginning!

Enola Holmes is the younger sister of the great detective, Sherlock Holmes. When her mother disappears, she decides to take matters into her own hands and solve the mystery before her brother. Her search takes her into London and becomes involved in the search for a kidnapped marquess. Enola is not only trying to find the young boy but also her mother and avoid her older brothers who are trying to find her. Along the way, she finds clues left by her mother and does her best to fit in with the society she has been thrust into.

After I watched the first Enola Holmes movie on Netflix, I was intrigued and investigated the book series. While the movie was fast paced, funny and had all the right feels at all the right times, the book here fell flat at times. It was a quick read, but I think I had my hopes set too high after watching the movie. It’s not often a movie is better than the book, but I think having the actors that they did made the movie that much better. This is a book that kids can read and enjoy as a fast fun read. I love that I’ve been able to recommend it as a good clean to friends. I do recommend this book to those that love a fun clean mystery.

Treasure Hunters

Author: James Patterson and Chris Brabenstein

Series: Treasure Hunters #1

Publisher: Little Brown/Jimmy Patterson

Release Date: May 5, 2015

A fantastic fun series for young readers that kids and parents can enjoy together.

When their parents are both gone from them, the Kidd children have to grow up quickly and try to solve the puzzle left for them by their father. Their mother is being held hostage and their father has gone overboard in a massive storm at sea. Now, they work together on the biggest treasure hunt they have ever been on against pirates and other rivals that want what they are trying to find.

My two boys are getting to the age of reading books by authors I have known for a long time, such as James Patterson. Patterson is one of the best authors in the world and I’m finding that his books for kids are just perfect. His writing is simple but fun, it’s not something if you are looking for a complex mystery but a good story that young readers will greatly enjoy. That’s the perfect thing about Treasure Hunters, it is a great book for young readers looking for books to get them into the great world of fiction.

So many kids hate reading because they haven’t found books that are fun to read. I love being at the stage of life where I can read books and recommend them to my kids and be able to talk about with them and help them discover a love for reading. There are a lot of mediocre books out there, but Treasure Hunters is a great book with fun adventure for kids to enjoy reading. I love the fun adventure and the pictures make the story even more enjoyable. I recommend this book to middle grade readers that are looking for a fun adventure.

One Hundred Percent Me

Author: Renee Macalino Rutledge

Illustrator: Anita Prades

Publisher: Bloom Books for Young Readers

Release Date: May 3, 2022

Great book for young readers to understand more about mixed race children as well as give those children confidence.

A little girl living in the San Francisco Bay area knows she is an individual even though people may not understand who she is because of her ancestry. With a Puerto Rican father and Filipina mother, she looks different than other kids. People say that she has one trait of her dad’s or another of her mom’s, but she thinks those are just hers. Everything that makes her up makes her 100% Me.

This is a great children’s book that gives confidence to kids who are mixed race (because aren’t we all al little) as well as help kids understand that just because someone looks different doesn’t mean that, they are just different. With colorful illustrations and descriptive imagery, this book is great for all young readers. Some of the wording is a little more than very young readers would be able to handle. It will be more appropriated for ages six and up.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Average Boy’s Above Average Year

Author: Bob Smiley

Series: Adventures of Average Boy

Publisher: Focus on the Family

Release Date: March 8, 2022

Average Boy’s Above-Average Year is just the fun clean read that I have been looking for to give my boys to read for a long time. It is funny, cute, clever and clean with no content that I have to worry about my kids reading!

Adventures of Average Boy has been a longtime character from the Clubhouse magazine that follows Average Boy through the school year with all the hilarious ups and downs he faces. A middle-grade fiction to be both funny and clean without the potty humor or other vulgarities so frequent in the books these days is very rare. Readers will follow Bob (Average Boy) through the year as he works through the challenges of his youth group to stand up for God. With each passing day, Bob encounters kids at school that are set on making his life difficult no matter what. Will he be able to come out on top or continue his average streak?

Finding books for middle school boys that are filled with good moments and none of the negative the world has to offer is one of the most difficult things I have encountered as a mother. I know that the world is full of both great and horrible things and trying to navigate what to expose our kids to and how to handle what they are exposed to without our control is hard. There were several laugh out loud moments throughout the novel that didn’t have anything crude or the normal potty humor so many kids books include. I loved the way Smiley made these characters out to be funny and also relatable making the book a fun and quick read for all ages. I read it in a day and can’t wait to pass it down to my sons to enjoy as well.

Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts

Author: Erika Lewis

Publisher: Starscape

Release Date: March 1, 2022

A fun and engaging read for young readers looking for tales of magic, mystery and so much more.

Kelcie Murphy has always felt unwanted going from foster home to foster home and never knowing who her parents are or where she is from. While on a field trip with her school, she is attacked and ends up being transported to another world, a world at war. The Academy for Unbreakable Arts is the kind of place Kelcie has only dreamed of but never thought existed. She is now training with warriors and finding her hidden powers that will hopefully help her find her parents and her past. Kelcie learns that she is a Saiga, one of the most ancient beings in the Otherworld and one of the most powerful. Together with her new friends she will have to fight to save herself and her new school before it’s too late.

Kelcie Murphy starts out fast and doesn’t let up; this is the exact right kind of book I look forward to recommending to young readers looking for fantasy, magic, adventure and a great story. I loved the way Kelcie used all the hardships she went through to bring out the strength she needed to prove to herself and others she belonged. This is a story similar to Harry Potter; it is her 12^th birthday when she finds out about a world beyond her own with magic, friends and her past she knew nothing about. There is a lot of world building throughout the entire book which sets things up for what I am hoping is many more books to come. The plot is fast paced and very interesting, I found myself breezing through the pages to find out how it would all end up. The relationships that Kelcie has with her friends and classmates add to the tension of the story with some not liking her from the beginning and some, like Niall, taking a liking to her and being a good companion. It is hard for her to believe she could have friends after being on her own most of her life, this new concept makes her everyday life so different than what she is used to. All these different dynamics made the story realistic in terms of how different kids act and treat others and moved the story along at a great speed. I highly enjoyed this story and recommend it to young readers looking for books on magic and full of adventure.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

The Stitchers

Author: Lorien Lawrence

Series: Fright Watch #1

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams

Release Date: August 3, 2021

A perfect thrilling and creepy read for young fans of Goosebumps that are looking for a fast and menacing story.

Goodie Lane has been the home of “the Oldies” for as long as thirteen-year-old Quinn Parker or anyone else has lived there. The Oldies never seem to age leaving Quinn and her friend to wonder if they are vampires, aliens, or something else supernatural. Quinn and her dad used to come up with theories about ‘the Oldies’ but since he died, she has had to carry on the investigation by herself; that is until her neighbor Mike joins her to solve the mystery. The further into the investigation they get, the more dangerous it becomes as ‘the Oldies’ are onto them and what they are doing.

The Stitchers was not my normal read but my son picked it out, so I wanted to read it before he did. I love being able to do that so we can talk about the books afterwards. I am happy to say that this was a fun read that I know he will also enjoy. The main characters were a perfect blend of fun, energetic, detective skills at just the right point for their age and a storyline that is great for young readers to enjoy. This is the perfect blend of spooky that both kids and adults can enjoy. When I saw the recommendation by Stephen King, I figured it was going to be a good one, and he didn’t lie. This is the start of a new series and I am very curious to see where the story is going to go next; the end of this one tied things up in a great way but did leave me wanting more. I loved the way the author brought together different generations to help the kids solve the mystery, it showed us that we need each other and must work together to make a difference in our area. I was able to read this in a single day and know kids will fly through the pages and enjoy the story within. I recommend this to adults and kids that love a thrilling story like Goosebumps but with nothing to worry about any questionable content.

Rise of the Light Bringer

Authors: Ted Dekker & Rachelle Dekker

Series: And They Found Dragons #3

Publisher: Scripturo

Release Date: November 9, 2021

The final book in the Dragons series goes back to “Old School, Dekker” for me. Still a great read but nothing spectacular.

Jack is fighting to make Earth safe for the rest of his family and crew to come home but finds problems at every turn. The Red dragons are trying to convince him they are the only way to survive while the Silvers try to show him love is the way. All he has been taught growing up will be put to the test in order to save humanity.

Anyone who has ever read anything by Ted Dekker, especially his early works will recognize a lot of the writing in this final story in this series as “classic Dekker.” I call it that because it is nothing new, it is a different character and setting but a lot of the very same imagery as found in his other books. There is a lot of great Christian content in showing that love wins out in the end over fear and if we will look to “Yeshua,” for love and not let the fear of all that is going on in the world take us over we will flourish. At this point in the story I got a little tired of Jack and his wishy-washy attitude. He needed to make up his mind on what he believed and let the story flow in that way, which would have made me as a reader a lot happier with how it played out.

I got this series for my son, and I look forward to the discussions we can have after he reads these. It is appropriate for readers age 9 and up but I believe adults will also enjoy this series as well.