Tess and her little brother Max (although he’s only a year younger so not by much) are living with their Aunt Evie in England. Their mother is sick at home and has to get a lot of treatments and with their father being a photo journalist who is often sent to war torn areas, it was decided that the children would be sent off to boarding school. In Switzerland. While Tess and Max accept all this with relative ease, Tess is befuddled by a 
boy that she meets when Tess and Max go stay with their Aunt in England after school lets out for the year.
At first Tess thinks he’s ordinary, but the more she really thinks about it, nothing about her entire encounter with William seemed right. First there was the long walk up to the castle, and then there was the gate, that couldn’t be walked around, even though there was no fence on either side of it. And lastly was the key Tess found which appeared old and rusted – just like the gate which seemed to have no keyhole either – until she moved the key close to the gate. That’s just the beginning of the magic!
The Castle in the Mist by Amy Ephron is a quick and easy read that doesn’t really give us anything new in the fantasy world. Still, it is an okay introduction for anyone looking to escape for a few hours one afternoon by dipping their toes into fantasy.
For grades 6th and up.
show up, it is cause for everyone in Teo’s town to sit up and take notice. Everyone except for his mother however, who has been lost in her own world ever since Teo’s twin sister died the year before. Teo understands. After seeing his father killed years before, and not being able to save his sister, Teo feels like being sucked under with grief as well. Only his grandfather seems to be able to keep him afloat.
recorded for the world to see – although after seeing one in the cafeteria she decides she’d prefer the old fashion way of someone just asking her in private) from Jamie, the star lacrosse player at her school. She thinks he likes her, but it could be he only likes to copy her math homework. It’s all so much pressure on a girl. Plus, even though she’s always been a “good kid” her parents won’t let her go into the city to see her favorite band because a parent isn’t going along.
Travis thinks the only thing worth anything in the world is football. He spends all his time thinking about it and playing it. His older brother has set a great example by getting a scholarship to a Florida college to play football for their team. Travis is stoked when the coach comes and talks to Carter, Travis’ older brother about the offer. And Travis can’t pass up the opportunity to show off a bit for the coach – who is impressed!
basement laboratory in the school during a fire drill. That is when Mori meets Lock. Sherlock Holmes to be exact. His parents had a wicked sense of humor. Mori has enough at home to deal with, to not get too involved in Lock’s eccentric ways, but when he approaches her with a murder mystery, she is intrigued. After all, since her mom died, there certainly hasn’t been anything to get interested about there.
about the power of splitting atoms and the energy that could be generated as a result. Whoever could harness this process in a way that would allow for a massive and destructive bomb could win World War II. The Germans were experimenting with a process that needed something called heavy water in which the hydrogen molecule carried a neutron in its nucleus as well as a proton. This is very rare in nature. However, a hydro power plant in Vermork, Norway created some of this water during the process of making electricity. At first, no one could really find a use for it, but with World War II and the Germans realizing heavy water could help them with their process for developing a bomb, the need for heavy water became intense. So did the Allies desire to stop the Nazis from getting this water because it could mean they would get a bomb before the Manhattan Project in the United States could be successful.
the girlfriend of another guy that Josh realized he needed to figure somethings out. Because all that time, he’d thought he was the boyfriend! His friends however, knew the truth. Josh had been a friend, not the boyfriend! Complicated right?
