Summer at Forsaken Lake by Michael D. Beil

I loved this light mystery!  Twelve-year-old Nicholas and his ten-year old twin sisters, Haley and Hetty, are sent to spend the summer with their great uncle Nick at Forsaken Lake in Ohio.  None of them are thrilled.  They have had no relationship with their great uncle.  They are city kids- living their lives in NYC.

But the decision isn’t up to the three kids.  Their parents are recently divorced; their father is on a summer mission to heal people in Africa in a program called Doctors without Borders while their mother is working full time in NYC.

What will they do all summer in Ohio without their school friends from New York?  How boring will their lives be after having lived in the fast-paced city all their lives?

Little do they know the many adventures they will have!  When Nicholas finds a secret hiding place from when his father used to send summers with his Uncle Nick, the pieces of a mystery fall into place.  Why is it that Nicholas’s father Will has never returned to the lake since he was fifteen?  Will Haley and Hetty and Nicholas make any true friends at the lake?  Will their experiences there make them want to return for another summer or repeat what happened to their own father more than fifteen years ago?

Read this sweet novel to find out.

 

Prodigy by Marie Lu

The dystopian sequel to Legend is filled with action and intrigue. As the story begins, Day and June have fled Los Angeles after June’s daring rescue of the renegade Day at Batalla Hall where he was to be killed an the number one enemy of the Republic.

At the young age of 15, June Iparis is considered the prodigy of the Republic until this act of defiance. Now she and Day must run for their lives from the only city they have known.

As they wander through the streets of Las Vegas in disguises, the JumboTrons  (huge television screens positioned throughout the city) project the most unexpected of news! Elector Primo has died very unexpectedly. The Republic will be ripe for revolution.

Day has sustained injuries to his knee which need immediate attention. Las Vegas is the likely choice to get the help he needs.  As a part of the Republic of America, Vegas should be safe enough for the two fugitives. Day and June intend to make contact with the Patriots. They believe the Patriots will help them defeat the Republic, but they both realize that the Patriots will demand money for their support. What neither of them expects is that the payment the Patriots expect is that Day and June will participate in an assassination attempt on the new leader of the Republic—Anden, son of the newly deceased Elector Primo!

Will Day and June be able to live up to their part of the bargain to the Patriots? Will Day’s injuries heal? Read this sequel to Legend to find out!

 

Sophia's War by Avi

Sophia's War: A Tale of the Revolution

The island of Manhattan is a hot bed of conflict.  The British want to gain a foothold there.  Sophia and her mother, Mrs. Caldwell, venture back to their home after fleeing with Mr. Calderwood to the country.  Sophia’s father wisely waits until the cover of nightfall to avoid capture by the British forces.  Despite this caution, he sustains two wounds from British forces. William, their son, has joined the rebel cause.  They fear he has been captured.  How will William find them if they don’t return home?

How will Sophie and her parents withstand the occupation of their home by British officers?  How will they be able to gain knowledge about their missing son William without implicating their own safety and revealing they are for the rebel cause rather than for King George?

Will Sophie’s employment as a maidservant help her gain precious information which might save the life of George Washington even while it might reveal General Benedict Arnold as a traitor to liberty?