M. T. Anderson’s 21st century novel set in an 18th century Gothic mansion and its grounds make for an interesting adventure when two friends are invited to visit an uncle for a couple of weeks. The two boys are lured into a seemingly harmless board game “The Game of Sunken Places,” whose stakes are higher than they could have imagined.
This new novel by Gennifer Choldenko makes you think about how your family affects who you are. Moose is a 13-year-old with an older sister who has autism. The setting is Alcatraz Island off the coast of San Francisco in the mid 1930s when the nation’s worst criminals were housed in a prison there. Moose’s father is a guard and an electrician at the prison so his family has moved there from what he thought was a comfortable life in Santa Monica. His parents wanted to give his sister a chance at a normal life by enrolling her in a special school for autistic children, but things don’t go as smoothly as planned. Famed gangster Al Capone is a prisoner and the warden’s daughter has dreamed up a scam and makes it difficult for Moose not to participate. How can he deal with her and taking care of his sister, too?
No, she’s not a missing classmate, but it is the name of a new novel we have on our shelves by Gail Giles. Described by famed mystery author James Patterson as “A smart scary tale that moves like a bullet train,” this novel will make you think twice about writing notes or talking about people behind their backs. Read what happens to Cass McBride.
