A Boy And A Bear In A Boat by Dave Shelton

Boy And A Bear Bantering

When a boy steps in a boat with a bear, he doesn't expect this voyage to be anything special, but it is. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, like a lack of food, this turns out to be one eventful sea voyage. I thought this book was amusing, but the plot was fairly simple. The obstacles could be exciting at times, but the book remained only moderately interesting. I liked the sibling-rivalry-style relationship between the boy and the bear. The bantering dialogue between the characters was the most entertaining part of the story. However, the characters' objective at the start of the story is never fulfilled and leaves the reader with an open ending at the conclusion. This story was listed in the Tween category, but I feel it is probably more suitable for younger readers.

Vincent Shadow: The Top Secret Toys by Tim Kehoe

Toy Inventor: The Best Job

Vincent Shadow is an inventor, a toy inventor. Luckily for him, he is about to have an internship at the best toy company in the world! Or, it would have been lucky if he had inventions to build. After his first day as an intern, the company owner dies. Without toys, the future of the company looks bleak. If only Vincent could uncover the secrets of the famous scientist, Nikola Tesla. Surely, if he could do that, anything is possible.

The Top Secret Toys has a plot that is much different from many books I have read. Instead of starting slow then speeding up or starting in the middle and back-tracking with the plot, it starts with a question. Being that I aspire to be an inventor myself, I found the story intriguing. I also have an interest in the work of the real-life Nicola Tesla as well.  Although not gripping or exciting, I liked the mystery of the plot.  There are illustrations of inventions also, something I really appreciate. This is a good read, but not generally as fast-paced as I would like, so I gave this book three stars.

Into The Abyss by EJ AltBacker

Not As Good As The First Book

             Gray, a megaladon shark, is nervous, and he should be. After the defeat of the tyrant Finnivus at the Battle of Riptide, Gray knows that the dictator tiger shark will return for revenge. When assassins strike, Gray knows Finnivus is on the move. In the first battle, Gray's forces suffer a devastating loss. Now, Gray must take up the charge and finish this war!

            Into the Abyss, is Book 3 in the Shark Wars series, which centers on Gray, a megaladon shark, and his adventures. Gray, the reader later learns, is part of a mysterious prophecy. In Book 1, Shark Wars, the reader is introduced to the main characters, and Gray learns of his identity as a megalodon shark. Sharks live in groups called shivers, and Gray becomes the leader of the Rogue shiver, a bunch of outcasts. Subsequently, in Book 2, The Battle of Riptide, is when Gray first encounters Finnivus and the war begins! The brutal war continues in Book 3 with Finnivus striving to conquer all of the shivers, but ends in a surprising cliff hanger. I'm looking forward to seeing what the fourth book has to offer.

            I did not like this book as much as the first two, as many of the characters I liked died, which I thought unnecessary to the plot. This also lacked most of the light-hearted banter between characters that I enjoyed in the earlier books. I felt this installment was too preoccupied with the war and could have benefited from the small subplots the first book had using tensions that created internal turmoil within the shivers and kept you guessing. A mako shark, named Velenka, is suspiciously present during troublesome incidences with the shivers. Overall, I gave this book three stars because it had enough intense, fast-paced action to keep the reader engaged and the cliff-hanger conclusion made me eager for more of this series.

The Adventures of Beanboy by Lisa Harkrader

A Comic Twist

            Tucker MacBean has a problem, many problems actually. The biggest of these is the lack of money. While Tucker's father is absent, his mother is working multiple low-paying jobs and trying to go to school, so she is never around. Meanwhile, Tucker has to be responsible for his disabled younger brother. Then Tucker uncovers a chance to save his family from falling apart. It's a chance to win a college scholarship for his mother that will enable her to quit one of her jobs and continue her educational pursuits. Tucker hopes it will make his mother's life easier. All he has to do is make the best superhero sidekick ever as part of a comic contest. It should be easy, after all, Tucker has been drawing heroes since, well, since he could draw. But nothing is ever easy.

             Beanboy is an interesting twist on the traditional super hero story. I appreciated how the author switched between the comic that Tucker is writing and the real life of the main character. I found Tucker's perspective in the story and the lines of dialogue amusing. My favorite part of the story was the interaction between Tucker, the main character, and the school bully. I also enjoyed the little coincidences and mysteries that were unveiled throughout the story. The characters were believable, the plot was never too slow, and the story was reasonably engaging. I would recommend this book to all superhero lovers, but I gave this story four stars because it lacked the action-packed excitement that I have come to expect from superhero stories.

Neversink by Barry Wolverton

 An Unlikely Hero

When the owls of Tytonia impose upon the peaceful inhabitants of the polar island of Neversink, the seabirds, called auks, find themselves losing their freedom. As tensions rise, the auks begin to break away from their passive ways to defend themselves, but it will take a brave puffin, a scholarly walrus, and a sharp-tongued hummingbird to resolve this before it becomes war!

             The pace of Neversink starts out slowly, but speeds up later. The story is set in the Ice Age, maybe because the author wanted to avoid dealing with issues of interfering humans and global warming in the story line. The story's plot is reminiscent of the American Revolution at first, but there is a twist that makes this story unique. There is also a scene almost identical to a part in Alice in Wonderland that adds to Neversink's humor. I enjoyed the humor and the action of the story, but I regret that the author did not leave room for a sequel. My favorite characters were Lockley, the puffin, and Astra and Oopik, the twin snowy owls. I liked Lockley because I admired his courage in leading the auks against the owls. Lockley managed to demonstrate how one puffin's family problem was in actuality the whole colony's problem. As for the owl characters, well, I just like snowy owls as a personal preference. Your preference may differ. I also noticed that auk mythology is almost identical, in terms of sea goddesses, with Inuit mythology. As a whole, I would certainly recommend this to other readers. It is definitely an enthralling read. 5 Star Favorite!