Happy BOOK BIRTHDAY to THE AMELIA SIX by Kristin L. Gray - REVIEW!

Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we've a special BOOK BIRTHDAY review featuring a NEW Middle Grade Fiction Mystery in stores now via Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing!  It stars six fabulous young ladies that are smart, inquisitive, creative, and not afraid to get their hands a little dirty in the name of good...and trust me, they have to in this tale because the game afoot is SO not a game!  Ready or not, here comes today's book birthday celebrant in the spotlight...

The Amelia Six

by

Kristin L. Gray

9781534418851

Paula Wiseman Books

About the book...

Amelia Earhart’s famous aviator goggles go missing and eleven-year-old Millie has to find them before the night is over in this girl-powered middle grade whodunit.

Eleven-year-old Amelia Ashford—Millie to her friends (if she had any, that is)—doesn’t realize just how much adventure awaits her when she’s given the opportunity of a lifetime: to spend the night in Amelia Earhart’s childhood home with five other girls. Make that five strangers. But Millie’s mom is a pilot like the famous Amelia, and Millie would love to have something to write to her about…if only she had her address.

Once at Amelia’s house in Atchison, Kansas, Millie stumbles upon a display of Amelia’s famous flight goggles. She can’t believe her good luck, since they’re about to be relocated to a fancy museum in Washington, DC. But her luck changes quickly when the goggles disappear, and Millie was the last to see them. Soon, fingers are pointing in all directions, and someone falls strangely ill. Suddenly, a fun night of scavenger hunts and sweets takes a nosedive and the girls aren’t sure who to trust. With a blizzard raging outside and a house full of suspects, the girls have no choice but to band together. It’s up to the Amelia Six to find the culprit and return the goggles to their rightful place. Or the next body to collapse could be one of theirs.

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This is a classic whodunit wrapped in kid friendly packaging and served up with a healthy dose of girl power!  I loved the fact that the mostly female cast showed the roles women have in society and how even now, there are differences sometimes in how they are treated, respected, and/or looked to, while reinforcing that the JUST BE YOU philosophy is truly the only way to go.  If you like cubing, like cubing.  If you like scientific exploration, then like it.  If you want to breach the new frontier, grow the most beautiful flowers, tinker with gizmos and gadgets, do it!  The world is your oyster and no one can tell you what you can or cannot be.  It's a great message for any age, but especially the youngsters this Middle Grade release is intended for, and quite honestly, it's done rather well!

Really...it sneaks in while you're busy getting to know the characters, for better or worse.  It makes itself at home as the mystery starts to unfold and skills are put to the test from problem solving to engineering.  It reveals itself slowly as all the clues start to come together and the moment of truth arrives...even as the BIG TWIST happens and it looks like lights out (again!) for the whole crew...keeping you on your toes and those brain cells firing!  It's a great combination of story, skills, and heart that'll leave you with the warm fuzzies, but also a curiosity that might need to be slaked about SO MANY things, and that invitation to explore more, never hurt anyone.

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About the author...

Brooke Robinson Photography
via publisher's website

Kristin L. Gray is the author of Vilonia Beebe Takes Charge (which Publishers Weekly called a “sensitive and uplifting coming-of-age journey”) and The Amelia Six. Kristin loves to read, walk her dogs, and eat cake for breakfast. Her fourth-grade self would never believe she has five children, two dogs, one fish, a bearded dragon, and a shy gecko. She lives in northwest Arkansas. To learn more about Kristin, or to send her a cake, visit her online at KristinLGray.com

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Special thanks to Jenny at Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing for the eARC for review (and the print edition too!) as well as the chance to bring this title to you. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title celebrates its BOOK BIRTHDAY TODAY (woot woot!) via Paula Wiseman Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

Wouldn't it be great if people just...CLICK'D by Tamara Ireland Stone

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're diving between the pages of a new Middle Grade Fiction title from an author whose work I adored in the YA Fiction arena.  Curious to see how this venture panned out?  Read on, my friends, read on...  The title on deck today, celebrates the world of coding from a new angle.  When you use to think about computer programming and app creation, admit it...it conjured an image of some sketchy dude whittling away the hours in a dark geek cave with no human interaction except that of the e-people he interacted with.  

I know, TOTAL cliche, and a misrepresentation that the industry has tried to and for the most part successfully shed.  THANK HEAVENS, right?  Why?  Because it opens up that world of digital wonders and gurus to Johnny AND Jane Q. Public, and shows us as well as wee ones just stretching their typing fingers that there is room for ONE AND ALL in these technology driven fields.  Enough of my soap box, let's get to the post!  Ladies and gents, please welcome today's book of choice...

Click'd

by

Tamara Ireland Stone

9781484784976

Disney Hyperion

About the book...

Seventh-grader Allie is thrilled that the app she built at CodeGirls summer camp has gone viral.  The app, Click’d, pairs users based on common interests and sends them on a fun (and occasionally rule-breaking) scavenger hunt to find each other. Now, she even has a shot at beating her archenemy, Nathan, at an upcoming coding competition.  But when a glitch threatens to expose everyone's secrets, Allie has to fix the app, win back her friends, and even work with Nathan. Can Allie find the problem in her code before she steps on stage to present Click’d to the judges? CLICK'D is a fun and empowering story of friendships, coding, and lots of popcorn. 

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This is the story of a summer project turned competition entry that took on a life of its own, but along the bumpy road it created, sprung opportunities for unexpected life lessons that'll stay with readers long after the last page turn.

Allie and the CodeGirls were a team.  They had each other's backs while working in the "fishbowl" and once the glass was shattered (okay, not really shattered...they opened the door and left the room, but you get my drift).  Near and far, the bonds they formed remained strong...and easily accessible thanks to a new app aptly named Click'd.  The concept behind it...make it easier to "click" with new people, forming friendships based on similar likes and interests without all the awkwardness that usually surrounds new introductions.  Sounds fab, right?  Her "real life" friends thought so too...and apparently the rest of her Middle School once a small in class demonstration goes viral.  Though in awe of her seemingly instant success and apparent shoe-in status to win the Games 4 Good competition...sometimes what was begun with the best of intentions can turn into an ever loving nightmare.  Grant it, it's correctable...if only she can figure out where things went wrong?!  But riddle me this, what happens when the price to pay in order to do the right thing seems to high? Can Allie turn away from instant stardom to own her error, and correct her digital masterpiece before it becomes a beast?

 I loved the balance the author struck between the technical and real life in this story.  Allie and her besties (even her crush...I mean, nemesis) easily become YOUR besties, her new friends your friends, and her worries...your worries.  I felt SO BAD for her when things started to turn sour.  If I could have stepped in and helped, I totally would have (though my own coding skills are pretty basic, if existent at all) just to see her fly her CodeGirls flag high with pride once again.  The thing is...that's what happens in REAL LIFE though.  We may start out with an idea, turn it into a reality, and quite possibly fall flat on our faces...but what really makes a person remarkable, isn't the success or failure ratio, but the fact that they GOT UP ONCE AGAIN.  It's the endurance, the willingness to try try again until you get it right that truly makes a person "special".  No one can make it through life without making at least a few mistakes and some of them are spectacular in an of themselves, but what we learn from them and how we carry on is what will really tell of our characters...just as it does Allie AND her friends.

In the end, it's a story that celebrates the "geek" in all of us, girls and boys alike, and reminds us that we are capable of ANYTHING, if only we put our minds to it, and do it.  Oh, and yeah...there's no shame in seeking help along the way!  Collective experience can make a WORLD of difference when trying to tackle the seemingly impossible.  A great add to your Middle Grade Fiction lists with an extra boost for promoting STEM education for girls!

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About the author...

TAMARA IRELAND STONE is the author of Time and Time Again, a collection of her two novels Time Between Us and Time After Time, and the New York Times best seller Every Last Word. A Silicon Valley-native, she has worked in the technology industry all her life, first testing Atari game boards in her parents’ garage, and later, co-founding a woman-owned marketing strategy firm where she worked with some of the world's largest software companies. She enjoys skiing, hiking, and spending time with her husband and two children. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit her online at...

SITE  |  TWITTER  |  INSTAGRAM

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Special thanks to Cassie at Disney Publishing for the ARC for review as well as the chance to bring this title to you.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, her other works, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is set to hit bookstore shelves TOMORROW (09/05/17) via Disney Hyperion, so mark your calendar and be on the lookout for it at your favorite brick and mortar or online retailers.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!