Middle Grade Monday - The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

Nielsen, Jennifer. False Prince, The. Scholastic, 2012. 6.99. 9780545433471. (reviewing the pb version from Scholastic Book Club)

Genre: Realistic, Adventure
Rating: 4/5

Latamer, Roden, Sage, and Tobias were "rescued" from various orphanages by Bevin Conner and his two henchmen, Cregan and Mott. Conner, a minor regent in the kingdom of Carthya, has it in his head that he can replace the missing Prince Jaron with a boy he trains in the art of princeliness. He just needs a boy who either looks like Prince Jaron or reminds people of him. Jaron has been missing for four years and presumed dead.  No body was ever recovered. If Conner can succeed at placing a false Jaron on the throne, he can rule through him.  Of course, Conner only needs one boy but he has four.

The False Prince is a lot more fun than it sounds.  Sage has a sly sense of humor and is smart to boot though he hides his intelligence from the others. He uses his wit to hide his true feelings and cause the others to underestimate him.  The other boys have an opportunity to move beyond the stereotype as we learn more about them while they study how to be a prince. Although the setting is not distinctive, it's not necessary to get the story across. There was one small surprise that might prove predictable if you are an avid reader though you still want to read to make sure you are right.

I recommend this one to 4th through 7th graders.




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Voice of the Undead by Jason Henderson - Review

Henderson, Jason. Voice of the Undead (Alex van Helsing, 2). HarperTeen, 2011. 16.99. 304p. 978-0-0619-5101-5.

Alex is finally training with the Polidorium, that CIA-like super funded group of evil fighters, and he feels like he's found where he belongs.  Unfortunately, Scholomance, the vampire training school, wants Alex dead.  They've sent the crazy blond, Elle, to bring him down and she's pulling out all the stops.  Whatever wild worm-like creature she set on him leads to him burning down his school, Glenarvon!  All the boys have to move to the girl school, LaLaurie.  Which is not so bad because they go to class with Minhi!

Yes, they are all back! Minhi, the ju-jitsu expert who saved Alex from a beatdown with bullies Bill and Steve, Paul, one of Alex's roomies who he rescued from Scholomance, and Sid, Alex's other roomie, vampire lore expert, and future writer.  The only problem: Minhi is dating Paul!   Okay, now back to the story.

The Polidorium is convinced that Scholomance wants Alex dead.  The buzz is that someone called Ultravox is coming in to do the job and they want Alex to get to Ultravox first.  Things, of course, do not go as planned! Alex gets too cocky and they kidnap him! He finds out the real reason Ultravox is here and he has to figure out how to get back and warn everyone.

Voice of the Undead is a fast-paced, action-packed caper.  Alex is in and out of trouble faster than you can say Vampire Rising.  There isn't much character development, Alex is too busy surviving to reflect on anything, but the mishaps keep the story moving forward.  Henderson takes a risk setting the story only one month after book one as not much has happened in that short time period. That allows Voice of the Undead to stand alone, though.  The writing here is uneven and seems to jump around instead of flowing from point to point.  Still, I can see students enjoying this one.  Alex has some cool gadgets and rides a motorcycle. There isn't much he's afraid of and he's got great friends to back him up.  This series is worth purchasing.

Thanks to Kelley and Hall Book Publicity for this ARC.

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January by Gabrielle Lord - Bookaday #18

Lord, Gabrielle.January (Conspiracy 365). Kane/Miller, 2010. 12.99. 192p. 978-1-9352-7949-5

I'm still searching for a book for our next One Book, One School program and this one was recommned to me by a student.  You meet Cal who is going on a boat trip with his uncle.  He doesn't think the weather is all that great and tries to warn said uncle to no avail.  A storm comes in and the two would have drowned if it wasn't for Cal's quick wits.  That's just the beginning of the scrapes Cal gets into.  A crazy guys tells him he's got 1 year (365 days...) to live if he doesn't solve this Ormond Conspiracy and Cal's like WHAT? Sure enough strange people start hunting him down and he's being framed for a weird accident that puts his sister in the hospital.  He only has one friend who's willing to also risk his life to help Cal out. But they don't seem to be getting anywhere and the stakes, they just keep on raising.

This one is filled with suspense and action and impossible situations.  But, it makes for compelling reading.  I will definitely try to get it for the the library, but I don't think it will have a broad enough appeal for One Book, One School. It's separated into 12 books so I know Cal at least makes it to December, if not January of the following year You do have to order these books from Usborne.

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