Benjamin Pratt & The Keepers of the School [Series; Nomination]

  The Keepers of the School series is the latest from Andrew Clements. Aside from the Things Trilogy, he usually doesn't delve into series books, or mysteries for that matter (though his book Room One was a Edgar Allen Poe winner). But this is by far some of his best middle grade fic work.
 Benjamin Pratt goes to Oakes School, at least for the next month. Once school lets out for summer vacation, the historic location is being torn down so that an investment company can build a sea-side amusement park. Ben is fine about this, glad even. Until the janitor bestows upon him the great and mysterious honor of Keeper of the School. Now it's his responsibility to save Captain Duncan Oakes School from being condemned, but can he do it in one short month?

   Each book in this series takes place in a few days or a week, which would seem to be very rushed. However, I thought that We the Children and Fear Itself (the first two books) were interesting and very well paced. At first I was a little confused by the plot, and thought it was completely unbelievable. Kids are in charge of school? But it's a little more complicated than you would think. As a late teen, I was thoroughly impressed by the deep characters, plot, and suspense, even though it's geared towards ten year olds. Can I see the events in this series happening? Yes. Do I have any clue how the series is going to end? Nope. Is the main villain totally creepy and worthy of a mystery movie? YOU BET!

  One thing that I truly appreciate about this series is the high involvement of adults. They aren't the main characters, but they certainly aren't stupid or put in as an afterthought. Many authors stay away from adult characters in children's novels because they 'meddle' too much, but I think it is unrealistic to say that a kid can go about something monumental without the help (and hindrance) of their elders.

  What mystery lovers can enjoy while reading this series is the classic elements of a treasure hunting that takes place in each book as well as the good-old sleuthing adventures that we all loved as a kid. Nautical elements are also woven through, with sailboat races and compass roses and bells. I learned more boating terms from these books than any other I've read before!

   Above all, Keepers has everything you could want in a middle grade fiction series. The right level of suspense, good characters, and secret compartments. Don't forget the sailboats!

Have you read these books? Post your thoughts and discuss the books by making a comment.



NOMINATED BY: Jessie V.

BENJAMIN PRATT & THE KEEPERS OF THE SCHOOL series by Andrew Clements, illustrated by Adam Stower
Antheneum Books, April 2011-Present, Length Approx 175-200 pages, age range 7-10 [recommended to older readers as well]
 Mystery (YA)

#1 We the Children
#2 Fear Itself
#3 Whites of Their Eyes

The Red Blazer Girls [Series; Nomination]

The Red Blazer Girls is a mystery series following four best friends that go to Catholic school together (hence the red blazer uniforms) in New York City. The each is always narrated by Sophie St. Pierre, the ring leader of the group that is funny, funky, engaging, and pretty believable.

 Mysteries in this series include the occasional interactive puzzle (and a math lesson) that the reader must solve before Sophie  will ‘let’ you read the next chapter. If you’re 12+ and give it a bit of thought and scribbling, you can figure out a puzzle without pulling all of your hair out, unless the puzzle is one of the reoccurring  ‘Literature Riddles’ and you are not acquainted with some of the Classics and their main characters.

This series may sound like it’s about a bunch of goody-goody Manhattan girls that run around solving mysteries for the heck of it, but many of the plots have a tie-in to one of the MCs, and they each have a fair amount of ‘Nancy Drewisms’– they do less than legal things; however, they have to suffer the consequences that the old sleuth legend wouldn’t have.

 There are some complaints that there is a lot of swearing in these books... in my personal opinion, I was slightly annoyed at how overused 'ohmygod' was when I read through the second book, but after that I didn't notice it. There are a few other non-desirables, but not enough to keep me from hating it or feeling like I was compromising my morals to read it. This is why I put a 12+ rating, because aside from personal preference it is totally safe and a twelve year old is going to be mature enough to read it and deal with it.

Above all, if you’re a well-read stick in the mud adult, you would wave this series off as too random and easy. However, even an 18 year old can enjoy this as an intriguing and well thought out series by a new mystery genius: Micheal D. Beil.

Have you read these books? Post your thoughts and discuss the books by making a comment.

NOMINATED BY: Jessie V.

THE RED BLAZER GIRLS series by Micheal D. Beil
Yearling, 2009-Present, Length Approx 298-330 pages, Age Range: 12+ [for minor language]
Mystery (YA)

#1 The Red Blazer Girls (and The Ring of Rocamadour)
#2 The Vanishing Violin
#3 The Mistaken Masterpiece
#4 The Secret Cellar [December 2012]