The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau

I am a HUGE "Books of Ember" fan. (I was a bit disappointed with the film, however, but that's another story.) City of Ember, the first in the series by Jeanne DuPrau, was in my opinion simply brilliant. A city powered by electric lights, but the generator is wheezing and the food stores are running out. Two kids find the secret of their lost city -- that hundreds of years ago, a world on the brink of destruction built Ember deep under the ground as a way to preserve human life. There was an escape plan, for 200 years in the future, but the line of secret keepers was broken and so more than 200 years went by until the City didn't even know where they were. Lina and Doon find the secret way out of the dying city, and in book two they come upon Sparks, one of the settlements above ground where the descendants of survivors live. These first two books were just great. DuPrau tells an intriguing and moving futuristic tale. I highly recommend both.

Then, in the third installment, The Prophet of Yonwood, DuPrau swerves off the storyline to backtrack and show us the time leading up to the population of Ember in the first place. This third book just didn't work for me at all; I suppose I really just wanted to know what was going to happen with Lina and Doon. Seems to me Yonwood would have been better as the fourth book, after Darkhold.

WHICH brings me to this review (finally!). The fourth book begins nine months after The People of Sparks ends. The winter is upon them, and much like the colonists or pioneers, the people of Sparks are having a tough time of it. When Doon's father cuts his hand and there is a fear of infection, Doon and Lina decide to head back to Ember to get some Anti-B. But when they get there, they discover not only has a strange family settled in the now dark and abandoned city, but they have come across yet another secret of Ember.

This book was so great -- I was totally hooked from the first chapter. We get lots of backstory to fill in the gaps and I would say it's still up in the air whether this is truly the last book of Ember or not. If you liked the other books in the series, you will enjoy this one.  4 bookmarks!

Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass

Witnessing a total solar eclipse is something that not many people can claim to do. But the three main characters in the latest book from Wendy Mass (Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life and A Mango Shaped Space) do just that... and they learn a little about themselves in the bargain. 

Told from the perspective of three kids: model wanna-be Bree, slightly overweight loner Jack and homeschooled astronomer in the making Ally, Every Soul A Star explores the wonders of space, Earth and how everybody has to find their own place on it.

Ally has grown up in the boonies, her parents built Moon Shadow campground out in the wilderness as a place for stargazers to pilgrimage to, and this particular summer, they'll be coming in droves as the camp is in the direct path of a total solar eclipse. She loves living under a blanket of stars, and has looked forward to this summer pretty much her whole life. But there's a catch. After the eclipse her family is going to be moving to the city for the first time ever. 

City girl Bree has just found out her family is moving to Moon Shadow to take over for Ally's family, and she's none too happy about being away from her cell phone and friend network. She's more concerned about her toenail polish than which constellations are which, and has no problem letting Ally know that she's getting the raw deal.

Jack finds himself in Moon Shadow as a way to make up for a failing science grade, and summer school. Not exactly one of Bree's popular crowd, Jack just wants to get through the summer and enjoy the outdoors while doing it.

Mass weaves these three stories together masterfully, all told in first person POV yet retaining unique voices for each. Even the snobby Bree comes off as sympathetic and likable.

I'm a huge fan of Jeremy Fink and Mango Shaped Space, and have looked forward to Mass's latest dip into a fascinating subject. She demonstrates why astronomy is so fascinating and young readers will enjoy the celestial tidbits of info they'll pick up along the way. 4 bookmarks -- would make a great holiday gift!!

(NOTE:

I'm hoping to have an interview with the author in the near future, so if you've read Every Soul a Star and have a question for Wendy Mass, post them in the comments section and I'll try to include them in the interview.)

Classic 5-Bookmark Recommendations -- Mandy by Julie Andrews

This is the first "chapter book" I ever read by myself in second grade. I was a huge fan of Julie Andrews (yes, THAT Julie Andrews) from Mary Poppins and Sound of Music and I completely fell in love with this sweet story.

Mandy is an orphan (why Disney never made a movie out of this, I'll never know) and she lives in a big sprawling orphanage in the midst of lots of land, somewhere in England (I think, at least that's always the impression I had, but that could have come from Julie Andrews' voice in my head as I read the book.)

She's an independent sort and one day she climbs over the garden wall to explore the land beyond the orphanage grounds. There she finds a rundown little cottage in need of a young girl's touch. The rest of the story takes us through Mandy's adventures as she works to fix up her secret hideaway and what happens to her on one dark and rainy night.

Mandy is a squeaky clean, lovely read for any young girl (but boys might like it too). It recently celebrated it's 35th year in print (okay, don't do the math there...) and it is well deserved.

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall

As a big fan of the first Penderwick story, I was eager to see what Jeanne Birdsall would do with the girls back at home. These stories remind me of classic stories from years past like All of a Kind Family (maybe it's all those sisters) and Betsy, Tacey and Tibb. Birdsall's voice is reminiscent of a more classic author in a current setting and I enjoy every word.

Back home after their adventures at Arundel, Rosalind, Skye, Jane and Battie are confronted with the wishes of their dear departed mother that their widowed father begin dating. Horrified by the idea, they put their clever heads together to make sure a step-mother is not part of their future. With misadventures and cherished moments, this second tale of the Penderwick sisters has all the appeal of the first, with a little romance thrown in for good measure. 

While it may seem a "girl" book, it should most definitely appeal to younger boys -- and might give them a good lesson about their female counterparts as well. The first book won the National Book Award... I'll be interested to see if this one is nominated on October 15th. In my opinion, it absolutely should.