Criminal Destiny Masterminds Book 2 by Gordon Korman

The first installment ended on a cliff hanger - actually they had driven over a cliff as the five, now four, kids managed their escape from Serenity. Today I read the second book in this series all in one gulp. I thoroughly enjoyed the premise and roller coaster ride of the first book but for my taste the second spent a bit too much time on recapping book one. 

I do agree with Kirkus who said of book two: Oddly paced with little payoff, this sequel falls victim to middle-volume slump.

Later this week I will dip into book three and hope all of the crazy parts of this story are somehow resolved.

So, what has happened here. Some crazy scientists masquerading as parents have set up a perfect small town. Four of the kids have discovered the truth that they are actually clones and these people are not their parents and the kids themselves ARE the experiment. What is this experiment? Is criminality inherited or acquired? These kids are clones of very dangerous criminals. The town that has been raising them has kept them completely sheltered from the outside world. Even the sports they play have been selected because they don't contain violence. All internet information is also censored.

The kids have escaped after hatching an elaborate plan - they are all criminal masterminds after all. Now they need to expose what has happened AND try to secure the release of the other kids. They decide to track down the other scientist who was part of this project but pulled out. She is a mega rich lady living several hundred miles away. They do reach her, but she won't help although luckily she does give them some money. Next the kids decide to track down one of the criminals. In a crazy scene they head back to Serenity, discover it is deserted, the find a list of their clone 'parents' in the trashed factory and set off again in another stolen car - yes I told you these kids have criminal skills even though they are only 14. 

They do find the jail, they do find the prisoner, they also find their friend Hector who they thought had died during their original getaway but of course in this roller coaster thriller nothing goes completely to plan. AND yes book two ends on another cliff hanger although this time it is not a cliff thank goodness. You can see the ending of book two from the scene on the cover!

Read more here on the author page. Here is the trailer:

This series is great for the phase between reading middle grade and young adult, so if you're a fifth, sixth, or seventh grade, this will be very enjoyable.  Ponderings of a bibliophile

Cat-and-mouse chase scenes deliver the thrills as the kids try to keep half a step ahead of their pursuers, while the sheltered escapees’ rude introduction to the outside world is rife with comedic confusion, from discovering the joy of junk food to untangling the mysteries of idiom. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Tree Table Book by Lois Lowry

"I'm going to tell you three words. I'm choosing them at random. Listen carefully. This will be important.

House.

Umbrella.

Apple.

Remember those. I'll explain later."

Sophia (known as Sophie) is aged eleven and her best friend is Sophie Gershowitz. Sophie is eighty-eight years old and she lives next door to Sophia. Sophia wants to tell us the story of Sophie. Sophia once received some advice about writing: "Begin on the day that is different."

Ralph is a kid in her neighborhood. Ralph's dad is a pediatrician and so he owns a copy of The Merck Manual which is a reference book for doctors. And there is Oliver who is seven and on the autism spectrum. So, Sophia has three friends - Sophie her Friend of the Heart; Ralphie her same age friend; and Oliver.

Sophia loves check the Merck. Sophia needs the Merck because she has overheard a conversation about her best friend Sophie's health. Sophia is also a medical hypochondriac and her medical dilemmas are sure to make you laugh.

"There is something about a book; the feel of it, the weight of it in your hands, the way the pages turn (pages in the Merck are very thin and extremely serious-seeming, the cover is leather, and there are built-in index tabs."

Aaron, Sophie's son, is coming from Akron. Sophia's parents tell her Sophie will take a test to check her memory or we would say cognition. This gives Sophia  a brilliant idea. She can help Sophie pass this test - all it will take is some training. Sophia is sure Sophie has good eyesight and good hearing but sometimes she seems to miss smells and often Sophie finds very stinky things in her fridge. She also sometimes forgets to turn off her kettle. 

If you have an elderly parent or grandparent you might be familiar with the tests for dementia - one of the questions involves remembering three objects - hence the title of this book - the short-term memory test. Over several days, as Sophia asks the test questions, we gain an insight into Sophie and her life in Poland, her husband, and the holocaust. Sophia uses the three-word test as a way for Sophie to recall her childhood and Sophie tells three stories - the tree with the berries picked too soon by the children; the table at the baker shop that Sophie was not allowed to visit; and the book of fairy tales that her mother returned to the rich owner - the house where Sophie was hidden over the war years.

Lowry is famous for dealing with difficult subjects in her work, which has occasionally been banned, and as young Sophie encourages older Sophie to delve into her long-term memories, it becomes clear that this is also a novel about surviving the Holocaust. Three brilliantly told stories from Sophie’s Polish childhood form the climax of the novel, contrasting very effectively with young Sophie’s charming, insouciant 21st-century kid voice (captured to perfection by the 87-year-old Lowry). The Historical novel society

When the test prep unlocks memories of Sophie G.’s childhood in Poland during World War II, Lowry conveys with sensitivity and realism Sophie W.’s sorrow upon realizing that things she’s only learned about in school have had a painful, lifelong impact on her beloved friend. Book Page

Read more plot details here.

Readers aged 10+ who enjoy personal stories and stories about kindness are sure to enjoy Tree Table Book. Sophia has such a determined attitude and voice. You should also look for these in your local or school library:

Girl 38 Finding a Friend

I'll keep you close