Quiet Keystrokes and Midnight Ramblings

  My kiddo and I read the second book in the Tally series, and enjoyed revisiting some old characters, and watching them fight to save some new ones! When Ebby is kidnapped, she finds out there's more to the story of her life than she could have ever imagined. The new human Epic, her captors are interested in helping her discover her powers. She must choose to accept their help, or find a way to escape... which will she choose? Check it out for yourself here on Amazon . As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This doesn't cost you anything extra, but does help to fund Chai lattes and book purchases.

  Remember my post a few days ago when I celebrated that Skulduggery Pleasant got my kid into mysteries ? Well, Halie Fewkes has bridged the gap between his like of "realistic future stuff" and fantasy. Secrets of the Tally is the start of an upper Middle Grade / Young Adult series that follows a teenage girl through the harrows of discovering her magic talent, avoiding dark and mysterious foes, and surviving adventures that kept even my little skeptic turning pages. I am lucky to have met this author at several events, and not only is she a great writer, but she's a wonderful woman, too. This makes me so happy, because when my son met her to get his copy of Secrets of the Tally signed, she gave him a great experience that I hope he remembers forever. This series is immensely popular and Halie is known for her pre-covid book signings that were standing room only (the last one I attended had a line out the door... even in winter weather). If you have a younger reader who...

  I have been trying to convince my grade schooler that mystery books are awesome. He's been suspicious, leery, and generally unconvinced that anything without Captain Underpants or DogMan could possibly be interesting. Luckily, school has required reading and one of the books this year was Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. It's funny. It's magical. And the mystery is involved and surprising. My kid was surprised at how much he liked this mysterious urban fantasy, and he was even happier to find that it's the first book in a series . If you're looking for a clean, not-too-scary but totally engrossing mystery to start your young sleuth on, I highly recommend Skulduggery Pleasant. Please note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This doesn't cost you anything extra, but it does support the purchase of more books for my budding voracious reader. And maybe cookies.

  (Paid Link) This fall, my kid has fallen in love with M.K. Radican's Zombie Reconstruction Squad . From my son: "It's ridiculous when they say, 'I'll get my dogs back if it's the last thing I doooooo!' It's funny because I like all the jokes. M.K. Radican is as funny as Dav Pilkey!" I have to add to his assessment of these books. They had my son parked on the couch, reading for hours, cackling like a madman at the jokes. There was one point where he was trying to tell me about one of the funny parts in the books and he was laughing so hard I had no idea WHAT he was saying. But it must have been good, because he kept reading. If you have a kid who likes Minecraft, monsters, farts and boogers, absolutely get them started on Zombie Reconstruction Squad . My kid says they're great. You can find M.K. Radican's books on Amazon here . Speaking of Amazon, they've asked me to remind you that as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purch...