The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya by Jane Kelley

Zeno can't understand why his professor is just laying on the floor.  Despite all the sounds he can make and asking for food, his professor won't get up.  When those on the outside rush in and gather the doctor up for transport, he escapes out of his room and out the door.  He's never been a free bird in his entire life, and he has a lot to learn.

MacMillan's Children Publishing Group and Net Galley allowed me to download a copy of this ebook for review (thank you).  It will be published in the middle of October, so make a note to grab it then.

Zeno expects everyone to think he's smart and beautiful.  He's expecting admiration.  What he finds is that even the other birds don't care about him; it rains at night; and nobody is feeding him.  He's not happy. There is a little girl in a hospital bed in her room.  She's not happy either.  She's developed cancer and they are treating her, but she can't do anything either.  She can't even walk anymore.

When Zeno tries to steal a banana nut muffin from her windowsill, Ayla thinks they might be friends.  Zeno gets carried away trying to find a safe place to live his bird life and they lose contact.

The bird and the girl get a little worse for wear before the word comes along the "bird" vine that Ayla needs Zeno.  No one has needed Zeno before; this makes him feel special.

There's excitement, almost tragedy, the potential loss of tail feathers and the death of a pigeon involved in this story.  It will keep a young reader reading and it's a good story.  Who doesn't like a happy ever after ending?

Happy reading.

The Girl Behind the Glass by Jane Kelley

Here's a good Halloween read; it's a story about a haunted house...

Random House Books for Kids sent me a copy of this book for review (thank you).  It has been published, so you can snag a copy to read this Halloween.  (Or you could give it as a treat!)

The twins had to move and they had no desire to do so.  They had their friends, their routines and their city life.  They had no desire to move to rural America.  Unfortunately, their parents did.  With a job change and a new house being built, change was coming.  But they had to move sooner than planned.  The new house wasn't done.  So they moved into a house that had stood vacant for a long, long time.  Rent was cheap, what could happen?  Quite a bit...

The twins grow apart, everybody in the family gets crabby, there's danger about, and there's a ghost not everyone can see.  The ghost wants revenge.  Hannah isn't sure if the ghost is actually there or she's losing her mind.

Ms. Kelley does a good job with her treatment of a traditional ghost story.  It's almost believable.  I've felt ghosts about before so I can accept this story line.  The solution to the ghost's need for revenge is unique and well thought out.  This story was a good read.

If you have a young one that likes reading about the supernatural, this book would be a good one for them.

Happy reading.