Max Finder Mystery Collected

Stink's school is working to log one million reading hours the same week the new "Nightmare on Zombie Street" book is released. Stink and Webster try to raise money to buy the book while enjoying zombie-themed activities. Sibling rivalry, school antics, and friendship drive the story; accompanying black-and-white cartoons include wacky information such as how to "zombify yourself."

This fourth book in the series finds the letter-writing family facing the demise of their local post office due to the new "VEXT-mail" technology; meanwhile, Seymour is stuck in the hospital with the Phantom Flu. The Klises' intriguing narrative tactics continue as the story unfolds through letters, newspaper extracts, black-and-white illustrations, and instant message–like VEXT-mail conversations.

In this fifth outing, the young people stuck inside the dome think they have a routine (however flawed) set, until everything begins to go dark: fear becomes a new enemy to face. The characters are complex and the blistering pace works well in describing the spontaneity of youth running their own world; unfortunately, awkward exposition masking as dialogue interrupts the flow.

Jacqueline Davies handles kids’ emotions with respect and sensitivity, and she covers difficult issues realistically. Readers will empathize with the siblings’ different reactions to their grandmother’s sudden onset of dementia. Analytic Jessie becomes absorbed with finding her grandmother’s missing antique bell, a family heirloom, while Evan discovers a new sense of accomplishment by helping the carpenter repair Grandma’s house. Including both Jessie and Evan’s feelings adds depth and complexity to the story. When his grandmother fails to recognize him, Evan’s compassion is moving: “Evan didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to say. The truth made no sense as long as Grandma didn’t know who he was. He tried to think. He tried to imagine what it must feel like to be his grandmother right now.” Jessie and Evan’s grandma lives in a rural, mountainous area where the residents are tough and resourceful. Davies uses vivid language to describe the setting: “Afternoon shadows came early to Grandma’s woods because the sun set behind the mountain. Evan was surprised that the blue-gray light of late afternoon was already painting the snow.” Knowledge of the previous Lemonade War books is not necessary to enjoy this one.

With her recent discovery that her real mother is the famous Tiny Doom, whom everyone believes was killed by the detestable Birdies, Flora (Flora Segunda, rev. 5/07; Flora’s Dare, rev. 1/09) is forced to lie low. The Birdies would eat her heart, too, if they found out she was the last of the Haðraaða line. But Flora believes her mother lives and decides to undertake a magical working to discover her whereabouts. Her plan goes well until a wer-bear stumbles upon her ritual and, in man-form, walks off with the map showing the results. This third book in the series has everything that made the first two great -- Flora’s pursuit of the map (and of Sieur Wraathmyr, the wer-bear) takes her into a high-seas ambush, an enchanter’s snare, and many other colorful adventures. Her growing attraction to Sieur Wraathmyr complicates her long-standing love for her childhood companion Udo, setting up a delicious romantic triangle. In a setting so vivid as to be nearly garish, in a narrative peppered with archaic vocabulary (abacination, aiguillettes) and made-up imprecations (fiking hell!), Flora races to reach her mother before her Birdie stalker does, taking readers on another thrilling, bizarre ride. anita l. burkam