Allie Strom and the Ring of Solomon by Justin M. Stone

Genre:  Middle Grade, Fantasy

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I was given this book to review a long time ago.  Unfortunately, it fell way down the stack of my pile of books.  I am sad I waited so long to read and review this book.  I live in a district where books have to be read and reviewed by a group of people to be considered for our classroom libraries. Unfortunately, this one has not had that privilege. I can recommend it to my students, which I will, but I can’t put it on my bookshelves.  Here is why I believe this should be allowed to be on my school shelves.

First, we have very relatable characters. Allie is just starting middle school.  Her mom is in the military and is missing. She stands up against bullies to defend Daniel, one of the nerds. Their friendship is necessary, as they have many battles ahead of them. When Allie's mom is deployed, she leaves the necklace she has always worn behind.  Allie wears it and, of course, we can expect things to happen. 

There are many lessons to learn through reading this book. One,  stand up for those who seem weaker than you. That’s what Allie does when she defends Daniel. Never give up no matter how impossible it may seem or no matter what obstacles stand in front of you. A great author like this one knows how to wrap lessons up in a story line that is so amazing that the reader doesn’t realize until afterwards all the lessons they have learned. If I asked my students what connections they had with this book after reading it, those lessons would be the things they connected with. I will definitely read more in this series. I will also recommend it to my students. After all, we still have public libraries and bookstores.