Facing the Beast Within: The Anxiety of Cameron Poole by Mark Cheverton

 

Genre: Children, Middle Grade, Fantasy
Source: I own a copy.

Mark Cheverton has written a book that children today will be able to connect.  He has taken his main character Cameron, who suffers from anxiety, and placed him in a summer camp. This isn’t any ordinary summer camp. That would make anyone anxious. This camp has monsters and it is up to Cameron and his friends to try to stop them from entering their world.

The world building is well done. Any kid who has gone to any type of summer camp or watched movies with summer camp will understand that for an outdoorsy person this is the best place to be. For a kid who suffers with anxiety, maybe not so much.  They will be able to identify with kids, especially Cameron, being bullied. After all, they deal with or see things like this all the time.  What this book does is shows what happens when someone steps up and faces their monsters. It shows how strong they can be, especially with the help of some friends. It shows that they don’t have to do things alone. What better lesson can one learn and in such a charming, and fantastical way.  Well done. I look forward to reading the second book in this series.

Student Saturday: Guts by Raina Telgemeier

Genre: Middle Grade, Biography, Graphic Novel
Student Reviewer: Zoey L.

The book I read this month was called Guts. This book is about a young girl named Raina. She always did great in school and never had a problem with anything. Until, one night she wakes up with a terrible stomachache. Later, she returns to school with normal school days, drama, and bullying with the other stuff too. Although everything is back to normal, Raina is not. She can't take her mind off her stomach bug. She just keeps thinking about it. Now it is starting to get into the way of everything. Will Raina be able to fix this problem? Overall, I like this book. I have read similar books by this author. They are always fun to read. I relate to this book because I get stomach aches too. I would recommend this book to my little brother because he likes comics. I give this book a 10/10 and I would definitely read it again. 

They Came From the Shadows by Christopher Francis

 

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is book four in the series. Unlike a lot of prequels, this one serves two purposes. For those who have read the first book in the series, you will understand the characters better.  We open once again with the alien's first visit.  We are shown a glimpse of what happened before the second wave came.  We still see the same bubbly, smart, and talkative Margaret, her best friend Bailey and Sheldon who has always been their protector.  This book not only tells us what happened with the first wave of aliens, but what happened after. We learn about area thirty-two and how those who were infected are now surviving and where they are today.  We learn so much, yet at the same time this book is written in a manner that the author could continue the story. Consider it a flashback in time with benefits. The benefits of learning something we didn't in the first book. Like all of this author's other books, it draws you in and holds you, forcing you to continue reading until the last page. But that isn't all it does. It leaves you craving more.  So I say, we all beg the author to add more to this story.  I would love to see this series made into a movie.  I believe it would be a blockbuster.  Well done Christopher Francis.