The Boy Who Knew Everything by Victoria Forester, 2015

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Here is the long-awaited companion to The Girl Who Could Fly.
There is a prophecy.
It speaks of a girl who can fly and a boy who knows everything. The prophecy says that they have the power to bring about great change...
The boy is Conrad Harrington III. The girl is Piper McCloud. They need their talents now, more than ever, if they are to save the world—and themselves.
(416 pages)

I really, really, really loved The Boy Who Knew Everything's prequel, The Girl Who Could Fly (my review here). I spent years desperately waiting for a sequel, and when I discovered a few months ago that it was finally happening, I literally started jumping around squealing. I was so excited.

Coming out of The Boy Who Knew Everything, I'm a lot less elated.

I mean, what I loved so much about The Girl Who Could Fly was that it had so many amazing messages mixed in with the really cool sci-fi scenario and the touching inter-personal interactions. It was a story about friendship and bravery and loyalty and staying true to yourself, and it was amazing. The Boy Who Knew Everything, on the other hand, is trying so hard to be some sort of breathtaking, mind-bending story that it forgets its own roots. Its sci-fi storylines stray almost into fantasy, and there's this weird prophecy thing that really doesn't mesh well with the tone of the first book. And then there's the whole plot with Conrad's father, which some will probably like but which I thought was a) weird and b) a dreadful reopening of a wound that I thought beautifully closed at the end of the first book. Piper also didn't seem to have as much spirit in her as she did in the first book. I mean, there was definitely a semblance of trying to represent her as having that spirit, sure, but she just felt pretty forced. And I'm forced to admit that The Girl Who Could Fly should probably have remained a standalone forever, despite how desperate I was all those years for it to have a sequel.

Actually, I think The Boy Who Knew Everything would have done better as a standalone almost as much as its prequel would. Placed next to The Girl Who Could Fly, it simply has lost too much for me to consider it any good; all of my favorite storylines seem to have been polluted and twisted, and new ones introduced that throw off the entire balance of the stories. I can't say that I know for sure that I would adore The Boy Who Knew Everything if it were a standalone - I'm too prejudiced by its prequel to be able to judge - but I do know that a lot of the things I hated about it (the storyline with Conrad's father, for example) I would have actually enjoyed in other circumstances, with different characters. It's just when they are changing the tone and ending of one of my all-time favorite books that I get mad.

Let's be honest, I'm pretty much going to pretend that The Boy Who Knew Everything didn't happen. I mean, I might think of it from time to time as a book completely on its own, but when I think about The Girl Who Could Fly I will not draw any connection between the two books. My Piper and Conrad and Violet and Kimberly and Jasper and all the rest did not travel down the path laid out in The Boy Who Knew Everything; they are still safely where my nine-year-old self left them, their futures completely disconnected to anything that happened to the kids in Forester's second book.

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The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage, 2014

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
When Miss Lana makes an Accidental Bid at the Tupelo auction and winds up the mortified owner of an old inn, she doesn't realize there's a ghost in the fine print. Naturally, Desperado Detective Agency (aka Mo and Dale) opens a paranormal division to solve the mystery of the ghost's identity. They've got to figure out who the ghost is so they can interview it for their history assignment (extra credit). But Mo and Dale start to realize that the Inn isn't the only haunted place in Tupelo Landing. People can also be haunted by their own past. As Mo and Dale handily track down the truth about the ghost (with some help from the new kid in town), they discover the truth about a great many other people, too.
(368 pages)


Two years ago, I was six feet away from meeting Ms. Turnage. She was on an author panel along with some other authors, but I had never heard of her. I did not buy her book or get in line to meet her, but I did go home and request her then-new book, Three Times Lucky. Three chapters in, I was already regretting not buying a copy at the event and getting it autographed. That book was gold. It was hilarious, and fun, and quirky, and I absolutely loved it. Now, I just discovered that there is a sequel. As soon as I saw Becky's review of Ghosts, I knew I had to get my hands on it.

I loved this book just as much as its prequel. It was hilarious, quirky, fun, and strangely touching at the same time - just like the first book. Most of this is because of the characters. Not just the main characters (although their characterization is amazing), but also the minor characters. There's the girl who will do any service for you online for the cost of a quarter. There's the boy who is an expert on all things weather. There's the school teacher who you can tell thinks Mo is cute, but keeps up a firm persona.

Speaking of Mo, she is such a hoot! The thing I love about these books is that Mo (short for Moses, because they found her as a baby floating down the stream) can get away with anything. She says the most outrageous things at the most outrageous times, and it's not awkward or stilted. Everyone knows her, so no one is offended. She has decided she is going to marry the nineteen-year-old brother of her best friend Dale, and so she is constantly making semi-rude remarks about his dates and openly telling Lavender (Dale's brother) that he should ask her to the dance. Lavender always laughs and turns her down, but not in a "wow you're weird" way. More of a "that's Mo for you" kind of way.

Mo is outrageous. She cooks up crazy plots, tells people things straight to their faces, but always seems to end up on top. For example, Dale's father is in jail for the millionth time. Dale's mother, Rose, is divorcing him. Several times in the book, Mo straight-out tells Rose that she is better off without her loser of a husband. In any other book, that would be so awkward and forward it would be horrible. In this one, Rose just kind of changes the subject and the story moves on. No one gets offended, no one calls Mo out. Mo's hilarious.

As for her best friend Dale, he's so funny! He has a hard time with rhetorical questions and Mo clarifies for him: "that one was rhetorical," "not rhetorical," etc, throughout the whole book - so cute! There's been a thread through both books showing his struggle with his father's criminal lifestyle. At the end of the first book Dale's mom Rose decides to divorce Dale's dad, and you see some of the emotions Dale and his family are going through but things still stay light. This book never once gets slow or depressing: it's always zany and fun. But at the same time, Turnage manages to bring across some pretty powerful emotions. I have no idea how she does it, but I absolutely love it.

I could go on about every one of the many characters in the book, but I'm sure you don't want to read about that. All I can say is, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone and everyone. And I'll leave it at that, because I'm really not doing this book justice.

The Gollywhopper Games: The New Champion by Jody Feldman, 2014

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
The Golly Toy and Game Company is hosting the regional rounds for the next Gollywhopper Games, and this time it's brother against brother in the physical challenges and mental puzzles. The companion to the popular The Gollywhopper Games will appeal to fans of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Chasing Vermeer.
Chock-full of puzzles, riddles, and challenges for the reader to solve along with the main characters, this fast-paced companion to The Gollywhopper Games is bigger, bolder, and braver! The Golly Toy and Game Company's Gollywhopper Games was such a big success the last time, the company's executives have decided to host the competition again. Cameron and Spencer Schein have scored two highly sought-after slots in the regional round—will one of the Schein brothers make it all the way to the finals? Favorite characters from the first book make guest appearances, and a new cast of competitors, both boys and girls, get set to compete against (and with) Cameron and Spencer. There are twists and turns and complications—as well as lots of great things to eat—in this page-turner of a race to the finish line!
(400 pages)

First, I absolutely loved the first book in this series (it's a series! I only discovered there was a sequel a week ago, and I can't wait for the third one!). Click here to check the first book out on Goodreads - I'm requesting it from the library and plan to review it soon, but I wanted to get this review off my chest first.

Okay, so as you may have already figured out, I loved the original. Sure it wasn't too deep and philosophical, and maybe it was pretty obvious how things would turn out. But you know what? Everyone needs a book like that once in a while. Coming off of reading The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion and the Fall of Imperial Russia (Click here to read my review!), I was ready for just the kind of light, fun book The Gollywhopper Games has to offer. So when I was browsing the library and I saw this book, I grabbed it, shoved it in my bag, and started reading it the minute I got in the car. The fun thing about these books is that they're chock full of puzzles that are instrumental to the plot (think Hunger Games or Survivor, but you're beating everybody else at puzzling instead of, you know, scary things. And the prize for winning is a million dollars).

Did I like this book as much as the last one? I'm not sure. I think there's a novelty to the first book that can't be replicated with this one, but The New Champion did as well as it possible could in the follow-up department. Feldman clearly knew that she was writing a book purely because people wanted more of the first one: she even puts that in there, showing the Gollywhopper heads deciding to do another Games because everyone was so obsessed with the first ones. She walks a fine line between drawing fans of the first book, and coming across as totally just ripping off of it. I'd say she succeeded pretty well. There were a few points where I was like "wow, this is like a recast of the first book!" But then it would turn out to be different in some way. It was full of nods to the first book, but still succeeded in being its own original story. Kind of like Mockingjay from the Hunger Games series, I guess. Except this book is for kids.

Well, technically it's for kids. There's nothing inappropriate in it (unless you count one character wearing a tank top for, like, a minute in the first book), so anyone who can understand it can read it. But it's not just a kiddy book, or a spoof of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (though it's that too, and I for one like these books better than the Roald Dahl ones): it's a book for people of all ages. When I finished The New Champion, I handed it off to my mom. When she's done with it, it will go to my middle school-aged brother. Both my brother and my mom loved the first one. My youngest brother (in elementary school) got interested in the books so I requested the first one from the library for him and, let's be honest, myself as well. People of all ages can read and enjoy this book. So please, by all means, read it! Just start with the first one. I promise you won't be disappointed.