Nevermoor - The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Morrigan Crow was born on the eve of eventide which is something like the turn of a new decade. If you are born on eventide you are doomed to die on your 11th birthday. You are also an unlucky child and are responsible for all of the poor luck and misery that surrounds you because you are the ultimate scapegoat. Morrigan is marked for sadness and her family, for the most part, ignores her. 

Morrigan's family solemnly prepares for her death on the eve of her birthday, but she is ultimately rescued from the Hunters of Death by a mysterious man named Jupiter North. He whisks her to the magical land of Nevermoor where he introduces her to a whole new world. She discovers friendships, family, freedom and acceptance. She is also enrolled in a series of tests for the Wundrous Society. She has to prove her talents and abilities to the society but she has no idea what they are. Her mentor, Jupiter, assures her that she has nothing to worry about. However, the trials she has to face leaves her in much doubt. Some sinister characters are sabotaging her efforts along the way. She has also been warned that she doesn't belong and will be sent back home if she can't prove herself. 

The world Morrigan lives in is fantastical but you will recognize many elements of her life which parallel a realistic world. There are lots of delightful customs and details that are fun to learn about in the Nevermoor society. From dragon flying to ever changing decor to match your mood, there are many whimsical descriptions of Nevermoor life. 

The author plans on writing 7 books in this series and I found that it is the closest to being Harry Potter like without exactly mirroring that series. Movie rights have already been purchased and publishers are talking about this book being the next popular series.  As I read this book, I also thought it was perfect for Harry Potter fans.  I look forward to seeing if this title becomes popular. I know I will be promoting this series. 

The author is from Australia and now lives in London. This title won't be eligible for a Maud Hart Lovelace nominee since the author is outside the United States. But I still highly recommend this book. The reading level is 5.6 and has 481 pages. Both boys and girls will like this book. I give it a 4 out of 4. 

• Print Length: 481 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (October 31, 2017)

Watch the following video where the author reads from her book!

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The Perfect Score by Rob Buyea

The kids in a 6th grade class get a teacher who was asked to come out of retirement for the year. Mrs. Wood is a great teacher and has a no nonsense approach and knows how to manage a classroom. She also excels at the daily read aloud time and it becomes the highlight of the day for some of the students.  Meanwhile the statewide testing focus causes her administration to ask her to start practice test sessions early in the school year and require cutting out non essentials such as birthday parties, read alouds, and even some recess time. The students feel the pressure from their own lives and school and when the time comes to take the test, team up and devise a plan to cheat in order to all get perfect scores.  This results in some consequences they hadn't planned on. 

The author, Rob Buyea, used to teach fourth grade and so I expect that his realistic stories about school will be described correctly.  His experience with testing is not like my school.  All our tests are done on the computer and not paper and pencil.  And even when it was with paper and pencil, none of the tests were exactly in the same order. It would have been impossible to cheat the way the ids in this story do. Our students don't receive results of their tests until way into  the summer. The results don't have as much impact on them. It does however impact the teacher, and the report card of the school. 

Buyea uses the multiple points of view in his previous books and does the same in this book as well. Each student has some issue in their own life which shades how well they are doing in school. From no time to study because of sports, bullying, dyslexia, to always wanting to perform perfectly.  The consequences for each student helps family and school understand more about the difficulties the students are dealing with at school and home. 

This is a fun and fast read. You have to keep the characters straight but it is pretty easy if you remember to read the chapter headings. I give this book a 3 out of 4 rating. It is a 4.7 reading level.

• Print Length: 351 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (October 3, 2017)