Bibliomania

Serenity, New Mexico is the most Utopian community in the world. Or at least, that's what all the kids' parents keep telling them.

But trouble starts when Eli starts biking out of town with his friend Randy, to see a barn with an abandoned fancy car. As soon as he gets to the town limits, Eli gets very sick. Then a helicopter arrives and takes them away.

Suddenly, Randy is leaving town.

This was a very readable story. I really cared what happened next. However, when you find out the secret, it's pretty ridiculous. I'll probably read the next one.

Jacques Papier is sure he would have a complex if it weren't for his sister, Fleur. Nobody ever seems to notice him. He isn't picked for games or called on by teachers, and Fleur has to speak for him at home.

When Jacques finds out, quite by accident that he is not Fleur's brother, but her imaginary friend, he is devastated. He convinces Fleur to let him go, and then the disturbing part starts.

This is a pretty good book, but I'm not sure who it's aimed at. My personal imaginary friend was gone before I hit kindergarten. How many kids will identify? Plus, the imagery of what happens to Jacques when he's cut off from the world is, frankly, terrifying.

It's a strange book, is what I'm saying.

Some kids find the secret parent's handbook and discover why their parents always say the same things, over and over. Also there are spies and counter-spies.

I don't know, this read like it was written for adults, not children. It seems preachy and too heavy on the message that parents are unreasonable because they love you.

Kids should know this isn't always true.