Andreo’s Race

by: Pam Withers

AR Level: none currently

Miss Library Lady Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

 

How would you feel if you knew you were adopted, but knew nothing about your biological family?

What if you found out you may have been adopted illegally?

Sixteen year old Andreo and his best friend Raul were both adopted from families in Bolivia, but that’s all they know.  They hear on the news that hundreds of babies were adopted illegally through a baby trafficking ring and begin to think they may have been also.

Andreo’s adopted family enter an international adventure race to be held in none other than Bolivia!  The families must have 5 members, so Raul gets to be an honorary member of “Team Family Dynamics.”  This is the opportunity of a lifetime for Andreo and Raul; they could find out the truth about their adoptions as well as their biological families.

As if mountain biking, canoeing, hiking and caving weren’t enough of an adventure, throw in getting tangled up with a baby trafficking ring and you’ve got one heck of a book you won’t be able (or want to) put down!

Will Andreo and Raul find out the truth?  Will they like what they find out?  Or will they find out all they needed was what they’ve had all along?

Mosquitoland

Author: David Arnold

AR Level: 5.2

Miss Library Lady Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

**NOTE: Mosquitoland will NOT be available at Yolo’s library due to mature content**

 

Mim Malone is NOT okay!

After her parents divorce, all thanks to Denny’s waitress Kathy, Mim is sent to live with her father and NEW step-mother in Mississppi (aka Mosquitoland).  Mim sets out on a journey back to Cleveland when she overhears her school principal and father talking about her mom being sick.

Enter a bunch of new people into Mim’s life once stepping foot onto a Greyhound bus: Crazy Carl (the bus driver), Arlene (the passenger who smells like fresh baked cookies with cinnamon), Poncho Guy (serious creeper).  After a few stops along the way she spies a new person on the bus …. Hot Guy in 17C!!

Mim ditches the Greyhound about half way through her trip due to an unfortunate encounter at Ed’s Place: Chicken-n-Gas.  How will she get to Cleveland now?

One word, Walt!  Walt is by far the greatest characters Mim meets along her journey.  Walt is a nomad who also, it not okay.  In the process of helping and protecting Walt from shadow boy Caleb, Mim runs into none other than ….  (suspenseful pause) Hot Guy from 17C!!!

So, Walt, Mim, and Beck (HG17C) get a truck and continue on Mim’s journey to Cleveland together encountering more ups and downs than most people do in a lifetime.  They, especially Mim and Beck, find out so much about themselves helping each other throughout this journey.

But, will they every be okay?  Is anyone ever really 100% okay?