The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked & Found

by Martin W. Sandler

I'm sort of obsessed with Cape Cod. So when I saw the Dallas Museum of Art had a $5 lecture last month about the recovery of the Whydah off the coast of Provincetown, I had to go check it out. It was amazing. THE VERY NEXT DAY, someone turned in this book at our library, and it ended up in my hands. (I guess I forgot about buying it!) Of course, I had to read it! The guy who did the talk at the DMA, Chris Macort, is even in some of the pictures!

I can't wait to share this with you guys next year when
you come to check out nonfiction. The Whydah (pronounced wid-dah), originally a slave ship, had already dropped off its human cargo and traded it for jewelry, gold, and more, before Black Sam Bellamy captured it. Then he proceeded to load it up with all sorts of goodies from other vessels. Then he stupidly trusted a guy that he had recently captured to lead them to safety in a storm, and ended up at the bottom of the ocean. Sandler gives us lots of info on pirate culture and breaks up some common myths. The last third of the book is about the recovery and conservation efforts, which are fascinating. (JFK Jr. was on the first dive team in the 80's!)

Informational, interesting, and a great length for middle school history buffs.

Aru Shah and the End of Time

by Roshani Chokshi

Aru Shah is a little sassy. When her mother tells her never to light the lamp in the Hall of Ancient Indian Art and Culture where they both work, Aru, of course, doesn't listen. She's determined to impress some jerks from her middle school, but accidentally awakens the Sleeper, which could be the end of the world as we know it. Oops! Apparently she is the reincarnation of one of the legendary Pandava brothers, and it's up to her and her (previously unbeknownst to her) sister Mini to, well, save the world. Chokshi has taken Hindu mythology and added her own brand of humor and charm to create this winning middle grade mystery.

Dreaming Dangerous

by Lauren DeStefano

Every night, Plum dreams with her three best friends. They live at Brassmere Academy, which is basically an orphanage for children with extra special abilities. As their dreams begin to get weird, and Artem, one of Plum's friends and dream partners, disappears, she begins to realize that Brassmere Academy, and the people who run it, may not be what they seem.

This is a short little book. You could easily read it cover to cover in an  hour or two. The writing is lovely, but the story is just okay.

Darkdeep

by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs

I was able to get an advanced copy of this book--it doesn't even have a real cover yet! Early buzz is calling this Goonies meets Stranger Things, and that's a pretty good description, as those shows are clearly part of the story's inspiration. However, Darkdeep is original enough to nod to those children of the 80's and still maintain its own original storyline. A la Goonies, there's a bully who kicks off the chain of events. Mean dude Logan intentionally crashes Nico's drone off the edge of a cliff into Still Cove, a notoriously spooky place. When Nico goes after it, he stumbles upon a weird abandoned houseboat, with a swirling, dark pool of water below deck. The kids soon realize that the pool has secret--one that could destroy their entire town if they can't figure out how to stop it.

You guys will LOVE the nonstop action. The cliffhanger ending will absolutely drive readers crazy as they wait for the next installment.