Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Scarlett just turned 15, and in her family, that means she's in charge of one of the rooms at the small hotel her family owns and runs. She's given the key to the Empire Suite, one of the best rooms, and the least likely to have a guest.


That's before Mrs. Amberson appears and wants the Empire Suite. Soon Scarlett is not only taking care of the Suite, she's become Mrs. Amberson's personal assistant. When her older brother's acting group is in trouble of shutting down their production, Mrs. Amberson steps in to save the show. But her assistance comes with a price, one that Scarlett may end up regretting. She puts everything on the line...Spencer's job and her family's livelihood. But the show must go on...and anything's possible in New York City.


I enjoyed the story, but the main star was New York City. It's described so well that most of the time, I felt I was running around with Scarlett. There are many dimensions to the story here, and I enjoyed sitting back and watching everything unfold. Dynamic.

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

Elizabeth doesn't have the best life--or the worst. Her dad remarried, her stepsisters aren't mean, but not nice either, and her stepmother can't stand her. Her close relationship with her dad is also a thing of the past.

Then she gets a job a the New York Circulating Material Repository to make some money and friends. The job is not what she expected. The Repository is a huge building filled with items from history that people can check out. Elizabeth is amazed.

She then learns of the Grimm Library--actual items from the Brothers Grimm's stories. These items all have a magical component--and they're being stolen. The staff are all on alert and Elizabeth is determined to find the culprit. Then one of her new friends disappears and she must decide what's more important.

There is a lot going on in this book. The concept is great but the story could have been polished a bit more. Plenty of action and characterization, it was just missing a little realism amongst all the fantasy.

Secret Saturdays by Torrey MalDonado

Justin and his best friend Sean are tight. Justin's sure they know everything about each other, so when he catches Sean lying about his weekends, Justin doesn't know what to do. Now Sean is skipping class, avoiding homework, and hanging with some of the older guys in the neighborhood.

Justin decides he has to figure out what's going on, so he, Kyle, and Vanessa work up a plan. Meanwhile, Sean, who's never had to use his fists to fight, gets suspended for fighting. Now it's more important than ever they figure out what's going on.

A great and simple story. Told from Justin's point of view, but the story really focuses on Sean and their friendship. It's rare to find a well-written book about friendship between two guys living in the projects in New York and surviving without gangs.

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

I really don't read a lot of non-fiction, but this book looked intriguing enough I decided to give it a try.

This book is more about the first medical examiner, Dr. Charles Norris, in New York City to actually hold a medical degree, and the first toxicologist, Alexander Gettler. Each chapter is about a different poison and how the two working together figured out what effects the poison had on the body and in what levels. Before their time, forensic science was not considered to be reliable or even usable in a court of law--Norris and Gettler changed all that.

This is a fascinating work about poisons, chemistry, science, and how it has changed and shaped our lives. I learned so much from this book about Prohibition and the people who died of wood alcohol, the women who died from radiation poisoning and taught us that radium was not beneficial. There is a lot of chemistry and science in the book, which is hard to get through, but the story woven through the pages makes it all worth it. I enjoyed each chapter focusing on a different poison and how Gettler and Norris worked to get forensic science into the 20th century.