Usually I avoid books with pink covers, especially if it also has a peppy-looking, tiara-wearing cheerleader on it. However, as a fan of Betty G. Birney, I decided to look past the cover and give The Princess and the Peabodys a chance. I am so glad I did. This was a very entertaining book that had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. Casey Peabody and her grandmother regularly go to garage and estate sales looking for treasure. They got more than they bargained for one Saturday morning when they bought an old rusted-shut box. The box was much heavier than it appeared and their dog Duke was frightened of it. When Casey's father finally managed to open it, out stepped Princess Eglantine, soon to be known as Egg. She has spent over 700 years trapped in the box thanks to her bungling court wizard, Alaric. Now she has to adapt to life in the 21st century while Alaric, who has traveled through time, tries to find the correct spell to send her home. Obviously Casey is not thrilled to have a new "cousin" sharing her room, her friends and her family. This book has lots of magic, a little romance and even some cheerleading. There is also a very important message about being true to yourself no matter what other people say.
Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...
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