September Girls Read and Guys Read

Every month we have two book clubs for kids here at the Provo City Library! These book clubs are just for kids ages 9-12 and a caregiver. This month, our Girls Read book club will meet September 24 and our Guys Read book club will meet September 26. You can register now, using the library's online calendar.

Girls Read is reading

Fish in a Tree

By Lynda Mullaly Hunt

New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2015. 276 pages.

Ally has a secret. Though she is a talented artist and math whiz, she cannot read. Now, in her seventh school in seven years, she plans to follow her normal pattern -- acting out in class to distract her teachers from the truth. It's just, whenever Ally tries to read, the words on the page move around and transform. When she tries to read, she gets headaches from trying to concentrate so hard. And, what's worse, Ally's never had a teacher who believed in her before. Now, she has a new long term substitute teacher named Mr. Daniels, who has a new way of teaching and insists that Ally is smart. This realistic fiction novel is a great back to school story with a protagonist that readers will want to cheer for.

Guys Read is reading

Mark of the Thief

By Jennifer A. Nielsen

New York: Scholastic Press, 2015. 339 pages.

Nic is a slave working in the mines of Ancient Rome, when he is sent into a sealed cavern to search for the treasure of Julius Caesar. What he finds is Caesar's bulla - a magical amulet thought to have given the emperor his great power -- and now that power belongs to Nic. Suddenly, Nic is on the run from powerful men in Rome who will kill Nic to get the bulla. With his sister still enslaved, Nic has to figure out how to get her out and escape with his life. This high-adventure, historical fantasy novel is great for readers who like stories with lots of action. Written by Jennifer A. Nielsen, a Utah-based author, this popular series is an exciting way to start the year in Guys Read!

Comments

Stand Tall by Joan Bauer

Stand Tall By Siena Siegel by Joan Bauer Putnam, 2002, 182 pgs Realistic Fiction Tree is 12 years old and over 6 feet tall. That would be great if he were a basketball player, but he is not. Dealing with his unusual size is not Tree's only challenge. Tree's parents have recently gone through a divorce, and his grandfather has had his leg amputated as the result of an old Vietnam War injury. The strength of this book is the characterizations. All of the main characters are dimensional and sympathetic. Bauer sets the characters in real and often funny family situations. Best of all is the character of Tree. He is boy with a heart to match his stature. This is a great book for boys or girls ages 9-12, as a read aloud or for individual reading. This book could also be a good Rx book for children whose families are going through divorce, or for anyone who feels like they don't fit in.

Review: The New Girl

The New Girl By Cassandra Calin New York: Graphix, 2024. Comic. 261 pages. 12-year-old Lia and her family have just moved from Romania to Montreal, and she's doing her best to keep up with the changes. But, she's homesick. She misses the rest of her family, her friends, and her favorite Romanian treats. She doesn't speak French and her English is shaky, which makes it hard to make friends, even in her international immersion class. And she's dealing with super painful menstrual cramps every month. But before long, Lia starts to hit her stride. She befriends the other bilingual girls in her class, she gets a spot as the artist for her school's magazine, and even has a new crush -- Julien. Though she may be the new girl, Lia is starting to fit in. This slice of life graphic novel is an adorable choice for middle grade readers and young teens. Lia is a likable protagonist and readers will have little difficulty relating to her adjustment to school. The text speaks to a...

Review: Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker

Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker By Heidi Heilig New York: Greenwillow Books, 2025. Fiction. 291 pages. Thanks to Cincinnati Lee's no good, dirty rotten, artifact stealing great great great grandfather, Cincinnati's family is now cursed and Cincinnati feels like it's up to her to break the curse. Which involves trying to steal the artifacts back from museums that her grandfather robbed from graves and archeological sites around the world and return them to their countries of origin. But when Cincinnati's first artifact stealing mission goes awry, she decides it might be more effective to steal an all-powerful artifact herself that she can use to break the curse - The Spear of Destiny. Unfortunately her race for the spear will pit her against art smugglers and thieves intent on finding the ancient artifact themselves. If you are looking for an Indiana Jones read-alike, this is the perfect for you! Heavy on the adventure with similar levels of mysticism to those seen in th...

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