Clete Barrett Smith

Oh man, the middle-school kids are going to love this one! Magical Halloween costumes that really turn you into bears or ghosts or robots or gorillas? What kid wouldn't want to try them out? But Nick and Burger bite off a bit more than they can handle when they "borrow" some of these intriguing costumes.

I really enjoyed Magic Delivery; it's a fast-paced adventure that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Nick's a kid you can root for, a kid who's making the wrong choices for the right reasons. And his friend Burger is the fun-loving, goofball of a sidekick every serious kid needs.

Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.… (meer)

Pretty cute. Easy to read out loud to the boys. They liked it and laughed out loud in places. The main character, Scrub, is a 12 year old boy staying at his grandmother's bed and breakfast for the summer. He finds out that her guests are all aliens. He learns to work at the inn while at the same time making friends with a local girl. The aliens are wonderfully wacky and Mr. Harnox who is stuck on earth is more human and caring than most of the real humans.

Scrub learns lessons in tolerance and responsibility. He learns to stand up for himself and he learns to use his ingenuity and how to become more self reliant and how to trust himself.

This is a nice book for the 9 to 12 year old set. It is funny and has some positive messages without preaching or talking down to the reader. My boys didn't even mind that there was a bit of kissing in it, even though my 11 year old did have to hide his head to listen to that bit.… (meer)