Hero
by Mike Lupica

Mike Lupica is known for his outstanding sports novels for young adults.  With Hero he takes on a whole new genre--superheroes.  Zach Harriman and his parents live in an amazing apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York City.  Zach can look across the street to Central Park, a place he loves better than any other.  Zach's dad is some sort of top secret trouble-shooter for the U.S. government, and answers to the President.  Very cool, except he's always gone, and Zach can't help being resentful.  Then, one day Zach just knows that his dad is dead, and he runs all the way home from school to learn that his father has died in a plane crash.  Zach knows something isn't right, because his dad was the best pilot on the planet.  Something is definitely suspicious.  
      Zach knows he won't be able to move on until he visits the site of his father's plane crash.  With the help of his best friend, Kate, he makes plans to take a bus out to the crash site.  Once there, strange things begin happening, including the appearance of an old man named Mr. Herbert, who seems to know all about Zach and his dad.  And he tells Zach that he has the magic, just like his father did.   At that moment, Mr. Herbert walks away fast, with Zach following.  And then, all of sudden, Zach finds himself back in New York City, though seconds before he had been three hours away.  So begins Zach's discovery of the magic within him.  He begins to exhibit more and more powers, and he just knows when he needs to leave the apartment for an encounter with the "bads."  He learns that he can trust very few people, even the ones he thought he knew the best.  Hero is a classic tale of good against evil, which just cries out for a sequel as Zach becomes more and more confident in his super abilities. 
Recommended.    ~Reviewed by Mrs. Sams
     


    

THEODORE
              kid lawyer
BOONE
By John Grisham

Theo Boone, 13, already thinks of himself as a lawyer.  He is the only child of two good lawyers in town, he knows most of the other lawyers, judges, clerks, and bailiffs in town and at the courthouse, and he has picked up a lot of knowledge about the law by hanging around and listening.  It is no wonder that all his classmates at school come to him when they have problems connected with the law--everything from a dog in the pound to an older brother in jail on drug charges. 

The biggest murder trial this town has ever had is going on at the courthouse right now, Judge Henry Gantry presiding, and Theo has a burning desire to be present for every bit of it.  The only problem is that he can't skip school.  Fortunately, he and Judge Gantry are tight, and he gets permission for his government class to be present in the courtroom on the first day of the trial.  After that, he has to rush over after school to watch, and then fill in the gaps by hacking into the court reporters' secure system.  Since there is no hard evidence, it looks like the defendent is going to get off scot free, even though Theo is convinced he really murdered his wife.

For Theo, the murder trial becomes personal when a friend of his tells him he might know something about the murder, and introduces him to an eye witness to the crime.  The only problem is that the witness is terrified of the police and doesn't want to testify because he is an illegal immigrant.  He can't afford to be jailed or sent out of the country.  Theo spends several sleepless nights trying to figure out how to handle this situation before he finally trusts the adults in his life.

This is John Grisham's first novel for kids.  While Theodore Boone is a likable character, the plot is a little slow.  Grisham spends a lot of time setting up the storyline, and then there are few surprises.  Still, it is an enjoyable read and would appeal to some kids who are interested in the law, or who don't need tons of action to enjoy a book.  I'd expect a second Theo Boone offering to be much better.        ~reviewed by Mrs. Sams

little princes

One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal

by CONOR GRENNAN

Stories like Little Princes, which I couldn't help but compare to Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea, convince me that even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, there is some good in human beings, that people do have the ability to change for the better, and that one man can make a difference.  That evidence, and the enthralling tale of rescuing abandoned and abused children in the middle of a remote and civil war-torn country like Nepal, made this book one that I couldn't put down.  Conor Grennan, a well-educated, international public affairs think-tank consultant, needed a break from his job, and as a single guy with a little savings, he had the resources to take a year off to travel around the world.  He decided to spend the first couple of months volunteering in a Nepalese orphanage, mostly because it sounded dangerous and would impress women in bars.  However, he had only been at Little Princes, an orphanage outside Kathmandu started by a French woman, for a few weeks when these children had completely won his heart.

The more he learned about the background of these children the more he wanted to help them, and when he discovered that most of them were not orphans at all, but trafficked children, essentially stolen from their parents in Humla, a dangerous and distant part of Nepal, he realized he intended to come back and try to reconnect them with their parents.  Back in the United States, Conor raises funds, and makes plans to return to Little Princes.  While in the States, he learns that seven children he expected to be moved to a safe house, had disappeared.  He blamed himself, and his resolve to return, find those seven, and establish his own safe house became his passion. 

The narrative of Conor's return, working with a government official to find his seven children, establishing his own home for children with the help of Farid, a dedicated Frenchman who loved the children as much as Conor did, and trekking into Humla to find the parents of the children at Little Princes, is a fascinating and engrossing story.  Conor Grennan writes with intensity and humor, making Little Princes an inspiring and entertaining read.  Well worth the time!!        Reviewed by Dail Sams