The Bundle at Blackthopre Heath by Mark Copeland - OPTIONAL

Copeland, Mark The Bundle at Blackthorpe Heath, 167 p. Houghton Mifflin

EL-OPTIONAL

Art is the grandson of the ringmaster in the insect circus. Spying (by accident) with his shiny new telescope, he sees the fly who acts as their advanced agent embroiled in nefarious activities. Art and his friends try their best to uncover the plot, but even a stick beetle and friendly woodlice can't help until it's almost too late. 

Kind of cute, though I wouldn't go so far as to call this book charming. Art and his friends really do nothing of importance to solve the mystery or stem the coming crisis, though they do have bug-related excitement and intrigue aplenty. My favorite part is actually the addendum which is a booklet from Art's grandfather, explaining the strengths and weaknesses of the various bugs in the circus. 

CINDY

The Winter Road by Terry Hokenson - ESSENTIAL

A new novel - the author's first - will have "Hatchet" fans running for the shelves!

The Winter Road by Hokenson, Terry, 175 p. 

EL, MS, HS - ESSENTIAL

The morning Uncle Jordy is supposed to fly Willa's mother onto the next remote settlement in the far northern reaches of the Hudson Bay area, Willa finds him sleeping off a drunk instead. So WIlla takes matters into her own hands and flies the plane herself - an unplanned first solo flight. A severe storm wrecks the plane and leaves Willa with a little food and a large store of homegrown survival knowledge. After she fails to grab the attention of the rescue planes overhead, she makes the life-changing decision to find her own way to safety. 

At first I was a little skeptical that this was just a blatant "Hatchet" ripoff. But the longer I read, the more I liked, and then fell in love with this excellent first effort. Descriptive, exciting writing, excellent survival skills (as if I would know! - city girl that I am!) and by the end I had tears in my eyes, because I couldn't stand the suspense any more!!! I can't wait for the author's next book. 

CINDY