McKinley's: Spindle's End

This nap inducing retelling of the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty takes us through 21 long years of the well-known cursed princess' life. The original, very simple, tale is drawn out here with long explanations of repeated foreshadowings and roundabout recollections in very long convoluted paragraphs filled with never-ending sentences. Lengthy chapters sprinkled with uncommon words seem to end randomly at times. Characters are often plagued by foggy memories and extended dreamlike experiences sometimes clouding what little action there is. For those who like magic, McKinley's Spindle's End certainly is crammed with it, but "magic can't do everything." It did however help McKinley give us an uncommon but expected ending to the classic tale.

Joe Craig's: Jimmy Coates: Target

A few weak plot points and references to the first volume won't keep young teen readers new to this series from enjoying Joe Craig's Jimmy Coates: Target. The young adult title keeps up the action from chapter to chapter as a part human teen part robot assassin tries to evade his own government agents from killing him while trying to save his family and friends at the same time. The multi-talented, multi-lingual, super strong, super fast, computer cross-breed races across two countries in a not too distant future while struggling with his identity and secrets from his past. Craig is able to build tension and suspense without a barrage of expletives and minimal blood spatter delivering a safe yet fun teen action thriller appropriate for 5th grade and up. Enough of the story lines are completed for a satisfying ending while still leaving much open for at least another volume.

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