The Stolen Sapphire

TITLE: The Stolen Sapphire

AUTHOR: Sarah Masters Buckey

COPYRIGHT: 2006

ORIGINAL PUBLISHER: American Girl Publishing, Inc.

NUMBER OF PAGES: 171

PLOTLINE: Eleven-year-old Samantha Parkington and her sister Nellie are sailing to Europe on the R.M.S. Queen Caroline. Samantha soon finds out that an extremely valuable sapphire is being taken to Europe by the professor who located it in South America.

One night shortly after Samantha and Nellie board the ship, the sapphire goes missing. Anyone could have taken it---but who would have done such a terrible thing?

The two girls have their own ideas about who stole the sapphire, but they need proof. And how do they get proof when they’re arriving in Europe soon and there are no clues available?

*****

“Jack looked at her skepticaly. ‘I considered that theory,’ he admitted. ‘I could just see the headlines: ‘MONKEY STEALS BLUE STAR SAPPHIRE!’ ’ He sighed. ‘It would’ve been a great story.’

‘But it’s possible!’ protested Samantha.

‘In a dime-store novel, maybe,’ allowed Jack.” - The Stolen Sapphire

My Weekend

I can't believe I didn't write a single post all weekend . . . oops. I was doing lots of other things, like reading more of The Painted Garden, watching a movie, addressing invitations to a wedding, and playing Rummikub and Yahtzee.

Here's some news for book lovers: Three brand-new American Girl mysteries are now available for pre-order on http://www.amazon.com/. They are called The Clue in the Castle Tower, A Bundle of Trouble, and The Silver Guitar. I'm looking forward to reading them!

The picture above is one I took last spring . . . hopefully we'll be seeing more of this soon!

An Exciting Mystery

TITLE: The Puzzle of the Paper Daughter

AUTHOR: Kathryn Reiss

COPYRIGHT: 2010

ORIGINAL PUBLISHER: American Girl Publishing, Inc.

NUMBER OF PAGES: 173

PLOTLINE: Julie Albright finds a paper in an old red jacket that has a lot of Chinese writing on it. She takes it to her best friend, Ivy Ling, whose Chinese teacher can help her translate the message.

The paper leads to the discovery of a woman named Mei Meng, who used to be Ivy’s grandmother’s friend. What’s more, Julie and Ivy believe that Mei still has a doll that might contain a valuable jade necklace.

But someone is on Julie’s trail, trying to find out about the treasure himself . . . and that someone may just find the necklace first! Can Julie and Ivy untangle the many clues to the mystery before things get dangerous?

*****

“ ‘Uh, no. I’m trying to find an old friend of my friend’s grandmother.’ Julie winced. That sounded so complicated.” - The Puzzle of the Paper Daughter

Aloha, Kanani

TITLE: Aloha, Kanani

AUTHOR: Lisa Yee

COPYRIGHT: 2011

ORIGINAL PUBLISHER: American Girl Publishing, Inc.

NUMBER OF PAGES: 111

PLOTLINE: Kanani Akina lives in a picturesque, laid-back town in Kaua’i, one of the islands of Hawai’i. Kanani loves the way nothing has changed in so many years, but when her cousin Rachel arrives from New York City, Kanani starts wishing things in town looked fancier and modern.

But instead of pointing out how old-fashioned the town looks, Rachel comments on how cool it is. She says that New York only pretends to be old-fashioned. For awhile after that, Kanani thinks that Rachel’s having a good time, but for some reason, her cousin seems unnaturally reserved and a little sad. Kanani’s determined to lift Rachel’s spirits, but then she accidentally reads Rachel’s diary!

Will they ever be friends, or will Rachel return to New York City before they can patch things up?

*****

“ ‘By the way, if you like museums, we’ve got lots in New York. There’s the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Natural History Museum . . .’

The more Rachel talked, the more discouraged Kanani felt. It seemed as if no matter what she said, Rachel had something bigger or better in New York.” - Aloha, Kanani

The Sequel to Mia

TITLE: Bravo, Mia!

AUTHOR: Laurence Yep

COPYRIGHT: 2008

ORIGINAL PUBLISHER: American Girl Publishing, Inc.

NUMBER OF PAGES: 122

PLOTLINE: Ten-year-old Mia St. Clair can’t wait for the upcoming figure skating competition. It’s the biggest event in her life so far, and Mia’s not exactly sure that she’s ready.

But soon, she realizes that she might not be able to compete even if she is ready---her parents can only afford to pay for her new dress and skates, and not the competition fees. Mia’s desperate to get to the competition, but it looks like it won’t happen---until help comes from an unexpected source.

When Mia finally arrives at the fancy rink where she’s going to compete, she’s unsure of herself. The other skaters are so much more advanced than she is---and one snooty girl named Paige seems set on ruining Mia’s chances of winning!

This wonderful sequel to Mia highly surpasses the first book, which is not something you see very often.

*****

“When we got to the {hotel} room, she and I immediately went to the window to admire the view.

‘What a dump.’ Vanessa frowned in disgust.” - Bravo, Mia!

A Wonderful Book

TITLE: Mia

AUTHOR: Laurence Yep

COPYRIGHT: 2008

ORIGINAL PUBLISHER: American Girl Publishing, Inc.

NUMBER OF PAGES: 122

PLOTLINE: Mia St. Clair has just recently taken up figure skating, after playing hockey for years with her three older brothers. Her brothers don’t think she’s good enough to skate competitively---they think she should go back to hockey.

But Mia doesn’t want to follow in their footsteps any longer, and she’s determined to show them that she’s got what it takes to become a successful figure skater. And her determination is only doubled when a new coach arrives at the local rink, a coach who was once a famous Olympic skater. Coach Schubert seems to think there’s something special about Mia, and is willing to help her become a competitive skater . . . but in the end, Mia must decide: is this what she really wants?

This is a great book with superb writing and gorgeous illustrations. Highly recommended!

*****

“{Coach Schubert} said, ‘Let’s see your double lutz next. Coach Nelson’s notes say you’re having trouble with it.’

Half the time I botched it---which I’m sure he recorded faithfully.” - Mia