Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Second in the "Missing" series, it lives up to my expectations. It will help if you know some Tudor Stewart history and/or a little about Shakespeare's Richard III. I can't even begin to imagine the problems Ms. Haddix faced in writing this book.

How can you be true to such a well know mystery of history, where the sides are passionate about what happened to the two princes in the tower? She manages to skirt a controversial issue and show Richard for probably what he really was, a devoted uncle faced with the possibility of throwing his beloved England into years of more war between the Lancasters and Plantaganets. Don't worry she doesn't go into this much detail; however, as my family will attest, I can bore you for hours on the topic of British monarchy.

Jonah and Chip are the first to take a peek into history and try to repair the problems caused by the baby thieves in book one. Although the mystery is not as good as the first book with the babies arriving suddenly at an empty gate at an airport, she does a great job of showing the challenges of 20th century kids in 15th century England.

This book is worth reading. I wonder where she is going next. They are tapped for their next mission at the end of this book.

Syren by Angie Sage

I have almost missed posting in November. To put things mildly, things get hectic in November for everyone with family.

Like me, things get hectic for Septimus Heap in Syren. Having just barely made it through the fourth book in this series Queste, Now Septimus is faced with trying to please too many masters. In this book Septimus is beginning to come into his own and ignoring those persons who controlled him in past books. He is growing up. He meets a new character, who I think will appear in subsequent books. Someone who is his equal. This could evolve into more than mutual respect in one of the last two planned books in this series.
For me, this is the best book in this series thus far. It is action packed! I love the new cat like character in the lighthouse. Plus, the princess's father is shown as what I thought of him in the first book. He seems to me to be someone who shifts his duty to his family for the pursuit of what he feels is important. He seems a braggart too. Plus, he doesn't think about the long term fallout to his actions.
I love that the dragon is really an integral part of Septimus' plans for the first time. He is way more than a pet in this book. Plus, Beetle and Wolf Boy are part of a very important part of Septimus' group that he relies on for advice etcetera.
If you haven't read the other books, don't start here. Take the time to read the first four books Magyk, Flyte, Physik, and Queste.
Good luck!