George Crum and the Saratoga Chip by Gaylia Taylor

This is classified as a biography, but it is highly speculative. Would you call that a "pseudobiography"? George Crum is widely thought to be the inventor of the potato chip. This feisty man of African American and Native American heritage was a cook in a hoity toity restaurant where his frustration with a picky customer resulted in one of the most popular snack foods today.

May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson

This book could have been so good. And the story itself was really good. But Anderson should have stayed away from trying to describe the "location" of the Ever After and just left it to the readers' imaginations. As it was, it was hard to get past the utter implausibility of it. (Having a husband with a physics degree pointing out all the things wrong with it didn't help!)

That said, May Bird is one of the more endearing characters I've encountered recently. A friendless, skinny 10-year-old, May suddenly finds herself seeing ghosts. She ends up in an alternate reality on a quest of some type after finding a letter from the past that is inexplicably addressed to her. She is joined along the way by some interesting companions: Pumpkin the house ghost (a very lovable character), Julian, Bea, and Fabbio (specters), and, best of all, Somber Kitty.

I think I would have liked this book better had it not been read over the course of a month or so as our "bedtime" book. I also was very frustrated with the ending. While I realize that this is the first book in a series, the ending was completely unsatisfying. Unlike many series books I read, there was no real resolution at the end of the book. It couldn't stand alone at all. Which leaves me in a dilemma; do I care enough to read more in the series to find out what happens to May? I just don't know...

The Greatest Skating Race by Louise Borden

In January 1942, Piet Janssen leads two friends to safety in Brugge, Belgium from his town of Sluice in The Netherlands by ice skating the 16 km along the frozen canals. The story, written in verse, is quite gripping and the reader truly senses the danger the children face at the prospect of being detained by the German soldiers stationed along the canals, especially at the border crossing. The illustrations by Niki Daly, in browns and greys, are reminiscent of an earlier era and are quite fitting for the subject matter.

The Misadventures of Maude March by Audrey Couloumbis

My reading of children's/young adult books has been slow-going this summer. It took me way too long to read this book! And as a result, I don't think I enjoyed it nearly as much as I could have. The premise is cute; Maude and her sister Sallie are orphans who lose their guardian aunt in an unfortunate accident. A string of "misadventures" ensue in which Maude becomes a wanted woman. Sallie, the narrator, is spunky, while Maude is a bit sour (who wouldn't be angry in her position?!?). The book didn't really hook me until maybe the last quarter, at which point I read until I was finished. I think this book will appeal to readers who are interested in reading about strong female characters, as well as those who like books about the Wild West.