Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh

High School

No one knows where the brilliant-colored spheres came from. One day they were just there, hidden all over the earth like huge gemstones. Burn a pair and they make you a little better: an inch taller, skilled at math, better looking. The rarer the sphere, the more expensive – and the greater the improvement.

17-year-old Sully is a sphere dealer at a flea market. It doesn’t pay much – Alex Holliday’s stores have muscled out most of the independent sellers – but it helps him and his mom make rent.

When Sully meets Hunter, a girl with a natural talent for finding spheres, the two start searching together. One day they find a Gold – a color no one has ever seen. And when Alex Holliday learns what they have, he will go to any lengths, will use all of his wealth and power, to take it from them.

I wasn’t quite sure about this book until I turned the book over and saw a list of possible spheres. After reading the list I was hooked, I’m a sucker for lists.

These Spheres can heighten your natural abilities and seem to have no negative side effects. From what I can tell there are at least 48 or more different Spheres, but I could only find 35 and there were two that I couldn’t figure out what they did. Here’s a list of my personal favorite Spheres:

Teal

Effect: Fall asleep easily

Army Green

Effect: Resistance to the common cold

Burnt Orange

Effect: Speed-reading

Aquamarine

Effect: Quick healing

Mustard

Effect: High Intelligence

Canary Yellow

Effect: Perfect Memory

The thing I found really weird about the spheres is that you need two (a pair) spheres to get the improvement. They call it ‘burning a pair’. I spent the majority of this book wondering why it’s called ‘burning’ and why you need two to do it. I still don’t know.

This story takes place 9 years after the Spheres appeared on Earth. Personally, I would’ve liked hearing the story on how the human race reacted to the Spheres at first and how they discovered their powers.

I knew there had to be some sort of risk with the spheres. You can’t get something for nothing. A lot of people in the book thought that the Spheres were suspicious and would never use them. I would probably own books about Spheres but would never want to ‘burn’ them. Why risk it?

What makes this story so great is how real it is. This is what a world with magic spheres would be like. People using them to make a profit, athletes using them to up their game, people using them for their own personal gain, and people going to great lengths to get their hands on them. Exactly how you’d expect humans to act when handed magic.

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Enhanced Abilities 

Some people can hear their eyeballs moving.

The Third Mushroom by Jennifer L. Holm

The story continues in the sequel to The Fourteenth Goldfish.

4^th Grade and Up

Ellie’s grandpa Melvin is a world-renowned scientist . . . in the body of a fourteen-year-old boy. His feet stink, and he eats everything in the refrigerator and Ellie is so happy to have him around. Grandpa may not exactly fit in at middle school, but he certainly keeps things interesting.

When he and Ellie team up for the county science fair, no one realizes just how groundbreaking their experiment will be. The formula for eternal youth may be within their reach! And when Ellie’s cat, Jonas Salk, gets sick, the stakes become even higher. But is the key to eternal life really the key to happiness? Sometimes even the most careful experiments yield unexpected and wonderful results.

I was so excited and surprised when I found out that The Fourteenth Goldfishwas going to have a follow-up story. I really didn’t think there would be one, but I would never pass up the chance to read more about my favorite teenaged grandpa. Like I said before, I would love to see this concept as a TV sitcom. I can see it now: 

Coming this Fall on ABC, Teenaged Grandpa, filmed before a live studio audience. 

I think the lesson to take away from this story is that it’s ok when things go wrong and to learn from your mistakes. It’s just like Ms. Frizzle said, “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”

To be a scientist, I believe, you have to be a bit crazy. My evidence behind this: James Carroll and Jesse Lazear and Ellie’s grandfather Melvin who all tested their hypothesis on themselves. I guess we do need crazy/brave people working in science because we need these cures and when it comes to results you sometimes need to go extreme.

As a bonus, extra credit to whoever counts how many times the word “Puberty” pops up in this book and writes their results in the comment section below.

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about a Science Discovery

Scientists have figured out how to turn rotten tomatoes into energy.

Squirm by Carl Hiaasen

After four long years, Carl Hiaasen is back!

4^th Grade and Up

Some facts about Billy Dickens: 
* He once saw a biker swerve across the road in order to run over a snake.
* Later, that motorcycle somehow ended up at the bottom of a canal.
* Billy isn't the type to let things go.

Some facts about Billy's family: 
* They've lived in six different Florida towns because Billy's mom insists on getting a house near a bald eagle nest.
* Billy's dad left when he was four and is a total mystery.
* Billy has just found his dad's address--in Montana.

This summer, Billy will fly across the country, hike a mountain, float a river, dodge a grizzly bear, shoot down a spy drone, save a neighbor's cat, save an endangered panther, and then try to save his own father.

Presenting the one and only Carl Hiaasen story that takes place outside of Florida. I’m glad I read I Survived the Attack of the Grizzles, 1967 before reading this book, it was nice to already be familiar with the Montana environment. Don’t worry, a good portion of the story still takes place in Florida. 

You spend the first third of the story thinking the worst of Billy’s dad. I mean, what kind of guy leaves his family and doesn’t get in contact with them for almost ten years? Trust me, you’re not going to be able to guess what the dad’s been up to, you’ll just have to read the book to find out.  Before and even after I found out what the dad was doing, I think Billy’s mom is the one with the problem. She repeatedly uproots her family to live near a bald eagle nest. The reason behind this obsession is never explained. 

I really like Billy’s character, he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t just stand by when someone hurts an animal or a person, he acts. We need more people like that in the world.

If you have a fear of snakes, I suggest not reading this book because Billy uses them throughout the story to make a point. If you are not afraid of snakes, here’s a picture of one wearing a sweater:

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Snakes

Diamondback rattlesnakes can strike in about half the time it takes you to blink.

I Survived the Attack of the Grizzles, 1967 by Lauren Tarshis

3^rd Grade and Up

No grizzly has ever killed a human in Glacier before . . . until tonight. 

11-year-old Melody Vega and her family come to Glacier National Park every year, and it's always been a place where she can forget her troubles. But this year is different. With Mom gone, every moment in the park is a heartbreaking reminder of the past.
Then Mel comes face-to-face with the mighty grizzly. Now her only thought is one of survival. Mel will soon be a part of one of the most tragic seasons in the history of America's national parks - a summer of terror that will forever change ideas about how grizzlies and humans can exist together in the wild.

I love all of the I Survivedbooks but this one is my favorite because, out of all the disasters featured so far, this one could’ve been prevented. 

(Heads up. Spoilers ahead)

In a nut shell, the bears weren’t the problem in Glacier, it was the trash that humans were leaving behind. After years of eating garbage and leftover food the bears had lost their fear of humans. The bears who attacked were not bloodthirsty monsters, they were sick animals in pain.

The thought of any harm coming to these beautiful creatures breaks my heart. See bear pictures below:

“The view is much better up here.”

“A Beary Cute Family”

“Hello!”

Don’t let those furry innocent faces fool you. These are still wild animals with teeth and claws and will attack a human if they feel threatened. And considering what humans have done to them in the past, they should be.

On an unrelated note, here is a little excerpt from the book that reminds you that this story takes place back in 1967: 

“Mel wished she could press a button and instantly send this story to people all over the world. But this was real life in 1967, not some science fiction story set a thousand years from now.” 

Turns out it took less then 50 years for this to become a reality. Unfortunately, it’s going to take a lot longer for people to learn not to dump their trash everywhere and to leave the wildlife alone.

I found out what disaster is being featured next and I’m really looking forward to it.

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Grizzly Bears

A grizzly bear can sniff out food 18 miles away.