August Book Reviews
contributed by Brace Books
The following book reviews appeared in the print issue of Ponca City Monthly magazine. Get full access to all online articles, videos, and content by becoming a paid subscriber. We offer free and paid subscription plans. Find rack locations to pick up your free print copy here, or subscribe here to get online access plus exclusive content.
The Mystery of Locked Rooms
by Lindsay Currie
Reviewed by Lorrie Layton
Best friends Sarah, Hannah and West love beating escape rooms. The three of them make an incredible team. They call themselves the Deltas. They all love math and numbers, but each brings unique skills to the team. Hannah is courageous and has an amazing sense of balance, West is funny and has an amazing memory and Sarah is a natural at risk and probability.
Sarah’s family is struggling. Her dad has been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome; he can’t do much besides sleep. That means her mom works two jobs, trying to support the family. Unfortunately, it isn’t enough. They have just received a foreclosure notice. They’re losing their home and will have to move away to stay with her grandparents.
After Sarah shares the bad news with her friends, they brainstorm ideas to save Sarah’s home: A winning lottery ticket. Getting themselves on a game show. The Triplet Treasure.
For those of us who’ve never heard of the Triplet Treasure, here’s the scoop: Years ago, a set of triplet brothers built a funhouse designed to be the most epic funhouse ever. Instead of typical mirror mazes, their funhouse had riddles everywhere and complex secret passages … like a complete house of escape rooms before escape rooms were a thing. To top it off, the triplets said they hid a treasure somewhere in the house. Sadly, one of the brothers died before they were able to open their funhouse.
It turns out the funhouse sits abandoned, just 15 miles away from where the Deltas live. The Deltas are something of an escape room legend, so who better to conquer the funhouse, find the treasure and save Sarah’s home?
The Mystery of Locked Rooms is a heartwarming adventure that I highly recommend.
Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade
by Janet Skeslien Charles
Reviewed by Lorrie Layton
Let’s begin with a quick history lesson: During World War I, Anne Morgan, the youngest daughter of financier J. P. Morgan, helped establish the American Committee for Devastated France. In French, the organization was called Le Comité américain pour les régions dévastées, or CARD. This volunteer civilian relief organization was staffed almost exclusively by wealthy American women who paid their own way. CARD’s mission was to help northern France recover from the destruction of the Great War.
CARD’s headquarters were based in Blérancourt, about 80 miles north of Paris and within 40 miles of the front. This agricultural region had recently been liberated by the Allies after three years of German occupation. CARD helped residents of the area by providing food, medical care, household goods and clothing. They hired teachers and opened schools.
One of the members of CARD was Jessie Carson, a children’s librarian from the New York Public Library. She was one of the few CARD volunteers who could not pay her own expenses. Anne Morgan recruited Jessie as the director of CARD’s library department in France.
Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade is Jessie Carson’s story. We meet her as she is traveling from Paris to CARD headquarters, viewing firsthand the devastation of the French countryside and making her first friend in CARD – Lewis, who oversaw the maintenance of CARD’s vehicles. Another friend was Breckie, a nurse who went on to pioneer in nurse-midwifery in rural America.
Jessie’s new friends were not limited to members of CARD. Two Frenchwomen who played major roles in Jessie’s life were Sidonie, who had lost her husband and child to the war and had defaulted to hating everyone and everything, and Marcelle, a teen who was just beginning to discover who she wanted to be when she grew up.
This was such an excellent book!
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