An Amazon Best Book of the Month: July 2014 An Amazon Editors’ Pick for Middle Grade Summer Reading “A scrumptious gem of a story!”—Jennifer A. Nielsen, New York Times bestselling author of The False Prince Meet Gladys Gatsby: New York’s toughest restaurant critic. (Just don’t tell anyone that she’s in sixth grade.) Gladys Gatsby has been cooking gourmet dishes since the age of seven, only her fast-food-loving parents have no idea! Now she’s eleven, and after a crème brûlée accident (just a small fire), Gladys is cut off from the kitchen (and her allowance). She’s devastated but soon finds just the right opportunity to pay her parents back when she’s mistakenly contacted to write a restaurant review for one of the largest newspapers in the world. But in order to meet her deadline and keep her dream job, Gladys must cook her way into the heart of her sixth-grade archenemy and sneak into New York City—all while keeping her identity a secret! Easy as pie, right?

“A scrumptious gem of a story!”—Jennifer A. Nielsen, New York Times bestselling author of The False Prince for All Four Stars In this charming sequel to All Four Stars, eleven-year-old foodie Gladys Gatsby now has her first published review under her belt and is looking forward to a quiet summer of cooking and reviewing. But her plans quickly go awry when her friend Charissa Bentley delivers Gladys’s birthday gift: a free summer at Camp Bentley. As Gladys feared, camp life is not easy: she struggles to pass her swim test and can’t keep the other campers happy while planning lunches. The worst part is she can’t seem to get away from the annoying new “celebrity” camper and sneak away for her latest assignment—finding the best hot dog in New York City. But when it turns out her hot dog assignment was a dirty trick by a jealous reviewer, Gladys’s reviewing career may be over forever.

Joan Bauer meets Ruth Reichl in this charming middle grade foodie series. As the summer winds down and Gladys Gatsby prepares to start middle school, she is nervous about juggling schoolwork and looming deadlines from her secret job as the New York Standard’s youngest restaurant critic. When her editor pushes for a face-to-face meeting to discuss more opportunities with the paper, Gladys knows she must finally come clean to her parents. But her perfectly planned reveal is put on hold when her parents arrive home with a surprise: her Aunt Lydia, one of the only adults who knows her secret, fresh off the plane from Paris. Gladys and Aunt Lydia try one last ruse to fool her editor at the Standard, but even with her aunt’s help, Gladys just can’t manage the drama of middle school and a secret life. It’s time for Gladys to be true to herself and honest with her friends and family, regardless of what those around her think.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff have fought vigorously among themselves and with their civilian counterparts. This interesting book discribes the battles and gives the body count. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The wartime exploits of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment are told here in the most vivid and appropriate way; by one of the men who experienced their battles firsthand – Captain Laurence Critchell. The author fought with the men of the Screaming Eagles from the tough training at camp Toccoa, Georgia to their hellish night drop on D-Day and all the way to the capture of Hitler’s mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden. During 1944-1945 the author and his comrades soldiers would be involved in some of the heaviest and bloodiest fighting in Europe, during the Operation Market Garden at Njimegen and the Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne. A gripping read of the Second World War as told by a decorated combat veteran. “It is fitting that the story of the 501st Parachute Regiment of the famed 101st Airborne Division should be told by a parachute captain.”—The New York Times “A personalized record, told in terms of the men of all ranks, of how they trained and fought and died... the story has an authentic ring.”—U.S. Quarterly “The greatest airborne operation of this or any other war.” —Lewis H. Brereton, Former Lt. General, First Allied Airborne Army, World War II

Hailing from the big cities and small towns of America, these young men came together to serve their country and the greater good. They were the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division (the All Americans). Phil Nordyke, their official historian, draws on interviews with surviving veterans and oral history recordings as well as official archives and unpublished written accounts from more than three hundred veterans of the 505th PIR and their supporting units. This is history as it was lived by the men of the 505th, from their prewar coming of age in the regiment, through the end of World War II, when they marched in the Victory Parade up Fifth Avenue in New York, to the postwar legacy of having been part of an elite parachute regiment with a record unsurpassed in the annals of combat.

The fourth book in the epic saga of humankind's war of transcendence Humanity had appeared to fend off the Sh'daar assault once and for all, though they never learned why the alien empire was driven to halt Earth's advancement toward technological Singularity. But in this war of worlds, victory is always elusive. And now a new battle begins. After 20 years of peace, not one but two fragile truces are unraveling. Alexander Koenig, the former Navy commander whose heroics forced the Sh'daar into submission, has won a second term as President of the United States of North America. But pursuing his mandate - sovereignty from the centuries-old Earth Confederation - becomes a risky proposition due to events taking place on the other side of the galaxy. A Confederation research vessel has been ambushed. Destroyers are descending on a human colony. It seems the Sh'daar have betrayed their treaty, and all nations must stand united - or face certain death.

A lady desiring vengeance seeks a highwayman’s help in this tale by an author whose novels are “the gold standard in historical romance” (Lisa Kleypas). Lady Leigh Strachan’s father governed the town of Felchester—until a religious zealot murdered her family and turned the village into hell on Earth. Now, there is room in her heart for only one thing: revenge. Leigh plans to kill her father’s murderer once she learns to aim a pistol, slash a sword, and ride a horse. She seeks out the Prince of Midnight, a legendary highwayman exiled to France, as her choice of tutors. But the man she finds in a crumbling French castle is no hero. Half deaf and suffering from vertigo, S. T. Maitland can scarcely walk, much less wield a sword atop a dancing stallion. Yet for reasons she can’t explain, she remains with him, steeling her heart against the sight of his gold-streaked hair, green eyes, and brows adorned with a devilish curl at the arch . . . Women mean nothing but trouble to the highwayman, so he wishes Leigh were less alluring. Alas, she is beautiful, with a piercing gaze and a determined spirit. Despite his broken balance, the loss of his horse, and the price on his head, he vows to return to England with her. He cannot resist the challenge—or the chance to sacrifice everything for love . . . The New York Times–bestselling author of Flowers from the Storm and Shadowheart, Laura Kinsale writes an “unfailingly brilliant and beautiful” romance (Julia Quinn).

What would happen if every grown-up in town fell asleep and the kids were left in charge? A great pick for fans of A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff and Greenglass House by Kate Milford or any reader seeking a quirky mystery with a big helping of silliness. The most important tradition in tiny St. Polonius is the annual Tasting of the Sacred Bear Liver. Each citizen over twelve must eat one bite of liver to prevent the recurrence of the Great Hibernation, when the town founders fell asleep for months. This year is Jean Huddy’s first time to taste the liver. It doesn’t go well. A few hours later, all the adults fall into a sleep from which they cannot be woken, and the kids are left to run things. At first, they have a blast. But then the town bullies take over the mayor’s office and the police force, and pretty soon Jean begins to suspect that this “hibernation” was actually engineered by someone in town. Courage, teamwork, and scientific smarts unlock an unusual mystery in this delightful and funny story about one girl who inspires the kids around her to join together to save their home. “Definitely will not induce drowsiness. Utterly original.” —Adam Rex, author of The True Meaning of Smekday and the Cold Cereal Saga “Imagine Lord of the Flies as a comedy set in snowy terrain and you have The Great Hibernation: a hilarious, whip-smart page-turner you don’t want to miss.” —Jennifer Chambliss Bertman, New York Times bestselling author of Book Scavenger and The Unbreakable Code Selected for the 2018 Spirit of Texas Reading Program for Middle School CCBC Choices