No Passengers Beyond This Point

Author: Gennifer Choldenko
Genre: fantasy
Setting: it mainly takes place in the city of Falling Bird in either present day or future
Summary: When the Tompkins have to move, their mother decides that they should go to Uncle Red's house before she gets there. India, Finn, and Mouse take a plane, but when they land, everything seems very strange, but India (the oldest) tries to reassure them that Uncle Red set everything up. Later on, they find out that they are in the city of Falling Bird, and that they have to find a black box in order to get out of the city. They have very limited time, which is being kept on individual clocks for each of them. But when India gets a job in Falling Bird, will she even want to leave? Can Finn and Mouse convince her? And will they be able to get out of the city?

I thought this book was pretty good. At first, I thought it was a little bit confusing, though. It was really interesting, and The characters had strong personalities, especially Mouse, who is the youngest.  I think you would like this book if you like books with strange and interesting settings.

Rooftoppers

 

Author: Katherine Rundell
Genre: Realistic fiction (even though it isn't that realistic)
Setting: England and Paris (I'm not exactly sure on the time, but it was before women commonly wore pants)
Summary: When Sophie was a baby, she survived a sinking ship. She was floated in a cello case
and was found by a man named Charles Maxim. Since then she has lived with him, but the childcare agency doesn't approve of the way Sophie is being raised. Sophie is sure that she remembers that her mother wore trousers and played the cello, with were both unusual for women at the time. When Sophie finds an address in the cello case she was floated in, she and Charles travel there to escape the childcare agency and to see if they can find out more about Sophie's mother. In Paris, Sophie meets Matteo, a boy who lives on a roof.  But the questions are still: does Sophie's mother still live in Paris? And is she still alive? And if she is, then will Sophie find her?

I really enjoyed this book. I didn't think it was exactly a thrilling page-turner, but I still wanted to keep reading. There wasn't a whole lot of action, but I thought there was enough to keep the story interesting. I'm not exactly sure of the kind of person who would like this book, though.