(2) 4-6 Eleven-year-old Robbie is afraid adults will notice that Grandpa, who is her guardian, is losing his memory and send her to a foster home. As Grandpa's condition worsens, Robbie also fears she'll lose any hope of connecting with her past. First-time novelist Stoddard lets events unfold naturally and develops secondary characters well. The neat, hopeful ending implies that life can get better, if not perfect.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(3) K-3 Adkins envisions Bertha Benz's historic drive of her husband's Benz Motorwagen III in 1888. Defying German law against motor vehicles, "businesswoman, mechanic, inventor, and revolutionary" Benz overcame multiple obstacles to complete the sixty-mile journey with her two sons. Depicted in rich digital illustrations, this woman's story should inspire both girls and boys to strive for success against difficult odds. Mechanical drawings are appended. Timeline.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Lowriders series. Illustrated by Raúl the Third. In the second graphic novel, Lupe, Elirio, and El Chavo Flapjack set out in their magical lowrider to find their cat and meet mythological characters such as La Llorona, the Chupacabra, and an angry Aztec god. Energetic pen drawings keep the story hopping even when the plot feels somewhat disjointed. The frequent Spanish expressions are translated on each page. Glos.

Reviewer: Siena Leslie

(4) YA Twins Crystal and Amber have very different personalities, but both long to graduate from high school and finally escape poverty. When one of them has a baby, the girls' hopes and plans shift to accommodate this new reality, and do so again when Crystal gets into college for automotive restoration. It's an unusual sister novel with an unnecessary, overly contrived mystery about the baby's parentage.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(3) 4-6 Lowriders series. Illustrated by Raul, III Gonzalez. To win a competition, animal friends Lupe Impala, Elirio Malaria, and Flapjack Octopus build a rocket-powered lowrider out of space materials collected as they drive through the galaxy. The unique ballpoint-pen illustrations explode with energy as the hip, witty text drops occasional Spanish slang. An afterword explaining the history of lowrider cars puts the graphic novel into cultural context. Glos.

Reviewer: Siena Leslie

(4) 4-6 Inventors at Work! series. Highlighting mainly lesser-known inventors of well-known products, these books straightforwardly relate the history, science, process of discovery, and the challenges each person faced in developing his or her invention. The accurate but sometimes fragmented narratives are supplemented by photos, sidebars, diagrams, and a four-page appendix about how to develop an innovative idea into an invention. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Inventors at Work titles: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Queen, Scuba Man, The Coolest Inventor, Microwave Man, The Woman Who Invented Windshield Wipers.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(4) YA Orca Soundings series. Ever since causing the crash that killed his best friend, Logan, Tom fears racing; meanwhile, he toils to pay off repairs to his car. Tom also faces losing the vehicle and messing up his relationship with Hannah (who was Logan's girlfriend). The story is slight but accessible; reluctant readers may be drawn to the subject matter and the short, melodramatic sentences.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) PS "Welcome to my garage! My car needs to be fixed, and I need help." Mr. Bear's salutation welcomes readers to this lift-the-flap fix-it extravaganza. The clever paper engineering features flaps-within-flaps, which will delight young tinkerers. That's good because there's not much story here: Bear fixes his car only to have it break down again.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) 4-6 Sisters Eight series. Illustrated by Lisa K. Weber. With Greg Logsted and Jackie Logsted. "The Eights," as the Huit octuplets are known, still live alone after the mysterious disappearance of their parents. In these volumes, it's Georgia's and Jackie's turn to discover their special powers (invisibility and super speed, respectively), gifts they use to defeat an evil substitute teacher and principal. The stories, though entertaining, continue to feel like brief, unresolved episodes. Review covers these Sisters Eight titles: Georgia's Greatness and Jackie's Jokes.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Vincent Nguyen. After their car breaks down, a father and son are towed to the primate-populated Gorilla Garage. In singsongy rhyme, the text describes the humans' surprise at being the only people among a group of apes waiting for their autos. Digitally colored pen-and-ink illustrations work hard to elevate the story above its one-note joke.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) YA Remy plans to leave his sleepy West Virginia Appalachian Mountain home and relocate to Pennsylvania with his college-bound girlfriend. After an artist comes to town, Remy faces what it means to move away from the life he's always known. Teens will relate to Remy's struggle to find his own identity while still remaining loyal to the people and places he loves.

Reviewer: Aimee Chevrette Bear

(2) 4-6 When paintings from London's National Gallery, which has suffered flood damage, are temporarily relocated to narrator Dylan Hughes's Welsh hometown, it seems to be just what the former slate-mining community needs to improve its self-image. The comedy of misperception reigns in Dylan's endearingly ingenuous account of his town and family's struggle for financial and emotional stability. Eccentric supporting characters enhance the vivid tableau.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2006

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Terry Widener. Lyons calls this a "souped-up version" of a Zora Neale Hurston story about a master auto mechanic who sells his flying motorcar to God--the streamlined, skewed illustrations suit both the outrageous tale and the 1930s snappy modernism. But in expanding the story, Lyons muddles the story line. The spirit, if not the story, is intact.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2005

(3) 1-3 Translated by Laura McKenna. José is an eleven-year-old orphan working hard in his uncle's auto repair shop in Bolivia. In these three episodes, based on true stories, José solves problems, wins a bicycle race, and plays tricks on his uncle. The illustrations are a little somber but full of movement and character, and the lively book design energizes the text.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) YA Whether the "love story" of the title is between red-haired mechanic Daisy and fellow mechanic Billy Thatcher or between Daisy and the purple VW Beetle she is restoring is never clear, to Billy's frustration. While offering plenty of role models for mechanically minded young girls, the story sometimes mires in Daisy's self-absorption but still delivers a loving family and touching romance.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam