The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

        The Westing Game is the most unique book I have ever read. In The Westing Game, you follow the death of Millionaire Samuel Westing. In Samuel’s will, he leads his heirs to believe he was murdered. Mr. Westing told them (through the will) that he knew who murdered him-it was one of them. And it was their job to figure out who it was. How? The only way was to play the Westing Game. The heirs were split into teams of two. Each team was given four clues. They had to be cautious, because the killer just might strike again.

         The Westing Game took a while to grab my full attention, but once it had, it never let go. It can get a little complicated to keep track of all the characters, but the ending is well worth the wait. It’s an unusually complete book. Every clue is followed to excruciating detail, no clue, item, or character is misplaced. You won’t be left wondering about loose ends. And what’s more, it is complex-there are clues within clues within clues. As you investigate every minute detail with the characters you discover that the clues aren’t that small at all. The Westing Game is incomparable. If you choose to read this book, you’ll never forget it, and you’ll never regret it.

Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk

“Guy Langman can't be bothered with much. But when his friend Anoop wants Guy to join the forensics club with him in the (possibly misguided) hopes of impressing some girls, Guy thinks why not.
They certainly aren't expecting to find a real dead body on the simulated crime scene they're assigned to collect evidence from. But after some girlish, undignified screaming, the two realize it is indeed a body. Which means they have stumbled across a real, dead murder victim.
Meanwhile, Guy has been looking into the past of his father—a larger-than-life character who recently passed away. He was much older than Guy's mom, and had a whole past Guy never even knew about. Could his father's past and the dead body be linked? Does Guy want to know? He's going to need all his newfound forensics skills to find out . . .”

I didn’t enjoy this book at all. The crime didn’t happen till more than half way through the book, and it was slow. It was filled with crude jokes and raunchy…behavior I suppose is the right word. He spent a lot of time repeating himself. It was just a little too much. The Langman family is supposed to be Jewish, except it wasn’t conveyed respectfully. I’ve met a few Jewish people, all of them very religious and intelligent in the extreme. If all these aspects were more mild, I might like it. But it was just way too much. I do not recommend this book. It was too childish.

Believing in Horses by Valerie Ormond

"First, the move to Maryland. Then Dad's deployment to Afghanistan. Sadie is in trouble. Then she gets Lucky, a new young horse who proves to be a handful. But that's just the beginning. Together they encounter horse thieves, Maryland storms, and unwanted horses destined for auction and uncertain futures.

Sadie makes it her personal mission to save them. Along the way she meets other people who are dedicated to rescuing horses. She also learns that some people in the horse industry are driven by greed.

She's twelve.
Can she save the horses in time...and herself?"

Loved it! Amazing! If you don't like horses, then you probably won't like it that much. BUT, I know about a dozen little girls that would die to read this ASAP. If you have a horse lover in the household, this is a definite recommend for them! I read lots of pony pals and another series (the name escapes me right now...saving ginger or something like that.) Absolute must-read for all horse fans!