Book Review--Out of the Dust and 39 Clues Vespers Rising

It's a twofer today. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse and The 39 Clues Vespers Rising by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman, and Jude Watson.

Out of the Dust was the Newbery winner in 1998. I enjoyed this book, although it was not what I expected. It was really thought provoking and I learned a lot through the perspective of a girl living in the dust bowl. I would recommend this book to anyone. Here's a blurb about it:

In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.

Vespers Rising from The 39 Clues Series was written by four different authors. I loved how they each took a section and gave us a taste of their writing style. That's what I've really liked about the entire series, but this was more immediate. I loved the fact that we learned more about the Cahill family before Dan and Amy. I enjoyed how each author pulled me into the story in a different way. I just loved the story all the way around and would recommend it to any and everybody. Here's a blurb:

In Vespers Rising, a brand new 39 Clues novel, take a whirlwind trip through Cahill history and uncover secrets too explosive to reveal during the Clue hunt.

• Travel back to the days of Gideon Cahill and Damien Vesper to read about the rivalry that shattered the Cahill family . . . and changed the fate of the world
• Learn about Madeleine Cahill's first chilling encounter with Damien and how it inspired her to form the Madrigal branch.
• Follow thirteen-year-old Grace Cahill as she embarks on her very first mission during one of the most dangerous moments of the 20th century.
• Finally, flash forward to the present to join Amy and Dan as they prepare to fight their new enemy--the Cahills' historic rivals--the Vespers.