Book Review: Jennifer Chambliss Bertman's: Book Scavenger: The Alcatraz Escape

 

Book Scavenger cover illustrated by Sarah Watts

 

Book Scavenger: The Alcatraz Escape, the third book in the Book Scavenger series by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chambliss Bertman is a page turning fictional mystery like the first two books in the series. Illustrations by Sarah Watts accompany the text. Twelve year olds Emily and James solve puzzles and explore Alcatraz Island and its historic, closed prison which are part of the National Parks. Illustrated by Sarah Watts, the novel was published in 2018 by Henry Holt and Company; today’s middle grade students would have been newborns and toddlers at the time and this will be new to them.

Ms. Bertman accurately evokes the cold, isolated, harsh conditions of Alcatraz. The main characters and many other characters have all solved puzzles in order to take a trip to Alcatraz Island where they will compete to solve another puzzle as part of a game series sponsored by publisher Garrison Griswold. While some characters own cell phones, Emily does not. Those characters who do own phones find them of limited use between low batteries, concrete and tunnels. Part of the fun is following Emily as she figures out how to communicate with James without using a cell phone. The novel has a satisfying ending and Emily and James learn who their friends are and are not. 

The novel can be read as a stand alone book but it is more fun to read it with the series.

Source: Purchased. Will be reread and then given to the grandchild.  At 262 pages long including an author’s note with historical explanations Book Scavenger, Escape from Alcatraz  is recommended for eleven years and older.

Links:

Visit Greg Pattridge host of: Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Visit author: Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Visit illustrator here: Sarah Watts 

Visit book designer: April Ward  

Learn more about: Alcatraz Island

Previous book review: Book Scavenger: The Unbreakable Code

Previous Interview with Jennifer Chambliss Bertman 

Visit your local book store: Boulder Bookstore 

Poems and Flash Fiction

  

Mount Blue Sky photo by ET Charles

 

FEATURED IN LIST: POEMS, FLASH FICTION and PRESENTATIONS

POEMS - Thank you Jonathan Humble, Editor of The Dirigible Balloon.

“Happy Fifth Anniversary DB,” The Dirigible Balloon, August 2026.

 

Theme: Imagine the Future

“Abundance,” The Dirigible Balloon, August 2025.

“Meadows,” The Dirigible Balloon, August 2025.

“Ceres,” The Dirigible Balloon, August 2025.

 

“December Moon,” The Dirigible Balloon, December 2025.

“Mountain Wave Sunrise,” The Dirigible Balloon, December 2025.

 

“Elk Walk,” The Dirigible Balloon, March 2025.

“May,” The Dirigible Balloon, March 2025.

“Lemon Blossoms,” The Dirigible Balloon, March 2025.

 

“Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly,” The Dirigible Balloon, June 2025.

“Hello,” The Dirigible Balloon, June 2025.

“Bee and Iris,” The Dirigible Balloon, June 2025.

 

“Red Fox,” The Dirigible Balloon, December 2024.

“Winter Day,” The Dirigible Balloon, December 2024.

“December Lights,” The Dirigible Balloon, December 2024.

“Osprey Chick,” The Dirigible Balloon, June 2024.

“Ruby Throated Hummingbird,” The Dirigible Balloon, June 2024.

 

FLASH FICTION - Thank you The Write-In Editors: Anita Goveas, Ingrid Jendrzejewski, Sara Hills, and Judi Walsh.

‘A Quarter of an Hour,’ The Write-In. 15 June 2026.

‘Blue Heron,’ The Write-In. 15 June 2026.

‘Detour,’ The Write-In. 15 June 2026.

 

PRESENTATIONS

‘How to Set up a Blogspot Blog on Google blogger,’ Boulder Connect, RMC SCBWI, March 2021. (Thanks to Laura Perdew, Connect Leader 2021).

‘Create Blogspot Blog,’ Nonfiction Connect, RMC SCBWI, June 2024. (Thanks to Gina Soldano, Connect Leader 2024).

‘Introductions,’ Novel Connect, RMC SCBWI, Fall 2024. (Thanks to Karen Deger McChesney, Connect Leader 2024).

 

Previous posts with poems and photos of Colorado

Poems, Imagine the Future, Winter 2026

Poems, Summer 2025

Poems, Winter 2025

 

Easy Peasy Key Lime Cheesecake Pie

 

Citrus thorns photo by ET Charles

Easy Peasy Key Lime Cheesecake Pie

½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons Key lime juice, bottled

½ cup heavy whipping cream – liquid state, not whipped

1 - 14 ounce can, sweetened condensed milk

4 ounces cream cheese – generous 4 ounces

Optional 1 Tablespoon Key lime juice

10 inch store bought graham cracker crust

 

This recipe came about because of a shortage. A few days before Easter the grocery store did not have sweetened condensed milk so I substituted cream cheese, four or five ounces, into the Key Lime Pie recipe. It turned out to be tasty so when the weather was warmer and the grocery store shelves stocked, I experimented and added both cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk to the Key Lime Pie. The result is tart, firm, tasty, and makes a bit more pie.

Directions: Whisk or beat together the condensed milk, cream, Key lime juice and then add the cream cheese and whip some more. The cream cheese will leave small lumps, quarter to half inch in diameter. Pour mixture into pie shell.

Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Remove promptly and cool on a wooden cutting board for 15 minutes. Then, place pie in the freezer for a minimum of two hours. The pie may then be served; moved to the refrigerator or remain in the freezer.

Place pie on a wooden cutting board before slicing. Depending on room temperature, the pie may need to warm for 15 minutes before slicing. We return the leftover pie to the freezer.

Yields six slices.

Notes: Key Lime Pie variation 1

Date: 8 July 2026

Link: Key Lime Pie, Easy

Above is a previous version of Key Lime Pie.

Review: Fleur Bradley's Get a Clue: How to Plot, Write, and Sell Your MG or YA Mystery

 

Get a Clue cover by Damonza

 

Award winning author Fleur Bradley’s latest book, Get a Clue: How to Plot, Write, and Sell Your MG or YA Mystery is a succinct exploration of the process of writing a mystery from beginning to end. With an eponymous publisher and a green high top sneaker on the cover designed by Damonza, Ms. Bradley describes plotting based on sequences such as those in films of 100 years ago. She explains character development, plot progression, clues and finding time to write as well as pitches, jacket flap copy and writing organizations such as The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

The written explanations of pitches and back covers are excellent. It would be nice to see an illustration or photo of the back cover of a mystery with the pitch and explanation pointed out. (I have no idea what the legal and/or financial requirements would be.)

This book will appeal to those who would like structure and/or guidance on their writing journey and it would be a helpful resource for those teaching writing workshops to middle grade and high school students.

Source: Purchased by self. Published in 2026, the book is a slim 126 pages which includes Resources.

Internal and External links:

Visit author: Fleur Bradley  

Learn more about: The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators

Previous interviews with Fleur Bradley: Daybreak on Raven Island  and 

    Midnight at the Barclay Hotel 

Visit James Ponti's Writing Workshop Videos:  James Ponti Resources scroll all the way down to access the videos.

Visit Greg Pattridge host of: Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

 

Wendelin Van Draanen's: Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary

 

Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary cover art by Craig Phillips

Wendelin Van Draanen’s Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Mustache Mary, a middle grade mystery first published in 2000 by Penguin Random House Children’s Books, combines bicycles, pigs and gold into an adventurous romp while solving a crime. Craig Phillips illustrated the 2017 paperback cover. This is the fifth book in the Sammy Keyes series and was nominated for an Edgar Award. Sammy and her friends ride their bicycles about farms and to a nearby development on December 31, New Year’s Eve. They encounter mysteries, vendettas and unique characters in both settings. While over 25 years old, Ms. Van Draanen’s story is fun, relevant and the absence of portable electronic devices may be explained by the lack of cell phone coverage in a rural area. Perhaps the most salient point is the arch criminal’s insidious behavior and lies and the ripple effects of those actions. At the end Sammy reflects on friendships, choices and future paths.

Source: Purchased, 2017 paperback version with 272 pages. The novel is appropriate for fifth grade and older. 

Thanks as always to Greg Pattridge host of Marvelous Middle Grade Monday. 

Links:

Visit Wendelin Van Draanen   

Visit cover artist: Craig Phillips  

Previous review of Wendelin Van Draanen's: Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief 

Visit your local book store: Boulder Bookstore