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Geeks and the Holy Grail (Camelot Code #2), by Mari Mancusi, for Timeslip Tuesday

The first book in the Camelot Code series, The Once and Future Geek , mixed time travel between the medieval world of King Arthur and our own, and it is a very entertaining book.  The second book in the series, Geeks and Holy Grail (Hyperion, October 2019), is also entertaining (though not quite as funny; King Arthur as a modern day high school student is hard to beat....). When Morgana, sworn enemy of King Arthur, attacks the druids of Avalon, Nimue, the youngest of them, takes the Holy Grail and runs with it.  King Arthur is dying, and only the Grail can save him.  Desperate to keep it from falling into Morgana's hands, she stumbles into Merlin's Crystal Cave.  But instead of Merlin there to help her (he's on vacation in Los Vegas, in our time), there's only his very inexperienced apprentice, Emrys.  His attempt to hide the grail works, in a sense--as a small, flatulent dragon, it sure doesn't look much like a grail.  But it isn't much use to Arthur as a...

The Secret

Wherever you go

By Heather Davis

Rob is killed when he runs off the road with Holly, his girlfriend, in his car. Unfortunately for him, he is earthbound. He watches Holly from his ghostly state for six months even though Holly cannot see him. Holly, who nearly died during the crash is devastated by Rob's death. The only friend she seems to have in the book, Marisa, doesn't understand what she is going through. On top of all this Holly's grandfather is diagnosed with a late stage of Alzheimer's disease and has to live with Holly and her family. Holly has to take care of her grandfather, Aldo, and her sister, Lena, by herself because her Mom has to work almost constantly to make any money.
Aldo makes a list of all the things he wants to remember, memories of his diseased wife and things he did as a child in Italy. Jason, Rob's best friend, decides to help Holly help Aldo relive these experiences. Rob watches over this and sees as is girlfriend and best friend begin to fall in love and begin to get over him. To Rob's surprise Aldo can see him. Aldo talks to Rob which causes Holly to think that Aldo is having hallucinations, a sign that his Alzheimer's is progressing. Rob also watches over his own family and sees the pain he has caused them. While watching his parent's therapy session he begins to remember the uncomfortable truths about the day he died and the actual cause.
Throughout the book Rob tries to understand why he is stuck on Earth and how he can help all the people he loves. He tries to sort out how to help Holly, Jason, and Aldo without being able to talk to them. Aldo's time is limited and he isn't always willing to help.
It's like a badly made chocolate cookie. You decide to eat the cookie even though it is burnt on the bottom. You hope it tastes good but it actually tastes bad. The more you eat of the cookie the better it gets until you eat the edge, where it is burned black -- the end. I give this book a 1.5 because I thought it was written badly. The character's would almost be developed but then a twist in the plot would bring out a new view of the character that differed from before. Although I did like the way the book was split up. (This part earned the 1.5 points it got) It was from the point of view of Holly (in first person), Rob (in second person), and Jason (in third person).

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The Hippo at the End of the Hall, by Helen Cooper

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The Moon Over Crete, by Jyotsna Sreenivasan, for Timeslip Tuesday

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The Time Museum, Vol. 2, by Matthew Loux for Timeslip Tuesday

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