Samantha Sanderson At the Movies (FaithGirlz / Samantha Sanderson)

Samantha Sanderson At the Movies (FaithGirlz / Samantha Sanderson)

Sam Sanderson is an independent, resourceful, high-tech cheerleader. She dreams of becoming an award-winning journalist like her mother, and so she’s always looking for articles she can publish in her middle-school paper (where she secretly hopes to become editor). And with a police officer for a father, Sam is in no short supply for writing material. It seemed like the perfect opportunity. When an explosive device is found in the local theater, Sam gets the lead on this developing and controversial story—controversial because the movie theater has recently come under attack by a renowned, outspoken atheist for allowing a local church to show Christian movies. Sam’s police-officer father happens to be heading the investigation, and Sam can’t resist doing some sleuthing of her own with the help of her best friend Makayla’s techno-genius. But when Sam’s theories end up being printed in the school paper, she lands in big trouble—and danger! Gr 5–7—Seventh-grader Samantha Sanderson dreams of becoming an award-winning journalist just like her mom. She hopes that being a reporter for the middle school newspaper will lead to bigger and brighter things down the road. In At the Movies, Sam catches a big break when she and her computer whiz friend, Makayla, unwittingly discover a bomb set to go off at the local movie theater the next day during the showing of a controversial Christian film. Sam's dad, a police detective, is assigned to the case, and Sam is certain that he'll feed her insider information to help her write her article and blog posts. Sam's articles make a splash, but not necessarily in the way she wants. The second book, On the Scene, finds Sam and Makayla investigating a case of bullying that involves mysterious notes and packages. This Christian fiction mystery series aimed at tweens delivers a mostly realistic main character, with a supportive family, and a strong faith in God. The scenes at Sam and Makayla's church are thoughtful, and could invite some good discussion, yet manage to avoid being preachy. Sam's faith is part of her life, but at no time does it overshadow other aspects of her personality. Despite the fact that Sam's middle school sometimes seems more like a high school, the trials of the middle school years are well captured. Recommend for libraries where Christian fiction is in demand.—Heather Webb, Worthington Libraries, OH Sam, an evangelical seventh-grader in Little Rock, shows both intelligence and spunk as she investigates local mysteries. With a police detective for a father and an investigative reporter for a mother, Sam knows the importance of asking uncomfortable questions and making careful observations. In this series opener, Sam and her best friend, Makayla, literally stumble onto a bomb planted in a movie theater that had recently come under attack by a group of atheists. Sam thinks this is the perfect story to boost her school-newspaper career and eagerly pursues the investigation, while Makayla tries to remind Sam to be more patient—advice that Sam doesn’t always heed, leading to hurt feelings and the threat of a lawsuit. Caroll offers an engaging exploration of Sam’s age-appropriate development from black-and-white thinking to more nuanced understanding of the world. Her faith is an essential part of her character, which makes this series a good choice for young readers of similar background. Published simultaneously with On the Scene, in which Sam investigates a string of bullying attacks. Grades 6-9. --Francisca Goldsmith Born and raised in Louisiana, Robin is a southerner through and through. Her passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others. Robin's mother, bless her heart, is a genealogist who instilled in Robin the deep love of family and pride of heritage--two aspects Robin weaves into each of her 14 published novels. When she isn't writing, Robin spends time with her husband of twenty years, her three beautiful daughters and two handsome grandsons, and their character-filled pets at home--in the South, where else? She gives back to the writing community by serving as Conference Director for ACFW. Her books have finaled/placed in such contests as the Carol Award, Holt Medallion, RT Reviewer's Choice Award, Bookseller's Best, and Book of the Year. Samantha Sanderson At the Movies By Robin Caroll Miller ZONDERKIDZ Copyright © 2014 Robin Caroll Miller All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-310-74245-6 CHAPTER 1 SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES There was just something right about popcorn so covered in butter that you had to lick your fingers. Samantha "Sam" Sanderson swiped her hands over her jeans and reached for her drink in the dark theater. Her best friend sitting beside her did the same. Makayla shoved the straw in her mouth. Slurp! Sam and Makayla stared at one another by the light from the movie, then giggled before they shushed themselves. "I need more to drink," whispered Makayla. "You think?" Sam whispered back. "Let's go to the co