Hello, Universe

Title: Hello, Universe

Author: Erin Entrada Kelly

Pages: 320

Genre: Children's Fiction, Newbery Award

Grade: A

Synopsis: Chet Bullens is a bully who's prank leads to the shy boy Virgil Salinas being trapped at the bottom of a dry well with his pet guinea pig Gulliver. Virgil's friends Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, Kaori Tanaka, who is a self-proclaimed psychic, and Kaori's little sister Gen embark on a quest to try and find out what happened to Virgil when he missed his appointment with the self-proclaimed psychic.

My Review: We listened to this audiobook on one of our road trips last summer and the girls just loved it.  Every once in a while they still reference this book in random moments, which is probably one of the best recommendations that can be made.

The Last Days of the Incas

Title: The Last Days of the Incas

Author: Kim MacQuarrie

Pages: 546

Genre: History

Grade: B+

Synopsis: This is the story of how the Incas were conquered by the 54-year-old Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro and his band of 167 men.  When the Spaniards landed on the coast of Peru, the Incas had just finished fighting a bloody civil war that pitted two of the Incan sons of the previous emperor against each other and their respective armies.  After taking control of the Incan empire and setting up shop, the original conquistadors were all richer than they had dared dream, which inspired numerous other low-class individuals from Spain and the old world to try and make a name for themselves in the new world.

My Review: My goal was to finish this book before we made our trip to Machu Picchu last summer, but I was only about halfway done at the time.  However, there is something inspiring about reading a book about the Incan empire while riding the train to Aguas Calientes, which is the Peruvian town that sits just below the mountaintops where Machu Picchu sits. This isn't just a rough overview of the downfall of the Incas, it is an in depth look at the timeline and locations where the large Inca empire remained throughout their fighting with the Spanish.