Catalyst

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Catalyst. New York: Viking, 2002. 323 pages. (Realistic Fiction)


Kate Malone is a straight-A student, math geek, and is obsessed with chemistry. She lives with her dad and her brother, and her mom died when she was very young. Kate has a boyfriend and two absolutely wonderful best friends. So far, in her life everything is going perfectly, (except for her mom) and she feels as if she can handle anything. Until her neighbors, the Litches, house burns down, and her dad lets them move in out of “the goodness in his heart.” Teri and her little brother have to sleep in her bedroom, and Teri always gets in trouble, fights with people, and is very inconsiderate. Kate is in her senior year of high school, and she only applied to one school, MIT. She is very anxious and stressed because she hasn’t heard from them. Her life is getting ruined more and more by the seconds that tick by. Then it blows up.

I really enjoyed this book because it’s not just about girls who are freaking out about a pimple, buying the wrong shade of lip gloss, or gaining a pound. It’s about a girl who experiences thing that happen to normal people. I really like how it showed that even if someone is perfect, there world can be torn apart. This book makes you really look at people differently, and try to see what they are really made of, and not just what other people see at a glance. I would positively recommend this book to anything.

Reviewed by: LESH

The Alchemist

Scott, Michael. The Alchemist. New York City: Delacorte Press, 2007. 375 pages. (Fantasy)

Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel are immortal. The Book of Abraham the Mage, the most powerful book ever to exist, has kept them alive for centuries and without it they will age one year for every day. So it’s a problem when Dr. John Dee gets his hands on the book- all of the book but two pages. He’s missing those two pages thanks to Josh Newman and his twin sister Sophia Newman, and he will stop at nothing to get them. Anyone in his way is history.

This book is highly addicting and extremely unpredictable. Its twists and turns leave you aching for more. Don’t miss the second book in the series, The Magician.

Reviewed by: DancingPenguin96

Pictures in the Dark

Cross, Gillian. Pictures in the Dark. New York: Puffin Books, 1998, 208 pages (Fantasy / Horror)


Charlie just got involved in a photography class. He has developed a special interest in the class… especially for the girl that just joined, Jennifer. Jennifer’s brother is the outcast of the school. He is always being picked on because of his “Evil Stare” Charlie tries, at first to stick up for him, but later on, Peter ends up stealing Charlie’s famous picture of the river at night. The thing about this picture that makes it so special is that an unknown, wild animal is causing orange ripples in the black water.

I liked this book because it kept you turning the pages to find out what happens next. I really despised Peter as a character. Peter is a creep and mysterious and when he stares at people, strange things happen. I like how at first everything seems so confusing and nothing comes together till near the end.

Reviewed By: Deviantdrawer12

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul 2

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul 2. Florida: Health Communication, 1998. 324 pages. (Inspiration / Non-Fiction)


Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul 2
Is a book written by teenagers.
When you read its stories you are whisked away
And sucked into the pages.

Don’t be surprised if it makes you realize
A whole new side of you.
After reading of all the tragedies and mistakes,
You may see life through a different view

Some stories are of love,
Some are of hate.
Others are on kindness,
Question or debate.

When you read it,
Don’t worry about how you dress or look
Just choose to experience
A whole new kind of book

This series is incredible. It really makes you realize how much others can be in pain and you may not even realize it. The Chicken Soup… series is great in how it’s written by hundreds of different teenagers and even adults. Some of them are the popular type, others are misfits, and some are in pain. From all of those different points of view you can begin to understand people better. I recommend the Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul series for all teenagers (especially girls) of any shape, size, knowledge, or ability.

Reviewed by: DancingPenguin96

That Summer

Dessen, Sarah. That Summer. New York: Penguin Group, 1996. 198 pages. (Drama / Romance)

For fifteen-year-old Haven, she can’t stand the fact that she is almost six feet tall and still growing. She and her older sister Ashley had to go through her mom and dad’s divorce, which isn’t always easy. But the hard part about it was that, that summer her dad was getting re-married to Lorna Queen the local television newscaster. The “Weather Pet” as Haven likes to call her. Also that summer Ashley was going to get married to Lewis Warsher, who Haven doesn’t really think suits Ashley at all. Then one day when Haven was working at the mall she saw Ashley’s old boyfriend, Sumner Lee. When Haven saw Sumner she remembered back when her parents were together and happy. When Ashley was nice and carefree. And everything was the way she liked it, or not…

I would and wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone because it’s a good book, but it didn’t keep my interest at all, and it’s not something I would want to read again.

Reviewed by: PrivilegedReader

Things Not Seen

Clements, Andrew. Things Not Seen. New York City: Penguin Books, 2004. 251 pages. (Fantasy)


Bobby Philips is a normal 15 year old boy who lives in Chicago. One morning, he wakes up invisible. Not knowing how this happened, Bobby turns to his parents, the Professor (mom), and the Physicist (dad). Soon it becomes a race to figure out how Bobby became invisible and make him visible again because people start to wonder where Bobby is. Later, he meets Alicia, a blind girl. She begins to help him find out how he became invisible. Bobby starts telling her things and trusting her, but what happens if the government were to find out about the invisible boy? How are they going to find out what turned Bobby invisible and reverse it? You can read the story and find out.

This book was O.K. At some places in the beginning it would move slowly, but it was fun to read. Andrew Clements is a good author for young adults. All of his books are exciting.
Reviewed by: DeidaraSama1

The Book of Story Beginnings

Kladstrup, Kristin. The Book of Story Beginnings.Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2006. 360 pages. (Fantasy)


After moving from her apartment to a house in Iowa, Lucy learns that her family all the way back to her great uncle lived in the house which the towns people called “The Brick”. Her Aunt Lavonne had lived in the house till she died and that’s when her family had moved there. She knew that her great uncle had one night disappeared from the farm house into the ocean, but everyone knows that there’s no ocean in Iowa. Lucy’s Dad told her about a little book that Oscar (her great uncle that had disappeared) had wrote in. The book had little story beginnings that Oscar had wrote years ago, one of them was a boy who lived in a small farm house in Iowa looked out his window one night and saw an ocean, on the shore there was a boat just the right size for him, he got in and sailed away. That story, Lucy realized came true according to Oscar’s sister, her aunt Lavonne, but she couldn’t ask her because she was dead!!

I highly recommend this book: it’s funny and so random! I would read another book by this author because she keeps her imagination wide open and always makes serious things hilarious.

Reviewed by: Sabine's World

Lily’s Crossing

Giff Reilly, Patricia. Lily’s Crossing. NY: Yearling Books, 1999. 208 pages.

This is a story about four main characters Lily, Albert, Grandma, and Dad. This all takes place during World War II on a beach in Rockaway. Lily is faced with a problem her friend is going work for her father in Michigan. Lily’s father is also thinking of fighting in the war in France. Albert, Lily’s new friend, has left his sick sister in Europe. Lily and Albert solve their problems by try going to France in a rowboat. That really didn’t work out so when the war ended they sent letters to his family members. Read this book to see how it ended.

If I were to describe this book in ten or more words it would be dry but kind of interesting in a way. There was really nothing there to keep my from reading on to further chapters or even finishing the book…There were so many times I wanted to put the book down, but since I didn’t have time to start another book, I read on.
Reviewed by: Sky's the Limit

New Moon

Meyer, Stephenie. New Moon. New York: Hachette Book Group, 2006. 563 pages. (Vampire Romance)


Bella Swan has her past with Edward in the Forks. She fell completely in love with him. Then, Edward moves away, leaving her with practically no explanation. Next thing she knows, her world is crumbling right into the hands of Jacob Black, her new best friend. She tries to hide her misery from herself by covering it with fun and smiles with Jacob. But when Jacob becomes something bigger, badder than any vampire, her misery returns, and her father is left to deal with her, right after his friend’s death. Bella thinks Edward has no feelings for her anymore, but what she doesn’t know; Edward knows everything that’s going on.

I fell in love with this book as soon as I read the first paragraph. Stephenie Meyer has a way of pulling you in, and never letting you out. Sometimes I hated to read it, because I knew that I soon as I opened that cover back up, I’d be gone. I’d get so lost in reading that I didn’t even realize where I was or what I was doing. I would recommend New Moon to anyone who wants to get lost in a thrilling romance. It is one of the best books I have ever read.

Reviewed by: PinkPopper

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul

Canfield, Jack; Hansen, Mark; Kirberger, Kimberly. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. Florida: Health Communications, 1997. 334 pages. (Non-Fiction / Inspirational)

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul is full of 101 stories of love, losses, life, learning, and achieving submitted by all types of different people. In this book you can find comfort, get help if you need it, experience others’ pain, and learn from others’ experiences. It is a book to cry about, laugh about, and talk about. The subjects covered in this book are: Relationships, Friendship, Family, Love and Kindness, Learning, Tough Stuff, Making a Difference, and Going for it!

This book is truly touching. It made me laugh and cry (I cried more than I laughed). It opens up a whole new part of you that you never noticed before.

Reviewed by: DancingPenguin96