Dragon’s Bait

Vande Velde, Vivian. Dragon’s Bait. Orlando: Magic Carpet Books, 1992. 196 pages. (Fantasy)

The main characters of Dragon’s Bait are Alys, a girl from Saint Toby’s and a very hard working girl at that; and Selendrile, the dragon that was going to eat her but turned out not to be interested in Alys. The novel takes place in Saint Toby’s, Griswold, and Green Barrel Inn. They both wanted revenge on the person that turned Alys in. Alys was sentenced to death and tied to a pole to be eaten by the dragon, Selendrile, for being a witch. There is one event that struck my eye: Alys had to cut her hair and act like a boy, but the witch realized that she was a girl because of her fake boy voice.I am very likely to read another book by this author because she described every detail fully; she wrote that Selendrile, the dragon, first appeared out of nowhere. Also, the great details such as how Selendrile’s mane was such a lush color of gold. I would also recommend this to a parent because they both like a good fiction book even though they may not know it.

Reviewed by: 90210

The Quillan Games

Machale, D.J. The Quillan Games. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2006, 486 pages. (Fantasy/ Sci-fi)

In this novel, Bobby Pendragon finds himself on another adventure through Halla, the universe. In this part of Bobby’s quest to defeat the evil traveler, Saint Dane, he goes through the flume, a teleporter only travelers can use, to the gaming planet of Quillan. Here, he meets people who take gaming seriously because it is the only way to make life for your family better. When he arrives in Quillan, he finds out a super-company, Blok, controls everything. He encounters spiders and super-humans who are called D.A.D.O.S. He is then forced to compete in the Quillan games with life and death stakes. Meanwhile, on Second Earth, they place we live, Courtney Chetwynde, bobby’s childhood friend and rival, is recovering from a near death experience. Courtney then finds out that that Mark, a friend of theirs, has gone to a different territory with Saint Dane who was disguised as their middle school bully, Andy Mitchell. On Quillan, a group of rebellious citizens, called the Revivers, is trying to overthrow Blok and regain their lives. Bobby has moved onto the finals of the games, the Grand X. Will Bobby survive and make it home? Will the Revivers help the turning point on Quillan? Will Mark ever come home?

You will have to read the book to find out. I recommend this book to anyone who likes action, fantasy, and comedy. This book is the seventh one in the Pendragon series. I would read the other books in the series so you will get the concept of travelers and Halla. If you are a person who has good taste in books, this book will taste good to you.

Reviewed by: TXTtehBALL12

Midnight Rider

Hiatt, Joan. Midnight Rider. NY, Aladdin, 2006. 372 pages. (Historical Fiction)

The book I selected was called Midnight Rider. It takes place during the Civil War. Hannah is the main character in the book. She is fourteen years old, an orphan, and was very sad because her aunt Phoebe had just sold her horse Promise. Everyday since then, she snuck out to see the boy who bought the horse. When her aunt found out, she sent her to live in England with the Gages. The Gages are a rich family who live in London. General Gage lives there. Hannah was to be their maid. The boy, Caleb, knew the Gages and went there and left Promise in the stables. Hannah found a secret tunnel to get to the horses, but she had to dress up as a boy to get out so no one would be looking for her. Girls had a curfew they had to follow. She went to meetings only guys were allowed to attend at night. I would tell you more but, you need to read it find out what happens next. I recommend this book to all my friends because it is about history and includes Paul Revere who was one of the first people who found out Hannah was a girl. This book is a very good book. I read it in fifth grade and I made my grandma get it for me because it was so good. This book is also one of the books that if you only read 330 out of its 372 pages, it does not make sense. So read it and tell more people about it.

Reviewed by: BlueGoo32

Breaking Dawn

Meyer, Stephanie. Breaking Dawn. NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2008. 754 pages. (Fantasy Series / Vampires)

Breaking Dawn is the fourth and last book in the Twilight saga. The saga is about a teenager named Bella, Edward Cullen, Jacob Black, Victoria, and the Cullens (Edward’s family). The story takes place in a small rainy town called Forks, in Washington State. In this book, many events happen: one of the first things to happen is that Bella and Edward get married. While on their honeymoon, Bella gets pregnant. The couple is faced with another problem. Someone isn’t happy about the baby and is ready to kill it… along with its family. What will happen to the new couple and their newborn child? Will Bella ever get to be a vampire? Read Breaking Dawn to find out!
I loved all of these books and found it hard to believe there will ever be a series that pains me so much to stop reading. I highly recommend reading the first book and going in order, or you will be terribly confused. Read Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, then Breaking Dawn. If anyone is in need of a thrilling book, an adventure book, a love story, or just a book to fall in love with, these are your books.

Reviewed by: DancingPenguin96

Freak the Mighty

Philbrick, Rodman. Freak the Mighty. NY: Scholastic, 1993. 160 pages. (General Fiction)

Max has always been called dumb, slow, and stupid, while Max’s cousin Freak is really smart, but really short. Max’s father is an inmate in prison for trying to kill Max several times and supposedly murdering a citizen. While Freak and Max became best friends, Freak found out that he had a disease that was going to leave him in braces and crutches for life. I think that this book was astonishing. I would recommend it to readers who like a good story.

Reviewed by: Rick4Nascar47

Talent

Dean, Zoey. Talent. NY: Penguin Group, 2008. 288 pages. (Fiction)

My book review was on Zoey Dean’s Talent. There are four main characters: Mackenzie (Mac), Coco, Rebecca (Becks), and Emily, they are all entering high school. This story takes place in Los Angeles just before school starts. Mac has no talent but tries encouraging a girl from a party she went to to be an actress. Emily faked her way in the party and Mac realized that Emily had talent. Her mom tries to tell her that she’s not cut out to be an agent but Mac pursues her dream. Mac had to turn Emily into a boy by changing her style because the role in the movie, Sea Devils, was for a boy. Some interesting things that happened in the book were that Becks got hit in the face by a football when she was on the beach. While I was reading it, I felt that you don’t have to be cool or rich to become what you want to become. The reason it was a teens book is because it speaks to teens by having a teen in the book with a teen life and the same issues that teens today have. I highly recommend that teens should read this book!

Reviewed by: BrownieLover101

Companions of the Night

Vande Velde, Vivian. Companions of the Night. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Inc., 1995. 212 pages. (Mystery / Horror)

The main characters in the story are Kerry Nowicki and Ethan Bryne. Kerry is a 16 year old girl who lives in a small town. Ethan, however, is a vampire who lives in another small town. The story takes place in Rochester, New York. Kerry’s dad and her little brother Ian get kidnapped, and she has to fiend them with Ethan’s help. Ethan, on the other hand, is trying to hide from the vampire hunters. Kerry solves her problem when she meets someone named Professor Marsala who tells Kerry that her family is at the police station or they got to go back home. Ethan, though, had Kerry protecting him because when vampires sleep, they go into a very deep sleep because there are vampire hunters trying to kill him. I would recommend this book if you find vampires fascinating. Also, once you started reading, it you can’t stop.

Review by: No Where Man

Eclipse

Meyer, Stephanie Eclipse. NY: Little Brown and Company, 2007. 629 pages. (Fantasy Series / Vampires)

All the characters are back in the best selling book Eclipse. In this book Bella has to choose who she loves, Edward, her vampire boyfriend, and Jacob, her werewolf best friend. In this book a vampire, Victoria, is out to seek revenge for her old clan member James, who was killed by Edward and his brothers, Jasper and Emmet, in Twilight. Victoria has made a mess. She has made newborn vampires, and they are out of control. They are killing people because they have no self-control. Jacob and his pack along with Edward and his family must work together to save Bella’s life once more. The wolves and vampires are finally working together to defeat Victoria and the newborns to save Bella.

If you like thrills, romance, and action, I suggest these books 100%. You won’t want to set it down once you start reading it. These are best selling series, and I highly recommend these books. They’re great.

Reviewed by: PenguinLover12

Teen Idol

Cabot, Meg. Teen Idol. NY: HarperCollins, 2004. 291 pages. (Fiction)

Meet Jenny Greenley, the “mayonnaise” of Clayton High. She’s also a secret keeper and because of that, she writes as Ask Annie, an advice columnist in the Clayton High newspaper. One day Jenny is called to the principal’s office and discovers that Luke Striker-a Hollywood movie star-is coming to the tiny town of Clayton to research for an upcoming movie. Since Jenny is good at keeping secrets, she will be ‘Lucas Smith’s’ guide in his two weeks at Clayton High. When Luke is introduced to Clayton, he is surprised and disgusted with the cruelty of the student body. Everything else with Luke keeping his disguise goes fine until the Saturday of the school chorus’ car wash. There Luke removes his shirt and reveals a tattoo. He jets off to L.A., but not before a) asking Jenny to the Spring Fling the following week and b) asking Jenny to help things at Clayton High be more humane. So now, instead of smoothing problems over (the mayonnaise), Jenny has to be up there, actually causing problems to fix others (like going against the most popular kid in the school to get her favorite teacher’s Cabbage Patch doll back). How will a girl who is everyone’s friend and an idol student go rebellious and rock the boat?

I enjoyed this book. It really talks about going against the grain and standing up for what you really believe in.

Reviewed by: Fuzzy Zebras

Travel Team

Lupica, Mike. Travel Team. NY, Philomel Books, 2004. 274 pages. (Sports Fiction)

Danny Walker, all though he’s the smallest kid in his grade, is trying out for the 7th grade Travel Team (basketball). Danny’s dad, Richie Walker, came to town on one of his annual visits to Middletown. When things go from okay to awful, Danny and Richie become closer than ever. Danny also becomes friends with some unexpected people throughout the book. Read the pages of Travel Team to find out more about Danny and Richie Walker and all their unexpected friends have to offer! I think that Travel Team is an excellent book to read, and I think that it shows that, through tough times, there is always someone to fall back on even if it happens to be someone unexpected! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes sports, basketball in particular.

Reviewed by: BlueberryBuddy

Blind Alley

Johansen, Iris. Blind Alley. NY: Bantam Books, 2004. 344 pages. (Mystery / Suspense)

This book has a character named Jane, Eve Duncan’s adopted daughter. Jane has a face that is one of a kind, but one killer wants to wipe her face from the earth forever. Anyone with the same facial features as Jane better look out. Jane is forced to have guards around her twenty-four seven to keep her safe, but even then, the killer may manage to get his hands on her. Will Jane be safe? Will the killer find her? Why does the killer hate her face? To find out read Blind Alley, this is a thriller you will become addicted to.

This is a wonderful book that you can’t put down once you begin. On a scale from one to ten I give this book a nine.

Reviewed by: English Girl 4000

My Side of the Mountain

George, Jean Craighead. My Side of the Mountain. NY: Penguin Books, 1991. 177 pages. (Survival Fiction)

Meet Sam Gribley, an ordinary boy who hates living in New York City with his family. He decides to run away to the Catskill Mountains with very little money and limited resources. On his journey, Sam will meet “Bando,” an English teacher who got lost in the Catskills and was lucky enough to find Sam’s campsite. He will also train a falcon named Frightful and will have lots of fun along his way while fishing, hunting, and playing. But, what happens when rescue comes? Will he stay with all he has known for almost a year now, or will he go back with civilization and live with his family? Find out in My Side of the Mountain. I think this is a very fascinating book that tells you can do anything you dream about. I highly recommend that everybody try this book. It teaches a great lesson and shows you that everything is possible if you put your mind to it.

Reviewed by: BaseballPlyr

Deep Down Popular

Stone, Phoebe. Deep Down Popular. NY: Scholastic, 2008. 280 pages. (General Fiction)

Every grade has one outcast. It’s someone who doesn’t fit in, has no friends, and hides from all her other classmates. In this story, that outcast is Jessie Lou Ferguson. She’s a shy, 6th grader, living in the boring town of Cabanash, Virginia. She’s also been secretly in love with the most popular guy in school, Conrad Parker Smith, since the third grade. But then, one day Conrad came to school… with a leg brace. His popularity instantly started going down. He became less and less popular until, suddenly, he had no friends. And to make matters worse, the teacher assigned Jessie Lou to walk Conrad home every day after school and carry his books for him during school! She’s never even said one word to the guy! Will Conrad look past an image and fall in love with her or will Jessie Lou find that loving the popular boy is sometimes the worst possible thing you can do?

I liked this book. I thought it was really cute but kind of confusing. The author went all over the place with her writing. She would talk about things that happened in the past, and wasn’t very clear on when the story came back into the present. I would give this book a B.

Reviewed by: JustGuess

Pretties

Westerfeld, Scott. Pretties. NY: Simon Pulse, 2005. 370 pages. (Sci-Fi)

Tally Youngblood has finally become pretty after all these years. She loves it! She has finally crossed the bridge and is getting used to seeing all of her friends pretty faces, although they still amaze her. Shay has also become pretty and they are still best friends. Tally has an amazing boyfriend and is having a great time until someone from her past finds her in New Pretty Town and reminds her of what happened to her brain: turns out that when you get the operation, not only does it change your face, but it affects your brain as well. He also brings her two small pills and says that they are the cure. Tally is so shocked, she is afraid to take the pills alone, so she takes one and her boyfriend Zane takes the other. Tally sees the difference in her own behavior and Zane’s. But Zane starts getting extreme headaches, and Tally realizes that something has gone terribly wrong with the cure. The only way that Zane will have a chance of living is if the two of them can escape into the wild and find the woman who made the cure. Will they make it? Read the book and find out!

I LOVE this book! It is a great follow up to what happened in the first book of the series, Uglies. I highly recommend not only this book but the entire series!!!! I give this book a 11 out of 10J!!

Reviewed by: Figur8girl4ever

Breaking Dawn

Meyer, Stephanie. Breaking Dawn. NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2008. 754 pages. (Fantasy Series / Vampires)

Breaking Dawn is the fourth and last book in the Twilight series. The series is about a teenager named Bella, Edward Cullen, Jacob Black, and the Cullens (Edward’s family). The story takes place in a small, rainy town called Forks. In this book, many things happen: One of the first events to happen is that Bella and Edward get married. While on their honeymoon, Bella gets pregnant, but the child threatens her life. Edward and Bella are faced with the problem that another group of vampires wants to kill their unborn child- and then their family. The couple rounds up as many friends, family members, and allies as possible to try to slow down death. I loved all of these books, and I find it hard to believe there will ever be a series that pains me so much to stop reading. I highly recommend reading the first book first and going in order or you will be terribly confused. Read Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and then Breaking Dawn. If anyone is in need of a thrilling book, an adventure book, a love story, or just a book to fall in love with, these are your books.

Reviewed by: DancingPenguins96

The Host

Meyer, Stephanie. The Host. NY: Little Brown and Company, 2008. 619 pages. (Sci-Fi)

The main characters in this book are Melanie, Wanderer, and Ian, and it takes place in the future, at a time when souls have basically taken over the human population. Once the souls capture a human, they would place a soul inside the human body. The soul would then take over the human’s mind as though nothing changed. Melanie is one of the few human not yet captured and taken over, but that all ends the day she is caught by the seekers. When a new soul, Wanderer, is placed inside Melanie, she refuses to let her mind be taken over. Melanie talks to Wanderer’s mind, but she is really unable to control her body. She exists only in Wanderer’s mind.

One day on the way to the healer, Wanderer and Melanie change their course. They then begin a search through the desert to find the man Melanie loves and only exists in their memories. Hoping he is still in control of his mind, they begin looking. Along this journey, Wanderer and Melanie become closer. Will Melanie ever get her body back? Read The Host to find out.
I LOVED this book! It was definitely right up there with the Twilight saga. If you want any type of book at all, I extremely recommend this book. I didn’t find it possible to stop reading it; I doubt you will either.

Reviewed by: DancingPenguins96

Trickster’s Choice

Pierce, Tamora. Trickster’s Choice. NY: Random House, 2003. 403 pages. (Fantasy Series)

Meet Aly: the not quite 16 heroine of Tamora Pierce’s Trickster’s Series. Overshadowed by her father, a spymaster for the kingdom of Tortall, and her mother, legendary defender of the realm and heroine of her own series—The Lioness Quartet—Aly finds herself floating through life, flirting with boys, and learning spy craft from her father. When she runs away from home, Aly must conceal her identity and past when she is captured and sold as a slave in the distant Copper Isles ruled by a ruthless king. Aly finds herself in a household out a favor with the king and is exiled along with them to the farthest reaches of the land. Will Aly find her place as a slave in a strange land or try to fight her way home? Nothing is what it seems in this exciting book by local author Tamora Pierce.

This is a wonderful read, perfect for a rainy day. Aly is a fantastic character to spend your day with as she struggles to find her place and survive in a world where a wrong word can mean death. Although the book is populated by numerous characters from Pierce’s other novels, I didn’t feel that I had to read them to understand Aly or the story. If anything, the bits and pieces you learn about these characters makes you want to explore their stories when you turn the last page of Trickster’s Choice.

Reviewed by: Disreputable Dog

Runaway

Van Draanen, Wendelin. Runaway. NY: Laurel-Leaf, 2006. 276 pages. (General Fiction)

Take a look inside Holly’s world as we travel along in her adventures through her diary. Holly is a foster child living with her horrible foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bender. They abuse her and don’t give her healthy living conditions. So, Holly runs away. Follow along as Holly meets different people throughout her journey to try to find out where she really belongs in the world.

I liked this book. It was a little disturbing, though, to hear about what awful things some foster parents might actually do to children. But, it’s very well detailed. I give it an A-.

Reviewed by: JustGuess :)

The Reptile Room

Snicket, Lemony. The Reptile Room. New York: Harper Collins, 2000. 190 pages. (Adventure Series)

Meet Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. These three children have miserable lives full of unfortunate events. Their house burned down, their parents got killed in the fire, and Count Olaf was trying to get his greedy little hands on the Baudelaire fortune. Now, since their house has burned down, they were going to live with their Uncle Montgomery a very famous and respected herpetologist. He studies snakes and lizards from all across the world. His previous assistant quit, and he has a new assistant, Stephano. When Stephano arrives, Klaus automatically knows it is Count Olaf. What happens next? Read The Reptile Room to find out. I felt that the book was very exciting and once you started reading it you do not want to put it down.

Reviewed by: LT28

Twister Summer

Robert, Willo. Twister Summer. NY: Simon Pulse,1998. 190 pages. (Mystery)

The book I selected was Twisted Summer. It’s about a girl named Cici, who can’t wait for summer to start. She is so excited because she is going to one of her childhood hideouts: Crystal Lake. Little did she know that this summer was going to change her life. She finds out that one girl and two boys died at the camp. These were kids that she had grown up with at this lake. Everyone thought that this one guy killed them, but Cici doesn’t believe that he was the actual guy. So, she started to investigate. Cici has a hard time believing what she has uncovered. The killer could be someone close to her, a friend, maybe even someone in her family! She must be on the right track because she now becomes the murder target!

This book is very interesting. I really enjoyed it. I don’t really have an interest in these types of books but wanted to try it anyways. I usually read books that aren’t really serious. But, I still liked it. I give it a 7 ½ because it’s not really the type of book that I would normally get.

Reviewed by: PradaPanda

Mermaid Park

Mayall, Beth. Mermaid Park. New Jersey: Razorbill, 2005. 248 pages. (Fiction / Romance)

Amy is a normal teenaged girl just like everyone else her age. But what makes her special? Is it that no girl ever saw a mermaid before? Well Amy has, and she will do whatever it takes to get a job at the Mermaid Park. But Amy finds out that there is a trick: they’re not real mermaids at all. After each show, they change into their “normal” selves in the dressing room, and Amy is not that surprised at all because she knows that there aren’t real mermaids. There is still one more surprise in store: how can they breathe under water if they are not real mermaids? One night Amy was curious and decided to see what it was like to be in the pool where the mermaids had preformed. She was wondering if she could do it with all the water pressure on her. She was born with a pre-mature heart. Can she do it? We will find out soon.

A summer romance, Mermaid Park, a little sister who thinks she owns the universe, a mom who is hard to get along with, and a step dad who has no qualities of a real dad… a recipe for disaster? Or can everything work out? Read Mermaid Park and find out. I thought the book was very good. It kept me entertained and at the end of each chapter it kept me wanting more which, in a book, is what I am looking for. It’s a great book, so read it.

Reviewed By: DolphinGirl76

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Taylor, Mildred. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. NY: Puffin, 1976. 276 pages. (Historical Fiction)

This book is about an African-American girl, Cassie, and her family who live in Virginia. In one year, the family has to deal with nightriders (mean white men who try to set African-American’s homes on fire and kill them), burnings, and being humiliated in public simply because they are black. Cassie’s family is also at risk of losing their land because they owe taxes. The land is very important to their family because it ties them together. In the end, they must destroy what is most important to them, the land, to save someone’s life.

I selected this book because at first the front cover looked interesting. Then, I read the back, and it sounded very interesting. On the back there was a quote that said this book was full of thrilling adventures. This book was very exciting, and I couldn’t put it down. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends.

Reviewed by: Kae5495

Walking with Grandfather: The Wisdom of Lakota Elders

Marshall, Joseph. Walking with Grandfather: The Wisdom of Lakota Elders. Korea: Sounds True Inc., 2005. 114 pages. (Non-Fiction / Native Americans)

This book is about a man named Joseph who is talking about what his grandparents had told and taught him as a child. Throughout the entire book, Joseph is talking about his life as a child. His grandfather’s name was Albert, and he was a Sicangu Lakota in his sixties. Now he is an Elder. His grandmother is Annie, Good Voice Eagle Two Hawk, and is most likely in her sixties too. Joe lived with his grandmother when he was little. He talks about everything his grandparents taught him: how to find and make arrows in a dried piece of ash stave, and several life lessons, stories, and Indian languages. This story takes place in South Dakota, where the Lakota had settled. There were some hard times for Joe and his grandparents. First they moved out of a beautiful log home on a plateau in a prairie with horses. One of the horses was found in a snow filled gully, smothered. There was nothing left other than her carcass that was mangled by the coyotes. Shortly after they moved, the house was sold and then ripped down. Each chapter is like a different story that took place sometime in his grandfather’s life.

I really loved this book because it was moving and touching. It taught me things like how to make arrows out of wood and some words in Lakota. I think this book was very well written. I recommend this book to anyone, especially anyone who has a good relationship with their grandparents. This author would most likely make a great teacher (but I’m afraid he’s too old) because he wrote this book, and it’s so good and has so many good stories and life lessons that I couldn’t stop reading it!

Reviewed by: ChickenNoodleSoup

The Million Dollar Shot

Gutman, Dan. The Million Dollar Shot. New York: Scholastic Inc, 1997. 114 pages. (Sports Fiction)

The story takes place in a trailer park and is about a kid named Eddie Ball who won a contest. For winning the contest, he got to make a foul shot during halftime at the NBA finals for a million dollars. The million dollars could change his life and put an end to his and his mother’s problems. But someone really doesn’t want Eddie to make the shot. He sent letters and painted “you’re going to miss” on the backboards which distracted him. His neighbor, Mr. Oakley, walked up to him one day and asked him if he wanted to know the secret to making foul shots. Eddie said, “There is no secret.” Mr. Oakley took ten foul shots and made all of them. Eddie asked, “How did you do that?” Mr. Oakley replied, “If you let me be your coach, I will teach you the trick.” Eddie agreed and practiced with him every day. Mr. Oakley made him take five hundred shots every day for practice. But Eddie cannot shot as well under pressure. Will Eddie make the shot?

I liked this book a lot, but there is a character in the story that I despise very much, Mr. Finkle, because he is the one who is running the contest, but he doesn’t want to give away a million dollars.

Reviewed by: Sally56

Too Many Secrets

Wright, Betty. Too Many Secrets. New York: Scholastic, 1997. 118 pages. (Mystery)

The book that I chose was Too Many Secrets. The main characters are Chad, Jen, and Benson the dog. In this book, the story takes place at Mrs Beane’s house because Mrs. Beane fell down her stairs and had to go to the hospital. While Mrs Beane was in the hospital, Chad was asked to watch Mrs Beane’s dog, Benson. Whenever Chad tried to take Benson out for a walk, he wouldn’t move. He would just hide under the couch. Then, Chad remembered that Benson had a blue fuzzy bone that he would always carry around with him even on walks. Chad had to go to Mrs. Beane’s house to get it. When Chad went to get it, he thought he saw a person in the house. When Mrs. Beane fell down the stairs, she thought that she saw the person too. Now, Chad needs to see what is going on in Mrs. Beane’s house.

An interesting thing in the story is that Chad goes to Mrs. Beane’s house every day to watch the house and see if anybody is breaking in. This is a book that I would share with my parents because my dad is a police officer, and he likes to hear about those kinds of things.

Reviewed by: ???

Killer Angles

Shaara, Michael. Killer Angles. NY: Random House, 2003. 355 pages. (Historical Fiction)

This book is by the father of Jeff Shaara, one of my favorite historical fiction authors. It seemed pretty obvious to me that Jeff obtained his writing capabilities from his father because this book is phenomenal! Killer Angles is about the Battle of Gettysburg through the eyes of Confederate Generals Longstreet, and Robert E. Lee, as well as Federal General Buford, and Federal Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. Gettysburg is a town in southern Pennsylvania that saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the United States’ Civil War. This book describes some of the worst parts of the three days of battle such as the battle at Little Round Top, a large hill at the extreme left of the Union line. Michael Shaara really brought history to life, as we followed the thought processes and strategizing of these military master minds. He made you feel like you were there. The descriptions and details were incredible. I thought he did an excellent job of keeping the book historical accurate while making it interesting and hard to put down. I really enjoyed this book, and continue to try to get my hands on books by either of these authors. I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys books about historical battles. This is an especially good book to read before making a field trip to Gettysburg. Having this background information would make your visit that much more enjoyable.

Reviewed by: SuperReader22

Prince Caspian

Lewis, C.S. Prince Caspian. NY: Harper Collins, 1959. 223 pages. (Fantasy Series)

This fantastic book is a true masterpiece. Prince Caspian is the fourth book in The Chronicles of Narnia. Since I knew that a motion picture based on this book was going to be released, I decided that I should read the book before I see it. I am so glad that I did. The book is about a young prince whose parents are dead, and so he lives with his uncle, the false king of Narnia. This book takes place many years after Peter, Lucy, Susan, and Edmund were last in Narnia even though for them it had only been a year in their land. Narnia is now inhabited by mainly humans or Telmarines instead of the original inhabitants, or the talking animals and other fantastic creatures. The original king and queens of Narnia must now come and aid Caspian and his few dwarves and beasts. If you loved The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, then you are sure to love this book. (Fantasy)

Reviewed by: SuperReader 22

Kidnapped Book Two: The Search

Korman, Gordon. Kidnapped Book Two: The Search. NY: Scholastic Inc, 2006. 138 pages. (Mystery)

Everybody wants to know, where is Meg Falconer? Aiden, Agent Harris, and Aiden’s parents, who live in Baltimore, are trying to find a lead to Meg’s kidnapping. When Meg’s kidnappers decide to move to a new hideout, she decides to leave a trail for Aiden and the FBI to follow. Every time Meg’s kidnappers stop at a rest stop, she asks to go to the bathroom. Whenever she goes into the bathroom, she clogs the toilet. When Aiden hears that there have been clogged toilets all down Route 119, he thinks it must be Meg. He tries to tell Agent Harris, but he won’t listen. He finally gives up and runs away from home to go and try to find Meg by himself. With winter coming, will Aiden and Agent Harris find Meg in time? There is one interesting thing in the story. While Meg is trying to escape, the 20-year-old kidnapper, one of the three kidnappers, lets her go because he feels bad about holding Meg hostage for so long.

I selected this book because it was the sequel to the book I read before this one. I also selected this book because I love this author and the series.

Reviewed by: Sally56

Lost in the Secret Cave

Doyle, Peter. Lost in the Secret Cave. Colorado Springs, Colorado: Focus on the Family Publishing, 1996. 127 pages. (Mystery)

The main characters in this book are Penny, David, and Mark. This story takes place in Portugal. The problem they face is that they have found a secret cave on a high up cliff. They decide to explore it, and while they are in there, they run into some trouble with the people who made the cave. But these people are not just normal people, they are bad people who are stealing gold from a near by body of water. How they go about solving this problem is by running and scattering around in the cave away from the bad guys. But the question is, do they get out of the cave or do the bad guys get them first?

I thought that this book was very interesting and it had a lot of good action. Also I thought that in some parts Peter Doyle did a very good job of explaining and detailing each scene. The character who was most like me in the book would be Mark because he made a choice of either splitting away from David and Penny or getting caught. I thought that when he did this, it felt like something I would do.

Reviewed by: Anawanasakian

Rebel

Cornwell, Bernard. Rebel. NY: Harper Collins, 1993. 416 pages. (Historical Fiction)

Rebel is the first of the four book Starbuck Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell. The books are set in the American Civil War and follow a rebellious young Nathaniel Starbuck. Nate, runs away from his well-to-do family in the North following a scandalous relationship with a French actress, and finds himself in the center of Richmond after the fall of Fort Sumter. He seeks the help of a friend’s father who owns an entire county in Virginia. The man is Washington Faulconer, and he is raising his own legion of southern men to go and fight the Yankees. Nate Starbuck is enlisted and appointed as one of Faulconer’s aids. It seems like Nate is just joining with southern forces to spite his abolitionist, preacher father. After a long time of preparing and training on both sides, battle finally breaks out in the battle of Bull Run, also referred to as the battle of Manassas Junction. The battles have vivid, realistic description. You can almost see it all happening right in front of you. The book also seems pretty accurate based on what I have researched about this time period. There are some historical characters that make appearances throughout the book.

Read through as Nate leads the Faulconer Legion through the carnage of battle. I thought that this was a terrific example of Civil War historical fiction. Cornwell tells a captivating story full of adventure and attitude. I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of the turmoil that occurred during the period of time before the first battle. It is also interesting how Nate grows as a character throughout the novel. He is not someone that I could really relate to in the beginning because he seemed like a spoiled brat who never really thought things through. I will definitely be looking for the three other books in the series to see how Nate develops.

Reviewed by: SuperReader22

Uglies

Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. NY: Simon Pulse, 2005. 425 pages. (Sci-Fi Series)

The book that I read was Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. This was a phenomenal book. Tally, a fifteen year-old ugly from Uglyville, which is just outside of New Pretty town, wants nothing more than to be a new pretty. She has just lost her best friend Peris, who was three months and twenty-six days older than her, and is really lonely. But, she is not lonely for too long. Soon she meets Shay, a fifteen year old ugly who has the same birthday as her. They hit it off immediately; Shay teaches Tally how to hoverboard, they rearrange their faces on their interface rings, and soon Shay mentions something that is thought of as only imaginary myths, the Smoke and David. Then Shay does something that surprises everyone, especially Special Circumstances. She decides to run away to the Smoke and begs Tally to come with her, but when Tally refuses to go with her, Shay leaves without another word. But, Shays disappearance didn’t go unseen. Special Circumstances finds out and bribes Tally with something she can’t refuse: she must go and find the Shay and then reveal the Smoke’s remote location. She hates to betray her friend, but the offer is too much for her to refuse. She has a thrilling new journey on her hands now, but still is unsure of where it is going to lead her.

Uglies was a superb book. It was a complete page turner that I never wanted to put down. It had a wonderful plot that had so many twists and turns that it was a roller coaster kind of book. It had so many ups and downs in its emotional plot and several wonderfully funny parts in the rest of it. I would suggest this book to anybody who loves a good read with a little bit of everything from heroines to a dramatic “two best friends torn apart because of the love life that they share” soap opera like plot. I cannot wait until I read the next book in this series.

Reviewed by: So1cc5er

The Outsiders - Reviews

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. New York: Penguin Group, 1995. 180 pages. (General Fiction)

This book deals all the struggles the greasers and the socs go through with each other. This book tells of two different lifestyles mixing and fighting for the right to call their group better than the other. S.E. Hinton uses the slang of 1960s to write an interesting book that tells so much about the lives of the two groups and the people living in then. This book is very well written and it will suck you into it, as though you’re there living side by side with the characters doing what they do.

Reviewed by: ME

"The Outsiders is a quick read because it is a book that will make you not want to put down."

- Jazzy G

“I thought that The Outsiders was an excellent book. It felt like I was actually there. Anyway I loved the book and I think it’d be great for anyone to read.”

- Jodancer6696

I liked this book because it was exciting and riveting. S.E. Hinton wrote this book with amazing detail and you never expected what was coming around the corner. The only part I didn’t like was when she went into great detail about how the Socs jumped the Greasers. I thought that was a little too violent, and I didn’t need to know everything that she told us. I would give this book a 8 out of ten because she gave too much detail and there was no main problem. I think if the book focused on one main thing instead of jumping around from problem to problem, it would be much better.

- Garfield3

I think that there is a lot of action in this book that makes a reader not want to but down the book. This is one of a few books that I have liked and not wanted to put down. I give very high credit to this author!

- Foroutthou13

Being a girl, this is not the kind of book I usually read. I’m into the diaries of princesses and girls from some of the most important time periods in history. I also like action books about mythological creatures. Perhaps you have heard of The Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill (reviews available). That is one of my all time favorite books. S.E. Hinton’s Outsiders was a good book, but too violent for me. I would give it two stars because I didn’t like the style, and it was very violent.

- FizzyJunior31

The Outsiders- Reviews

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. New York: Penguin Group, 1995.180 pages. (General Fiction)

“If I were to give this book a one word label it would be ‘fantastic’ because it is perfectly written. It is pretty amazing that only a 15 year wrote such a touching book.”

- Superbeau42

“The Outsiders is the best book ever!!! This book tells reality, not some made up fantasy book where everyone is okay. It is magnificent and one of the beloved books of all time.”

- Antwain

"The Outsiders was such a great book because it was real. The events in this book could happen. Also, the people had real conversations, not the kind that could never happen. This is a sad and scary book but also happy and satisfying."

- Doodles33

"I thought The Outsiders was one of the best books I have read in a long time."

- ???

“It’s not easy to stay out of trouble in this neighborhood. Not all the brothers will make it through. But you’ll just have to read the book and see what happens!"

- Prada Panda

"This honestly is my overall favorite book! The book has lots of action. The characters are awesome and have cool names. It is the book that I have been looking for!"

- Laugher

"It is like riding a log rollercoaster blind folded so you don’t know what is going to happen next until you read it. Mind you S.E. Hinton was only 15 years old when she wrote this book and it got published when she was 17 years old back in 1965."

- LT28

"Grabs you right from the get-go. This book is a must read for young teens who like a suspenseful story with a great plot."

- hockeysniper13

“It was a pretty good book, but I wouldn’t have read it if it wasn’t for school.”

- Jazzy G.

"I like them because they are cool and strong and back up their friends..."

- MC Kibbles

The Outsiders

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. NY: Penguin Group, 1995. 180 pages. (General Fiction)

Ponyboy is your average 14 year old greaser. He is in a gang with his brothers Sodapop and Darry and a few more mischievous boys. They are usually pretty good kids, besides the fact that they get into rumbles and smoke and all. Ponyboy is probably the best in school out of all of them. He could have a better life than what he’s living right now if he chose to. He has a strong future ahead of him, until one night in the park. He was walking with Johnny, looking at the stars, when all of a sudden some Socs come and jump them. Nothing ever really happened when people got jumped, until that one Soc tried to kill Ponyboy. Jonny rescues him, but at what cost. Now they are on the run, not knowing what the future may hold for them.

I thought that The Outsiders was an awesome book. It gives you a taste of the true, sad life that these people had to live. It describes how they have fights all of the time and how rough it is to escape the torture of being jumped, beaten, and judged just because they were greasers. I recommend that all other people read this book. It really opened up my eyes to how good my life is even though I thought that it wasn’t at times. I think that everybody should know that they have it well; therefore I believe that everybody should read this book.

Reviewed by: So1cc5er

The Wide Window

Sniket, Lemony. The Wide Window. NY: Harper Collins, 2000. 214 pages. (Adventure Series)

Meet the Baudelaries. They are some of the most unfortunate children in the history of books. They have had so many events thrown at them in so little time: their parents died in a house fire, their house burned down, and they had to live with Mr. Poe. Since they had to be transferred from their Uncle Monty’s house because he died, they had to go live with their Aunt Josephine. They meet a charter owner, Captain Sham, who seems suspicious to the children. When they got back to their new home, they could not stop talking about him. They thought that he was Count Olaf, and they would soon find out. When Aunt Josephine wrote a letter to the children saying that she committed suicide, she left clues saying that she was hiding from Count Olaf.

I felt that the book was very exciting, and very hard to put down when you start to read the first couple of chapters. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about unfortunate children.

Reviewed by: LT28

The Magician’s Nephew

Lewis, C.S. The Magician’s Nephew. NY: Harper Entertainment, 1955. 100 pages. (Fantasy Series)

The Magician’s Nephew was about a young boy named Digory whose mother wass very sick and could die at any second. While Digory’s father was away, he and his mother were living with Digory’s aunt and Uncle Andrew who was a magician. And last is Polly who lived next to Digory and eventually became friends with him, even though they had totally different personalities.

This book was about how Uncle Andrew had two rings that were green and gold. When they put on the yellow ring, it would take them to a world between the worlds, a flat piece of land with identical pools. To switch worlds, they’d put on the green ring and jump into a pool. Eventually, Digory and Polly got tricked into going there. While they’re there, they run into an evil witch, who incidentally goes back to the real world and makes their life horrible. When Digory and Polly try to get her back they jumped into the wrong pool, which brought them to a perfect world with the fruit of life which gives you everlasting life. Do Polly and Digory get back to their own world? Does Digory’s mother die? And what will Polly and Digory do with all of the rings? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

If I could choose another one of C.S. Lewis’ books, I definitely would. And now that I have finished this book, I am currently reading Prince Caspian, another sequel in The Chronicles of Narnia. Once I am done reading Prince Caspian, I hope that I will finish all of the series. If you’re wondering what the other books are in the series, her they are- The Magician’s Nephew, The Loin, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Voyage of the Dawn Trader, and The Last Battle. I hope to read all of these.
Reviewed by: Jodancer6696

Annie Between The States

Elliot, L.M. Annie Between The States. NY: Scholastic, 2004. 535 pages. (Historical Fiction)

The main characters in Annie Between the States are, Annie, her mother, her brother Jamie, Thomas walker, and her other brother Laurence. The story takes place during the Civil War down South. Annie has to look after her mother and younger brother, Jamie, while her brother, Lawrence, is at war with the Blue Coats. She solves her problems by trying to help her brother, Lawrence, keep track of the Blue Coats that he is fighting against. She also has another problem when she falls in love with a Blue Coat named Thomas Walker. She doesn’t know what her brother will think. Her little brother, Jamie, is trying to gain independence by joining the Confederate side and show his older brother that he can manage on his own. Annie is a lot like me because she is a young spirited girl who loves to ride horses and climb trees. Her brother, Lawrence, even had to get her out of a tree once when she was ten. When she goes to a prison for murder, she goes through a lot of neglect, she has to sleep on a cold stone floor with hundreds of rats and mice. . The ending was very extraordinary because she ends up with one of the Blue Coats as her husband. The author is one of the best writers that I have read.

Reviewed by: BlackPearl

Twilight

Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight. NY: Time Warner Book Group, 2005. 498 pages. (Fantasy Series / Vampires)

The main characters in Twilight are Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, James and his cult of Laurent and Victoria, the rest of the Cullen family; Carlisle, Esme, Emmet, Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper, and Charlie Swan. In this book, Bella Swan moves to the boring town of Forks, Washington where she meets the mysterious and handsome Cullen Family. She has class with Edward Cullen, the most handsome man she has ever laid eyes on, and finds that he seems to be repulsed by her. After he saves her from a tremendously horrifying fate, Bella gets suspicious and takes a upmost interest in him. After she finds herself saved from yet another terrible fate thanks to Edward, she finds out that he has an unimaginable secret. He and his family are all well over one hundred and, even crazier than that, they’re all vampires! Rosalie has nothing but hatred toward Bella, but the rest of the Cullen family welcomes her warmly. Soon Bella becomes like one of the family and goes to one of their thunderous baseball games. But, it turns out to not be a game at all. Other vampires hear them play and take interest in them, and one of them catches Bella’s scent. They manage to keep her safe until they leave, but they soon learn that one of them is a determined tracker, and that he will stop at nothing to catch Bella. No one knows what will happen to her, but they are soon going to find out, and it may not be all happy news for them……

This was the most amazing book that I have ever read. The romance between Bella and Edward was wonderfully funny and beautifully written. The action sequences were thrilling and exciting, and I never once wanted to put the book down. If I had to choose one word to describe this book it would be admirable. It would be that because every part of the book was well written, and it was a hard to put down, easily enjoyable book. I have read all of the other books in the soon to be four book series and they are all just as good if not better. I would most definitely recommend these books to everybody who wants to read the best books of all time.

Reviewed by: So1cc5er

Fever 1793

Anderson, Laurie. Fever 1793. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000. 243 pages. (Historical Fiction)

Fever 1793 takes place in the past (obviously, if you read the title you would know that). It was early August just about the time when everyone was, literally, sick of summer, and waiting for the frost to come. It was just about time for the fever to strike the waterfront and for families to prepare to avoid the disease at their homes. Thousands of people were fleeing the city because of the Yellow Fever- a deadly disease that had no cure and spread extremely fast. Matilda was fourteen years old and adventurous. She didn’t like to listen to other people; she just liked to do her own thing, the way she wanted to do it. Her mom is an uptight woman who owned a coffee shop and whose husband was dead. Her Grandfather fought in a war alongside General George Washington in the wars, around the year 1791. Her grandfather was one of Mattie’s best friends for years, at least until the Fever came to their town. Nathaniel is a fifteen year old boy who Mattie was just a friend with at first, and soon he becomes more. Nell, well you’ll hear about Nell pretty soon. Eliza is Joseph’s sister and Robert and William’s aunt. She took care of the boys and Joseph was unhealthy and unable to do work. Will the fever ever end, or will it take over all the world? Will Mattie find her mom? I can’t tell you! So you’ll have to read the book yourself and then see what happens.

I would definitely recommend this book to someone because the author really brings you into the scene; it’s like you’re really there. She provides lots of descriptions that you never would have thought of. Also this book has a lot of emotions. It is sometimes happy but at other times it makes you feel sad because, I have to tell you, there are many deaths in this book.

Reviewed by: JoDancer6696

The Sacrifice

Duble, Kathleen. The Sacrifice. NY: Margaret K. Mc.Elderry Books, 2005. 210 pages. (Historical Fiction)

The main characters in this book were Abby, Dorothy, Mama, Papa, and Aunt Elizabeth. This story took place in Andover, Massachusetts in 1692. The problem that they all faced was that two girls in Salem were telling everyone that they were being tormented by the devil, and only if a witch laid a hand on their arm, they would be silenced. The town sheriff of Salem came over to Andover with the two girls and had a witch test. Anyone whose hand silences the girls will be put in jail and have a trial for being a witch. Luckily, the family passes the test, because the girls were picking at random who they were going to accuse. But, just as the family got comfortable, they learned that Aunt Elizabeth was accused of being a witch. Then, just when things couldn’t get worse, they do: the old nanny who quit, decided to take revenge on the family and accuses Abby and Dorothy. They try to solve the problem by toughing it out, but that doesn’t work to well, so they come up with a plan to make it look like they were instructed by someone to become witches. Another interesting thing that happened in this novel was that when they were in prison, someone near and dear to them died.

In ten words, I would describe this book as a very interesting book that kept me on my toes. I would completely recommend this book to everyone. It was scary, but not too scary. The author did a phenomenal job getting the point across of the horror that was the witch trials.

Reviewed by: Garfield3

I Am Legend

Matheson, Richard. I Am Legend. New York: A Tor Book, 1995. 159 pages. (Sci-Fi / Vampires)

Robert Neville is the last man on earth. Well, let me rephrase that, the last normal man on earth. The rest are Vampires that are all out to get him, including his wife. It started out as just a virus; a little disease that you could prevent by avoiding physical contact. But then, it jumped and it was airborne, and people worldwide caught this disease, and nobody knew how to cure it. Robert’s wife soon fell ill. It was heartbreaking for him to watch her die slowly one night. He went out to bury her, even though it was against the law to bury loved ones who passed, because people could get sick from the bodies, so they were to be burned. The night after Robert buried his wife, he decided to go home and have a drink, just to get in a better mood because burying you wife so discreetly is not the best way to spend your day. Later that night, after he was finished pouring alcohol into his body, he heard a knock on the door. He opened it to find his wife standing there looking at him. He couldn’t believe it: I already buried her! He thought. At first he thought that maybe he was mistaken, that maybe she was still alive. But, soon he realized he was deadly wrong, his wife didn’t come home to be with him, she came for his blood.

I would definitely recommend this book. It was a very interesting read, seeing as there’s only one character and he talks to himself the whole time. But, it tells a very good story, and if you’re in for an adventure, this book is the one for you. I Am Legend was a novel I just couldn’t put down, and I am hoping to read more like it.

Reviewed By: Jlee007

Al Capone Does My Shirts

Choldenko, Jennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts. NY: Scholastic Inc. 2004. 225 pages. (Historical Fiction)

The main characters in this book are Moose and Natalie Flanagan. This story takes place on Alcatraz Island in 1935. The problem they face is they have to move away his friends and live on an island with murders, hit men, conmen, stickup men, embezzlers, burglars, kidnappers, and Al Capone. Al Capone is a gangster from the 1930s. He was born in Chicago, and he was the boss of illegal gambling, and bootlegging (selling illegal alcohol) in New York. He also worked as a thug and a bouncer. Moose and Natalie have to move to Alcatraz because their dad got a new job there. His sister, Natalie, has a bucket of buttons. If you take one, she will know which one you have in your hand.

I selected this book because I saw it and it looked like a good book because of the cover. So I read the back of the book, and it looked good so I got it. That is how I selected this book.

Reviewed by: Hockey25

Weasel

DeFelice, Cynthia. Weasel. NY: Hearst, 1990. 119 pages. (Historical Fiction)

This story is about a young boy, Nathan, who lives with his sister, Molly, and his father in Ohio. They had a peaceful life there on a farm with cows, chickens, and pigs, but this pleasant Ohio town is about to get ugly. There is a name that haunts everyone in their sleep. No one thought that he existed, or if he was even human, but some people say that he is. They say that he worked for the government to help remove the Shawnees. The government had told him just to remove them from the land, but Weasel had his own idea on how to remove them. Since all of the Shawnees are dead or left, Weasel started turning on the settlers, including Nathan’s father. Now Nathan has to man up and face Weasel himself, or Weasel will just keep killing and killing anyone who gets in his way.

I liked this book because it was an adventure book that was thrilling to read. The author made the book have some action parts but then the story turned and threw a dramatic murder story at you. Sometimes it starts the chapter of as a mystery and then it suddenly ends the chapter as a happy moment and gets the reader thinking. This book catches a reader’s eye and his attention. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for an interesting fiction and adventure book.

Reviewed by: HockeySniper13

Danger .com @5//stalker/

Cray, Jordon. Danger .com @5//stalker/. NY: Children’s Publishing Division, 1998. 213 pages. (Mystery Series)

There are three teenagers Mina, Camille, and Mike and one stalker, Kristle. In this story, the two girls go to the mall to hang out. Over the years Camille has changed and became snottier and didn’t hang out with Mina that much. So, at the mall they ordered yogurt and sat down to talk. Camille asked Minato come with her meet a guy she met online, but Mina says no. Camille kept begging, and when Mina still refused, Camille got mad and left. Later that night, Camille’s mom called looking for her, but Mina didn’t know where she was and suggested that she was at a friend’s house. A couple days later she still didn’t show up so the FBI and cops were called to investigate. I felt this novel was a very good book. Everything was so unexpected and exciting. I would love to read more of Jordan’s books. It was also a very sad book and a teary, but the book was a really good one, and I suggest people read it.

Reviewed by: LonaLama13

The Spiderwick Chronicles Books 4 & 5

DiTerLizzi, Tony. The Spiderwick Chronicles Books 4 & 5 NY: Simon and Shuster, 2004. 244 pages. (Fantasy Series)

The main characters in the last two books of The Spiderwick Chronicles are the same Simon Grace and Jared Grace, the twins, and their sister, Mallory Grace. These two books took place in the old mansion, the old quarry, and Mulgarath’s castle. The problem in book four, The Ironwood Tree, is their sister is kidnapped by the dwarves. They have to rescue her by giving them the guide which they did not have, so they traded a math book without the dwarves knowing. The dwarves go back on their word and kidnap them too. They solve the problem by escaping. They find a creature that leads them out of the old quarry with their sister.The problem in book five, The Wrath of Mulgarath, is that an evil ogre destroys their home and kidnaps their mother. They have to find Arthur Spiderwick who got kidnapped by elves, and they find him.Finding out how to stop Mulgarath and how to stop him didn’t work, so they ran off to his castle and fought him to death.These novels had good pictures and were fun to read anywhere.

Reviewed by: Mckibbles

A Walk to Remember

Sparks, Nicholas. A Walk to Remember. N.Y.: Warner Books, 1999. 240 pages. (Romance Fiction)

The book I chose to read is A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks. The main characters in this book are Jamie Sullivan and Landon Carter. This story takes place in 1958 in Beaufort, North Carolina. Landon and Jamie are total, and I mean total, opposites. Jamie’s father is the town minister, and her mother is desist. Jamie is a very religious and a good girl. Landon, on the other hand, is a bad boy. His father walked out on him, and his mother and doesn’t live far from Landon and his mom. Landon and Jamie don’t like each other very much either. Landon, being the bad boy he is, has to do community service. He has to tutor kids in algebra, which Jamie does, and has to perform in the school musical. Jamie is in that too. He either had to do those things or be suspended. The school play is about love. Landon has to play the main male character. During rehearsing, Landon needs help with his lines, so he and Jamie get together after school everyday to practice. They rehearse, he gets better, and the play night comes.

Oh boy! During the play, Jamie is Landon’s mistress. So the part, at the end, comes where Jamie takes off her cloak and sings. She wrote the music and words herself. Watching Jamie, Landon realizes how beautiful she is and falls in love with her. When they get together, people make fun of Jamie, and Landon steps in and takes care of it. Then, one nice night, they were walking back from a date and Jamie tells Landon she has leukemia. What happens next? Read A Walk to Remember to find out.

If I were to give this book a one word label, it would be touching. This book, and it’s a very successful movie, it shows people what real love is and how to conquer horrible problems. I’ve seen the movie also, and it’s a tear jerker. But, I’d have to say, it’s a beautiful story in both words and pictures.

Reviewed By: Tinkerbell14

Saving Grace

Spencer, Katherine. Saving Grace. New York: Parachute Publishing, 2006. 246 pages. (Fiction)

In the story Saving Grace the main characters are Grace, Philomena, Dylan, Rebecca, her dad, mom, and brother, Matt. The story mainly takes place in Grace’s high school and her bedroom. The problem Grace faces is that her brother has died in a car accident and she is trying to cope with this because school is starting, and she doesn’t know if she’s going to be able to face everyone and everything without thinking of Matt. To try and solve these problems, Grace starts hanging out with other people and starts ditching her friends for the “hottest” guy in school. She also tries to go to counseling, which doesn’t always seem to work. Also, the girl Philomena starts to meet with her at all of her bad moments and starts to act kind of weird around Grace. She also knows about all of the partying and drinking that Grace does with her new friends when Philomena isn’t even there.

I don’t know if I would recommend this book to someone because it depends on what they like to read. I personally didn’t really care for the book because in the end it doesn’t really end with any big type of a finish. I selected this book because a friend had recommended it and she made it sound interesting. In ten words I would describe this book as an eye-opener to what is around you and within you.

Reviewed by: Urbs518

Deadly Stranger

Kehret, Peg. Deadly Stranger. NY: Troll Communications, 1989. 178 pages. (Mystery)

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a victim of a kidnapping? Peg Kehret’s Deadly Stranger is the story about the kidnapping of a twelve year old girl, Shannon. The setting is at Franklin High, and Katie just moved from Mill Valley High to Franklin because her dad got a job out in the town of Franklin. She’s the new kid in school, and she met Shannon on her first day. They had lots in common and became friends immediately. On the second day of school they were going to go shopping at the mall. They had just finished making their plans at the corner before going home to change their clothes. Shannon walked home and found that there was a kidnapper in her house. The guy was crazy and called her “Angie.” Katie didn’t know what was happening, and she came to pick up Shannon. The man told Katie he was Shannon’s brother, and Shannon was at a piano lesson, but she really wasn’t. Katie went home and kept calling Shannon, but no one would pick up. The next day when Katie went to school, she found out that Shannon wasn’t there and the teacher announced that Shannon was missing. When Katie walked home from school, she was hit by a car coming out of nowhere. Katie was rushed to the hospital and had a broken leg. She gave the police a description of the car that ran her over. Meanwhile, Shannon was being kept in an old rundown barn outside of town. She was yelling at her kidnapper that she wasn’t “Angie,” but the man wouldn’t listen. He kept saying he wanted to kill Katie because she didn’t die when he ran her over.

To find out the ending of this mystery, you’ll have to read the book. I don’t want to give the details of the story away. I enjoyed this book because I like to read mysteries to see if I can figure out the ending. I can’t connect this idea to my life because I haven’t ever had it happen to me. My parents make sure that I am smart and I don’t get myself in trouble, and I can’t walk home by myself. If I were Shannon, I would try to escape and not go along with what he was telling her to do.

I would recommend this story to kids who enjoy mysteries. This is a thriller and when I read it, I felt like I was in Shannon’s shoes. I wouldn’t recommend the way Shannon followed her kidnapper’s demands. This book is a little different than some of Peg Kehret’s other books, such as Escaping the Giant Wave, because it’s not about an earthquake or a tsunami. But this book is like another book she wrote, The Stranger Next Door because there was a kidnapping in that one, too.

Reviewed by: Brine66

Skeleton Key

Horowitz, Anthony. Skeleton Key. NY: Philomel Books, 2003. 264 pages. (Action / Adventure Series)

This book, Skeleton Key, is about a fourteen year old boy, Alex Rider, who’s on vacation when he gets a call from the MI6. They want him to go to Wimbledon and make sure everything is okay and stays under control. When Alex is in Wimbledon, he finds out a plan by a Chinese gang to win millions on unfair bets. Now the Chinese gang is after him, so he tries to get help from MI6 who tells him that the only way of getting away from the gang is to go on another mission to the Island of Skeleton Key. When Alex is on the other mission, they will work things out with the gang.

Alex had no choice but to go on the mission to the island and join with two agents from the CIA to find out what happened to uranium bought by a crazy Russian who wants to make Russia a world power once again. After some people died, it was up to Alex to stop the crazy Russian from killing millions of innocent people and save the world again. I think that Skeleton Key was an awesome book because it was full of action, and it was very detailed. When I was reading this book, I never wanted to stop reading because it was so detailed and action packed. Out of a rating of one to five, I would give this book a five because mystery books are my favorite to read, and it was very detailed, and it kept you on the edge of your seat the whole time.

Reviewed by: Flyracer113

Paranoid Park

Nelson, Blake. Paranoid Park. New York: Penguin Group, 2006. 180 pages. (Realistic Fiction)

The main character in Paranoid Park is an unnamed sixteen year old prep skater. He lived with his mom and his little brother, Henry, since his parents had a confusing divorce. He was friends with a few other skater preps; one of them is named Jared Fitch, a sixteen year old senior at his school who taught the main character most of what he knows about skateboarding. At first they weren’t close friends but then during the summer, they hung out a lot and by the end of summer they were best friends. Another main character is named Macy McLaughlin who is also one of the main characters; she’s known the main character since he was in sixth grade. The setting is in Seaside, Oregon, mostly at Paranoid Park, and at the high school.

The problem the main character faces is that he accidently kills a security guard at a train station and has to find a way to live through it. He has to find out what to do and if he can tell anyone about it. For several days he struggles with his past, remembering the day of the horrible accident. The main character’s friend, Macy, tells him to write a letter saying what he had done and to do whatever he wanted with it, save it, send it, burn it, do whatever with it. What will he do with the letter? One of the interesting events that happened in the novel that I like is when the main character goes to Paranoid Park for the first time. Another thing that I liked was when the security guard died because the way the author described it seemed very real and it was very graphic.

The character that was most like me was the main character because he always thinks about the past and his mistakes, and he also thinks about what could happen in the future. Another reason why I’m most like the main character is because we both are just learning how to skateboard and we’re both always paranoid. The character that was most like my friend K- was Jared because he knows a lot about skateboarding and so does K-. Another reason K- is like Jared is because K- is teaching me how to skateboard just like Jared taught the main character. The character that I loath in the story is Jennifer because of the way she acts and what she wants. If Jennifer was a student at my school, I wouldn’t hang out with her at all. I would recommend this novel for students in Junior High or older because of the main topics and events that happen throughout the novel. I would read another book by this author, and plan on it, because it had such great detail and I never wanted to – and never did – put the book down.

Reviewed by: Kirby

The Cry of the Ice Mark

Hill, Stuart. The Cry of the Icemark. U.K.:The Chicken House, 2005. 490 pages. (Fantasy)

The Cry of the Ice Mark was about a 14 year old princess, Thirrin. When her father Redrought is killed in a brutal battle against Scipio Bellorum, she has to take on the title of queen. Thirrin is not going to win against Bellorum without help, so she needs to find allies and fast, but when you are surrounded with creatures that hate you or don’t even know you exist it is kind of difficult. Thirrin tries her best and winds up with some of the fiercest creatures in all the land: giant snow leopards, vampires, werewolfs, and a young warlock. Thirrin has a great amount of battle knowledge from her father, but it is difficult to juggle between being in love with your main adviser and having to deal with a coming war…….can Thirrin do it all?

I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it to anyone. Stuart Hill is a wonderful author and I look forward to reading the rest of this series and any future books he writes. The Cry of the Icemark is amazing, because I couldn’t put it down as soon as I started reading it!

Reviewed by: Doodles33

Point Blank

Horowitz, Anthony. Point Blank., New York: Penguin Books, 2002. 215 pages. (Action /Adventure Series)

In Point Blank there are two main characters: Alex Rider, a secret spy for MI6 a British Intelligent Agency who uses him as a child spy to solve mysteries without anyone suspecting him; and Dr. Grief who has cloned himself in order to take over the world and must be stopped. Alex is the only one who they can send in. He lives in England where MI6 is located but Point Blank Academy is in the French Alps. If Alex doesn’t stop Dr. Grief he will take over the world using his clones. Alex had to fake being a rich family member. The school only took wealthy famous boys to correct. I would recommend this book to somebody because it is interesting in the way you don’t want to put it down. Anthony Horowitz also has a series that go along with all of these books. I think his books are for older kids then young because they do get a little violent.

Reviewed by: MasterChief40

Anastasia

Nicholaievna, Anastasia. Anastasia. New York: Scholastic Inc, 2000. 220 pages.
(Historical Fiction)

Anastasia is obviously the main character. She also has three sisters, Olga, Marie(Mashka), and Tatiana. As well as a brother, Alexie, Who is the youngest of the five children. After four girls, the country was releived to have finally had a new tsarevitch or the next tsar or King. There is also her father, Tsar Nicholas II and of course her mother. The story takes place mainly in Tsaskoe Selo, which means the tsars village where their main palace is. They also are in other palaces and on some of their cruise ships. Anastasia is different from Olga, Tatiana and Mashka. She is more outgoing and is always “apalling” to her mother, aunt, and grandmother. Alexie is also very outgoing, but his illness causes every little cut or bruise to bleed and bleed. His mother is very careful with him, but Alexie just wants to have fun. There is a war against Germany, but I won’t tell you who wins.

I got this book from the our library. I selected the book because I had seen the movie, and I knew it would be even better because it was written by Anastasia herself. I would recommend this book to other girls because it is about a girl around my age and I can relate to some of the feelings she has throughout the book.

Reviewed by: FizzyJunior31

Holes

Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Scholastic, 1998. 233 pages. (Fiction)

The main characters in Holes are Stanly Ylnats and Hector Zaroni who, while at Camp Green Lake are known as Caveman and Zero. One day Stanly was walking home from school and some shoes fall from the sky and hit him. Moments after, he started to hear cop sirens so he ran. He went to court and had a choice: Camp Green Lake or jail. He had never been to camp before and it turns out that it is a hard labor camp, and all they did was dig holes. Read it to see what happens.

I didn’t like it because if you have seen the movie it ruins the book. But I definitely like the book better than the movie because it has more detail and a better storyline than the movie as well.

Reviewed by: Joker 13

True Fans

Austin, Dan. True Fans. Guilford: Lyons Press, 2005. 214 pages. (Sports Fiction)

I read the book True Fans by Dan Austin for my book reveiw. There are three main characters, Dan, his brother Jared, and a friend named Clint. The three men are basketball super fans. They decide to hop on their bikes and ride across the country with a basketball in hopes of getting it signed from people from all over the country and then submit it to the Basketball Hall of Fame. They are equipped with a trailer full of peanut butter and a Spalding basketball. Along the way, they meet some friendly people and have great adventures. Having nowhere to stay, they sometimes had to settle for camping on a random yard! Having heard of this amazing journey, some strangers opened up their doors to feed the three men. After traveling forty-eight hundred miles, they finally arrived at the Basketball Hall of Fame. [The basketball was added to the hall of fame’s permanent selection.]

I thought this was a great book because I thought it was amazing that this was actually a true story. I also enjoyed this book because I love to read sports books. If I had to rate this book on a scale of one to ten, I would have to give it a10. I selected this book because it was recommended by another reader. After reading this book, I will definitely be looking to read another documentary book.

Reviewed by: SF42lax

Blue Bloods

De La Cruz, Melissa. Blue Bloods. NY: Hyperion, 2006. 302 pages. (Fantasy / Vampires)

Blue Bloods is the book I chose to read. The main character was Schuyler Van Alen, and it took place in New York City. It was about vampires who call themselves Blue Bloods because their blood looks blue. They live with humans without their knowledge. Blue Bloods were mostly the founders of New York City. Schuyler was a Blue Blood. But, there was a problem; something is hunting the Blue Bloods, and the Blue Blood’s leaders won’t acknowledge it. The Blue Blood’s leaders think whatever is hunting them don’t exist anymore. So, how are Schuyler’s fellow vampires dying? As Schuyler and friends try to find out what is killing the Blue Bloods, she also discovers a few facts about her history and makes new friends. How will she find something that isn’t supposed to exist? Will she be killed by these mystery murderers? You can find out if you read this book.

This book was fantastic. Every chapter answered some questions and gave you more questions you needed answered. It made it so you kept reading. It got a little annoying. At the end, not all your questions were answered and the last page gave you more questions. This book is good for people who like vampires.

Reviewed by: ~DeidaraSama

No Talking

Clements, Andrew. No Talking. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2007. 146 pages. (Fiction / Humor)

The main characters in this book are Dave Packer, and Lynsey Burgess, and this story takes place at Dave and Lynsey’s school, Laketon Elementary School, in the middle of New Jersey. The problem Dave and Lynsey face is that Dave bet Lynsey that boys could talk less than girls. Lynsey then bet Dave that girls could talk less than boys. To solve this problem, Dave and Lynsey challenged boys against girls and whoever talked the most, boys or girls, loses the challeng and the ability to say that they were the best. Some more interesting events in No Talking are that the teachers get really suspicious because this years class was the noisiest ever, and eventually even some of the teachers join in the “NO Talking” challenge.

If I were to give this book a one-word label, it would be “funny” because No Talking was interesting, it made me laugh, and it made me think of something people at my school would do. When you start to read this book, you just can’t put it away because it just gets funnier and more interesting as you read on. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a laugh.

Reviewed By: Pablo

Princess Academy

Hale, Shannon. Princess Academy. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005. 314 pages. (Fantasy)

The main character of the book, Princess Academy, is Miri. (There are many other secondary characters that wouldn’t be the same if the story didn’t have them, but Miri is the main one). The story takes place at Mount Eskel where an isolated village where mostly quarry workers and their families live. Because Miri’s mother died in the quarry while collecting linder to trade, Miri’s dad won’t let Miri work in the quarry. She doesn’t like being the only girl who is fourteen and not working in the quarry. Then, by surprise, some lowlanders came to tell all girls under age seventeen that they have to go to an academy and that a year from then a prince would come and pick a girl to marry to live with in the lowlands. Olana, the teacher at the academy, is very strict (and I mean REALLY strict, she wouldn’t tolerate practically anything the girls did and would not be merciful to anyone) but the girls still find a little hope that they might be a princess. Many bad and good events happen at the quarry and when Miri finds out a way speak a quarry language, (a way of talking to people in their minds without saying anything) some of their problems are worked out. The girls become good friends and work through troubles out together when they need to. Many things happen in this book while Miri goes through her life: she and Peder are now acting differently around each other, and Miri knows, after all of her troubles, that she is home and she really wants nothing more.

I would recommend this book for someone to read because there isn’t just one character in the story. Even a minor character has a big role and has to be there so the story can be told. When I read this book, I felt I was right there as one of the girls going through the same obstacles they were going through. When you start reading you think you can easily guess exactly what might happen, so it seems a little boring. Then when you finally get to that part in the story, it is totally different from what you suspected, but it still comes to a great ending. Everything in this book hits you by surprise, and that is why I liked this book so much.

Reviewed by: IrishDancer64