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

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood

Brashares, Ann. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood. NY: Delacorte Press, 2003. 373 pages. (Fiction Series)

Just like in the first book, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, the main characters are Carman (Carma), Tibby (Tib), Lena (Len), and Bridget (Bee). The story takes place in Maryland, during their last summer at home until they move out to college. They decided that everyone was going to stay home for the summer and get jobs to try on the pants when they weren’t traveling. Tibby had already planned to go to a film class in Virginia for most of the summer, but the rest were going to stay home. All of a sudden, Bee decided to go to Burgess, Alabama to see her grandmother who she hadn’t seen till her mother died. Bee wanted to find out more about her mother and find herself again because she wasn’t herself. She went so fast last year, forgetting about many things-didn’t stop and take everything in and now everything had caught up to her at once. Bee quite soccer right when scouts for college teams were all over her wanting her in their school and was unhealthy and gaining weight now. They take the pants out and hope they can do the same magic they did last summer. They always keep in touch in their hardest moments of the summer and hope that they will still have their friendship next year in college. This summer, like all the summers, changes their lives!

I would recommend this book to another person my age or older. If a younger person read this book, I think it would be hard for them to grasp all of what is going on. When you read there always is an image in my head because it is written so well and has had a lot of thought put into it. Every little detail in the book leads to something at the end both good and bad. I like the way the author, Ann Brashares, wrote the book so that the four friends were each different in their own way. If their mothers hadn’t met while they were pregnant, they would have probably never even met each other in everyday life. I have read this book about two times, and it hasn’t gotten boring yet, and I think it will take me a lot of reading it over and over to get bored with it.

Reviewed by: IrishDancer64

Morningtide

Henderson, Cory J. & McGough, Scott. Morningtide. Renton, Washington: Wizards of the Coast, 2008. 311 pages. (Fantasy Series)

Re-enter Lorwyn, a fantastical world of eternal mid-summer and near- perpetual daylight. After the adventures and escapades in the previous novel, (which I would say is a required read to understand this novel) Lorwyn. We join the rag-tag team of Rhys and Maralen (two elves of Lorwyn); Brigid Baeli (a race of stubby humans known as Kithkin); Ashling (a sentient elemental being of rock and fire, called Flamekin); three faeries, Illiona, Endry, and Veesa, the Vendillion clique, and finally, a Treefolk (a race of sentient trees) sapling who together are trying to free a pair of captured Giants. After a minor mishap and a fierce battle, the team frees the Giants, and is on the move. Meanwhile, the Elf hunters, becoming ever more enraged at the eyeblight Rhys, (yet another detail from the original novel, which you should really read if you are still reading and have no idea what is going on) and have gained another powerful ally in a Perfect of Elf society. Back with the team, Ashling is having very painful collisions with the power of her Elemental. Meanwhile, Maralen is having nausea attacks from Oona, Queen of the Fae, who is trying to get borrowed control over the Vendillion clique back. With a mysterious, hidden force ready to change Lorwyn forever fast approaching, this novel may very well be the best work of Scott McGough and Cory Henderson yet. Based on the popular Magic the Gathering strategy- based card game, a definite must-read for any Magic fan, I highly recommend it.

Reviewed by: Magik Monqe

Keeping the Moon

Dessen, Sarah. Keeping the Moon. New York: Penguin Group, 1999. 227 pages. (Fiction)

Colie is a fifteen year old girl who has to spend her summer with her aunt Mira in Colby, North Carolina because her mom went to Europe on a business trip. There she meets two girls, Morgan and Isabel, who became her best friends. They all work at the Last Chance Bar and Grill. Morgan and Isabel help Colie become more sociable and better looking by dying her hair because when she was younger she was fat and nobody wanted to be her friend, and everyone made fun of her a lot. At the end of the book, Colie meets a boy, Norman, who makes a portrait of her. I would recommend this book because it was really good, and I was always wanting to read more of it because it was that interesting.

Reviewed by: Dance1422

Midnighters

Westerfeld, Scott. Midnighters. NY: Harper Collins, 2004. 297 pages. (Fantasy / Horror Series)

Many of us would wish that there was an extra hour in the day where time freezes and you can do whatever you want. However, when that extra hour takes place in a world full of dark creatures that existed thousands of years ago, very few would pursue that wish. Unfortunate Jessica Day realizes that after moving to the strange town of Bixby, Oklahoma, she has a liberty that an average human can only dream of. For, her and a select few other students at Bixby High, who just so happen to be the freaks, can live an extra hour at midnight that only goes by as a split second for humans. They call themselves the Midnighters. During this extra hour, time freezes and the “Day World” completely transforms into the “Blue Time.” In this extra world, creatures that walked the earth many years ago are on the loose and have developed a certain taste in Jessica Day. Being a Midnighter, Jessica has one power and her power is believed to be the reason why the creatures of the “Blue Time” ravage after her. She must find her power, along with a way to make it by in the “Blue Time.”

This was a great book. I liked Melissa as a character even though she could be a little rough sometimes. Her talent is reading minds, which means that she is a real psychic. In order to block out everyone’s thoughts, she wears headphones that blast music. Although her power seems amazing, she can’t have anyone touch her or else the thoughts grow louder and she ends up with a screaming headache. I love how Scott Westerfeld gave each person a symbol and often switched points of view throughout the story.

Reviewed by: Deviantdrawer12

Outernet

Barlow, Steve & Skidmore, Steve. Outernet. NY: Scholastic, 2002. 170pages. (Sci-Fi)

One of the main characters in my story was Jack, a shy, young boy who receives a laptop for his birthday from his father who worked at an airbase. One other main character was Loaf, Jack’s friend, and is the jokester of the three main characters. Lastly there was Merle, the daughter of the commanding officer at the airbase that Jack’s dad got the laptop from. This story takes place between Earth and other various planets in the universe. Outernet is the story of three kids who discover a special laptop, it doesn’t connect to the Internet, it connects to the Outernet, a server that connects to the whole universe. Unfortunately they are not the only ones who want it. The FOE’s (bad guys) also seek this laptops power. So, Jack, Loaf, and Merle fight to save planet Earth from destruction by fighting aliens and traveling through portals to other worlds. They must not destroy the laptop, but they must also not hand it over to the FOE’s. They have two choices shut it down and not use the server, or return it to its owner so it can be destroyed. What will they do?

I did not like this book very much because it had no real ending. I liked the whole two choices part, but it never told what they actually did. I would not recommend this book to anyone who cannot understand concepts very well, as far as time and space travel, because the book can become very confusing. I am not one of those people who understand space travel very well, so I did not enjoy this book. If I were to give this book a grade, I would give it an 86.

Reviewed by: B-radMagil22

Maximum Ride: Schools Out- Forever

Patterson, James. Maximum Ride: Schools Out- Forever. NY: Time Warner Book Group, 2006. 409 pages. (Sci-Fi / Action Series)

Maximum Ride and her Flock are back. After rescuing Angel from an evil scientist and vicious Erasers in the first book, they have different problems in the second of the series. Max has discovered that there is a voice inside her head that isn’t hers. It is giving her great amounts of pain and telling her strange things like “save the world”. Sometimes the voice helps her, but most of the time it leads he and the flock into greater problems. Max is also convinced that she has a microchip in her arm that leads Erasers to find the flock every time. All Max wants is for her Flock to be safe, read this book to see if she can keep her flock away from danger.

The first book, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, doesn’t even come close to topping this book. James Patterson has outdone himself by making something better than his first masterpiece. This book is an easy and fast read, but it is an amazing story as well. I recommend this book along with all of the books in this series.

Reviewed By: CupcakeSALT

Among the Hidden

Haddix, Margaret. Among the Hidden. NY: Simon and Schuster, 2006. 152 pages. (Sci-Fi Series)
The main characters in this book are Luke; his two brothers, Mathew and Mark; and his parents. This story takes place on an old farm surrounded by trees on the outskirts of town. The problem that Luke and his family face is that Luke is a third child, and they are living in a time period when a great food depression is going on. Right before Luke was born, the government passed a law that only allows each family to have two children. The only way that Luke and his family can solve this problem is to get the government to throw out the Population Law. In the meantime, Luke cannot leave his house, or his family will be fined $2 million dollars. An interesting event that happened in this novel is that one day while Luke was looking through the vent in his room, he saw a face in a window after all four people living there had left. After so many years of staying home and only knowing his family members, Luke decided to sneak over to the house after the entire neighborhood left for work and school. After he made sure there was no one in the neighborhood the next day, he snuck over to the other house were he thought there may be another third child living there.

I thought this book was very well written because even though most of the book takes place in one house, you never want to stop reading. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes exciting adventure books. I think if I could rate this book, I would give it 9 out of 10 because it was easy to read and very exiting. I would read any other book by this author because she is very descriptive and clear. I thought that if I had the time, I would read this book over and over again.

Reviewed by: Pax

Julie of the Wolves

George, Jean Craighead . Julie of the Wolves. NY: Harper & Row, 1972. 180 pages. (Historical Fiction)

With troubles at home, Miyax, a.k.a. Julie, finds herself running towards San Francisco and her pen pal. Life had not always been this way for Julie; she had lived with many other children at the seal camp in Barrow, Alaska. Her mother had died right after giving birth, and her father had gone off hunting one day and had never returned. So, now she was stuck on the North Slope of Alaska with out enough food, not even a compass! She’s camped next to an Artic wolf pack. Julie watches them. She needs food. As she watches, she notices that the wolves lower than the leader in the pack always lick the leader, which Julie names Amaroq, on the chin before asking for food. Everyday she creeps closer and closer to the wolves, until she slowly comes up to Amaroq and licks him on the chin. He then wags his tail in a sign of friendship. She’s welcomed into the pack!! Julie and the new pups soon become fast friends. Her favorite pup which she named Kapu, after her father, played with her everyday. Day by day she struggles to find her way to the ocean to get on a boat to San Francisco. Will she ever get there?

I found this book to be very exciting; it just made me want to keep reading forever!! I highly recommend it for its excitement and seriousness. I would definitely read a book by the same author because I just love the way she writes. One minute the book is all serious, and the next you’re crying because it’s so funny.

Reviewed by: WillTurner136

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. NY: HarperCollins, 1950. 189 pages. (Fantasy Series)

There were four kids who ended up at their uncle’s house for the week and had a tough time before that. They were sad about their dad being in the war, and their mom stayed home and sent them away to their uncle’s house, away from the war. Their uncle was very mean to them at first, but then gave them some sympathy and didn’t really watch them every second. The four kids, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, played hide- and- go- seek one day and Lucy hid so well, the others couldn’t find her anywhere in the house. They finally found her and where she was hiding was a wardrobe that had a secret passage to another world that had an evil witch who would turn people to stone. But they didn’t know about the witch yet. They all went there and meet this weird fawn that was half human and half goat. He was scary at first to them, but after a while they were fine. The human looking creature brought them into his cabin and showed them around. The next day they were on their way back to their secret passage, but they ran into the evil witch who would turn you to stone. They struggled to get away and it took them a long time to get away.

I would recommend this book for someone to read if they like strange worlds and different, magical creatures. I would recommend this to you because it was a great book that I liked and this author writes very well.

Reviewed by: Bull'sEye

Million Dollar Shot

Gutman, Dan. Million Dollar Shot. NY: Disney Children’s Book Group, 1997. 114 pages. (Sprots Fiction)

Eddie Ball has a chance to win one million dollars! It all starts with an old company his mom worked for, Finkle Foods. They are hosting a contest to see who can come up with the best advertisement for the company. Eddies friend, Annie, writes him a advertisement. Luckily, Eddie wins! His prize is to take a foul shot at the NBA finals. If Eddie sinks the shot, he will win one million dollars! George Finkle, the owner, is out to stop him though. If Eddie drops the shot, George will be broke.

I disliked the character George Finkle because he blackmails Eddie. He makes Eddie an offer; if Eddie misses the shot he will give his moms job back and give him a free college scholarship. He’s a lousy man. This book is a book I wouldn’t know if I would be recommend to people. It’s not very good, but it’s not bad.

Reviewed by: BMini13

The River

Paulsen, Gary. The River. NY: Random House, 1991. 130 pages. (Survival Series)

The book I read was The River. The main characters are Brain, and Derek, a survival teacher. The story takes place in the wilderness next to a river (100 miles east of where he crashed in Hatchet). Some problems they face are no food, water, shelter, and fire. Brian and Derek solve the problems by using survival techniques that Brian used in Hatchet, and Brian’s Winter such as making debris hut, a bow and arrow to hunt, a trap for fish that they go in and they can’t get out, and identifying edible and non edible plants. One of the problems that they face is that Derek got struck by lightning and is in a coma and Brian has to travel 100 miles south to get to civilization. One other interesting event that happens in the novel is that Brian has to build a raft and it, surprisingly, held up to the rapids that they had to go through.

I would describe this book as fantastic, adventurous, has a great story plot, and setting. I would recommend it to an 8-14 year old person because if they like adventure, how to survive in the wild, and other techniques then they should definitely read the Gary Paulsen Brian book series. I felt that the novel was great for anyone who wants to learn about survival techniques used in the wild, and teaching it to people in a presentation, or even to your friends.

Reviewed by: LT28

The Spiderwick Chronicles Books 1, 2, and 3

DiTerlizzi, Tony. The Spiderwick Chronicles Books 1, 2, and 3. NY: Scholastic, 2003. 320 pages. (Fantasy Series)

The main characters in The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1, 2, and 3 are Jared and Simon, twins; and Mallory, their older sister. These stories took place in an old mansion and a forest. The problems they face in the first book are that a creature called a brownie is terrorizing them because they found a book. When they find that book, they disturb its home. In the second book, the problem is that goblins kidnapped Simon, and they have to rescue him. In the third novel, they try to find out if Arthur Spiderwick is still alive. They solve the problem in book one by building it a new home. In the second one, they solve the problem by going to the goblin’s camp and sneaking past them to rescue Simon. In the third book , they solve the problem by visiting their aunt Lucinda who was Arthur spider wicks niece. Interesting things that happen in these novels are they find a troll, a unicorn, an elf, a magical shape shifter called a phooka. These novels are well designed, action packed fun reading books. I really like this series because its pictures are good. Its cover is cool too.

Reviewed by: McKibbles

Peak

Smith, Roland. Peak. NY: Harcourt Inc., 2006. 246 pages. (Survival Fiction)

The main characters in this book are Peak (14), the son of Josh, and Sun-jo(15) a Tibetan citizen. Zopa ,Sun-jo’s grandfather, and Josh the father of Peak. In the beginning of the story, it take place in New York City on the side of a building. It is in the city because that is where he lived. Later in the story during the main part of the story takes place on Mount Everest on the north side. Peak gets arrested for climbing a building in New York City so he has to live with his father in Tibet. His dad wants him to make it to the summit so his climbing expedition will become more famous. While this is happening the Chinese General is trying to catch Sun-jo and imprison him.

This book is energetic and it is very interesting Not one character is like me but there is one that I really do not like his name Chein Li he is a Chinese general who is trying to take sun-jo off the mountain. Yes, I would recommend this to a friend because it could really happen in life.

Reviewed by: SuperBeau42

Twilight

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

When Isabella (Bella) Swan moves to the gloomy and dreary Forks, she doesn’t think anything could cheer her up. Then, she meets Edward Cullen, and suddenly she realizes that maybe her life isn’t going to be as bad as she thought it would be. She becomes absolutely obsessed with him, wanting to know every single detail about him. She knows there are secrets about the Cullen family, and she is determined to be the first to figure out what they are. When Bella finds out that Edward and his family are all vampires, things become difficult. She can’t stand to be apart from him. What Bella doesn’t realize is that the closer she gets, the more obsessed she becomes, the more she and the ones she loves will be in danger.

I felt that this book was absolutely phenomenal, as well as breathtaking. When I first saw the book, I thought, “Oh, what a pain, it’s so long, I’ll never finish it.” Well, I was wrong. I wish there was more, so I could keep reading as Stephenie Meyer pulled you deeper into the story. You have the feeling that you know these people. You felt like you were there in the story. I would get tied in and read forever, completely unaware of my surroundings. I look forward to reading the next book, so I can get drawn in again. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a love story. Maybe someone who wants to read something with action or adventure would like Twilight too. I would definitely recommend it to someone who wants to read something with both action and romance, because that’s what Twilight has hiding behind it cover.

Reviewed by: PinkPopper

The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty

White, Ellen. The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty. NY: Scholastic Inc, 2002. 188 pages. (Historical Fiction)

This book is very exciting; I love the middle of the book the best because that is when the soldiers are in war. Some of the characters were Rotgut, Bebop, Hollywood, Shadow, Professor, and Mighty Mouse (Patrick). This book takes place in Vietnam. Patrick and his squad face a lot of problems. Most of the problems are solved by battle. One problem happened too fast because a rocket hit the tent they were in and the squad was airlifted to the hospital, then home. Shadow is most like me because I love sneaking around. I like to spy at night with my cousins. This is the best book I have ever read because it is in a war and is very descriptive.

Reviewed by: ???

Heat

Lupica, Mike. Heat. New York: Penguin Group, 2006. 220 pages. (Sports Fiction)

Michael Arroyo is a twelve year old boy living with his older brother Carlos in the Bronx. Michaels’ father recently died, and ever since Michael and his brother have been living in a small apartment by themselves. Carlos is 17 years old, and he has to work two jobs to pay the bills.
Michael is the pitcher for the all-star baseball team, the Clippers. This year the team is hoping to make it all the way to the World Series in Pennsylvania. However, because Michael is such a great pitcher, some of the other coaches think that Michael is older than he really is. Michael won’t be able to play until he has proof of his age. What Michael needs is his birth certificate. However, he can’t find it, and he thinks it might have gotten lost on his boat ride over to New York from Havana.

This is another well written book from Mike Lupica, who tells of all the struggles of living in the Bronx without a mother or father. This book also tells of the challenges Michael faces while playing in little league baseball. Mike Lupica is a well known author who has written sports that get a homerun every time.

Reviewed by: Me

The Swiss Family Robinson

Wyss, Johann. The Swiss Family Robinson. New York: Baronet Books, 1990. 239 pages. (Survival Fiction)

I read the book The Swiss Family Robinson, and I would recommend this book to anyone; it’s one of my favorite books so far because of all the adventures they go through as a family. The main characters in the story are Mr. Robinson, Mrs. Robinson, (Elizabeth), Fritz (15), Jack (13), Ernest (11), and Francis (8). Their ship crashes off course into a rock when they’re on their way to an island near New Guinea. They see land and come up with a way to get there. Now they need to survive untill help arrives. Overall, it’s a very interesting book, their family faced many problems together, which made their family stronger than it was before.

This is one of those books that you would want to share with your family and friends because it has to do with a family going through problems together on a stranded island. It’s very interesting how they face their problems. The strange part is that when you read the book, and they’re going through all these problems, they’re calm and make everything seem so easy and relaxed. I think it might be that way because the point of view is from the father, who is always supposed to be the strong and courageous one.

Reviewed by: Mator1313

Getting Lucky

Marino, Susan. Getting Lucky. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2005. 144 pages. (Non-Fiction / Pets / Loss and Grief)

Getting Lucky is a very good, emotional book. Each chapter is about an animal at Angel’s Gate Animal Hospice that has something wrong with it: either a sickness, condition, or they were abused or betray by their owners. Some of these animals cannot be adopted because of their problems. There are about 20 animals in Angle’s Gate that are in the book: Elmo, Tom-Tom, Mackenzie, Samson, Josie, Humphrey, Juliet, Mystery, and of course, Lucky a Great Dane mix that was abused by his owner and given a second chance at life at Angle’s Gate. The main characters in this book are Lucky, Susan and Vic, the owners of Angle’s Gate, located in Long Island suburbia. Problems occur often at Angle’s Gate: the animal have to be taken care of and given therapy that sometimes does not work, and sometimes they sadly pass on. Whenever that happens, Susan feels like there was more that she could have or should have done even though there may not have been.

I absolutely loved this book! It really made me realize how many cruel people there are in this world. I really recommend this book to anyone, especially if they are animal lovers like me. This book is funny, happy, and sad at times. Susan is talking from her point of view, telling the readers what has happened to her in the past. She talks about funny things the animals did and sad and happy events that happened. I think anybody should read this book; it will really teach people that humans are not the only beings with feelings, animals have feelings too!

Reviewed by: ChickenNoodleSoup

The Lucky Baseball Bat

Christopher, Matt. The Lucky Baseball Bat. NY: Little, Brown, 1991. 58 pages. (Sports Fiction)

The book I am reviewing is about a kid, Martin, who wants to play baseball, but he doesn’t have any equipment to play. The kids already on the team are making fun of him because he’s poor and can’t afford any equipment. Until Barry gives him a baseball glove and bat so he can play on the team. It was a lucky bat for Barry and he hopes it will be lucky for Martin to. The kids still made fun of Martin saying that he couldn’t play. He then talks to the coach and gets to play. Does Martin’s lucky bat get him hits or does he strike out and never play again? I would recommend this book to someone who likes to read about baseball or likes Matt Christopher as an author. I like his books because my older cousins are related to Matt Christopher. I read his books to support him, and it’s really cool to be related to an author.

Reviewed by: Dirkadirk3

Keeping the Moon

Dessen, Sarah. Keeping the Moon. NY: Penguin Group, 1999. 228 pages. (Fiction)

The main characters are fifteen year old Colie, Aunt Nira, Isabel, Morgan, and Norman. Colie, a former corpulent girl, spends the summer working as a waitress in a beachside restaurant while staying with her overweight and eccentric Aunt Mira, and trying to explore her sense of herself. The problem that Colie faces is that she doesn’t have any confidence in herself. She had a hard time at school because everyone teased her because she was overweight. Colie solves the problem by accepting herself the way she looks. Her new friends Morgan, Isabel, and Norman build up her confidence and give her a makeover.

There was one part in the book that also happened in my life. It was when Colie had no confidence in herself in the beginning of the book. At the end, Colie accepted herself the way she was. In my lifetime, I had no confidence in myself. For example, when I walk down the hallway in school and see a pretty girl, and then when I look at myself and I see myself as a weird person. But Colie got her confidence because of her new friends. I got my confidence back from my friends. They supported me, and they cheered me up. I love my friends!

Reviewed by: DoubleDe610

The Giver

Lowry, Lois. The Giver. NY: Random House, 1993. 179 pages. (Sci-Fi Series)

Lowry creates an exceptionally detailed world devoid of color, certain emotions, and any knowledge of a world where these things existed. The main character is a young boy named Jonas. Jonas lives in a community that is governed by a committee of elders. They make all of the decisions and all of the rules. They decide who will marry, when a child will be brought into the home and what jobs people will have. The community seems to be a true utopia, with its perfect laws, flawless politics, and shared moral code. As the story begins, Jonas is looking forward to the Ceremony of Twelve. This is where Jonas will be assigned the job that he will have for the rest of his life. Jonas, like everyone else in the community, cannot see colors nor does he understand the true meaning of love, or anger, or even hate. On the day of the ceremony, Jonas’ name is skipped and he feels just terrible. The reason that Jonas was skipped is because he is to be the sole person in the community to receive the memories of all the things not experienced by others in his community. He will hold the highest position in the community; he will be the Receiver. He will learn of things like snow, wind, and sunshine. Jonas will also receive emotions like pain and sorrow. All this information will be passed on by the old Receiver who now becomes the Giver. Jonas changes as he receives more and more information. He begins to question the ways of his community as he learns some disturbing details about some of their practices. Jonas is troubled when he learns what it really means to be “released.”

This is a great book and it really illustrates how much you might have to sacrifice in order to create a perfect community. This book makes you realize that maybe living with people with different beliefs and values isn’t really a bad thing. It helps keeps things balanced and allows people to be creative. This is definitely a thought provoking book. I have never read anything like it. I would recommend this book to someone that was maybe looking to read something a bit different. This would be a good book for a social studies class that was studying different forms of government.

Reviewed By: SuperReader22

Eclipse

Meyer, Stephenie. Eclipse. NY: Little Brown and Company, 2007. 269 Pages. (Fantasy Series / Vampires)

All the characters from Stephenie Meyer’s first two books, Twilight and New Moon, are back in this page-turning adventure called Eclipse. Now Bella has to chose between her best friend (a werewolf) Jacob and her relationship with Edward(a Vampire, and her boyfriend). That is the least of her worries though. Victoria, a revenge seeking enemy of Bella and Edward, is creating an army of vampires to fight the Cullens. Can Jacob and Edward settle their differences in order to save Bella and the city of Forks?

I really enjoyed this book because it is a great blend of action, sci-fi, romance, and drama. The plot of the story is really great because not only is Bella faced with an army of vampires, but she has to deal with her boyfriend and best friend as mortal enemies. Stephenie Meyer does an awesome job of explaining Bella’s thoughts and feelings. I would recommend this book to anyone who asked.

Reviewed by: Sccrsteph3

High School Musical

Barsocchini, Peter. High School Musical. New York: Disney Enterprises Inc, 2005. 140 pages. (Fiction / Humor)

The book I read was High School Musical and the main characters are Troy, Gabriella, Taylor, Zeke, Martha, Chad, Jason, Sharpe, Ryan, Troy’s parents, Sharpe’s parents, and Kelsey. The story takes place in a resort in the mountains. The problem that they face was that Sharpe and Ryan want to steal the show that Gabriella and Troy were working so hard on. The characters Taylor, Chad, the Decathlon team, and the basketball team made Troy and Gabriella not do the show by saying bad stuff. Troy and Gabriella do the show and they win the parts in the production, and they rocked the house. Also, the characters were all friends and Troy doesn’t want the basketball team, the Wildcats, to know about his singing with Gabriella. Another interesting thing that happened in this story was that Troy loses his playing skills when Gabriella says she’s not going the show and some of the students at the school confess some of the things that they didn’t want their friends to know about, but they say them at lunch anyway.

I selected this book because I love High School Musical, so I started to read it, and it wasn’t anything like the movie that I. I also selected this book because it looked funny and I saw the movie and I wanted to see if there was something new in the book. There wasn’t anything different at all between the book and the movie. The character that I despised is Sharpe because she’s so mean to Gabriella and all her friends. Also, another reason that I despise Sharpe is that she thinks that she’s all perfect and a goody, goody; awesome, cool, sweet, romantic, depressing, lovely, interesting, incredible, radical, and totally funny.

Reviewed by: Camille

Monster

Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. NY: HarperCollins, 1999. 281 pages. (Mystery)

This book is about a 16 year old named Steve Harmon who is on trial for murder because on December 22 there was a hold-up at a drug store. The owner was shot and killed that day. Mr. King was at the hold-up and he is the one who shot the owner. Mr. King testified that Steve Harmon was supposed to be the look-out. Steve said he had agreed to be the look-out for the money they were going to give him, but when the day came he said he didn’t show. Mr. King admitted to being part of the hold-up, but then takes Steve down with him. Steve goes to jail for so long that he forgets about the real world. He makes short movies about his life and the experiences he has had.

If I was to explain this book in one word it would be amazing because it is a real life story about a kid who was on trial for murder but didn’t do anything. Also, it was the best book I have ever read so far. This book is truly amazing. I love this book and would read it again any day.

Reviewed by: LaLaLogan17

Leaving Protection

Hobbs,Will. Leaving Protection. New York: Harper Trophy, 2004. 173 pages. (Mystery)

The main characters of the book, Leaving Protection, are a sixteen-year-old boy Robbie Daniels, and a legendary fishing captain, Tor Torsen. The two of them met on the shores of Alaska in hopes a catching king salmon. Tor has hired Robbie as a deckhand on his boat, Storm Petrel. As they adventure out into the stormy seas Robbie sets the poles and gets ready to start fishing. Tor had put them on an awesome spot, and Robbie had to begin cleaning fish quickly. After four days and nights, they were full and had to head to port to sell the salmon, but the captain said he was going to sell off shore and head for Russia. Robbie wanted to stop because he missed his family, but Tor started to tell him about different plaques he had found that were worth a lot of money. Robbie decided to stay for the money. Robbie soon realized that these Russian plaques that Tor had were illegal. A bad storm came up and Captain Tor fell overboard. Robbie tried to save him but couldn’t and Tor died. Robbie was able to get the boat and plaques back to safety and notify Tor’s daughter about the incident. They decided to return the plaques back to Russia and Tor’s name became famous. Robbie was able to return home to Protection with more money then he could imagine for college.

Robbie reminds me of someone I would like to follow because he is adventures and bold. He loves boating and fishing like I do. He is honest and trustworthy to other people. His abilities and work ethic are strong and those are shown in this book. I think he is famous because of the love he has for his friends and family. I would recommend the book because it is full of adventure and will keep you at the end of your seat when you are reading it.

Reviewed by: BookWorm8

The Borrowers

Norton, Mary. The Borrowers. NY: Harcourt Inc., 1953. 180 pages. (Fantasy)

Under the kitchen floor live the two-inch-high Borrowers, The Borrowers are a happy family consisting of Pod and Homily Clock and their daughter Arrietty. The Clocks have never been seen before. That is until Arrietty snuck away from her father while borrowing. The Clocks “borrow” everything from the human beings who live above them. While borrowing with her father, Arrietty wanders off and runs into a human boy. Arrietty is so scared that when the boy asks her a question, she just blurts everything out- where she lives, who her family is, and on, and on, and on. After a few minutes of Arrietty going on and on they became friends. Every night the boy would sneak down to the kitchen and make sure the Clocks have everything they wanted and needed. Will Arrietty’s friendship with the boy cause the Clocks to be revealed?

I chose this book because the picture on the front was very interesting. It was a picture of three very little people in a bedroom, but the bedroom was under the floor. Parts of the floor had been taken off and there was a boy standing there looking at them. When I read the back cover of the book, it sounded like something I normally would not read, but I chose to read it anyways. This sounded like something I wouldn’t normally read because I like nonfiction books better than fiction books. This was a very good book because there were a lot of adventures in it between Arrietty and the boy. It was a very good book, and I would recommend it to my friends.

Reviewed by: Kae5495

Bratfest at Tiffany’s

Harrison, Lisi. Bratfest at Tiffany’s. NY: Little Brown and Company, 2008.227 pages. (Fiction Series / Clique Series)

In the book, Bratfest at Tiffany’s, the main characters are Massie, Alicia, Claire, Dylan, and Kristen. The book takes place at their school, at Massie’s house, and under their favorite tree. In the beginning of the new school year, Massie bought all of the girls charm bracelets to say that they were in the club and their friendship is more important than any boy. This meant that they couldn’t flirt or have a crush on any guy. When they saw one of their best friends having a crush on a boy, they made her give back her bracelet and were no longer friends with her. They were also struggling to get their popularity back and be the top people. As a character, I think I would be most like Massie because once she has something; she wouldn’t want to give it back to anyone. This book right now is the last book she has come out with, with the Clique series. I would defiantly recommend this book to anyone because I love what the books are about, and I am hooked on the Clique series. I would read another book by this author anytime.

Reviewed by: AprilGrl

The Dark and Deadly Pool

Nixon, Joan Lowey. The Dark and Deadly Pool. NY: Random’s House, 1987. 179 pages. (Horror / Mystery)

This book, The Dark and Deadly Pool, is great because it is written by a very good author, Joan Lowery Nixon; I love her books. This book is about a girl named Liz. Who finally gets a great job at Ridley Hotel, Until dark shadows keep pulling her under the water when she goes swimming. Strange and creepy things are coming out of the water and no one believes her. Well Liz is going to find out who is underneath the pool one way or another. I liked this book because it is filled with adventure. And romance as well as horror. If you like scary books or movies I recommend this book.

Reviewed by: DolphinGirl76

The Manny

Thomson, Sarah. The Manny. New York: Dutten Children’s Books, 2005. 181 pages. (Humor / Romance)

The book The Manny is about a 16 year old boy,Justin, who works as a nanny. He lives in Queens with his mom in an apartment. This summer he is going to work as a nanny in the Hamptons. When he goes to his interview, the parents hire him right there. Then a week later he moves in with them for the summer. The kid he is taking care of is four and is named Aspen. After few weeks pass and of taking Aspen to the beach, to the play ground they go to the beach one day Justin meets a girl, Serfina, who lives in the Hamptons with her dad. Justin really likes her and takes her out on a date.

I would read another book by this author because it was interesting to see what would happen in the next paragraph. In some parts I coudn’t put the book down.

Reviewd by: MarshmellowPeople

Hatchet

Paulson, Gary. Hatchet. New York: Aladdin Paperback, 1987. 195 pages. (Survival Series)

Hatchet first began when a thirteen-year-old boy named Brian Roberson was on a plane to see his dad when the plane crashed. The pilot died, but Brian survived. He was in the Canadian wilderness. He had nothing but clothes, ripped windbreaker, and a hatchet he got from his mother. He also had a dreadful secret: he knows since his parents got a divorce. He couldn’t keep that in his mind for too long because he needed all of the determination and courage he could get to survive the challenge he had in front of him.

I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to read a fabulous book. I would do this because all the details. For example how the ice on the trees breaking made a sound like a gunshot. It was so good I read one quarter of the book in one night. This book also shows if that you want to do something, you can just have to stick your mind to it.

Reviewed by: Dimwitt

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. New York: Random House, 2001. 294 pages. (Fiction Series)

Once there were four girls, one pair of pants, and a summer apart. Bridget, Carmen, Tibby, and Lena had been best friends ever since they were born, and they had never been apart; except for this summer. Carmen had once gone thrift shopping with Lena, her mom, and her sister, and she bought a pair of ordinary jeans, or so she thought, just to annoy Len’s mom. She didn’t even try them on. A couple days before the girls went their separate ways, all four girls tried on the pants, and, miraculously, they fit all of them. The girls couldn’t believe this, especially since they were all built differently. They decided that the pants were very special. Since the girls were all going different places, they decided to rotate the pants between them. This is how they came up with the name the Traveling Pants. Lena was going to Greece, Carmen was visiting her dad in South Carolina, Bridget was going to soccer camp in Baja, California, which is really in Mexico, and Tibby was staying home. The girls all experienced different events throughout the summer: love, friendship, and trust. In the end, they realized that they didn’t need a pair of pants for something to happen, they just needed to believe in themselves, and each other.

When I read this book, I couldn’t put it down. Now it is one of my favorite series, and I have managed to read all four of the books in less than three weeks. This book is sad, exciting, and addictive. One of my friends recommended it to me, and I thought ah, I guess I’ll read it. Then I actually picked up the book, and it was amazing! I would absolutely tell any of my friends to read this.

Reviewed By: LESH

Peak

Smith, Roland. Peak. Orlando: Florida, Harcourt Books, 2007. 246 pages. (Survival Fiction)

This story is about Peak Marcello, a 14 year old boy, trying to summit Mount Everest. He and his friend Sun-jo, a 14 year old Nepalese boy, are on a mission to be the youngest people to summit Everest. While they are climbing, however, Captain Shek, a Chinese captain that tries to catch climbers without a climbing permit or a valid ID, finds out that Sun-jo is actually illegal. He is searching for him and meanwhile, Peak, Sun-jo, Yogi and Yash (two climbing sherpas helping them to summit Everest) are climbing up Everest on a different route. Since Sun-jo is trying to get away from Captain Shek, if he gets to the top, he will cross over into Nepal where Shek and his men aren’t allowed to arrest him. Will Peak and Sun-jo make it in time? Or will they die in the thin air?

I liked this book because it really kept you on the edge. It was hard for me to put this book down because I always wanted to know what would happen next. I would definitely recommend this book to someone that likes thrilling adventures.

Reviewed by: Jazzy G