Travel Team

Lupica, Mike. Travel Team. NY, Puffin Books, 2004. 274 pages. (Sports Fiction / Poem Review)

Danny Walker,
Cut from the
Travel team.

He wanted
No more basketball,
The sport he loved.

Until his troubled dad
Had an idea,
Another travel team.

Once a star,
Now a broke,
Sad, alcholic.

At first,
Pathetic team,
Last place in the league.

Until they laerned
To be a team, but
It took a tragedy.

Also it took,
Ty Ross,
And a controling dad.

Come playoffs
They were great,
Just like Dad’s team.

I didn’t really like this book. It was only okay. The book started slow and stayed slow. I like books with a lot of action which this seriously lacked. I would give this book a six out of ten and would only refer it to diehard youth basketball fans. There is few of those to point out.

Reviewed by: HoneyComb

Blood on the River: Jamestown 1607

Carbone, Elisa. Blood on the River: Jamestown 1607. NY: Puffin, 2007. 237 pages. (Historic Fiction)

Blood on the River is an exceptional book that I have learned a lot from. Once you start to read it, its almost impossible to put down. I love history and this is a very informational and exciting book. I was kept on the edge of my seat almost the whole time. Elisa Carbone is a wonderful writer, she writes so descriptively it feels as though you are there. I would defiantly read another one of her books.

400 years ago a boy named Samuel Collier fought to survive in James Town. He came from nothing, a street boy, an orphan, and even a thief, seems headed for a life on the streets of London. When he becomes a page for Captain John Smith on a ship called the Susan Constant, on his way to the New World, he can not believe his good luck. The rumor is that gold washes ashore with every tide. Although the begging of a stormy journey and his first contact with the natives he realizes that what he imagined of the New World. In the New World it is hard to know who is friend or foe. The settlers troubles are just begging- the summer of 1607 brings a mysterious illness and winter brings starvation. Will Samuel survive this mysterious illness and starvation to be able to find out who he truly is?

Reviewed by: Naturegrl

Uglies

Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. NY: Simon Pulse, 2005, 425 pages. (Science Fiction- Series)
Sitting on her window sill watching the sun set and the lights of New Pretty Town come alive, Tally Youngblood is in the for the biggest surprise of her life! First, trespassing into New Pretty Town to meet up with an old friend, Tally meets an unexpected friend, Shay. The two girls become friends, closer than ever before. As they count down the days to becoming pretty, Shay makes an almost fatal choice. Leaving Uglyville and venturing out beyond the Rusty Ruins to a thought to be dead zone, The Smoke. Shay leaves as expected, but Tally is not convinced that the Smoke is the best place to live. She would much rather have the operation to become a pretty and meet up with her once good friend, Peris. The choices that Tally is left with are unbearable and, unfortunately for Tally, the choice that she makes, backfires! No one in the Smoke is safe and Tally’s whole world is turning upside down. Will Tally ever become a pretty? A better question would be, will Tally still want to become a pretty?

Uglies is the first in a trilogy and is a good read! It’s a lengthy book, but the chapters aren’t very long so the pages fly by! My recommendations for this book would be anyone who likes to read about betrayal mixed with strong bonds and a little romance.

Reviewed by: BlueBerryBuddy

Betrayed, House of Nights (Book 2)

Cast, Kristen. Betrayed, House of Nights (Book 2). NY: St. Martin's Griffin., 2007. 324 pages. (Vampire / Fantasy). 

As Zoey Redbird just settles into the House Of nights as a vampire, her world is about to change. Zoey finds out shocking news and with heartbreak and pain has to go through the betrayal of a vampire she truly loves. But that’s not Zoey's only issues. After discovering that she controls the incredible powers of the five elements, wind, water, fire, earth, and spirit, she receives amazing markings. She has to deal with choosing a boyfriend from two perfect guys and one incredible man, but two of the relationships are deeply forbidden. If that isn’t enough, Zoeys best friend dies. Zoey also notices that people form her school were being killed from rare scratches, thought to have been from vampires. But what Zoey finds out will shock you all.

I loved this book. I finished it in two days because it was filled with bloodlust, love, and plenty of action. I think anyone who loves a good vampire book could be addicted to this series. This is definitely a book I would read twice. In my opinion, it’s better than most of the twilight books. You should most definitely read this book. I’m telling you, it’s truly an incredible series.


Reviewed by: KatchupCar

The Rifle

Paulsen, Gary. The Rifle. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Inc., 1995. 99 pages. (Historic/Realistic Fiction)


It all began in 1768 when a man named Cornish McManus, a gunsmith, created the perfect rifle. He knew that this rifle was special because he would never be able to make one again that was of the perfect accuracy and shape of this gun. He cherished this rifle until he was forced to sell it to a man named John Byam. Byam also cherished this gun and used it for many years including in the Revolutionary War. The adored rifle was past along from generation to generation. After many long years of being loaded it ends up on a family’s mantle place as a decoration. What happens next is appalling, horrifying, and absolutely shocking.

The Rifle, although a short book, tells a great story about how one thing leads to another. This book gives information about rifles and what it was like in the 1700’s. I think it’s a great read that everyone will keep reading once they get into it.

Reviewed by: Kronos

Hatchet

Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. NY: Bradbury Press, 1987. 195 pages. (Survival Fiction) 


Brian is on his way to Canada to meet his father in a single- engine plane. Suddenly the pilot has a fatal heart attack. Brian tries to land the plane safely, but crashes into a lake in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. Having no way to contact people, Brian endures months of survival. Being alone, scared, and exhausted, Brian tries to survive with a present his mother gave him, a hatchet.
This is a great wilderness survival novel! It expresses the emotional experience of surviving in the wilderness. The ways the author tells the story of Brian’s survival is highly detailed and imaginative. I would recommend this book to people who are nine to fifteen years old. I would rate it a nine out of ten, because it is well written and every chapter is a cliff-hanger.

Reviewed by: HamSand

Summer of Fear

Duncan, Lois. Summer of Fear. New York: Random House Children’s Books, 1976. 207 pages. (Horror / Thriller / Poem Review) 

A terrible blow
Brings Rachel’s cousin Julie
To live in her home.

Quiet and shy at
First, Julia seems gentle.
But is she really?

Dog: Trickle abruptly
Dies. How does a bizarre wax
Statue figure in?

Rachel’s boyfriend and
Her best friend choose Julia.
A mysterious charm.

Library- a place
With answers Rachel needs to
Confront Julia.

Late at night Julie
Gets home. Rachel tells what she
Knows. A deadly plot.

A name mentioned; a
Death sentence for a neighbor.
Stop the witch in time.

This is the first Lois Duncan book that I’ve read and I have to say that I was very satisfied. This book was thrilling, but not so scary as to keep you up at night. It was also well written. Even though Trickle died in the beginning of the story, I was still sad. I felt that I had known Trickle longer than when he had been introduced to me. It was easy for me to be engaged in the story. In addition, I thought that the end when ‘Julia’ reveals who she really is and her real intentions was clever. An excellent read.


Reviewed by: FunkyZebras

Ana’s Story a Journey of Hope

Bush, Jenna. Ana’s Story a Journey of Hope. NY: HarperCollins, 2007. 290 pages. (Narrative Nonfiction)
She is 17. She has been abused. She has a child. She is HIV positive. Her name was Ana and this is her story. The day she was born she was infected with HIV which was transferred from her 16 year old mother. She barely remembers her mother who died when Ana was only three. From there on her childhood was a blur of secrets and very faint memories. She had to keep secrets about her illness and her abuse. She tried hard to forget. Ana has been from home to home not finding love and safety. When she meets a boy Berto, she found both. She opens up her heart and mind to Berto. She has hope and a new beginning.
I loved this book. It could happen to anyone around us. It kills me inside that people go through this daily. Some people don’t have the guts to say something and stay in that abuse. At least Ana has a happy ending.
Reviewed by: x0oSo0x

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. NY: Simon & Brown, 2010. 376 pages. (Realistic Fiction)

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a book that takes place in Missouri in the late 1800’s and is about a boy named Huckleberry Finn (Huck for short) and a slave that he meets along the way named Jim they go on an amazing adventure down the Mississippi river on a raft where they pick up two strangers who say they are supposedly a king and a duke. The two strangers try to hustle them and anyone they see, but Jim and Huck can see they’re liars, but keep it to themselves. One of the strangers then sells Jim to a man while Huck is away in another town. Huck then goes on another adventure with a good friend of him named Tom Sawyer with a complex and well thought out plan to rescue Jim.


This is a great book that has many great adventures that anyone will like especially people who like books with a lot of adventure and a lot of realistic fiction. When you read this book you will feel like you are inside the book sitting right next to the characters, as the author gives a very vivid description of everything that is going on.

Reviewed by: zezima

Ranger’s Apprentice, Book Three: The Icebound Land

Flanagan, John. Ranger’s Apprentice, Book Three: The Icebound Land. NY: Penguin Group, 2006. 266. (Fantasy Series)
The war is over and the Skandians, Morgarath’s mercenaries, are heading back home after a stunning defeat at the hands of the Aurleens, a war in which Morgarath was killed in as well. But the Skandians aren’t heading home alone. Halt’s apprentice, Will, and Evanlyn, the King’s daughter, have been taken prisoners, and will become slaves, two of the many owned by Ragnak, the Oberjarl of Skandia. Halt, disobeying orders from the Ranger’s Corp., and therefore expelled from the order, sets out to rescue his apprentice. Halt is accompanied by Will’s friend, and warrior apprentice, Horace. Soon, Horace’s uncanny swordsmanship starts to attract warlords from all over, but will they be on time to rescue Will and Evanlyn? Their situation becomes even more grave when the overseers get Will addicted to a drug called warmweed which “numbs” his mind and prevents him of thinking of escape.

I would recommend this book to anyone who liked the first two in the series, and to anyone who enjoys a lot of action mixed with some humor as well.
Reviewed by San Andreas

Dionne, Erin. Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies. New York: Penguin, 2009. (Fiction- Series)
Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies is about a thirteen year old girl named Celeste Harris. Celeste Aunt entered her in a contest for overweight kids. Celeste sets a goal to lose the weight so she doesn’t have to even have a shot at winning the Miss Huskypeach Pageant. She faces the challenges of giving up her Oreo obsession and learning how to eat right. She is tired of the mean Lively Carson picking on her weight and the jokes she hears every time she walks by a set of friends. Celeste learns how difficult life really is when her best friend Sandra the only person who knew she was trying to lose weight joins in on lively’s goal to shut Celeste down. When losing weight was the only option it still was no match for Celeste.

I recommend this book to all teens’ boys and girls. It really teaches you the consequences of not watching your weight. This book teaches you how to handle hard situations in life.

Reviewed by: Dial K

The Pretty Committee Strikes Back

Harrison, Lisi. The Pretty Committee Strikes Back,  New York: Poppy Books, 2006.

The Pretty Committee Strikes back is the 5th book in the series. This book is about the president’s day trip to lake placid. On this trip this is the one chance the girls have to interact with the boys. Massie’s idea of a good trip. She thinks this is her big chance to kiss derrington (Derrick Harrington). But what these girls don’t know is that there geography teacher is confiscating all their cell phones, sidekicks, laptops and other electronics. Poor Kristen is not able to go on this trip because her parents think the fee is too much. Miss out on the first boy girl trip, not in option. So she does the unthinkable she tells her parents she is off to a soccer game and buys a ticket to lack placid. While on their trip the Pretty committee gets themselves into some trouble. While Dylan is upset because her mom not only tagged along on the trip, but is having a fling with her geo teacher. She runs off into the wilderness and Massie, Alicia, Claire and Kristen follow they get expelled from OCD. Find out what happens when the pretty committee goes a little above and beyond in the next book Dial L for Loser.

I recommended to everyone to read this next book. The entire series is Ah- Mazing.


Reviewed by: DialK