Forced Out by Gene Fehler

A new catcher has joined Zack's travel team, the Roadrunners. His name is Dustin and everybody is wondering why he gets so much playing time. How did he even get invited to such a good travel team? Everyone is also wondering how the team can finally afford to go to an expensive tournament. It creates lots of problems and threatens the Roadrunners chance at winning the championship. A rumor starts about Dustin and the tournament. Then Zach finds out what Dustin's dad is secretly planning that Dustin doesn't even know. But what can Zach do about it?
Overall, it is an interesting story about teamwork, choices, and fairness. All Dustin's dad cares about is himself and his son. His choices affect the whole team. It gives a vivid description without too many adjectives, and I can picture things in my head. I can also tell a lot about Dustin and Zach's personalities. They are very believable characters. The vocabulary was appropriate for the recommended age, but it is about high schoolers. High schoolers with lower reading levels would probably enjoy this book as well. The bad thing was the plot seemed to drag a little bit at some points.
Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Calhoun, GA USA
 

Recruited

Recruited
Suzanne Weyn

Kadeem Jones is the star quarterback at southside. When he begins his senior season, he starts getting attention from college scouts. When Teller University, a top football program, recruits him, he gains attention from the cheerleaders and even gets money from a recruiter. Then he slips up and tells a rival recruiter of his times at Teller. It turns out those good times were actually violations. So now Kadeem has to chose between helping an NCAA investigation or playing at Teller.

This book was a great book; it shows what happens today in major college sports. The main character in this book has to make an important decision:  whether to tell the truth or not, to go play at Teller with all the illegal benefits, or to risk not playing at all. I believe the author used appropriate language and achieved her purpose, showing how the difficult choices are sometimes the better. I think this book was similar to the other sports books I have read. I would recommend  this book to anyone who likes to read sports books.
7
Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Fairborn, Ohio USA

Rumors of secret societies are always floating around,
especially in a city as big as New York. Nick, Patch,
Lauren, and Phoebe have grown up hearing whispers of a huge
clandestine organization, but they assumed that if there
ever was a secret society, it would have disappeared by
now. So imagine Nick, Lauren and Phoebe's surprise when
they discover that they part of a new class of Initiates of
the Society, a group dedicated to helping its members
achieve their greatest dreams and find sucess. Tattooed
with the symbol of an ankh on their neck, the high
schoolers are roped into lavish parties and find themselves
part of a society that may not be entirely benevolent,
which becomes apparent when body is found dead in Central
Park with the ankh tattoo on the neck.

I really enjoyed reading Secret Society. Secret societies have always
fascinated me and the fact that there could really be an
organization like the one in the novel gives me the creeps.
The Society is pretty evil, and has a lot of power
politically, socially and economically, which is good for
its members and not so good for its opponents. The story is
fast-paced and there is never a dull moment as Nick, Patch,
Lauren and Phoebe try to discover the mysteries of the
Society. The characters were a little boring and one-
dimensional with not much growth or development, but the
stellar plot and pacing make up for the novel's other
faults. Secret Society ends on a cliffhanger and I cannot
wait to read the sequel to find out what happens.
Recommended for fans of mysteries and prep school
stories.

Reviewer Age:19

Reviewer City, State and
Country: Aston, Pennsylvania United States

Swoon at your own risk

Polly Martin has quite the dating history, and along with each ex (or in Polly's

case ex-ex-ex-ex) a club she took up to be with them. Her latest ex, Sawyer,

got her roped into working at Wild Waves Western-themed water park. Now

Polly has sworn off guys, there's new temptations in the form of a once fourth

grade desk-licker turned cute mysterious skateboarder. Thank goodness her

advice columnist grandmother, Miss Swoon, is moving in! But will Polly be able

to learn to love and be herself? Only summer will tell.

While reading, 'Swoon

At Your Own Risk', I was found sitting in a room, by myself, literally laughing out

loud! I thought Sydney Salter did a wonderful job capturing the essence of a

hectic teenager's life. She was able to include many components young girls deal

with, such as a family's messy divorce, embarrassing swimming pool moments,

emotional breakdowns, and soul searching. I liked how the author was able to

create such a realistic world in 'Swoon At Your Own Risk'. This book was very

entertaining and I can easily see myself reading it again because it was so

enjoyable. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, or rather, funny

romantic comedy.

Mature content and innudendos
Reviewer

Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Seaside, OR US

Stealing Heaven

What would you do if you had to move every few weeks? What
if you had to live out of a suitcase and make new friends?
What if you had to move all the time because you and your
mother stole things? Well, in Dani's case, that's reality.
She must help her mother break into houses, steal silver,
and leave town as quickly as possible. As an eighteen year
old, Dani has never been to high school, had friends, or a
boyfriend. Dani and her mother have "settled in" to a
little beach town called Heaven. Dani has finally made a
friend and met an amzing guy, who happens to be a cop. Can
she balance her new relationships while still pleasing her
mother? Only time can tell, in Stealing Heaven.

It took
me some time to get into this book. In the first part of
the book, the author switched back and forth from past to
present frequently, and at times I was confused with which
state the character was in. Other than that, I liked the
book. Each character was well thought out, and I felt like
I knew them. I also loved the vulnerability of Dani. She
was torn between pleasing her mother and pleasing herself.
She tried doing both, but in the end, it failed. I think
all teenagers have tried to please both their families and
friends, and at one point or another, they have chosen the
wrong one. I also loved the relationship between Dani and
the police officer. It was obvious Dani liked him, but the
love was forbidden. The characters were realistic and the
author did an excellent job.

Reviewer
Age:18

Reviewer City, State and Country: Villa Hills, KY
United States