Blackdaw Cottage

Summary: Three young and adventurous children are outside playing when they decide to go wandering out into the forest to find BlackDaw Cottage. The children had heard many stories about the infamous Bentley who lived in the cottage out in the forest. Little did they know there would be a blizzard and they would be forced to stay with the mysterious old recluse. Bentley shares with them the story of Ivan and Gertrude and the children grow fond of the man they had once thought to be the devil. They learn that even though there have been numerous rumors about him, he is actually a caring man who helped them out in their time of need.
Opinion: Although the plot sounded like an interesting book to read, I didn't feel any connection to the characters; they were not people I could relate to. The book was way over-detailed and many parts dragged on for way too long. I felt like the ways the characters reacted to some situations were not realistic. Overall, I felt the book was dull, and hard to get through. I would not recommend this book to others.

Off Track

Book Title: Off Track
Author: Michael J. Hultquist
ISBN: 192691225X
Summary: Off Track By: Michael Hultquist The whole storyline for this book revolved around one child, one abused child with a drunken mess of a father and a mother who can’t stand up to her husband. The boy, Gary Sanderson, decides to stand up for her by taking him out permanently. He is then is quickly carted off to Radcliffe, a juvenile delinquent facility for boys. He had been there since he was twelve years old, now at age sixteen, he has a choice: to start over with foster parent, or to wait another two years in that horrid place and leave on his own. He chooses the easy way out. So now he is in Winsbury, Illinois, and for a while everything is starting to look better, he has his own job, has no problems with schoolwork, and only some minor setbacks with his foster dad. Most is well and when something bad happens, it always ends up getting better. But one day his world spins out of control when his love tells him something no one ever wants to hear and wants him to stop it, forever. All of this could have been avoided if he just stayed in Radcliffe but now he has gone and made the choice to come to Winsbury and he’s going to follow through with his choices whether good or bad, even if he goes Off Track.
Opinion: This story in particular may not look like the average read. But once you open it up, Off Track unleashes a world of excitement and fear. This book had me in a trance. When I put the book down to eat, or do something else for that matter, I found something in the back of my mind tugging at me to read more. This book is definitely worth a reread. It relates to the problems of a teenager with parties, friends, fights, and the worst of them all, romance.

Content:3
I gave this book a content rating of three because of the sexual content and also because of the violence between the characters.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Enon, Ohio United States of America

Vamparazzi by Laura Resnick

All Esther wants to do is be an actor. So an off-Broadway play is perfect for her, right? However playing the damsel in distress in "The Vampyre" may do her more harm then good. She must: work with an actor who claims he is a real vampire, crazed fans, and paparazzi. Then one of the fans turns up dead; all the blood was sucked out of her. When one of her fellow actors becomes lead suspect in the murder, she is determined to help. Even if it means putting her own neck on the line.
I found this book to be pretty boring. The plot contained developed characters, but the author used too much detail and I couldn't really relate to the characters. It is a definite twist from other Vampire romance novels, but is not a thrilling read like I would have expected. This was not a book that moved me or got me involved in the plot.
This book contains profanity and violence.
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Coconut Creek, Florida U.S.A

Fury by Elizabeth Miles

Emily Winters is really happy when the boy she has liked forever shows some interest in her. The only problem is he is her best friend's boyfriend. Chase did something really stupid a long time ago. Now his life is turning upside-down. A mysterious and beautiful girl takes an interest in him. He thinks life is looking up until awful things start happening. Three girls punish those who do wrong. Chase and Emily must be punished.



I give this book 1 star. The first word that pops in my head when I think of this book is drama. The really well-written and interesting parts didn't make sense with the rest of the story. The idea was a great idea that just wasn't done as well as it could have been. I also rate it R for mildly inappropriate content and extreme amounts of bad language. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
The book had inappropriate contents and awful language.
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Cibolo, Texas United States

Ashfall by Mike Mullin

We open on a teenage boy, relaxing in his room; nothing
out of the ordinary. He is home alone, his family is on
vacation. As he takes a minute to think, his world is
changed forever. He is thrown violently around his room,
as he hears screams and terror outside. He manages to
survive the impact, and crawls under the remains of his
furniture to the door. Outside he meets his neighbor, who
is equally unsure of the current events. He soon discovers
that the Yellowstone volcano has erupted. Destruction is
widespread. This book follows Alex as he becomes a hero,
stopping at nothing to save his family. Alex experiences
feelings he's never felt before on his journey. He finds
love...and experiences the death of someone close. Will
Alex overcome his worst nightmare and eventually save his
family?

One word: wow. I was blown away by this book.
It's hard to say which was my favorite part. The eruption
was so detailed, I felt like I was experiencing it. When
Alex cried because of a death, I felt the way he
did. "Ashfall" sucked me in and wouldn't let go until it
was three a.m. and I fell asleep. I literally could not
stop reading, from the moment I started from Chapter One.
Alex and Darla form an impeccable duo, working together to
save their families. I laughed, I cried, I fell in love
with this fine literary work. And what a cliffhanger! I
cannot wait for the sequel. This book is on its way to
stardom.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Panama City, Florida USA

The Forever Crush by Debra Moffitt

The Forever Crush by Debra Moffitt is a book about girls in their teen years. This book expresses how you can do something you later regret or think you want something but when the time comes you find out you really don't want it. Jemma has a forever crush on Forrest so when he asks her to be his pretend girlfriend she goes along with it. Later she finds out that she doesn't like how it's going and how she can't tell her friends. At the same time the Pink Locker Society is getting blackmailed. Read this novel to see who is blackmailing them and how the fake relationship with Forrest turns out!

The Forever Crush by Debra Moffitt in my opinion was a pretty good book. You get to see what it's like to get to have a fake relationship with someone you're crazy about and see how scary blackmailing and keeping secrets can be. I liked how you could see that everyone is scared about growing up but it all ends up fine. I also liked how they had a website to help girls out with the things they were scared of and get multiple people's opinions on it. I think that would've been very helpful for me when I was younger and scared about what would come as I grew older.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Sandy, Oregon U.S.A

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Dertin

Violet has never been ordinary. She can sense the echoes of the missing dead, those who’ve been murdered. They call to her, wanting to be found so that they can rest in peace. She has only told a couple of her closet family members and friends about her special power. But, when she finds a dead boy and the FBI gets involved, many things could change. She doesn’t want her secret to get out for just anyone to know. She’s starting to feel as if there aren’t many people she can trust. She wants to talk to her best friend Jay, but now that they are in a relationship, she feels as if the rules have changed. And she is afraid talking to him will only make him more protective of her. Plus he has been spending a lot more time with his new friend Mike. Violet is beginning to wonder about Mike as he becomes closer with Jay. As she digs through his family history, she finds tragedy and a dark past. She isn’t sure anyone should trust Mike or his family. Is Mike really who he seems? Will Violet put everyone in danger if she keeps these dark secrets about Mike?

 Desires of the Dead is a very creative novel. This sequel to The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting is fantastic. Many times you will find yourself liking the first book in a series more than the second, but that was not the case in this series. I loved the first novel but I felt that Desires of the Dead was more focused and powerful with more emphasis on Violet’s powers than on the love story with Jay. It was a very exciting novel and I absolutely loved and enjoyed reading it. It was definitely one of those novels where you are kind of angry when it ends. I really hope that the story continues with a third book because Derting has a wonderful plots and ideas in this series. The romance, humor, action, and much more make it a perfect novel for any young adult reader.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Fairborn, Ohio USA

Swim the fly by Don Calame

What do you get when you put together three typical teenage boys, a naughty summer goal, and the 100-yard butterfly? Definitely NOT what Matt Gratton expected. Then again, anything is possible during summer. Which Matt discovers only after too many embarrassing mishaps to count: the befriending of Kelly's close friend, Ulf's crazy, torturous swim training, and of course the loyal help of Matt's best friends.

This book was a peek into the male mind. Reading Matt's thoughts and feelings was refreshingly funny and sweet. This book drags you in, to do crazy dares and goof off with Matt and his friends. The author's writing style made for a relatable and hilarious read. Be prepared to laugh-out-loud 'till your stomach hurts. Each chapter in this book plays out like a scene in a comedy movie. This book is perfect for more mature readers who enjoy quick, entertaining reads. 

This book contained a lot of raunchy, sometimes crude humor.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Wailuku, HI United States