The Witch's Boy by Michael Gruber

This was a stunning fantasy book. It has aspects of many classic fairy tales enwrapped into this book. It starts out with a witch finding a baby boy in the middle of the woods. Though this is not a normal baby boy, he is deeply scarred and deformed. The witch calls him Lump, for the lumps and scars the cover his body. “Charming creature something like a pig, something like a bat. Aren’t babies supposed to be pretty?”. His nurse is a bear and his tutor is a demon. The Author has formed a world of beauty, cruelty, hate, legend, and wonder.

This was an ok book. He mixes the fairytales well into the story, unlike some books. The way he creates the hate towards Lump because he looks different is a reminder of what goes on in the world today. This is the only book of its kind I’ve ever read and that makes it worth the read. Some parts of this book are deep and sorrowful, while others are happy and cheerful. I counted ten fairytales in this book. How many can you find?

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

Reviewer Age: 12

Reviewed by: EH

Nice Girls Don't Get Rich : 75 Avoidable Mistakes by Lois P. Frankel, PhD.

If you’re a girl who has little or no conception of how to move in the financial world, 'Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich' by Dr. Lois Frankel is for you. Dr. Frankel’s book is packed with information on how to invest, protect your finances, and maneuver successfully in the financial world. The author, a woman herself, explains to women that being ‘nice’ in the financial world just doesn’t work. Financial success depends on stopping yourself from being a pushover.

There are many ‘how to’ financial books available today, but it is doubtful that there are many similar, in either quality or style, to ‘Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich’. A financial book designed to help women; ‘Nice Girls’ possesses both clarity and attractive formatting, unlike the multitudes of dry books available on financial matters. Though ‘Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich’ is very helpful and informative, Dr. Frankel’s book contains some questionable advice and immoral content, and is thus recommended for only some teens. ‘Nice Girls’ has the potential to be a great help to all young (or old) women seeking to succeed in the financial world.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7

Reviewer Age: 17

Reviewed by: AK

Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Three girls, Birdie, Leeda, and Murphy are thrown together at the Darlington’s Peach Orchard for spring and summer break. Birdie has lived on the orchard her whole life and is an extremely shy and unassuming 16 year old. Leeda is her well-to-do cousin. Murphy is a girl from school, doing community service for her transgressions. As the book progresses, the reader gets to know each girl as an individual. As the end of summer approaches, the girls’ bond tightens and the orchard starts to fall apart. Birdie learns about the world outside her safe haven, and both Leeda and Murphy experience the joy of having real friends to lean on for the first time. When tragedy strikes the three friends successfully endure it because of their close, tight knit relationship. Through love, friendship, rivalry, jealousy, and hardship, these three friends face it all and still manage to have the best summers ever.

”Peaches”, by Jodi Lynn Anderson gets off to a slow start. The first few chapters of the book gave off an aura of stereotypical girls (the wealthy popular girl vs. the bad girl image vs. the shy home-schooled girl in the background). But as the plot develops, the girls each become their own individuals. The reader becomes each character as they go through their lives in a first person narrative. Although it is difficult to get through the first part of the book, the rest is a fast read. If you have the patience to wait it out, “Peaches” is ultimately a great book similar to “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”, by Ann Brashares.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

Reviewer Age: 15

Reviewed by: MAs

The Nobodies by N.E.Bode

”The Nobodies”, sequel to “The Anybodies”, is a fantasy novel. The star of the novel, Fern, is an “Anybody.” That is, she has the power to shake objects out of books into the real world and transform herself into, well, pretty much anything. Fern’s “friend” Howard loves spray starch, math equations, and wristwatches and is the “most boring kid” Fern knows. He also happens to be an Anybody. In this novel, Howard and Fern are sent off together to Camp Happy Sunshine Good Times, a camp for Anybodies. Fern can’t wait to get to camp and meet other Anybodies; Howard, who hates being an Anybody, is dreading it. When they get there, they discover that Camp Happy Sunshine Good Times is not exactly what Fern expected. The camp counselors are very mean and bossy to the campers. When Fern finds out from another camper that Happy Sunshine Good Times used to be fun, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Can she defeat whatever is controlling the counselors and master being an Anybody? Read it for yourself to find out!

Opinion: The characters are funny and lovable. The author uses witty jokes and keeps the reader going. The book teaches a good lesson about friendship and family. “The Nobodies” is interesting and fun to read, but I did feel sort of lost sometimes and felt that if I had read the previous book, “The Anybodies”, I would have been more aligned with the plot. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story about magic and adventures at camp, and I would suggest reading “The Anybodies” first to get familiar with the characters.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7

Reviewer Age: 11

Reviewed by: GS

Warriors: The New Prophecy #2: Moonrise by Erin Hunter

The four cat clans and their forest homes are being destroyed by two-legs(a.k.a. humans). Their only chance of survival lies with four chosen cats. These cats, accompanied by two others- Stormfur and Squirrelpaw- go on a mission to try and rescue the clans. While crossing over the mountains, they meet a Tribe of cats. The Tribe cats declare that Stormfur was sent to them to save them from Sharptooth- a mountain lion who has been picking off the Tribe cats one by one. In the end, one cat will not return home.

This is the second book in Erin Hunter’s Warriors: The New Prophecy series. Moonrise is interesting from page one. While it has a little more romance in it than book one, it is not soppy. The ending is action-packed and unexpected, and it is the best part of the book. When you finish reading this, you will want to go immediately to the next book.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9

Reviewed by BP

The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman

The Dark Hills Divide is about a 12 year old girl named Alexa Daley. Alexa is a small skinny girl that loves to explore everything. Her dad is the mayor of Lathbury, a small town. Every summer, Alexa and her dad leave Lathbury to go to Bridewell. Bridewell is a town surrounded by walls that protect them from a monster in the Dark Hills behind the walls. One day Alexa was exploring the Bridewell castle where she was staying. She finds a small door behind a chair that turns out to be a tunnel through the wall to the Dark Hills. Alexa meets all the animals that live in the Dark Hills that suffer from the wall because they got separated from family and friends. She finds a stone that lets her talk to the animals. Alexa realizes that the walls aren't protecting them from a monster; they are the monsters. She solves the mystery behind the walls and finds out why they are there in the first place. The walls were originally prisons and the prisoners built a wall so that one-day they could trap the people inside and overthrow Bridewell.

I liked the book because of the mystery. Alexa Daley is my favorite character. She is smart and brave. The book is slow at first, but it gets a lot better. The mystery and idea are very interesting. I really liked the talking animals and how they help bring down the wall.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7

Reviewer Age: 11

Reviewed by AJ

Dragon Blade:The Book of the Rowan by Andre Norton & Sasha Miller

Ashen NordornQueen and Gaurin NordornKing are enjoying peace at last, after the defeat of The Great Foulness, a mighty ice dragon. Their infant son has been crowned Bjauden NordornPrins, and though the land still has a lot of healing to do, things are looking on the bright side at last. Unfortunately, things are about to take a huge turn for the worse. When Ashen discovers a mysterious letter in the false bottom of one of her gifts, she realizes that the assault of the Ice Dragons is not over. According to legend, only the Dragon Blade, which was forged from the scales of the Mother Ice Dragon’s mate when he was killed, can subdue her, and until she is subdued, she will continue to produce offspring that will attack the lands of ice and snow. Can Gaurin defeat the mother Ice Dragon without the Dragon Blade? Can Ashen get to her husband in time to give him the map to the Dragon Blade and the Mother Ice Dragon’s lair before it is too late? And can their friends defeat a new ancient evil that threatens the lands while Ashen and Gaurin are away?

Dragon Blade is an unbelievable book. Prophecies and Ancient legends, love, magic, hope, and the strength and courage to attempt the unthinkable are interwoven throughout the story to make it a huge success. The imagery of the piece is unbelievable, making you not only see everything that is happening but feel it too. Fantasy, mystery, and romance readers will all love this book because it is written in such a way that even if you are a romance reader who dislikes Fantasy, or vice versa, you will still love the book. Norton and Miller have done a wonderful job creating this masterpiece.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10

Reviewer Age: 13

Reviewed by: SMo

Gypsy Prince: War Horse by Tom Townsend

In the book, Gypsy Prince, an innocent horse is thrown into WWII. He was not prepared, but he adjusts quickly in training camp. Gypsy Prince thinks all of the drills are like games. When he really goes into war, he learns otherwise. He goes from a Nazi warhorse to a food cart puller. He even goes to the American side for a little. Gypsy Prince continues wandering, until he finds some trace of his old, peaceful life.

I loved this book. I thought it was kind of like Black Beauty. A horse goes from owner to owner, meeting up with his past now and then. It was great. I enjoyed hearing what war was like for Gypsy Prince. However, I didn't like that the horse was on Germany's side, although I guess he really wasn't for the ideas of the Nazis.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

Reviewer Age: 12

Reveiw by: RC

Gypsy Prince: War Horse by Tom Townsend

In the book, Gypsy Prince, an innocent horse is thrown into WWII. He was not prepared, but he adjusts quickly in training camp. Gypsy Prince thinks all of the drills are like games. When he really goes into war, he learns otherwise. He goes from a Nazi warhorse to a food cart puller. He even goes to the American side for a little. Gypsy Prince continues wandering, until he finds some trace of his old, peaceful life.

I loved this book. I thought it was kind of like Black Beauty. A horse goes from owner to owner, meeting up with his past now and then. It was great. I enjoyed hearing what war was like for Gypsy Prince. However, I didn't like that the horse was on Germany's side, although I guess he really wasn't for the ideas of the Nazis.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

Reviewer Age: 12

Fresh off the Boat by: Melissa De La Cruz

Vicenza, known as V, hates being called “FOB” (Fresh Off the Boat). A recent Filipino immigrant, she misses her lavish lifestyle in Manila and has a difficult time fitting in with the wealthy girls at Grosverner, her private girls school. Vicenza is hard pressed to admit to her limited means financially and wants a social life like Whitney Bertoccini and her clique, the most popular girls in the freshman class. Refusing to see her life as it is leads to treachery and deceit as V emails Peaches, her best friend in Manila, with fanciful information about her life in San Francisco. Her emails tell of what she wants, Claude Caligari, while her narration shows the reality of her initial disappointment in America. V tries to become someone she is not in her attempts to gain popularity, even though her new friend Isobel accepts her as she is. She looks past Paul, a guy who spends his breaks with her in the Sears cafeteria her mom runs, until she realizes, almost too late, that it is actually him that she likes and understands.

Melissa de la Cruz tackles the ever-repeated story line of girl wants boy but does a pretty good job of keeping it from sounding trite. Fresh Off the Boat qualifies as a "page turner" in a way similar to other young adult books narrated from a teen point of view. The inclusion of emails to Peaches at the end of chapters adds a great deal to the narration because it adds insight into Vicenza’s desires. Fresh Off the Boat reminds me of the Samurai Girl series by Carrie Asai but is a much shorter and condensed account. The role of Whitney Bertoccini, the popular girl, is totally cliché but overall Fresh Off the Boat is worth reading for fun, perhaps as a stress reliever among other activities. Vicenza's prince, Paul, is a very likeable character even though he is in the background for most of the narration. The author, to mix things up a bit, could have avoided some of the overused ideas in setting up her characters. It is a book I can see made into a movie, such as Meg Cabot’s Princess Diaries.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7

Reviewer Age: 17