Revenge of the Wannabees by Lisi Harrison

Alicia Rivera, tired of being second-in-command to Massie Block, decides to start her own clique. Encouraged by her friends from dance, she creates her own clique fashioned off Massie’s GLU (girls like us) clique, and vies to become the most sought after girl. Massie becomes desperate once her inner circle starts to fall apart. She will do anything and everything to continue to be the most popular girl, while her ex-best friend will do the same to stay afloat. Kristen and Dylan, both current GLU’s have sticky secrets that are used to pressure them from one side to another. While Claire Lyon, the new girl, tries to fit in. Lies, betrayal, and manipulation fuel the plot of the third Clique novel.

Revenge of the Wannabees is a very realistic novel. I can see some of this middle school drama actually happening. The scenes range from sad to humorous. Although the girls are 7th graders, at times they seem much older. This is a really fun book to pass the time. All the conflict and drama keeps the reader entertained. Lisi Harrison really makes the reader look forward to the next book in the series.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10

Reviewer Age: 15

Reviewed by: LH

The Sledding Hill by Chris Crutcher

Eddie Proffit lost everything. In the same week both his father and his best friend died. As his best friend comes back as a ghost and “haunts” him by giving Eddie advice, he finds condolence in a book written by an author whose other books were banned. He did not choose, however, to read it, as it was assigned. Now the Reverend Tarter is trying to get the book banned and Eddie will have to do some serious detective work to beat Tarter’s allies on the school board.

This review will be from two points of view, that of the fantasy fan and that of the realistic fiction fan. I am both. From the perspective of the fantasy fan, the book was well written, but not very exiting. The only actions besides verbal ones were when both of the people died. In retrospect, the book had great characters, but not as many plot twists as I would have liked. However, in my individual opinion, this book was great. I loved the fact that the author, Chris Crutcher, put himself into the book. This book doesn’t really talk about mature issues, but it mentions them quite frequently. The Sledding Hill also has a large vocabulary, so you need a good reading level. I thought the last chapter was awesome, but the very last few paragraphs were hard to understand. For the fantasy fans—skip over this. For the realistic fiction fans—buy it and read it 3 times. This is my fourth favorite book of all time!

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10

Reviewer Age: 11

Reviewed by: JMc

Secret Agent by Spizman & Johnston

Every day for six years after work, Kyle's dad has gone into his room and worked on writing his book called Love In Autumn. Now Kyle's mom has had enough and she goes and kicks Walter (Kyle's dad) out of the house. Why? Because an un-published book does not make any money, which Kyle's mom needs to support the family. So Kyle figures if he can get the book published his parents might get back together, but he is going to need some help. So he recruits his friends Tyrone, Chad, Ruben, and Lucinda, who by the way has a mad crush on Kyle, and Kyle does not have a clue about it. Anyways Kyle and his friends do many interesting "spy like" things like following around one of the biggest editors in the world, pretending to be some one else, sneaking into restaurants, and going into a tofu candy bar. What happens in the end? Does Kyle and the spies get the book published? You will have to find out in “Secret Agent”.

”Secret Agent” had a good plot, but it just wasn't written very well. It took me a while to get a grip on the story and every once in a while it would go back in the story plot, which was very confusing for me. Also the characters weren't really developed except for Ruben. Overall, I really did not enjoy this book, and I would not recommend it to other readers.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 4

Reviewer Age: 14

The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney

This book starts out with a boy named Thomas Ward. He is the seventh son of a seventh son. Then the local spook takes him into apprenticeship. The Spook’s job is to “protect farms and villages from things that go bump in the night. Dealing with ghouls, boggarts, and all manner of wicked beasties”. During his training he meets a girl named Alice and his life goes downhill from there. Including accidentally resurrecting an evil which! Can the spook teach Thomas enough to stay alive?

This is an extraordinarily well-written book for a debut. The ending of this book makes you want to find out what adventures Thomas goes through next. I can’t wait for the next book to come out (whenever it does). I believe it could become a high-selling book and series.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9

Reviewer Age: 12

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