The Green Futures of Tycho by William Sleator

The Green Futures of Tycho, written by William Sleator, is a book about the adventures of an eleven year old boy, Tycho, and a mysterious egg–shaped gadget he found while digging a garden. Tycho’s parents, Bobby and Judy, named each of their four children after a famous person in a particular field, hoping that there children will grow up to join that field. Tycho, 11, was named after the famous Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe. He is expected to become an astronomer, but he has many other interests he would like to pursue as well. When Tycho was pursuing his interest in gardening and plants by making a garden, he stumbled upon a strange devise that he thought was just a piece of metal, but something inside him told him to take it. His siblings came to him so they could see what he found, but Tycho refused to show it to them and accidentally pressed the top of the devise, causing him to disappear from sight. Tycho had disappeared in the morning and did not show up again until it was dark out. Knowing that this egg-shaped piece of metal was special, Tycho started to examine it to find that it was a time travel device. Tycho used the egg to his advantage by going into the past and changing some events that had haunted him for many years into good memories for himself. Using the egg, Tycho decides to see what he will turn out to be in the future because of his many interests. Each time he goes to the future, he is in a different career, but the one similarity in all of his futures is that he has become a horrible man, not only to his family, but to the world itself. Frightened of his future, Tycho tries to find out how what he can do to fix the mistakes he will make in his life, and in the process he learns that life is all about chance. An example of how chance controls your life is that if you were to stay at a party five minutes later than you wanted to and someone new came in, you could hit it off right there and possibly find the person you will spend the rest of your life with. If you hadn’t stayed at the party, you would never have met that person and your whole life would be different. Knowing this, Tycho decides to go into the future to find out what he can do to save himself from the horrible future he has seen. Soon, Tycho learns that the time travel devise is the cause of the potential horror of his future. Unfortunately, it might be too late to fix his future. Tycho has to be strong, brave, and extremely smart in attempt to find a way to make it so he never saw the egg and to be able to safely return to his time.

The Green Futures of Tycho is an excellent book. I would recommend this book to anyone, even an adult. You may think that the book starts off a little slow, but after the first four pages, you won’t be able to put the book down. One of the many great aspects of the book is how the characters are named after well known people so that they will join the field of whomever they were named after. It is interesting to think of yourself being put in the position of one of the characters. You would have a career chosen for you that you would have to pursue; otherwise you would disappoint your family. My favorite character was Tycho, because you could see the different changes in his personality after each journey through time. Another reason Tycho is my favorite character is because he has many different attitudes in each potential future, and you can figure out what kind of a person he will end up to be in twenty years once his life is back to normal. The ending of the book is my favorite part of the book because of the way the author grabbed your attention by adding unexpected action into the story. If I were asked how this book compares to any other science fiction book that I have read, I would say that The Green Futures of Tycho is definitely one of the top 5 books in the science fiction category. The Green Futures of Tycho is a pretty easy book to read, but it still contains plenty of appropriate vocabulary for many different ages. This book teaches you that life may rely mostly on chance, but you can make the decisions that will lead chance in your favor. William Sleator’s style of writing is what grabs you into the book. The surprises that the author puts in the book are placed and written so perfectly that when they come, you don’t even expect it. No matter how many times you read the book, the surprises still come unexpectedly. There was just enough detail in the book that you could picture the story perfectly, but still be able to add some of your own creativity into the story. When the book was over, you could picture what would happen next because of how well the author described the entire story. The only change I would make in the story is having Tycho go into the past a couple more times to play practical jokes on his friends and family. The Green Futures of Tycho is one of the greatest books ever written. Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10Reviewer Age: 13

Reviewed by: MP

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