The Queen of Second Place by Laura Peyton Roberts

Sophomore Cassie Howard is used to being second place. She has been her whole life. When Cassie meets Kevin Matthews, the new boy, in her sophomore Honors English class, she vows that she will come in first this time. But when her school nemesis, Sterling Carter, decides to move in on her crush first, Cassie decides to take action. Cheating on school assignments, taking her father’s car without permission, and betraying her friends all to try and win the attention of Kevin. Sterling, a.k.a. Fourteen-Karat, is of course one of those perfect girls that everyone wants to be best friend of and secretly despises. Through her desperate schemes, Cassie ends up making a mess of everything—including losing her best friends along the way. Will the queen of second place finally win what she wants most? As Cassie tries to solve the problems she created, she learns the meaning of real friends, her own capabilities, as well as self-confidence.

The Queen of Second Place by Laura Peyton Roberts is a great book to read on a rainy day. Although the plot is clichéd and Cassie’s antics are not surprising, Roberts makes the novel enjoyable through her creative writing. Even though the reader can predict exactly what will happen next, there’s still something in this novel that makes the reader want to read on. If you’re the person that enjoys a pointless novel just for the joy of reading, then this is the book for you.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10
Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Kansas City, MO U.S.A

Being Bindy by Alyssa Brugman

Belinda Grubb, called Bindy, doesn't want to face changes; she wants her life to stay as it is with her best frienf Jane Madden, her dad, and brother Kyle. 8th grade starts out to be the ultimate test for Bindy; should she accept Janey's new popular friends and conform to their "cool" habits or stay behind while everything changes around her? Every aspect of her adolescent life changes quickly: her mom seems to care more for her boyfriend than parenting; school becomes unbearable when Janey and Hannah, a rich girl who thinks abbreviations are SVC (so very chic), taunt her for being a baby; and her father and Janey's mother start going out. The stress grows until Being Bindy reaches a climax with Janey passing around Bindy's underwear during a school assembly by Bindy and her brother Kyle. Can the girls get over their differences and remain best friends? Only time will tell when one is in eighth grade.

Alyssa Brugman's Being Bindy is unique among novels highlighting early adolescent issues because of the author's Australian influence and references throughout the novel. This shows how teens around the world are so similar yet have different educational systems. The book is a quick read and enjoyable because of the author's simple style and approach. I doubt Being Bindy will be a best seller, however, because of its similarity to other books aimed at young adolescents such as the Alice books by Phyllis Naylor and because it doesn't seem as captivating as The Princess Diaries for instance. I really liked the Australian references; it was something new and a great exposure to other world societies.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 6
Reviewer Age: 17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Kansas City, MO USA

Shadowqueen by Debbie Federici and Susan Vaught

Brenden(Bren) and Jasimina(Jazz) have defeated the Shadowmaster, but have also lost Jazz to the cold grip of death in doing so. Bren misses Jazz. He has rebuilt the path with his brother and now all he wants is his girlfriend, Jazz, back. When Bren learns that there is a chance for him to get Jazz back, he sets his mind on taking that chance. But where Jazz is, few have dared enter, and even fewer have come back. Jazz is in Talamadden, and all she wants is to get back to Bren. And with the aid of a blue peacock, she intends on exiting Talamadden and going back home. Jazz needs to get back home. A spy has entered L.O.S.T., and it is Jazz's duty as queen of L.O.S.T., to make sure the spy doesn't harm her people. When, with the help of Bren, Jazz is free from Talamadden, she must hurry with Bren to stop the spy. When Jazz and Bren reach L.O.S.T., they find a battle raging. The battle leads Jazz back to Talamadden with Bren, where the new Shadowmaster lies in wait to kill them.

I liked this book. What I liked about it was the fact that the relationship of Bren and Jazz seemed to be all consuming to Bren and Jazz. When Jazz was in Talamadden, all she could think about was how much she wished she was with Bren, and all Bren could think about was how much he wished he was with Jazz. Jazz had more important matters on her mind while she was in Talamadden, like how was she going to get out or how would she get out in one piece? While Bren had to think about all of his people, and to make sure that his brother didn't do something stupid. When Bren and Jazz reunite, their relationship stays strong and grows stronger even though they act like jerks to each other, and that was the best thing - they could love each other and be complete jerks to each other at the same time. I also thought the book was good because Jazz and Bren continually had to overcome all the attacks on L.O.S.T. while they had to deal with the major problem on how to make their powers separate, or how to get Todd from being a complete jerk. It was interesting to see them trying to stop one thing while they had to fix another.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Tucson, Arizona U.S.A.

The Summer King by O.R. Melling

On the anniversary of her twin sister, Honor’s death, Laurel travels back to Ireland to finish something her sister never accomplished. After having strange dreams, Laurel is compelled to learn about the faerie world, though she does not believe in faeries. But when a strange, “roly-poly” man appears to her appealing for help to finish the mission Honor started, Laurel thinks it’s her duty to finish it and rescue Honor. What Laurel doesn’t know is that the journey is filled with danger, mystery, and excitement. She gets help from Ian, a boy she’s known since she was young. Together, Laurel and Ian face terrifying attacks from otherworldly creatures, including water faeries and raven-people. She is given guidance from the wise golden eagle and she manages to ally herself with one of the most powerful woman pirates, Grace O’Malley. Laurel’s goal is to return the Summer King back to the faeries so that he in turn will light the Ring of Fire. If she fails her mission, everything will be lost, both in the faerie world and the human world.

When I first started the book, I had to force myself to get through the first half of the book. I wasn’t getting interested in the story. But the story turned when the action began. O.R. Melling’s descriptions of Ireland really helped the story. I was interested in the faerie world, so I wanted to see how she depicted them. I also liked the history that she threw in, with Grace O’Malley. There were some twists thrown into the plot, which really livened up the story. I did not see the ending coming and I was really surprised. I’m glad that I finished reading the novel. I would recommend this to lovers of fantasy. As this is part of a quartet, I will look for the remaining stories and hopefully they will be entertaining as well.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7
Reviewer Age: 19
Reviewer City, State and Country: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

Sign of the Crescent by Debbie Federici

This book starts out with an introduction to Taryn. Taryn has just lost her grandmother, and is suffering heart break because of the lost. Mean while teenagers are getting snatched by some unknown source, and going out at night for teens is getting riskier. There are people from the world, Neworld, whose job is to protect the teens from earth, Oldworld. Erick is one of those people. One night, when Erick is out trying to stop the kidnappings, he comes across Taryn. Erick is dispatched far away from Taryn, and her rescue seems impossible. When the Zumarian warrior, working for the bad guy, comes to take Taryn he grabs her. Whenever a Zummarian warrior grabs a person of the Oldworld they immediatly freeze, but Tary doesn't freeze when grabbed, Taryn fights back. Erick, who witnesses this, knows there is something different with Taryn, and goes to meet her. Erick and Taryn build a relationship over time, but one night Taryn is taken, and Erick decides it is time to attack the bad guy. Taryn is confronted with the bad guy and learns that he is her father. Taryn is presented with a choice that will decide the future for everyone. Taryn is left with the choice to choose love or power, and whichever way she chooses she betrays someone.

This book is about choosing. Throughout the book the characters are met with choices. Taryn faces the choice between love and power, while Erick faces the choice between following the rules and following the heart. The choices the characters choose are pretty alike, but one does the right thing while the other does the thing that goes against what is considered right. I thought the book was interesting because it showed how heavily the choices weighed upon each character. It showed how the characters ended up at least trying to do the right thing, but how their choice always seemed to out weigh the other choice. The characters were interesting together because one character knew what was going on while the other was learning. The characters were also interesting because they were different. One of the characters was a warrior, in perfect health, while the other was more of a thinker, who had to fight hearing loss and was battling a disease. Their differences extended deeper than that since one of the characters was born into a good family while the other was born into an evil family.The story itself was pretty good. The author did a very good job in describing the scenes in detail, and the thought processes that the author wrote for the characters were also detailed, and because of that the reader could get more of an insight into who the characters were. This book was a good book that could hold the readers interest easily and had main characters that you could easily like and antagonists that you hated but pitied.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7
Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Tucson, Arizona U.S.A.

Foxmask by Juliet Marillier

Thorvald, at the age of 18 years, has just been told about his true parentage. He immediately sets on a mission to find his father, with the help of his friend, Sam, an experienced sailor. What Thorvald doesn't expect is that his other friend, Creidhe, stows away on the boat and isn't found until it's too late to turn back. So the three journey together where they come across the Long Knife People. After hearing their story, Thorvald and Sam decide to stay on and help. Thorvald also believes that Asgrim, the leader of the Long Knife People is his father, so he decides to become a great warrior to make him proud. What he doesn't realize until too late is that Asgrim had other plans for Creidhe and when those plans go awry, she is thought to be dead. Instead, Cheidhe is on the Isle of Clouds, the exact place where the Long Knife People fight year after year to find Foxmask, the seer of their enemy. Thorvald makes it his mission to train the men to become true warriors and return Foxmask to his rightful place. On his journey, Thorvald learns about power, hope, sorrow, love and the importance of family.

Not being an avid fan of fantasy, I was a bit apprehensive when I first got this book, it being over 500 pages. After getting through the beginning, I couldn't put the book down. Thorvald's journey is fascinating. Juliet Marillier has a way of describing characters and places. With all the twists and turns in the novel, it was hard to predict what would happen next. I went from loving a character to hating them. This was the first book I've read by Juliet Marillier, but now I can't wait to read the rest. I'd recommend Foxmask to fantasy readers and nonreaders alike. I thought that this book was amazing and I can't wait to read more by Marillier.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10
Reviewer Age: 19
Reviewer City, State and Country: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

Spain or Shine by Michelle Jellen

Overshadowed by her other siblings, Elena feels like she never stands out. So she takes a once in a lifetime opportunity to study for a semester in San Sebastian, Spain. In Spain, she quickly becomes friends with outgoing Jenna, which leads her to experience many new things in Spain, from visiting Tapas bars to relaxing on the beach everyday. But Elena also has her playwriting on her mind as she wants her play to be selected to be performed for the school. Adding to her stress is the cute boy Miguel she has her eyes on. But when Elena meets her namesake, her great aunt Elena, things seem to make sense and Elena learns that she shouldn't feel hidden by other people.

I thought that this book was cute. I love reading books that take place in other countries, so I loved the descriptions of San Sebastian and Madrid. I think that there was a good mix of everything in this book, romance, culture, suspense. I was a bit disappointed in the ending. But overall, I enjoyed reading this book. As this is only one of the books in the Students Across the Seven Seas series, I look forward to reading the others soon.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 6
Reviewer Age: 19
Reviewer City, State and Country: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

The Misadventures of Maude March by Audrey Couloumbis

“Mad Maude March,” is supposedly a robber and a murderer who roams the wild west with her gang. Her younger sister Sallie knows better. She knows the ladylike Maude who was orphaned twice and misses their parents, their aunt, and the house that they lost when she died. Together, Sallie and Maude are forced to flee from their hometown to avoid Maude marrying a man that is old enough to be her grandfather. They commit some wrongs, many of which they either didn’t start and were blamed for or were accidents that were embellished. However, throughout their journey to Independence to find their Uncle Arlen (that could be dead, or somewhere else entirely) Maude and Sallie hold a sisterly love and determination that just might get them to their destination. This is Sallie’s story; a story of the Wild West.

The Misadventures of Maude March is a tale that is expertly woven to depict an eleven year old girl who, through her love of dime novels, believes she can conquer the West with her sister in tow. The words paint vivid pictures and the story leaves readers on the edges of their seats wondering what else could possibly go wrong. Any lover of Wild West adventures and stories told from a different perspective than anyone expects, will love Audrey Couloumbis’s novel. Maude March is a new hero of the Wild West, as real as Joe Harden and all of Sallie’s favorite dime-novel characters.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Chambersburg, PA USA

Counting On Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop

This fictional account of early 1900s New England cotton mills is based on the work photographer Lewis Hine’s documentation of mill life. A spinning mill may not seem like a playground, but for children whose parents worked in the mills, this unlikely recreation center was all the entertainment available. After school the children ran to the mill where they played in corners away from the growling machinery until their parents were able to take them home. As the children grew older, their time in the mill became permanent when they, too, became mill workers whose working lives were spent weaving and spinning. Ten-year old Grace and her friend Arthur read Red Badge of Courage in school before beginning their work in the mills until French Johnny, the mill supervisor, insists that Arthur work in the mill to help his widowed mother make a living. Although Miss Lesley, the teacher, is reluctant to have one of her best readers leave, she is powerless against the insistence of the mill bosses and gives Arthur the book as a gift. Arthur’s departure shows Grace that her time in school is quickly coming to a close. Like the older workers, the ten year olds face danger from whirling machines and exhaustion from unceasing motion as they work to make fabric. The children learn to hide in dark corners when inspectors pay unexpected visits. When Mr. Hines visits the mill, the children’s lives become topsy-turvy as they endeavor to have their stories told beyond the boundaries of mill town.

Elizabeth Winthrop describes her journey from seeing a photograph to writing this story. Her list of books for further reading urges exploration of child labor laws and American history. Counting on grace is a welcomed addition to a middle school library. Students, teachers, and parents will appreciate this well-told tale. Who knew that rading about life in the mills could be so entertaining and educational? well worth reading.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 58
Reviewer City, State and Country: Timonium, MD US

Beginner's Luck by Laura Pedersen

Hallie is a 16 year-old girl who despises the school that she goes to so much that she doesn't bother to show up to 90% of the classes. Most of the time you can find her down at the horse track betting on the ponies, aka earning money to buy a car. Since she lives in a house barely big enough to house the nine that it consists of now, not to mention the new baby on the way, she plans to head to Las Vegas. She is the second oldest and is overlooked up until now,when the attendence officer "Just Call Me Dick" begins to notice that she doesn't come to homeroom, or most of her other classes for that matter. He alerts the ultimate authorities; her parents. They simply retract their offer to help pay for the car and ground her until her grades pull up. Hallie thinks, "Well that's too bad because I'm gone, I'll gamble until I have the money to go to Vegas then, so long Ohio!" Hallie is a gifted card player that goes along with her innate sense of numbers. She doesn't have a gambling problem just does it for the money. An unfortunate loss at the track forces her to take a job as a lawn person in the eccentric household of the Stocktons. This quirky family includes Olivia, the head matron, The Judge her husband, Bernard their son, Gil Bernard's lover, and the ever persistent Rocky the chimp, who is between jobs. Not only are they paying her 12 dollars an hour they soon welcome her into their home with her own room. Her parents want her back but no such luck, she becomes a permanent fixture in the lives of the Stocktons. She is now learning things that she would not otherwise learn, like how to prepare exqusite dishes, little known facts about authors and figure heads. The sarcastic humor, intermixed with exquisite vocabulary, envelope her in Ms. Olivia's rabble rousing and protesting for a greater cause. Olivia soon becomes her tutor that way she will graduate and be able to go to college. Her boyfriend, Craig, even gets along with the Stocktons. This leads to a pinch or romance among all the gambling and clearing of her name. A household that will not be forgotten easily.

Slowly but surely, a quickwitted sarcastic humor takes you into this quirky world of Hallie Palmer. This hold is not relinquished throughout the entire novel. I laughed so hard I cried multiple times. The reader is faced with a gay couple that Hallie coexists with and not all romantic scenes are backstage. For those with improving vocabulary, I suggest a pocket dictionary nearby, just in case. Morals and prejudiced thoughts are faced and delt with making you think about your own beliefs.This book is for those willing to be open-minded to other's thoughts and ideas even though you may have originally rejected them as not part of your beliefs. Not everything is black and white as it might appear, and there are two sides to each argument. It helps to see both.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Belton, Missouri USA