Nobody's Fault by Jonathan Pearce

What do you do when your mom's been dead for seven years, your dad has a new wife, it's summer and you have nothing to do? If you are twelve-year-old Tery, you allow yourself to be coerced into working for the summer school edition of the Korndogger with Sheba, the queen herself, as your editor. What you don't do is tell people that you still have visions of your mother who gives advice and encouragement. Tery, whose name comes from Teru, a Japanese name meaning sunshine, in honor of Obahchan, her Japanese grandmother, thinks she is alone in her vision-seeing abilities until she interviews 106 year old Julius Caesar Kuhl, Junior for the newspaper. What began as a forced task to please her father and Sheba turns into a heart felt exploration of life in San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake. Mr. Kuhl, the oldest man in town, just happens to be kin to Ritchie, vandal and prankster extraordinaire. Ritchie's appearances deftly coincide with disappearances of his grandfather's prized possessions. Is something more sinister going on? Readers will quickly turn pages to learn the conclusion.

The backdrop of earthquake and the unsettling transition from middle school to high school make this a book with historical focus and contemporary lessons. The author has created a history/mystery/coming of age stroy that works. I liked Tery's spunkiness and compassion. This would work well as background ofr San Francisco earthquake and lessons on preparedness.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 58
Reviewer City, State and Country: Timonium, MD US

The Wreath by Chris and Chloe Howard

There are creatures under the sea who are part fish, part human known in storybooks as mermaids and mermen. However, in reality, these creatures look almost exactly like normal people. The only differences are that they have a thin layer of skin between their fingers and toes and the fact that they can breath underwater. They are divided into royal houses, they have a king, and there are traitors, enemies, and an evil army. Kassandra is a Telkhines (never call them mermaids and mermen) who is a descendent of the king. Unfortunately, the king is out to get her. She wears the wreath, an object that is passed down from mother to daughter, or sister, or some distant female relation who can be trusted to use it properly. The wearer, once she reaches the age of thirteen begins to gain extraordinary powers, and the king knows Kassandra is not on his side. Kassandra just turned thirteen. She knows absolutely nothing about the Telkhines, or the wreath, because she was sent as an infant to central Nebraska, with the skin between her fingers and toes removed, by the king (who didn't know she had the wreath at the time) so that she would be out of the way and not cause any problems, or so he thought.

Surprises are unlimited, problems abundant, and new friends and enemies are constantly turning up. Chris and Chloe Howard have written an amazing fantasy about a girl with more problems than anyone can imagine. Readers will discover an undersea world very different from the Little Mermaid. Teen fantasy readers will excitedly follow Kassandra's every step as she discovers who she really is, and her important role in saving her newly discovered family.

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

British Born, Amrican Bred by Valorie Beardsley

British Born, American Bred is a fanfiction of Prince William's life from when we meet him at St.Andrews University right up until he dies as an old man or rather an old, and much loved, King. To say this book is about Prince William and the narrator, fictional Emily Harrison who was born in Britain but brought up in America (hence the title), falling in love would be an understatement. William and Emily fall in love and get engaged within a year of meeting each other and in the first 50 pages of book. This book is more about their life together, troubles with the press and royal relatives as well as the trials of married life, being King and Queen, dealing with illness and parenthood.

This book wasn't what I expected at all and was really a disappointment; instead of being a fun and easy read that was great for relaxing, I found myself having to force myself to read a book I didn't enjoy. The writing was poor to say the least and rather than feeling the relationship between Prince William and the fictional Emily Harrison as it happened, I felt I, as the reader, was told what was happening as if it were some kind of report. Instead of falling in love as Emily did and experiencing the events as they unfolded, I felt cut-off from the story, while the large time-scale it was set in seemed over-ambitious. I really wanted a story of love, not a whole life's journey that was hard to comprehend; as a 15 year-old I can't really relate to having children, grandchildren and dying at eighty. The way Prince William spoke was cringy, scary and odd all at the same time, and as a British teenager I can certainly say that I don't know many people who talk like that (and those who do are rather un-flatteringly called chavs). Can you really imagine Prince William calling the girl he loved "Luv" or Prince Charles "pops"? - Scary. However if you are planning on reading the book, and do get beyond the first couple of pages, I wouldn't reccomend it to anyone under 15 as the author attempts to write a rather explicit love scene early on.


Rating (0 - 10 scale): 3
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Bristol, England

Ball Don't Lie by Matt de la Pena

Sticky lives with his foster mom, foster brothers, and foster sisters. Sticky is a tough, beat around kid who has no life except for basketball. Sticky is very competitive and once he tried basketball, he got hooked on it and practiced nonstop. Sticky has no future in school or anything else except for basketball. Sticky practices at a local gym, with some regulars who act like his family that he never had. Sticky also plays for JV on his high school team. However during the Varsity playoffs Sticky gets asked to play for them. Sticky puts on a great show and he gets a notice to tryout for some of the best colleges. This might be Sticky's only way out of his hard life that he lives.

This was one of my favorite books. The book was written so well, and the flow was great. I read this whole book in one sitting. I could relate to what Sticky was feeling at certain times, like when he was in a sticky situation, or if things were turning out perfectly. I would feel joy and sadness when he felt it. I felt like I knew Sticky so well and that he was real, because the author went into depth to explain his life.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10
Reviewer Age: 11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Lutherville, MD United States

Stay With Me by Garret Freymann-Weyr

The Book I reviewed was Stay With Me. It's about a 16 year old girl named Leila. Leila's older sister commits suicide, and Leila goes on a mission to find out why her sister would do this horrible thing. While Leila is trying to figure out information about her sister. She ends up finding out information about herself. She also ends up finding a man that she likes, but he happens to be 31 years old. Leila doesn't care though. Age means nothing to her. Eamon clearly states that he doesn't want to date a teenager, but Leila is determind to find a way to change his mind.

I liked the general idea of the book. I just didn't like how Leila fell in love with a 31 year old man. I kinda found that disturbing. If the author hadn't made him so old it wouldn't have been bad, but a 31 year old dating a 17 year old that's kinda wacked and against the law.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7
Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Dundee, Oregon USA

The Skyborn by Paul Collins

Welkin Quinn was a fourteen year old ensign on the spaceship city 'Colony' until it crashed on planet Earth. There, Welkin, his sister, and some of his other friends were "specially" selected as a team to scout the land. Outside of 'Colony' Welkin and the others discover many things about Earth; the sparse vegetation, desolate landscape, and a devolved race of humans called the Earthborn. The most frightening discovery about Welkin's assignment is the realization that this is one task he isn't supposed to return from. Welkin and his fellow abandoned Skyborn trek the Earth in search of hospitality, which they find when they meet Sarah, an Earthborn approximatly Welkin's age, who leads her own "family". Together they combine their families' talent, knowledge, and technology into one for the sole purpose of survival. A chance encounter with a fellow abandoned Skyborn alerts Welkin to a plot hatched by the Elders of the Skyborn that is to rid the Earth of the Earthborn. Fuelled by his watch-dog instincts and a desire for revenge, Welkin steps in to defuse the threat. In spite of dangerous situations and the risk of certain death if caught, Welkin braves it all, honoring his sense of duty. Unfortunately he has no idea what fate may await him upon re-entering Colony!

The Skyborn, by Paul Collins is a futuristic thriller that keeps the reader involved with a suspense-filled plot that always leaves you guessing. The Skyborn is Collins' follow-up to The Earthborn, a book published in 2003. Because of the intense character drama and detailed backstory, I wouldn't recommend diving into The Skyborn without first reading The Earthborn, as I did. It takes too much time sorting through the character's personalities and figuring out who the characters are, that it distracts from the plot of The Skyborn. Collins does an excellent job making the individual characters in The Skyborn believable. You find yourself caught up in their journey and rooting for them to not only survive, but succeed. Unfortunately his details of the setting is less descriptive so it was hard to imagine clearly what Collins pictured as a post-disaster Earth. Despite the difficult level of reading, I really enjoyed The Skyborn. So much so I purchased The Earthborn (better late than never)and hope there is a The Hiveborn in the works.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10
Reviewer Age: 12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Chambersburg, Pennsylvania USA

Seeing Emily by Joyce Lee Wong

Emily Wu is Chinese-American, working with her immigrant parents in their Chinese restaurant in Richmond. Like her mother, she has a great love of art and is entranced while drawing. A new boy at school, Alex (also the son of family friends of the Wu's), moves to Richmond with his aunt and uncle while his parents continue working in Taiwan. He has a great love of art also, and he and Emily are both picked to paint a mural for the school's hallway. At first Emily is weary of the idea, but soon becomes friends with Alex. Emily tells us, while consumed in sketching and painting the mural, how sometimes her life is kind of like the various animals she paints. She feels insecure, wanting to fly and truly become herself, but not knowing how. Even after she gets her first boyfriend, she feels incomplete. Then her parents tell her they are going to send her to their native Taiwan, to become better at speaking Chinese. Only then do the pieces of her life and heritage finally start fitting together, and she can start seeing and becoming herself, Emily.

This book gave a very poetic, vivid picture of Emily's life. It felt like you were experiencing the same emotions she was when they were happening. Written in free verse, Seeing Emily is a wonderful, fast read for anyone on the journey to finding and truly becoming themselves. A great book for young adults ages 13-20.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Celestine,Indiana USA

Souls of the North Wind by Chrissy K. Mcvay

After Iksik angers a prehistoric demon wolf by killing his mate, two cousins have to go on the journey of a lifetime. Iksik and Kiviok, have to travel all the way to the sea to consult the wise shaman, Pukak, about the demon wolf who is stalking them. However, the journey will not be easy. With the demon wolf waiting at every turn for them to make a mistake and white men interfering. WIll they ever get to the sea and lift the curse?

I think that this book was relatively good. It had a lot of good word choices. For example: "A light breeze brought the overwhelming stench of its body. It was the smell of a beast that slept in its own filth. The long shaggy hair covering its massive chest was layered with the dried blood of old kills ....." The ending is kind of interesting because it is both what you expected to happen and you didn't expect to happen. A pretty good read and appropriate for all ages.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7
Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Tucson, Arizona USA

Maureen the Detective by Veda Boyd Jones

After Maureen and Mark take the job offer that Mrs. Hoag gave them for finding her purse and returning it to her, they start cataloging every item she has in each very large room in her mansion. In the western room Maureen just absolutely loves one piece of artwork called the Wicked Pony. She loves it so much that she asks if she can take a picture of it. When they get the film developed Maureen asks Mrs. Hoag if she can compare the picture to the statue, but when she goes to find the statue another statue is in its place instead. Mrs. Hoag said she didn’t move it, but if she didn’t move it, who did? So begins the mystery of the missing artwork, and who but Maureen and Mark to solve the case?

This book called Maureen the Detective was awesome. I loved the book because it was well written and was interesting to find out who was stealing Mrs. Hoag’s artwork. Maureen the Detective is mostly a mystery book. I thought it was cool how each character had a very different personality compared to the other. This book is for ages 8-12 and is one of many in the Sisters in Time series. I hope everyone who reads Maureen the Detective will enjoy it as much as I did.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Upperstrasburg, PA US

The Telling Pool by David Clement-Davies

Rhodri Falcon has lived his 11 years in happiness with his mother and father, a master falconer. But as unrest in the lands sends his father, Owen, to fight in the wars, Rhodri has to take up the responsiblities of the man of the house, much to his disappointment. Over the next few years, Rhodri is haunted by a fourtune he heard at a fair and one day, he ventures into the forest against his parents wishes, where he comes upon a blind hermit named Tantallon. Tantallon guides him in the ways of magic and shows him the Telling Pool, a place where Rhodri sees what's happening to his father. When Rhodri discovers that his father has been enchanted by a witch namd Homeira, it's up to him to find the fabled sword Excalibur, the sword once held by King Arthur himself, to break the curse. On his journey, Rhodri discovers secrets about his family history. It's up to Rhodri to use his wits carefully before he gets enchanted too.

I really liked the Telling Pool. I took a while to get into the story; the beginning was a bit slow, but necessary to tie into the story. I'm fascinated with stories relating to King Arthur and Guenviere, so I enjoyed that aspect of the novel. The story was also cleverly set during the Third Crusade, and it's hard to find novels set at the time period. Being a fan of historical fiction, I really liked this new time. The magical element of the novel was fun as well. Clement-Davies did a good job of mixing history, old legends, magic, and even a bit of romance. I'd recommend this novel to anyone.

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