The Big Shuffle by Laura Pedersen

When her father dies of a heart attack, the task of heading the Palmer household falls to eighteen-year-old Hallie. It doesn't help matters that her father's death has caused her mother to go into shock. In a normal-sized family, this would be bad enough, but Hallie has nine brothers and sisters, seven of whom are still at home! She's not completely alone, though--scary but helpful Uncle Lenny, Pastor Costello, the church ladies, and her old friends Bernard and Gil are all helpful. She's got to keep her family together, though--that's something only Hallie can do.

Despite the tragedy that starts this story, it really is hilarious. I was laughing out loud through much of it! Of course, it has its serious, emotional moments, too. All of the crazy characters are interesting, believable, original, and funny--as is the entire book! It's a brilliant book, and I certainly plan to read more of Laura Pedersen's books, especially those about Hallie!

Content:This is for a mature reader due to sexual situations.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10

Reviewer Age: 15

Reviewer City, State and Country: , NC USA

Crazy in Love by Dandi Daley Mackall

This book is about Mary Jane, a high school student who has a crush on a taken guy. Mary Jane is a second daughter whose older sister is a little slow, and is constantly plagued by her inner voices trying to chose her actions. But she is basically a normal girl with normal looks and a pretty normal life, which is why it is a big surprise for her, and amost everyone else, when one of the most popular guys in school seems interested in her. But the popular guy liking Mary Jane turns out to be a problem because it causes his current girlfriend, who constantly cheats on him, to make Mary Jane's life a living hell. As the book goes on, the whole school seems to turn against Mary Jane and her dream guy dumps his girlfriend and starts to date her. Mary Jane's life, although a little chaotic at the moment, seems perfect to her while with her new boyfriend, but as her relationship with him progresses sex becomes a factor in their relationship, and Mary Jane needs to decide to relinquish her virginity or to hold on to it.

Although the book has a pretty common idea, the book itself is really good. The author does a good job at adding new ideas to make the story break away from a common high school relationship that is often portrayed in books. The book forms characters you can symphasize with and antagonists that you really hate. For instances the book chose a really good mall scene with Mary Jane, her crush, and her crush's girlfriend, where the reader is shown new sides to characters and just how mean some are. I think the book's best part was the voices in Mary Jane's head telling her what to do. The book was an interesting story that portrayed interesting situations and people.

Content:adult guidance: contains some talk of sex

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Tucson, Arizona United States

Stake That! by Mari Mancusi

Stake that is about Sixteen year old Rayne who, after looseing her chance to become a vampire, her twin sister Sunny gets the chance to become a vampire and the hunky vampire as her boyfriend! Rayne then learns that she is the new vampire slayer in town, she must now go under cover and stop a vampire who is seeking power by spreading a fatal blood diease. With this and the regular things taht a teenage girl goes through (Boys,Makeup,Homework,More boys) shes under just a little pressure.

I like Stake That because behind all of the action there is a love story going on. After her dad leaving her mom, and her mom now going on dates again, people thinking that why she's dressing gothic is because her dad left, and on top of all of this the her sister's boyfriend and many others safety, might just be resting on her shoulders. You will find yourself being drawn into Rayne's life more and more as the story goes on. With a surprise ending you'll never doubt Mari Mancusi being a good author.

Content:adult guidance
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7
Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: fridley, minnesota united states

Vampirates by Justin Somper

“Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a vampirates life for me.” Have you ever dreamt of the vampirates that have sailed the oceans for many a thousand years? Well, twins Connor and Grace Tempest have. Especially after their father had sung the old vampirate sea shanty to put them to sleep. A little later, the twins father dies, leaving them alone with his lighthouse. It is either move into the orphanage, or move in with the rich and snobby banker. Well, Grace and Connor decide to run. They take their father’s ship and sail away onto the horizon. Once out in the ocean, there is huge storm which wrecks their boat. Connor is lifted onto a pirate ship and thinks Grace is dead and has drowned. Grace on the other hand, is lifted onto some mysterious ship where the crew only goes out on the deck at night. Could this be the dreaded vampirate ship? Will Grace ever see Connor again?

This was definitely a well-thought out, delightful book. You can tell right off the bat that Somper has an amazing bunch of characters who actually feel something, they are not a mindless bunch of drones. This was definitely an interesting read. I have never once in my life read a book as far-out as this one is. The way he describes everything with great detail is just astounding. Overall, this is one of the best books I have read yet.

Content:selected readers for minor violence
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7
Reviewer Age: 13

The Unresolved by T.K. Welsh

Mallory's story begins on the day she dies. Soon after her first kiss, the steamship on which she is traveling goes up in flames, and, because of her old, waterlogged life jacket, she drowns. She's not the only one to die in the accident; the lifeboats are rusted to the deck, the water hoses rotten, and the lifejackets useless, so many of her friends and neighbors, as well as her little sister, die that day in New York City. Mallory is a silent, incorporeal observer to the aftermath of the accident, unable to move on into whatever comes next for spirits who leave this world. This is not normal historical fiction--it's told from the perspective of a ghost.

The aftermath of the accident, when everyone is trying to assign the blame to someone, anyone, is very interesting. It's a look at the way justice worked in 1904, and it's not particularly different from the way it seems to work today. TK Welsh's style, however, isn't as good as it could have been. This could have been a beautifully dark, tragic story; instead it's just an interesting one. The characters, too, are a little disappointing; none of them really jump off the page. Still, this is a gripping story that will surely keep reader's attention. It's worth reading, but it probably won't be anyone's absolute favorite book ever.

Content:It's a book about a horrific accident, and there are details about that accident.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Asheville, NC USA

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

In 1918, Hattie Brooks receives word that an uncle she's never known has passed away and left his homestead in Montana to her. She travels across the country to plant roots in this new place. She is understandably hesitant when she first realizes how much work she has to do to "prove up" her land, but she tackles the many jobs with determination and her own two hands. Those hands also craft letters to her friend Charlie, who is fighting in France, and articles for the newspaper. She befriends a lovable family and others in town as she fights to stake her claim.

This memorable pioneer tale is perfect for fans of Little House, Anne of Green Gables, and Little Women.

Though shelved in teen fiction, this heartwarming story is suitable for kids of all ages. Adults will love it too, especially those who love turn-of-the-century historical fiction and WWI homefront stories. This is the kind of book which could be shelved in three different areas of the library or bookstore and find a following in each place.

I highly recommend Hattie Big Sky, especially to families with children of various ages. Hattie is an admirable leading lady with a great head on her shoulders, unflagging determination, and a big pocketful of hope.

The Fruit Bowl Project by Sarah Durkee

What happens when a teacher and a famous rock star give a class of middle schoolers a writing prompt - but assign each student a different writing style?

This hilarious and self-aware story has two portions:
the initial setup, which is written in prose, and then the variations on the project, which are written in every way imaginable. There's a screenplay. A limerick. A newspaper article. A transcript. The point of view of an insider, an outsider, a popular girl, a gossip hound. Different styles, different kids.

This book completely lives up to its premise. I encourage teachers and students to read and discuss this book in their classroom, then create their own Fruit Bowl Project.

The Hollywood Sisters: Backstage Pass by Mary Wilcox

Sixteen-year-old Eva Ortiz dazzles viewers weekly on a hit television sitcom. Her younger sister, Jessica, does not have any acting aspirations, preferring to led an average life off-camera. When accidents start happening on the set and things start to go missing, Jess decides it's up to her to solve the mysteries.

Jess often has pratfalls, but she also has a very big heart. In fact, the entire family is loving and supportive. Though she is a rising star, Eva is very down-to-earth and likable.

A quick read which is refreshing clean, Hollywood
Sisters: Backstage Pass is suitable for young readers who want a little mystery, a little glamour, and a lot of fun.

Rogue Angel: The Spider Stone by Alex Archer

Another Rogue Angel book, The Spider Stone has a lot of the same elements as Destiny. Annja Creed, an archaeologist, is called in about the discovery of several skeletons of slaves in Kirktown, Georgia. The identity of one of the slaves, Yohance, leads Annja, Professor Hallinger, and McIntosh to West Africa. In possession of the Spider Stone, they become the target of Tafari, an African Warlord after the treasure of the Spider god, Anansi. Roux and Garin, characters from Destiny, also play roles throughout the book. Various minor characters appear and add to the story, leading to all out fights with Annja using her sword (from Destiny) and strength.

I would recommend reading Destiny before reading The Spider Stone to better understand Annja's sword and it's abilities. Like Alex Archer's other novel, this is a page-turner that keeps the reader involved through sharing different characters actions in episodic succession. There is much to learn with the historical content of this novel and Archer does an excellent job of infrming the reader with the background story while narrarating. The characters are formed well, especially the minor characters who move the plot forward. With aspects of mystery as well as history, many readers will enjoy The Spider Stone.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 18
Reviewer City, State and Country: Kansas City, MO USA

The Grays by Whitley Strieber

Think all those stories about UFOs and alien abductions are bunk? Whitley Strieber’s new book, The Grays, disagrees. In this work of fiction, aliens do exist and are about to make the ultimate human contact. For years they’ve been following the life of one special little boy, Connor Callaghan, whose very conception they orchestrated. Now they must send one of their own into Connor’s soul in an attempt to understand the human race and save both species. But not everyone on earth is ready to let the grays carry out their plan. A group of wealthy and powerful men, known as The Trust, is inherently skeptical of the grays and will do anything to stop them from enacting their plot, even if it means destroying all of humanity. Ultimately, the survival of both humans and the grays rests in the hands of Connor Callaghan and his neighbors in a small Kentucky town. The novel ends with plenty of action and suspense and lends itself well to another installment.

Strieber paints vivid and imaginative scenes throughout the novel, whether describing extraterrestrial phenomena or the snow-packed Kentucky landscape. However, his creativity does not come through so well in his characters, who tend to be stereotypical. Most are middle aged, white males with some kind of either intellectual or military power (or both). There are no strong females represented in the story, only an overly-doting mother and a sex-crazed Air Force officer; each scene with the mother involves some kind of gushing sentiment for her husband or son, and each with the officer an analysis of her sexual feelings, past and present. Connor Callaghan himself is so full of self-importance that it’s difficult to sympathize with him as he’s being taunted by classmates or even as he’s being invaded by the grays. Strieber passes up another opportunity to add depth to his characters through their conversations, during which it is impossible to tell one voice from another. This adds to the difficulty readers may have in keeping characters straight and makes this a purely plot-driven novel. Regrettably, the plot leaves too many loose ends to be satisfying. This is most evident when The Trust causes a major earthquake in Washington, D.C., near the end of the story, which kills the president but seems to have no clear or lasting purpose overall. Finally, the plot is weakened by clumsy sentences that feature unnecessary repetition, frequent contradictions, and obscure references—like the one to Swedish actor von Sydow—that are simply meaningless to many educated adult readers, let alone young adults, and really have no place in the story. Even the small details that Strieber doesn’t get quite right, like when the Air Force officer’s colleague refers to her as “soldier” (a term used for Army personnel, not Air Force) rather than “airman” or by rank, detract from the narrator’s reliability and the overall believability of the story. Although The Grays introduces an interesting story and is marked by some vivid and creative descriptions, it feels more like a novel in its draft stages than a finished work.

Content:Mature readers. Book deals with a good amount of inter- and extra-marital sex.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 3
Reviewer Age: 26
Reviewer City, State and Country: New Braunfels, TX USA