Birth of the Pack is about four sixteen-year-old girls who start a girls' soccer club at their school since it doesn't have an official team for girls. They've been playing together since they were little, and Lily's father christianed them the Weregirls. Of course, that name meant more than they thought. What starts out as a book about soccer has a supernatural twist to it! Soon they're involved in a major battle between good and evil.
Birth of the Pack is, overall, a pretty interesting book. It does drag a little, and the characters can be a little flat, but fans of the supernatural should enjoy it well enough. A little more action and a faster pace would be good, but there are certainly worse books out there! I also enjoyed the soccer, being a soccer fan. Birth of the Pack is a decent book but by no means outstanding.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 6
Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Asheville, NC USA
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Everything You Need to Know About the World by Simon Eliot
Everything I Needed To Know About Being A Girl I Learned From Judy Blume is an interesting collection of essays by talented authors about how Judy Blume affected their lives. Even now, years after these amazing writers read Judy Blume, she's still popular. This is something that generations of girls can relate to! Judy Blume, through her writing, teaches about all sorts of things, including friendship, relationships, and, well, life. Everybody who reads her work is affected, and they all take different things away from reading about these universal experiences.
These essays are well worth reading and very interesting. I could definitely relate to these stories--I read Judy Blume's books, too. She taught so many people about life, and reading their personal experiences with her books was great! This is something any fan of Judy Blume's should definitely read. And if you're unfamiliar with Judy Blume, what are you waiting for? Get to the library and check out some of her books, relevant even so many years after they were first written!
Content: As some of the content in Judy Blume's books is for mature readers, so is this book, where things relating to those books are talked about.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Asheville, NC USA
These essays are well worth reading and very interesting. I could definitely relate to these stories--I read Judy Blume's books, too. She taught so many people about life, and reading their personal experiences with her books was great! This is something any fan of Judy Blume's should definitely read. And if you're unfamiliar with Judy Blume, what are you waiting for? Get to the library and check out some of her books, relevant even so many years after they were first written!
Content: As some of the content in Judy Blume's books is for mature readers, so is this book, where things relating to those books are talked about.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Asheville, NC USA
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Sorrel: In the Shadow of the Bear by David Randall
This book is a story about a young girl named Clovermead. It is the second book of a series and I recommend reading the first book, otherwise certain things are a bit confusing. Clovermead has many struggles throughout the book. She has to decide what is most important to her, what is most important to her lands, and what is most important for the world. Her decisions can change everything, as can her powers. Because not only does she have the power to help her nation, she has the power to transform into bear shape, and she alone can free the bear-slaves of the evil dictator, Lord Ursus. She must also face her inner feelings, as she struggles with her friendship with Sorrel, her longtime friend, and what is right and wrong.
I chose this book looking for a good fantasy read, and although I did get that, I felt that it reminded me of other currently popular fantasy books. In this tale, you find a strong, courageous girl who finds love in a sea of turmoil. Amidst war, political expeditions, self-indecision, and family loyalty she manages to conquer evil. But to conquer evil she has to discover her own power and look to friends for help. Many stories contain several of these plot aspects, and the addition of the usual mysterious yet beautiful animals, makes this book seem familiar. But, thankfully this book has a couple of twists, giving it a little bit of excitement. I enjoyed reading this book even though it felt somewhat familiar and although I would have liked to see a bit more of Sorrel himself (the book is named after him after all), I liked what I did see. There is a plentiful helping of character development and many of the settings put pictures in my mind. This book is not my favorite, but it is certainly worth reading.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 12
Reviewer City, State and Country: South Pasadena, CA U.S.A
I chose this book looking for a good fantasy read, and although I did get that, I felt that it reminded me of other currently popular fantasy books. In this tale, you find a strong, courageous girl who finds love in a sea of turmoil. Amidst war, political expeditions, self-indecision, and family loyalty she manages to conquer evil. But to conquer evil she has to discover her own power and look to friends for help. Many stories contain several of these plot aspects, and the addition of the usual mysterious yet beautiful animals, makes this book seem familiar. But, thankfully this book has a couple of twists, giving it a little bit of excitement. I enjoyed reading this book even though it felt somewhat familiar and although I would have liked to see a bit more of Sorrel himself (the book is named after him after all), I liked what I did see. There is a plentiful helping of character development and many of the settings put pictures in my mind. This book is not my favorite, but it is certainly worth reading.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 12
Reviewer City, State and Country: South Pasadena, CA U.S.A
The 25 Pains of Kennedy Baines by Dede Crane
This book is about a fifteen years old girl Kennedy Baines. Throughout a summer, Kennedy lists twenty-five things that pain her. Her life is a series of strange events. She is waiting for her boyfriend to finally kiss her and mean it. She wants her best friend to open up to her and tell her what is going on. She is being stalked by a creepy online pervert. And she thinks her mother may have had an affair in the past. When mom brings home an old college friend Judith and her eighteen year old son, Colin, from England, things begin to get interesting. Kennedy experiences a lot of firsts with Colin. But in the end she just wishes life was more like her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice.
I thought that this book was an "okay" book. The book was not challenging for the age group. However, it is a good book for leisure or pleasure reading. The plot moves well and fairly quickly. And, it was a novel that I related to and many other girls could relate to as well. This book talks about a lot of things that teenage girls go through all the time. Dede Crane was creative and interesting in an easy to read novel.
Content: There is socially inappropriate language as well as underage drug and alcohol use and some sexual content.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 6
Reviewer Age: 17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Phoenixville, Pennsylvania U.S.A.
I thought that this book was an "okay" book. The book was not challenging for the age group. However, it is a good book for leisure or pleasure reading. The plot moves well and fairly quickly. And, it was a novel that I related to and many other girls could relate to as well. This book talks about a lot of things that teenage girls go through all the time. Dede Crane was creative and interesting in an easy to read novel.
Content: There is socially inappropriate language as well as underage drug and alcohol use and some sexual content.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 6
Reviewer Age: 17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Phoenixville, Pennsylvania U.S.A.
Leaving Simplicity by Claire Carmichael
Everyone knows the world is covered in advertisements today—from seeing them on cars, to ones in the mall, and even in the back of books. They’re everywhere, but can you imagine if the advertisements controlled your emotions, and made you want to run out and buy the product right away? In the world that Taylor lives in, New York City set in the future, this is her life. She is so accustomed to the advertisements, and they are normal to her now. But her cousin Barrett has lived in an area where farmers have always lived, and has never grown used to technology today. So when Barrett is forced to live with his Aunt and Cousin, he finds this new world strange and wrong. His aunt takes advantage of his naiveté, which angers Barrett. Together, Barrett and Taylor team up to fight against advertisements and what they stand for.
Claire Carmichael does a superb job creating the world that is Barrett and Taylor’s. Even though it is supposedly set in the future, it seems very real and even scary. It makes you think…. Will this happen? Or something like it? What can we do to prevent it? Leaving Simplicity is an excellent book, which I have already recommended to my friends.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Boothwyn, PA United States
Claire Carmichael does a superb job creating the world that is Barrett and Taylor’s. Even though it is supposedly set in the future, it seems very real and even scary. It makes you think…. Will this happen? Or something like it? What can we do to prevent it? Leaving Simplicity is an excellent book, which I have already recommended to my friends.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Boothwyn, PA United States
Dawn and Dusk by Alice Mead
Dawn and Dusk, by Alice Mead, is an emotional story about a young boy, Azad, whose life is torn by war. His parents are divorced but he doesn't know why and everyone thinks he's too young to know. His town, Sardasht, is located in the Islamic Republic of Iran which has been at war with Iraq for a very long time. One day, Saddam bombs Sardasht with chemical bombs taht destroys Azad's life forever. His mom wants to run away to another town or even country but his dad, who has connections to the secret police, wants to stay. What should Azad do, stay or flee? This is a book about growing up and learning the truth.
I thought that the book was very well written and an easy, short read. Mead did a fantastic job of keeping the reader hooked on to the book. The book made me realize how much one incident can change a person's life forever. Even though I enjoyed the book a lot I felt that it could be more elaborated. In some places, like why Azad's parents divorced, Mead could have provided more details. But overall it was a wonderful book that is very exciting and intense.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7
Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Champaign, IL USA
I thought that the book was very well written and an easy, short read. Mead did a fantastic job of keeping the reader hooked on to the book. The book made me realize how much one incident can change a person's life forever. Even though I enjoyed the book a lot I felt that it could be more elaborated. In some places, like why Azad's parents divorced, Mead could have provided more details. But overall it was a wonderful book that is very exciting and intense.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7
Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Champaign, IL USA
The Passion Flower Massacre by Nicola Morgan
This was a book with twists and turns. The author gave you little pieces of the puzzle, and then I had to figure the rest out. There were four different main charcters, two in one year and the other two in another. In the end you figured out why they were all in the story.
The title made me want to immidately read it and figure out what it was about about. It made me curious to read the book and figure it out. I loved the ending, it was shocking and you didn't suspect one bit, plus the author made you want more. The twists and turns. I could never read one chapter and not stop. I had to read the next so I could go to bed. The author's style. It was surprise after surprise. The author never gave them away one after one, its like she understood what readers liked ina mystery. It was like a jigsaw puzzle. Since there were four different people,and two different years. I wondered why they had two different years and why not just one, but in the end I answered my own questions. I loved how the author made me have NO questions in the end. I had TONS of questions throughout the book, but not in the end.
Content: There are cusswords and other inapproite words for children, inless they are a teen and are allowed to read books with cussing in it and they've asked their parents.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10
Reviewer Age: 11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Fort Wanye, Indiana U.S.A
The title made me want to immidately read it and figure out what it was about about. It made me curious to read the book and figure it out. I loved the ending, it was shocking and you didn't suspect one bit, plus the author made you want more. The twists and turns. I could never read one chapter and not stop. I had to read the next so I could go to bed. The author's style. It was surprise after surprise. The author never gave them away one after one, its like she understood what readers liked ina mystery. It was like a jigsaw puzzle. Since there were four different people,and two different years. I wondered why they had two different years and why not just one, but in the end I answered my own questions. I loved how the author made me have NO questions in the end. I had TONS of questions throughout the book, but not in the end.
Content: There are cusswords and other inapproite words for children, inless they are a teen and are allowed to read books with cussing in it and they've asked their parents.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10
Reviewer Age: 11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Fort Wanye, Indiana U.S.A
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Lizard People by Charlie Price
Ben thought his junior year of high school couldn’t get any worse. After his mother suffered another mental breakdown, he was scared of the road ahead, even though she was locked up in an institution for three days. Her mental health had declined ever since Ben’s dad had abandoned them. In the waiting room of the hospital, Ben met an older boy named Marco whose mom was also in the institution. Ben is intrigued by Marco because he tells incredible stories about time travel. Ben sets out to discover where Marco’s been, and where the rest of Marco’s family is. Ben thought he had a normal life for a boy with a mentally ill mother, but then he realized the total opposite was true.
The book, Lizard People, was fantastically written and was definitely a page turner. It was realistic, but there were unexpected events readers would not expect. From the descriptions of Marco’s stories, to the breakdowns of Ben’s mom, Charlie Price added every necessary detail to each chapter. I recommend this book to anyone who likes stories dealing with time travel, or prefers books about people with mental illness. My favorite character in the book was Z, Ben’s best friend’s sister, because she was highly intelligent and witty in every way, plus she was sweet and innocent. I loved the specific personalities that each character owned, and the way Charlie Price described them.
Content: It has some frightening situations. Some alchohol and street drugs.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Osseo, Wisconsin United States
The book, Lizard People, was fantastically written and was definitely a page turner. It was realistic, but there were unexpected events readers would not expect. From the descriptions of Marco’s stories, to the breakdowns of Ben’s mom, Charlie Price added every necessary detail to each chapter. I recommend this book to anyone who likes stories dealing with time travel, or prefers books about people with mental illness. My favorite character in the book was Z, Ben’s best friend’s sister, because she was highly intelligent and witty in every way, plus she was sweet and innocent. I loved the specific personalities that each character owned, and the way Charlie Price described them.
Content: It has some frightening situations. Some alchohol and street drugs.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Osseo, Wisconsin United States
Icecore: A Carl Hobbes Thriller by Matt Whyman
17 year old British hacker Carl Hobbes hacked in to Fort Knox just to prove that it could be done. The problem is the American government found out he did it. So they gave him a choice: tell them how he did it, or go to jail for a very long time. Being only 17, he chose to tell them everything they want to know. They take him to the Guantanimo Bay of the Arctic for questioning. There, he meets Beth, the girl who got him into this mess in the first place. He answers all the American's questions, but they think he's not being entirely truthful. Then, McCoy, one of the prisoners, breaks free and tries to escape. Carl and Beth are let out to try and stop him, so they head to communications tower to send out a mayday. McCoy is there, and the tower is blown up by a homemade vodka-bomb. Before the tower explodes, Beth and Carl escape by jumping out one of the tower's windows, and suffer no more than a few cuts and bruises. Then, they work on stopping a plane from landing. When that plan fails, they hop on a couple of snowmobiles and escape.
This book was extremely good. My Favorite character was Beth, with Carl pulling a close second. I really liked the ending, because, in my opinion, two pretty innocent people got away. Compared to other adventure novels I've read, this was probably one of the best. This book taught me that people aren't always what they seem. The vocabulary used in this book was appropriate for the age group. This author has a very good writing style, and he supplied plenty of detail, but not too much to make it disgusting or gruesome. I don't think that the author could have improved this story.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Highland, MI USA
This book was extremely good. My Favorite character was Beth, with Carl pulling a close second. I really liked the ending, because, in my opinion, two pretty innocent people got away. Compared to other adventure novels I've read, this was probably one of the best. This book taught me that people aren't always what they seem. The vocabulary used in this book was appropriate for the age group. This author has a very good writing style, and he supplied plenty of detail, but not too much to make it disgusting or gruesome. I don't think that the author could have improved this story.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Highland, MI USA
Alfed Kropp: The Seal of Solomon by Rick Yancey
The book started with Alfred Kropp coming home from school to his foster home and learning that he’s about to inherit four hundred million dollars. He then learns that his foster parents are planning to adopt him so he decides to run away. Unfortunately for him, he is kidnapped by Mike, an ex-agent of OIPEP. OIPEP rescues Alfred from Mike. Alfred joins OIPEP’s special team to retrieve two very important stolen artifacts. Alfred’s team fails to get the artifacts because Mike gets to them first. Alfred goes to interrogate Mike’s mom but she is away on a cruise. Alfred has two days to find the missing artifact before the world is doomed. Alfred tracks down Mike and recovers the vessel. Then Alfred fights the demon and is able to get the “seal of Solomon” ring. The demon tempts Alfred with popularity, a family of his own, and a girlfriend but Alfred turned them down and sent the demons back into the vessel. OIPEP wants the seal back but Alfred is going to keep it.
I thought this book was awesome. The plot was exciting and fast moving. A true page turner, with a little humor thrown in on the side. It reminded me a lot of the Alex Rider series. Both books have a teenage boy who has lost his parents and is recruited to be a secret agent. This book is a little different because this talks about the bible more and has demons. Alfred Kropp is also a little older and has taken some Driver’s Ed classes so he can drive. I first thought he was kind of a nerd but after I read more of the book my opinion changed very quickly. I’m looking forward to the sequel.
Content: Some of the demon encounters were gory. When Alfred got blisters and maggots on his skin it was gross but added to the story.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Hamilton, OH USA
I thought this book was awesome. The plot was exciting and fast moving. A true page turner, with a little humor thrown in on the side. It reminded me a lot of the Alex Rider series. Both books have a teenage boy who has lost his parents and is recruited to be a secret agent. This book is a little different because this talks about the bible more and has demons. Alfred Kropp is also a little older and has taken some Driver’s Ed classes so he can drive. I first thought he was kind of a nerd but after I read more of the book my opinion changed very quickly. I’m looking forward to the sequel.
Content: Some of the demon encounters were gory. When Alfred got blisters and maggots on his skin it was gross but added to the story.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Hamilton, OH USA
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