The Confessional by J.L. Powers

The Confesional, by J.L. Powers is a very interesting book about murder, racism, and life on the Mexico-America border in El Paso, Texas. The book is told from the perspective of 6 different characters who all attend Jesuit High School, a school for boys on the American side of the border. At Jesuit, there is a line of division between Mexicans and Americans, and when Mackenzie Malone is murdered, this line becomes even more prominent. At school, Mac can't take Bernie bothering him anymore, so they fight. That night, Mac is murdered. The next day, Alex Gold, a boy who is so invisible, no one at Jesuit knows who he is, goes missing. Everyone wants to know who killed Mac, they want to know who gold is, and in the midst of all this, there are racial and drug issues.

The Confessional is a very interesing book about racism and how it can divide people. The novel makes a point of proving that "Everybody's guilty of something." This book challenged me to think about what I would do if I was in the same situation as any of these boys. It was a very powerful read. The ending is something no one would ecpect and I would definetely recommend this book to mature readers.

Content: The Confessional has a content rating of 3 because it contains violence, drugs, and sexual content.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: East Islip, New York United States

Breathe My Name by R.A. Nelson

Frances Robinson should be happy. She has a boyfriend, she's about to turn eighteen, and her life is upper-midlle class. But whenever an ambulance goes by at night, she is suddenly afraid, heart pounding. Frances has a secret; a secret so big, it might be classified into a couple secrets. She finally tells her boyfriend, and asks him to help her kill off this fear once and for all. A great journey begins, both physically and mentally challenging.

Breathe My Name was a captivating book, starting in the middle of a young adult's biggest problem: her birth mother. How R. A. Nelson got into the mind of Francine was wonderful, the author truly captured what the protagonist was thinking and her reasoning. The chapter in which it exposes R. C. Carruthers pushes the book into a deep genre of suspense and mystery, showing his thinking and at the same time Francine's. Nix, Francine's boyfriend, helps her the whole journey, supporting her and introducing her to new smells, sights, and thoughts. Breathe My Name had me hooked from the beginning.

Language and sexual content (Francine and her boyfriend).

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Eagle Creek, OR USA

A Gathering of Gargoyles by Meredith Ann Pierce

This book is a fantasy novel that was made to entertain. It was a thought-provoking novel and an adventure story, with both internal and external conflicts. In the novel, Aerial has saved Irrylath from his fate as a vampyre and they are married, but he still shuns her. She realizes she must set off to find the lost lons, or guardians, to be mounts for Irrylath's brothers in the upcoming battle against the remaining vampyres and their leader, the White Witch. On her journey, she meets new and old friends, including six gargoyles she tamed. She learns secrets about her and Irrylath's past and encounters many foes while trying to reach a sibyl to tell her how to find the lost lons.

This novel was an interesting and exciting read. The characters and setting are very unusual and interesting, though the plot feels rushed at points and some of the characters either do not make sense or leave the story too quickly. A lot of the novel deals with Aerial's love for Irrylath, so the book has a lot of romance and sorrow. This adds to the story by giving it internal conflicts, but it is not too centered around love. It retains adventure. However, the book is the second in a trilogy. I read the previous book first and recommend doing so, though it is not necessary. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, but I did wish that it was longer. I will definitely read the third book.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Royersford, PA United states

Calligraphy of the Witch

Concepion Benavidez has lived in Mexico for all of her life.
When she leaves the convent where she is indentured for a
better opportunity, a slave ship headed to Salem,
Massachusetts, captures Concepion and her friend.
Concepion's friend dies during the journey to Salem, the
captain of the ship sexually abuses her, and she is almost
starved to death. Needless to say, when Concepion arrives
at Salem, she is a very different person than she was.
Concepion's name is changed to Thankful Seagraves, and sold
to Nathaniel Greenwood, who has her take care of his
father-in-law. All through these terrifying experiences,
Thankful is pregnant. After she gives birth, Thankful and
her daughter try to get used to the colonial American ways
of life, but have a hard time. Thankful finds solace in
talking to Tituba, who is from Barbados and also is an
outsider. Then, the Salem Witch Trials arise, and things
take a turn for the worse when Hanna names her own mother a
witch.

This book was a unique, one of a kind read. I have read
many things about the Salem Witch Trials, but never anything
like this. The point-of-view was very eye opening, and made
me experience this particular time period freshly. Alicia
Gaspar de Alba wrote very descriptively, and vividly. I
never once questioned the way something looked, or smelled,
or felt. The historical research put into this story was
immense, and I felt that the author put it into context well.

I probably would not recommend this book to anyone
younger then fourteen, though, because of confusing plot
twists, and adult themes.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 6

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country:
Boothwyn, PA United States

Queen Geeks In Love

Who knew that Geeks had a social life? Shelby Chapelle is a normal sophomore who likes Sci-Fi flicks and chocolate. She and her best friend, Becca, have big plans for the school year. First, they will recruit more Geeks for Queen Geeks. Secondly, they will throw the best and first Geek Fest the school has ever seen. But there are complications, Shelby is having some boy trouble with her boyfriend, Fletcher. Becca and Amber have fallen for the same guy. And why is Fletcher singing karaoke? Shelby's life pretty much revolves around peace and love. Did I mention she has a robot?

I really liked the book Geeks In Love.It was a real page turner. Shelby is a funny person that you just want to scream out, "Don't do that!" while you are reading. The plot was excellent. How can you pull together Geek Fest, comic-con, and Shelby's Halloween party all at the same time? To me, this book pretty much compares to some of the other books I've read, but it was still good in it's own way.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9

They do swear in this book and some relational scenes and content.

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Minooka, IL United States

The Herion Diaries

Nikki Six, the Lead Singer of Motley Crue, is stuck in a
life filled with drugs, alcohol, sex, and money. This sounds
like a cool way to live life. What happens when Nikki wants
to escape this life,but is surrounded by it and can't get
out? And then the band goes on tour. Everything starts off
good, but when Nikki falls back into bad habits he crashes
to an all time low. Will Nikki be able to fight and win this
battle with drugs, or will he be pulled down to it's darkest
depths and never be able to resurface?

I was kind of shocked by how deep Nikki was into drugs.
As I turned page after page I kept asking myself, why is
this dude still alive????? I did enjoy reading this book,
because it explained the pressure of how hard it is to be a
rock and roll star. And it also put into perspective how
hard it is to be around people who do drugs. This book is
one I will think about for a long time. If I ever consider
doing drugs in the future, all I have to do is look at the
cover of this book.I will remember that drugs are something
I do not wanna mess with because the drugs always win.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

Sex, drugs, alcohol

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Casa Grande, Arizona
Unites States of America

Girls That Growl

Okay, we've got disappearing All Star football players(no
big loss there) and cheerleaders are starting to...growl(and
I thought all they were supposed to do is hook up with
football players). And, of course it's all up to me, Rayne
McDonald to figure out what's going on behind closed doors
with those cheerleaders. It's all up to me to find the
jocks, and get the cheerleaders back to normal. And then,
with an impromptu visit to Europe, my hottie vampire is
starting to doubt our loving relationship.(And we are blood
mates. It's not as if we can just break up. We are stuck
with each other for life!!!). Will I be able to survive this
semester? Come on people!! I am a vampire after all...

A refreshing new vampire story, Girls that Growl is
different from all of those other vampire stories about
bloodsucking vampires coming to get you (I'm thinking Dracula
here). It has a very original plot, and I am surprised
Paramount hasn't made it to a movie yet. Girls That Growl is
an enjoyable high school story, one that will appeal to
almost everyone. Its got love, its got drama, its got parent
problems. In fact, the only thing this doesn't have
is...well I don't know what it doesn't have but there must
be something!!

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10

sexual content and mild language

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Casa
Grande, Arizona Unites States of America

King of the Lost and Found

Raymond Dunne sneezes. A lot. And he's prone to nosebleeds and fainting, too. Sure, people notice him...but not exactly for the right reasons. So Raymond comes up with a daring plan...and if it works, everyone in school will know his name. With the help of popular-but troubled-grade twelve student Jack Alexander, Raymond begins the transformation from lonely nerd to the only guy who can get you into the hottest club in town. A club that unites the cool and the hopelessly uncool. But how long will it last? And what will Raymond do without it?

King of the Lost and Found was a very funny and insightful book. Every chapter held a new and unexpected surprise. At first, I wasn't really drawn into it, but after a few chapters I was hooked. King of the Lost and Found had such unique characters and an interesting plot. The characters were very realistic and humorous to read about, especially Raymond. Reading this book gave me a sense of hope that even if I'm not necessarily the most popular, I can still come out on top by being myself, being loyal, and just being a friend. I think everyone should read this book.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Leopold, MO 63760

The Lighthouse War

In The Lighthouse War, Jamie and Ramsay return to the planet
Altair. In order to do so, however, they need to convince
Ramsay's older brother to help them recharge the Salmon used
to travel between worlds. With his help, they break into a
power plant and recharge it. Brian, Ramsay's brother, then
orders that he goes first. He comes back to say that men in
hoods, and a lady attacked him. Then, Jamie's mother gets grabbed (the second time), after coming to the lighthouse. Sheand Brian are captured, while Ramsay and Jamie get away. They travel back and land on the Sacred Isle, where Alkhavansoldiers are attempting to take down the lighthouse.
However, the Oraland soldiers, lead by Lorca, drive them
off. It is then that Jamie discovers that, after the year
of his absence, Wishaway had married Lorca. Ksar has by
then become the leader of Alkhava, with his sister the Witch
Queen. Lorca convinces his grandfather to lend him ships
and soldiers to help rescue Jamie's family from the Witch
Queen. Ksar knows of his attempt, and plans an ambush.
During this time, Jamie has tried, unsuccessfully, to talk
to Wishaway. She is angry that he continues to talk about
her marriage. When they arrive in Balanmanik, the Witch
Queen's home city with the glacier to the north, the Witch
Queen herself meets them. Brian and Anna, Jamie's mother,
are brought out. Jamie and Lorca take them and are about to
ride off when the entire Alkhavan army attacks. Once the
battle is lost, Brian, Anna, Jamie, Ramsay, Wishaway, and
Lorca run off on top of the glacier to escape. The
Alkhavans then pursue them.After several days, they reach
a spot where the ice thins. After a few hours, the ice has
faded and it is much warmer. The Alkhavans are getting
close. Finally, the group reaches what the Alkhavans call
the Tomb of the Ice Gods. Those members of the group from
Earth, however, realize it's a space ship.After opening it
with the Salmon, Brian and Ramsay work on opening it. The
others gather berries to eat and snow to melt and drink.
However, once they figure out how to work it, Lorca decides
not to go to Earth. Wishaway, however, refuses to surrender
to the Alkhavans. Lorca leaves and tells the Alkhavans
everything he knows. They attack while Jamie and Wishaway
are gathering berries. Ksar attacks Jamie and Wishaway, who
manage to stop him. Lorca, meanwhile, realizes what he had
done and attacked and killed the Witch Queen, himself dying
in the process. Jamie and the others escape to Earth, but
Ksar sneaks on and hides in the ceiling. When he attacks
them, they overpower him and Ksar dies. On Earth, they
crash land the ship off the Scottish coast and are picked up
by a radio station barge. No one knows that they came on a
spaceship, having been told it was a light aircraft.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10

This book was, if possible, better than the first. It
was nonstop action, with some romance thrown in to spice it
up. The characters were dynamic and changed with every
twist of the plot. They were round and you ended up crying
and laughing with them. There was even plenty of comic
relief. The Lighthouse War gets a ten out of ten from me.

Violence

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country:
Chambersburg, PA US

Wyvernhail

Once upon a time, in a land so far away we've not even heard
of it... Hai, a young girl living under Wyvern's Court, is
basically a rouge. Half-family with royalty, she's an exile-
a half-breed. She was born to a falcon mother that forgot
her and a cobra father who'd died years ago. Her magical
powers are strong; although so strong, she can only
partially control it. That is, with the help of her friend,
Nicias, the royal guard, who'd saved her life once before.
However, when the ruler of Cobriana (snake country) leaves
the throne to run off with her girlfriend, Hai's visions go
wrong- everything from King Salem dying, to the destruction
of a whole generation, to Wyvern's Court burned to bits.
Worried for her land, Hai's prepared to sacrifice
everything, even the trust of her people.

I believe my opinion may be affected by the fact that I
didn't understand much of the book- I'd not read the first
books, so the setting and characters were completely alien
to me. However, although the writing was beautifully and
poetically done, the characters seemed almost without a
shred of humor- and when they laughed, it was something
morbid that caused it. It seemed on the darker side of
fantasy- maybe too dark for me. I don't think it's
appropriate for young children, just because of this dark,
complicated style, and although it's a lovely tale of
suffering and suspense, I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd
wished I had.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 6

I don't think that the book was inappropriate to the
extent of censorship. However, Hai, the main character, has
her coquettish moments.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country:
Mahomet, Illinois United States of America