Style A To Zoe by: Rachel Zoe and Rose Apodaca, is about the art of fashion, beauty, and everything glamour. It gives advice on how you should feel confident in the outfits you wear. The author tries to convince the audience that looks do matter. The book has many pictures and examples of different kinds of fashion. Style A To Zoe is not only about clothing; it also includes home styling. The author Rachel Zoe and Rose Apodaca, wrote this book because they wanted to express their true feelings about fashion, and share their knowledge to the world.
I thought Style A To Zoe was a well-organized book. It had a lot of detail and information about great ways to become fashionable. Style A To Zoe has many strengths, but the one that is most recognizable is the word choice. The words are not random, and unorganized that are there because they're big or easy to write. Instead of using words such as great, nice, or okay. A word that's in this book replaced for those is marvelously. She uses well-thoughtout word in their replacement. For the weaknesses in this book the only thing I could think of was that the book was not a page turner. I found myself daydreaming and wondering if the next page would be more exciting. Otherwise I thought it was a great book, but it was dull and the only things I found interesting were the pictures and some of the tips. If I where the author I would try to have the celebrities talk more and just try to make it more interesting. Overall, it was a descent book, but I would only recommend it to someone that loves fashion.
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Sandy, Oregon United States
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Slam by Nick Hornby
Sam, a 16 year-old boy, lives a normal life. It consists of eating, sleeping, going to school, and skateboarding. With a Tony Hawk poster to lead the way, and his new girlfriend, he is good to go. When Sam finally thinks he's got a hold on his life, things suddenly take a turn for the worst. With his now ex-girlfriend's news that he is about to become a father he has a choice to make: stick it out and raise his child, or run away from it all.
Overall Slam is an extremely successful book, it creates a setting that is very easy for many teenagers to relate to. The characters are very strong and you feel as if you personally know them. For the most part it is very realistic, however, there are some fantastical situations which create interesting twists that aren't found in other books. Slam has a great message, and Nick Hornby did a great job of making his point clear and strong. Though it is a fairly simple book and not much of challenge, I would definitely recommend this books to others, and especially to all teenagers.
Content:3
there is talk of sex
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Marblehead , MA USA
Overall Slam is an extremely successful book, it creates a setting that is very easy for many teenagers to relate to. The characters are very strong and you feel as if you personally know them. For the most part it is very realistic, however, there are some fantastical situations which create interesting twists that aren't found in other books. Slam has a great message, and Nick Hornby did a great job of making his point clear and strong. Though it is a fairly simple book and not much of challenge, I would definitely recommend this books to others, and especially to all teenagers.
Content:3
there is talk of sex
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Marblehead , MA USA
Vendetta by Chris Humphreys
Vendetta by Chris Humphreys is the second book in his young adult series The Runestone Saga. After escaping his grandfather, Sky—the protagonist—travels to Corsica in order to learn more about his family’s history and how to free his cousin’s Fetch (a soul or spirit) from his evil grandfather. In Corsica Sky meets Pascaline, his aunt, and she teaches him about the history of his family. However, no knowledge comes without a price. Sky learns of a feud between his family, the Marcaggi, and the neighboring Farcese family. Pascaline shows Sky that the only way to end the Vendetta that has killed family members for centuries is to use the way of the Mazzeri and end the blood line of the Farcese on All Souls Day. Sky is faced with this decision and many more as he develops his knowledge with the Runes and as a dream hunter. Full of action and suspense, Vendetta will keep you reading for more.
Having read Humphrey’s first “Runestone” book, The Fetch, I had a very good understanding of the characters and the plot development. With that said, I was impressed with the author’s advancement of the plot while still accounting for the many angles he approached. The author has an immense knowledge of history regarding Runestones and the legend of the Mazzeri. When Humphreys incorporated the two historical contexts, it created a very interesting plot. I am looking forward to his next book in order to see what he will add to the historical aspect. Humphrey’s tone fit well with the mood of the book. Light hearted in some areas, and intellectually intense in others. Humphreys provided lots of action and an insight into the thoughts of the protagonist. These created a suspense that kept me fascinated with the story. The end of the book created new questions and wrinkles to the storyline, and this provided me a yearning to read more. I recommend Vendetta and The Runestone Saga to readers with a historical curiosity, and an appetite for action.
Content: Some graphic violence
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Eden Prairie , Minnesota United States
Having read Humphrey’s first “Runestone” book, The Fetch, I had a very good understanding of the characters and the plot development. With that said, I was impressed with the author’s advancement of the plot while still accounting for the many angles he approached. The author has an immense knowledge of history regarding Runestones and the legend of the Mazzeri. When Humphreys incorporated the two historical contexts, it created a very interesting plot. I am looking forward to his next book in order to see what he will add to the historical aspect. Humphrey’s tone fit well with the mood of the book. Light hearted in some areas, and intellectually intense in others. Humphreys provided lots of action and an insight into the thoughts of the protagonist. These created a suspense that kept me fascinated with the story. The end of the book created new questions and wrinkles to the storyline, and this provided me a yearning to read more. I recommend Vendetta and The Runestone Saga to readers with a historical curiosity, and an appetite for action.
Content: Some graphic violence
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Eden Prairie , Minnesota United States
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
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
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
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
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
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.
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
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
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
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
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?
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...
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
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