A Deadly Distance by Heather Down

In the early settlement of Exploits Island, the native Indians and the English settlers were at war with each other. So when one of the settlers, a young man named John, doesn't shoot Mishbee, a young Indian girl out picking berries, a new friendship blossoms. Mishbee tries to teach him a little about her culture, and John makes her a necklace with a carved ship hanging from it. But when winter comes, Mishbee and her tribe have to move with the animals. And when consumption strikes both the tribe and the colonies, who knows who will make it through to see the next day.

I did not really like the book because of its ending. When I started it, I thought that this would be another Pocahontas story and everyone would live happily-ever-after. So when I got to the ending, it upset me. But apart from the ending, I thought it was a very well-written, organized, thoughtout story. Heather Down creates a story that takes you back in time. A time of war between the Indians and the English settlers.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Casa Grande, Arizona Unites States of America

Story of A Girl by Sara Zarr

Deanna Lambert's life changed when she decided to mess around with Tommy Webber when she was thirteen. They were messing around in the back of his Buick when her father came and found her. Since then, she has been labeled the 'school slut' because Tommy spread stories about what happened that were false. It is the end of her sophomore year and her friends Lee and Jason and her plan to hang out as much as possible. Except, Deanna wants to get out of the house with her brother Darren, his girlfriend Stacy, and their baby daughter April. To help them she decides to get a job and raise money. Her past is brought up in her life again when Tommy happens to work at the same place she does. Deanna decides she needs to get over things in the past and make the future better for everyone. First she needs to deal with her unfatherly dad, her jealously of Lee and Jason's relationship, Darren and Stacy's struggles, and Tommy. She doesn't need to face this alone though. Some of the most unexpected people are there to help, including her gay boss.

Story of a Girl was a brilliant story. It was very well-written with enough vocabulary that you weren't bored but not so much as to force you to read by a dictionary. The plot was very intriguing because of the different characters involvement in each conflict. I could really relate to Deanna because some problems she had were similar to mine, such as her jealousy. One of my favorite things about this book was that the emotion was always strong. Near the end I even cried so much I couldn't read. For me this book was definitely a page-turner. I look forward to reading more books by Sara Zarr and I encourage others to read this book if they like books on teenage struggles.

There is swearing and talk of sexual content.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America

Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught

Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught tells the story of Jamie Carcaterra. Or rather, Jamie tells the story herself. Jamie is a self-proclaimed "Fat Girl". She writes an article for her school newspaper, entitled "Fat Girl Manifesto" where she explains how her life is affected by being overweight and the difficulties that come along with it. It starts out in her senior year, where she is busy with the school musical, her crazy friends, and preparing for college. When her overweight boyfriend decides to have gastric bypass surgery, it makes Jamie re-examine her weight, her life, and her views on the world.

I thoroughly enjoyed Big Fat Manifesto. It is very interesting, because the book was from an overweight girl's point of view, which doesn't happen often in literature. You get to learn a lot about what it is like to be overweight and see the world through Jamie's eyes. The book talks a lot about issues young people are dealing with today: school, friends, love, your self-image. It makes this book easy to relate to and a satisfying read.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Aston, Pennsylvania United States

Style A to Zoe by Rachel Zoe with Rose Apodaca

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

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

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

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