Choices

_Choices_ is a book that deals with one of the hardest
decisions a girl might have to make in her life. When
Rachael meets Gary, she is forced to decide whether to take
a chance and date him or break her school's tradition of
dating outside their own walls. Pushing her fears aside, she
lets herself fall for his athletic body and talents. Soon
they share a deep and dark secret that will change their
lives forever as Rachael and Gary are forced to make
decisions they are not ready to make. When Gary leaves for
college and stops responding to her emails and texts,
Rachael hops into a taxi with a driver who takes her away
from her problems and offers her the most valuable advice
she has ever had in her life. Read the book to find out what
happens to Rachael and how this amazing, summer of romance
story ends.

This book allows you to realistically live through an
experience and hope that you (and anyone else) will never
really have to face such an ordeal. This journey creates a
page turning book with a meaningful message. The author's
purpose shows how teenage girls should not give up on their
babies. Everyone enters this world with a purpose and could
make a difference in the world. I think this book is really
good and it will help young teenage girls realize what they
are giving up and make them think twice about some of their
choices. The book weaves together Rachael's reality and
dreams which creates suspense for the ending.

This book would be successful if a teen read it and
discussed it with an adult.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 6

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Cumming, Georgia United
States

Rich Girl

Okay, raise your hand if you have ever dreamed of living
alone. You can have parties, eat unlimited junk food, not
clean your room... the things are endless. But imagine
living alone in a huge house, your parents halfway across
the world, and you are in a country you've never been in
before. Oh ya, did I mention that you are going to one of
the richest schools in the bay area, and to the oh so bratty
kings and queens of the school, you are nobody but a nerdy,
foreign exchange student. That's Victoria Lee for you, and
since her parents are halfway around the world (in China )
they wouldn't know if she decided to throw a party to get
her dream crush Scott's attention... now would they. But as
the clock strikes midnight, who will be Victoria's prince
charming? Scott, or... someone else!

While Rich Girl is a very good book, I couldn't help but
feel nothing as I continued reading. Total blah. The story line was good but as soon as I started reading, every twist and turn was predictable. No surprises! I knew as soon as Gabe showed up that Victoria would fall for him. I couldn't help it, it was just obvious to me. The odd thing was that even though I knew what would happen, I still enjoyed reading the book. And maybe, to other people who read this book, what happens won't be obvious to them. It will just be a great book.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Casa Grande, AZ United
States of America

The Sacred Sin

Jude Foster is a homicide detective in Los Angeles who is
about to have a mental breakdown. About one year ago, Jude
was left to die by his once close friend and partner,
Morgan Cross. Cross had betrayed him, and now Jude is one
the verge of a mental crash. He is seeing a psychiatrist
whom he strongly dislikes so that he can be reinstated into
the department and all the while, everything around him is
moving just too quickly. His brother, the only family he
has left, is in need of help but does not want it, and Jude
tries his best to give it to him.
A body is found in West Hollywood, and Jude realizes that
this is just the first of many bad things to come. There
are markings on the body which are actually a trail all
leading to a new evil. Jude has to uncover the sacred sin
of a killer who murders his victims without even touching
them, only by stealing their souls. And time goes by all
the while, given Jude only a week to find "the darkness
that lies within all men."

This was a very good book.
The way it was written, I just couldn't put it down.This
book has so many different emotions in it that you can't
see what the author, Estevan Vega, will make you feel
next. Overall, it was a really great book and a definite
page-turner.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

This book may be scary for younger children because it
deals with a murderer and his victims.

Reviewer
Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: East Islip, New
York United States

The Prometheus Project: Trapped by Douglas E. Richards

Ryan and Regan Resnick's parents have just been relocated for their job to rural Pennsylvania. One day, they overhear their parents talking about a secret project called Prometheus. They decide to stake out their parents' workplace and end up breaking and entering. This leads them to solve puzzles of every shape and size. They soon discover that puzzles aren't the only thing they have to solve. When they get into Prometheus, they discover an unknown alien environment. Inside a dwelling are their parents, who are now top-secret scientists. Everything is being explained to them when a huge diamond drill falls and hits their mother on the head. Their father sends them to get help, and fast!! They realize they can't get out of the alien environment. So they go back. Everyone has disappeared! The children are now thrown into a race against time to save their mother!

This is definitely not a book for those in the higher reading levels. This book is meant for a fourth through sixth grade reading class. The problems seemed unchallenging; the way Richards went about solving the problems was a little lame. The children didn't really do a lot. Also, Richards was trying to be witty, but came off all wrong; the wit sounded like a bunch of bad jokes strung together. Then again, the ideas behind the novel are very fascinating. I have honestly never read a book like this ever before in my life. Truly, a unique work of children's literature when you look at the plot line. The idea of an alien race populating our planet is a fascinating one. There wasn't very much change in the characters. Ryan and Regan didn't develop much at all; good dynamic characters change dramatically from the beginning of a book to the end. This book was definitely designed for classroom use.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Shippensburg, USA

What the Cat Dragged In

Jacques the Ripper and Cleopatra have to move with their
humans to White Sands, Alabama, when they inherit a
beach front home. Cleo is a female cat that loves to be
noticed, while the male, Jacques, is a rough, tough monster
of a feline. Their owners, Kate and Jeremy, take them to
the new house on the beach, which they will have to share
with another relative, Jake Novak, who inherited a half
interest in the house. They move in downstairs while he
moves in upstairs. The catch to inheriting everything is
that together they must care for the menagerie of animals
that the old lady owned before she died, but things quickly
get interesting when they learn Jake despises animals. Then
a murder occurs, and Jeremy is the main suspect! Will Cleo
and Jacques help solve this weird mystery and prove Jeremy
isn't the killer?

WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN is the first
book in the Jacques & Cleo, Cat Detectives series by Gilbert
Morris. It centers on Jacques and Cleo, two cats who like to
solve mysteries, and the lady who owns them. Since I enjoy
suspense novels and I love cats, I thought this book was
pretty good, even though it is really written more for
adults than teens since it is about two adults falling in
love. The book does include a couple teenage characters to
provide interest for us teens. There wasn't very much
action and the mystery was kind of boring even though I
didn't solve it ahead of time. A few references to drugs,
cheating, and sexual things make this book a more
appropriate choice for adults rather than teens, however.
There are two other books in this series, THE CAT'S PAJAMAS
and WHEN THE CAT"S AWAY, which I will also be
reviewing.

references to drug use, cheating on tests,
sexual references such as porn magazines in teen's
drawer
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country:
Upper Strasburg, PA USA

Not Anything

Susie Shannon seems to be a very depressed girl. She is in
high school and is super intelligent though. Her mother had
died years ago, and Susie never got over that tragedy. Her
father seems to feel the same way, although Susie wouldn't
know that as they barely talk to each other,and when they do
it is very concise. Mr. Murphy is Susie's favorite teacher
and he asked her to tutor one of the hottest guys in school;
Danny Diaz. At first, the tutoring does not work out, but
after a while they start to warm up to each other. However,
problems occur with everyone....Susie's best friend Marisal,
her neighbor Marc, classmates, and even Danny as it gets
closer to Homecoming. This certainly doesn't help Susie at
home either. It is the time of the year when her mother died
and her father might be seeing someone else; Marisal's
mother. How does Susie deal with all of her problems and
does she like Danny more than a friend? Or does he like
someone else?

Before I started reading Not Anything I expected it to be
an 'okay' book. However, once I started to read it, I could
not stop. The plot picks you up right from the beginning and
keeps building up the entire way to the end. The vocabulary
is very modern and appropriate for young adults. It is an
easy read because a lot of the issues in the story are ones
that actually happen in real life so you can relate to them.
I liked the character Danny because he was interesting to
get to know, and was similar to people I know. I wish the
ending was different because I think Susie should have made
different choices, but the ending was still very strong. I
definitely recommend Not Anything to any female wishing to
read about a high school girl.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7

Reviewer Age:14

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

The Sacred Sin by Estevan Vega

Jude Foster is a homicide detective in Los Angeles who is about to have a mental breakdown. About one year ago, Jude was left to die by his once close friend and partner, Morgan Cross. Cross had betrayed him, and now Jude is one the verge of a menta crash. He is seeing a pshychiatrist whom he strongly dislikes so that he can be reinstated into the department and all the while, everything around him is moving just too quickly. His brother, the only family he has left, is in need of help but does not want it, and Jude tries his best to give it to him.

A body is found in West Hollywood, and Jude realizes that this is just the first of many bad things to come. There are markings on the body which are actually a trail all leading to a new evil. Jude has to uncover the sacred sin of a killer who murders his victims without even touching them, only by stealing their souls. And time goes by all the while, given Jude only a week to find "the darkness that lies within all men."

This was a very good book. The way it was written, I just couldn't put it down.This book has so many different emotions in it that you can't see what the author, Estevan Vega, will make you feel next. Overall, it was a really great book and a definite page-turner.

This book may be scary for younger children because it deals with a murderer and his victims.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: East Islip, New York United States

Hell Girl

Hell Girl is a collection of stories told in a manga.
Mangas are Japanese graphic novels that are read from left
to right. Hell Girl contains five chapters that only have
one consistent character, the Hell Girl. Each story's main
character has been wronged by someone. When their life
becomes miserable, they hear about a website that people can
only access at midnight. At the website, the characters
type in the name of the person that they want to send to
hell. The Hell Girl soon appears. She tells them that she
can send their wrongdoer to hell, but they also must come to hell once they die. All of the characters agree and the Hell Girl gets revenge.

This manga was very different than the other mangas that
I have read in the past. The stories were only connected by
the Hell Girl, who does similar things and says similar
lines in each story. Despite this, I still enjoyed the
book. Each story was interesting, and the drawings were
very good. This manga was only the first in the Hell Girl
series. I may continue reading the series to see if the character, Hell Girl, develops or if we learn more about her grandmother, who was mentioned once. All in all, the book was interesting and unique. Manga readers will probably
enjoy it, as well as anyone who enjoys stories of betrayal
and revenge.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7

This book is graphic because it is drawn as well as
written. It has some violence, suffering, and sexual content.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Royersford, PA USA

Finding Stinko

From the time Newboy was one week old, he had
been living in the state child care system. He had lived in
11 houses in 12 years, and, to make matters worse, when he
was nine years old he stopped talking. It wasn't his fault,
he just opened his mouth one day and nothing came out. The
school he went to labeled him difficult and stubborn, so no
one wanted to adopt him, or even keep him in their house,
which is how he came to live with the Knoxes. They were the
worst foster parents he'd ever had, so Newboy dedided to
listen to his instincts. One morning, he got out of bed
early and ran away. He had no where in particular to go ,and
with only a few possessions, Newboy was on the run. On his
first day away from the Knoxes, Newboy finds an unexpected
friend. It was an old, beat-up ventriloquist dummy with half
of his face missing that he names Stinko. To his surprise,
when Newboy pulls the string to open Stinko's mouth, his own
voice speaks for the first time in years. Throughout the
book, he uses his newfound voice to deal with life on the
streets.

To be honest, I didn't like this book. It was
a little boring and the plot was very predictable. The
ending leaves you wanting a sequel because it doesn't really
tell you what happens to Newboy. On the other hand, it was
very easy to relate to Newboy. Micheal de Guzman did a good
job making Newboy seem real, so I felt whatever he felt. I
would recommend this book to people who like bitter-sweet
endings and don't mind large sections of reading without
dialogue.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 5

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Phoenixville,
Pennsylvania United States

Eifelheim

Tom Schwoerin is annoyed. He is a historian with a problem.
According to a certain pattern, old cities form a ring
around the cities of today. Following this pattern, he
discovers something wrong: a little town called Eifelheim.
Eifelheim was inhabited, records show, but something
happened around the fourteenth century so that Eifelheim was
never inhabited again. Tom wants to find out what happened,
so he goes on a search.
The book switches to the year 1348; the main character is
named Father Dietrich. He wakes up in his bed and knows that
something bad is going to happen, but he doesn't know what
will take place. Throughout the day, mysterious things occur
in the town. A part of the town catches on fire, and
Dietrich, and some friends find a hurt race of alien beings.
What happens to Eifelheim?

Though the book is very interesting towards the end, it
was not one of my favorites. In the beginning of the book
and towards the middle, the author had the aliens explain
their language. Unfortunately, the aliens use numbers to
talk, so it took a little while for the aliens to explain it
to Dietrich. Furthermore, some of the book was written in
German, especially the conversations between Tom and Sharon,
so I could not understand what they were saying. I did like
how the author explained the setting, but overall, I did not
like the book.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 2

Reviewer Age:14

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