Savvy

Thirteenth birthdays in the Beaumont household are very exciting and Mibs is having hers very soon. Her family gets more than presents for birthdays. They get a special savvy, and that means that they get a special power. One of her brothers can cause hurricanes, another creates electricity, and Mibs knows hers will be exciting, too. However, the day before her birthday, her father is in a bad accident and goes to the hospital. The preacher's wife comes over with her children to watch the Beaumonts while their mother is in the hospital with their dad. Mibs doesn't wish for just any savvy. She wants a savvy that will save her Poppa and Mibs is certain that that will happen. She decides to secretly climb aboard a bus, with her siblings and the preacher's kids, to go to the hospital. However, the bus starts heading in the wrong direction. No one on it will ever be the same! What is Mibs' savvy? What will happen to the characters involved on the bus? You've got to read this book!

Savvy was a really interesting book to read. I loved how creative and original it was with the savvies. The vocabulary is just right for the ages of 10-15 because it is not too hard, but it does use some bigger words. My favorite thing about the entire book was the imagery. It was amazing that every paragraph would paint a picture inside my head! There was a great amount of detail in describing the setting and the characters' moods. Unlike some other books with 'magical powers', this one uses magic in a new and neat way. This book is probably best for younger teenagers in grades 5-8 because the writing seems to be designed for that age group. I do recommend it for tweens and early teens if they like reading something fresh and unique.

Reviewer Age:14

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

Mystery at Shildii Rock by Robert Feagan

When Robin Harris, a twelve year old boy, claims to have seen someone on the top of Shildii Rock, no one believes him. Not even his father will listen to him. Robin is determined to prove that someone is up there. He convinces his friends to help him discover who it is and what they want. This person is not friendly though. The person threatens their lives. The friends run into bigger problems then they had expected. Once they reach the top there is no turning back. Will the children live to prove that someone is up there or will the unknown stranger kill them first?

Mystery at Shildii Rock by Robert Feagan is an excellent mystery for a young reader. I think more advanced readers may find this story slightly predictable. Overall, it was an exciting story that was full of suspense. It keeps you guessing from beginning to end. I think that younger readers will really enjoy this book.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Lemoore, California US

How Not to be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler

Young Sugar had been a rolling stone all of her life, and never was stationary for more than a few months. She's always loved this way of life because the excitement of meeting new people was such an adventure. This time, it's not the same. Her free-bird parents uproot her life and move it from her beautiful home on the California coast, all the way to Austin, Texas. She leaves behind the only boy she has ever loved, Trevor and her beautiful set of A-list friends. Home sick and out of place, Sugar-Mags devises a plan to be an outcast. She doesn't want to have a reason to cry when she leaves her school this time so an anti-social life seems the way to go. When she finally arrives at school, she finds that her plan doesn't work so well against hot jocks or A-list gossip girls. Her plan gets harder and harder to maintain, and although her wacky outfits and carrying around shrubberies have worked mildly before, she's running out of ways to keep herself from caving in.

This book was well-written, and although Sugar-Mags's life was very different from mine, Ziegler made sure not to alienate her audience, and I must applaud her for that. I, more often than not, found myself laughing out loud and enjoyed this book VERY much. I loved the character Penny because she was so innocent and had her own little quirks that made you sick and love her at the same time. I can tell that the thought on each of these characters was in-depth and Ziegler did a fantastic job relating the characters and events to everyday teenage life. I love this book!

Brief language and/or mention of adult subjects or nudity.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: , PA USA

Sachiko by Shizue Tomoda

Sachiko always dreamed of going to America. Enthralled by the sophistication and boundless opportunities offered by the western world, she devoted herself to making the dream come true. The challenge is more than she bargained for, though. Her parents do not support her ambitious aspiration, and refuse to let her go. In this story, the reader follows a young Japanese girl as she struggles to find herself and make her hopes realities.

I did not love this book. I was always waiting for the actual plot to start; I felt like I was reading a summary, not a story. There was very little dialogue to break up long, non-descriptive paragraphs. There was no emotion conveyed until the very end. Even Sachiko, the main character, was not developed very well. By the end of the book, I felt like I barely knew her. The author states the obvious too often, and she hints at future events in an all-too inconspicuous manner. I have to admit that the ending caught me off guard. I almost wish that there had been more. Overall, the book wasn't terrible; it simply needs more sensory details and some minor editing.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Tipp City, Ohio USA

A Rumor of Dragons by Michael A. Heald

A dragon that swims instead of flying. A prince with no hands. A wizard with a sword. A girl with a strange ability to talk to animals, or "senses" their feelings. They all work together to try to foil the evil plans of a great dark dragon, using their abilities to help themselves and each other. An adventure, a romance, a mystery... a classic page turner that even adds on as a cliff hanger, as it is a series

I loved how Micheal A. Heald kept the book going. It was very hard to put down, but its volume of pages often forced me to. His introduction is wonderful, a party for the youngest prince coming of age. That immediately told me the prince was not a normal one. The protagonist's nature is to go looking for trouble, so it was easy to slide from a castle to a slime-dripping cave. Heald's descriptions of the land and the characters were wonderful, only revealing certain things about the characters' appearances when the information was related to something in the plot. His writing style shows an adventure with plenty of description, which I was pleased to find. I cannot wait for the next book in his series!

Reviewer Age:13

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

The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin

The Year of the Rat signifies change. And Grace has plenty
of changes in her life, including her best friend Melody
moving across the country. Plus, she's beginning to
question her dream of becoming a writer and illustrator.
What if she should be something else? But what other
talents does she have?

This book is a sequel to The Year
of the Dog, but it can be read independently. One of my
favorite things about both books is all the tidbits of
Chinese Culture I learned about. It boasts a very
believable voice of a young girl as its narrator. The
writing is sparse, yet flowing. It's a sweet, comfortable
little tale that I enjoyed a lot.

Reviewer Age:17

Reviewer City, State and Country: Moscow, ID USA

The Bone Race

This book is historical fiction. Some of the characters
and events are loosely based on real people and events
that occurred in the 1800's and 1900's. This book is
about the contest of an eccentric millionaire named J.
Andrew Nagle. He is hosting a race for the first
contestant to bring back a complete dinosaur skeleton to
his new museum. The story takes place across the United
States as the contestants attempt to quickly retrieve
dinosaur bones. The contestants develop complex
relationships based on love, rivalry, and greed. In sum,
the book is an adventure novel with a focus on dinosaur
bones.

I enjoyed this book. It is not a very long read,
and the book idea is unique. The novel is exciting, and
the characters are fairly satisfying. However, the plot
seems underdeveloped at times. The story jumps between
settings in order to tell each character's story, so the
action feels rushed. I also wished the interesting
setting and corrupt government were described in more
detail. Despite these shortcomings, the book was still
pleasant. This book would probably be a good, fairly
quick read for anybody, especially if they have an
interest in dinosaurs or history.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Royersford, PA
USA

Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty

Geena Sloane starts her summer off with the perfect plan: working at Triple Shot Betty's by day and giggling and painting toenails by night at sleepovers with her best friend, Amber, and her cousin, Hero. Amber and Hero are finally going to meet and Geena knows they will hit it off. There's just one problem, once they do meet, Geena realizes that she was very wrong. Hero and Amber hate each other and Geena is caught in the middle, needing to be loyal to both, but not knowing how. Geena works hard trying to make them like each other, but it just isn't working.

Then there are the cute boys of the summer - PJ Jamieson, the unstoppable flirt who is way to loyal to his girlfriend to ever cheat on her, John "the Man" Jamieson, his older valedictorian brother who wants Hero, Claudio, the Italian intern with whom Hero is obsessed, and Ben Bataglia, Geena's archenemy and the one who has caused her to be called a "guy-basher." The summer progresses roughly, but by the end, it all works out for the girls, and Geena Sloane gets her perfect summer after all.

Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gerhman was an excellent book about friendship, trust, and love. It is the perfect book for a teenage girl. I couldn't put it down and read it all in one day. The fact that the novel was written in the form of a journal made it even more interesting. The characters are all very easy to relate to and there is a character that could fit any person who reads it. It felt as if I was the main character writing in the journal myself. As Geena Sloane might put it, this was truly a "fabu" book.

Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty contains material including sexual references and teen drinking and partying.

Reviewer Age:15

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

The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by E.L. Konigsburg

The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by E.L. Konigsburg is about Amedeo Kaplan. He had moved from New York City to Malo, Florida with his mother. His parents are divorced and his father is an artist, so Amedeo knows a great deal about art and its history. Amedeo meets William Wilcox and his mother, who are the liquidators for Amedeo's neighbor, Mrs. Zender. Mrs. Zender is a colorful character. She is the last heir of the Tull family. The Tulls owned hundreds of acres of timberland in northern Florida and southern Georgia. Mrs. Zender's mother was an Italian and highly controlling of her daughter. She organized most of Mrs. Zender's life. Mrs. Zender was a minor opera star in Europe and local celebrity in the 1940s and 1950s. She knew Alexander Calder, Simone de Beauvoir, James Jones, Karl Eisenhuth, and Harper Lee. She is vain, smart, funny, demanding, and generous. She believes in the old class structure. She dresses up in costumes every day and she is used to having servants. She informs Amedeo that a person must remain ninety percent secret to even their friends. William Wilcox is aloof, quiet, smart, and nice. Amedeo tells William that he would love to discover something that has been lost for a long time. While cleaning the library, Amedeo discovers a drawing of a nude called The Moon Lady by a dead Jewish Italian artist named Modigliani. Mrs. Zender informs Amedeo that it was a wedding present from her Austrian husband. She keeps the drawing hidden and shows no interest in keeping it. He takes the drawing to his house and researches it. Amedeo's godfather, Peter Vanderwaal, is the Director of the Sheboygan Art Center. The art center is hosting an exhibition of art banned by the Nazis. Adolf Hitler wanted to be an artist but was not admitted into art school because his art was not modern enough. Hitler developed a strong dislike of modern art. When Hitler became the leader of Germany, he banned Modern and African Art. He banned art by Jewish, homosexual, and insane artists. Hitler banned Henri Matisse, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Marc Chagall, and Georges Braque. At the opening of the exhibit that Amedeo is attending, Peter's mother shows them Peter's father's autobiography. Peter's father, John Vanderwaal, grew up in Amsterdam, Holland and was raised by his older homosexual brother and his partner at their art store. One day, a Nazi officer arrived at John's brother's art shop; the next day John's brother was sent to a work labor camp. In a photo that Mrs. Vanderwaal shows them, Amedeo sees the The Moon Lady. What is Mrs. Zender's connection to John Vanderwaal's story?

I give The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World a nine. E.L. Konigsburg has the talent to make unexciting events fascinating. This is a rare skill. If a reader has enjoyed E.L. Konigsberg's other books, then the reader will truly enjoy this book. Konigsburg has a very similar writing style in this book to her other works. When I was in the eighth grade at school, I wrote a report on Konigsburg. Since then, I have felt that she is one of the best young adult realist novelists alive today. I found this book particularly interesting because I had just visited the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and I saw art by Vincent van Gogh, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse, who are all named in this novel.

Reviewer Age:16

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

Perilous Passage

OK... heres a basic summary of A Perilous Passage, by B. J.
Bayle.
This book is set in the New World between the years of
1810-1811. The main character ia a boy named Peter. He
suffers from a case of amnesia, and as a result, no one
knows him. He meets a man named Boulard. Boulard is an
explorer who works for David Thomson. Boulard takes him on a
journey to meet his boss, David Thompson, and Peter quickly
gets involved with an expedition to find the Columbia
River, headed by David Thompson himself. He meets many
different Native American tribes and animals as he travels
across the continent of America.

This book is a wonderful example of a good adventure
book. I felt immersed in the setting, and felt like I was
with the characters as they adventured throughout America.
The main character is Peter, an understanding boy of 15, who
has lost him memory to amneseia. I found this a good weekend
read. I would recommend this book to history buffs, and
people who enjoy adventure stories.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: , Texas United States