Wish You Were Here by Catherine Clark

Ariel (no, not the little mermaid) Flack is obsessed with
exactly two things; skittles (who wouldn't?) and sending
postcards home to Gloves, Ariel's cat, and her almost-sort
of-kinda boyfriend, Dylan. After her dad gambles the
family's life savings away (not to mention Ariel and her
little sister's college money) and embezzles from his
company, Ariel's family is splashed across the cover of
newspapers everywhere. Not to mention, Ariel's mom
divorces her gambling husband and like only a self-help
author can, drags her reluctant two daughters, Ariel and
Zena, into a weeklong bus tour called Leisure Lee's. Sound
bad? You haven't heard the worst of it. In attempt to give
her daughters a responsible male figure in their lives,
their eccentric uncle, who has a bizarre phobia of
squirrels, is along for the ride as well with their
grandparents, too. Just when everything seems to be awful
(who wants to spend a week in a small space with a
gazillion senior citizens?), Ariel discovers the other
reluctant teen on board - Andre. Together, they plot to
escape their prison and Ariel decides that maybe, just
maybe mind you, things aren't so bad after all. In this
wonderful bit of realistic fiction, the characters come
alive and well, this is as "fantasterrific" as it gets,
folks.

Told from the view of a sixteen-year old girl,
Ariel Flack, the tone is cheerful but sometimes angry.
Her voice is slightly bitter, but Ariel has a positive
outlook on things and can be funny. It wasn't my favorite
book - it left me kind of bored and I think some of the
characters were a bit stereotyped. There was a little less
detail than I would have liked. Catherine Clark's meaning
in the story seems to be that you can always find hope no
matter what situation you are in, and she addressed that
fairly well. I would recommend it to other people because,
even though it wasn't my favorite sort of book, it is a
decent read. However, it pales in comparison to Clark's
other books, such as Better Latte Than Never and The
Alison Rules. Altogether, Wish You Were Here is a
quick, nice read.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Canton, Michigan United States of
America

Behind the Wheel by Janet S. Wong

This book talks about peoples’ journeys while they are driving. It covers a range of situations, from car accidents to driving in a hoopty, and about what could happen. The poems also tell you about what's going on in each character's head. The author makes it clear that driving can be a good thing, like when hanging out with friends, or bad when you kill someone in a car accident. So that has lead me to believe the author's purpose was to show the readers the ups and downs of driving.

I think this book was very interesting. I heard about people's experiences with driving. I really liked the way the author explained things so I could get a visual picture from each poem. I also liked this book because it was a page-turner. I always wanted to know what was going to happen to the next person, or character. A question I had was why does the author choose to use poetry for this book? I would recommend this book for people who like realistic fiction about teens or for people who like short books. Or even for people who are interested in driving sooner or later on in life.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: St. Paul, Minnesota USA

Riding High by Donna King

Billie Mason has always loved riding and competing with her wonderful horse, Valentine's Kiss. She has always been told that she is a great rider. But Billie soon loses all of her confidence and stops competing when she witnesses a frightening mishap with another horse during one of her events. Billie knows that she might have to face her fears when she hears even her closest friends talking about her losing her nerve, her dad is complaining to her about how much money they are wasting by not competing, and the thought of maybe having to sell her extremely loved horse scares her the most. On the other hand, Billie loves her new trainer, Sarah, who understands her perfectly and is trying to help her overcome her fears in the show ring and on the cross-country course. Now she is torn between two choices. Will she choose to start competing again to keep her talented horse or will she be too scared about putting her horse in danger after what she saw and have to sell Val?

When I read Riding High I thought it was an okay or pretty good book. I liked the connection that Sarah and Billie shared and how Sarah understood and could help with what Billie was feeling. I was surprised by some of the negative attitude her family and friends gave her. I thought it was weird that they were not supporting her no matter what she did. I felt that some parts of the book went by too fast and more detail would have been nice. But I also found this book interesting, especially to me, because I am also a horseback rider and have experienced some of the things she has, so it was easy for me to understand what Billie was thinking and feeling. This story, overall, was a fun story to read. I didn't think that it was very powerful, with a lot of deep meaning, but still a good pleasure book.

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Midlothian, VA USA

Cruel Summer by Alyson Noel

Seventeen-year-old Colby cant believe what she's hearing when her parents announce that she's spending the summer in Greece with her crazy Aunt Tally. At least that's what her parents call her aunt. Her world suddenly comes crashing down the minute she hears the news of her three-month-long departure to the Greek civilization because everything was going so good. She'd finally ditched her geeky past, along with her ex-best friend for the popular life of gossip, fame, and parties. Besides the fact that her parents were getting a divorce, she was totally looking forward to the summer. When first arriving in Greece, she is full of everything but tranquility. So she starts a blog to update all of her friends on her unwanted getaway to the Greek paradise. She decides that instead of making the most of her time in Greece and this new experience, that she's going to try and stay connected with the former life she just left and dearly wishes to return to, via the internet. Well, that is until she attends her aunt's huge Fourth of July party and meets Yannis, the cute guy from the ship she sailed on to get to the tiny island of Tinos. Maybe life on the island wont be as bad as she expected after all.

I really enjoyed reading Cruel Summer by Alyson Noel. It was a very unique book filled with love, hate, adventure, and many unforgettable opportunities and experiences. I thought it was cool how the author wrote the book like it was partly a blog, a regular story, and a diary. Also, it was neat how she included emails and letters that were written between the girl and her family and friends. However, I think the author overdid it on the use of the blogs and diary entries and that the story would have been better if she would have just written about the girl's experiences first hand as they took place. Overall, Cruel Summer was a great novel that I definitely recommend to teenage girls looking for a little summer romance.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Upper Strasburg, PA USA

Bronze Dragon Codex by R.D. Henham

Tatelyn had more than one reason to hate dragons. A possessed one had killed her brother, while another had destroyed her friend's town. Thus, Tatelyn had been spreading the word that dragons must be banished. On the other side of the ordeal, a dragon, named Simle, hates humans because they maliciously stole her siblings. Her siblings were eggs, at the time, and the eggs had suddenly disappeared. And when Tatelyn and Simle met, although they felt an intense hatred for each other, their fates were intertwined in unimaginable ways.

Bronze Dragon Codex was an exceptional book, with only a few flaws. First, the setting seemed vague and almost non-existent in some parts. However, there were also some dramatic scenes in which the setting was a powerful factor in the layout of the book. At the very ending, or climax, there was definite frustration and anger between one of the main characters, Tatelyn, and her friend, Rogan. There were two very distinct, and different, main characters, Tatelyn and Simle. Tatelyn was a dragon-hating human, while Simle was a human-hating dragon. This resulted in much of the book's conflict. I like the way the writer let the dialogue set up the story, rather than narration. Having the story change views was completely appropriate, because there were two main characters. The author did a great job of closing up the story and finishing all subplots.

The writer succeeded in showing that Tatelyn and Simle, while very different, had more in common than they realized. The writing was effective, showing how two very different characters dealt with the same conflict. Bronze Dragon Codex had strong dialogue, but, as I said earlier, had a weak setting in many parts. This novel was well written, with an interesting plot and an unusual, but happy, ending. The author could have allowed us to know the characters better, just to give this book that final touch. I would highly recommend Bronze Dragon Codex, as an excellent book. Once you start reading, you can't put it down.

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Baltimore, Maryland USA

Braless in Wonderland by Debbie Reed Fischer

Alee Rosen is a lot of things: High school senior, overachiever, feminist, brainiac. The one thing she's not is super model material--she leaves that to pretty people like her little sister (a.k.a. "The Fluff"). That's why it's a complete shock when Allee, not her sister, is the one spotted by modeling scouts at the mall and signed by a major modeling agency in Miami. It's classic geek-to-chic--but it's not like it's going to change her, right? She's doing it for the money that will pay her way through college. Very soon, however, Allee is swept up in the whirlwind of go-sees, designer labels, and photo shoots. She's hot, and that has her backstabbing model roommates steaming and scheming. Will her sudden rise to elusive It Girl status lead Allee to drop her dreams and forget who she really is?

Braless in Wonderland was a wonderful book. Right from the start I was hooked. This page-turner had an interesting plot, relatable characters, and a hilarious narrator. It was a very well-written book, with vivid descriptions and dialogue. Debbie Reed Fischer made it easy to feel as if you were really there. It was very interesting to get an inside look at how the modeling world works. I especially liked that Fisher related Allee's transformation to Alice's transformation in Alice in Wonderland, which I thought really made the story.

This book contained underage drinking and the use of illegal drugs.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Leopold, MO USA

Rating: 10

Content Rating: 3

The Religion

In the 1500's Mattias Tannhauser, of the German language, is asked to help a noble woman, Lady Carla, find her lost son on the island of Malta. Tannhauser agrees to take her to the island if she agrees to marry him after her son is found. Yet, a steamy romance also develops between Lady Carla's friend, Amparo, and Tannhauser. The Religion, Christianity, is in control of Malta but the invading Turks threaten a hostile takeover. The Religion's soldiers are extremely far fewer in number than the Turks, and Tannhauser finds himself, his friend, Bors, and many more involved in the battles to help. Tannhauser must deal with death, Amparo's love for him, finding Lady Carla's son, a traitor or two, and the fight. Can he figure out who he loves, find the lost boy, and help Malta prevail?

I thought The Religion would be kind of boring. However, it was quite the opposite. Right from the beginning you get carried off into the world of Tannhauser. Dramatic irony builds up because you know everything about every character, but the other characters do not. The plot is simple at first, but then it gets extremely in depth and complex. You really have to pay attention to what is happening or you will get lost. Along with that, the vocabulary is very advanced; I found myself not knowing many of the words. The imagery is amazing because it describes things that you don't even expect to be described. Overall, The Religion was an amazing book that I recommend war-lovers or heroic-romance fans read.

There is extreme violence, sexual scenes, bad language, and also reference to Christianity and Islamic religions throughout the entire book.

Reviewer Age:14
p>Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America

Pirates of the Retail Wasteland by Adam Selzer

The whole downtown of Cornersville Trace is becoming a retail wasteland, full of heartless stores and indistinguishable fast food chains. The last decent place left in Old Downtown is "Sip," a flavorful coffee shop/teen hangout. As part of the school's "gifted pool," Leon and his friends take on a self-initiated mission: to take down the new (and all too office-like) coffee shop, "Wackfords," which endangers their favorite retreat, "Sip." Along the way, the dynamic quartet faces various misadventures. AMong these are an unsolicited crush, a quest to depress the gym teacher, and groping through the gray between friendship (with benefits) and full girlfriend/boyfriend status. 

Selzer's writing style is fast-paced and unpredictable, making the story a truly enjoyable read. Quirky characters and hilarious situations keep the reader hooked. The story is from Leon's perspective, and is definitely appropriate for guys or girls. Overall, I give Pirates of the Retail Wasteland three thumbs-up and recommend it to any high schooler who has ever felt a bit idiosyncratic.

Do note that the narrative is brimming with upper-level vocabulary, and is thus more suited for advanced readers.

Some explicit language, mature situations

Rating:10

Reviewer Age:15

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

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Marcus Yallow is able to outsmart any security device in his school; whether he is putting rocks in his shoes to trick the Gait-meter, a device that uses the way you walk to identify you, or putting hidden programs on his SchoolBook, a school loaned laptop used by the students, to override the administrations sneak programs. One day, he and three friends sneak out of school to go play a game. Little did they know that they would be in one of the biggest terrorist attacks since 9/11. They were close to the site of a bombing and were taken in as suspects by the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS. After days of torture and questioning, three of them are released. Marcus's best friend, Darryl, is still in the clutches of the DHS. Now, their once beloved city has turned into a place of terror. Everyone is watched for suspicious activity and they are all having their privacy and freedom snatched away from them. Marcus decides he must put a stop to this, and declares a secret war on the DHS.

Little Brother describes the hardships of what happens when a government takes over and nullifies people's freedom. It talks a lot about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the freedom of the people of the United States of America. It is a very opinionated book, and has a lot of fact and history behind it. I learned things that I never knew existed. One such thing was the existence of the Yippies in the 1960's-70's. Little Brother is full of reasons why we should not let our government get out of control and take away our freedom. This book was excellently written with a little of everything: action, adventure, intelligence, spying, romance, and tragedy. However, the ending didn't satisfy me, it wasn't good enough. The story never really completely resolved. I would recommend this book to every single person; it may just make them reassess their outlook on life.

sex, swearing, and intense situations

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Shippensburg, PA USA

Writing On The Wall by Christopher Cleary

The main characters in Christopher Cleary's novel, Writing on the Wall, are Donnie, a quiet, lonely boy who is still recovering from a family tragedy, and Megan, the pretty new girl, who has reinvented herself by means of a drastic physical makeover. Though they become friends, they keep vital secrets from each other. Their home lives are hectic and neither feels accepted by their families, so they rent a storage unit which becomes a refuge where they hang out. Gradually, the storage unit becomes the home for which both of them have been longing. As Megan's trust of Donnie grows, she reveals her own past as an unattractive girl, and their relationship progresses from being friends to being lovers. However when she accidentally discovers Donnie's secret and confronts him about it, it causes a crisis. Thanks to the strength of their bond, Donnie finally begins to open up to Megan after closing himself off from everyone for so long.

Throughout this novel both protagonists grow and develop, resulting in a wonderfully written realistic fiction novel. It is a great book, gripping until the very last page. It makes the reader very emotional, I cried at parts. The style of the writing makes it a very easy and enjoyable read. Overall I loved this book and would recommend it to middle schoolers and above.

There is mention of suicide and and some sex, so this book may be vetoed by parents until their children are old enough to handle these issues.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Hingham, MA USA