The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In the country of Panem, one can be killed simply for existing. In fact, ever since the rebellion that almost wiped out the country's government, being born may be a death sentence, at least for children between the ages of twelve and eighteen. It is these children, after all, who risk the most brutal execution imaginable in the form of participation in the Hunger Games, an annual competition in which a randomly selected few are pitted against each other in a brutal fight to the death.

Unfortunately for Katniss Everdeen, she is one of these unlucky few. As if life wasn't already hard enough for her, she suddenly finds herself with the whole world working towards her death. Sure, she's smart and good with a bow-- but is that enough to help her survive amongst trained killers and a bloodthirsty audience?

This is quite possibly one of the best new books of 2008. Not only is it impossible to put down, it's also impossible to stop thinking about-- but with a plot like this one, that's a given. This is one book that doesn't rely entirely on plot, however. Collins amazes with brilliant choices in writing style and character, electing to use the ceaseless excitement and suspense of present tense and expertly steering her characters away from the cliches that would be so easy to fall into. There's never a dull moment, and the large print makes this a quick and satisfying read, a perfect addition to the genre of dystopian fiction.

Many violent deaths, some described in detail

Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: , Maryland United States

Score! Sports Stories by Alan Durant

Score! Sports Stories by Alan Durant is a collection of different short stories about sports. The book includes extracts of other books and complete short stories. Each story in the book is unique and they're all about different kinds of sports. There are stories on soccer to stories on horseracing to stories on cricket. This book is great for anyone who enjoys playing or watching sports.

Being passionate about sports myself, I really enjoyed this book. It does a great job of accurately portraying the energy in a sports match. Each story had a different writing style, as they were all written by different authors. Although the book was pretty good, some of the stories were confusing and didn't seem very clear. Others were not very captivating and didn't really hold my attention until the end. Overall, Score! was an interesting book and is perfect for sports fans.

Rating:7

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Champaign , Illinois USA

As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham

As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Amazing March Toward Freedom by Richard Michelson and illustrated by Raul Colon is about the early life and beliefs of King and Heschel. King grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and encountered racism everyday. Herschel
encountered anti-Semitism as a student in Berlin and Warsaw. He moved to the United States before the Holocaust. Both King and Herschel fought tirelessly against prejudice. Herschel joined King's march in Selma, Alabama. The two became close friends.

I give As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Amazing March Toward Freedom a rating of 7. Richard Michelson's book is a good introduction to the Black Civil Rights Movement and the Holocaust. I enjoyed how the author parallels the lives of King and Herschel. Perhaps because I am older, I was not the best judge of this book, but I always find it interesting to see what facts authors include and what facts they omit. For example, the author never mentions the Holocaust by name. The illustrator, Raul Colon, does a wonderful job with the pictures. They are very realistic. I would recommend this book for early elementary school students

Reviewer Age:18

Reviewer City, State and Country: Urbana, Illinois, USA

Over A Thousand Hills I Walk With You by Hanna Jansen

Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You is the true story of Jeanne, a young girl growing up in Rwanda. At the start of the book, she lives a normal, happy life in Rwanda with her family. Until one fateful day, on April 7, 1994, the Rwandan genocide begins. Jeanne and her family are Tutsi, the group of people that are being prosecuted. Suddenly, Jeanne and her family must fight for their lives. The genocide lasts for only a hundred days, but those days decide the fate for Jeanne and her family.
At the end of the book there is a historical timeline of dates and events to put Jeanne's story in context.

I would recommend this book to any person, particularly young adults. It is not a light subject matter, but the book does not have graphic descriptions and is approachable for all people. The book is unforgettable and deeply moving. It is a story of courage, love, and survival, and a story of death, destruction, and anger. But, most importantly, the book gives hope for the future. The translation was very smooth and I enjoyed the writing style.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Urbana, Illinois USA

Rating: 9

Content Rating: 0

A Likely Story by David Van Etten

Mallory is born, bred and has grown up on the sets of soap operas. Her mother is the star of long running soap, Good as Gold. For Mallorys 17 years she has stuck by her mom. Mallorys mom leads the drama queen life on and of the set of the soap opera. And without knowing it, Mallory does too. At school she has one best friend, Amelia, in whom she confides everything and does nothing without. Mallory has an on/off boyfriend; only he is in a troubled relationship that he cant get out of. Drama. Drama. Drama. As if that wasnt enough, when Mallory blogs about her life on the internet, she is picked up by a television company, as a scrip writer. The thing is that it is the same company that her mother works for and subsequently all hell breaks loose. Her mother no longer talks to her and writing a show for the soap opera audience proves harder than she thought. Everyone knows that when one part of your life starts going right, another falls to the ground!

This was one of those books that you finish and think
"Oh is that it." For a story that could have been so big I don't think this book climaxed to much. It was set in and around Mallory's home, school and her new workplace; the soap opera sets. Mallory is defiantly the sort of character that one could relate to if she were not so mallow dramatic, everything is always a problem and nothing is ever going right. But the author does write all her feelings with great description, so you can get a good insight into her world. I also thought he wrote the relationships involving Mallory very well. The idea of this book caught me, painful mother, exciting job opportunity, strange school life and there is no doubt that this all happened but it was all a little less stimulating than expected. Likely Story was obviously in the genre of teenage but compared to other books, I believe there is a lot better out there.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Melbourne, Victoria Australia

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

We have Phoebe, an average high school Goth, her best friend Margi who is just like her, Adam her other best friend who is a star football player, and Tommy the “living impaired”. The story takes place at a high school where some strange happening is occurring and where a teenager comes back to life after dying. They are known as "zombies", "living impaired", and "biotically different". Some characters in this book support the "zombies", some deal with them, and some can't stand them. Some of them live regular lives; they eat, walk, talk, go to school, and some are a little slow. The main topic in the story is the love triangle between Phoebe, Adam, and Tommy. However there are many other characters such as Margi, Pete, Karen, and Colette that play a major role.
Generation Dead starts out as an “ok” book that somewhat keeps your interest. It definitely is not your regular novel! Throughout this book it gets a little dull but I got my interest back by the last few chapters and the ending was phenomenal! About the last 150 pages I couldn't put it down! There was suspense, intense emotions, and just amazing lines that gave me chills! Some parts were a little confusing but it was just because the plot was so different. This was Daniel Waters’s first book and there may be some spots where it could have been better, but overall it was good. Walters has a way of writing in a way that connects to teenagers. I hope there is a sequel to this book because it definitely leaves you wondering what is going to happen next. Be sure to pick this up for a summer read!
This book contains some adult content that I think would be suitable only for readers over the age of 13. The book includes two murders and some other adult situations.
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States

How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier

How to Ditch Your Fairy is about a made-up country called New Avalon, where everyone has a fairy. Charlie is stuck with a dreadful parking fairy and thinks that it is utterly unfair. People are constantly barrowing er when they have to go somewhere with potentially bad parking. Why is she loaded down with her fairy instead of her friends shopping fairy, which makes sure she always find the most flattering outfits at the lowest prices? Or the self explanatory "never-get-in-trouble" fairy? Or better yet, the "every-boy-likes-you" fairy? She cant figure it out. She decides to trade fairies with Fio, her arch-nemesis who has an "every-boy-likes-you" fairy. Will it be any better??? Find out in How to Ditch Your Fairy.

I can honestly say that this book was as good or better than my favorite series Magic or Madness written by the same author. It was by far the best fantasy book that I have ever read, possibly the best book I have ever read. It had an extremely different vocabulary though; a lot of the words were author originals. Read this book only if you are okay with flipping back and forth from the story to the glossary. I am planning on recommending it to all of my friends.

Reviewer Age:11

Reviewer City, State and Country: Exeter, NH USA

Sorceress of the Himalayas by Ketaki Shriram

Tien Ming, a girl of mixed race, is sent on a dangerous journey to find a missing spellbook. An evil Force that is taking over wants the book too; it would kill to possess the power, wealth, and immortality the book contains. Tien needs to find the book with the help of her two friends, a golden snow leopard and an owl, to save the good in the world. Tien struggles with bullies, evil forces, and betrayal. On her journey she displays bravery and perseverance. By the time her quest is over, will Tien be able to distinguish the Force with the spellbook or will she be taken over by the Force?

When I first found out that Ketaki Shriram, the author of Sorceress of the Himalayas, was only thirteen years old when she wrote the book, I thought that it may not be too good. However, I soon discovered that it was a magnificent story with a strong plot line. There were many twists and turns in the events that made the book a page-turner. Sorceress of the Himalayas was a quick read, and it was worth it. I liked how there were several genres including fantasy, adventure, and action within the story. The vocabulary was surprisingly advanced for a thirteen year old writer, but it was perfect for a young adult reader. I recommend young readers who like adventure stories to read this book.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America

Aurelie by Heather Tomlinson

This is a faerie tale story about Aurelie and her friends and among them, a river dragon. These friends share a very unusual talent; they can see magical creatures. But one day, their secret gift is exposed, and everything changes in their world. The story evolves as the friends grow up and loose touch with each other. But when war threatens Princess Aurelie's country, she needs to reunite with her childhood friends to save the day and their friendship.

Aurelie is a novel of magic, adventure, friendship and romance. Tomlinson did a nice job creating a completely new world of creatures and places. Being a total faerie tale fan, Aurelie was right up my alley. I immediately liked the main character, Aurelie, for her confidence, bravery and wit. The plot was exciting and the twists kept me interested the whole time. I liked the characters, but I wish that Tomlinson had developed the personalities and their relationships with a little bit more detail and color. Sometimes parts were too predictable, and lacked background. But in the end, I thought Aurelie was an entertaining faerie tale, and I hope there will be a sequel or perhaps a prequel.

Reviewer Age:17

Reviewer City, State and Country: Phoenix, MD United States

Love and Lies by Ellen Wittlinger

Marisol Guzman attends a "How to Write Your First Novel" class and mets a guy, named Gio, who falls in love with her, although she is a lesbian. She is stunned, but soon Marisol sees the teacher, Olivia Frost, and immediately she is head over heels in love with her! Marisol’s life is further complicated when a friend, Lee, who is newly out of the closet, is also attracted to Marisol. Will Marisol find love or will she be disappointed to find she wasn’t looking hard enough?

This book is very good although other people might think differently, especially if they are not open to the sexuality. The author’s details handle it well and the book is very good at “filling in the blanks” about each character. Ellen Wittlinger defines each character by making their thoughts and conversations really realistic. For me it was an interesting read, because I have never read a book quite like it.

There is a lot of sexuality and sexual references in the book.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, PA U.S.A