Pirates & Smugglers

Pirates are often viewed as drunk, wearing a long coat, an eye patch, and a cutlass. There is much more history behind them than that. Pirates have been in existence since around 2500 B.C. and are still around today. They have earned several names such as Vikings, barbarians, privateers, conquistadores, and buccaneers. No matter what they are called, they all share a common trait. They commit violent acts for profit. In the past, their living conditions were not very good. There were often food shortages on their ships and pirates would be tortured if caught by the authorities. Overall, the violent image that movies show of pirates is not much of a lie at all.

To many fantasy and adventure readers, pirates are a subject of interest. I have learned many things about them on my own, and I hoped that this book would teach me more. While I learned new information and specific details from it, I was slightly disappointed. There was too much text to read. It was confusing because it was all over the page in small sections. On the other hand, each page had brilliant pictures that the reader could look at for a long time. I recommend this book to anyone studying pirates or to anyone deeply interested in them.

There are images unsuitable for younger children.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank-you Notes

In the book "Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank-you Notes", a girl named Moxy Maxwell has a thank-you note disaster. It all starts on the day after Christmas when Moxy has to write twelve thank-you notes before she goes to bed or she doesn't get to fly to Hollywood to see her dad. Everything gets worse when she decides to make a copy of her thank-you note on her step-dad's new copier. Will Moxy get her thank-you notes finished in time to visit her dad? Read this book and find out.

This book is fun-filled and funny. The situations Moxy gets into are amusing and make you want to read on. There are many characters and each one has a unique personality. Some of these include, Granny who is humorous and forgetful, Mark, Moxy's brother, who is a genius at making things work, and Pansy, Moxy's sister, who wants to be a turtle when she grows-up. You never know what is going to happen. A kid of any age will enjoy this book. It is a quick and easy read. The only low point was that the ending could have been a little more detailed.


Reviewer Age:11

Reviewer City, State and Country: Leopold, Missouri USA

Ballet Stories by Harriet Castor

The Pirouette is a collection of fiction short stories based on ballet life. Harriet Castor has chosen the stories for the book. The book has sixteen short stories meant for teens. The focus is the different problems and achievements made by young girls in the ballet world. Harriet Castor wrote one story called Grace, based on how a young girl who did not have the dream of ballet but her mom did.

Each of the stories focused on one young lady in the ballet world. One story may be about school and ballet or about repeated frustrations during work outs. Most stories were set in English schools and homes. It was hard to see them due to not knowing England's countryside or the differences in school systems that came up frequently. The book would be wonderful for hopeful future ballerinas. The everyday teen may have a hardtime sticking with the book due to its focus solely on ballet.

Reviewer Age:20

Reviewer City, State and Country: Marble Hill, Missouri Bolliger

T4 by Ann Clare LeZotte

Subject: T4 Date: 09-09-2008
Author: flamingnet12

This novel was about a young girl named, Paula. Paula is deaf, but is has created a type of sign laungage that she and her family and friends can understand. Paula life was in the time of Hitler, so because Paula was deaf she was in danger from a plan called T4. This plan was to murder all the people with problems. So Paula must flee from her town and family who understand her so well to stay alive.

I found that I couldn't put this book down. It was so amazing. Although it was really true and it really got to you, it really gave you a sense of what life was like back then. This book is really rich in detail and is a great story. I would say that anybody who is in to learning about WWII should read this book.

Rating 7
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leopold, MO USA

Fairy Tale 2 by Hiro Mashima

Lucy is a beautiful celestial wizard who has formed a team with fire wizard Natsu and a strange cat with wings. They are part of a mage guild, Fairy Tail, and have just received a task. Together, they have to steal a book from the notorious Duke Everlue. However, Everlue has hired special guards to kill anyone who comes near. If they survive then they will start their second mission to battle the increasing Dark Guild. Can Lucy and Natsu make it past their first mission to help with the second?

Reading manga is a different experience for all readers. This one in particular is fantasy; it is complete with magic and monsters. I loved how intricate the drawings were, and how the words to the story matched perfectly. The plot was never boring, and I found myself unable to put the book down. Also, the characters were all well put together and had very realistic personalities. I recommend the first volume of Fairy Tale to any manga or fantasy lover.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America

The Worst-Case Scenario Handbook by David Borgenicht & Justin Heimberg

Most people wouldn't know what to do if a rhino were charging at them. The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook teaches you lots of ways to survive in different cases. This book discusses how to survive at sea, in the mountains, and in the desert. It also includes how to survive in the jungle, in the arctic, and on a safari. If you complete this survival handbook, you'll know how to fend off a shark, avoid a bear attack, or stop a runaway camel. Readers may also learn how to remove a leech, build a snow cave, and even how to track animals.

Being informed about how to stay alive is a good benefit to everyone. That is why this book was a great read. I highly doubt that I will ever need to know any of these survival techniques, but if I do, then I will be very happy I read them. Since this is a junior edition, the writing was geared towards 9-12 year olds. Some of the jokes that were made were kind of childish. Overall, the vocabulary and images were easy to understand and made it easy to follow along. I recommend this book to younger readers who want to go traveling or have a spare hour to read.

Reviewer Age:15

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

Rating: 7

Content Rating: 1

Dream GIrl By Lauren Mechling

Claire Voyante has a very unique life. Her parents are French; her little brother takes midnight walks; she has a couture grandmother, and her best friend is a condiment heiress. But the most extraordinary thing about Claire is her ability to have special black-and-white dreams that lead her on dangerous and exciting adventures. How can Claire manage high school, new friends, jealous rivals, a crazy family and these bizarre dreams? It's not until she comes across a magical cameo necklace that the mysterious truth starts to unfold.


Lauren Mechling's novel, Dream Girl, is a great mystery novel. Claire Voyante is a wonderful detective with her quirks and wit. She makes the plots interesting and exciting. The twists and turns of the novel are always surprising and enjoyable. Mechling develops each character with good supporting details, and I feet well acquainted with the characters. I like how the novel deals with issues of friendship and trust in a very entertaining mystery novel. Mechling introduces the "dream" as a clever mechanism to explain Claire's fantastic mystery-solving abilities. This makes me want to explore Claire's dream world again in a future novel!


Reviewer Age:17

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

The Devil's Breath by David Gilman

When an assassin tries to kill Max Gordon while he's out on a run, Max knows his life will never be the same. Finding out his dad is missing only proves his point. A wild goose chase to find his father leads him to Namibia, where he meets a bushman named !Koga, and quickly befriends him. !Koga and Max together try to find his dad, who they discover may have uncovered evidence that proves Shaka Chang is behind a mass ecological disaster and will kill millions unless the evidence is found. Will !Koga and Max be able to save Max's dad, along with the millions Shaka Chang is out to kill? The Devils Breath by David Gilman is the only way for you to find out!
I was pleasantly surprised by The Devil's Breath. I am not a big fan of action/adventure, so I didn't think I would enjoy the book. Boy was I wrong! I was unable to put the book down! It kept me on my toes and had me guessing, all while feeling a connection with the main character Max Gordon. The twists and turns made it unpredictable, and I was shocked in almost every chapter. Anyone who wants an exciting, well-written, and all-around great book needs to grab a copy of The Devil's Breath, by David Gilman.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Casa Grande, Arizona USA

Beacon Hill Boys - Interview with Ken Mochizuki

When and why did you begin writing?
In 1981, while working as a professional actor in Los Angeles, I also had time to read the “classic” American novels that I should have in high school and college. I thought about becoming a writer instead, so I started writing my own novel at that time which would eventually become “Beacon Hill Boys.” I originally wrote it as an adult novel, but then the opportunity came along to turn it into a YA novel which was published in 2002.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Probably when I first seriously said to myself that I am going to be one – not just thinking about it or talking about it, but actually doing it. So, if I was going to be a writer, I had to learn how to write. I returned to my hometown, Seattle, that same year (1981) and started writing for local newspapers. Being a journalist taught me a lot about writing, especially about being concise – saying the most with the least amount of words, which would help tremendously in the genre of “juvenile literature,” especially in writing picture books.

What inspired you to write your first book?
In 1981 when I still lived in Los Angeles, I heard of the murder of a friend who was also an instructor of mine at the University of Washington (it was later uncovered that he was assassinated by orders from the regime of the former dictator of the Philippines). That incident made me think of those days when I was attending the university during the early ‘70s, when I was involved with others in fighting for the “Asian American” identity instead of being called “Orientals.” It was also a unique time all over America, and I wanted to recall those times and pay tribute to it.

Who or what has influenced your writing?
Aside from being a journalist, the Asian American authors who came before me and are
currently writing books, especially fiction, are major influences. Another major influence – although I didn’t know it at the time – were the TV series of the ‘60s. “Combat,” an early ‘60s series about GIs in France during World War II, the original “Star Trek,” “Mission: Impossible” and especially “The Twilight Zone” were often brilliantly written and were actually 30- 60- minute short stories. Looking back, that’s where I learned story structure, character development and the character arc, the beginning, middle and end.

What genre are you most comfortable writing?
My books so far have been in the picture book and YA categories, both fiction and non-fiction, so those are what I’m used to so far. I tend to gravitate toward historical fiction – “Beacon Hill Boys” has been put in that category. But, all writing isn’t easy and – contrary to what most people might think – picture books are the hardest because so few words are required to tell the story. I often use this analogy: writing picture books is like driving on city streets, where you
travel slow and have to stop for the lights and signs. Novels are like hitting the freeway and opening it up.

Is there a message in Beacon Hill Boys that you want readers to grasp?
Young people who know their histories, their family histories, are more proud and self-confident when they know of the achievements of their own. The underlying theme of the novel is the protagonist and his friends’ search for something to be proud of. Also, I wanted readers to know that everything that might be taken for granted today was gained by those before them who fought, struggled and sacrificed.
Is the book based on someone you know, or events in your own life? “Beacon Hill Boys” started out as a sort of disguised autobiography, or at least about that time in my life. And as fiction writing goes, and when you start working with an editor, there are plot changes and cuts, characters change, or multiple characters are morphed into one. So, even though some of the incidents portrayed in the book did actually happen in my life, the story is still a work of fiction.

Can you tell us two of your favorite books?
My favorite of all time is Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and that novel is often considered to be YA now. I would have to say another would be “The Wizard of Oz.”

What book are you reading now?
A lot of the books I read are for research for my present writing project. However, a memorable book I read this year would be Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.”

What are you currently working on?
A YA novel set mostly in an incarceration camp for Japanese Americans during World War II.

Do you have any advice for young writers?
Read – that is the only way you will see how words are put together to become good writing and good books. And not only books, but read newspapers, news magazines – any form that tells a story. It is said that some of the best writers are sports columnists. Then you have to become a good observer. Everybody has the ability to look, but not everybody has the ability to see. Why do people do what they do? Then put those words together and write and write. It is a process in which you can be taught all the “how tos,” but it is also one in which you can only learn by
doing.


Thanks again to Ken Mochizuki for appearing, courtesy of Provato Marketing, for other stops on the tour please check www.provatoevents.com.

Bobbie Faye's (kinda, sorta, not exactly) Family Jewels

"Bobbie Faye's (kinda, sorta, not exactly) Family Jewels" by Toni McGee Causey is an unusual book. The mystery book is set in Cajun country in Louisiana and includes many of Bobbie Faye's crazy relatives. Evidently, Bobbie Faye, a crime solver, had a dangerous escapade in her first book, which included some of the characters in this book. In this funny mystery, Bobbie Faye is asked by her cousin, Francesca, to help find some diamonds that Francesca's Mom took from her Dad. After this request is made, Bobbie Faye is kidnapped by three different groups, all of whom have an interest in the diamonds. Then there is a very handsome FBI agent, assigned to watch over Bobbie Faye and a very handsome detective ex-boyfriend who are also involved in the escapades. Both are vying for Bobbie Faye's affection. Bobbie Faye gets herself into one predicament after another and many crazy characters come out either to help or gawk at her. A celebrity in her town, Bobbie Faye will lead you on a funny, action filled ride.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something that is funny and light to read. I did find the book confusing in the beginning and wonder if it would have been easier to understand if I had read the first book. Bobbie Faye is a resilient character, not afraid to dive into any problem. But if it is realism you are looking for, this is not the book for you. It is a lighthearted read, with funny situations. Not a book to be taken seriously.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Finksburg, MD USA