Citizen Alpha by Patrick E. Peterson

Citizen Alpha is the exciting story of five students brought together from all corners of the world. It starts with each character, Peter Jobe, Mousa Diop, Mario Costa, Kim Suk Bae, and Larissa Svenson, being introduced separately from their separate countries. Along with them, however are five characters, Musad, Park Il Sung, Xavier Salazar, Rachael, and Abdul, also from five different countries and cultures. Peter, Mousa, Mario, Kim, and Larissa all have a strong faith and interest in science. These two disciplines are rarely mixed, but they seek to connect them. Eventually, they all end up at the University of Chicago, and are put into a group together for a project. Their objective is to bring together all disciplines of science. They all have spiritual experiences, and have a sense of unease. They take a trip to Hawaii for a vacation, where they all have the same dream: five major American cities are attacked and destroyed. On the other side of the world, Musad, Park, Salazar, and Abdul come together with one goal: the downfall of the United States. Rachael ends up falling in love with Abdul, who uses her connections with America to further the group’s acquisition of nuclear weaponry. Will the students' group be able to interpret their dream and stop the terrorists, or will America finally succumb to attack? Read "Citizen Alpha" to find out.

"Citizen Alpha," by Patrick E. Peterson, is a fantastic read. The introduction of the characters is done perfectly, along with their coming together. They are all realistic, believable characters, and their ideas and spiritual experiences, while somewhat far-fetched, are well-thought and believable. While reading it, the story almost seems real. It's a fiction book that tricks you into thinking it's non-fiction. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Content: 1
Rating: 10

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Chambersburg, PA United States

Titanic's Last Secret

Join John Chatterton and Richie Kohler of Nova's Shadow Divers as they explore the depths of the ocean in search of one of the world's greatest mysteries: the Titanic. When John and Richie discover the resting place of Titanic, both decide to unravel the mystery of how the Titanic went down in the first place. The book tells the story as if you were watching a documentary of the Titanic. Towards the end of the novel, Chatterton and Kohler finally unravel the mystery of how and why the Titanic sank. Filled to the brim with scientific facts and mystery, this book will keep you reading until the end!

The beginning and middle were a little hard to get into because of all the facts that the author had to explain. Also, the beginning was used to explain why Chatterton and Kohler did the experiment. The greatest part of the book, in my opinion, was at the end when all the pieces of the mystery finally fit together. I also liked how the author compared the Titanic to Britannic, the sister ship of the Titanic. I would recommend this book to people who are interested in marine biology or ship building.

Reviewer Age:15

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

Say You're One of Them is a collection of short stories by Uwem Akpan. In the first story, "An Ex-mas Feast," a poverty-striken family living on the streets of Nairobi, Kenya struggle to overcome hunger. In "Fattening for Gabon," two siblings living in Benin with their uncle are suddenly blessed with a small fortune by their godparents. But things take a turn for the worse when they realize that they are thick in the middle of a plot to be sold into slavery. "What Language is That?" is about two friends who are torn apart by thier religious differences and must learn to cope in an Ethiopia where civil war is a rising threat. In the next story, "Luxurious Hearses," sixteen-year-old Jubril is a Muslim refugee who must flee from Northern Nigeria to the South because of a religious civil war which has begun to tear apart his country. To accomplish this he must attempt to conceal his identity as he embarks on a treacherous trip on a bus filled with Muslim hating Christians. The last story, "My Parents Bedroom," is about a family in Rwanda who risks everything they have to save the victims of a terrible civil war.

Say You're one of Them was one of the most difficult books I have ever read. The author did an incredible job of revealing the lives of children in Africa -- the unimaginable pain and suffering and how hope can prevail in even the very worst of situations. The way he used points of view was very unique and helped give a peek into each person's world. In "What Language is That?, he used second person. I had never read a story in that point of view before and it really made me feel like I was part of the story. I enjoyed the book, but each story had a sad ending and though they inspired me, I walked away feeling kind of depressed. It helped me to realize that even though life isn't perfect, I still have it a lot better than most people. I would reccomend this book only to mature teenagers and older because some of the parts are rather graphic.

Some strong language and mature subjects, such as rape. Also contained some gore.
Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Chambersburg, Pennsylvania USA

Prom Queen Geeks, by Laura Preble

The Queen Geek Social Club strikes again in Preble's third installment. This time, the club is tackling prom season, after having aptly noticed that prom is only attended by those popular kids who can afford the outrageous ticket cost. So of course, the perfect solution is to hold their own prom, a low-cost Geek Prom. Unfortunately, their independent thinking poses a threat to the popular clique, especially as the Geek Prom begins to show signs of success and is expanding. This simple enough idea turns Green Pines High into territory for war and all the drama that goes with it.
While I was a huge fan of Laura Preble's first Queen Geeks novel, I must say that I found it challenging to get into this one. Though equal in length to the first two installments, the story becomes repetitive early on and loses the reader's attention. Also, the extreme expansion of the prom by Shelby and crew seems unrealistic, as if they plan on taking over the universe rather than holding a simple high school dance. This being said, Shelby's voice is as entertaining as ever, leading the reader to share in the life of a geek, even when it means feeling downright uncomfortable. While the end of Prom Queen Geeks resolves the prom tension, the girl fights, and the boy drama, Preble leaves the Queen Geeks open to yet another installment. Hopefully the next time we encounter Shelby, Becca, and friends, their story will have returned to reality, with each character remaining as quirky as ever.

Reviewer Age:19

Reviewer City, State and Country: Farmington, CT USA

The Secret Life of Josephine: Napoleon's Bird of Paradise by Carolly Erickson

In the book The Secret Life of Josephine, Rose Tascher, a 15 year old girl growing up on the French island of Martinique, spends all her days going to balls and hanging out lazily on the beach. Then, her aunt sends her family a letter one day saying she must travel to France to marry her cold, heartless cousin, Alexandre. He drives her crazy with his mistresses and controlling attitude toward her, so she seeks a separation. Living her life single once more brings joy to her. When a short military man by the name of Napoleon sweeps her off her feet she cannot help but think of moving up the social ladder. With her social climb comes a promotion for Napoleon. He becomes power hungry and tries taking control of the rest of the world. But what can Rose do? Save her world or help the man she loves?

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was very entertaining and fun to read. At points, I couldn't put it down because I just had to know what happened next. Also, the scenes were described to where I felt like I was in the rooms dancing with the characters. I think that many others will enjoy this book. I thought Carolly Erickson did a really good job with this book and I feel that it will be the next Harry Potter or Twilight.

Sexual Content and Foul language

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Minooka, Ill United States

See How They Run by Susan E. Goodman & Elwood H. Smith

See How They Run is a nonfiction book about how today's United States government came to be. This book is especially interesting because of this year's presidential election. It explains the electoral and popular votes that came into play in the 2004 election. Al Gore got more popular votes but George Bush became president. Accompanied by hilarious pictures such as talking presidents on Mount Rushmore, and informative side bars like "What would Ben say?" you won't want to put this book down.

See How They Run was an incredible book! It was the perfect way to learn about confusing government processes. Susan E. Goodman's writing was the perfect mix of humor and information. Elwood H. Smith s hysterical pictures had me turning pages to see what the funny cartoon characters would say next! From lame ducks to dirty tricks, this book gets my vote!

Reviewer Age: 11

Reviewer City, State and Country: Harleysville, PA USA

Fashion 101

Have you ever wondered who invented the style of jeans you're wearing? Or who came up with the style of your favorite shirt? This book is a reference book and it gives you a complete look at clothing items in order from A to Z. There are over 200 different entries each containing the item, what to wear it with, what celebrities made it hot, and the designer of it. This book is meant for someone who wants to look up an accessory quickly and learn how to rock it! This book contains everything from shoes, pants, shorts, outerwear, underwear, dresses, and skirts to accessories. For someone looking to better their fashion knowledge this book is for them!
This book is one that I probably would not recommend unless you are someone who is totally into fashion. It had some interesting facts in it but it was nothing that I would want to go and purchase. It's not really something to sit down and read, but more something if you wanted to learn what to wear a black dress with and what accessories would match. This reference book had some nice pictures and a good easy layout to look up things, but I think it had too many side notes and paragraphs about the each item. Overall this book might be one to look in once or twice and that's about it.

Rating: 7
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Elephants and Golden Thrones by Trish Marx

Elephants and Golden Thrones is a series of fictional stories based on historic facts. It contains many stories about the emperors and empresses of China's Forbidden City. Each story has historical information at the end to help you understand its meaning. The stories have many details about their lifes. The photographs are amazing and colorful. Some of the stories are unbelievable.

The stories are amazing and educational. They are so incredible because they are based on real peoples' lives. My favorite story is about Empress Dowager Gixi in her private rooms. It is about an empress who ruled for forty years and then stepped down. It tells about her life after being empress. One of my favorite photographs is of The Temple of Heaven because the skies are blue and the temple is perfectly centered. It is good for kids and adults. You should definitely read this book.
Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leopold, Missouri United States

My Letters to the World by Emily Dickinson

My Letters To The World is a collection of seven of Emily Dickinson's short poems. The themes range from death to hope. The tone is quite serene and a bit morbid at times. Overall, the collection is well written and gives the reader a glimpse of how magnificent poetry once was and has the potential to be.
Like most Emily Dickinson poems, this collection is not a book one can just glance and glide through. One may even have to read it twice to truly understand the meaning behind her words. There is a lot of reading between the lines involved, and many of the stanzas may appear to be a bit ambiguous. Dickinson uses many phrases and words of Old English. Therefore, the reader may need to keep a dictionary at hand or to do a little research. Word of advice, read the poems slowly to really understand the meanings. Emily Dickinson's poetry is definitely thought provoking.
I would recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys reading the classics. Such as: Shakespeare, Jane Austen, T.S Eliot, Ralph Ellison, Ralph Emerson, and so forth.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Raleigh , NC United States

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

In this spellbinding return of our beloved Inkheart friends, we start off not long after the previous story ended. Even though Meggie and Moe escaped the Adderhead's grip in the last book by binding a book of immortality for him, the Adderhead is after them again. The book is starting to deteriorate, as is the Adderhead; overcome by fear of the White Women. He will stop at nothing to keep living, even if it means kidnapping children in order to reel Moe back into his trap. Meggie and her family are now fully immersed in the Inkworld and any hope of leaving is quickly disappearing. Will the story be saved, or will this made up world become one of it's own?


Wow! This was a completely ingenious ending to a fabulous series. Funke creates such a real world and makes me wish that it were really real to travel into books. The characters were well developed and felt very real and I felt like they were more like well-known friends instead of characters. Funke's kept the plot refreshing and new, keeping me riveted to the story and not bored in the least. I do suggest reading the preceding books in the series, as the author doesn't give a lot of background information and just dives into the story. This is a great book for all ages and I think everyone should take the time to read it. Whether you read it aloud, or read it until you cant read anymore, this story will truly mesmerize you and keep you wanting more. This is by far my favorite book in the series and I dearly wish it wasn't the last!


Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Currituck, NC Currituck