The Year We Disappeared: A Father-Daughter Memoir

Cylin Busby is a regular nine-year-old girl with a perfectly ordinary family. Her father, John, is a police officer working for the town of Falmouth, New Jersey. Her mother is a med student. Her two brothers are stuck in their middle school lives. While John was driving to work one day, someone leveled an untraceable shotgun at his window, which leaves his lower jaw dangling off of his face, and provides a horrific foretaste of the Busbys' life thereafter. As John suffers with not being able to eat or talk, the rest of the family is put under twenty-four-hour surveillance, because they fear the shooter, a convicted arsonist, will come for the family too. Find out what becomes of the Busby family in The Year We Disappeared: A Father-Daughter Memoir, by John and Cylin Busby.

The Year We Disappeared is an intriguingly tense memoir. I find it very appealing because you get both sides of the true story from the father's and the daughter's perspective. This book shows how injustice can change peoples' lives; how you may live a normal life one second and the next second that life can be turned upside down! This is definitely one of the most captivating books I have ever read. Page turning and intense, John and Cylin keep you asking for more. I expect that The Year We Disappeared will be a popular read for young adults and adults alike.

Lots of bad language, violent scenes, and frightening situations.

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Osseo, Wisconsin United States

The Snake Prince of Montreal by Aliana K. Deveza

Agatha and Lucille are best friends. Lester and Prince Aaron are best friends. Lester likes Lucille who likes Aaron who likes Agatha who likes Aaron. Aaron and Agatha marry, making Lucille angry. So she runs off to her aunt (a black witch) and learns dark magic to plan revenge on Agatha. On the day of Aaron and Agatha's wedding, Lucille shows up out of nowhere and curses their unborn son. Every full moon, he will turn into a snake! Will he ever break the curse?

This book felt like a Dick and Jane book; the sentences were very choppy and didn't flow well. That was before I read the About the Author section. Turns out it is very good for her age - she is only 11! It had a very good storyline but I think the author could have given more detail. It was a cliffhanger ending, so I am going to have to locate the second book!

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Gearhart, Oregon United States

Rating: 5

Content Rating: 1

The Flame and the Shadow by Denise Rossetti

Cenda has just gone through a horrible experience losing her baby daughter. But out of the tragedy, she gained an invaluable power - the ability to call and control fire. Even though Cenda wants nothing to do with it, she must quickly find a way to manage the power before it ruins her. What she doesn't know is that there are hunters out looking for her, including Grayson, the Duke of Ombra.

Gray has his own agenda. As the Sorcerer of shadows, for as long as he can remember, he's been stuck with Shad. Gray believes that Shad is the darkness within himself, so he's on a mission to rid himself of Shad, even if he has to destroy people he loves.


As Cenda slowly starts to fall in love with Gray. But then she discovers that he's about to betray her and she must do something to save herself before it's too late.

This book has an interesting premise. I like reading fantasy books once in a while and this one fit the bill. But this wasn't the best novel that I've read in that genre. It seemed that the story focused more on the sex rather than on the plot. Personally it was a slow read. I would recommend this to a very select audience, and especially older readers.

This is definately for older readers because there is sex and language in the novel.

Reviewer Age:21

Reviewer City, State and Country: Philadelphia, PA USA

The Twilight Companion by Lois H. Gresh

If you're a big fan of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, then this is the book for you! Just released to coincide with the movie, this guide gives behind the scenes information about the novels and their characters. Also included in this book are spotlights on the history and myths of vampires, werewolves, and much more. This Twilight Companion provides insights on almost everything regarding the Twilight books. By the end of this book, the reader should be very knowledgeable about Twilight and vampires.

While this book was entertaining at some parts, overall it wasn't my favorite read. This book initially caught my eye because I loved the Twilight books. I really liked the history parts of the book, especially the parts on vampires. The author did quite a bit of research to get the facts. But I didn't really like her sarcastic writing style and the numerous quizzes didn't really grab my interest. But I would highly recommend this guide to any Stephenie Meyer fans.

Reviewer Age:21

Reviewer City, State and Country: Philadelphia, PA USA

Willow by Julia Hoban

The story of Willow, a teenage cutter who's addiction to the razor stems from the night her drunken parents were killed in a car wreck. The twist is Willow was the one driving the car that rainy night when she lost control of the wheel. Now it is hard for her to face the world without feeling like a murderer. The only glimmer of hope in her life is Guy, the love interest who is unwilling pulled into the drama of Willow's life.

A typical young adult novel. True it is the common "teen issues" that draw readers into these kinds of stories, but it can be said reading about these issues over and over again tend to make the genre a bit stale. Credit can be given to the author for trying to add a new twist to the tale yet it still can be put into the category of "just one of those teen books." There were some problems with pacing. For instance at times you don't realize a conversation takes place in two settings and by the time this is noticed you can not pin point the place were the transition occurred. The love interest was stereotypical for a teen novel, always popping up in the right places and being undeniably perfect. But again it is the "perfect relationship" image that young girls fawn over. The novel did end on a good note though. And although some people may view it as unrealistic, or soap opera like, or wonderfully sweet or perfect, you at least could put the book down without waiting for the sequel to find out if Willow's addiction was truly dealt with.

Since this book is about a cutter, some images described may not set right with young, or perhaps even mature readers, if they're sensitive to blood. Some inappropriate language and at one point Willow and her love interest Guy decide to have sex. Not much detail is mentioned, but still, it may not be appropriate for young readers.

Reviewer Age: 15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Holly Springs, North Carolina United States of America

Shadows in the Twilight by Henning Mankell

Shadows in the Twilight by Henning Mankell is about Joel, a twelve year old boy who experiences a miracle. A bus runs right over him. Unbelievably, it does not crush him. Luckily, Joel ended up directly between the tires and does not even get a scratch on him. Once Joel realizes what a miracle he experienced, he believes that he must do a good deed for the world in return.

I personally did not care for this book. It was extremely random and the thoughts were erratic. One example is Joel contemplates whether or not he should have been born a girl instead of a boy. The book was very odd. Another strange thing that happened in the story is that Joel goes into his mother's closet and tries one of her dresses on. I would not recommend this book, I found it boring and weird.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Lemoore, CA US

The Clone Elite by Steven L. Kent

This novel is action, adventure, science fiction, and has a military focus. This story is set in the years 2154 and 2155. Humanity had controlled the Milky Way Galaxy, but an alien force has quickly began conquering every planet inhabited by humanity for their own colonization. The two remaining human worlds, Earth and New Copenhagen, have lost contact with the conquered worlds and have received messages from the aliens saying that both of the remaining worlds will soon be invaded. Humanity decided to protect Earth by sending all their troops to New Copenhagen, which will be attacked first. All foot soldiers in the military are clones but these clones do not know they are clones. To recruit soldiers, all clones are forced into the military by the Elite Conscription Act, including Wayson Harris. Harris is a special type of extremely violent clone called a Liberator, and he knows he is a clone. He also quit the army before because clones were used as bait and left to die. However, time is running out for all of humanity, and Harris must find a way to lead his clone troops to victory.

I believe that this is a superb novel. The futuristic setting keeps readers occupied with a unique type of alien and clone military. The book was never slow because there was always action, battles, arguments within the army, and new discoveries about the alien adversary. It is the fourth in a series, but I had not read the previous books and still understood the plot. I may now go back and read the earlier books, however. I have always loved science fiction and action novels and would recommend this book primarily to people who enjoy the same. The novel is not very deep, and there is not much character development by the main character. The emphasis is on adventure.
This book contains cursing, implied sexual activity, and lots of death and violence.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Royersford, PA United States

The Ghosts of Kerfol by Deborah Noyes

The Ghosts of Kerfol was originally a ghost story told by Edith Wharton that was later turned into a novel by Deborah Noyes. Noyes takes Wharton's original story and uses the basic plot of it - a young Frenchwoman titled Anne de Barrigan is convicted of murdering her jealous husband and lord over the Kerfol manor, Yves de Cornault - expanding it into six intertwining tales that all link to the murder at Kerfol over different time periods.
The setting is the Kerfol manor which is the stereotypical haunted house. The author, Noyes, tends to use too much description in places and not enough in others. There are many different characters, considering the book is six intertwining tales, making it difficult to relate to any specific character. The author's voice is that of the main character in their particular story, which helped the focus some - although the stories strayed in many directions. The writing style mimics the era the author is trying to convey. At times it does spike an interest in the story, although overall it lacks clarity.


Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Holly Springs, North Carolina United States of America

Imaginary Friends by John Marco & Martin H. Greenberg

Everyone has had an imaginary friend. It may have been someone your age, a dog, or some memory left over from a tragic incident. All of them have either helped you or hurt you in their own way. This is a compilation of thirteen original stories about people and their beloved, and their not-so-beloved, imaginary friends. From a dragon and his imaginary human to a toy mountie coming to life to help save a woman's imagination, these imaginary friends bring chaos into the lives of their creators.

This book was an amazing collection of thirteen stories written by thirteen amazing authors. They made me smile and laugh, and they also made me cry. Some of the stories were confusing and didn't have a very clear plot line. They were muddled and made no sense. Others were clear and exciting, making me want more once the story was finished. A few were centered around psychological problems that kind of made for a scary read. All together, the stories made for very good reads.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Shippensburg, Pennsylvania USA

Eon by Alison Goodman

Eon wishes he could be a normal boy. He is a cripple that
has nowhere else to turn except to his master's house. He
must work hard and be chosen by the Rat dragon to become a
dragoneye, one who controls the dragon's power. Out of the
twelve apprentices, he is the worst. No one knows how a
dragon picks so his luck is as good as anyone else's.
There's another problem. Eon isn't a boy; he is actually a
girl named Eona. If anyone were to find out this deep
secret, Eona and her master would die. Follow her path.
Either, she will be defeated with her master or fool a
whole empire. Only you will find out.

I love this book!
This book is a fantasy reader's dream with twists and
turns that will keep you guessing till the end, plus magic
and fights that will put you in the scene. It is a book
that will tempt you to keep reading till it's finished.
You will be rooting for Eona the whole time. GIRL POWER!
Recommended to the hard core fantasy readers and also
anyone looking for a good read. I have high expectations
for the second book in the series.

Reviewer
Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Eaton's neck,
New York United States