The former Rider Wen has a decisively shady past. When she fails to protect her king, the ruler of the kingdom of Gillengaria, she is weighed down by guilt of her supposed failure. She flees the royal city and decides to punish herself by simply wandering around and helping those in need. Then, an unexpected event occurs. She rescues a girl named Karryn, who'd been abducted by a not-so-charming suitor. Karryn happens to be the daughter of one of the men that rose against the king, the king that Wen failed to protect. Eventually, after much frustration and confusion, Wen comes to work for Karryn and her uncle as a guard. She comes to terms with herself, a person that she'd started to hate.
This book is part of a series, one that I didn't read. It's all right to read it on its own, but might be a little less confusing to read if one had read the previous books. It was fairly well written, and the plot was pretty interesting. This was not a spectacular book, but it was a worthwhile read. The characters seemed believable, as if they were actual people. The ending was good, but a little bit predictable. I liked this book a lot. It wasn't boring, but neither was it as terribly gripping as Stephenie Meyer's books. Anyone younger than around 13 would not find this book to be that exciting.I would definitely recommend this book to anyone seeking a well-written book with elements of fantasy, action, a love story, and humor.
rating 8
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Charleston, SC USA
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Seaborn by Craig Moodie
Life has gotten tough for Luke. His parents recently got divorced for some unknown reason, and his girlfriend is no longer talking to him. To top it all off his dad decides to take the two of them on sailing trip, pretending as though everything is completely normal. As if putting up with his aggravating father wasn't enough, they soon get caught in the middle of a huge storm. When his father is swept overboard, Luke is left to fend for himself on a mangled sailboat. He learns how much his father truly means to him, as he goes on a quest to find his father and himself.
This was a pretty solid book, with a good story line. Although the beginning was somewhat dull, the climax was suspenseful and captivating. The story addressed real life issues that many people can relate to. I really could understand Luke's confusion in his situation and the emotions were raw and well written. This is a good book for anyone who likes a emotional and exciting read.
Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Richmond, Virginia USA
This was a pretty solid book, with a good story line. Although the beginning was somewhat dull, the climax was suspenseful and captivating. The story addressed real life issues that many people can relate to. I really could understand Luke's confusion in his situation and the emotions were raw and well written. This is a good book for anyone who likes a emotional and exciting read.
Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Richmond, Virginia USA
Paper Towns by John Green
Margo had always been the mysterious girl next door whom Quentin has loved from a distance. But when Margo shows up outside Quentin's window one night he follows her and her crazy plan of retribution. The next day Quentin is excited to see how their relationship has changed, but she doesn't show up to school. Again, like many times before, Margo has gone missing. Quentin discovers she has left clues for him, possibly leading to her location. However, the only way he will find her is if he learns to see her as the girl she is, rather than the girl he thought she was.
Paper Towns is separated into three different parts, and each one has its specific purpose. I liked this layout because the three sections remained individual and unique parts. The first division set up the story. The next part had less action and was boring at parts. The last section was full of action and suspense because the plot gets extremely intense. There was humor all throughout the book that made each page an absolute joy to read. The vocabulary was perfect for the mature young adult reader, but younger children would find it inappropriate. One other compliment to the book was that there were themes and dialogue within it that made me think about life and how humans take in everything. I recommend this book to anyone wishing to read a humorous book about life.
This book contains crude humor and language.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Abominable Snowman by R.A. Montgomery
The Abominable Snowman is pretty much what the title says it is. The book is a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book and would be part of the mystery/adventure genre. The mystery? Your friend Carlos recently disappeared in the Himalayas while searching for the Yeti, a.k.a. the Abominable Snowman. You set off on a quest to find him.
Choose Your Own Adventure: The Abominable Snowman was an enjoyable read, although it was a little strange and degrading to the Yeti at some parts. As a newbie to the Choose Your Own Adventure series, I found it a little annoying that the book displayed different characteristics of the Yeti in almost every ending. One ending, for example, had the Yeti as a bit of a psychopath! Another example makes the Yeti harmless. Another thing that's a put-down to the Yeti is one ending in which the Yeti is a tribe from the planet Borodoz and you're the prince of a tribe of superior beings from Atlantis. If that's not humiliating enough, there's an ending on the very next page where people can change from a Yeti to a UNICORN! There's the ultimate put-down for the Yeti. However, the book managed to get most of their Yeti facts straight, which is something you usually don't see in fictional cryptid books.
Overall, The Abominable Snowman is a good campfire read or a under-your-covers-with-a-flashlight book (unless you don't like it when cryptids are compared to Atlantis or unicorns or shape shifters).
Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Denton, Texas United States
Choose Your Own Adventure: The Abominable Snowman was an enjoyable read, although it was a little strange and degrading to the Yeti at some parts. As a newbie to the Choose Your Own Adventure series, I found it a little annoying that the book displayed different characteristics of the Yeti in almost every ending. One ending, for example, had the Yeti as a bit of a psychopath! Another example makes the Yeti harmless. Another thing that's a put-down to the Yeti is one ending in which the Yeti is a tribe from the planet Borodoz and you're the prince of a tribe of superior beings from Atlantis. If that's not humiliating enough, there's an ending on the very next page where people can change from a Yeti to a UNICORN! There's the ultimate put-down for the Yeti. However, the book managed to get most of their Yeti facts straight, which is something you usually don't see in fictional cryptid books.
Overall, The Abominable Snowman is a good campfire read or a under-your-covers-with-a-flashlight book (unless you don't like it when cryptids are compared to Atlantis or unicorns or shape shifters).
Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Denton, Texas United States
Devil May Ride by Wendy Roberts
Meet Sadie: a clairvoyant who can talk to murdered people and, ironically, has the job of cleaning up a crime scene after someone dies. When cleaning up a scene involving a young mother who went through a violent C-section and the woman's dead biker boyfriend, Sadie accidentally interrupts a satanic cult ritual involving a goat and a baby and discovers thousands of dollars that belong to the biker gang. Now Sadie is on the run from the devil himself and the biker gang who thinks that she stole their money.
The book also throws a personal twist into the mix. Sadie's brother killed himself six years previously and his ex-fiancee is somehow connected to the cult. Now Sadie has to find out what happened to cause her brother's death and ultimately finds the reason why she has her powers. As if she didn't have enough to handle, Sadie is falling for her partner Zack who happens to be sleeping with another co-worker. How much can Sadie handle before she cracks?
I absolutely loved this book! The mix of supernatural phenomenon and mystery with a slight dash of romance makes for an exiting story. The book incorporates themes from both CSI: and Ghost Whisperer, yet the book has absolutely nothing to do with characters from the shows. I loved the way Ms. Roberts developed the characters. If you are interested in forensic science or the supernatural, I would highly suggest this book!
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Pottstown, PA United States
The book also throws a personal twist into the mix. Sadie's brother killed himself six years previously and his ex-fiancee is somehow connected to the cult. Now Sadie has to find out what happened to cause her brother's death and ultimately finds the reason why she has her powers. As if she didn't have enough to handle, Sadie is falling for her partner Zack who happens to be sleeping with another co-worker. How much can Sadie handle before she cracks?
I absolutely loved this book! The mix of supernatural phenomenon and mystery with a slight dash of romance makes for an exiting story. The book incorporates themes from both CSI: and Ghost Whisperer, yet the book has absolutely nothing to do with characters from the shows. I loved the way Ms. Roberts developed the characters. If you are interested in forensic science or the supernatural, I would highly suggest this book!
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Pottstown, PA United States
Been There, Survived That
"Been There, Survived That" is a book about surviving the dreaded freshman year of high school. It is written by four teenagers (one of them being a freshman while the book was being written) and edited by Karen Macklin. The book is broken up into three sections: Social Advice, Academic Advice, and Practical Advice. Each section contains smaller sections of advice that are two pages long, with one page giving the advice and a second page giving a chart of some sort that relates to the subject. The book also contains a "flipbook", which is a small sketch in the bottom corner of the book that shows a guy writing "Been There, Survived That" on a piece of paper.
I felt that the book lacked practical advice, despite having a whole section called that. I also felt slightly disturbed because there were several pieces of advice that are highly controversial, such as "Learning How to Fake It". It says that, "in order to make it through high school alive", you have to occasionally tell a lie. I believe that you can still make it through high school without telling lies about who you are. To put it in a book and encouraging people to do this is, in my opinion, completely unacceptable. Another section tells kids how to fake sick, which I also do not agree with. This book is useless with its advice, and I would definitely not recommend this.
Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Westerville, Ohio USA
The Oak Hotel by Walter G. Klimczak
Kayleigh's parents need to sell her grandparent's old house by Christmas. Her mom gives her permission to bring her best friend, Lincoln, to look around the house and keep anything they find. When they get to the house they find a book that has a screen in the front cover.
The book takes them to an unknown world called Burnam, where they meet
several people and learn that the trees can transport people from one place
to another. Then they meet Kayleigh's grandfather, who's king in that
world, and finds out she's a princess. They go on and have many more adventures together.
I thought the book was good but it seemed a bit too young for me. I would recommend it to student in grades 4-6 who like science fiction. It is not very difficult to read and not very long.
Reviewer age: 14
Leopold, MO USA
The book takes them to an unknown world called Burnam, where they meet
several people and learn that the trees can transport people from one place
to another. Then they meet Kayleigh's grandfather, who's king in that
world, and finds out she's a princess. They go on and have many more adventures together.
I thought the book was good but it seemed a bit too young for me. I would recommend it to student in grades 4-6 who like science fiction. It is not very difficult to read and not very long.
Reviewer age: 14
Leopold, MO USA
The Ghosts of Lone Jack by Lance Lee Noel
Jared Millhouse is spending the summer in Lone Jack,
Missouri when he encounters the ghost of a long-dead
innkeeper in the woods behind right field. Soon other
ghosts and groups of ghosts begin to make their presence
felt. First comes the innkeeper. Next, a gang of ball-and-
chain wielding slaves appear. Hot on their heels are two-
headed Indian ghosts. And then, there are the soldiers,
reliving the battle of Lone Jack, exactly as it happened in
1862. They all demand "the key". Now, it's up to Jared, his
friends, and two whacky ghost hunters to find this key and
save Lone Jack - from itself. This book is based on a real
Civil War battle so it's mostly adventure, but also part
mystery.
Missouri when he encounters the ghost of a long-dead
innkeeper in the woods behind right field. Soon other
ghosts and groups of ghosts begin to make their presence
felt. First comes the innkeeper. Next, a gang of ball-and-
chain wielding slaves appear. Hot on their heels are two-
headed Indian ghosts. And then, there are the soldiers,
reliving the battle of Lone Jack, exactly as it happened in
1862. They all demand "the key". Now, it's up to Jared, his
friends, and two whacky ghost hunters to find this key and
save Lone Jack - from itself. This book is based on a real
Civil War battle so it's mostly adventure, but also part
mystery.
The author achieved his purpose, which was to
write an entertaining book in a way that was both effective
and easy to understand. Although there is a large amount of
detail (which you sometimes need to understand the story-
line)in some places it is a bit too much. My overall
response to the book was one of complete fascination. I
would not recommend taking it to school to read. Once you
start, you can't stop! It's addictive. The characters feel
like your friends and neighbors, the action feels like its
taking place all around you. I liked the ending but it left
me wondering what happened to Jared and Lone Jack - it
cries out for a sequel.(Lance Lee Noel, if you're reading
this, write one!) You don't have to know much about the
Civil War to understand and enjoy this book. I recommend it
to anyone wanting to read an exciting, true life adventure
story.
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and
Country: Lusby, Maryland USA
Monday, November 17, 2008
Mao-Chan
Mao Onigawara, Misora Tsukishima, and Sylvia Maruyama are three grade school students who are also members of the Defense Corps of Japan. Mao specializes in ground defense, Misora in air defense, and Sylvia takes part in the naval defense. Dangerous aliens have been invading Japan, and it is up to the girls to stop them. However, the aliens are very cute and deceiving. Their separate grandfathers want their own granddaughter to get the glory from working alone, and this prevents the girls from working together. If they cannot find a way to combine their defenses then the aliens will not be put to a stop.
Mao-Chan is, as the description suggests, a very cute manga. The three girls have wonderful personalities that tie into the book very well. Also, the aliens themselves were distinct in appearance and characteristics. The drawings were very excellent; I found myself looking at them for a while before continuing to read. One minor feature that I did not like was that the book would probably entertain a younger audience more than an older one. This is because the characters are younger themselves, so they appeal to readers of the same age. The overall storyline was amusing, but it was not a page turner. I recommend Mao-Chan to readers who like a wide variety of manga.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America
Mao-Chan is, as the description suggests, a very cute manga. The three girls have wonderful personalities that tie into the book very well. Also, the aliens themselves were distinct in appearance and characteristics. The drawings were very excellent; I found myself looking at them for a while before continuing to read. One minor feature that I did not like was that the book would probably entertain a younger audience more than an older one. This is because the characters are younger themselves, so they appeal to readers of the same age. The overall storyline was amusing, but it was not a page turner. I recommend Mao-Chan to readers who like a wide variety of manga.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America
Runner
Flamingnet Student Book Reviewer VBer
This book was about Jane Whitefield, who helps people run away from their old lives so that they can survive in a new one. Jane takes the person and gives them a new identity far away from their old friends and family so that they will never be seen again. For several years she has not done this, because she has made a new life for herself, one where she doesnt have to worry about being killed every second of her life. Enter Christine, a timid secretary who has landed herself in a lot of trouble with her ex-boyfriend. Only Jane can save her but it will mean that she has to give up that whole not getting killed idea for a while. As the details of Christines life are revealed things that were just dangerous before become perilous adventures. Will everyone come out alive??? Find out in Runner.
This was an excellent thriller that I could not put down. The author was dealing with some pretty weird circumstances in the book but I believe that he handled that and the crazy plot very well. I was lost a little bit in the beginning, but I figured it out by the end. The only bad thing about the book was that I thought the sexuality was over the top at some points, but that did not really take away from the story, it was just an annoyance.
The only caution I have for readers is the aforementioned sexuality and extreme violence. You should be at least 12 or 13 to read this book.
Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Exeter, NH, USA
This book was about Jane Whitefield, who helps people run away from their old lives so that they can survive in a new one. Jane takes the person and gives them a new identity far away from their old friends and family so that they will never be seen again. For several years she has not done this, because she has made a new life for herself, one where she doesnt have to worry about being killed every second of her life. Enter Christine, a timid secretary who has landed herself in a lot of trouble with her ex-boyfriend. Only Jane can save her but it will mean that she has to give up that whole not getting killed idea for a while. As the details of Christines life are revealed things that were just dangerous before become perilous adventures. Will everyone come out alive??? Find out in Runner.
This was an excellent thriller that I could not put down. The author was dealing with some pretty weird circumstances in the book but I believe that he handled that and the crazy plot very well. I was lost a little bit in the beginning, but I figured it out by the end. The only bad thing about the book was that I thought the sexuality was over the top at some points, but that did not really take away from the story, it was just an annoyance.
The only caution I have for readers is the aforementioned sexuality and extreme violence. You should be at least 12 or 13 to read this book.
Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Exeter, NH, USA
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