FLYGIRL by Sherri L. Smith

This book, FLYGIRL by Sherri L. Smith, is about an African-American girl a couple years out of high school in Louisiana in the 1940's, who has a passion for flying. After learning how to fly from her late father, she is intent on getting her pilot's license. To do that she works to save up enough money to go to the flying school in Chicago run by African-Americans where her father learned to fly. Then Pearl Harbor is bombed, and she feels that she has a duty to serve her country. When her brother finds an article about the WASP, the Women Airforce Service Pilots, she hopes to pass for a white woman so she will be accepted into the WASP and be able to live her dream to fly.

This is certainly one of the better books I've read. The mood changes constantly throughout the book ranging from joyful to sad to frightful. It is a very powerful and quite moving book that filled me with many emotions, and the way the author told the story made you seem attached to Ida throughout her thrilling journey. This book keeps you on edge and has surprises around every corner to catch you unprepared, although I wish the author had tied up the loose ends at the end of the book to leave you with a better sense of closure. Telling more about what happened after the story leaves off would have greatly improved this book, in my opinion; though I do recommend FLYGIRL to anyone who is looking for a good book to read and who would like to learn a little bit at the same time.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Yuma, Arizona United States

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I think this is one of the best books I have ever read. This story is so powerful that sometimes I laughed, and sometimes I cried, but I simply could not stop turning the page. If you had the choice to live or die, what choice would you make? I started asking myself this as I read If I Stay, by Gayle Forman. This book is about a High School girl named Mia who finds she must make that choice. The story is descriptive and I became submerged in the tale as if I were watching everything happen myself. A fun family snow day turns into a tragic winter car accident in Oregon that takes the lives of her family and leaves Mia in coma. She is outside of her body in this odd state, and soon finds out that it is her choice if she lives or dies. Mia can't be seen, but is somehow aware of what is going on around her and she can move freely through the real world. Mia witnesses the struggle of the people left in her life as they show their true feelings to her while she lies in her hospital bed fighting for her life. You also experience all the twists and turns of the flood of life memories being revisited by Mia and back to the present as she considers her choice. Although, this can be a bit confusing, it allows you understand in depth about Mia, her family and her life. What choice will she make? Will she stay, or will she give up and let go? Read the book to find out; I highly recommend it.

The book If I Stay, by Gayle Forman, makes you think and see that there is more to your every day life than you realize. The writing was very descriptive and was age appropriate for me. I liked how the book made me feel like I was in the story but struggled a bit with the change from life memories to present settings. I could relate to Mia's characture who played the Cello, as I play the Oboe and also enjoy music that is not always considered cool. I learned, like Mia, that there is more love in the world for me than just at home and how we probably don't think about the little things and how much people mean to us until they might be gone. I will definately recommend this book to my friends!

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Mishawaka, IN USA

We Think Therefore We Are by Peter Crowther

Peter Crowther's "We Think, Therefore We Are" is compiled
with several short stories about the trepidation of
artificial intelligence. As there are many different
authors with their own points-of-view, there are many
emotions that this book evokes. From the demented machine
that thinks on the same level as a schizophrenic, to the
fastidious robot that would kill people if it would
increase production / efficiency, this book has it all.
Even religion and love are conquered, as artificial
intelligences vainly try to find God or have compassion
for others. In many of the stories, the machines try to
be more like humans and do not comprehend why they can
never be. Sure, holograms and metal can make machines
appear human, but true human emotions are never felt by
robots. That is why the fear of robots killing humans
without any tinge of remorse is so frighteningly
plausible.

The short stories in Peter Crowther's "We
Think, Therefore We Are" are definitely geared towards a
certain audience--those with a scientific background. The
impact of the book can not truly be felt by one who does
not know of how science is dashing forward. After all, to
those not immersed in science culture, the stories in the
book are just for leisure; they are not something that
will creep up on them possibly within the next couple of
decades. Overall, the book was engaging. The only flaw
was the occasional lewd sentence or interjected
obscenity. On the whole, the book is very enjoyable and
leaves readers sweating with fear if they know a thing or
two about technological development.

There are some
swear words in it.

Reviewer Age:17

Reviewer City,
State and Country: Staten Island, NY USA

Fortune and Fate

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

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

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

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

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

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