The Return of the Light

The Return of Light is a great book. Treewing is tree that became a Christmas tree a year early. The Christmas deer said he had a special destiny. When they came for the trees, Treewing was taken. When he got to the lot,he was disappointed because he had been told wonderful stories about becoming a Christmas tree. This was not like the stories at all. Soon he realized he had to be sold to someone first to be able to be part of the wonderful Christmas Stories about becoming a Christmas tree. He waited and waited. He wasn't sold. A young boy named Luke had stopped by every day to see him. He had put an ornaments on Treewing that he had made at school because he didn't have a tree of his own to put it on. A woman named Peacock saw the tree with the ornaments and thought it was a sign that this tree was special. Of course, Lolly, the woman who owned the lot would take the ornaments off. On Christmas Eve, Lolly left the lot to go to the store. While she was gone, Peacock came by with a group of friends and started to decorate Treewing. When Lolly came back she was not very happy with what she saw. Treewing was all decorated for Christmas. Luke persuaded Lolly to join in the decorating fun by giving her a special baseball that his father had given to him. Treewing now knew that this was the special destiny the deer had been talking about. Treewing soon started to light up with a bright glow that everyone was amazed to see. He had brought the return of the light.

The Return of the Light is an awesome book. It has good details. I felt like I could see everything that was happening. It is not sad or scary. It is a very happy book. It is not an action/adventure type of book but it has a great story. It is a book full of surprises. I wish everyone would read it.


Age:12
Leopold, Missouri USA

The Comet's Curse by Dom Testa

Space travel? Enemy aboard ship? The human race depending on you? These are only a few of the problems Triana Marshall faces as she pulls away from earth with 250 other teenagers- none over the age of 16- in her command. Their mission is to save Earth from the quickly spreading disease that the comet Bhaktul is causing, the result of which is death. Will the young adults succeed? Or will human life cease to exist as we know it?

I've never been a huge fan of science fiction, but this book has forever changed my opinion. It was filled with a constant eerie mystery and a little hint of romance. What I liked most about this book is the description of character. It was like I had met each person in the book personally. Dom Testa did a wonderful job creating the sense of suspense, and character. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick entertaining, suspense filled read.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Seaside, OR USA

The Haunting of Anne MacKay

The Haunting of Annie MacKay is more of a mystery than a scary story. It's about a young middle school girl named Annie MacKay. She and her parents are starving artists and they move a lot. Then the news comes that Annie inherits a house and the family moves into it. Annie begins to learn of the mystery of a girl named Annie MacKay (she's been named after this other girl.) The Annie from the past suffered a traumatic death and the Annie of today has to figure out how the other Annie died.

I enjoyed this book very much. It's very easy to read and it's a page turner. I couldn't put it down. I like mystery books and this one was great. The book demonstrates friendship, love and determination. I love the relationship Annie had with her parents. They told each other the truth no matter how ridiculous it may have seemed.

Reviewer Age:18
Reviewer City, State and Country: Newville, Pennsylvania Untied States

Beginner's Guide to Animation by Mary Murphy

Do you want to learn about animation? The Beginner's Guide to Animation has everything you need to know to start making animated features. Animation is basically the manner in how movement occurs; you have to move, modify, or replace an object, and then record a frame. By doing this many times you will create a visual appearance of the item moving. The first section contains a plethora of information on tools and all the technology you need to start. Part two explains how to use sand, pixilation, 2D animation, and more in creating a short film. Then the process explanation is completed, and you learn how to put the frames into a show reel and then turn it into a film.

This is a very helpful book on how to start animating and contains all of the information needed for beginners. I knew absolutely nothing about animation before reading this, and that proved not to matter. The different techniques and processes are explained well so that the reader knows exactly how to do them. I liked the diagrams and pictures that were used. If they were not there, then the information would be difficult to understand and comprehend. Now I can start to animate by using clay and all of the other materials the book suggests. I recommend this book to any person who wants to make films or animate.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Rating: 6

Content Rating: 1

Into the Wildwood by Gillian Summer

Next stop: the Wildewood Renaissance Faire. After destroying the evil Red Cap at the High Mountain Renaissance Festival, Keelie Heartwood and her dad head to the next faire for the hot summer months. Little does Keelie know, but she's in for a troublesome surprise. Keelie already has enough to worry about, such as why her boyfriend, Sean, hasn't gotten in touch with her, how's she's going to pay for the designer boots she bought, and the snotty elf-girl Elia that always finds a way to ruin her life, and then out of nowhere comes a unicorn that is good at enchanting her and becoming the center of attention in all of her thoughts. All of the elves, including her father, are seriously ill. Also, there is something seriously wrong with the trees; they are incessantly calling for her help and sending her negative green energy. Her father says that the unicorn is the ruler of the forest and his health is the trees' health. After coming into contact with the unicorn again, Keelie notices how quickly his health is ailing and realizes that she doesn't have much time if she's going to rescue the faire from its certain death and save the unicorn, the trees, and most importantly, her father. Will she be able to summon all of her courage and energy and save everything that she holds dear to her before it's too late?

I really enjoyed reading this wonderful sequel to the Tree Shepherd's Daughter, and I think that it was a really great novel. Gillian Summers is an amazing author and is great at holding the reader's attention. I really liked Into the Wildewood, but I was kind of disappointed at Sean's rare presence in this novel because he is one of my favorite elements and characters in this action-packed trilogy. The vocabulary was easy to understand and there were many new and exciting characters, which kept the story intriguing. I can't wait for the last book in this wonderful trilogy, The Faire Folk trilogy by Gillian Summers, and I recommend this wonderful book to teens, ages 12-16.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Upper Strasburg, Pennsylvania United States

Balancing Act by Donna King

Carli Carroll is your not-so-average gymnast. After all, being a genius on the mat means special training and possibly Olympic fame! But with Carli's not-so-genius report card and a life on the ranch, who has time for gymnastic glory? After knowing that she needs to contribute more time to her gymnastics life, Carli takes Saturday practices and works extra hard. When one old-time gold medalist turned gymnastic coach, Rick, wants to teach Carli the way to be a gymnastic star, she is afraid to ask her parents. But when Rick gets arrested for a reason no one can seem to understand, how can Carli chase her dreams when her life seems so unbalanced? Can she really go all the way, when one fall costs you your career?

The book was okay, but an easy read. At the end it went from angry to all of a sudden, her parents were accepting. They had been so against the gymnastics that, you thought that they would say no. It was really a dynamic character problem.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Oakville, Pennsylvania US of A

Alicia Afterimage by Lulu Delacre

Alicia Delacre was a normal, pretty, popular teenager. Her peers, teachers and parents adored her and she lived an untroubled life. All this was brought to a halt with one fatal car wreck. Alicia Afterimage is a collection of memoirs about Alicia. These memoirs come from her friends and family, the people who knew her best. These treasured memories are wound so perfectly together that they evoke emotion from readers with ease.

Alicia Afterimage is an emotional read. These memories of a loved one changed my own opinion on how to live my life. This was a relatively easy read; though the writing was not always perfect, the content was profound. Lulu Delacre also shares an intimate perspective considering that Alicia was her daughter and she integrates her own feelings. This book is an impressive must-read because of its thought-provoking themes. I would recommend this to anyone who is a mature reader, boys and girls alike.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Midlothian, Virginia United States of America

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