Faust

Faust is a book about the japenese culture of manga-ka. There are ten stories in this book. They are all different examples of how manga is different from english writing styles. Some are about being different and not following the crowd, and how it may affect a person's abilities later in life. Others tell about what can drive a person to suicide; and how one girl can save many others. This book includes stories by: Clamp, Takeshi Obata, Ueda Hajime, NISIOISIN, Yun Kouga, Take, and Kouhei Kadono. There is also an interview between Kinoku Nasu and the writers of the book, mostly asking questions to Nasu about his book The Garden of Sinners. If you thought this was a manga book, this is not the book for you.

To me Faust was a totally different from what I expected because I thought this was a manga book. For me it was hard reading a book that is about manga, and having parts of the books in it that I may have already read without the pictures. So of course like a normal book I had to picture everything that was happening. Also it was a little difficult to follow because all the different stories made it hard to keep up. Other than that I totally loved this book. I was fascinated with all the different styles of manga-ka.

because it has sexual content

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Casa Grande, Arizona United states

The Golden Tower by Fiona Patton

This book is about two boys named Spar and Graize. They both live in completely different worlds. They both have a demon/god. He is both children's demon and god. Graize wants to burn down Spar's city so he enlists the help of a different tribe. I thought I would really like this book, but I found it confusing.

You should not read this book until you have read the first one. It doesn't seem to make much sense by itself. Maybe I should have read the first book so I could understand what was going on in the story. The character names and cities seem to be difficult to say and remember. I don't really feel it's fair to say it's not a good book, maybe if I would have read the first one it would make more sense.
Age 12
Leopold, Missouri USA

Sandlot Summit by Fishman

Sandlot Summit is a great fictional story. It is about two teams [American and the Soviet Union]playing baseball. During 1984 President Regan and famous Russian General Kostilo' Boneface' Zolotov have young baseball players. Each team must battle for their own country.The teams are playing baseball instead of fighting a war. Whoever wins the baseball game wins the war.

I like the book Sandlot Summit because it is about baseball. I also like it because it is funny. I would recommend this book to a young reader ages 9-12. I would also recommend this book to a person who likes to read baseball or humorous books. I really enjoyed this book.

Age:11
Leopold, MO USA

Sam's Quest: The Royal Trident by Ben Furman

This is the second book in a series. Even though I hadn't read the first book,I could follow the action. Sam's Quest is a story about a girl who goes on a trip with her Grandpa's dog on the Crimson Crystal. Then, she meets up with a prince. Together they save King Kaylan from the Pax.

I love this book because it is action-packed and exciting. The author did a very good job of thinking of the adventures in the book. Also, it was clever how both Sam and Princess Digan looked exactly alike. Prince Buznor was very funny to me.

Age:11
Leopold, MO USA

Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka

This book is about a boy with five other brothers. He is the second born and they get in a lot of trouble together. They also have a lot of fun. They are average boys with average boy dreams. They like the Law Of The Pack promise because to them it means they should run around like a bunch of wild animals.

This book is action packed and realistic. My favorite part is that it is so funny. It is even hysterical at times. It tells about living with five other brothers. They even made up their own game called Slaughter Ball. In Slaughter Ball you jump on the guy with the ball. Boys like that kind of thing. The realistic humor is why I like this book.

Reviewer Age:11
Leopold, Missouri USA

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