Charles Darwin takes an epic adventure in which today is said to be one of the greatest scientific discoveries ever. The book is facts mixed in with a little bit of fiction. Throughout the period of a four year ship ride on the HMS Beagle, the main character, James Kincaid, writes a dairy entry every now and then telling about the finds of Charles Darwin and the fun that was held on the islands they traveled to and from. It is a great short read for young adults and a good book for young readers that have not yet mastered chapter books. The book is full of cool creatures and amazing illustrations from the start of the first page.
Charles Darwin by Alan Gibbons is a book with an exclusive setting of the island of South America. The writer makes the characters pop out of the book so you get the idea of who they were and what they were like. The characters are very likable and are fun to read about what they did and what their life was made up of. It was written in the appropriate manner of first person. I read as though the main character was reading his dairy entries right to me. The book had many strengths, but one of its greatest was its illustrations. They were colorful and vibrant, making it seam as though you were there in that animated world. I really have never read a book like it so I couldnt compare it to anything. I learned a lot while reading Charles Darwin, it is filled with facts. As a chapter book reader, it was more of a burden to read the book. There wasn't a part that really pulled me in because it was so short. If I had to choose whether to recommend it or not I would have to say it matters who you are, a chapter book reader like me, or a short book reader. It would also depend on your preference in general.
Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Merino, Colorado (CO) United States of America
Monday, January 05, 2009
My One Hundred Adventures
Jane Fielding lives in an ocean-side cottage in New England with her mother, a local poet, and her three younger siblings. At the age of twelve, she is yearning for
adventure amidst the otherwise hum-drum goings-on in her little sea-side town. Surely enough, adventure finds her, first with a hijacked hot-air balloon ride, and then with the strange appearances of her mother's old boyfriends--and her possible fathers. Befriending the town's preacher and babysitting the unruly Gourd children lead to even further adventures. But beyond the simple pleasure of finding excitement and mystery, Jane's adventures lead to her own revelations about life, relationships, faith, and, most of all, herself.
The book's most remarkable feature is its beautiful imagery. From the sand blown across the floorboards of the Fieldings' cottage, to a dumpy trailer park, where there lives a man with an acute resemblance to Santa Claus, every image is stunning and memorable. Jane's exploits do not drive the novel's plot, instead the reader's interest is drawn to the adult characters in Jane's life. I found that the adventures and conflicts that surrounded Jane were more compelling stories than Jane's own trials babysitting and trailing behind the eccentric preacher. At a later part in the novel, Jane reflects that "all our lives are mundane but all our lives are also poetry." Indeed, My One Hundred Adventures is simply a story about a girl's
summer, but in the way that it's told, the mundane becomes poetic, and even a day at the beach can be an adventure.
The novel contains some domestic violence.
Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Concord, MA USA
Rating 8
Content Rating: 2
adventure amidst the otherwise hum-drum goings-on in her little sea-side town. Surely enough, adventure finds her, first with a hijacked hot-air balloon ride, and then with the strange appearances of her mother's old boyfriends--and her possible fathers. Befriending the town's preacher and babysitting the unruly Gourd children lead to even further adventures. But beyond the simple pleasure of finding excitement and mystery, Jane's adventures lead to her own revelations about life, relationships, faith, and, most of all, herself.
The book's most remarkable feature is its beautiful imagery. From the sand blown across the floorboards of the Fieldings' cottage, to a dumpy trailer park, where there lives a man with an acute resemblance to Santa Claus, every image is stunning and memorable. Jane's exploits do not drive the novel's plot, instead the reader's interest is drawn to the adult characters in Jane's life. I found that the adventures and conflicts that surrounded Jane were more compelling stories than Jane's own trials babysitting and trailing behind the eccentric preacher. At a later part in the novel, Jane reflects that "all our lives are mundane but all our lives are also poetry." Indeed, My One Hundred Adventures is simply a story about a girl's
summer, but in the way that it's told, the mundane becomes poetic, and even a day at the beach can be an adventure.
The novel contains some domestic violence.
Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Concord, MA USA
Rating 8
Content Rating: 2
Saturday, January 03, 2009
The Night of the Living Dead by Casey Daniels
The Night of the Living Dead is a thrilling science fiction book. You follow along with Pepper Martin, a trendy and beautiful, cemetery tour guide. Who, by the way, can talk to the dead. While on a trip to a cemetery convention, which she only went to because her boss was sick, she runs into a ghost. Madeline is her name, and she has been dead for 3 years. She tells Pepper about a study that Dr. Gerard is holding. Madeline tips Pepper off that maybe this study isn't as legal as it may seem. But when she tells Pepper, Dan, a guy Pepper is falling for, may be involved, the whole case changes. And what happens when more than just dirty secrets are revealed?
This book was a great science fiction book. This is a great mystery book for teens. This book was well-written, a good mystery, and wonderful science fiction. I would definitely recommend this book to mystery freaks. I have to say the ending was pretty good and I hope there is a sequel, because I feel like I was left hanging on a thread.
Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Germantown, TN United States
Swimming with the Sharks by Debbie Reed Fischer
Five-foot eleven. Freckled. Flat as a surfboard. Peyton
Grady sees her role on the varsity cheer squad as the only
thing keeping her off the social sidelines at wealthy
Beachwood Preparatory Academy. It's her umbilical cord to
cool-and it's constantly in danger of getting cut. As a
base, it's Peyton's duty to be stepped on-literally-by
cheer queen Lexie Court. So when Lexie hatches a fierce
hazing campaign against the frumpy new girl, Peyton has no
choice but to support her flier. Soon the pranks become
sadistically cruel, even criminal. Suddenly, Peyton has
more to lose than her new-found Alpha celebrity. Will she
gamble her entire future for "the good of the squad"?
Debbie Reed Fischer's second novel, Swimming with the
Sharks, is an easy-to-read page turner filled with many
laugh-out-loud moments. Right from the beginning, I was
hooked. I loved how easy it was to connect with the
narrator, Peyton, and how I could feel every emotion she
experienced. Fischer did an amazing job describing
everything that was going on, making it feel as if you
were really there. Swimming with the Sharks taught a very
important lesson in friendship and relationships. This
book was a good way to teach readers that hazing is wrong
and that you should always do the right thing.
This book contained hazing and bullying.
Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leopold, MO USA
Grady sees her role on the varsity cheer squad as the only
thing keeping her off the social sidelines at wealthy
Beachwood Preparatory Academy. It's her umbilical cord to
cool-and it's constantly in danger of getting cut. As a
base, it's Peyton's duty to be stepped on-literally-by
cheer queen Lexie Court. So when Lexie hatches a fierce
hazing campaign against the frumpy new girl, Peyton has no
choice but to support her flier. Soon the pranks become
sadistically cruel, even criminal. Suddenly, Peyton has
more to lose than her new-found Alpha celebrity. Will she
gamble her entire future for "the good of the squad"?
Debbie Reed Fischer's second novel, Swimming with the
Sharks, is an easy-to-read page turner filled with many
laugh-out-loud moments. Right from the beginning, I was
hooked. I loved how easy it was to connect with the
narrator, Peyton, and how I could feel every emotion she
experienced. Fischer did an amazing job describing
everything that was going on, making it feel as if you
were really there. Swimming with the Sharks taught a very
important lesson in friendship and relationships. This
book was a good way to teach readers that hazing is wrong
and that you should always do the right thing.
This book contained hazing and bullying.
Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leopold, MO USA
Friday, January 02, 2009
Triple Shot Bettys in Love by Jody Gehrman
Triple Shot Bettys in love was a book about two girls who work in a coffee shop (neither one of them is named Betty. Their names are Geena and Amber actually.) Geena is a very smart girl with a perfect boyfriend named Ben, whom she has been going out with for 5 months. Amber is completely head over heels with Geena's English teacher, Mr. Sands. Geena just may have a crush on him to, but she doesn't know what to do about it because of Ben. When a crazed, mean model makes a play for Ben, Geena sees her chance to do something about her crush, but will she? Find out in Triple Shot Bettys in love.
This was a fairly good read. The plot line was very complicated and some of the characters were weak and hard to identify with, but the core story was funny and touching. It is a story we have all heard (or seen for ourselves) 1000 times, I mean, everyone has had a crush on a teacher before, right? But these two girls take it one step further and actually date the teacher, so I think some parents would be opposed to having their child read this book. This is a must read for girls my age. This is the sequel to Confessions from a Triple Shot Betty.
mild language, and sexual content
Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: exeter , NH USA
This was a fairly good read. The plot line was very complicated and some of the characters were weak and hard to identify with, but the core story was funny and touching. It is a story we have all heard (or seen for ourselves) 1000 times, I mean, everyone has had a crush on a teacher before, right? But these two girls take it one step further and actually date the teacher, so I think some parents would be opposed to having their child read this book. This is a must read for girls my age. This is the sequel to Confessions from a Triple Shot Betty.
mild language, and sexual content
Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: exeter , NH USA
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Rescue Me by Alex McAuley
Maggie Leigh is trying to be a normal girl. But that's hard when London is in the midst of World War II and German bombs are raining on the city every other day. After an attack that leaves Maggie's aunt in a coma, Maggie's ultra-religious mother sends her to a faraway boarding school in Wales. The school is run by nuns that are even more religious than her mother and slightly crazier to boot. After only one day at the school, an incident on the beach causes Maggie and her three friends to flee for their lives.
This book was weird. Most of the characters were really odd, with the exception of the protagonist Maggie and maybe a few minor characters. I have read other books where girls in this time period are sent to boarding school, and this doesn't compare at all. I feel like the author wanted to write a historical novel but didn't quite know how to do it. So he wrote in a lot of things, like the crazy nuns, to add to the "creep" factor and then turned the plot upside with a huge twist at the end. I want to say if this story was better written I would have liked it, but even then I don't think I would have.
Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Aston, Pennsylvania, United States
This book was weird. Most of the characters were really odd, with the exception of the protagonist Maggie and maybe a few minor characters. I have read other books where girls in this time period are sent to boarding school, and this doesn't compare at all. I feel like the author wanted to write a historical novel but didn't quite know how to do it. So he wrote in a lot of things, like the crazy nuns, to add to the "creep" factor and then turned the plot upside with a huge twist at the end. I want to say if this story was better written I would have liked it, but even then I don't think I would have.
Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Aston, Pennsylvania, United States
Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Orphaned at 13, Quincie Morris is left in the care of her uncle. She finds support and comfort in her werewolf best friend and love interest Kieren. Quincie and her uncle manage the family's Italian restaurant. Four years after the death of her parents, they decide to renovate the restaurant to a vampire themed night spot. They expect that in the unusual town of Austin, Texas, where Vampires and Were-people are tolerated, the vamp theme will attract and inspire all sorts of new guests. And so it does. A month before the opening of the restaurant, the head chef Vaggio, is viciously murdered. Bottling up all the emotion from the death of Vaggio, Quincie must decide where her allegiances lie. When a tantalizing new chef is hired by the restaurant, whose shoulder will she turn to?
I did enjoy this book but found it a little slow and dull at times. It has a great story line. Most of the characters were described well but others failed to grip my attention. I loved the strained relationships and love triangle between Quince, Kieren the new chef, Bradley Sanguini. I think the author was clever in the way she twisted the plot and made it hard to decide what was coming next. I felt disappointed at the end as I expected a big ending and really got no closure. This was an easy read that at times, fascinated and enthralled me. I would recommend this novel to teenagers from 12 up as a book not to taken too seriously. A tantalizing read with all the seduction of good spaghetti and all the fright of men in capes.
Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Melbourne , Victoria, Australia
I did enjoy this book but found it a little slow and dull at times. It has a great story line. Most of the characters were described well but others failed to grip my attention. I loved the strained relationships and love triangle between Quince, Kieren the new chef, Bradley Sanguini. I think the author was clever in the way she twisted the plot and made it hard to decide what was coming next. I felt disappointed at the end as I expected a big ending and really got no closure. This was an easy read that at times, fascinated and enthralled me. I would recommend this novel to teenagers from 12 up as a book not to taken too seriously. A tantalizing read with all the seduction of good spaghetti and all the fright of men in capes.
Reviewer Age: 14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Melbourne , Victoria, Australia
My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
Jane Fielding lives in an ocean-side cottage in New England with her mother, a local poet, and her three younger siblings. At the age of twelve, she is yearning for adventure amidst the otherwise hum-drum goings-on in her little sea-side town. Surely enough, adventure finds her, first with a hijacked hot-air balloon ride, and then with the strange appearances of her mother's old boyfriends--and her possible fathers. Befriending the town's preacher and babysitting the unruly Gourd children lead to even further adventures. But beyond the simple pleasure of finding excitement and mystery, Jane's adventures lead to her own revelations about life, relationships, faith, and, most of all, herself.
The book's most remarkable feature is its beautiful imagery. From the sand blown across the floorboards of the Fieldings' cottage, to a dumpy trailer park, where there lives a man with an acute resemblance to Santa Claus, every image is stunning and memorable. Jane's exploits do not drive the novel's plot, instead the reader's interest is drawn to the adult characters in Jane's life. I found that the adventures and conflicts that surrounded Jane were more compelling stories than Jane's own trials babysitting and trailing behind the eccentric preacher. At a later part in the novel, Jane reflects that "all our lives are mundane but all our lives are also poetry." Indeed, My One Hundred Adventures is simply a story about a girl's summer, but in the way that it's told, the mundane becomes poetic, and even at day at the beach can be an adventure.
The novel contains some domestic violence.
Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Concord, MA USA
Rating 8
Content Rating: 2
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Nineteen-year-old Cassandra (Cassie) Parrish is dead in a motel room in New Hampshire. Before she died, she called her best friend, Emma (a struggling bulimic), begging Emma to pick up. After leaving Emma thirty-three messages, she suddenly died. Now, Emma is being visited by the "ghost" of Cassie. Emma once again turns to bulimia to try to cope with the situation. This life-altering decision will send her down a path to destruction, with the ghost of Cassie leading the reigns.
Though the book was interesting in some parts, I thought that it was hard to understand. The way that the author wrote some of the paragraphs was somewhat hard to comprehend; the narrator would say something, then cross out the idea and re-write it. Once I decoded what the author was trying to portray, I thought that the idea was interesting and that the writing was written exactly like people think. Personally, I thought that the topic of the novel was very realistic. The whole concept of Emma fighting an inner battles (her vs. her weight and her vs. the guilt of not picking up the phone when Cassie called) and the battle with her best friend (Cassie vs. Emma) was heart-wrenching. I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoys reading a story about coming-of-age and likes reading about overcoming obstacles.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Pottstown, PA United States
Though the book was interesting in some parts, I thought that it was hard to understand. The way that the author wrote some of the paragraphs was somewhat hard to comprehend; the narrator would say something, then cross out the idea and re-write it. Once I decoded what the author was trying to portray, I thought that the idea was interesting and that the writing was written exactly like people think. Personally, I thought that the topic of the novel was very realistic. The whole concept of Emma fighting an inner battles (her vs. her weight and her vs. the guilt of not picking up the phone when Cassie called) and the battle with her best friend (Cassie vs. Emma) was heart-wrenching. I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoys reading a story about coming-of-age and likes reading about overcoming obstacles.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Pottstown, PA United States
xxxHolic: Anotherholic by Nisioisin
Kimihiro Watanuki is plagued by spirits; he can never get rid of them. One day, he stumbles upon a bizarre wish-granting shop owned by Yûko Ichihara. She tells Kimihiro that she can make the spirits go away & for a price. Now he must serve her and help with her business. He encounters many strange phenomena while working at this shop.
This book was based off of a manga series and is, in my opinion, not as good. This book isn't very descriptive. It used only the main details of the plot. The imagery that you usually get from a good novel wasnt there. It was like reading a manga without the pictures. It was not the best book I have ever read.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Shippensburg, Pennsylvania USA
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