Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card

Intergalactic drama meets juvenile angst in Orson Scott Card's "Ender in Exile." A boy named Ender ensconces the plot. In the future, this boy is conscripted into the military at the age of six. In his preteen years, he capriciously hits a button and fires a missile at the enemy; he is afterward deemed a war hero. One side of the galaxy sees him as this ominously powerful man, while the other side of the galaxy views him as a boy-puppet with an insatiable appetite for blood. Melancholy spelunks deep within the cave of the reader when they realize that a boy has been robbed of his innocence very early in life, catapulted into a world of violence and despair that he does not [and may never quite] fully understand. Further thrills ensue when the boy's parent yearn for his return home and his siblings follow in Ender's footsteps by anonymously documenting his history. Science fiction is in the book, with mystical creatures and the notion of time with regards to relativity. Also, most mentions of war relate to Russia, although no notion of World War II or the Cold War are redundantly regurgitated. The story centers around the boy's internal struggle and is mostly respectful when it comes to discussing present nations in the future.
Young adults will grow from reading this book. There is just enough vocabulary to make readers little semanticists, but there is not so much that they get frustrated and want to put the book down. The narration sticks mostly to first person, although it intermittently changes perspective every couple of chapters. The emails at the start of the chapters make the scenes modern and dependent on computers (as most young readers tend to naturally depict the future). Additionally, there is some romance spun into the plot when Ender meets a girl named Alex. Alex's mother cajoles her into chasing after Ender in hopes of matrimony. Ender toys with Alex's emotions, too young to truly know what love is. There is much drama when Alex confronts her mother, as well as when Ender finally communicates his woes with his abandoned family. The book can best be summed up by one quote towards the end of the novel. "Surround a child with lies, and he clings to them like a teddy bear, like his mother's hand. And the worse, the darker the lie, the more deeply he has to draw it inside himself in order to bear the lie at all" (Card, 360).
Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Staten Island, NY USA

To Bee or Not to Bee by John Penberthy

Buzz Bee is just like any other bee; he pollinates flowers and helps build the hive where he lives. But unlike the other bees, Buzz questions his life and existence. Buzz gets fed up with aimlessly working all the time and decides to go out to clear his head. While he is out pondering he meets an older bee named Bert. Through the help of Bert, Buzz sorts through his confusions about God and religion and learns about his place in the larger world. While Buzz is learning from Bert he also becomes interested in a mountain pass close to his hive. The pass is 3000 feet high, with unpredictable weather, yet Buzz has a feeling that going up the pass is do-able. After the passing of Bert, Buzz decides to climb the mountain pass. It starts out easy but as Buzz gets higher and higher the wind gets stronger. He pushes through the pain and gets to the top. After getting to the top, his gut tells him that he has learned what needed to be learned from the journey and heads home. The next morning the hive is attacked by a bear, and gets dismantled. All the bees worry about where to rebuild it when Buzz suggests the cliffs. At first they think he is crazy, but when he takes them closer they agree with him. Like everybody else, Buzz finds himself collecting pollen and building on the new hive. Buzz comes to understand that his role in life is right where he started, all through his crazy adventure.

One of the best things about To Bee or Not to Bee are the illustrations included in the book. Half the book is words and the other half is illustrations of places Buzz visits and things Buzz does. The book's serious topic about finding yourself is considerably lightened through the illustrations. Author John Penberthy does a wonderful job of writing through Buzz's eyes. Buzz is a confused bee going through problems that people go through every day. But by writing about bees instead of humans it makes it more amusing and interesting to read, since you don't really think about bees going through problems like humans do. Overall, I found this book to be a fun yet moving story about a bee looking for his purpose in life that many people will be able to relate to. I would recommend it to people who are looking for books with serious topics but who would enjoy pondering those topics in a relaxed and fun way.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Champaign, IL USA

Rating: 8

Content Rating: 1

The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry

"The Amaranth Enchantment", by Julie Berry, is a Cinderella type fairy tale. This magical tale is about a girl named Lucinda who once had a perfect life before she lost her parents. After her parents died, she was sent to her aunt and uncles to work in their jewelry store. She is treated poorly by her aunt and misses her previous wealthy lifestyle. One day when a mysterious lady brings an amazing rare piece of jewelry, Lucindas life is changed forever. This unusual jewel causes Lucinda to be entwined with the troubles of a thief, a witch, and even the King. She must get through all of these obstacles in order to find her “happily ever after” again.

This exciting fairy tale had me interested from the beginning. It begins with the discovery of the jewel, takes you through an adventure, and on to the shocking conclusion. I was entranced throughout this excellent tale. I thought the story was well written in plot and dialogue. The characters were intriguing, each with a colorful personality. My favorite character was "Dog", her eccentric goat sidekick, that always had you laughing.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Lemoore, CA US

The Second Virginity of Suzy Green by Sara Hantz

Suzy Green is not your typical good girl. Suzy and her friends get up to a lot of mischief, drinking, playing tricks and having full blown relationships with the guys. They are on the fringe of Goth and love it. But when Suzy's sister Rosie dies and the family move across the county, Suzy must clean up her act. She finds herself at a new and very posh school. Here she wants to make a good impression and become a member of the in crowd. The only way to make it in, is to join the Virginity Club. It's just that, well, Suzy doesn't really fit the virgin criteria but who cares, right?
The Second Virginity of Suzy Green was a light-hearted and funny teen read. It was written using a little too much teenage slang but was a very enjoyable novel. Suzy was a great narrator to the book. She was written to be a jovial and witty character but she was able to be deep and emotional. This book was set in Australia, so I was able to understand fully how and why things were being done. I really liked the unique idea of this book. It was not quite as good as the Gossip Girl type teenage drama novels, but much better than a lot of the girly high school books going around. I would definitely recommend it to friends of mine as an easy going read.
Mild Sexual References. Infrequent Swearing
Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Melbourne , Victoria Australia

Why Don't Your Eyelashes Grow, by Beth Ann Ditkoff, M.D.

Have you ever wondered why pee is yellow? What are bedbugs? Why do we have nightmares? Or can chicken noodle soup really cure a cold? This book is written by Dr. Beth Ann Ditkoff and answers all of your gross, weird, embarrassing, and even funny questions about the human anatomy! This book has everything from questions children might ask to questions adults still may ponder. Why don't you eyelashes grow? This book will tell you!

I enjoyed reading through this cute and short reference book. It's very entertaining and has lots of fun factoids. It is also very informative! Everything is easy to find and is organized just right. It gives you just enough information so you're not looking for more and or you don't become bored on an individual subject. There were certain categories that sparked my attention which were "Urban Myth and What if?" and "The Weird, The Ugly, and the Downright Gross! I would suggest buying this book just to have on hand in case you have some baffling body questions!


Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States

Phoenix Wright by Capcom

There is one name that criminals and lawyers alike fear: Phoenix Wright. This lawyer always finds the truth and the evidence to back it up. Phoenix Wright defends his clients with ease, with the help of his cute assistant, Maya, and many others. In this book they investigate twenty different cases, with everything from ghosts to ramen noodles.

This was one of my least favorite mangas. It was based off of a video game I have never played; therefore, I didn't understand a lot of what was going on or what the characters did. Also, because it was drawn and written by twenty different people, the characters all looked slightly different in all the stories and I sometimes had difficulty identifying them. Some of the stories were cheesy and overdone, but some of them were enjoyable.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Shippensburg, Pennsylvania USA

Portia's Ultra Mysterious Double Life by Anna Hays

This book is about Portia Avatar who is a twelve year old girl living in Palmville, California. When a sudden earthquake hits her town at 3:47 AM, she finds a mysterious picture of her missing father. From the picture, Portia decides her father is a detective. Portia decides that she will solve the case of her missing father, but can she keep it a secret from her vegetarian mother, Indigo? In the middle of her case, Portia discovers a ring which she believes is her mother's wedding ring. Will Portia be able to find out anything about her father from Indigo? Will she find her missing father?

This book is one of the best books I have ever read. Once I started reading, I just couldn't stop! The book was written really well; reading it was easy, and I could relate to Portia's determination to reach her goal once she set her mind to it. I would definitely recommend this book to girls my age. This book was a cliff-hanger that kept me guessing to the very last page.

Reviewer Age: 12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Enon, OH USA

The Pact by Monica McKayhan

The book The Pact by Monica McKayhan is about a teenage couple who are going their separate ways during their summer vacation. They decide to make a pact to have fun during the summer and to meet new people. If they found someone they liked more than each other then they would split up and if they didn't they would get back together upon returning. During his summer break Marcus Carter was faced with the decision on whether he wanted to stay with his mother in Texas or go home to Indigo back in Atlanta. Marcus also gets blamed for some things that he wasn't responsible for and he has to pay the price. Indigo Summer's grandma is hospitalized while Indigo is staying with her and she has to go stay with her cousin untill her grandma gets better. While staying with her cousin she is pressured to do some things she wouldn't normally do and her cousin's boyfriend tries to take advantage of her.

I enjoyed this book because it was very personal and I could relate to it in more than one way. This book is very detailed and it has a lot of issues that everyday teenager sometimes face. It explains the difficulties of young love and how if you truely love someone you will do anything for them. This book will prepare young teenagers for life and love.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leopold, MO USA

J. K. Rowling by Joan Vos MacDonald

This book tells you how people protest J.K. Rowling's books. It gives you information and pictures of what some people do to books when they don't like them. This book touches on a lot of people's opinions and beliefs of her work. It explains some of the Harry Potter books then tells why people do or don't like them. Then when people don't like the books, they destroy them. Overall, it is a lot of opinions and how far people will go to prove their points.

I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I was expecting some more information on J.K. Rowlings life. I wasn't expecting a lot of information about how people protest against her books. I like her books and I wasn't interested in hearing about how people destroy her books. I think that a book is a book, and if you don't like the book then don't read it.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leopold, MO USA

War Is

War Is... by Marc Aronson & Patty Campbell

For many people, war is an experience that is far away from their daily living, yet it plays an intrinsic role in the lives of all humans. The book War Is... seeks to bring the issues surrounding war to the reader. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is short piece that deal with people’s opinions on war, including newspaper articles, song lyrics, and interviews. The second part deals with different soldiers’ experiences, ranging from soldiers in World War I to the Iraq War. The third part examines soldiers’ experiences when they return from a war. The different pieces are all short, are written in many different forms (blog, short story, play, interview) and are by many different authors.

Anyone who wants to know more about war, or people’s experiences in war, should read this book. It is geared to young adults who, I think, would benefit the most from the book’s selections, but the book is accessible to anyone.
It is very difficult to find an unbiased view on the subject of war. However, this book did a wonderful job of balancing diverse opinions on matters, especially since the editors of the book held very different personal views on war.

Most of the pieces in the book were very well combined. Overall, they were very interesting, and spoke about many different issues. Mostly the book focused on the Iraq War, which made it very relevant to the current times. I did feel that the letters from the soldier in World War I was out of place. This selection was a collection of personal letters from the editor’s father, and I did not feel it was an appropriate choice. However, I felt all of the other selections were wonderful.

I would definitely recommend this book to any young
adults who wish to understand more about the world around
them.

There is some bad language in the book; however,
the book does NOT have graphic violence.

Rating 9
Content 3

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Urbana, Illinois USA