Hiding Glory by Laura Chester

"Hiding Glory" by Laura Chester is a classic children's book. It features a main young protagonist in her dual setting of the real world juxtaposed with the incredible glee of Joya. Turner is a grammar school girl who keeps horse figurines in her room along with flowers. Then, one day, a magical blue horse named Glory comes out of a morning glory flower and invites her to Joya. There, Turner learns the majestic yet silly ways of the land. She ventures to this land when she is ready for bedtime. This would make readers think Joya is just part of Turner's dreaming subconscious, but Chester's vivid descriptions say otherwise. Glory is actually a tiny horse, but whenever he meets Turner, they match up to be the same size so he can ride her to his lackadaisical land of happiness and delight.

This book has many subtle undertones that the average child may not pick up. The main antagonists are called Kurmudgins, who love order, and hate any sort of fun. The main adventure in the story involves Turner helping Glory to make them less cantankerous--so to speak. This is the order from the royal King and Queen. The Kurmudgins sound awfully like curmudgeons, but children will most likely not know this word. Still, there are other themes that youngsters can understand. For one, the Golden Rule is outlined: do unto others as you would have done unto yourself. This is even spelled out in pure dialog by the characters. Additionally, there is the moral of turning the cheek when others are malevolent towards you. Excellent lessons are alongside breathtaking illustrations in this cherished book.

Reviewer Age: 17

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

My Life in Pink and Green

"My Life in Pink and Green" by Lisa Greenwald is a spunky book of a budding entrepreneur. Still in middle school, Lucy has her small group of friends and her family pharmacy to worry about. She is a melancholy girl with too much responsibility on her shoulders. However, Lucy learns how to enjoy life and be happy when she can utilize her knowledge of beauty products to help "cool" kids and make a name for herself. Also, when the family pharmacy is in jeopardy of being shut down, Lucy takes it upon herself to find a solution. Throughout the novel, the plot sticks to just a few characters and is mainly concerned with Lucy's business adventures. Childhood crushes come into play in a sweet way towards the end, as well.

This novel is an excellent read for young adults, although it is geared more towards girls. Each chapter includes a beauty tip or business tip. These fun facts, coupled with the theme of beauty products sprinkled throughout the book, makes this tremendously appropriate for girls. The book teaches girls how they can be more confident and beautiful with both outer makeup and inner self-esteem. Also, for younger girls that have never worn makeup before, this novel subconsciously tells them to not overdo it when they finally start using the products for the first time. The term "green" is thrown around a lot in the book, as Lucy joins an Earth Club. Overall, the book is easy to follow and is a clean read for young girls.

Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Staten Island, NY USA

Courage in Patience

Whoosh. That's the sound that Ashley Asher hears when her stepfather sexually abuses her. As a fifteen-year old she is no longer a child, but she never was an ordinary child to begin with. She endures emotional and physical pain while living with her biological mother, who doesn't care for her at all, and her abusive stepfather. The only way to save herself is to confront her mother and reveal the years of abuse she has received from her stepfather. When Ashley finally has the courage to tell her mother of the painful details of her horrific childhood, her mother turns her back on Ashley and continues to believe that nothing is wrong. The only people that care and are concerned for her safety are Ashley's friends and her teacher. When her teacher contacts Ashley's father (who Ashley has never seen) her life is turned upside down. She leaves her selfish mother and abusive stepfather to live with her caring biological father and stepmother in Patience. She learns that there are people out there that care about her and would do anything to protect her. It is where Ashley finally understands the meaning of...love.

Courage in Patience was an emotional, heart-warming book that is unforgettable and hard to put down. I haven't read a book like this in a long time. It makes you realize that life comes in many forms and how it begins or ends all depends on you as a person. Even though I have never endured the pain that Ashley did, I could feel inside of me what she felt when her mother turned her back on Ashley and how her heart shattered into little pieces. It was just so detailed, it felt like my heart was shattering into little pieces as well. When she moves to live with her biological dad, it felt as though my heart was healing along with Ashley's. I think this book will really touch the hearts of every reader and give them the sense of let-down and then the sense of somebody pulling you back on your feet and giving you the chance to live a life of hope and courage. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a heart, which includes everyone.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Gearhart, Or U.S.A.

"Man in the Moon", by Dotti Enderle

"Man in the Moon" by Dotti Enderle is a children's chapter book. As its appropriate title suggests, the plot is focused around a peculiar man in a moon. Technically, the part about the moon is just a metaphor, but, towards the end of the book, the reader may take this statement to be more than just literary. The story follows a girl growing up in the sixties with a sickly younger brother. The boy yearns to play outside but is confined to his indoor setting. One day, a very unique man comes to visit. He saved the girl's father back in World War II and has a fascination with the moon. Oddly enough, he gains weight when the moon waxes and looses weight when the moon wanes.

This book is a must read for young and old alike. There are no swear words in it or inappropriate scenes. While younger ones will benefit greatly from reading this, it is also great for all ages. Children will learn life lessons and start up a love of reading while adults will enjoy a story that doesn't take too long for them to read with their busy schedules. Family issues, friendship, the notion of death, destiny, dreams, and social interactions are spelled out in the book. The book truly is a coming of age story that involves a silly yet somber man in the moon.

Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Staten Island, NY USA

Wow! This book is amazing! In this book a fourteen year old girl, Savvey, tries out for an eighteen year old basketball elite team and makes it. Then her older sister, Callie, tries out for cheer leading but just barely makes it because she is too heavy. When Savvey plays in her game, Callie gets mad because Savvey becomes the star of the game and gets all the attention. During one of her games, steroids mysteriously appear in her bag at half-time. In the end, the book tells who put the steroids in Savvey's gym bag.

The reason I think this book is good is because it has a great sequence of events. The fact that steroids magically appeared in Savvey's gym bag during the middle of the game kept my attention. I wanted to know how the drugs got in the bag. I hoped that she didn't take steroids because she was a great athlete and the team needed her. She proved that she could be a great player without taking drugs. This book was really interesting and it kept me on the edge of my seat.




Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leopold, MO USA

The Prism Blade by Patricia Bow

The Prism Blade is the second book in the series The Passage to Mythrin. Amelia, Simon, and Ike get caught in the middle of a battle that has been raging forever between Dragons and Humans. Simon wants his life to go back to normal after the first visit to Mythrin, but Amelia and Mara (the dragon she met in the last visit) have different ideas. Amelia believes that she is being sent dreams from Mara that are telling her to go find a passage way to Mythrin. The dreams eventually lead them to a library window, which eventually leads them to Mythrin. When they return to their world, a 12 year old seeker returns with them to see if this world is safe from Dragons. She is also on the search for something called The Prism Blade. It is said that The Prism Blade can kill off all the Dragons. When Amelia returns the face off is about to begin. Can she stop it? And if not, whose side is she going to take? Read the book to find out.

The Prism Blade is good for anyone who likes fantasy. It never has a slow point where I wanted to put it down. The book is a never ending adventure. Whether it is winning a trophy or it is finding a Passage to Mythrin or even looking for a window, Amelia will one way or another make it sound like the best thing ever. This one takes a different view on dragons, one like I have never seen before. If you liked Eragon, Dragonspell, and/or The Dragons in our Midst series than you should like this one too. It ended up being one of my favorite books I have read. Enjoy!

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Topeka, Kansas United States of America

In Too Deep by Jennifer Banash

Casey has finally started to fit in with the rich and sophisticated at Meadowlark Academy. Her fashion sense is improving, she's hanging out with Madison, Sophie and Phoebe, and Drew might be her kinda-sorta boyfriend. Even though Casey's retaining her small town roots, she feels like she might be giving up herself to be more like the other girls. And she's not sure that's necessarily a good thing...

This is the sequel to The Elite, so it's recommended that you read The Elite first, but you don't have to read it to understand everything. If you're looking for a light, easy read, In Too Deep is perfect. The writing is clear and concise, so it doesn't take much brainpower to understand the author. The reader gets to read from the points of view of all the different characters, so you get to see inside each person's head. It's a good way to show what everyone's thinking and to keep the reader interested. And if you're a fan of Gossip Girl, you will thoroughly enjoy In Too Deep.

Reviewer Age:17

Reviewer City, State and Country: Aston, Pennsylvania United States

What's the Weather Inside?

"What's the Weather Inside?" by Karma Wilson is a fun little book of poems. Despite what the cover and title may allude to, this book covers more than just the weather. In fact, poems about the weather aren't even a major theme in the book. Rather, the poems chosen are comical little poems about facetious nuances in life that children notice. There are many plays on words and copious double entendres. Animals, sports, emotions, family life, and more dance on the pages alongside clever illustrations in black and white. The rhyme schemes vary and the poems are all relatively short.

This book is appropriate for children. It encourages creative thinking as well as semantics. Words are used with different meanings in the poems to generate curiosity. The point is for a youngster to read a poem and see a picture that they like; this will propel them to pick up a dictionary and look up new words they are unfamiliar with (that may just sound a bit silly, too!). As for illustrations, they are drawn with old fashioned style. There is nothing inappropriate in the book. As a matter of fact, the scariest part of the book involves a poem about a substitute teacher with horns on his angry head.

Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Staten Island, NY USA

Hail to the Chief

Ollie Paras, the White House Executive Chef, is friendly with the First Lady, Mrs. Campbell. However, Ollie has a lot on her plate. Mrs. Campbell is trying to persuade her nephew Sean to come to the White House on Thanksgiving and Ollie is helping to convince Sean to come. At the same time, a bomb threat comes into the White House and everyone is on high alert for other threats. Next, a kindly electrician, Gene, dies one day while working on an electrical problem near the kitchen! And then, Sean, Mrs. Campbell's nephew is found dead! In the midst of all this, Ollie is approached by Senator' Blanchard's assistant and asked to fix the annual gingerbread decorating contest for his children. Is there any correlation between the bomb threat and Gene's electrocution? Will Ollie rig the gingerbread contest in favor of Senator Blanchard's children? Will she discover any more bombs? Did Sean really commit suicide or was it murder? You will have to read Hail to the Chef to find out.

Hail to the Chef is a suspenseful mystery book. Every page offers new mysteries and clues to the happenings in the White House kitchen. Ollie is a very believable character and the action keeps moving. I have read a lot of mystery books and I found it hard to stop reading this book. It was fun to read this book and learn about the secrets of the White House, especially around holiday time. If you are a big mystery fan, I would highly recommend this book.

Rating: 10
Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Finksburg, MD USA

The Midnight Twins by Jacquelyn Mitchard

The Midnight Twins is about twin sisters, Mallory and Meredith, who are just like twins should be. They can read one another's minds and feel one another's pain. They are so completely close and everyone loves them. Their lives are interrupted when a fire starts at their aunt's house as the sisters are babysitting their cousins and younger brother on New Year's Eve. They save everyone but something happens to Mallory and Meredith; they can no longer know how the other is or feel what the other feels. This scares the sisters and alters their relationship.

This book was very interesting and easy to read. The chapters may be a little long and I find it takes longer to read a book with long chapters, but I enjoyed finding out how the sisters dealt with their problems. They were a great support team and I was reminded of the one I have with my youngest sister. We may not be able to read each other's minds like Mallory and Meredith, but we do support and help each other.

Reviewer Age:18
Reviewer City, State and Country: Newville, Pennsylvania U.S.A