Cold Hands, Warm Heart by Jill Wolfson

The book Cold Hands, Warm Heart by Jill Wolfson, is a book about two teenagers whose lives suddenly collide. Fifteen year old Dani was born with her heart on the wrong side of her body. She has missed out on her whole childhood. Dani always ended up getting sick and was put back in the hospital. Her heart is ready to shut down and worse case scenario she has two weeks to live, unless she gets a transplant. Fourteen year old Amanda is a gymnast. She is perfectly healthy and is the best gymnast in her league. Amanda is up on the high bar when she suddenly faints. Her perfect health, gymnastic skills, and perfect life are about to change forever.

Cold Hands, Warm Heart by Jill Wolfson is a fantastic book! This book can not compare to any book I have read lately. The book was hard to put down and it kept me reading on. Some strengths that I noticed were the authors use of mood and imagery. The mood was a big part of the book that held my attention. In parts of the book I felt angry, sad, and mostly happy; especially when the character were happy. The use of Imagery was great, it painted a vivid picture in my mind and made it easier to follow along. I found the book interesting and I loved the ending. I loved how everything worked out in the end, but it was in the way I least suspected. I learned many things by reading this book. I learned about the heart and medical terms. I recommend this book to anyone who loves happy endings.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Sandy, OR USA

Breathless by Lurlene McDaniel

Travis Morrison is a champion diver and the most popular boy at school. His life is perfect. He has the best girlfriend, a great best friend, and a family that cares a lot about him. Everything is going great until a day at the lake with his girl, his best friend, and his sister. Travis is looking for a challenge and tries a silly stunt dive off of a cliff, it goes completely wrong. Travis's life is changed forever. Travis has always been sure of himself and wants to decide the course of his life on his own. He hopes the people that he cares about the most will help him accomplish this decision. When things get even worse, who can he count on to make things better?

Breathless is a remarkable story about being strong when things get hard. As I read it, it became impossible for me to stop reading. This book is breathtaking and intense. I was filled with many emotions as I read it. Breathless is a book about courageous people and I recommend it to all young adult readers.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Fairborn, Ohio USA

Lucky by Cecily Von Ziegesar

When life is already perfect and you have almost everything your heart has ever desired, can not getting one thing you really want ruin your entire life? Well for most people the answer is no, but for Phoebe that answer is a whole other story. Phoebe had a bad feeling that something was awry when she came home early after school and her mother was home, but thinking that nothing bad could happen to her, she decided to just think nothing of it. Well, that was until Phoebe's mother took her shopping to look for the perfect dress for her perfect graduation (from middle school and 8th grade) party that she and her perfect friends were throwing. This was only a few days after her mother had announced that she had lost her job, but Phoebe figured that they could get through the crisis since she was the spoiled rich kid who had the best friends, the best family, the best clothes--the best of everything, really--and just the best life she could have. So once they arrived at the fancy store and she tried on that green dress that she had cut the picture of out of the Teen Vogue so long ago and knew it was the one, she thought life couldn't get any better, and she was right because from that point on it only got worse. Her embarrassment at the ritzy store, because they wouldn't accept any of her mother's credit cards was bad enough, but when her father told her that she had to cancel her party all together because they could no longer afford it, Phoebe thought that it was the end of the world. Not wanting to lose her best friend, Kirstyn, aka Miss Popularity, by letting Kirstyn find out about her financial crisis and how her family was on the brink of becoming poor, as well as becoming the main target of everyone's pity, she decided that covering up the truth and lying about it (and continually lying about her deep crush on Luke as well) would save her friendship, but it did quite the opposite. Now Phoebe, friendless, boyfriendless, and green dressless, having decided to handle everything on her own, may just not have that so-called perfect life after all; and until she learns to rely on her friends and family rather than just herself, she will never have that perfect life again. So before you answer no to that seemingly simple question from the first sentence of this paragraph, you should read Phoebe's story and see just how one perfect green dress can really change a person's life.

I really liked Lucky written by Rachel Vail. I thought that it was kind of hard to relate to the characters though because their lives are way different than mine in many different aspects. I liked the characters and I thought that it would be really cool and easy to be friends with them, and most of them were pretty well developed but some of them I wouldn't have minded a few more details and descriptions about them and their lives and personalities. The almost too rare occasions of romance thrown into the book added a nice bit of spice to Phoebe's tale, not to mention a fun way to keep me interested the whole way through the story. I was left with a few questions such as what ended up happening with her mother's job, which I'm hoping will get answered in one of the next two books of this teenage trilogy. I recommend this novel to younger teenage girls who like drama with a twist of love thrown in.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Upper Strasburg, PA USA

Valor's Trial by Tanya Huff

Set in the future were humans and a few other races join together in war. Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr’s life takes a turn for the worst when she finds herself in an underground enemy camp. She knows she isn’t the only soldier down there, but she also knows that she is the only person that still has the free will to escape. Can she set free enough soldiers to fight their way out of enemy grounds? Torin is determined to get herself and her soldiers out, but she has no idea how it could affect the entire war.

Valor’s Trial had a good story line but it was almost impossible to follow. She uses military terms and big words throughout the story, making it very hard for young readers to understand and comprehend. I did like how detailed she was, though. It made me feel like I was actually underground with her. I would not recommend your reading this book without reading the first three books in the Confederation series. It will definitely help you understand it a lot better. If you really like military science fiction than this is the book for you. If you are looking for a quick read, don’t pick this book. It took me three times longer to read this book than any book I have ever read.

Reviewer Age: 13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Tipp City, Ohio United States

The Magician's Daughter by S.C. Butler

It has been ten years since Reiffen, Ferris, and Avenderraised the siege of Rimwich and killed two of the threeWizards. Now, Ferris and Reiffen are married and raisingtheir daughter, Hubley. Their peace is haunted with the fearthat the last Wizard, Reiffen's old teacher and enemyFornoch, wants to kidnap Hubley. Reiffen's paranoia turnshim against everyone he loves. Now, with the help of hermother and all her friends, Hubley must try to save herfather from himself.

S.C. Butler's novel, The Magician'sDaughter, is the epic conclusion to the Stoneways Trilogy.The writing is fluid and poetic. Butler's mammothimagination helps launch the reader to places unheard of orseen before. In truth, the book starts off slow, but thetension quickly develops as Reiffen's fears push him closerto madness. Overall, it's an intriguing book that leaves thereader satisfied. I would definitely recommend this book andtrilogy to others.

Reviewer Age:23

Reviewer City,State and Country: Owings Mills, MD USA

Maid War Chronicle by Ran

When a kingdom is doomed for destruction the only people to save the price are his maids! They must get him out and seek refuge in a fort a little ways off. Though before they go they must go to the shrine of Martin. This is where the 12 holy weapons of their kingdom are held. Are these maids fit enough in order to receive these weapons or will they fail and do their real job which is pouring tea. Join the court maids and the prince on an adventure you will never forget.

This book was great though in the beginning it was a little boring because the book was setting down facts the reader should know. After this though it was great. The contrast of war with maids made the whole storyline funny. It was also interesting what the choices they had to make to keep the prince safe. I also loved how the author tied in the stories of the individual maids in because there was no stop it flowed nicely. All in all a great manga. Recommend this for any manga fan or a person that wants to start manga though may be a little bit more suited for women!

Some nude scenes and some inappropriate words for children

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Northport, New York USA

Children of the Dawnland by Kathleen O'Neal Gear

Children of the Dawnland takes place in Canada and most of North America around 12,900 years ago. It's about a twelve-year-old girl named Twig, who has exceptional Dreamer powers. She has terrible nightmares about the world ending with a flash of green light and a meteor. But her mother discourages her training to become a Dreamer because she fears that Twig will become too powerful and be cast out of the tribe like Cobia and Screech Owl. Despite her mother's wishes, Twig goes to see Screech Owl for advice and to become a Spirit Dreamer. While Twig tries to become a Spirit Dreamer but fails, Thornback Raiders attack the camp of Twig's tribe. Twig later finds her friend, Greyhawk, and together they set out in search of Cobia's cave for help with the upcoming Doomsday.

I liked Children of the Dawnland mostly because it reminds me of a series that I enjoy very much. The Warriors series, by Erin Hunter, is similar to Children of the Dawnland because the plot of the story mostly revolves around spiritual themes, much like the "prophesies" the medicine cats' have. In the Warriors series, the medicine cats' dreams allow them to predict the future and receive signs, which is like Twig's vision of the world ending. Children of the Dawnland also has the same general way of life as the Warriors series where the characters have names and daily rituals that connect to the environment. I would recommend this book to fans of the Warriors series because of the similarities in theme and suspense.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Round Rock, Texas, United States

Buggy Crenshaw and the Bungler's Paradox

Buggy Crenshaw is an imaginative 11-year-old girl. She enjoys writing, and in her stories she always ends up saving the world. When her family moves to Lloyd’s Hollow after her father blows up her garage, her eyes are opened to world she never knew existed, including the battle between Good and Evil that is going on. She also learns a little bit about magic and can’t wait to get her Talisman, or a special charm that helps in the use of magic, on her 12th birthday. Who knows? Maybe Buggy is more powerful than she seems. Maybe Buggy is truly meant to save the world. Read Buggy Crenshaw and the Bungler’s Paradox to find out!

Buggy Crenshaw and the Bungler’s Paradox is a very interesting book for fantasy lovers like me. There were a few boring parts in the book, but once the ride started, there was no getting off. I learned that to really get into this book, you have to use your imagination, just like Buggy. This book is also appealing to people who like to write. Since Buggy is a writer, her mother is always giving her word games and a Word-of-the-Day, where Buggy has to use the word of the day in all its different forms. That game taught me some new words. Overall, I think that R.M Wilburn did an amazing job with this book!

Content: 1
Rating: 8
Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Harleysville, PA USA

Is It Still Cheating If I Don't Get Caught by Bruce Weinstein, Ph.D.

"Is It Still Cheating If I Don't Get Caught?" by Bruce Weinstein, Ph.D. is essentially a modern self-help ethics book. It discusses common teenage issues and teaches teens how to think, not what to think. The author's main points revolve aroung five life principles. They are to be respectful, be fair, be loving, do no harm, and make situations better. The book has a question and answer type feel, almost like an advice column.

Oddly, the book does not talk much about cheating. For readers that expected a look inside the minds of those that cheat, they did not get that. Still, the book was interesting and flowed well. The diagrams in the book were facetious and kept the book informal. Overall, the book is practical and pleasant to read, even if the contents are a bit surprising.

Reviewer Age:17

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

Negima!? Neo 1

Negi Springfield is a ten-year-old boy wizard who just graduated from magic school in England. This boy prodigy is given the confusing, mundane challenge of teaching English for an all-girls school in Japan. The only rule that Negi is not allowed to break is that he cannot use magic. However, when one of his students is supposedly attacked by a vampire, Negi must save his class and defeat the vampire, without alerting the girls to the fact that he is a wizard!

I thought this manga was extremely interesting and entertaining. The plot line was one that I thought that I had read about multiple times, yet the author was able to put a spin on the vampires and magic idea. I believe that the characters could be real life people and some of the situations could be ones that normal people could be placed into. I thought that the humor placed throughout the story balanced out the action and the seriousness that is in the novel. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys manga or a well-written tale about a boy wizard.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Pottstown, PA United States