Magic in the Blood by Devon Monk

Slightly humorous with an interesting character, Magic in the Blood is an exotic story put together in a way that a reader can connect. Because of a new concept of magic, crime different to what is known can be committed, such as living as a ghost after death. Something a little out of the ordinary, yet easily understandable, Magic in the Blood is just a taste of the more modern genre of fiction.

I did not enjoy the book Magic in the Blood for a multitude of reasons. From the lack of detail throughout the book to the rhetorical questions asked by the character during thought process, I found the book extremely disappointing. Magic in the Blood left out all of the romance of loving the setting, theology, and plain magic of being able to transport your mind to a different world, which should be found when reading all fiction books. Devon Monk did achieve the purpose of keeping the plot simple. The writer was very successful in her description of characters throughout the book, but not in describing settings or objects. In all, the author had a great idea, but she did not exactly follow through.

The book mentions some sexual intercourse.
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Lake Bluff, Illinois U.S.

Running For My Life by Ann Gonzalez

Andrea McKane has Post Traumatic stress disorder. Her Mom has schizophrenia,
a disease which makes her do crazy things. Andrea needs a way to escape and
leave her problems behind. When she discovers running, it does just that.
Andrea also goes to Samantha, her therapist, who helps her straighten out her
life. This realistic fiction book really opens your eyes to the hardships you never
imagined.

I really enjoyed this book for many reasons. I never imagined
someone would have to face the challenges Andrea had to face. This book was
quite powerful. It made me want to help kids with post traumatic stress
disorder. The characters were unique, and I could connect to them easily. The
plot was really interesting, but I had never heard of either of the disorders. I
really enjoyed the writing style because it captured how Andrea was feeling
perfectly. I would recommend this book to people who enjoyed the book Rules,
by Cynthia Lord

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country:
Lake Bluff, IL United States

If the Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney

The Fountain family has faced endless grief within the last couple of years and their future seems quite bleak as well. First the childrens mother died, after refusing treatment for her fatal cancer so that she could give life to their baby brother Tris. Then, just two years later their father dies in a terrible accident leaving the four Fountain children alone and parent less with only their self-involved Aunt Cheryl left to care for them.

Within weeks the two Fountain daughters, Madison and Smithy flee, one going to live with her godparents and the other going to a boarding school hundreds of miles away. This leaves Jack to be the strong one, the one to take care of Tris, because Cheryl really only cares about herself and home makeover shows on TV.

As Tris third birthday approaches, Cheryl decides that she is ready for fame and sells the familys soap-opera story to a reality television producer and Jack knows that his life is about to be thrown upside down once again. The thing is though this event brings the family together again. Along the way they find out some troubling information that makes them question if the witness of their dads death lie?d

I believe if you looked Caroline B. Cooney up in an encyclopedia you would find & author of heart-thudding thrillers. I could literally not stop reading this book and absolutely gobbled it up. The book as a whole was great, but there were definitely some holes that I wish had been patched up.

First of all, the plot was very original and was the driving force behind the heart-thudding feeling you got while reading the book. I loved how the author took a mystery and turned it into a novel about family, friendship, trust, loss, and love. These themes melded perfectly throughout the book and really made the reader take a step back and evaluate their own life in a different light. I did have a couple issues with the plot though. Some of the events, such as Cheryl gaining custody automatically over the children and there being no original investigation into the fathers death, were completely left out. This left a big gap for me as I felt it could have been a crucial part in the story. The storyline was also a bit predictable, but the suspense created by the little details really helped the reader to not focus on what was coming next.

As for characters, this is really where the book lacked. All of the characters were one-dimensional; especially the adults, and I wish they were so much more. The little we did get to learn about the characters though was great. Jack was definitely the hero in the book and by far a favorite, as he sacrificed his social life in order to step up to the plate and care for his younger brother.

Another plus for this book is the authors writing style. She made the book incredibly realistic and all throughout the story I felt like I was reading an article from the local newspaper instead of a piece of fiction. Also the point of view she wrote the book in was quite interesting. It felt like a mix between third and first person, but all in the present tense, much like in Lisa McManns novels. This quirky style took a while to get used to but in the end it definitely added to the book.

Overall this was a good novel that all teen readers will enjoy. It had enough action to satisfy anyone and will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. I loved how the author dealt with the breaking and healing of a family and really showed what love is and its immense powers.
TSamb - Reviewer Age:16 Reviewer City, State and Country: Currituck, NC United States

Pandora Gets Lazy by Carolyn Hennesy

Pandora and her friends, Iole, Alcie, and Homer are on a mission to capture Laziness. While on their way, Pandy is separated from her friends and her dog, Dido, who was captured by Hera. She must travel through the wilderness by herself until she meets two boys named Ismailil and Amri. The three of them are captured and taken prisoner. They must travel to Jbel Toubkal, where Atlas holds up the heavens. Iole, Alcie, and Homer are taken to work on a ship called the Syracusa. While there, they find and capture Misery, a lesser evil. Will Pandy be reunited with her friends? Will they be able to find and capture Laziness? Read this great story that will keep you guessing until the end.

This was a great book to read. The characters were believable for Greek mythology. The plot was full of excitement and adventure. The end of the book was more exciting than the beginning. I would recommend this book to people who like adventure, excitement, and Greek mythology.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Enon, OH USA

City of Time was an adventure where Owen, the navigator, goes to The City of Time because there is no time left. Owen and Cati start seeing things that are paranormal, like skeletons of killer whales trying to eat fish, and a message from Cati's father who got lost in time (first book). They talked to Dr. Diamond, and he said they had to go and get some time to save the planet. I thought the plot was interesting because Owen has to get some time from another world to his world. The author makes the story able to be easily visualized.

I feel that it is a extremely powerful book because it was so vivid in information that I couldn't put it down. I would recommend it to anyone who likes an action/adventure story. There were a few parts toward the end that I didn't like. Otherwise I thought that the rest of the book was phenomenal and vivid with action. I think that the vocabulary was perfect because it fit in with the age group (12-14).

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Lake Bluff,
Illinois USA

Son of the Great River by Elijah Meeks

Son Of The Great River is a story about three children growing up in the pre-Bronze Age, and their journey to find themselves. The story starts out with Saffu, who is forced to leave his tribe and his true love, Naganawae, to journey to the south to return a mysterious cylinder given to him by a strange woman before she died. On the way, he discovers metal, and lives with bears. When he reaches the city from which the cylinder came, he meets Samhail, a young mercenary, and the fiery Rheem, who Sanhail rescued from her family. Saffu and Samhail bond over difficult circumstances, and soon the three must choose their paths as the king makes Rheem princess and Saffu discovers his father was a trusted friend to the king and is offered a position in court. Samhail also must decide whether to stay with the king or continue on. Things become even more complicated when Saffu's old love, Naganawae, shows up.

I thought this book was very interesting, and exciting. It was very informative of the time the book was set in, and some of the actions in the book seemed like they did not belong in that time, but that did not detract from the book. The ending was unsatisfactory, because of the deaths of many main characters. They seemed to be unnecessary, and why they occurred was confusing. Also, I would have liked for Rheem and Samhail's characters do be developed more, as I did not really understand their motivations.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: New Tripoli, PA America

The Hollywood Sisters: Truth or Dare

"The Hollywood Sisters: Truth or Dare" by Mary Wilcox is a
fun mix of chick-lit and mystery. Jessica's sister Eva is
a movie star, and Jessica is an extra with her friend,
Rebecca. When expensive props go missing and rumors of a
ghost arise, Jessica must try to figure out what is going
on. All throughout, she is clumsy and has a "celebrity
jinx" that is most facetious. The ending is surprising
and well worth the read.

Even though this is book five
in a series, readers won't know the difference. The story
flows well and there are no details left out. Also, the
book is organized in a fun way, with acts and scenes
instead of parts and chapters (each scene has a quote from
a celebrity). While teen romance is involved, young
readers need not worry because there is nothing
graphic.

Reviewer Age:17

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

Starfinder by John Marco

Starfinder is about a boy named Moth. His mother died and he went to live with his grandfather and his bird. The bird is really a skylord named Esme. Skylords live across the reach which is a place where people are not allowed to go. But, when Moth's grandpa dies he tells Moth he must go across the reach to turn Esme back to a Skylord. He gives moth a gift the Starfinder which you can use to see and control anybody. The Skylords used it to control everybody so they wouldn’t fly. But, it was stolen by Esme and that is why the Skylords turned her into a bird. In the end the Skylords had a fight against the Humans, Cenatours, and the Dragons. The Skylords lost the battle and Moth went back home.

I liked the book. It was a very magical fantasy type book which I love. It was a action packed book. It was very fast paced. You didn't have to wait very long for somthing interesting to happen like meeting a mermaid or a great fight. That is why I liked the book.
Reviewer Age:12
Leopold, MO USA

Libyrinth by Pearl North

Libyrinth is a fantasy novel that draws you into a dark world where two different opinions can turn into war. The main character, Clerk Haly, respects her life and beliefs at the labyrinth until the discovery of one book (The Book of the Night)
changes everything. This discovery led Haly to be kidnapped by the supposedly evil, book-burning Eradicants. Haly discovers that sometimes people are not what they seem during her adventures with the people she thought were
beasts.

I thought the book was quite exciting, but had some parts that didnt really spark my interest. Libyrinth had an interesting plot that made the reader not want to put the book down until finished, though some parts the author did not elaborate on that could have been a lot more specific. Pearl North could have explained the settings quite a bit more, and she left a bit too much to the imagination. However, the main characters were very believable, and I could imagine them perfectly fine. The writing was powerful, and at some points, I didn't want to put the book down because they were so exciting. Also, the ending was very abrupt and didn't exactly sum up the questions I was asking, but North did do well on leaving some parts of the book to the imagination even though some weren't needed. Overall, I enjoyed the book, and I would recommend it to anybody who is ready for intense action and a slight hint of romance.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Lake Bluff, Illinois United States

Gorgeous by Rachel Vail

Being the middle aged Avery sister isn't always the easiest thing to do. Allison Avery is sick of her boring old life and wishes for nothing more than to be gorgeous, just like her two sisters and the new girl at school. Having too many problems, such as having the hugest crush on an older boy that probably doesn't even know her name if he even knows she exists, her mom is on the brink of losing her job, and she can't do much else to make her friend upset with her, she realizes that she can't possibly deal with them all herself. Allison knows that she needs help from possibly some unnatural forces and maybe a new friend because she can't do it all alone, and is willing to give up almost anything to turn her life around; so when the opportunity finally presents itself, Allison can't resist. That opportunity came from no one but the devil himself, and usually when the devil's involved, it can only mean one thing: trouble. Allison agrees to sell her cell phone to the devil in exchange for the gift of being gorgeous since she is convinced that she has no soul. Allison will soon see whether she regrets that decision or not; but if it involves the devil, she probably will.

So far Gorgeous is the best book of the trilogy by Rachel Vail starting with Lucky, but I have yet to read Brilliant. I thought that it was a lot easier to relate to Allison rather than Phoebe since we are of closer ages and have the same issues such as wanting to be gorgeous and trying to fit in, as well as trying to get that special older boy to like you and your friends to fully accept whom you are. Some of the scenes were interesting and held my attention pretty well, such as when she went to some of the parties, but I thought that a few of the other scenes weren't fully developed and somewhat boring and the story didn't really take flight. The ending was very unexpected and caught me by great surprise. Overall, the book was pretty well written, enjoyable for the most part, and a nice breezy story for a hot summer day. I recommend this novel to younger teenage girls around the ages of 11 to 15. I'm looking forward to reading Rachel Vail's next book Brilliant and seeing how this drama-infused trilogy ends.

There was some alcohol substance throughout the story.

Reviewer Age:15

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