Assassin's Apprentice by SR Vaught & JB Redmond

Assassin's Apprentice is a fantasy novel about Aron Brailing, who was Harvested from his Home to go to the guild of Stone. This book is in the adventure genre. After Harvesting, Aron and his new Guild Master make the Journey to the Guild of Stone's HQ, Triune. On the way they must battle manes, and Aron befriends a girl named Dari who is a Stregan and looking for her sister. When they arrive at Triune they learn that Lord Brailing and Lord Altar have declared war on the other dynasts and Aron begins his training and has been punished to go woth the person he loathes most, Galvin Herder, to The Ruined Keep, where they might die.

In my opinion the book is a very engaging read. The authors are very good at describing all the characters. They have also got a talent for fantasy writing and keeping you curious until the end of the story. Their writing style makes it easy to imagine the scenes in the book. I would reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys a fantasy novel and a page-turner.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Chippewa Falls, WI USA

The Sorceress by Michael Scott

The Sorceress picks up where The Magician leaves off. Nicholas Flamel (aka The Alchemyst) has decided to take the twins, Sophie and Josh, to London. Kind of a bad move since it's Dee's hometown, and The Magician has got A LOT of backup there. Mainly, Nicholas is trying to find a place to re-group and rest until he can figure out where to find Gilgamesh the King. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Perenelle is still stuck on Alcatraz. Perry has yet to think of a brilliant plan to get off the'sland. By now, the Elders are getting impatient, Dee's Elder especially. At the moment, they trust Machiavelli more than The Magician. Basically, Dee has one more chance to prove himself.
I liked this book, but the action was kind of slow with getting Perenelle off Alcatraz. Also, The Alchemyst was worried sick, but he still couldnt think of a way to help her, and the author just kept coming back to that. What really bothered me most though, was that the author never said anything about Scatty, one of The Alchemyst's strongest allies, who disappeared in the previous book. For most of this book, I was wondering, "Where's Scatty going to come in? Is she even alive?" Despite these shortcomings, fans of the Alchemist series will enjoy this next adventure.

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

You, Maybe by Rachel Vail

Josie is very content with her life, which includes working as a clown for children's birthday parties, having the funkiest friends, and being friends with a cute boy who is more like a friend-with-benefits than anything else. So when the hottest boy in school, Carson Gold, lands his sights on her and approaches her during lunch, she is happy with just having an occasional hook-up, but that only works when both people agree, and Carson wants more than just kisses; he wants her for his own. She tells him that she doesn't want to date but after a lot of begging and a little singing, she reluctantly says yes. Little does she know that by saying yes that she is in for way more than she could've ever expected, and that's not always a good thing. Her and Carson's relationship continues to grow as her other ones--as well as her life in general and everything that she once knew and believed in--crumble and fall apart. Sometimes instead of trying to fix the destruction that was caused, what's causing the destruction should just be gotten rid of, which in this case is Carson Gold, but for Josie that's going to be harder than she thinks.

The author, Rachel Vail, always does a splendid job of incorporating the book titles into her stories. You, Maybe made me laugh, cry, and feel all of the many emotions of the up and downs of teenage relationships, before, during, and after the break-up. It was easy to relate to Josie since we're both teenagers in high school, she was kind of shy, and the author described a lot about her thoughts, character, and personality. I could picture the scenes very well since they were well described. I liked most of the characters and their unique personalities except for the hunky Carson Gold because he seemed like a preppy snot who played girls and always seemed to get his way. The ending was fairly enjoyable and came as quite a surprise to me since it wasn't the perfect fairy-tale ending I was expecting. Overall this story was well-written and a fun read, but it left a few questions unanswered such as the outcome of her mother's health. I recommend this romantic and drama-filled novel to teenage girls looking for a quick summer read.

There was some sexual content and references.

Reviewer Age:15

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

Cycler by Lauren McLaughlin

Jill McTeague is your average high school girl. With the help of her best friends Ramie and Daria, she embarks on a mission to be Tommy Knutson's prom date. As she becomes more involved with Tommy, he opens up to her with a secret similar to her own. Can she tell him why she is really gone for four days each month, something she won't even tell Ramie?

Meet Jack - he lives for four days every month. Jill physically and emotionally transforms Jack, anatomy and all, and for the last few years he has been content with spending those days locked in solitude in Jill's room daydreaming of Ramie. Anti-Jack Mrs. McTeague keeps his needs satisfied with food and pornography, while Mr. McTeague has confined himself to the basement to meditate and practice yoga.

But Jack's contentment has reached its end. If life wasn't hard enough having such a secret, Jill must resist harder to keep him one as he fights to be known and released from his captivity.

Lauren McLaughlin did a wonderful job when writing Cycler. She discusses gender issues in a practical yet unrealistic way that allowed me to see a whole different perspective. The story is full of twists from the beginning that kept me reading. Just as I thought I knew what would happen, BAM! I think that some of the surprises were unnecessary, but overall I would recommend it to any young adult reader.

Reviewer Age:20

Reviewer City, State and Country: Bay City, Texas United States

See No Evil

"See No Evil" is the tale of a girl named Nettie. She does not go to school like all other kids; instead, she has a private tutor. Her favorite of these tutors, Miss Kovachev, disappears under mysterious circumstances. After her parents refuse to tell her why, she asks for the help of her friend Bennie, the night watchmen's son. They soon begin to uncover the horrifying reality behind Nettie's father, Vladamir (aka Vlad the Impaler), and many other shocking truths.

I found this book extremely hard to follow and could not understand what was going on for the majority of what I read. All of a sudden, I'd understand something, but it wouldn't make sense in the storyline, since I didn't know what was going on in the first place. I thought Nettie was not a very interesting main character, nor was anybody else in the story. Her disdain for every tutor she had (except Miss Kovachev) made me think she was just a bratty main character and the disappearance of her favorite teacher is hardly a good reason to investigate. I was interested in the fact that Vlad the Impaler was Nettie's father, but even that was not enough to keep my interest in this book. I definitely would not recommend this.

Content: 1
Rating: 2
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Westerville, OH United States

Guinevere's Gamble by Nancy McKenzie

"Guinevere's Gamble" by Nancy McKenzie is a lengthy book set in the Dark Ages. It follows Guinevere, the girl who is to one day marry King Arthur. However, King Arthur is scarcely mentioned as a present character in the novel. Additionally, there is no interaction between the two, let alone talk of marriage. Rather, the plot sticks to Guinevere's friends and enemies. A large part of the book talks about one of Guinevere's friends being falsely accused of kleptomania.
Book two in a four part series, this book is easy to follow. Events and characters are explained in depth. The only bad part is that major plot events in the legend of King Arthur are omitted; these are most likely saved for the proceeding books. Most of the book is either full of drama or mystery. While well-written, this hefty book does have some parts that make the book unnecessary longer.

Reviewer Age:18
Reviewer City, State and Country: Staten Island, NY USA

Skunk Girl by Sheba Karim

Nina Khan is skunk girl. Not because she stinks, but because she has a stripe of soft hair that runs along her spine. Nina and her family are from Pakistan and she has genes that make her hairy. She and her sister Sonia were born in the United States and have never been to Pakistan, but her parents grew up there and were all about the traditions. These traditions include never dating, arranged marriages, and not being allowed to party. Nina is having a tough time with these rules, not that a boy has ever asked her out, but she'd like to have parties and some fun like any teenager would. On top of all of that, her parents aren't as impressed with her as they are her sister Sonia, the "supernerd", because she knows she can't live up to those expectations.
Then, the new school year starts. Her friends Bridget and Helena are easy to find boyfriends and they try hard not to make Nina feel bad. Deer Hook High, being the small town that it is, no one new ever moves in, but that all changes when the boy of her dreams comes from Italy. He's Asher, he's handsome, and all the girls want him, including Nina. Asher soon dates Nina's archrival Serena, but Nina can't help but think that Asher doesn't truly like Serena, that he really likes her. But how would that work, her parents wouldn't approve of a boy non-Pakistani, and she would feel guilty going behind their backs.

This book was good, but a little cliche. Its plot was basic and a lot of other books I've read have the same kind of thing. Girl meets boy, girl wants boy, girl can't have boy, and so on. When you get to the middle of the book, you can pretty much guess what happens for the rest of it. Although, it did have a turn around from other books with this plot. The fact that Nina was Pakistani, it had a lot of their traditions, language, and food. I thought it helped me understand the culture a little bit because I didn't know anything about Pakistan.

Some drinking, mentions of sex, but no details.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Norristown, Pennsylvania USA

Flirting with Boys by Hailey Abbott

Every summer Celeste Tippen has to work at her family's resort. She also has to deal with the son of their family's wealthiest clients, Nick, flirting with her constantly. This year is different. Celeste's boyfriend, Travis, has a job at the resort as well. Nick and Celeste need to plan a party that will be the biggest event that her resort has ever seen, but Travis cannot leave Nick alone. Celeste's feelings change towards both Travis and Nick as she learns more about who they really are.

I thought that this book would be an easy, but fun, read. It was entertaining, but the level of difficulty was too low for me. Almost every event in the book was conventional and expected. The book was not unique, but it was still a good book. The dialogue between the characters seemed to be unrealistic at certain spots, and the characters' emotions were pretty extreme. This book is most likely suited for girly-girls. I would recommend this book to teenage girls who want a fun book to read in the summer.

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

Sisters in Sanity by Gayle Forman

Sixteen year old, Brit Hemphill can be seen as your typical semi-rebellious teen. She is lead vocals in her rock band, sports a tattoo, and can't for the life of her get along with her father and step-mother. Any other parent would just let their child live out their rebellious teen years. But not hers. Her father and step-mother send her to Red Rock; a boot camp like institution that breaks people down in order to "share their emotions." Here, Brit learns about her real mother, who lives in an institution with schizophrenia. Along the way, Brit meets four other young women who encourage each other to stay sane in this insane environment. These "Sisters in Sanity," as they call themselves, must stick together and find some way out of Red Rock; back into normal, real life.

I really liked this book. I have to admit, as an eighteen year old, it took me a little longer to get into the book. The issues Brit dealt with were very much so for a sixteen year old, like having her first crush and being totally against everything her parent's said. But once in Red Rock, I was intrigued. The situations each girl was in were very real and raw. For example, one of the girls, Cassie, was a bisexual. There was no hiding behind a blanket; the girls' issues were thrown right in front of you. At times, especially the end, the book jumped quickly from one scene to the next. I know the book can't go on forever but I saw some scenes that were more important than others and they were left for my imagination. But maybe that's how a good writer writes. Overall, it was a good book that made me take a step back from my sheltered life to see what other girls have to deal with in theirs.

Reviewer Age:18

Reviewer City, State and Country: Villa Hills, Kentucky United States

Rise of the Heroes - Hero.com #1 by Andy Briggs

When Toby, Lorna, Pete, and Emily stumble on a website that gives them superpowers it soon gets them in trouble. In order to get hero points they must perform jobs. When Toby and Lorna's mother is kidnapped they have no choice but to save her. With their friends' help of course. Can they do all of this even though they get bullied all day from the school kids? Will these mere kids be enough to stop a super villain? Find out when you fly through the pages of this book!

This was a really good book. I loved the concept of how a website could give you super powers. Giving the super powers to little kids and not grownups made the book even better. The book was very simple with a few hard words and I flew right through it. The book had very vivid imagery which felt like you were in the experience with them. Though when your mother is torn away from you I believe you would do anything in your power to get her back!

Mild Violence
Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Northport, NY USA