Portia's Exclusive and Confidential Rules by Anna Hays

Portia Avatar, a girl detective is on the case to find her father, Patch. When Misty, a new student arrives, she brings a case along with her. She tells Portia her case is top secret, and somebody's life is at steak. Portia spends time with Misty in school and out of school. Portia's best friend, Amy, starts to become jealous. Portia has to juggle her two cases and keeping her old friend.

Portia's Exclusive and Confidential Rules on True Friendship was written in vivid detail. The characters were unique and interesting. The author used fantastic comparisons and used magnificent describing words. I could not always connect to the characters because it seemed they acted younger. I believe younger kids would enjoy it more. As the book progressed, Portia learned about the meaning of true friendship, which is a great lesson to teach through a book.

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

Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

Skinwalker is a story about love, action, and magic.
Jane Yellowrock is a young woman that is a vampire hunter. She is hired by one vampire to hunt down another vampire who is killing other vampires. Jane must figure out who this rogue vamp is while keeping the secret that she is a skinwalker-a Cherokee that can change into any animal she wants. Throughout the book, Jane must look into her own past to solve the mystery of the rogue and why she shares her body with another soul that she calls Beast.

In this novel, the author details much of the story. Many of the characters were well developed and thought out. Sometimes, I had difficulty keeping up with the story because it switches the point of view between two character (Jane and Beast). The author put in lots of description and irony that keeps you reading until the end. In my opinion, I think that the author should have added more detail to the ending, but overall, it was a really interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes books similar to the Cirque Du Freak or Harry Potter series. Readers can expect a large mix of mystery, action, and fantasy.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: McDonough, Georgia United States

Racle of the Morrigan by Tiffany Trent and Paul Crilley

After reluctantly agreeing to help with the council's mission of finding the rathstones, Siobhan is thrust into a portal and wakes up to find herself still in Scotland, just a scarier, more medieval Scotland. She takes a liking to her mortal rescuer named Conal who takes her to an annual festival located in the actual Fey kingdom itself. There she realizes that Fey and mortal live side-by-side in peace and harmony, but she knows that that can't be for much longer since she came from the future. Already knowing what is yet to come, Siobhan decides that maybe her mission isn't to find the rathstone after all, but maybe it's to prevent the future events that cause the Fey and mortal warfare from happening. But is a war so large preventable and if so, can she do it all alone when she is scared of the very thought of her daunting mission? She'll have to set aside her cowardly fear and look inside herself and maybe to a few others for help as well if she wants to succeed.

This was one of the best books so far in the Hallowmere series and I couldn't put it down. Oracle of the Morrigan was very suspenseful, exciting, and captivating, and it definitely kept my interest. I found myself fully engrossed this story and it felt like I was actually living Siobhan's life. It was a very sad story that was also full of adventure and intrigue and had a slight pinch of love thrown in, but it was such a small dose it was almost unrecognizable. The words were fairly large and I found myself constantly reaching for the dictionary. I feel that the storyline definitely could've continued into further books because there were still many questions that were left unanswered such as whether or not Siobhan even made it home and if she does how. I think that it was kind of a bad place to stop the story. I really admired Conal and his bravery and every girl should wish for a great guy like him because he was always there for Siobhan, definitely in the direst times of peril. I greatly enjoyed this amazing and very well-written story and highly recommend it to teens that are into fantasy genres.

Reviewer Age:15

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

Crouching Vampire Hidden Fang by Kate MacAlister

Pia Thomas is the Beloved of a Dark One named Kristoff, meaning that Kristoff can no longer live without her. She hasn't seen him since Iceland two months ago and is surprised when the messenger from the vampire council comes to her doorstep. She drags her best friend and her fiance, Magda and Ray, to Venice to go before the court. There, she once again meets Kristoff. Together, they are charged with crimes they did not commit and set off to clear their names and possibly learn to love each other.

Crouching Vampire, Hidden Fang was a well written book. It was interesting and made me want to keep reading. However, the book was a little confusing in the beginning. This book has another before it called Zen and the Art of Vampires which probably would have helped my understanding of some of the terms used and how Pia became a Beloved. There were also some adult moments in the book, especially when Kristoff and Pia were together, that some parents might not want their children to be reading. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy romance and vampire books.
There are four major sex scenes in the book along with a lot of sexual thinking on Pia and Kristoff's part that some teens and young adults should not be reading.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Brownsburg, Indiana United States of America

Soldier Mom

Jas is a 12 year old girl who has everything she needs: a mom who works for the Army at an office close to home, (She orders supplies and ships them to soldiers.), a cute 10-month old baby brother who is good to cheer you up, and a game that she is good at, basketball. But she also has a nuisance, her mom's boyfriend and her little brother's dad,
Jake. He is so irresponsible! Jas just goes on with life, even though Jake is SO annoying, and makes team captain for her b-ball team. Everything is fine and dandy until Paula, Jas's mom, gets a phone call. Paula is to leave in a day to
go to a country near Saudi Arabia called Kuwait, no excuse to leaving the mission, she has to go. Jas is destroyed. How can her mom leave her? Leave her with Jake? The one person who is always late, and Jake's work hours mean that Jas has to pick up Andrew, her baby brother, from daycare, at 5:00 o'clock sharp, exactly when basketball practice ends! She'll have no time, and coach won't let her be captain if she has to leave practice! And Jake refuses to get up earlier and take the early shift. What will Jas do? When will her mom get back? Is her mom even okay?

This book, "Soldier Mom," is a wonderful book that really opened my eyes and let me know what kids sometimes go
through when one of their parents gets called to war. It has a fantastic writing style, which gets you all wrapped up in the story. This book is a very quick and easy read, yet the two days I read the book, I was captivated by the story...it
even made me shed a few tears once. The main character, Jas, really got through to me, and let me know how she felt, and how she thought; it was amazing. Also the plot was something most people never think will happen, but sometimes it does, so it really informed me about those situations.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Winslow, Arkansas, United States

Death's Daughter by Amber Benson

Death's Daughter is a science-fiction book about the family of Death himself. One of his three daughters doesn't like the family business and enchanted herself to think she was a human when she was in college. For the past few years, she has been living a completely normal life. That is, up until now. When her father and older sister are kidnapped, she may have to not only return to her family but take over the family business as well. Too bad the person competing for the job happens to be very, very hot...

I thought this book was very confusing. The scenes changed very quickly and I had a hard time keeping up with everything because the main character was the narrator of the story, so she often added unneeded details and not enough to explain the story. Because the story was science fiction, there was also lots of new terms and words. They were not well-explained or described, and I felt very lost. Overall, it was not well-explained, but I liked the main idea.

This book contained many thoughts of sex and other adult content because of it's first-person narration.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Braintree, MA United States of America

Radient Darkness by Emily White

Tired of being treated like a child, Persephone runs away from home and elopes with the ever-charming Hades, Lord of the Underworld. However she finds it difficult to settle into her new role as Queen and is troubled when she learns her mother, Demeter, is so distraught with worry she has stopped the earth from producing food, causing a major famine among the mortals. Persephone convinces Hades to let her visit her mother. However Demeter learns Persephone cannot stay with her because Persephone had eaten food from the underworld. In order to satisfy both Demeter and Hades, Zeus rules that Persephone will stay with her mother six months out of the year and the return to Hades for the remaining months.
It was refreshing to read the story from Persephone's point of view since the story is usually centered on Demeter. However, I feel the only reason it is a young adult novel is because of the elopement between Persephone and Hades and a few cuss words. My suggestion would be not to romanticize the myth. The original tale is not a story about an adolescent finding love but one about a mother trying to find her kidnapped daughter. It would have been better if the author would have stuck to the original version of the myth.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Holly Springs, North Carolina , United States of America

The Problem with the Puddles, by Kate Feiffer

Mr. and Mrs. Puddle can’t agree on anything. They couldn’t even agree on what to name their daughter. They each have their own name for her, but everyone else calls her Baby. They wanted a dog named Sally, but couldn’t agree which one to get, so they got both. One day, when the family is moving from their country house to their city house, the Sallies get left behind in all the commotion. When they realized they forgot their dogs, they turn around and their car breaks down. They get the attention of Frankolin, a man who thinks they are a dancing family. He brings them to his messy house that he shares with his wife, Felicia, and their dog, King. Meanwhile, the Sallies are making their way to the city to find the Puddles. Will the Puddles and the Sallies meet up?

I really enjoyed The Problem with the Puddles. Kate Feiffer shows a great sense of humor that kept me reading. The characters came to life with her wonderful writing style and the help of Tricia Tusa’s illustrations. She sprinkles pictures here and there that top off this great book. My favorite part of the book was the end. There was a great twist that tied the whole story together. I would recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a fun, easy read.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Oakmont, Pennsylvania United States

Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart

When her mother passed away, Katie started to feel alone in her huge home. She lives with her dad, who restores old paintings for a living, but still always feels like she is living by herself. Katie takes a summer job at a garden estate where she meets two brothers. With the help of them and the town librarian, she becomes immersed in deciphering a mystery. Katie, the brothers, and the librarian work together to solve the mystery. There are many secrets throughout the mystery; symbols hidden in a darkened painting, and surprises behind a locked door. While decoding the mystery, Katie learns about love and learns to live with her own ghosts.

Nothing but Ghosts was the greatest mystery, yet, love story I have read in ages. It was interesting and really detailed. I absolutely loved how the author would take breaks from the main idea to express smaller points in the plot. As the main characters learned certain things, I learned right along with them. The author, Beth Kephart, did an amazing job from the beginning to the end. I recommend Nothing but Ghosts to all young-adult readers who enjoy love stories or mysteries.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Fairborn, Ohio USA

Keeper by Mal Peet

World soccer superstar El Gato has just won the World Cup;
he is at the peak of his career and has been named the
world's greatest goalkeeper. Paul Faustino, South
America's top football journalist expected a reasonably
normal post World Cup interview, but what he got was more
than he ever imagined. During the hours of the interview
between El Gato and Faustino, the football legend gives an
exclusive into his intriguing past. He tells Faustino how
the lingering spirit of mysterious Keeper changed his life
and how he went from being the struggling son of a poor
logger to being thrown into the thrilling world of major
league football. The strange life that El Gato lived was
not at all what anyone expected and his unusual past was
not the only shock he was ready to unleash on the world.

Keeper by Mal Peet is a truly interesting and
extraordinary journey through the roller coaster life of a
disadvantaged teenager who makes it big. I'm not
interested in football at all and when told about this
book, I was dubious. By the end of the story, however, I
was caught by its reveling excitement and spine tingling
mystery. There was definitely no need to be a football fan
to enjoy the absorbing story line and enthralling
characters. This book was all told by El Gato in first
person, in the context of Gato telling his life story to
Faustino. There was a bit of football lingo, which was not
always clear and entirely understood, but that was made up
for by the amount of time that went into telling the story
of spirits and ghosts. I am looking forward to the next
Paul Faustino installment and continuation of El Gato's
story.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and
Country: Melbourne , Victoria Australia