Lady McBeth's Daughter

From the author of Ophelia comes a new twist on a Shakespearean classic: Lady Macbeth's Daughter. In Lisa Klein's take on Macbeth, Lady Macbeth bears a deformed child - a girl, nonetheless. When Macbeth casts away his child, Albia, his wife mourns, and a serving woman, Rhuven, along with her sisters (coincidentally the witches), takes the baby in, treating her like a daughter. Albia grows up with no knowledge of her rightful birth mother, while Lady Macbeth continues to grieve for the daughter she believes to be dead and for her failure to produce a healthy male heir to inherit the Macbeth name. When King Duncan is murdered, Albia is forced to leave her family to live with Banquo. There, Albia begins to feel an attachment to Banquo as the father she never had, as well as to Fleance as more than a brother. A curious and brave heroine amidst the war, Albia sets out to learn the truth of her birth and to set things right for new family.

Lisa Klein creates a new and engaging angle on Shakespeare's story of Macbeth in Lady Macbeth's Daughter. Albia is a fierce heroine for a novel based off of Shakespeare, courageous and witty, though a bit naive. Though the Macbeths are not supposed to have any children according to the play, Albia's story fits perfectly with the drama. This work even unravels the mysteries of the witches and prophecies. I also appreciate how Lisa Klein portrays Lady Macbeth as weak and pained as opposed to power-hungry and manipulative, rendering her sympathetic to the reader. The one disappointing aspect of this book was the timing of the ending. For me, Lady Macbeth's Daughter ended too early in Albias story.

Reviewer Age:20

Reviewer City, State and Country: Farmington, CT USA

The Comet's Curse by Dom Testa

Traveling through space to save humanity, on a ship called Galahad, is not where Trina Marshall pictured herself at age 15. Especially not the leader of 250 other 15 year olds on the ship. Then when there is an unexpected enemy on board, can she handle it all, or will the ship wreck? Will they be able to get away from the disease, rapidly spreading that the comet Bhaktul is causing?


I really enjoyed reading this book. I found it hard to put down at times. It is filled with mystery, and a bit of romance. What I liked the most is the unique way he told what happened in the past while still telling the future. I also enjoyed the readers guide in the back. I found that, by doing some of the things suggested, I had a much better understanding of the book. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a quick, suspenseful mystery.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Springfield, Ohio USA

Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog

Morgan and Cam are the perfect couple. That is, until Cam
begins to behave differently, to transform into a fairy.
In one week, the two will be celebrating their 16th
birthdays together. However, Morgan does not know is that
on their birthday that Cam will be taken away to
Otherworld: the world of fairies. A strange, awkward boy
named Pip comes to live at Cam's house. According to the
fairies, he will be replacing Cam in every single aspect
of his life when he leaves; he is even meant to replace
Cam as Morgan's boyfriend. The three work together to plot
a way for Cam to stay on Earth, but Morgan's emotions are
being twisted more than ever. What does she really want?

The writing in Fairy Tale is rather simple. Neither the
vocabulary nor the plotline is difficult to understand. I
felt like this book was meant for someone of a younger age
than I am. It is a pretty conventional teen
romance/fantasy story. Therefore, none of the events are
all that thrilling or unique. The ending, however, is very
well put together and creative. I love how Cyn Balog chose
to end the novel. A strength of this book is that Morgan's
emotions are reflected in her actions and help foreshadow
upcoming events. I would not recommend this book to teens
who like to read very advanced novels, but this book would
be great for other teens who like easy, fun
reads.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and
Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America

Fed Up by Sarah Conant and Jessica Conant-Parker

In 'Fed Up' by Sarah Conant and Jessica Conant-Parker, Chloe Carter's boyfriend, Josh Driscoll, competes against two chefs for his own television show. The chefs visit grocery stores and pick up random customers and prepare them home cook meals. During Josh's meals, one of the customers dies and investigators are left to search and find out "who dunnit." Josh is innocent, because the camera was on him the entire time as proof that he didn't commit the crime. However, investigators are unaware of who did. Chloe makes time in between planning her best friend's wedding and work, to help solve this murder mystery.

The Conants do a wonderful job in describing the setting of the book. The descriptions throughout the story give the reader enough information to get the gist of the story and room to imagine the rest. The writers also do a great job in making the main character come to life. They allow the audience to enter into her mind on a personal level, as if she were a real human being. For example, during some of Chloe's thoughts, she will talk about multiple topics sometimes one cutting off another. Or she'll mention an insignificant fact that helps the reader to remember that she is human, and sometimes she too can get sidetracked. Although the book is very intriguing, at times certain aspects of the story were too conspicuous. I'd recommend this book to someone who has just began to explore the world of mystery books such as Nancy Drew or simple children's mysteries.

Reviewer Age:16
Raleigh, NC United States

Magic Can Be Murder by Vivian Vande Velde

Two witches, Nola and her mother, are living a tough life. They are constantly on the run, fleeing from towns people who suspect their secret. When Nola casts a spell, and leaves it unattended, everything goes wrong. She finds herself wrapped up in murder story. Will she be able to reveal the murderer, or will she be accused, herself, by the man she's falling for?

This story I found, was hard to put down, especially near the end. It has an ending I never expected. I was surprised by how well she put together the plot, with it being a mystery, and a romance. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a funny, mystery, and a little bit of romance.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Springfield, Ohio USA

Oracles of Delphi Keep by Victoria Laurie

Oracles of Delphi Keep is a book about two inseparable children named Theo and Ian. They are like any normal children who like to go and explore caves around their orphanage until one day they find something that will change their lives forever. They stumble into a great mystery of a silver box and a dark, evil monster that is out to get them. They find themselves trying to unravel the mysteries of the past, present, and future in a race to fulfill their destiny and to discover the meaning of a very old prophesy just for them.

Oracles of Delphi Keep was one of the best books I have ever read. It has adventure, mystery, and a great storyline you are sure to never forget. One of the main characters, Ian Wigby, is very protective of his sister and is a very good brother to her. He is very brave and doesn't want to let anyone down. The author makes you feel like you are really in the book and you can see exactly what is going on. I could come up with a perfect picture in my mind of the characters and their surroundings and didn't have to guess what anyone looked like. Oracles of Delphi Keep is really great and anyone who likes adventure and mystery should definitely read this book.

Age 13
Brownsburg, Indiana United States

Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches and when she was born her grandmother said she was going to be the most talented among them. Now 17, Tamsin's magic never showed up. Feeling like an outsider she goes to boarding school to at least act normal. During the summer she is forced to work at the family magic/book shop. One day a professor from NYU comes in and mistakes Tamsin for her very talented sister. Finally being looked at with awe she couldn't help but agree to help him find a missing family heirloom. This treasure hunt will ultimately send Tamsin to discover her true identity with some humor on the This was a very good book but the beginning was a little slow. Once the action starts to set in then the book sails away making you want more. The main character had a good sense of humor which made me laugh throughout the book. I loved the action and the adventure of the book added to the overall fantasy made the book excellent. Another great thing about this book was the strong characters. The author spent a lot of time on the characters and made sure you knew all about them but you never new if they were going to make a different choice then you expected. All in all a good book that I recommend to any fantasy lover or someone who wants to find what fantasy is all about.

some alcohol use

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Northport, NY USA

The Debs: Love, Lies, and Texas Dips by Susan McBride

Laura's dream of becoming a deb is finally coming true. With her confidence at an all-time high, she dares to mess with Jo Lynn's boyfriend, Dillon. But then, Laura finds herself in the middle of some horrifying gossip that could get her kicked out of the Glass Slipper Club by her second curtsy lesson.

Mac discovers that becoming a deb is something she can barely stand. Then things go from bad to worse when a new girl starts flirting with her best friend, Alex. She doesn't want to be jealous, but she can't help it. Does that mean she wants Alex to be more than a friend?

With her atrocious college-boy fling behind her, Ginger wants to focus on more important things: fine arts, white ball gowns, and social activism. When her grandmother ask her to sit for a formal portrait with the son of a local prodigy, she finds out she already knows him, but what she knows isn't good.

Jo Lynn plans on taking down Laura not matter what. When she finds Laura's phone number in Dillon's cell, the stakes are higher than ever. Is her boyfriend cheating on her with Laura? Jo Lynn will do almost anything to find out.

In this book, you could feel the tension between the characters as you read. When I read The Debs: Love, Lies, and Texas Dips, I saw each girl's view of a situation, which made the book more unique. The only thing that could've been improved was the book's pace: at the beginning it was slow, and I became distracted while I was reading. I became more engrossed in the book toward the middle when more events took place. Other than that, the book was enjoyable and I look forward to reading the sequel.

Reviewer Age:12

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

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

According to Micah Wilkins, lying is not an easy business. There is keeping up the different stories you have told everybody and then backing it up; oh, and making sure that you don't get caught is another biggie. Although she claims it is so difficult, Micah has become a fluent liar, even to the point where she has started to believe her own lies. Her lies get her into quite some trouble though when her boyfriend Zach shows up dead. While she has the reputation of liar, this time she swears that she had no involvement in Zach's death, but many people find it hard to believe. Will Micah finally learn to tell the truth for once, or will she just create more lies to cover up what really happened?

Throughout the ups and downs of high school and many unexpected twists, Justine Larbalestier creates a fantastic novel that is hard to forget and even tougher to put down.

This book was absolutely wonderful. I truly enjoyed the entire story and thought the way it was written was extremely intriguing. This was the first time I had read anything by Justine Larbalestier, but I know how she writes fantasy novels and such. Therefore I was a bit shocked with the realism this book contained, but then I soon came to find out that Ms. Larbalestier weaved her signature style into the story flawlessly and intensely.

The plotline of the book was incredibly interesting and jaw-dropping. There was grief and sorrow as well as many laughs and giggles throughout the entire story. Although there were points where I was pretty sure I had the rest of the story figured out, there was always a twist to what I was thinking. As the book progressed, the plot became more and more intricate, but the author still managed to keep things very clear to the reader with no confusion. The ending was also absolutely perfect for the book.

As for the characters, I thought they were all really well developed. Even the characters that were only mentioned once or twice were described well and came alive off of the pages. For example, there was this one character, BRANDON, who we only met perhaps three times, and you could just tell that he was one of the biggest perverts in the world. To me, this really made me enjoy the story even more because it got me involved in the world that the author created. I also loved the development of Micah. She is definitely not your average young adult girl character. For one she kind of resembles a boy and two she doesn't really care what other people think. She was a great character though, as many of her lies were comical and she always left this lingering thought in your head as if she was really telling the truth. Throughout the entire story it felt like she was whispering her secrets into your ear.

Another very strong aspect of this book was the point of view the author created. Micah told the entire story and the reader learned all about her family history and the days leading up and proceeding Zach's death. Micah also talked to the reader, asking if he / she really believed her and again making the reader feel that he / she were sitting there on the couch beside Micah, listening to her life story. The author also created such a feeling of suspense throughout the whole book that it was near impossible to set the book down even for a minute. She also set the book up really nicely, making a very logical progression of events that made the story that much more intriguing.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thought it was just wonderful! I will definitely be reading more by Justine Larbalestier in the future, as she is a fabulous author. I recommend this book to anyone looking for an interesting and riveting read.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Currituck, NC United States

Stonecutter by Jon J. Muth

"Stonecutter" by Jon J. Muth is about a man that cuts stones for a living. Suddenly feeling despondent, he changes his occupation around. He becomes a merchant, an official, the sun, the wind, and more. Trying out each situation, he learns that he is still not good enough. In the end, the stonecutter does not settle on a final occupation, but he does find closure.

This is an ideal coffee-table book. It's short, full of pictures, and offers a unique message. Very philosophical at times, the book shines light on feelings of nonfulfillment, disappointment, and comparisons. The illustrations are beautiful in a simple sort of way, reminiscent of charcoal. Since there is really only one main character, this book is also great for young readers.

Reviewer Age:18

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