Cowgirl Dreams

"Cowgirl Dreams" by Heidi M. Thomas is an adventurous novel. The main character, Nettie, aspires to be a rodeo star. She abhors domesticity and yearns to be more than just a housewife someday. Nettie gets involved in altercations as her mother is against her participating in rodeos. Still, she finds a way to ride and even meets famous female riders. The descriptions of western life in the 1920s are fabulous, and readers will root for the Nettie.

The book starts out with action, leads to drama, goes back to action, and then delves into romance. Kissing is mentioned, and consummating a marriage is included. There are no details, but readers get the gist. Vocabulary-wise, readers may have to look up five verbose words at the most and a couple of horse equipment terms. While anyone could read this book, it will probably be more enjoyed by female readers. Subtle romance.

Content: 2
Rating: 9
Reviewer Age:18
Reviewer City, State and Country: Staten Island, NY USA

The Dark Hunters by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Kyrian is a man who was born rich and lived his life without fear of anything around him. One day he was beaten and killed because his wife poisoned him. After his death, he was offered a chance to live again if he became a Dark Hunter. To become a Dark Hunter, you have to sell your soul. A Dark Hunter is immortal and each one has different powers. The bad part is that if you get caught in the sun's rays, you die again. Dark Hunters fight against the evil Daimons who are just like Dark Hunters only they suck human blood. The Dark Hunters is a graphic novel about how Kyrian fights the Daimons.

At first I didn't like the book because it is printed from right to left and it is a graphic novel, which means it is written like a comic book. I didn't expect that. I kept reading it and I got used to how it is printed. The Dark Hunter's plot is kind of confusing because if you read the wrong panel the whole page doesn't make sense. The book was OK but I would not highly recommend it. However, if you like graphic novels, you might enjoy it.

Reviewer Age:10

Reviewer City, State and Country: Randolph, NJ United States

First Rider's Call by Kristen Britain

All is not well in Sacoridia. The D'Yer Wall, and ancient magical structure built to keep the evil Mornhavon the Black at bay, is crumbling ... and no one knows how to fix it! While wild magic streams into the land causing chaos, Mornhavon grows stronger and is intent upon locating and killing the Galadheon, a betrayer.

As a person Mornhavon wants dead, Karigan G'ladheon, Green Rider, is caught up in dangers she could have never imagined. To add to her misfortune, the ghost of the first Green Rider, Lil Ambriodhe, keeps whisking Karigan away into the past.

However inconvenient this time traveling is, could it hold the key to destroying Mornhavon forever?

For anyone who likes sword fighting, secret associations, magic, and a kingdom in peril, this book is a definite read. Kristen Britain has cleverly crafted this story into a phenomenal page-turner. For me, it was hard to put down. This book lies along the same lines as the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the way that people are not always who they seem to be. In Lord of the Rings, Aragorn, the secretive wanderer, is really heir to the throne of Gondor. In First Rider's Call, a jealous cousin might possibly have the power to save the wall. Filled with twists and turns, this book is filled with surprises even to the end. Anyone who enjoys fantasy and adventure will be sure to call this book a favorite!

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Mineola, Texas U.S.A

The Other Girl by Sarah Miller

Molly McGarry has a "superpower". She can get inside people's heads. Sometimes it can be helpful, but she is about to learn that the only thing worse than being stuck in your boyfriend's head is being inside his new girlfriend's head. After Molly breaks up with Gideon because she thinks he likes another girl, a game of spin-the-bottle takes a turn for the worse. He shares a kiss with the reason for their break-up. Magically and unfortunately, the kiss knocks Molly out of Gideon's head and straight into the girl's head that he kissed, Pilar. Since she now experiences eveything they do together through Pilar's mind, she's desperate to get Gideon back. How can she work on getting him back while she's trying to get out of Pilar's head? And, how will she get Gideon back without telling him about her "superpower"?

The Other Girl is a humorous love story that any young-adult would enjoy to read. It tells an amazing story. The Other Girl will keep you wondering what's going to happen next. I think that the author, Sarah Miller, did a wonderful job expressing her ideas in the plot. She used great detail and her descriptions helped me picture the setting very well. The Other Girl was filled with many emotions. It made me feel as if I were a one of the characters. It is a wonderful novel and I recommend it to any young-adult reader who enjoys humorous or romance novels.

This book contained some mature content such as sexual scenes and language.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Fairborn, Ohio USA

Truancy Origins by Isamu Fukui

Truancy Origins is the prequel to another book called Truancy. This novel is about two boys (Zen and Umasi) who were adopted by the mayor of education city and the problems that come their way. Zen plans a way to take down the city after realizing that his whole life has been a joke planned by his father. After Zen runs away, Umasi goes after him to try and knock some sense into him. Umasi and Zen must choose to forget the things that they had learned about the city and their father or choose to kill, and maybe hurt many innocent people.

Truancy Origins is a novel about the trials and tribulations that two brothers must face. A story about how education has completely taken over and is using it's power for all the wrong reasons. Isamu Fukui's writing is superb but while the writing is wonderful the flow is not. Some of the chapters had me wondering if there was a plot at all. I'm sorry to say but I did not like it, it left me dozing off after the first few chapters and I strained to finish the book at all. The author could have improved this story by making it flow a little bit better. If you read the book Truancy than I would recommend this book but otherwise I don't think I would recommend it at all.


Reviewer Age:17

Reviewer City, State and Country: Mantua, New Jersey United States

Mind-Rain by Scott Westerfeld

Mind-rain is a great continuation and addition to the Uglies series, which helps to give a new perspective on the stories and the relationships between Tally, Shay, and their friends. This is a must-read for any and all fans of the Uglies series. This story is filled with thought-provoking essays on the main points of the series, which are written by other authors, and includes a neat short story that was the inspiration of the whole series. The essays' topics ranged anywhere from who should've been the real heroine of the series to who was the better boyfriend for Tally to the pretty-headedness that we see in our world today. Great to read before, during, or after you read the Uglies series, Mind-rain will certainly have you thinking deeper into the Uglies series than ever before.

The questions they used for the discussion topics were interesting and well chosen. Mind-rain was not only informative but was also really funny and had me laughing throughout the entire book. This book is definitely not one that you would want to read in one sitting. After reading a few essays my mind starting getting bogged down with all of the information, which caused me to get bored and lose focus. Overall, I greatly enjoyed reading Mind-rain and thought that it was a neat idea. It was a great addition to the series and I recommend it to everyone who has read, is reading, or is planning on reading the Uglies series.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Upper Strasburg, Pennsylvania United States

Rescuing Seneca Crane by Susan Runholt

Best friends Kari and Lucas are traveling with Kari's mom to Edinburgh, Scotland to meet and interview the world famous Seneca Crane, a 15 year old piano prodigy. At first they think she will be snooty and posh, but when they meet her, they realize she is just an average girl on the inside who has never had a true friend. The three girls become fast friends. Kari and Lucas even get to see Seneca play at her concert! Who would've thought she would disappear after her standing ovation? The two girls know they have to rescue her before it's too late... the problem is, where is she?

This 277 page book was very exiting! There's mystery, adventure, action, and comedy. The ending is well explained and you don't feel lost at all. Clues pop up all over the book, along with enough facts about Scotland to fill up a guidebook. It is said to be for ages 11 and up, and I totally agree with that. My younger sister, who is 12, loves a good mystery and I will definitely recommend this whole series to her!

Reviewer Age: 15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Gearhart, Oregon United States

Forest of Hands and Teeth

Mary's village is the last heartbeat of humanity. Her community, located in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, has endured droughts, disease and the Unconsecrated, flesh-eating zombies that are always trying to find a way into the village. After her parents die and her brother disowns her, Mary goes to live with the Sisterhood, a group of women who know everything about the village. As Mary gets accustomed to life in the Cathedral, she begins to discover things that she can't believe. But Mary's search for answers is cut short when a breach in the fence leads to an Unconsecrated attack. Will Mary and her friends be able to survive?

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It is set in the future, after our world collapses from a virus that causes people to turn into zombies, also known as the Unconsecrated. The people in Mary's village are the last humans alive, or so they believe. In a world without hope, Mary still has this gut feeling that there is more to the world than just her village. She is a resilient character who overcomes loss and despair and continues to move forward. Unlike everyone else, she is not content to live out her life in the village; she wants to leave and see if there really is an ocean, like in her mother's stories. These traits made Mary an interesting character. In addition to Mary's character, the plot, details and the rest of the cast were written so beautifully that I can't help but highly recommend this book to all teen readers.

Reviewer Age:17

Reviewer City, State and Country: Aston, Pennsylvania United States

Just Anothere Hero by Sharon M. Draper

Just Another Hero was about a group of teenagers who all go to the same high school. Each teen has a complicated set of problems, ranging between a new baby at home to a verbally abusive step-father to a pair of perpetually partying/gambling parents. My personal favorite character, Arielle, (the one with the verbally abusive step-father) definitely has the most complicated life, and learns lots about herself while dealing with her issues. If you are feeling sorry for yourself, reading this book will be a boost to your self esteem, if not to your mood.

This plotline was SO complicated I don't even know how to begin. There were 4 perspectives and TONS of characters. One of the reasons my above summary was so vague was that it is very hard to summarize a plot that is really 4 plots. And they don't really interact for ﾽ the book. I had to read this book twice all the way through and some parts three times before I got a good grasp of the storyline. Once I finally understood what was happening, the book was actually OK. Arielles story especially, was very interesting. At the beginning, she was sort of stuck up but her character evolved nicely into a likable person. All in all, this was a decent book, if you are willing to sit down and read it more than once.

Some mature themes, suggestive content

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Exeter, NH USA

Come Juneteenth by Ann Rinaldi

Luli has a secret, a terrible secret that threatens to harm a member of her family. Luli lives in the heart of Texas with her family and the one slave that her family owns, Ruth. Though Ruth is a slave, Luli's family accepts Ruth as one of their own.

News reaches Texas that the slaves have been freed because of the Emancipation Proclamation. However, Luli is not allowed to tell Ruth that she is free. Will Luli keep her family's secret, or tell her "almost sister" the truth? The novel becomes even more dramatic when Luli finds out that Ruth is pregnant with Luli's brother's baby. What will happen?

Overall, I thought the novel was alright. I thought that the topic that Ms. Ann Rinaldi chose was incredibly interesting. However, the ending was sudden. It was completely unexpected and I felt that the novel ended too quickly. I thought that the characters were people that I could relate to and I found myself wanting to know more about what hapened to the characters once the book ended.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Pottstown, PA United States