Killer Pizza

School just got out, and Toby MaGill is bored already. Pursuing his secret ambition to become a chef, he applies to work at Killer Pizza, a small pizza shop on the edge of his small town. He gets along well with his co-workers, Annabel and Strobe, until they're introduced to the company's main goal and the world of monsters. Unbeknownst to the general population, a group of vicious monsters are living in secret among the residents. Killer Pizza's manager offers a promotion and a raise if Toby and his friends agree to become KP's newest Monster Combat Officers (MCOs). Is Toby up for the challenge?

I thought Killer Pizza was a well written adventure/fantasy book. The writing was very fluent and enjoyable. This is a great story if you liked the Percy Jackson books, what with all the monster slaying. I liked how the author used intense detail when describing the monsters, which really helped me visualize what they looked like. For example, the author describes a guttata as having an abnormally large chest, even for its six-foot-tall frame. Finally, there was the distinctive-looking skin. Tough as leather, it was irregularly spotted light and dark, camouflage-like. I'd recommend this book to grades 5 and up.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Round Rock, TX United States

Goth Girl Rising by Barry Lyga

When Kyra Sellers spends six months in the Maryland Mental Health Unit after trying to kill herself, she never gets one email or phone call from the person she wanted to talk to the most: Fanboy. When she gets home, she is angry that Fanboy never tried to contact her and wants revenge. When she goes to school again, she finds out that the secret comic that she and Fanboy had created has been published. Once she sees Fanboy again, she barely recognizes him. He has changed everything about himself. Kyra thinks of many different ways to get back at Fanboy for all of the pain he caused her while she was away. While trying to get revenge, many things happen that she doesn't understand. By the end of the book, Kyra realizes that she has to deal with life, and everything makes sense again.

I liked the book Goth Girl Rising because I could picture everything that was happening. I could see what Kyra was going through in the book. Goth Girl Rising made me realize how different some teens' lives are. The problems that Kyra had to face would have been hard for me too. I found this book interesting and exciting because I never knew what would happen next. From reading this book, I learned that everyone has to go through something rough in their life. The way you handle your problems, though, is what changes things.

Goth Girl Rising talks about drugs, sex, and lesbians. It talks about Kyra cutting her wrists and wanting to commit suicide.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Nokomis , Illinois United States

Ring of Fire by P.D.Baccalario

The book Ring of Fire by: P.D. Baccalario a pure adventure and mystery. It is so interesting, and it gets your attention as soon as you pick up the book. I told a few of my friends about it too; this is an amazing book, and I think anyone in the teen years or older will really enjoy it.

It is a very interesting book, it is about these four kids all come together from all over the world. You think this was a random choosing? Not quite. They got together and tried to find out why they were chosen. They found out that they all had the same birthday. Every hundred or so years, these students are chosen, for a different assignment for a serial killer. It was so interesting, I got so into it from the very beginning that I will probably read it over and over. Then at the very end, there is a huge twist. Anyone who reads this, is going to fall in love with it and you will read it over and over.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Mineola, Texas

Pearl of Baxter Grove by Mary Kay Abbott

This is a fictional book written to help you understand how life goes on. It's about an eleven year girl named Casey whose mother dies in tragic accident. She is left without any motherly influence and her grieving father is unable to give her the love and attention she needs. With her mother's death she is force to get a job to help support the family and search for someone to replace her mother's affection. She has two chooses. She can either work in a bait shop where the shop owner hates kids or she can work for a new African American family who greets her with a gun. Which job will she take? Will her relationship with her father improve?

At the beginning of the book it was difficult for me to understand, but that is what made we want to keep turning the pages. The problem I had was Mary Kay Abbott jumped right into the storyline, but latter in the book it made more and more sense. This book is not like most books I read. For some reason I still wanted to keep going on to see what happened next. She made the characters so real and made you feel like you were there, step by step. This book was so interesting and so alive. Even the cover of the book grabbed my attention. At first I really didn't like the book, but as I got more into the book the more I liked it. I would recommend this book to my friends and teens because I don't feel like a 10 year old and below would understand the book. Last, I would like to say this book truly came from Mary Kay Abbott's heart.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Germantown, Tennessee USA

Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood by Tony Lee

This book is a graphic novel that tells a version of the story of Robin Hood. The story is in the genres of adventure and legend. The story begins in 1180 when Robin of Loxley is still a young boy and the son of a nobleman. His father's inability to save his former comrade leads Robin to vow to become a skilled archer so that he can protect others. The story then jumps to 1192, when Robin is fighting in the Crusades. He receives word of his father's death and returns home to avenge him. He finds his lands and people being exploited. In order to live and avenge these wrongs, he becomes an outlaw and joins others outlaws living in Sherwood Forest. When King Richard's brother, Prince John, refuses to pay the king's ransom and tries to take over the country, Robin and his followers raise money and oppose John and his supporters. During this time period, Robin and Marian fall in love and Robin makes new allies and friends. The climax is reached when both Robin and Marian have been arrested and Marian is about to be hanged. This book is based off a version of the story of Robin Hood that is more lighthearted and happy than some.

I greatly enjoyed reading this graphic novel. I have always liked both graphic novels and stories of Robin Hood, but only a liking of adventure is necessary to enjoy this story. The plot has enough twists to stay interesting but does not become confusing. The characters are suitably likable or evil, depending on their role. Also, the story is different enough from other Robin Hood tales to be interesting even to those who are already familiar with the story. Additionally, the plot includes funny references to other versions of the story of Robin Hood that amused me because I was already familiar with the plot, but prior knowledge is not needed to appreciate the book. The ending is happy, which is not true of all stories about Robin Hood. All in all, I recommend it to fans of adventure stories and graphic novels.

There is some violence which, because the book is illustrated, is best for people of middle school or high school age and adults.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Royersford, PA United States

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Nora Grey lived a normal teenage life until she met the strange new kid in school. His name was Patch and well, he was rude, annoying, egotistic, and so very handsome. So it's natural that Nora would be drawn to him even in the slightest. But why does she constantly feel his presence? And why is he so secretive? Soon Nora is on the biggest adventure of her life as she tries to unveil the mysteries of Patch. But with adventure comes terrifying dangers. Will Nora risk all to discover the truth about Patch. And will she even be able to handle to truth? Find out in Becca Fitzpatrick's new novel, Hush Hush.

When Becca Fitzpatrick's novel, Hush Hush, first arrived in the mail, I was thrilled! I was so excited to read this novel after researching and finding some great reviews. But unfortunately, I think my expectations for this novel were a bit too high. While I thought the theme of the novel was creative and very original (the theme of fallen angels), I was disappointed in the lack of relationship development between characters. Everything just moved too quickly to enjoy. And at times the story felt fragmented and disjointed. I thought the story line was good, but it needed more detail. The main character Nora was well developed, but I would have liked some more information about Patch. In the end, however, I think Becca Fitzpatrick has a great concept for her novel and it was overall a fairly enjoyable read.

Reviewer Age:18
Reviewer City, State and Country: Phoenix, MD United States

Forest Born by Shannon Hale

Rin thinks there's something incredibly wrong with her, something that makes her bad. She's felt this way ever since she compelled two people to do things they didn't want to. When her brother Razo visits from the city, she travels back with him, hoping to find peace. She becomes a lady-in-waiting to the queen and sometimes tends her son, Tusken. However, a possible war causes her to help Queen Isi of Bayern, Dasha, and Enna, the Fire Sisters, when they journey to the country of Kel, which seems to be the source of the war.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought that the tree-speaking ability seemed quite interesting and the plot was pretty good. I still think that I enjoyed Shannon Hale's The Goose Girl a bit more, but Forest Born was still excellent. The characters were believable and real, as were the issues they faced. There are unexpected plot twists that make the book quite suspenseful. I would definitely recommend this book to any fans of Shannon Hale. I can't wait for her next book

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Charleston, SC US

Flags of the World by Sylvie Bednar

Flags of the world are more than just colorful displays. They show pride for their nations and have history and backgrounds to them. Independence is shown through the flag as a symbol; the colors of many flags relate to their freedom and beliefs. Common traits are found in many flags because of similar histories of the countries. Why do the flags of the Northern European countries have crosses on them? Why are the flags of North and South Korea so different? By learning the backgrounds of the flags of the world, one will find that many of the countries' traits are displayed with pride.

Flags of the World is nicely bound and put together. The quality of the appearance of the book along with its illustrations and information make it wonderful. Each country, for the most part, has information accompanying its flag. Some of the flags are rather dull, but I learned a lot about world history by reading this book. I could connect some details of the history with classes in school, and it enhanced my studies. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in cultures, travel, or is taking any history class.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennslyvania United States of America

Qualities of Light by Mary Carroll Moore

Molly Fisher and her brother, Sammy, take a ride out on a boat one morning. An incident occurs which puts Sammy into a coma. After this, Molly's life spirals out of control. She reaches out to her parents for help, but they keep their own grief from hers. Now, Molly spends most her time in the hospital, waiting for her brother to wake up. When she goes out one night she meets Zoe. Zoe is fun, beautiful, and has taken an interest in Molly. As Molly and Zoe spend more and more time together Molly has to wonder if Zoe is just looking for friendship...or maybe something more.

Qualities of Light will keep you wondering what's going to happen next. I think that the author, Mary Carroll Moore, did a wonderful job expressing her ideas in the plot. She used great detail and her descriptions helped me picture the setting very well. Qualities of Light 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 romance novels.

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

Deep in the Heart of High School by Veronica Goldbach

The book Deep in the Heart of High School is about a girl named Vanna, who just moved to Sam Antonio, from Plano. Back in Plano she was popular and had a popular boyfriend. Then her Mom left her Dad and everything changed. Vanna meets two girls named Fatima Garcia and Oliva Silverstein. They become friends right away. And together they help each other through the hardships of being freshmen in high school.

In the beginning, the transition between characters can be a little confusing. But keep with it because it works itself out as u get to know them. I like this book because I can relate to it in many ways. I relate because the main characters Fatima, Vanna, and Oliva are in band, as am I. I enjoyed the way of thinking about the hierarchy of the band sections. I also related because I am a freshman this year as well. I think this is a very good book and I recommend it.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Mishawaka, Indiana USA