The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau

Fifteen year old Zeeta and her eccentric mother, Layla, travel the world hitting a new country every year. From Italy to Guatemala to Australia to Thailand, Zeeta has been traveling her whole life and she’s ready to stop, to have a “normal” life. When Layla moves Zeeta to a small village in the Ecuadorian Andes, Zeeta meets an American boy named Wendell who is desperately scouring the market place for his long lost birth parents. Together the unlikely pair team up to search the country side and discover an exotic array of adventure, danger, and secrets. As Wendell and Zeeta find themselves and their wishes growing closer, will they be able to handle the truth and the reality? Do they know what they truly want?


Full of stunning details, whimsical characters, and tropical air, The Indigo Notebook was exciting to read and has become a favorite that I will enjoy reading again. Zeeta is a great heroine, and although she wants a “normal” life, she has an experience of a lifetime and realizes what she really wants. Zeeta’s free-spirited mother and sweet-natured Wendell are such neat characters couldn’t get enough of them. Zetta’s quest for Handsome Magazine Dad and Wendell’s shocking discovery about his parents is enough give you the night owl bug and keep you reading nonstop. I really enjoyed reading something that was set somewhere besides high school and be able to travel through a book.

The Indigo Notebook is a great book for teens not only because of its lovable characters or its excitingly exotic backdrop, but for the sense of life it gives to its message of being content and pursing your dreams. Overall, I loved the colorful and refreshing story of understanding your heart that The Indigo Notebook had to offer. I hope you get a chance to read it soon!

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: , NM USA

Foxfire by Barbara Campbell

This was an adventurous book with lots of emotion and fighting. It's the third book in an action packed trilogy and I highly recommend it! Once in a while, the chapters feel boring and I wanted to put the book down. It moves through extremely slowly, but I loved the fast parts and if you like the fantasy genre, you'll like Foxfire!

There are six main characters: Darak, Griane, Keirith, Faelia, Callie and Rigat. They live in a clan with their closest friends and Keirith and Rigat are the special ones in this family. Keirith can touch people's spirits and relieve them of their pain, while Rigat is almost as powerful as a god. Very very powerful. It turned out that Rigat was not the son of Darak, who was the chief of their clan, but the son of Fellgair, the trickster god of Zherosi, who had been at war with the tree people for as long as they can remember. Rigat decides to join his father, who has his best interests at heart.

I think that this book was really adventurous! It had lots of mischief and action and I could tell that the writer put a lot of thought into her writing. I think that the author, Barbara Campbell, was a little harsh at the end of the book because there is a war and many soldiers die in it, but my overall reaction to it was that it was an interesting story and that i loved the book. The vocabulary age is definitely appropriate and the author definitely achieved her purpose. The strength of this book is that it was well written and the weakness is that some of the information was excessive and not necessary. I would recommend it to many people, as long as they're older than 12. It's a pg-13 book.

This is a little mature for some children and I would recommend parental guidance.

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: New York, NY, USA

Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

D.J. was the star of the girls' basketball team and the only girl football team. When she finally started going back to school, after her brother's accident and five months of absolute insanity, she was the center of attention. D.J does not enjoy attention and really dislikes the thought of having college scouts watch her play in basketball games. After being given great scholarships to many colleges, D.J. just doesn't know what to do or what college to choose. On top of all that, D.J. has two guys that are absolutely in love with her. Whom should she choose? Beaner, who has been there for her over all these years or Brian, who broke her heart in the past but promises that he has changed. With the town of Red Bend, her family, and her coach depending on her to make the right choice, who knows what she will choose?

I absolutely adore this book. It has great and hilarious characters with an amazing story line behind them. My favorite part of this book was when D.J. went to Beaner's for the karaoke party. To tell the truth I really couldn't find many dislikes about this book. The only thing I really didn't like was the fact that I couldn't really get a good picture of the different settings in my head. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a funny tale with an emotional twist.

Reviewer Age: 13

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

Tempted by P.C. Cast

Tempted is the sixth book in the House of Night series. It is a romance, a mystery, and a thriller. I loved every one of the books in the series. Tempted is my definite favorite.

This book, Tempted, is by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast. Zoey Redbird used to be a typical seventeen year old girl, her parents didn't understand her, they didn't care what she wanted. Zoey got Chosen by Nyx, the leader of all of the House of Night's across the world. In this sixth book Zoey is tempted by Kalona, a fallen angel, and tested by Neferet, an evil mistress that used to be a follower of Nyx, but darkness took over. Zoey has fallen in love with Stark, Erik, and Heath. But Erik pulls a fast one on her and ruins everything. Or is it just that, that fixed it all? This book had me ripping through the pages. P.C. Cast is my favorite author. If you’ve read the other House of Night books, you should definitely read this one. If you haven't read all of her House of the Night books, I highly recommend them.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Mineola, Texas, USA

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Greg Heffley is a good person. To prove it, he kicks off the book with his New Years' resolution of helping people improve. He starts by telling his mother that she should eat her potato chips more quietly. Many other incidents such as this bring Greg's father to think of military school, which he considers a great way to make Greg more manly. The book ends just as summer is about to begin, setting the stage for the sequel "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days".

This was a hilarious book! The author's style of incorporating humor into Greg's reasoning was something that made me laugh out loud every time! Greg's character was self-absorbed yet lovable and you couldn't help but laugh at almost anything he said. The journal format of the book was entertaining and it was a very quick read. I was definitely recommend this to everyone I know!

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Westerville, OH United States

The Cave by Steve McGill

Arthur Pratt's legacy is like many other Americans during WWII: he enlisted in the army and fought for his country. He was supposed to have been killed in action, but his body was never found. Now, many years after WWII, Arthur's great-great-grandson Ian begins to become fascinated with WWII and his grandfather's past. Ian wants to be brave and strong, just like Arthur, but, in order to do that, he must face one of his greatest fears: the cave. The cave is dark and spooky and Ian just can't bring himself to go inside, no matter how hard he tries. Soon, however, Ian discovers that he must solve a mystery. Solving this mystery, however, requires him to go inside the cave. He must reach within himself and confront his fears to find the magic that awaits inside the dark abyss.

I found that this book was extremely difficult to get through, as the writing style was disjointed and the book was written in three-line paragraphs. It felt like the author wanted to express many different ideas at once and had to jump around in order to do that. The plot was not well communicated and difficult to understand. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Westerville, OH United States

Four-eyed Prince by Wataru Mizukami

Sachiko has extreme feelings for the mysterious Akihiko. She confesses her feelings to him, however, is automatically turned down. In an extremely lucky--or unlucky--circumstance, Sachiko leaves her grandmother's house to move in with her mother who has just taken Akihiko in with her as well. Now the two are living together as siblings by marriage and are forced to interact. When a coolest in school contest is announced, Sachiko convinces Akihiko to enter it with her. She finds out that Akihiko has two personalities by spending more time with him; will she be able to woo the newly discovered Akihiko?

After reading many different mangas meant for girls, I have picked up on several patterns that they follow in their storylines with conflicts and relationships between the characters. In particular, the ways the female characters always go about winning the male character's hearts always end with success but only after numerous futile attempts. I liked how this manga continued that "tradition" but incorporated other conflicts beyond that with other characters. The story flows nicely and is complemented well by the drawings. I recommend Four-Eyed Prince to any teenage girl who likes manga.

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

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Silver Dragon Codex by R.D. Henham

In this book, Silver Dragon Codex, a young woman named Belen is accused of being a dragon and killing around a hundred people. Believing she is innocent, she and her friends Cerise, Ebano, and Jace embark on a journey to who-knows-where to prove it. While on this journey, the four friends friendship will be tested multiple times. Secrets and mysteries that Belen has hidden from herself and her friends will come out and nothing will be the same. Will the truth save them all, or will it bring them to their own deaths? Read the book to find out!

The author, R.D.Henham, wrote this book beautifully. When I was reading it, I could imagine that I was flying on a silver dragon's back over a thick, green forest. At certain points in the book I was crying when something bad happened, or I was laughing when one of the characters said or did something funny. The main character, Belen, is a young girl somewhere in her twenties with long, flowing silver hair. Jace, even though they are about five years apart, is in love with her...or so he thinks. Once I was done reading it, I started to wonder how everyone's lives had turned out and if anything else that was interesting had occurred. Even though the story itself was beautiful, the point at the beginning was very unclear. Henham has also written five other Dragon Codex books, and out of all of them, this one was the absolute best. I recommend this book to fantasy and dragon lovers because it will touch your heart.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Fresno, California USA

Claim to Fame by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Lindsay Scott was a TV star until she was elevan and
appeared to have a nervous breakdown. In reality, Lindsay
hears voices. She can hear anything anyone says about her
at any time. Since Lindsay's "breakdown," she has spent
five years living in her house with her father, which is
the only safe place where she can't hear anyone. When a
tabloid writes an article about her father holding her
captive, two teenagers try to rescue her by kidnapping
her. Now that she is out in the world again, she hears
her mother's voice for the first time ever. She must try
to save her mother and learn as much as she can about her
secret talent.

Claim to Fame, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, is a good
book. I couldn't put it down after I got it. I don't
think that this is one of Margaret Peterson Haddix's best
books, but it's not the worst. The book isn't as focused
on the kidnapping and Lindsay's mother as it seems it
would be. I would recommend this book to anyone who
enjoys books by Margaret Peterson Haddix or books that
have an interesting twist on reality.

Reviewer
Age:14

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

The Snog Log by Michale Colman

So... its like a Readathon but its a snogathon. Robbie and his mates think they have come up with something much better. See know one's supposed to know. What would the girls think if they fgound out that every time Robbie, Daz, Greg, and Twilly hook-up with them its scored by their difficulty. But then Robbie's potential "snogee", Mel, might just not want to play along...SHe has other plans.

This book is really cute. The Snog Log is a simple and nice book with a good moral message. If a pre-teen was reading it they, and their parents, would be very happy. But as a 15 year old more used to an ounce of passion, the stupid hi-jinks of Robbie and the half-baked retaliation of the girls seem to fall a bit short. Although not the most passionate book, it makes for a good, quick read.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Greenwood Village, Colorado USA