The Silent Gift by Michael Landon Jr.

The Silent Gift by Michael Landon Jr. takes place in America during the 1930s-in the middle of the Great Depression. It tells the story of Mary and her son Jack, who is a deaf mute. At the beginning, Mary finds out her husband is cheating on her and plans to abandon her, so she steals his money and runs away, taking Jack with her. They stow away in a van and wind up in Chicago. Mary lives for several weeks off of the money she took, but then loses all of it when she drops her purse. She and Jack then spend several nights at the Salvation Army and befriend a woman working there, Grace, who is unable to have a child. Grace prays over Jack one night before going to sleep. Jack then takes a pencil and writes a series of numbers, which Mary discovers correspond to a verse in the bible. This verse predicts that Grace will bear a child and give birth. This is the first sign of Jack having a "gift." Mary eventually finds a job as a maid in Olivia Edmunds's house. Jack continues to make predictions through bible verses, including one that saves Olivia's daughter's life. Eventually, word of Jack's gift spreads, and Olivia is forced to release Mary to protect her family. Mary and Jack, once again homeless, plan to take a bus away, but Mary falls ill. An old woman named Agnes takes her in, and Mary and Jack go to live with Agnes. They begin to use Jack's gift to make money, allowing people to come in and receive their verse and taking offerings. This goes on until Jerry, Mary's husband, tracks them down. Mary is sent to prison for kidnapping her son, and Jerry takes Jack. Jack runs away, and is found and sent to a home for children with disabilities. One of the workers there takes Jack and frees him when Jack is in danger of being used for testing. The worker, Felix, takes Jack and joins a circus as a cleaner. Meanwhile, Mary is released from prison and begins to search for Jack. Will Mary ever find Jack and be reunited with her beloved son? Read The Silent Gift to find out.

The Silent Gift by Michael Landon Jr. is one of the most inspirational stories I have ever read. The message sent by Landon's powerful writing is truly fantastic. Landon expresses Mary's love for her son in such a way that the reader cannot help but share the feelings. The reader shares the fear Mary feels as Jack is taken from her. When Jack and Mary finally reunite, you share their joy in each others company. As the story ends and Landon brings it to its conclusion, you will feel the emotion running through the characters. The Silent Gift is truly a masterpiece of fiction.

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

The Dragon Book by Jack Dann

In this book, The Dragon Book by Jack Dann, dragons come alive in many countries. Twenty-one of our young adult writers wrote these short stories for us to read and enjoy, and enjoy you will. Even though the stories are all different, they all have the same idea... DRAGONS! In one of the stories a young dragon asks his mother how they came to be, and she talks about an evil knight. In another story, a young lady is special... but not in a bad way. She can talk to dragons, and she even has her own personal dragon! So, as you can see, these stories are different and individual in there own ways, yet they are about one of my favorite things, dragons.

Do you love dragons? Well I do, and that is the main reason I chose this book in the first place. When I first started to read this book, I wasn't so sure I made a good choice in my selection. Just like with any collection of short stories some stories are better then others. In this particular book you must read a few confusing stories. But a couple stories in, I realized how great the stories were. Each author's style was unique, so I got a taste of how each author writes and how their imaginations are working. All of the author's reached their goal which was to talk about dragons. Every time I closed my eyes I could imagine dragons soaring or helping out a new friend, and when I finished that story and would go on to the next, I could imagine the two dragon's and the people from both stories forming a whole other book. Even though it wasn't the greatest book I've ever read and had some flaws such as the titles of some of the stories, and how confusing some of the stories were with their plots. It was really good, and I hope I will be able to read some of these amazing author's works again sometime soon.

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

The Kindling of Greenfyr by Mark Freeman

Owen was just a lonely boy living in a sleepy snowy town. He was the kind of boy who finds a cozy spot in his room and reads with his cat, but he was also the kind of boy who sneaks out through his window to take walks in the woods. During one of these walks, his entire life changes when he meets a snow leopard. When Owen saves the snow leopard from a pack of crazy dogs, he sets a whole chain of events in place that take him to a world unknown to humans. A world of fairies and troll, shapeshifters and sorcerers.

When Owen's parents are kidknapped by beings from this world, Owen embarks on a quest that will ultimately decide the fate of this world and his own.

To be completely truthful, I did not really enjoy this book. The plot was that of a generic fantasy adventure- you know the type, young hero traveling with a wise old mentor, pretty princess in danger, and brave and valient warrior buddies, embarks on a quest that will determine the fate of the world. I was not overly impressed with this because it is nothing new to the literary world.

One strength of the book was that the author used very descriptive writing. Scenes were described so vividly that I could picture them in my mind. However, sometimes the author got a little carried away with the descriptions and I found myself having to reread whole sections of the book because I got lost.

The vocabulary level is not very difficult to understand, which makes it a good book for people with lower vocabulary levels to read. However, they could only do this if they could get over all of the grammar mistakes! This book was unrevised and unedited. This really upsetted me because I had to repeatedly reread sections of the book to figure out what the author was trying to relate. This was distracting to the story. Also, becaus it was unrevised, several portions of the book could have been taken out because they were completely uneccesary to the plotline.

Overall, this novel came up short of my expectations, and while it entertained me for a few hours, I would definately not read it again.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Brownsburg, IN United States of America

The Expressologist by Kristina Springer

Jane's job as a barista at Wired Joe's Coffeehouse is a pretty boring gig. To make the workday go faster, she tests out her theory that you can tell a lot about a person based on their favorite coffee. After extensive research, Jane has a notebook full of personalities that go with each drink. So when she sees that some drinks seem to go along well with other drinks, based on their descriptions, Jane tries her hand at matchmaking two friends. When all goes well, Jane continues trying to find dates for other friends and the regulars at Wired Joe's. But when the manager Derek discovers what Jane has been up to, he decides to make it an in-store promotion for the month of December. Jane will be the Espressologist every Friday night and match customers based on their drink preferences. Jane's having fun and becoming semi-famous, so why is she feeling weird about her best friend Em dating her friend Cam, when she was the one who matched them?

I thought that The Espressologist was such a cute book. It was light, fun, humorous and romantic. I loved that Jane was a modern day matchmaker, and matching people based on their coffee preferences is a really smart idea. Who doesn't want a little love with their coffee? The book was short and interesting, so it read fast. The one thing I didn't like that much was that the author was very brief. Everytime something happened, the author could tell it in five sentences. She really took efficiency to a new extreme. It wasn't that big of a deal, but in my opinion it prevented The Espressologist from flowing as well as it could have. Despite that, I still think that The Espressologist was hilarious and a fun read for the holidays.

Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Aston, Pennsylvania United States

Fan Boy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga

Fanboy has never been popular, but at least he had friends. Now, however, his less-than exciting life has hit a new low. His best friend is abandoning him for sports, a gym class bully has chosen him for his personal punching bag, and his pregnant mother is too wrapped up in the coming baby to care what's going on in Fanboy's life. But he can deal with all this, because he has something to look forward to-- namely the coming comic book convention, where he plans to finally meet the man who can, hopefully, help him to get his precious graphic novel, Schemata, published.
And then Fanboy meets Kyra, aka Gothgirl. Kyra is bossy, foul mouthed, and vengeful, and she likes Schemata-- loves it, really. She might not like Fanboy much, but with the potential she sees in Schemata, that doesn't matter much. She'll do anything to get it published, and that's fine with Fanboy-- but what happens when "anything" goes too far?

If the summary isn't a tip off, this book is certainly a prize find for graphic novel enthusiasts, particularly fans of Neil Gaiman and Brian Michael Bendis. But even the average reader will be glad to pick up this novel. The characters are intriguing, well formed, believable, and incredibly easy to identify with, and it is these qualities that make the plot so powerful. Despite the emotional power, however, the book is anything but sad-- the dialogue is witty enough to keep readers laughing from beginning to end. The novel's conclusion may feel a bit empty, but this may well be intentional the characters return in Barry Lyga's new book Goth Girl Rising.

Many sexual references

Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Ellicott City, Maryland United States

Wormwood, Nevada by David Oppengaard

Tyler and Anna Mayfield are newlyweds who have moved out of their hometown in order to make enough money to properly settle down. Tyler, an English teacher has been offered a job in Wormwood, Nevada, a small city in the middle of a desert with blistering heat and lonely conditions. They are given shelter by Tyler's aunt Bernie. At first the move seems normal with Tyler spending time at the bar with friends and Anna chatting with Bernie and others, but then suddenly everything changes when a meteorite lands in the middle of the town. The whole town begins to panic and turn itself upside down with insane men predicting the end of the world and stupid teenagers sacrificing animals to "please the gods." Tyler begins to teach summer school classes and starts to go on adventures with buddies and joins an alien visitation club after seeing "alien" heads. Things take a turn for the worse as tragedy strikes with loss of a life. As the town begins to settle down the most shocking event happens: an earthquake strikes. What will happen now? Is it the end of Wormwood as they know or will the tragic events keep plummeting down?

My favorite component to this story is its setting; the author vividly describes a desolate, dry and burning hot town. This description was so complete that I felt as though I experienced the climate in Nevada. The characters in this story have different and interesting personalities such Clyde the obsessive drinker with a carefree personality that adds adventure to the novel. Throughout the book the plot really drags, details upon details end up explaining the same ideas. Although it is a fairly large book the plot is not complex at all, it is mainly just going through the typical life of someone who has just moved to a new town. The author tries to include flashback in reference to both of their high school days, but the flashbacks used don't provide much useful information about personalities of characters. The beginning of the book it was fairly interesting but as it neared a close the quality of writing declined. It went from talking about Tyler's adventures in the start, to aliens coming down to take over the world in the end. Compared to many other science fiction books I have read, this is far, far down due to its lack of action and unrealistic feel. Throughout the book no reference to science fiction is made besides the occasional statement about the world ending, until the end when you are thrown into a world of aliens. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who does not enjoy extreme science fiction due to amount of fantasy involved.

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Kansas City, Kansas United States of America

The Seance by John Harwood

After her younger sister died, Constance Langton has been left to deal with a lot of baggage, especially since her mother cannot get over the sadness of Almas death to take care of anything. To help her mother, she starts pretends to be her sister in s￩ances that her mother performs. This proves to be too much for her mother to handle and soon after, her mother dies. Constance is then left by herself with a house that is full of bad memories and supernatural occurrences by a relative. She is advised to get rid of the house but is unable to do so. The novel goes into detail about the stories behind the previous owners of the house, including a woman named Eleanor Unwin.

The novel is set in Victorian England. The background adds to the spooky undertone to the story. There is a lot going on here, including ghosts and mysteries and events that shouldnt be happening. I loved the idea behind the story, and it was very interesting, but the fact that there was too much going on and the language the author used made it somewhat hard for me to read the story. I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in mysteries and with a lot of time on their hands because its not a quick read.

Reviewer Age:22
Reviewer City, State and Country: Philadelphia, PA United States

Lost by Jacqueline Davies

Among the poverty stricken families living in the Lower East Side during the 1900s is Essie, her mother and siblings. Essie has a talent for making beautiful hats, but that doesn't bring in enough to survive so she takes a job at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The factory is a place for Essie to get away from her everyday life, especially after a tragic accident takes someone very important from her life. At the factory, she befriends Harriet, an upper class girl who left her old life behind to work at the Shirtwaist Factory. As she tries to get her life in control, it's the tragic accident at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory helps her to face what she has been avoiding for a long time.

I thought that this novel was captivating and had a great plot. There aren't many teen novels that use the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire as a backdrop, and Davies weaves that with the mysterious disappearance of an upper class heiress at around the same time. The two stories tie together in a successful way and once I started reading, it was hard to put the book down. The characters were well developed and it was hard not to care for them. I would recommend this novel to any fans of historical fiction or anyone looking for a good read.

Reviewer Age:22
Reviewer City, State and Country: Philadelphia, PA United States

Prairie Winter by Bonnie Geisert

Rachel Johnson is a sixth-grader at a Cresbard school this year. Going to school means everything to her. She lives in a rural part of town with no phone, so going to school is a way for her communicate. She can talk to friends and play in the band, which is going to Chicago this year, it is everything she loves. Then all that could be taken away from her when a huge snowstorm hits Cresbard, keeping her away from her beloved school. Then, in a surprising turn of events, her strict father agrees to fly her and her sisters into town. She stays in a hotel for weeks, living the good life. Will she ever return to her farm life again?

Prairie Winter takes place on a farm in the 1950's. It describes the way of life for a 10 year old farm girl in the harsh winter. This book gave a good depiction of a slower paced, quieter time period in history. It is a big contrast to the times we live in today. I had a difficult time relating to the main character and the different ways of this time period. Perhaps this book would be more interesting to a younger age reader or someone much older who might reflect on memories of their childhood.

Reviewer
Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Springfield ,
Ohio USA

Through any eyes, genocide is an awful crime, but through the eyes of Javier Mendoza, genocide is unbearable. When a genocide curriculum is introduced to Javier's fifth grade class, Javier begins to see just exactly how genocide affects the human race. From an upset parent to a genocide victim, Javier is inspired to help stop genocide.

This very informative book covers different genocides from the last century and explores the roots of genocide. Any reader wishing to broaden their scope of global
understanding and human suffering would do well to pick this book and give it a read.
In the style of a journal, the horrors of genocide are explained in simple, easy to
understand words. I liked that this book gave a straight-forward approach to what genocide is, what causes it, and why it is awful. While maybe not a "for fun" read because of the content, I think this book would be excellent for any teacher teaching a curriculum on genocide. I think the most interesting section of this book is a conversation with a character known as Maker's dad and Javier. In this, I gained a new insight on genocide as Maker's dad reveals how he personally was affected by genocide. This book was definitely an eye-opener.

Adult guidance is recommended because the descriptions of genocide can become semi-
graphic.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Mineola, TX U.S.A