Patriot's Reward by Stephen Clarkson

Patriot's Reward is the story of an African man captured by slave traders in 1755 when he was sixteen and brought from what is now Senegal, Africa to America to be sold off as a slave. At the beginning of the novel main character Will Clarkson, having adopted the surname of his owners, undergoes many emotional, physical and circumstantial changes, thus allowing him to develop into an interesting and appealing character central to the plot. Will develops a yearning to learn the English language, like the white men he is surrounded by. With this skill Will gains an air of confidence, a newfound skill as a leader in social situations and is able to establish himself as an admired member of both the black and white community. When Will hears word that all slaves signing up for war would have assured freedom upon return, he is eager to claim this reward. Therefore Will is sent first to fight in the Civil War in southern colonial areas, subsequently he is involved in the Revolutionary War in which he must overcome the racism throughout the army to fight side by side with the whites. Will is acknowledged in many of these battles for his heroism and acts of strength during conflict. When Will finally returns from the Wars, he is haunted and shattered by his experiences. Though, not free as promised, he continues to petition for his liberation.

I liked the idea of this book. I was interested to learn about the slave history of America and captivated by the first hundred or so pages. But after this point, the appeal faded as the war scenes lengthened. The way Patriots Reward was written in third person made it easy to follow and I liked the eloquence of language used, fitting to the era. The author depicted well the personal side of the story, in which we see Will care for his family and his struggle for acceptance and freedom, whereas the description of conditions and events during the Wars became tedious. My impressions and thoughts after reading this book were varied with a slight disappointment at the ending to amazement at the strength of spirit of one African man. The preface and comments included in this book made the characters and situations more real to me due to the direct ancestry between the author and Wills owner, James Clarkson. I would recommend this novel, Patriot's Reward to mature reading history enthusiasts who will be able to understand the powerful and articulate language as well as appreciate the scenes of war.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Melbourne , Victoria Australia

Grk Smells a Rat

Tim’s friend Max is going to play in a tennis tournament in India. One of the richest men in India doesn’t know what to do with his money, so he hosts an under-16 tennis tournament. Tim travels with his sister, Natascha, his friend Max, and Max’s parents. On a train they meet a kid named Krishnan, who tries to sell them a pirated book. Krishnan tells them about his sister who has been enslaved by The Blue Rat Gang. They wind up trying to free Krishnan’s sister from the gang led by an old lady with a pet blue rat, which she says has magical powers.

Overall, this book was good, but it took a while to get exciting. It took about 80 pages to get interesting. At first, I didn’t really want to keep reading, but at the end I was glad I did. Joshua Doder would have done a lot better of job if he had made it more exciting, more quickly. Boys and girls will like this book, but it would be better for young readers. Joshua Doder has written five other books about Grk, but none are really well known. There are only 202 pages in this book but I wish there were more. They get shot at once, but other than that there is no violence. If you like adventure stories and you are willing to read a while before it gets interesting, this book is for you.

The Junto Racing to the Bell by Ron Costello

This book is about a boy named Jamil Jamil, who is in a bad
situation and looking for outside help. His mother is into
drugs, and jumping from nasty boyfriend to nasty boyfriend.
The latest one beats Jamil often. Even school isn't safe
anymore; the principal has it out for him. The only place
were he is comfortable is at his grandmother's house. She's
also the only one who knows his secret. He can communicate
with animals! One day while doing his homework, Jamil gets
a message from Bette the elephant saying that there have
been bad people at the zoo plotting to blow up the city.
But what could Jamil do? He's just a kid. Can he save the
city or will he be blown up with it?

I think that this book is interesting. I think it would
have been better if it started in medias res. Instead, it
is sort of slow starting. I like the fact that he can't
actually 'speak' to animals. It's more like the animals and
Jamil just know what the other is saying. There are too
many books where animals talk. I also like the parts where
the author explains why the terrorists are terrorists. It
is a helpful insight, that helps the story I think. All in
all, though it is a good book that I recommend to anyone
who likes slow intros.

I give this book a 2 because it's about terrorism and
has references to drugs and not exactly a book for fifth
graders.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and
Country: Sandy, Oregon USA

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

There's only one thing that Micah Wilkins will honestly tell you: she is a compulsive liar. To her, lying is as easy as breathing. She's fooled her parents, classmates, teachers and she can always stay one step ahead of the many lies she's told. When her boyfriend ends up dead, his death is suspected as murder, and Micah's trickery begins to catch up with her. Can Micah tell the truth when it matters most? If she does, will anyone really believe her?

I really enjoyed Liar. I thought the beginning was a little boring, though. I was hooked on the book after that, however. The ending caught me by surprise because it was nothing that I expected it would be. I thought that the book was very interesting and I recommend it to any young adult readers.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Enon, Ohio United States

China Clipper by Jamie Dobson

Nick is back in another book, but this time instead of going overseas, he's back at school and has managed to get a job working on the China Clipper, a "flying boat". But some force is determined to not the plane fly. Nick is sure his old enemy Miyazaki is to blame, but is he working alone or does he have acomplices hidden everywhere? There's also Haas who's loyalty has been shifty, the two new kids at school, Rodger and Nancy, but they've been behaving suspiciously too. Nick may just be alone on this one.

I reviewed the first book in this series, Flying Boats and Spies, and thought it was just great! I was so excited when I found out there would be a second book. Although it is written with guys in mind (lots of mechanical terms and stuff while working on the planes, I still love reading it and this time, his girlfriend, Leilani, plays a bigger role in it which is great to read! I would reccomend this book to anybody! It's very well written and clearly explains terms I would not recongnize.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Gearhart, Oregon United States

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

The Island of the Blue Dolphins starts when a group of people called the Aleuts come to the island that is Karana's home to hunt sea otter. When the Aleuts don’t want to pay fairly for the otter pelts, they have a battle with the island tribe. Karana’s father, the chief, is killed. A new chief is chosen who goes in a canoe to a place in the east to ask white men to help them. He sends back white men to bring the tribe to the place he has found. When Karana’s little brother, Ramo, misses the boat, Karana jumps off to stay behind with him.

While they are alone on the island, Ramo is killed by the wild dogs. After a while, Karana learns to make weapons and captures the leader of the wild dogs, whom she names Rantu. She also makes friends with birds and a sea otter. She survives on her own for many years, until the white men finally come back and rescue her.

This book was very interesting because you were never quite sure what would happen next. I chose this book to review, even though I had already read it, because I really like the way the book described the animals and the whole environment of the island. It’s easy to imagine what the island was like. I like Karana because she’s brave and even though she did what she had to in order to survive, she still took care of how she looked and made herself nice clothes to wear in case the people came back for her. I thought it was really interesting how she could make friends with so many different animals, so she wouldn’t feel so lonely.

This is the 50th anniversary edition of this book, which contains a new introduction by Lois Lowry. The introduction told the few facts that were really known about the woman Scott O’Dell based Karana’s story on. Ms. Lowry also uses parts of the book as she tells us why she admired it so much. If you’ve never read The Island of the Blue Dolphins and you like survival stories or animal stories, this is a good one to read.

Reviewer Age: 11, Lake City, IA USA

After

"I wondered for a second if I was dying. Far away I could hear Logan yelling and Tanner crying but I couldn't hear Dad. Why couldn't I hear Dad?"
Lacey's life used to be normal. She had two parents who loved her and two brothers to annoy her, everything was as it should be. Then one day a tragic accident changed it all and her dad was gone forever. the months that follow the accident are extremely hard for Lacey and her family. Her mom had become an alcoholic, Logan has changed into a different person, Tanner won't speak and Lacey believes it's all her fault. Everything seems to be deteriorating until two good things come into Lacey's life. 1.Support group for kids who have lost a parent and 2. Sam Stome. Sam has also lost his father. Can he bring Lacey out of the guilt trip she is taking or will he just make everything a whole lot worse?

This book is AMAZING! Kristin Harmel has done an excellent job telling Lacey's story just enough to make me want to turn the page to find out more. This story would appeal to anyone. It has all the components to a great story: Tradegy, family and romance. I finished this book in one sitting and by the end of the book I had cried numerous times. Amazing story and excellent writing. Brava Kristin Harmel!

Reviewer Age:18

Reviewer City, State and Country: Mantua, New Jersey USA

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

The Hollow is the debut novel for young author, Jessica Verday that follows a blooming girl, Abbey on her journey to solve her best friend's disappearance at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Abbey refuses to believe her friend, Kristen is dead, but has trouble convincing herself and others of Kristen's motive for vanishing. At Kristen's funeral, she meets a mysterious young boy, Caspian, who always seems to appear at the most opportune of moments. As Abbey tries to solve the mystery she begins to unveil secrets that make her question everything she ever thought she knew about her friend and the boy she's fallen in love with.

Overall, I thought this was a good first attempt by Verday. I could tell just in the first chapter by the way her sentences were structured and the number of cliches used, that she is a new writer. The plot was weak, but could have been made stronger with more focus on the main storyline. The characters were well crafted, although Abbey had her whiny moments which made it hard to relate to her at times. The chemistry between Abbey and Caspian was nice and I really enjoyed the paranormal element brought to the table.

Reviewer Age:25
Reviewer City, State and Country: Reisterstown, MD USA

Everything is Fine

Despite the title, Mazzy's life is not fine. Though she continually repeats that that everything is fine to her father, her neighbors and even herself, she's suffering. Mazzy's mother is severely depressed and her father has abandoned his family for his career. She looks to her caring neighbors and painting for some kind of solace. As readers turn the pages, they will discover what tore the family apart and learn how it can be put back together.

This book was very sad. Mazzy is only eleven or twelve years old and has to care for her mother, who can barely get out of bed. Somehow, she is strong enough to pull through, which is nice to see in such a young protagonist. However, even with a great main character, the book seemed poorly written, without much of a plot; it jumped around between topics, making the story a little choppy. It's a short book, but don't mistake the length for a light-hearted story; it's anything but.

Content: 1
Rating: 6
Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Aston, Pennsylvania United States

Dizzy in Your Eyes by Pat Mora

Pat Mora's, Dizzy in Your Eyes, is a book of poems about romance and love. There are all types of poems in this book, and at the bottom of the page it tells you what type of poem it is, and how you could write a poem like that. There are poems about a love for swimming, pets, grandparents, sisters, and a boy trying to find a creative way to ask out a girl. Some are about breaking up and peer pressure, and a couple are even in Spanish.
Dizzy in your eyes was a quick read of about fifty poems. It wasn't the most amazing book ever, but it was interesting and kind of cute. Some of the poems I really liked, and I even showed to my family, but most of them were just ok. I thought it was cool how it showed you how you could write a poem, and what type of style the poem you were reading was. I wish I would have known that some of it was in Spanish though, because I can't read Spanish. It was very educational, and I thought it was fun to read.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Springtown, Texas United States