30 Days to Finding and Keeping Sassy Sidekicks and BFFs by Clea Hantman

Life without friends would be boring, right? Right. That's where this book comes into play. "30 Days to Finding and Keeping Sassy Sidekicks and BFFs" will help make new friends and keep your old ones. Friendships don't happen instantly; they all take time. This book will help you to recognize good friends and bad friends, as well as help you through rough spots in your friendships. It also has fun crafts and activities to do with your current or future friends to help make your relationships stronger and get to know each other better.

This book was an interesting read. I found the activities and information within the book helpful and it helped me to reevaluate the people that I am currently hanging out with. The book also gave me ideas to do with my friends. I would recommend this book to any girl, even if they already have friends. It never hurts to try something new!

Reviewer Age:14

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

TIGER MOON

In this Indian fairytale like novel, a young newlywed,
Raka, waits in fear of being killed by her husband. To
pass the time, she spends time with her sole friend Lalit
by telling him a story.

Thief and all-around bad guy Farhad Kamal has been
targeted by the Hindu God Krishna to rescue his daughter
who was kidnapped by a demon. Farhad has been given the
cycle of one moon to find the princess. Only given a few
riddles, Farhad enlists the help from the white tiger
Nitish and decides to go ahead with the dangerous task.
He knows that there are dangers everywhere he goes, but
Nitish and Farhad rely on each other to get through them
and an unlikely friendship begins to grow between the two.

As a lover of fairy tales, this novel caught my
attention immediately. I've never read a tale centered in
India, so I loved that aspect of it. Everything about
this story was amazing, from the characters to the plot
and the writing style. The themes in the novel also left
an impression, such as the importance of friendship. The
historical aspects were interesting as well. Once I
started this, I couldn't put it down. I would recommend
this novel to readers of young adult fiction, and
especially all lovers of fairy tales.

Reviewer
Age:23

Reviewer City, State and Country: Philadelphia,
PA USA

A Cousin's Challenge by Wanda E. Brunstetter

A van accident two years prior to the beginning of the story leaves Jolene Yolder without her hearing. She is living with her aunt and uncle to learn total communication when she gets a call from the Amish community that she grew up in and where her family and friends live. Two deaf children have moved into the community, and the community wants Jolene to come and teach them total communication since she was a teacher before the accident. When she moves back, she tries to teach the whole community the art of signing, so that it is easier for her to communicate with everyone. Within a few weeks, Lonnie Hershberger also gets into a serious accident and loses his hearing. Jolene tries to reach out to him and help him through his grief and pain. With the new addition of signing, love starts to blossom in the Amish communities as friends come together to support each other.

Do read this book. The setting is in an Amish community and while that is not the usual setting for most books, Wanda E. Brunstetter makes it work well. She uses phrases that the people in the community say that are not familiar to us but they help to immerse us in the reading. The characters were interesting and complex, and they were the reason that made me keep turning the page to find out what was going to happen next. The characters stories were intertwined in some way that made them interesting. The writing was effective and it was not too dull. The ending was good, it was not too abrupt and it told me what i wanted to know about the characters. I would recommend this book. It was interesting and a fun read.

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

Noodle Pie

I just read the book Noodle Pie by Ruth Starke. This book is about a 12 year old boy named Andrew Nguyen, Andy for short, going to Vietnam for the first time with his father, who hasn’t seen Vietnam since he escaped as a refugee from a back then communist Vietnam to Australia. Now his father is going back, and is taking Andy with him. Right from the start, Andy realizes this is going to be no ordinary trip where the only thing to look forward to is jetlag and visiting relatives. What happens in this piece of realistic fiction, you might ask? Read Noodle Pie to find out.

Noodle Pie was a very interesting book. I found the description of the setting to be very vivid and descriptive, and I felt as if I were really in Vietnam with reckless drivers and polluted air. The book contains a humorous and yet serious tone. The book is funny because it is from an 11 year old boy’s point of view. However, the author also pinpoints the fact that there are thousands of street kids in Vietnam today. This brings a touch of seriousness to the book, but does not kill the humor in this book. I believe that the characters could be real because they act like any other kids would if they were in that situation. I think the way I felt about the characters really affected how much I liked the book. The author has a humorous yet serious tone. In this book, lack of detail was non-existent. The author left me hanging at the end, and I was left wondering about the main character’s adventures that started at the very end of the book. In conclusion, this is what I thought about the book Noodle Pie.

Content: 1
Rating: 6
Reviewer Age: 12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Braintree, Massachusetts United States of America

My Double Life by Janette Rallison

Ever since she could remember, Alexia has been compared to Kari Kingsley, the pop star sensation. Their appearances are uncannily similar. And Kari begins to take notice. Alexia gets a picture of herself posted on the internet, which comes to the attention of the pop star, who asks Alexia to become her double. As a double, she'd pose for pictures at events, sign autographs, and lip synch at some small concerts, all so Kari could focus on her newest album. In a sudden rebellious decision, Alexia leaves the comfort of her small, West Virginia town to become a body double for one of the most famous singers in the world. However, once she gets there, she realizes that her fame isn't all it's cracked up to be. What does she do when faced with not one, not two, but three shocking realizations?

This book was simply amazing. I have read several of Janette Rallison's books before and this was definitely the best one. Her portrayal of Alexia had so much depth to it, as did her portrayal of Kari, a seemingly one-dimensional, shallow pop star. The twists keep you occupied because they just keep on coming and you never know what to expect. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, as it was just extremely enjoyable to read and had me sucked in from the very first page.

Reviewer Age:16

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

The Secret Satrudays by Elizabeth Hurchalla

The Secret Saturdays The Kur Stone Volume 1 Part 1 is a mildly funny action graphic novel. The story is about part 1 of the search for Kur, the most powerful criptid on earth. Criptids are all the strange, exotic creatures that regular science doesn't believe in. The Kur Stone is needed to find Kur. To prevent the villian V. V. Argost from having all 3 pieces of the Kur Stone, the Saturdays need to retrieve the piece of the Kur Stone they had previously hidden. One of the reasons that the book is so short is that 6 out of 100 pages are just introduction to the characters.

I thought the book was way, way too short. If you aren't going to read the whole series, don't read this book because it ends in a cliffhanger and the entire book is mostly just an introduction. The introduction takes up too much of the book and the action is crammed into the end. I think it should have had more of a plot. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it was unsatisfying.

Unsatisfying because too little action and too much introduction.

Reviewer Age:10
Reviewer City, State and Country: Sammamish, WA USA

Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Kristi Carmichael is a sophomore in high school, just trying to get by each day. Her best friend has abandoned her for the popular crowd, her mother is a work-a-holic, her father disappeared two years ago, and then there's the new guy... Mallory seems nice enough, but Kristi's feelings for Gusty Peterson, her ex-BFFs older brother, are getting stronger. On top of all this Kristi can read minds. When Kristi gets assigned to work with Gusty on a school project, everything about Kristi's life changes. She realizes her "powers" may not be what she suspected and she's faced with a lot of tough decisions.

Vibes was definitely not what I was expecting. Kristi was a great main character that kept me glued to the pages. Her witty, but deep, narration made her one of the most unique characters I've ever read about in a YA novel. She was someone I would have loved to know in real life. Not only was Kristi a fantastic character, but I enjoyed many of the minor characters as well. Gusty, Mallory, Jacob, her mother, Aunt Ann... they all had a great place in this heartwarming debut. The plot was original and realistic even though I couldn't connect with a lot of the things Kristi was going through. Readers will feel for Kristi and go on the wild ride of her life all the way until the end. Kristi matures a lot by the end of Vibes and really discovers who she is. The writing style was fantastic, and the descriptions sucked me right into the novel. I can't wait to read Ryan's next book!

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Hightstown, New Jersey USA

Bakugan: Battle Brawlers by, Elizabeth Hurchalla

In this book Dan, one of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers, battles a kid named Shuji. After he beats Shuji he goes home and talks to his friends over the internet. The next morning he wakes up and goes to the park, but Shuji shows up again and challenges Dan to a rematch. In the middle of the battle Dan has a vision of two Bakugan he has never seen before battling. Then he uses an ability card to bring them to the battle. Afterwards he goes home and tells his friends how he thought he heard his Bakugan talk and how there might be more to the Bakugan game than they think.

My opinion of the book was that the author did a very good job of keeping to the episode it was based on. However there were a few mistakes. One of those mistakes was switching the names of some of the Bakugan. Besides a few mistakes the book was very good. I hope you all get a chance to read this wonderful book.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Mineola, Texas The United States of America

The Debs by Susan McBride

This book is about these girls who work hard to get
what they want. Their names are Laura Bell, Mac Mackenzie,
and Ginger Fore, who have dreamed of becoming a debutante
(deb) ever since they were little girls. Laura is a little
overweight, but that doesn't stop her from attracting a
hot jock named Avery, making her rivals fiery with
jealously. Ginger falls in love with this older, college
guy named Javier, which almost lands her in jail. Mac on
the other hand, is the calmest out of the three. She
doesn't really want to be a deb, but will do whatever it
takes to make her friends happy. But the three girls have
some competition on their hands, Jo-Lynn Bidwell and her
posse, Camie and Trisha, who will do anything- I mean
anything- to keep Laura and her friends out of the Class
Slipper Club. Scandal, Lies, Secrets and much more lies
ahead.

The book was very interesting and made me want
to know what happened next. It gave great detail about
the characters and made me feel as if I knew them in
person. One thing I had to get used to at first was that
each chapter was about a different character and their
actions, but it all blended well together. I would
recommend this book to any girl in high school because
this book contains what most girls go through in high
school, such as making the wrong friends, dealing with boys,
backstabbing, and heartache. I would definitely like to see
a Part 2 of this book, and see what else Jo-Lynn has in
store for the girls.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer
City, State and Country: Cumming, Georgia United States

Noonie's Masterpiece

"Noonie's Masterpiece " by Lisa Railsback is about a ten year old artist who is under-appreciated. She is confident that she is talented, but not everyone seems to agree with her. Her mother is dead, and her father is constantly away on archaeological trips; so, she lives with her aunt, uncle, and cousin, all of whom are facetiously eclectic. She enters an art contest, talks about school, and comes to realize what is really important to her in the end.

The book’s illustrations by Sarajo Frieden are of high quality. The pages themselves have decorations and color; even the text has color. The plot itself isn't too intense, but this book is meant for the grammar school age, anyway. While it is great that a girl pursues her art dreams, it is a bit disappointing that she is noted as disliking math. Overall, this book is a nice bridge for young ones, and one that will prepare them for chapter books.

Reviewer Age:18
Reviewer City, State and Country: Troy, NY 12180