Living Hell by Catherine Jinks

The young inhabitants of the spaceship Plexus (please italicize) have never set foot on Earth. A few of their parents might be a little homesick once in a while, but without any contact with the planet, their species's home is rarely on their minds. The ship, safe and reliable, harbors them through the vacuum of space as two crews switch between four-year-long bouts in suspended animation. Their mission: to find an inhabitable planet where they can start a new life. But when the ship is forced to pass through an unidentifiable and mysterious energy field, the humans' dependency on their beloved Plexus (please italicize) threatens to doom them all as the ship, quite literally, comes alive.

This is one of the best young adult books I have read in years -- when I started it, I couldn't bring myself to stop until I'd finished it at the end of the day. The pacing is just right and there is just enough tension (and cliffhanger chapter endings) to keep any adventure-loving reader's nose in "Living Hell." Science fiction fans will automatically love this story, especially the vast amount of detail incorporated into the concept of a living spaceship. To anyone not as open to the genre, the "life force" idea may sound preposterous, and there is one other, minor preposterous occurrence near the end of the story. Yet nothing seems very strange in the context of the book, since every aspect of it is strange. The author's descriptive and convincing voice makes almost anything possible in the ship Plexus. Any reader will notice there are also a great number of technical terms and acronyms pertaining to the ship's operating system, but most can be remembered easily enough if the reader has the will. Ultimately, the most unfortunate aspect of this book is that the title is frustratingly vague, and without the cover illustration and the synopsis, I would never have guessed its contents and probably would not have wanted to read it.

Rated 3 for frightening descriptions, especially disturbing and gruesome deaths,young children in peril, and some language.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: San Jacinto, California USA

Sky Girl by Joe Sergi

DeeDee Dandrudge is your average teenager. She wants to win the National Gymnastic Tournament and beat her enemy Nicole who is also dating her crush, the high school quarterback. She has a best friend named Jason who is the ultimate comic book nerd and has a single mom. But when she realizes she has strange powers similar to a comic book superhero named SkyBoy her world turns upside down. She is introduced to villains of SkyBoy who for some reason want to steal her gymnastics trophy and to find SkyBoy. DeeDee must somehow live two lives as DeeDee the gymnast and regular girl and SkyGirl.

Reading this book was hilarious. Considering this book was probably made for kids younger than me I loved it. Some of the villains' conversations with each other in the beginning were great because it sounds just like if it was an actual television show or was actually happening. Even if some of the conversations were just he said she said type of stuff it was still a page turner where you wanted to know what was happening in the next chapter. One of the more annoying things was that the character of Jason doesn't like to use contractions so instead of saying could've or can't he would say could have or cannot. Otherwise it was great to read and I can't wait for the sequel and I would most definitely recommend it to anyone.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Loves Park, Illinois United States

The Midnight Curse by L. M. Falcone

Lacey and her brother Charlie are used to a life of being
poor. They never had the money to go on trips, until their
Uncle Jonathan dies, sending them to England for the
reading of the will. Once in England, they reach Blaxton
Manor, the home where Uncle Jonathan locked himself away.
While their mother is out, Charlie and Lacey go exploring
in the house. They didn't know what they were getting
into. Charlie gets cursed, they meet two spooky ghosts, a
creepy butler, and a woman with a head in her fridge! This
book is full of mystic twists that keep you up all
night.

I could not have read a better book! L.M Falcone
writes about mystery, terror, and going to the extreme to
help your family. I was up all night, both because I was
scared and because I couldn't rest until I finished the
book! If you dream of horror, love Edger Allen Poe works
and other strange books, You'll love "The Midnight Curse".
I know I did.

Although there is no vulgar language,
younger children might find it scary.

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Panama City, Florida United States

Storm: The Infinity Code by E.L. Young

Storm the Infinity Code follows the adventure of three new friends; Will, Gia and Andrew. Together they make up STORM, Science and Technology to over-rule misery. Andrew is the visionary and investor. Gia is the language and explosives expert. Will is the inventor. Andrew has grand ideas for STORM whereas Will thinks they are being overly optimistic. But after a small success they decide that they can make a difference. They soon discover that Andrew’s friend Caspian is up to mischief. Caspian’s father was abducted and Caspian is trying to save him by creating a deadly weapon. And the members of STORM are the only ones who can stop him.

Storm the Infinity Code starts off slowly. It takes a while for STORM to form and Will to commit to the group. But once STORM is all set the plot started to move along. And the chase and adventure never stopped. But STORM is always up for the challenge. Although the adventures are ridiculous, the characters are real. Throughout the story the characters are well developed. Storm the Infinity Code is full of surprises. One frustrating thing is that its a little hard to follow all of the names. Storm the Infinity Code was a great book and it was interesting that the science in it was based upon real experiments. Overall Storm the Infinity Code became a good page turner.

Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Amherst, MA USA

Party by Tom Leveen

Party by Tom Leveen

"Party" follows the night of eleven different teenagers at one different party. Little do they know that they all will be connected. What starts out to be a small crowd turns into a mob and trashes the guys house. Soon afterward smoking and drugs get mixed in with the beer. Not long after everything is getting heated up with fights, kissing, and shouting the police arrive. Not only do they show up with ambulances the party breaks up, and teenagers are scrambling to get out of there without being caught.

"Party" seems to be full of drugs, addiction and racism at the first glance. After you get in for a while the plot unfolds. Every one of these characters seems to be caught up in their own drama mashing it together into a big mess. The book seemed to have some realism and some fantasy in it.I believe that "Party" is a good book but could use a little more of real life situations mixed with the fantasies in it.

This book contains swearing, drugs, and alcohol for minors. It might give some bad ideas to immature readers.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Hopkins, Michigan U.S.A

Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony

Molly McClure is only 16 years old when her parents send her to America to find her grandma that may or may not be alive. This is a big adventure for Molly especially since she lives such a simple life in Canada. In the year of 2041 destruction and poverty is everywhere in the U.S. She has to brave getting to her grandparents alone, and surrounded by people who are hungry and chaotic. Along the way she learns that everyone is not as they seem and you have to learn to trust the right people to survive. Luckily, she meets someone special to help her along the way.

I absolutely loved this book. I thought the setting was brilliant. Joelle Anthony gives you a picture of the future that I have never read or even thought about before. The characters were set up perfectly. Especially Molly, she is the best kind of heroine. I think her small, quiet relationship with Spill makes the story perfect.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Springfield, OH US

Sweet 15 by, Emily Adler

In three months, Destiny Lozado will turn fifteen. In a Latino household, this means the countdown begins for a Quincenara, or big fifteenth birthday celebration. However, Destiny is not sure this is how she wants to celebrate. Her mother wants her to have a girly Quincenara complete with a fancy dress and caballero (male escort). Destiny's sister, America, is fighting tooth and nail against her mother to prevent Destiny's Quincenara. America argues for a Quincenara without the fancy clothes and definitely without the caballero. And stuck in the middle of this is Destiny, swooning over a possible crush and worrying about the toll the Quince￱ara is taking on her family's financial situation. Can Destiny put up with her mother's and sister's arguments about what's best for her, or will Destiny take things into her own hands?

I like the storyline because I enjoy hearing about other cultures' birthday celebrations. However, this book was hard to get through because, for most of the book, Destiny let herself be swayed back and forth by her mother and sister and never took control of her life till the end. This book presents an interesting view of the modern day feminist (America, Destiny's sister) and the strain of being caught between two cultures. I liked how in the end, Destiny managed to make her Quincenara her own with a mix of fancy and grungy aspects. Over all, this book has a sweet and inspiring story that female tweens will surely enjoy.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Mineola, TX U.S.A.

Nature Girl by Jane Kelley

Eleven year old Meagan didn’t want to be stuck in Vermont for the whole summer without her best friend, Lucy. The summer looks like it’s going to be horrible. It gets worse when Meagan gets lost on the Appalachian Trail with only her loyal dog, Arp. Instead of going back, she decides to prove herself and walk, oops, hike to Massachusetts, where Lucy is staying. Along the way she begins to discover herself more. After all, she has a long time to think and think and think.

I liked this book because I love how Meagan perseveres; hiking from Vermont to Massachusetts. She thinks about the times when she and Lucy were together and how she acted. I found this book very moving. I would definitely recommend this book to others. Why? This is a very touching book.

Reviewer Age: 10

Reviewer Cities, State and Country: Katy, Texas USA

Conspiracy 365: May by Gabrielle Lord

Cal has been locked in a mental institution, and given the fake identity of Ben Galloway. The only problem with this is, he doesn't know who put him there or how he got there. Vulkan Sligo has stolen important documents pertaining to his father's murder case. Cal is informed from his shrink that he will be released when he gives the the papers to Vulkan. Cal tries to persuade his shrink that Mr.Sligo is lying and that "Ben" is really Cal Ordman. After his chat with his shrink, Cal tries to run away from the asylum, but his plans are foiled by a guard! Then, one day Cal was watching television and saw his mother had been assaulted. Finally, Cal is able to contact Boges secretly over an email. Boges is allowed to visit Cal at the asylum, and Cal finds out that Boges has the documents. Then Boges dresses up Cal like a woman, and sneaks him out of the institution! Cal leaves town to get away from the police. The rest, you need to read and find out!

I wasn't a fan of this story. It was book 5 in the series and I didn't understand the plot. The setting wasn't very appealing, or interesting. The author didn't make the mental institution as exciting as it could have been. The main character is Cal, he wasn't a very interesting character. He was locked in a mental institution, yet didn't share his strong feelings for this situation. The author of this book made Cal feel boring, and i didn't connect with him at all. The author's voice just had a humdrum tone about it. The writing was difficult to follow and at times just didn't make sense. I found this book dull and at times it felt like the author was trying to push the situation too hard! I didn't learn anything from this book. I wouldn't recommend this book to readers, it was humdrum and the plot didn't make sense.

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

Change of Heart by Shari Maurer

Emmi Miller is an average teenager; her life consists of
soccer, friends, and parental problems. However, her life
is radically changed in a short few days when she
contracts a virus that led to congestive heart failure.
Now, her life is in a form of a beeper, and she's waiting
day in and day out for it to tell her a new heart has come
so she can go one with her life. Soon, Emmi realizes how,
maybe, her life will never go back to normal, and through
it all, she learns how great her family and friends
are.

I felt like I've encountered this storyline so many
different times, and this book doesn't write it in a very
refreshing way. The plotline is predictable and cliche.
The characters and situations are underdeveloped. One
dramatic event happens after the next making them seem
unrealistic and jammed together to make the book more
exciting. Also, the characters relationships are
established, but the reader doesn't feel the full
connection between the characters. Moreover, the narrator,
Emmi, is extremely whiny and immature. The author's
writing is choppy and unsophisticated. Although she
captures the teenage voice pretty well, at times it seems
as if she's trying too hard. All in all, it was a decent
book if you're looking for a light read full of cheesy,
predictable drama.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City,
State and Country: Hinsdale, IL USA