The Gecko and Sticky : The Greatest Power by Wendelin Van Draanen

The Gecko and Sticky: The Greatest Power is the second book in The Gecko and Sticky series. It is a hilarious action novel in which 13-year-old Dave Sanchez and his gecko named Sticky battle the infamous Damien Black. Dave has a magical ancient Aztec wristband that was previously owned by Damien. The wristband has a slot for an ingot that gives the wearer of the wristband a special ability. Different ingots give the wearer different abilities. In The Greatest Power, Dave must recover items stolen by Damien, including money and a ring.

I found the story absolutely ridiculous at first, but then I couldn't put it down because the story was told so entertainingly. Part of what makes the story so entertaining is the playful wordplay that is rhythmic and rhymes. For example, on the first page, a gun is described as "a multi-muzzled, peculiar puzzle of a gun." The story is also entertaining because of the humor, which made me smile and occasionally laugh out loud. The wordplay plus the magnificently drawn illustrations give the story a cartoon-like feel. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cartoons.

Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Sammamish, WA USA

The Summer of Moonlight Secrets by Danette Haworth

When Allie Jo’s friend goes away for the summer, she doesn’t expect to do much more than her usual. But when a guy named Chase comes to stay at the hotel everything starts to change. Soon she sees Chase getting tremendously hurt. Allie Jo meets a girl walking straight out of Hope Springs. Fate soon arrives and they all meet and become friends. Once Chase and Allie Jo know the girl’s, Tara’s, secret, can they keep it; or will they ruin the secret and Tara’s life?

The Summer of Moonlight Secrets is an enthralling, captivating book that you don’t want to put down. It’s a story about friendships, summers, first loves, and the importance of keeping the secrets entrusted into your care. At first the story frustrated me with the switching of characters every chapter, but then I realized that to hear the story from both Allie Jo’s and Chase’s sides was the only way to hear it. I hope the readers will love this book for years to come.

Reviewer Age: 13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Fresno, California USA

Andrea Carter And The Trouble With Treasure by Susan K. Marlowe

The bank robbery in Fresno won't stop Andi and her friends from taking their long anticipated camping trip to the mountains. But when her brother Mitch gets gravely injured, it's up to Andi to save her brother. When the former deputy visits them things become complicated, and dangerous. Can Andi save her friends? Andi has never wanted to grow up, but when she gets a lot of responsibility on her shoulders, she decides it might not be so bad after all.

Susan Marlow did a great job writing this book. It s action-packed and exciting. All the characters have great depth, especially Andi Carter. The responsibility that falls on her shoulders is portrayed realistically. The twists and turns really keep you wanting more. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves old western stories.

Reviewer Age:10
Reviewer City, State and Country: Rockwell City, IA USA

Beautiful Americans by Lucy Silag

Beautiful Americans follows four American exchange students who join a Parisian study program. Alex, a typical New York socialite and an expert in spending her parents money, joins the program after she is cut off. Olivia has been given the opportunity to train at a famous ballet school. PJ is hoping to get away from a scandal plaguing her family. Zach is a Southern boy who has been hiding his gay lifestyle from his conservative hometown. In Paris, all four students want to escape their problems at home and hope to change their lives for the better. The story alternates between the different perspectives, and documents the trials and adventures of the four teens as they live in Paris for the year.

As a fan of books like Gossip Girl and the like, this plot of this book interested me right away. The plot of Beautiful Americans isn't a new one, but the way the story was written was attention-grabbing and the Parisian background adds a whole new level to the novel. The drama behind the four teens is interesting to read and the further I got into the story, the more I wanted to know about them. Beautiful Americans is a great summer read. This book is the first of a series and there are new other books out. So for a taste of teen drama and adventure, give the Beautiful American series a try!

Reviewer Age:23
Reviewer City, State and Country: Philadelphia, PA USA

The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb

With one letter, Hallie James' life changes in an instant. After discovering that her mother had died recently instead of many years ago as she had previously believed, she is summoned to a remote island to hear her mother's will read. But that's the first of many strange things that Hallie encounters. She inherits millions of dollars and an old mansion where she discovers that she's been living a life full of lies. In the mansion, she finds ghosts, magic and other unnatural beings. She learns a lot about what happened to her family so many years ago and it's up to Hallie to clear her family's bad name and break the curse that's kept a hold on the family.

Once I picked up this book, I couldn't put it down. It had aspects of all my favorite elements, from mystery, to suspense to romance. Hallie James was an interesting character to read about and the plot was captivating. This is not a story for someone who gets scared easily! The Tale of Halcyon Crane is not the typical summer beach read, but it's one that I definitely recommend picking up. I'm looking forward to seeing what the author will come up with next!

Reviewer Age:23
Reviewer City, State and Country: Philadelphia, PA USA

Anna Maria's Gift by Janice Shefelman

What if you could study under the most famous geniuses in music? Anna Maria will promise her dying father to study under a world famous musician. When he dies, Anna Maria is sent to an orphanage in Venice, Italy with one possession, a violin her father made her. The violin is her prized possession and the only reminder of her father. Anna Maria arrives at the orphanage not knowing what to expect. She meets the other girls, meets the teachers, and learns the rituals of the orphanage. The only thing that Anna Maria looks forward to during the day is music class with the famous composer, Antonio Vivaldi. Anna Maria loves music and shines in the class. Paolina, the best violinist before Anna Maria comes, becomes jealous. To get revenge, Paolina throws Anna Maria's violin into the canal. Anna Maria goes on a search through Venice to find her violin, and learns about the magic of Venice along the way.

Janice Shefelman wrote a sweet book with a good message. The message of the story is reiterated at the beginning and the end, the message being to not judge a place or people without getting to know them first. Anna Maria, being the main character does put the message across, but it is mostly the minor characters that give the message. For example, the gondolier gives the message. Many of the minor characters in the book play an important role in the overall outcome of the book. This makes the book more unique. I would recommend this book to beginning readers because it has simple vocabulary, and is easy to follow.

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

Global Warming and the Dinosaurs by Caroline Arnold

The age of the dinosaurs was millions of years ago, but they lived exactly where humans do today. In fact, the dinosaurs covered more of the earth than we previously imagined! The far reaches of the world, the Arctic and Antarctic, used to be covered with forests. Also, global temperatures were much hotter than they are currently. Polar dinosaurs can be found in places such as Alaska, Canada, Australia, and South America. That is because the landmasses were only Laurasia and Gondwana. Since, they have split to become the seven continents that we know today. If dinosaurs were dominant in the world, what brought about their destruction?

The author's goal in this short story is to inform the reader about dinosaurs. She emphasizes the types of dinosaurs from different areas of the world. This book is not necessarily for pleasure reading. Its purpose to inform is met, however, because Arnold uses many descriptive words and presents the material in an organized fashion. I could foresee this book being used to teach elementary school children. My only dislike is that there are almost too many specific dinosaur names listed in the book. It would flow better if there were a chart in the back with the types of dinosaurs and less in the actual text.

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

His Own Where by June Jordan

As his dad lay dying in the hospital after a car accident, Buddy Rivers, an African-American teenager, finds himself alone. While visiting his father in the hospital Buddy meets Angela, the abused daughter of his father's nurse. Peering over his father's bandaged body, Buddy and Angela immediately form a bond of friendship and of love. Their relationship only grows stronger as Buddy witnesses the constant physical and physiological abuse Angela endures by her parents. After one final drunken attack by her father, Buddy is forced to take Angela to the hospital. As a result, Angela is taken away from her parents and sent to live in a strict Christian girls' home. While at the home Angela is not allowed to see Buddy and is held under constant watch. It is up to Buddy to free her and start a life together.

While I found June Jordan's His Own Where to be a unique and interesting book, I also thought it to be difficult to understand as the entire book is written in Black English, a dialect used by members of the American-American community. Despite the hard to understand dialogue, I was eventually able to understand the language and found myself intrigued with the New York black culture of the early 70s. Although a fairly short book (only 92 pages) it is not an easy read and it takes work to read it. Nevertheless, for someone that doesn't mind putting in a little extra effort, I found the book to be very interesting and would definitely recommend it.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Potomac, Maryland United States of America

Cthulhu's Reign by Darrell Schweitzer

Cthulhu's Reign is a collection of stories about several different creatures, such as Cthulhu, a large sea serpent. These creatures come from the past and cause problems for many civilizations. The stories may seem more interesting to someone who enjoys reading fictional stories. One story was about a telepathic girl who helped her family fight its way to safety from the creatures that came to Earth. Several of the other stories were also about people who have visions or omens that help save them from different creatures.

I felt the various authors did an excellent job of using descriptive text. I could easily picture the various creatures and characters. I feel that this book is appropriate for middle school students. I found this book especially interesting because I enjoy researching Greek mythology. I recommend this book to people who enjoy reading science fiction and fantasy.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Helena, AR USA

The Time Pirate by Ted Bell

The Time Pirate is the exciting and fast-paced sequel to Nick of Time. The setting is England during Word War II and the American colonies in the late 1700s. Nick McIver, the main character, has access to a rare time traveling machine created by Leonardo da Vinci. In this book, Nick must face his nemesis, the infamous Captain Billy Blood, who he has battled in the past. He has to betray his country to aid the Americans in the American Revolution in order to ensure their help in the future. This book combines fantasy with historical fiction to create an intriguing and suspenseful book.

I enjoyed this book because the author successfully included two time periods, which was the purpose of the author's writing. The vocabulary was sophisticated, but not too complicated for the age range, which is about 10-12. I found it interesting, and I would definitely say that the quality of writing is just as good as the first book in the series. I thought the ending was appropriate because it had a good closing to the story, without ending the series. I would recommend this series to readers who enjoy adventure and historical fiction.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Bayside, WI USA