Blood Feud by Alyxandra Harvey

The book Blood Feud by Alyxandra Harvey is a mix
of many things: mystery, adventure, and romance, but
mostly fiction, since it is about vampires. In the book a
girl named Isabeau is turned into a vampire after her
parents are killed. During the French Revolution, Isabeau
went and found her way to her uncle's house. He threw a
party and that's when she met Greyhavan changes her into a
vampire and leaves her buried for 200 years. She loathes
him for doing so and is sure to seek revenge someday.
After 200 years, she is found by the hounds, an exclusive
vampire clan thought to be savage.

Then she meets Logan, one of the seven Drake
brothers, considered royalty, at their home caves for a
negotiation meeting to unite their two tribes. Montmartre
is an evil vampire who wants Logan's sister to marry him.
He is partnered with Greyhavan. Isabeau and Logan locate
him and his culprits in an attempt to catch them, but fail
in their attempt. Isabeau finds out that her people are
being attacked. She and Logan go to see if they are okay,
but end up getting attacked by helpers of Greyhavan and
Montmartre, in Isabeau's clan's caves. Isabeau and Logan
get free and flee to help Logan's family under attack as
well. They get caught again on the way by Greyhavan and
Montmartre. Isabeau is then faced with the dilemma of
making a decision to die, but seek revenge by killing
Greyhavan by herself while Logan flees, or leave with
Logan and loose her only chance at revenge.

Blood Feud takes place in the twenty-first century in Europe, and in
Isabeau's past life during the French Revolution. The tone
of the book was eery and exciting: you have the eery past
life of Isabeau's life, and the adventure of what Isabeau
and Logan go through together. There is also mystery and a
bit of humor. Isabeau is amazingly beautiful with dark
brown hair and stunning green eyes. Logan is handsome with
his his brown hair and green eye as well. This book is the
perfect mix of everything a book needs: mystery, suspense,
adventure, humor, and love. The book jumps back an forth
from the present involving Isabeau and Logan and the past
of Isabeau, which is different. It was age appropriate and
had no bad language or other inappropriate content. I
would recommend this book to others, especially vampire
lovers. I learned that getting revenge is not the answer,
that there are better choices to make. You should
definitely read this book because it grabbed my attention
right from the beginning.
Reviewer Age:14 Uxbridge, Massachusetts United States

Shiner and King by Nolan Carlson

In the book Shiner and King by Nolan Carlson, the main
characters are Carly and Troop. They do everything
together. They formed a club called the Mustangs. They
both are in the same class at school. One day Troop and
Carly were riding their bikes and Luke Webster (a mean
boy in the town) fell, the boys went over to him to make
sure he was OK. Luke, because he is mean, kidnapped
them. He kept them in his shed. They were soon
rescued. The dog King goes missing and they spent a lot
of time looking for him. They found him in the nick of
time. King was in danger. You'll have to read to find
out if they find and save King.

I found the book slow moving and difficult to
understand. This was Book 3 of the series and I did not
read books 1 or 2. I felt I was missing connections that
might have been clearer if I had read the previous books.
The Book didn't seem to be about the title characters
Shiner and King. Overall this book was not for me.
Reviewer Age:10 Uxbridge, MA USA

The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee

When Meg Pickel s brother goes missing, she finds herself in a strange situation&She meets the famous writer Charles Dickens, who is having trouble writing. This writer s block is due to a worry that London isn t safe. This book follows his journey to learn why so many children are going missing&maybe he can help Meg! Read The Haunting of Charles Dickens to find out!

What a gem! Saying that this book is extraordinary is an understatement. Buzbee s writing will keep you up at night! The book is filled with adventures and haunting details that kept me on the edge. Not only is the writing in this book astounding, the illustrations are strangely beautiful! I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars!

Reviewer Age:13

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

Zombiesque by Stephen L. Antczak

16 haunting stories about zombies fill the pages of this
unique book. The first story would have to be my favorite!
It is an anecdote about an insatiable zombie who eats his
friends, trying to quench his thirst for blood! Even more
stories make this book a thrill. Just wait till you get
your hands on this book, you ll read it again and again!

This book gave me nightmares, that s for sure! I truly
felt like I was in the story. Each story contained vivid
details, which scared me in the most delightful way! I
couldn t put the book down! This book has a specific
audience. If you re the type of person who enjoys historic
books, back away. You must have an open mind to ghosts,
werewolves, and zombies! This book is the next best thing!

Language is bad!

Reviewer Age:13

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

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Seventeen-year-old Lena lives in a world where love, or amor deliria nervosa, is nothing but a disease deemed to be fatal by the government. The only way for society to flourish as it should is through complete eradication of love, and that is where the cure comes in. All inhabitants of the United States of America living within the heavily militarized border are required to have the procedure on their 18th birthday. This cure takes away all the intense feelings of love won and love lost, of fixation and obsession, and of euphoria and despair. Lena, of course, simply cannot wait for her procedure. She has always been different, set apart by her infamous and long-deceased parents who just so happened to be branded with the most shameful labels society has to offer: one is a sympathizer; the other took her own life. Lena just wants all this pain and worry to disappear, but then Alex comes into her life -- Alex, who bears the scar of the procedure on his skin. This means he is completely safe to interact with, right? Right?

In my opinion, Lauren Oliver's second novel, Delirium, was not in the same caliber as her debut, Before I Fall. Although Oliver's fluid writing style is still there, peppered with beautiful similes that make her books such a joy to read, the setting and plot of Delirium just doesn't have the originality of her first book. Thirty pages in, my mind was flashing warning signals, and the existing similarities between Delirium and Scott Westerfield's Uglies series began popping up. For some reason, I felt like Lena was, for a lack of a better word, somewhat of a bimbo. She is passive and hesitant, and her doubt about herself and the world around her can be quite annoying sometimes. I understand that most books are centered on characters that aren't special in the conventional sense but end up maturing and discovering the rebel within themselves as the book progresses. It felt like Oliver was aiming for this growth, but Lena fell short. She does indeed become more confident by the end, but the transformation process was lacking.

The other thing about Delirium is the speed of its plot development. The first half of the book was a chore to get through -- almost nothing occurred. Total stasis, almost perpetual boredom. The addictive quality of a novel is a big factor for the reader's enjoyment, and the crawling pace of this book was the biggest turn-off for me.

With all that being said, Delirium does have its lovely parts. Each chapter is preceded by a short passage taken from various pieces of literature that exists in the Delirium world. They give insight into the novel and are all gorgeously crafted by Oliver. The ending was quite an intense ride as well. It definitely leaves the reader wanting of the second installment of the Delirium trilogy. Overall, an applaudable addition to the YA dystopian genre.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Palo Alto, CA USA

Destiny's Path by Frewin Jones

Branwen has started her journey to save Brython. She is aided by her two trustworthy companions. Rhodri, a half Saxon who used to be a slave to Herewolf Ironfist until he escaped and was saved by Branwen. And Blodwedd, who is the messenger of Govannon of the Wood (one of the Shining Ones). She was an owl until she was charged with watching over Branwen and now she is an owl trapped in a human's body. Her final companion is Fain her trusty falcon guide. But Blodwedd brings tidings of distaster, the coastal village of Gwylan Canu is in danger, so they sneak into Doeth Palas to warn Iwan, the son of the Lord and Lady of Gwylan Canu. Once he is sure they can be trusted he goes to plea with Prince Llew to help him. To make sure all goes well Branwen and her companions follow, and on their journey the old ways are revealed to her. When they reach the coastal citadel they discover Rhodri's true feelings for the owl girl and the treachery of Prince Llew.

Destiny's Path is an enticing book that keeps you always anticipating what will happen next.This book was very easy to follow and had an amazing flow from one chapter to the next. I think the theme of this story is is to have faith in those who guide you. I would recommend Frewin Jones' book to any girl who likes adventure books with a dash of romance.

Battle scenes might not be proper for younger children

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Makanda, Illinois USA

Finding the Way and Other Tales of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey

In this collection of short stories, Mercedes Lackey and
15 other authors have added on to the Heralds of Valdemar
series with tales about the Heralds, Bards, and Healers of
Valdemar. Follow along as they take you through the land
of Valdemar and learn about the powers of the Heralds,
Bards, and Healers, the Elite forces of Valdemar.

Learn about a healer-to-be who feels a terrible danger
before it is reported&

The life of a Man after he was changed and the child he
found in the forest&

The adventures of a young Herald-to-be and the mistakes
she makes&

And so much more as Mercedes Lackey and others take you
through the magical land of Valdemar.

Larry Dixon, Elisabeth Waters, Tanya Huff, Mercedes Lackey
and others in 15 new stories tell you the little things
that happen in the background of the novels by Mercedes
Lackey.

This book was effective at getting me to continue
reading, and the vocabulary wasn t too0 difficult, so I
think just about anyone could read this book. In
comparison to other books I have read by this author, this
book does well and could easily be added to her Heralds of
Valdemar series.

One of the things I liked about this book is how the
characters and the setting together can make you feel as
if you are in the book, and in some parts, if I try hard
enough, I can imagine the scene in my head. Sadly, I was
left wondering what happens to some of the characters, and
some of the stories seemed to end a little too soon.

The weakness of this book is the shortness of the stories,
which makes you hope that the stories will be picked up
later. The strength of this book is the diversity. The
book doesn t follow the same plot or design each time,
leaving you wondering what twists will be added next.

I found this book interesting, and hope Mercedes Lackey
continues to work with these authors. I would recommend
this book to anyone who likes to read about magic and
adventure.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Ardmore, Oklahoma United States

No Longer Daddy's Little Girl by Aarica J. Blackett

This book was written for young girls who have grown up in households without fathers. The author is trying to give advice to girls like these on how to move on and grow to be stronger from a situation like this instead of succumbing to the statistics that girls without fathers will not live good lives. By sharing her own personal experiences, and the experiences of other girls, Aarica J. Black aims to show these girls that they are not alone. Instead of letting the experience take over your life, she tries to show you how to find hope and be a better person despite having an absent father. This book teaches young women how to move on in life, and overcome the odds.

I picked this book up expecting a thick self-help book, and got a maybe 50-page memoir. The author's purpose was to tell girls without fathers how to move on and be better people, but I don't think she did that effectively. The book is filled with anecdotes from her life and the lives of others, and not much else. I was disappointed. I also expected this book to be aimed at a broad spectrum of girls in varying situations, but it focused mainly on black girls in divorced families. There isn't a problem with this, except that the summary doesn't tell you that it's focused on black families and divorce. I think she focused more on stories from other girls rather than telling you how to move on, and that is where her book fails to help. If she had added more advice, rather than stories, and maybe comments from psychologists, or any comments from professionals, it would have been a better book.

Overall, I give this book a 5/10 and recommend it for ages 10 and up.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Sykesville, MD United States

Dillion's Dream: Water and Earth by Dr. Shawn Phillips

Dillon's Dream: Water and Earth is set in modern day United States in a quiet town. Dillon and his friends are making their way through high school using their fantasy game as a way of bonding together. While walking home one day, Dillon is hit by a car, or what he thought was a car at the time, and wakes up in an infirmary on the moon. There he is confronted with many new and strange things. He learns that there are other intelligent species in the universe and that one of the oldest ones have taken him in. Through a course of events he ends up on a mission with his best friends where their fantasy game becomes a reality as they travel to a new planet in hope of recovering a stolen artifact from a Mulshin deserter. They face many hardships along their journey and their skills are put to the test in an epic survival of the fittest where magic is real and it will kill you if you don't fight back.

Personally, I didn't like the book until I read it a second time. The first time through, I felt that it was rather confusing to the reader and the events in the beginning of the story didn't flow as much as they could of. Dillon's sudden jump from being a normal boy, living out an average life, to living with another race on a space station was rather abrupt, but that's ok. I think that's how the author wanted it to seem. However, what I have problems with is the time period in between Dillon waking up in the infirmary and actually training his team. The book could be a little clearer on how he gained an immense amount of knowledge, if not skill, of the martial art that they train in. Once they get to the new planet however, the book becomes much more interesting and flows better. Reading through the book a second time a couple weeks after the first time through also helped to clarify some of the more confusing points and revealed some of the metaphors and allegories to prejudice in our world. I can't wait to see how the second book of the trilogy develops.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Berwyn Heights, Maryland United States of America

Savannah Grey by Cliff McNish

Savannah Grey is always moving from foster home to foster home. She doesn’t know why, but she knows she just has to. Then she meets Reece, a guy who seems to understand her better than everyone else. He even knows about the strange marks on her neck, that seem to amplify her voice, and he has them too. Soon, Savannah starts to feel like nothing can hold her voice back and it will be the most powerful weapon on Earth. What she doesn’t know is that the Earth might need her weapon too.

This book was great. I loved the horror aspect and the creatures. He really made the characters come to life. I wished he would have explained the creatures better. Overall, it was a very good book.