The Glass Minstrel by Hayden Thorne

It's winter in mid-19th century Bavaria, and two men,Andreas Schiffer and Abelard Bauer, are trying to overcome the pain of their sons' deaths, and the scandal they left behind. When Schiffer sees a glass minstrel in Bauer's shop, he know's that Bauer is trying to keep his son alive, and is angry with him, having blamed him and his son for the scandal. However, Schiffer must learn to live in the now and take care of his family, as Bauer must try to understand why his son died.

Meanwhile, fifteen-year-old Jakob Diederich has a problem of his own. He becomes infatuated with a traveling Englishman who is staying at the Inn he works at. As he tries to understand himself, and learn more about the scandal that Schiffer and Bauer's sons were involved in, he is drawn to Bauer, tying the three characters together in the end.
 
Normally, I don't read historical fiction, but this book was wonderful. The author really hooks you with the flow of his writing and accurate details. He gives a life to this time and these characters that keeps you reading until the very end. Jakob was probably the most fleshed out character, and I love how accurate the author was concerning the thoughts of someone his age. He was three-dimensional and well-balanced. Schiffer was featured less prominently, and so I didn't feel the same sense of character, but you could still connect to him in his hardships. Bauer didn't really develop as a character until the end, but he mixes into the story very nicely when he does develop. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and have lent it out 3 times already. I give it a 9/10 and recommend it for ages 15 and up because of allusions to sex, and a homosexual character.
 
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Sykesville, MD United States

Killer Pizza: The Slice by Greg Taylor

In the beginning you find yourself at the Killer Pizza Headquarters in New York City with Toby Strobe and
Annabel. They get sent on a chilling mission to track and help a Dekayi girl called Calanthe, all the while being chased by a morphing invisible Rukh. They get her safely away with the Rukh hanging on his last shred of life. Calanthe then becomes a "normal"  Hidden Hills teenager.  She admits that she is expected to be the offering to one of her gods in a sacred ceremony. Then she tells them her people will stop at nothing to get her back. Will they win the battle and save Calanthe from death? Read this monster busting book to find out.

 Greg Taylor creates a world where danger hides behind every corner. The book makes you feel like you're fighting the monsters yourselves. This is one of the great monster books for teens and older kids. Fans would want a third book. This book may lead you on to other action books!

Reviewer Age:12  Uxbridge, Ma USA

A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford

Leah Clifford's "A Touch Mortal" is all about a human that sparks the attention of an angel. The angel falls in love with her and the drama ensues. Suicide and death inch their way into the story, too. There are categories of angels and special rules for what happens when angels and humans interact. There are also various sides that humans and angels take. Love triangles form and new characters are shoved into the plot in an attempt to somehow make the story more interesting. There is some mystery as readers are trying to figure out all the different types of angels and who is against whom.

Full of cursing, this book is not for young readers. While the romance is not overtly graphic, it is still there. Most shocking is the notion that people fall "in love" very shortly after meeting someone and spending time with them. Also, cohabitation being approved of will raise some eyebrows. Clifford is subtle in how she uses characters to voice opinions about spirituality. However, she does not use angels in the sense that they are used in the Bible (even though she quotes a verse about immoral women at the beginning of the book). Some dialog hints at the fact that it is okay for angels (and humans?) to be gay, angels can be "good" while still lusting after humans, that there is no God, there is no Heaven, and that there is no Hell. For those that like lewd fantasy novels, have your fun, but for everyone else, please know that the ideas present in this book are not at all Biblical in the least.

There is a plethora of swearing and inappropriate romance.
Reviewer Age:19
Reviewer City, State and Country: Troy, NY USA

Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Blessed, the third installment in the series with Tantalize and Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith, continues the tale of vampire Quincie P. Morris from Tantalize and the angel Zachary from Eternal. Quincie must find time to run the family restaurant, clear her best friend Kieren (a werewolf) of murder and must also make sure the vampire who turned her into one, Bradley, doesn't come back. With the help of new friends from Eternal like Zachary, Nora, Freddy and Harrison, Quincie learns more about the vampiric world. Unfortunately for them Bradley is trying to take over the powers of Dracula. If he succeeds in becoming like Dracula there would be no stopping him from coming back to the town and taking Quincie to live with him forever. Will Brad succeed in becoming Dracula? Or will Quincie and her cohorts find a way to stop him forever?

This was a great conclusion to the series. It was cool to have both sets of characters for the first two books combine into the final installment. The combination of Bradley and the essence of Dracula were very interesting since Bradley became basically insane by the end. This book was very well written and developed nicely. I would recommend this series to anyone who likes the supernatural-ish books like Twilight and House of Night.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Loves Park, Illinois United States

First Generation White Collar by L. Marie Joseph

First Generation White Collar is about college graduates staying out of debt and becoming wealthy. It's a guide from everything such as debt and saving to life insurance and your kid's college fund. The author begins telling you ways to stay out of debt and how much you should be saving to one day become wealthy. The author also talks about investing, living simply and buying things the right way.

This book was very helpful to me. I may only be a college freshman but one day I am going to graduate and I will have lots of student loans. This book is perfect for any college student or graduate who is starting to think about their future or just trying to start out things right. After reading this book, I am going to wait a long time before opening a credit card. I would recommend this book to every single person living in my college dorm. In my opinion every young adult should read this short book before going out into the real world. I got through this book in less than a 3 days and it helped me out greatly.

Reviewer Age:19
Reviewer City, State and Country: Mantua, NJ USA

Blood Heat by Maria Lima

Blood Heat by Maria Lima is a story of a Kelli heir, who has returned from training to take her rightful place to the throne in the place of White Rock. The news of neighboring werewolves going missing catches the attention of Kiera. White Rock is a seemingly innocent place but the more research that is being done on White Rock the guiltier the residents of White Rock seem. The werewolves tried to fit in the White Rock community. Being new to the town and having a different religion causes sticky situations. Read this book if you like a good mystery including murder, cover ups, and hate crimes.

When I close my eyes picturing this plot I see the forest on the werewolf property and the unbearable sun beating down through the trees. The feeling I get is suspense, because of the mystery and excitement. I didn't know what to expect, and the book constantly kept me on my toes. The story has a mysterious voice. I liked the writing style because it gave enough detail without giving too much away. The ending was great! The book definitely is better than other books I have read, because it had a little of everything. The beginning of the book is a bit boring, but improves if you stick with it. I would recommend this book.

Reviewer Age:13,  Uxbridge, MA USA

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

Two broken people, destroyed by circumstance and the irreversible passage of time.

There is Tom -- the uni drop-out who spends his time pining for the girl whose heart he broke so many winters ago. Drowning in regret, he finds solace in escape, just as his alcoholic father blots out the world when life becomes too much to handle. And then there is Tom's Aunt Georgie, confused and yearning for understanding after that one little event that fractured her life, even though the one person who can mend her is the one who broke her in the first place.

This is the story of the rediscovery of hope, as bits and pieces of Tom and Georgie's lives continue to chip off and crumble in front of their weary eyes. This is where the healing begins.

I would never have given this book a second glance if shown its American cover: A boy guitarist in a striped shirt? Come on - How much more unoriginal can you get? However, I've had the luck to read a few of the brilliant Melina Marchetta's works before and have thoroughly enjoyed every single one. To say that I was excited to start The Piper's Son would be the understatement of the century.

Who would have thought that Marchetta could take something that resembled a cheesy Asian drama in character and plot and portray it as something so raw and real? You have your heart-broken protagonist with the messed-up family and the unrequited love and an adult counterpart with a marriage ripped apart by an affair. As usual, angst is always present, snaking its way through the story and leaving slimy trails of betrayal in its wake. It takes talent to write cliche into something of beauty and sadness and growth and forgiveness. Even though this book is as far from the fantasy genre as you can get, The Piper's Son was magical. Yes, realistic novels can be magical, too.

And despite the almost depressing feel of the synopsis, there is also an abundance of humor - puns, sarcasm, and witty remarks about random things such as a certain grandfather's bum in super short jogging shorts and the mortification that accompanies said shorts during morning jogs around the neighborhood.

A sort-of sequel of Saving Francesca but with a side character as the main one instead, The Piper's Son is one of those rare books that deserves a re-read. Even the second time will be as engrossing as the first.

Profanity and sexual content.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Palo Alto, CA US

Ada Legend of a Healer by R.A. McDonald

Ada’s life has never been easy.  Shifted from one terrible foster home after another, she hasn’t ever caught a break.  She knows she is different.  She has abilities that make her capable of identifying health problems in others and herself and heal them.  At fifteen, she’s been in and been kicked out of eight horrid foster homes, when she finally gets contact with a family member, the only one shes ever had contact with, her Aunt Jessie.  Once she is reunited with her aunt, she takes things into her own hands, and, after learning of her mother’s past and possible survival, plunges into a fast-paced journey to find her mother, on the run from those who would abuse her ability,.  Her expedition will lead her to Canada, Paris, and more as she rushes to complete her quest, and, as she finds new friends, she will wonder where her happiness will fit into the equation.  This book had a bit of a darker adventurous mood, but was also a bit of a coming-of-age novel, as Ada struggled to find herself and her purpose in the world and as an individual.

The overall mood of this book was a little bit sinister and gloomy to begin with, but it develops to become brighter as the main character finds herself and develops her talents.  The descriptions left a lot to be wanting at some points and sometimes I think it would’ve benefited the story to slow it down a little, to explain more of what was going on, or add more character development scenes.  At some times, I could picture the setting, but it happened very rarely, so I would suggest more setting information, and also, adding some more color.  Even little details thrown in help, such as an adjective in front of the name of an object (ex:  “the fraying lavender jacket” ) because it helps create a clearer picture of everything to see it like a movie in your head.  The first person voice was appropriate for the storyline; it revealed Ada’s gradual transformation from start to finish in a way that helps the reader grow with her.  Vulgar language and a couple of questionable or disturbing scenes included made it a PG-13 book.  I felt like sometimes there were convention errors (weirdly capitalized words, misplaced or missing commas, et cetera), but nothing that detracted from the story.  This wasn’t a book I just couldn’t put it down book, per se, but it did have a bit of a drive to finish it, which made it easy to read.  The ending was a cliffhanger for a purpose (I believe this is the first of a series), but it also had a sense of closure, or at least the reader feels like they and Ada both learned an important lesson: that everyone matters, and to try to help them, and that everyone’s happiness counts as well.  I would recommend this book to anyone who will appreciate a medium-sized read with some life lessons and self-discovery if they will not mind a couple of bad scenes/crude language.

This book involves some crude language and inappropriate/disturbing images and scenes.

Content:  2                       Rating:  7

Reviewer Age: 14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Sandy, OR USA

All You Get Is Me by Yvonne Prinz

Roar (Short for Aurora) is a city girl at heart, even though a year ago her father uprooted her to become an organic farmer in the middle of nowhere. Life is simple there and she is becoming ok with that. Then she witnesses a car accident that results in the death of a migrant farm worker, Sylvia, and everything changes. Now her dad is trying to fight the system and causing trouble. To make matters worse Roar develops a crush on the new boy, but his mother hit Sylvia. Plus roar is still haunted by her mother's disappearance. Roars simple farm life just got complicated.

When I first read the back cover and learned that Roar was a city turned farm girl I was skeptical. Uprooting to a new life is a standard plot line. I was expecting the book to be cheesy and predictable. I was wrong. The first chapter hooked me in, after the car accident I couldn't wait to know what happened next. The plot kept me turning the pages but the characters kept me invested. Roar was funny and relatable. I loved the fact that she took pictures of everything, always carrying a camera around her neck. Storm, Roars rebel best friend, was a nice quirky addition. Overall the characters and plot were interesting and made me want to see more from Yvonne Prinz.

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

License to Ensorcell by Katherine Kerr

License to Ensorcell is a mixture of mystery, adventure, romance, and the supernatural. The main character is a psychic agent, Nola O'Grady, who is assigned to work with Ari Nathan, an aggravating agent working for Interpol, in order to solve her most recent case. It involves a serial killer, running through the streets of San Francisco, killing werewolves every chance he gets. Ari believes the man is purely crazy but Nola knows better, as her own brother was a werewolf himself before he turned up dead. Ari and Nola may frustrate each other originally, but they are forced to combine their very different talents in order to get to the bottom of this increasingly dangerous and complicated case.

I found this to be a very creative plotline, with many twists and turns and lots of suspenseful action. Each character had a unique personality and was realistic. The multitude of complex characters also helped to create a much more reasonable setting. The supernatural element was very interesting but at times could be difficult to understand. Also, there was more detail needed to fully explain the different scenery and help me picture the events taking place as I read. I would certainly recommend this book to others who love murder mysteries and psychic elements, especially people who enjoy very intricate plots. Overall, I found this story to be very captivating and full of rich dialogue, and I enjoyed reading it.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Needham, Massachusetts United States