Four Seasons by Jane Breskin Zalben

Allegra Katz has been playing the piano ever since she was four years old. And ever since she was ten, she has been attending the Pre-College Program at The Julliard School. Now Allegra is feeling the pressure of being perfect. She has some choices to make; Piano or math? Let her parents down or Let herself down? And what about Brad or should she choose Alex? What on Earth is Alley going to choose?

I thought that Four Seasons was a very good "coming of age" type book. The characters were very engaging to follow throughout the story. I also thought the themes in the book were very similar to life even if you aren't a musical prodigy. The plot was a little slow since you followed Alley throughout an entire year, but it was ok overall. Four Seasons is a very good book if you are interested in music or if you just want a good book to curl up and read with. I would recommend this book to a friend.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Hopkins, Michigan United States of America

Baby Grape and Huskey by Thom Rogers

Baby Grape and Huskey is the story of an adventurous boy named Toby who finds himself in trouble with the law after he injures another boy while defending himself. Feeling the need to dissapear for awhile, he accepts a job delivering a still from Pittsburgh to Sligo, Pennsylvania. He is accompanied by a man, Lew, who Toby's late father had once described as mean spirited. Lew proves Toby's father correct, and soon Toby is forced to take responsibility beyond what he had imagined the delivery would require. On the journey, Toby discovers a plot to steal the still, befriends a servant girl named Gina, and continues on the hard road to delivery, meeting many interesting people and visiting unforgettable places along the way.

Baby Grape and Huskey was a great adventure story with realistic characters and an interesting plot. Toby was very believable as a person, and the detailed writing made it easy for me to picture him and the other characters throughout the story. It was also easy to imagine the landscape, weather and general atmosphere around the characters thanks to the wonderful descriptions. The story was somewhat episodic, with many sets of characters that appeared in the story with their own mini-plots. I enjoyed this, because it kept the story moving while still coming together to tell a larger story. While reading this story, I got a feel for what it would feel like to live in the mid-1800's, and what Pennsylvania looked like at that time. I would recommend the book to anyone who likes historical fiction and adventure stories, along with a smidge of romance. I would not recommend it to those who don't like historical fiction, because the book takes place in 1845.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: , Pennsylvania USA

Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber

Celeste Parker has everything; she has the perfect boyfriend, amazing friends, and lives on the Eastside or right side of Legend's Run. All that changes when Brandon moves to Legend's Run. Celeste is instantly drawn to him, but her friends would never forgive her if she dumped her perfect boyfriend for him. When Celeste gets lost in the woods everything changes. But for a girl who tries to see the good in everyone, she may lose her faith in someone.

This book was good, but the beginning was not very good. It droned on and on, but it did get better. I was instantly drawn to Celeste and Brandon. I do not think this was as good as Vampire Kisses but it was interesting. I recommend this book to people who like Vampire Kisses, Shiver, and Need.


Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Northglenn, Colorado United States

Flamingnet.com ‎$500 Scholarship Essay Contest - THE IMMORTAL LOST

Flamingnet.com ‎$500 Scholarship Essay Contest - THE IMMORTAL LOST

Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews April Giveaway Book
Book reviews and reading lists for preteens and young adults, including advance literature reviews.

Ranger's Apprentice - The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

In the beginning of the book, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja, you find yourself in Nihon-Ja with Horace.  Horace ends up being in a revolt against Emperor Shigeru, who is the Emperor of Nihon-Ja.  Will, Halt, Alyss, and Evanlyn have to come to his aide.  They end up having to train the Kikori as soldiers against an almost invisible force known as the Senshi.  The odds are against them but will they still win?  Read this truly  amazing book to find out.
In the beginning you know that you are reading a book like no other.  John Flanangan's writings take you away to a world that you can only dream about.  He closes the series with a book sure to be read over and over again.  Any 12-100 year old will instantly fall in love with it.  His writing is going to leave you wanting for more.  I have read all of his books and although they are all great, this one is
by far, the best!   
Reviewer Age:12: Uxbridge, Ma USA

How to be a Werewolf by Serena Valentino

What type of werewolf would you be? Find all types of facts about werewolves in the book, 'How to be a Werewolf' by Serena Valentino. One interesting fact was that there is more than one type of werewolf. I would like to turn into an arctic wolf.

The book was informative about the topic. It was, however, a disappointment. I found that it was quite repetitive in means of content. It seemed as if my mother was nagging me to clean my room, over and over. The book was also quite a short read. The pictures were captivating, but the words did not bring them to life.
Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Coconutcreek, Florida U.S.A

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Ellie is a reincarnated warrior with her guardian Will by her side. She fights the reapers; creatures that take souls to directly Hell. The difference is this time her memories are coming back too slow and she had 40 years between her and her last reincarnation, when it is only suppose to be 18. When the memories refuse to come back, Will intervenes and tries to help but it is no good. The reapers continue to fight and Ellie's power becomes stronger and stronger until she faces the reapers that haunt her dreams and memories.

Angelfire was fantastic. It was written perfectly for young adults with the setting and characters jumping out of the page. I thought it jumped into the story a little too fast but after that it was amazing. Because it was told in first person, I really felt Ellie's emotions and pain. I can't wait for a sequel to come out. I recommend this book to people who like Shadow Chase, I am Number Four, and Invasion.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Northglenn, Colorado United States

Fallen Grace

Two sisters, orphaned in London, must seek a way to survive another winter. Grace, our protagonist, had been raped nine months ago. Just as she begins to cope with the fact that she is pregnant, she is told she gave birth to a stillborn. With this terrible event in her life she decides that she is going to begin a new life for herself and her sister, Lily. Unfortunately things take a wrong turn when she and Lily end up homeless. With nowhere else to turn she becomes employed as a servant for the Unwins. All the while, the Unwins have made an astounding discovery—Grace and Lily are the heiresses to their father's fortune. The Unwins then attempt to steal the fortune from the unenlightened girls. Soon after the Unwins' plotting begins, Lily disappears and Grace finds out the truth about her fortune. Now it is up to her to reclaim her father's fortune and find her sister before it is too late.


I adored this book. I knew little about the 1800's in London but I was able to grasp every bit of detail and piece together pictures of life for the poor versus the life of the rich. The only problem I really had was that I knew nothing about this time period, so I had to look up a lot of terms used in the book. Other than that I couldn't put the book down. I recommend it to everyone. Even if you do not have an interest is this sort of book, you will definitely like it. This book, although it does not use the term, is referring to rape.

Reviewer Age: 20

Reviewer City, State and Country: Az city, Arizona USA

Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

Publisher's Book Trailer


Kylie's life is breaking down around her: her parents consider divorce, her boyfriend dumps her and immediately starts going out with another girl, and a stalker has been introduced into her life. It isn't until Kylie gets caught at a party -- with under-aged drinking and drugs galore -- that her life gets turned completely upside down. Her Ice Queen mom decides to send her to Shadow Falls Camp, a psychologist-recommended institution for troubled teens. And soon, Kylie discovers herself stranded in the midst of brainwave-reading paranormal creatures that couldn't and shouldn't exist. Confused but feeling an undeniably weird sense of belonging, Kylie begins to realize just how special she really is. Kylie's stalker also starts to make sense -- a startling relief after all the anxiety. But then trouble invades the camp, and the paranormals are pointing fingers at each other. Beware, happy little campers, someone has an agenda of their own, and they are quite the determined bunch.

C.C. Hunter's debut, Born at Midnight, was attention-grabbing and hard to put down. However, the plot started out incredibly slow. It is slightly understandable, as the author has to first describe the characters and the setting of this new series. But the predicament, which should be central to every novel, was brief and felt like an after-thought. Imagine this: pages after pages of descriptions and little action, a few chapters devoted to the build-up of tension, the short resolution, and then the end of the novel, which ends up feeling like accidentally running smack into a brick wall and maybe losing a few teeth in the process.
And onto the apparently mandatory element of a YA PNR book: the love triangle. The one that exists in this book felt pretty much superfluous. There was no reason for its creation in the first place, and Kylie's indecision and fluctuating feelings becomes a bore to read about after a while. Girl, it is not right to be lusting after three guys (her ex-boyfriend included) at once, especially if you alternate between thinking about kissing one boy and then switches to thinking about the hotness of another a second later.
Born at Midnight is a nice read, not entirely original, but still interesting nonetheless. The second installment of the series, Awake at Dawn, will be released in October 2011.
Teen pregnancy and drug use
Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Palo Alto, CA US

The Fairytale Trilogy by Valerie Gribben

Marianne and her brother Robin are orphans. Their parents were killed by the wizard Grimholdt. In the first story, Fairytale, Marianne finds her brother ( they had been separated ) and discovers that a paperweight containing a dragonfly, when broken, can become a full grown dragon, whom she names Leopold. With Leo's help, Marianne and Robin travel a long way, and in one town, Robin purchases a disk with a dragon etched into one side. After a while, Marianne is kidnapped by Grimholdt and Robin must rescue her from the wizard's clutches. In The Emperor's Realm, Marianne and Robin visit a place in China, where they are accused of having stolen the dragon disk and learn that not everyone is who they seem. In the third story, The Three Crowns, Marianne discovers that she is destined to be the next queen of the fairies, and humans threaten to take over the final fairy colony. How will Marianne face the tasks that will bring her to the throne and then save her new home from extinction?

The Fairytale Trilogy was an amazing set of stories. Marianne and Robin had many disputes and challenges, but they managed to get past them all. I love the idea of a paperweight that could turn into a dragon. I thought it was unusual that the fairies eyes were swirling clouds of color, and only the royal line had wings. The Journey Fruit was also interesting. I wonder how many types there were. These stories had many wonderful and intriguing qualities, and I would recommend them to anyone who loves fairytales and wants something a little different.

Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Lake City, IA USA