Departures by Christy Miller

   While heading out for summer vacations, Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen cross paths. They will soon realize the true meaning of friendship.


   After a high school graduation and a breakup from Todd, Christy Miller sets out with her family to Wisconsin for her grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary. While in her hometown, Christy reconnects with Matthew Kingsley, her old crush from junior high. As the two bond, Matthew shows a romantic interest in Christy. Christy will soon realize that this summer vacation will have a big impact on her future.


   Sierra Jensen's summer vacation is starting off great. Sierra is going to a lake cabin with her best friend Jana and Jana's family. As they arrive in Montana, Sierra soon realizes that Jana is set on getting a boyfriend and will do whatever it takes to get one. Sierra just wants to enjoy the vacation with Jana and hang out with the guys as friends. Sierra will need to discover her true feelings and realize that she is growing up.

 I really enjoyed this book. I liked both characters in the story. Christy's story line was a great way to show how two people can reconnect after such a long period apart. Sierra's story line was an effective way to show how girls grow up and what they will do to get guys to notice them. The plots and settings of these stories were used appropriately. The settings made sense in the story lines and the plot kept me turning pages in the book. 

  I would recommend this book to girls who love romance and friendship.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Springfield, Ohio US

Start It Up by Kenrya Rankin

Start It Up is a complete guide that helps budding entrepreneurs realize their dream and expand their horizons. It covers the entire process of starting a business, from the initial planning to official paperwork filings to customer service. In each step, Rankin presents factual information required to accomplish the step, tips that will facilitate and enhance the process, and anecdotes from successful teen entrepreneurs. For example, this book describes the pros and cons of each of the three type of legal structures for a business: sole proprietorship/partnership, limited liability company, and corporation. It also provides several arguments for whether or not to form a partnership or go solo. Lastly, stories of teen entrepreneurs on their experiences throughout the process reinforce the themes described in the book. Founders of Free Mania and Milo.com, among many others, describe what they learned since starting their businesses as teenagers. There are also web resources at the end of every chapter that provide useful information to supplement the material presented. Overall, this is a very thorough manual to starting a business and should be an interesting read to anyone with a desire to become an entrepreneur.

Like I said before, the book is fairly thorough and covers pretty much every aspect of starting a business. Being an introductory book, it serves as a beginning guide for people (especially teenagers) who are interested in entering the entrepreneurship field. But it is certainly not detailed enough at every single step to be the sole consultant of a starting business. One of the most helpful features is the personal anecdotes by people who have gone through the same process and excelled. Reading their stories put things in perspective and helps us learn from their experiences.

Personally, I believe that the hardest part of starting a business is finding that Next Big Idea . The obstacle for an entrepreneur is not necessarily whether or not a company name is trademarked, but what product/service to provide in the first place. It often seems like every conceivable idea out there has already been thought of. In terms of finding that lightbulb moment, Start It Up offers little advice other than pursue something you are good at . While the stories do offer how other teen entrepreneurs first came up with their ideas, I'd prefer if more tips are given on how to come up with a unique idea that combines both a person's strength and a necessity in society. Other than that, the rest of the book will be of significant help to the beginning entrepreneur.

Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Palo Alto, CA USA

Nerd Camp by Elissa Brent Weissman

     In the book, Nerd Camp, by Elissa Brent Weissman, the main character Gabe, is invited to camp at the Summer Center for Gifted Enrichment, or as some of the kids call it, the Summer Center for Geeks and Eggheads. Gabe is really excited for camp until he meets his soon to be step brother Zack. Zack is cool, handsome and grammatically incorrect, everything Gabe isn t. Gabe really wants his brother to like him, so he hides his intelligence, for the most part. At camp Gabe has more fun than ever! He loves his classes and his two bunk mates, Wesley, who talks in his sleep, and Nikhil, who always plays it safe. The only person he doesn t get along with is a girl named Amanda who claims that they were meant to be! . But life in camp turns upside down by a lice epidemic, which may cause the camp to cancel the camper s favorite event, Color War. Will Color War be cancelled? Will Gabe be brought down by lice and a girl? Or will he forever be labeled a nerd by his step brother? Read the book Nerd Camp and find out.

Nerd Camp is the perfect summer read for someone who wants to relax and have a few laughs. I thought that this book flowed very smoothly. It was also a very content and light read. The characters in this book are very agreeable and are the kind of people you d love to get to know. My only complaint would be that there wasn t a lot suspense or drama throughout the story. Overall I though this book was well written and a very fun read.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leawood, Kansas United States of America

The Silver Mage by Katharine Kerr

The dragon Rori, formerly known as the man Rhodorix, is closer than ever before to getting his human form back. However, the one thing that holds the secret to his restoration is in the wild northlands, in the hands of a slave. An army of Horsekin is marching, and only with the help of Dallandra, Valandario, and Salamander can they be stopped, and Rori restored. With Haen Marn, the Island of Healing, having vanished, the heros' fear of losing the war grows.
I loved this book. It could have done better on the descriptions, but the characters were, in my opinion, very well written. One thing I liked was how the author left some of the characters hanging, but left just enough of a guide line for you to imagine their end. It is like many fantasy books but has its own uniqueness. I liked the ending, since it seems to have resolved the main conflict of the whole series: Rori, a man, being turned into a dragon. I would recommend this book to anyone that reads books about magic and mythical creatures.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Ardmore, Oklahoma United States

Instinct by Jeremy Robinson

This novel is the second in a continuing series about the Chess Team. The genre is military science fiction and fantasy. When a weaponized disease stops the president's heart, he is revived only because of the actions of the Secret Service. However, the deadly disease threatens the human race with extinction. The Chess Team, a group of five highly trained members of the United States military, is secretly sent to the disease's point of origin in Vietnam. Its mission is to escort a CDC scientist as she searches for a cure, but many dangers, such as Vietnamese soldiers, a bizarre humanoid species, and the disease itself, complicate the task.
I have read and enjoyed the previous book in the series, Pulse, and I also enjoyed this novel. It mixes modern military tactics and weaponry with fantasy and science fiction. The result is a story which is impossible but is still grounded in fact. As a result, I recommend this book mainly to people who enjoy both adventure, especially military adventure, and fantasy. As the story progresses, it becomes less realistic but remains entertaining. This book can be understood without reading the previous one in the series, and the main story concludes by the end of the novel. However, a new complication relating to the earlier book is introduced in the epilogue. I would recommend reading the previous novel first, if only because it is a great read that introduces the characters.
This book has lots of violence and some sexual references. Its target audience is high school students and adults.
Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Royersford, PA United States

Killer Pizza: The Slice by Greg Taylor

Killer Pizza, the Slice by Greg Tayler includes the same characters we love from the first book plus some new people and monsters. Toby, Annabelle, Strobe, Harvey and Steve continue to protect the world from monsters. There is a new type of monster in this book that the pizza shop front knows nothing about. There is an almost invincible, invisible demon plus more "fun" as you turn the pages of this book . As Toby, Annabelle and Strobe protect Calanthe from her abandoned tribe and from the dangers of High School, this fun filled horror continues.
This book had me hanging on the edge for the entire thing as I was wondering what was going to happen next. Killer Pizza, the Slice was a huge page turner with its great description and suspense. I recommend this book to anyone over 8 yrs old because it is a little scary.
Reviewer Age:11 Uxbridge, MA USA

The Fallen: Raziel by Kristina Douglas

The fallen Raziel by Kristina Douglas is about a fallen angel named Raziel whose job is to bring the souls of the dead to their destination in the other world, whether it be heaven or hell. Raziel has been empty for a very long time and he doesn't care about anyone or anything except annoying the angel who condemned him and the other fallen, Uriel. When he is sent to take a writer, Allie Watson, to heaven he does so without thinking twice about it, but when he realizes he is taking her to hell he changes his mind and decides to take her home, but why? Throughout the story Allie and Raziel begin to fall for each other and they must face the consequences that follow. Raziel and the other angels on earth are not the only ones who fell from heaven; blood thirsty hideous creatures fell as well with only one task: to kill the fallen angels and their mates. Allie has to learn to survive in a world just minutes away from breaking out into a war between angels.

I absolutely loved this book, I couldn't put it down! I was anxious and excited to see what would happen on the next page, and there would be a surprise in each page! I can not wait to read the next book in this awesome series!

Some sexual content in book.
Reviewer Age:14  Uxbridge, MA USA

The Warlock by Michael Scott

Josh has chosen his path, Sophie hers. Josh goes to meet up with Machiavelli and Billy on Alcatraz with Dr. Dee and Virginia Dare at his side. Sophie prepares to meet Tsagaglalal to learn earth magic. Dr. Dee prepares to send a 7 headed dragon on to San Francisco . The Alchemyst is dying.  And the world is set to end unless the twins go back in time to Danu Talis, where their friends are waiting.


Opinion: The Warlock is an awesome book. Michael once again crafts a novel for this unusual chain of books, perfectly. The best thing I like about this series, is about how the characters can use their auras differently than any other books that I have read. I just cannot wait for the final one to complete this heart stopping series. I recommend this to anyone 11 and up.

The Storm Before Atlanta by Karen Schwabach

It’s 1863, and ten-year- old Jeremy DeGroot is itching to join the Union Army -- so he runs away from Old Silas, the brutal man to whom he is indentured.  After reaching Washington D. C. by train, he is able to enlist in the 107th New York Volunteer Regiment as a drummer boy; a key player in the Army’s communication system.  One day, while refilling his canteen at a stream, Jeremy happens to meet Charlie Jackson, a Confederate soldier whom he befriends.  They meet again several times throughout the book.  Jeremy also meets Dulcie, an escaped slave from a Georgia plantation.  She is soon able to find work as an assistant to Dr. Flood, the camp surgeon.   Dulcie also realizes that now she is free and able to make her own decisions.  Together, Dulcie and Jeremy go through terrible trials, such as friends dying from wounds and Jeremy losing his drum in a battle.  Will they be able to survive the War Between the States?

I think the author did an excellent job at describing the situations in this book.  She also sometimes brings characters into the situations for only one or two chapters, which I think makes the situations more realistic.  She also incorporated a few fascinating facts into the book.  For example, Maryland almost seceded from the Union to join the Confederate States.  I enjoyed The Storm Before Atlanta very much and highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in America’s Civil War.  

Content:  1

Rating:  10
Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Annandale, Virginia United States

Cheesie Mack by Steve Cotler

Ronald Mack, otherwise known as Cheesie to his friends, isn't a genius or anything, but he does remember all of the events that happened before, during and after his fifth-grade graduation, and he wrote it all down in his very own way-including drawings, lists, and lots of made-up words. But Cheesie doesn't just talk about his graduation ceremony/party-he also talks about his everlasting battle with his older sister June, his best friend Georgie's discovery of a strange old coin that could change their summer, and a mouse plot gone wrong. Will Cheesie and Georgie get to the bottom of the coin mystery? Will they get in trouble for their mouse plot? Who will win the sibling battle? Will the coin change Cheesie and Georgie's summer forever? You'll have to read for yourself and find out.
I thought this book was great! I could totally picture the characters and the settings (and not just because of the pictures, although they did help). I could probably picture Cheesie as a real person because he goes through some of the same things a normal kid would go through. An example of that is a seemingly-constant battle with an older sibling, which is present in the book. The book was told in first-person, so that made it all the more realistic to me, because I almost always write in first-person. The author included just the right amount of detail at all times throughout the book. I would totally recommend this book to others, especially if you are a "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series fan, because it is a good and humorous read

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Hopkins, Michigan USA