Passion by Lauren Kate

This book starts off right were the Torment left off, after Luce jumps into the Announcer. As Luce travels through her past reincarnations, she discovers what really happened between herself and Daniel. With some help from a little gargoyle friend, she discovers what Daniel was hiding from her. But soon Luce starts to doubt whether he loves her or just her soul. Will their relationship survive the journey?

This book was great. I loved how descriptive the setting and characters were. I did not like that the story had no background to it. I recommend this book to people who liked Hush, hush, Banished, Delirium, and Nightshade

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

Paradise Island by J.L. Manning

Paradise Island Summery

By: Ellie Johandes

This book starts when Josh and Anna win an island through a credit card company contest. They then proceed to build a small resort with huts, a sauna, and a pool at the top of the volcano. Most of the workers they hire are scared off by strange events that occur around the trees.  The first guests arrive and encounter tree spirits.  WARNING: I HAD TO FORCE MYSELF TO READ THIS BOOK! It was that boring.

Paradise Island Book Review

By: Ellie Johandes

This book was like a bad apple: full of promise on the outside, but when you cut it open, it was squirming with  worms.  I was excited in the beginning, because Josh and Anna won a small island through a credit card company's contest. But as they were building on it, weird things start to happen with the trees. I personally think that the author spent too much time building the resort. By the middle of the book, I couldnt tell you more than three sentences on the characters' personalities. It gets a bit more interesting when the guests finally arrive, with a girl who sees the paranormal. But when the guests leave, it goes back to being unbearably dull. It ends with a bad, drop off ending that does not finish the book properly.  The author has a choppy writing style that makes it difficult to read, and the book contains many grammatical errors to boot (example, page 118 the last sentence in the first paragraph, it should be their instead of there). I would not recommend this book to anyone, and am surprised it even was published. I hope I get a better book next time. 

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Rockford, Michigan United States of America

Kiss of Death by Lauren Henderson

Kiss of Death, by Lauren Henderson, was a wonderfully written book with its own twist on a traditional type of story line. Having failed to realize it was the last book in a series when I chose this book, I would hardly have figured out that it happened to be a sequel if I hadn’t checked. Noted, I did wonder why it left so much unexplained. This book is about the adventures of Scarlett Wakefield while on a school trip to Edinburgh. This school trip turns out to be no pleasure retreat however, for someone’s out to get Scarlett. When Scarlett is faced with a rather unpleasant blast from the past at a Celtic Connections concert, she falls into a void of memories, which include a few boys, and a couple near death experiences. To the avid readers of this series it will make perfect sense, and I even grasped more than just the general idea of the happening between Scarlett and her ex-best friends, Luce and Alison, who appeared with noted contempt for Scarlett. Plus, an old murder rears its ugly head in the appearance of the victim’s twin brother. After a prank goes wrong, which nearly ends in Scarlett’s death, Scarlett must find out who’s behind this mystery before it’s too late.

I hugely enjoyed this book. I liked that it showed individuality when there are a million or so teen mystery romances. As a boy, I will never understand fully the emotional trip that Scarlett is tumbling head over heels through, however, I marvel at how the character is flushed out. On the down side, I felt she was just a little dependent on others. For instance, she spent a good portion of the book bemoaning the fact that her boyfriend wasn’t right by her side. Still she almost seemed to be a real person. One of the most amusing and logic based characters in this novel was Scarlett’s best friend, Taylor. In fact, she had me chuckling throughout most of the book. Taylor seemed like the anchor of sense through the pages of this novel. The obvious bully in this tale was Plum; the rich, self-absorbed and domineering bully who has it in for every other girl in Wakefield Hall. I was cringing as she tormented Scarlett with her sideways comments, snide remarks, and other general unpleasantness she displayed towards the heroine. I am looking forward to reading the previous books in this series, and advise anyone who’ll listen to give it a go. It’s quite worth it.   

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Monrovia, MD USA

The Crepe Makers' Bond by Julie Crabtree

Ariel has had 'M' as a friend forever, and Niki soon came to the group. And they are BFFs FOREVER! Things change when the girls hit their 8th grade year. Ariel think she is the laughing stock of the year when she trips in front of the whole school on the first day. But then people start acting all nice and sympathetic to her and she doesn't know why. Luckily Ariel has her baking. She cooks when she is nervous and her friends are always willing to be her guinea pigs. But is it enough to deal with the upcoming problems? Something is up with Niki, and M is on the point of a breakdown. The girls think they fixed M's problem, but they made it worse. A lot worse. For all of them. Will they ever survive this friendship crisis?

The Crepe Maker's Bond was an entertaining novel. I felt that I could truly relate it. I was familiar with all the emotional things that Ariel was facing. In middle school friends are tough and you don't often know where they stand. Another delicious thing about this book was that they had little recipes pertaining to that chapter. I tried one and I was a huge hit in my family! The only problem I had was with the ending. It was predictable and a bit too 'happily ever after'. All in all this is a book you should read.  

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Coconut Creek, Florida U.S.A

Dragonfaerie by Christoper A. Cooke

Will is crazy. So everyone thinks, when he is constantly babbling about how a goblin came out of the closet and stole his baby brother. But 10 years later, the goblin comes back for him, taking him to Enoch, another world. A girl rescues him and they meet with a party of men, the leader of who assigns the girl to be Will's teacher until he is able to return to his own world. To return to Earth, Will, his teacher Adept Tenhmur, and his friend Prentice McBride must seek out the help of the Dragonfaerie. Enduring painful training and a dangerous journey, they at last meet the Dragonfaerie. But instead of returning home, Will stays in Enoch, for he learns that his brother still lives...

Enoch is a world so different from ours that Will is completely lost, but it is still detailed and believable. The plot has many twists and turns that lead you in circles right up until the end. The characters fit perfectly with their world and are just as detailed and believable. Many stories related with great battles are right in the middle of it, with a few key characters who can turn the tides of war and whatnot. But in this story, the two lands of Enoch are at the brink of war, close to fighting but not there, just spying and inside operations. Yet even so it only touches on the whole war idea and instead focuses on the character making the deadly journey to a goal he is not even sure he wants. All in all it is a wonderful adventure.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Santa Fe, TX USA

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Briony Larkin lives in rural Swampsea with her troubled sister, Rose, and her father. For years, she s kept the secret that she s a witch from everyone she knows, afraid of being sentenced to death. She also believes that she s responsible for her sister Rose s mental state. When Mr. Clayborne and his son Eldric arrive, she strikes up a friendship with the son. However, she doesn t reveal either of her two secrets to him. When Rose develops a swamp cough, Briony turns to the Boggy Mun, for help. Unfortunately, she gets into quite a bit of trouble.

Chime, by Franny Billingsley, was a surprisingly enjoyable read. Briony was a multi-faceted, interesting character. She seemed genuinely upset over her sister Rose s condition. The other characters, such as Eldric, were also quite intriguing. The plot, with its swamp cough and Old Ones, was unique. It did not seem like a retelling of another book, or a combination of books. The gripping writing style keeps the reader focused and interested. This book is certainly recommended to readers interested in fantasy fiction

Reviewer Age:18
Reviewer City, State and Country: Charleston, SC United States

Plan B by Charnan Simon

Plan B by Charnan Simon is a book about the challenges  and roadblocks teenage pregnancy can put in the way of an otherwise successful and responsible teen.  The plot follows the story  of a junior girl named Lucy who is  at the top of her class, a really good dancer, popular, and of course has a handsome boyfriend to top it all off. She and her boyfriend have long term plans to go to the same college and get married and live their lives out together in a picture perfect manner.  Of course, none of these plans include getting pregnant at 16! Now, Lucy and Luke are faced with difficult decisions and must make hard choices. With their relationship in shambles, they need to leave their carefree childhoods behind and quickly become adults.

This book would have fit perfectly in an after school special. You know, that moment when the concerned teacher character, or the best friends mom wants to help the at risk girl with the low reading level understand that pregnancy is serious business. Unfortunately, the book is as terrible as the majority of those after school specials were. In only 98 pages in (at minimum) size 16 point font, the plot manages to drag its heels and linger on the unimportant stuff. Even the sensual parts of the book did not managed to be interesting, merely a bit over the top. We hear way to much about her  dancing and how it s a metaphor for her life and not nearly enough about the only interesting part of the book, the relationship between the (also a teen mom) mother and Lucy. We walk away from this book with very little insight on either of the two main characters or what they are actually going to do with the baby once it comes. Unless I become a concerned teacher on an after school special, I would never consider recommending this book to anyone.

Sexual content

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Exeter, NH USA

The End by Nora Olsen

The End by Nora Olsen is about five kids that have all come
together by one strange thing, a magical amulet from mystical
gods who want them to save the world because of a nuclear war.
They have to learn to protect themselves from nuclear
radiation all while figuring out to travel back in time. The
pressure of saving the human race is on them. Will they be
able to handle the pressure and save the world?
The book is an adventure because they have to travel to all
different parts of the world to find everybody who has a
magical amulet.

I REALLY enjoyed this book! It kept me turning the page and
I couldn t set it down.
The author s voice was always very distinctive. The narrator
was always changing from every person and yet they all
reflected the author a little bit.  The main characters were
Julia, Vikki, Marly, Ginger, and Skilly. The characters were
hard to believe as actual people because they had magical
powers.
I wish the ending had been a bit different because it was a
little strange and also suspenseful so I hope she comes out
with a second book in the series.
I definitely would recommend this book to others because I
enjoyed it very much.

I rated the book a 3 because some of the characters were
lesbians and it also talked about sex.

Reviewer
Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Valparaiso, Indiana
USA

So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti

Sometimes Brooke Greene just knows things.  Not in the way of being super smart (thought she is a teenage genius as well), but in the sense that The Knowing is always right.  And right now, The Knowing is telling her that she and Scott Abrams were destined to be together. That explains why she followed Scott when he moved from a suburb town in New Jersey to the bustling New York City. But sometimes, life has a way of turning unexpectedly.  NYC brings out a side of Brooke that no one has seen before, a side hidden from insecurities.  So when her opportunity to be with Scott arrives, will she take it, or take another path?

I really enjoyed this book every page of the way.  Brooke has so many hidden layers and the reader learns so much more about her as the story goes on.  The stuff you will find in the book is real life drama it could happen to anyone, which is another reason why it is so interesting.  There is a great motto buried throughout the book Look Up that I love (you ll have to read the story to find out why this is so important).  I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading Sarah Dessen books because this shares a lot of the same qualities.

Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Gearhart, Oregon United States

Vlara's Song by Neil O'Donnell

Summary: Vlara's Song is a set of several stories - some short, some long. The first story is Vlara's Song, telling of a druid priestess who traveled a long way to her husband's family. She is haunted by visions of Harrison (her dead husband) throughout her journey. Wizard's Woe, the second tale, is about a wizard who kicked out a foolish apprentice and was never seen afterwards. In the third story a soldier loses his memory during a battle and can't remember whose side he's on. The fourth tale tells of a troll who refused to eat human flesh and eventually became a monk. The next three stories are: Siege's End - about the last days of a keep facing too many enemies, Master's Calling - the tale of a magician with unruly apprentices, and Hidden Temperament - about a wolf who, when angered, becomes larger and humanlike. The last story, The Realm of Author, tells how when authors die the worlds they created become real and the authors themselves become one of the characters.

Opinion: This book was astounding; not simply because of the stories themselves but because of the feeling I got while reading. For example, Vlara's Song was distinctly sad, Soldier Lost was full of confusion, and the author's notes were very humorous. Many of the characters were extremely determined and persevered in helping their friends. All these characters made it through many difficulties (with a little help from friends). I liked the ideas behind The Realm of Author, which would make it possible for authors to visit worlds from their favorite books. I would love to visit Narnia. (Guess I better create an awesome literary world.) I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to read stories where you can feel what the characters feel.

Reviewer Age:12

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