The Best Teen Writing of 2010 by Foreword - Davy Rothbart

The Best Teen Writing of 2010 is a collection of essays, poetry, memoirs, and more. All of them are written by teenagers like you and me. The young authors put together a portfolio and then are judged by teachers, authors, and other literally professionals. Though, these writings aren 't your typical class assignment; they are real, and full of both sensitive and rough emotion. These pieces are the best of the best.

I 'll admit I was a little skeptical at first. I thought this book would be some little thin paperback with some essays about family vacations and favorite gifts. Boy was I wrong. Every time I started on new author or a new piece I became more and more engaged. The stories and the stories behind the stories were so real. So different from everything else that I expected. It was very refreshing a real eye-opener. I am most likely going to recommend this book to my friends.

Explicit language and themes

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

Kennedy: Through the Lens by Martin W. Sandler

Born into a highly successful family, John Kennedy endured a competitive childhood, constantly being shadowed by his older brother, Joe Jr. He suffered many childhood illnesses, but managed to overcome them and eventually graduated from Harvard University with a degree in government. As a fighter pilot during World War II, he became a war hero after leading his vessel crewmen to safety. He later rose up the ranks in politics before being elected as the President of the United States. This book not only describes his journey to the presidency, but also offers an inside view of one of the most photogenic presidents in history. His charisma and energy as seen on TV and newspapers inspired millions of Americans. Kennedy launched a new generation in American presidency, one where his public image relates to the everyday citizen: playing with his children, golfing, reading, etc. This biography offers a moderately detailed account of Kennedy's rise to the presidency and the major challenges he faced as president while also attempting to capture the essence of his life that made him so appealing to the American people.

"Kennedy Through the Lens" paints a picture of not only John F. Kennedy as our 35th president, but John F. Kennedy as a person. While the book's purpose is not to offer a detailed account of his life, it does do a fairly decent job of capturing all the important details in his life and presidency. But what makes this book unique is its emphasis on the specific traits and qualities that made John Kennedy one of the most popular presidents of all time: his openness to the camera and to the media. He was the first president to fully take advantage of the new technologies taking presence during this time. Through the carefully-selected images and the accompanying text, readers will have no difficulty learning about the professional and personal life of John F. Kennedy. While I did not live during that time period, reading this book helped me understand why many people considered the Kennedy era the "Camelot years". This book possesses a special component that truly made it interesting to read and different than those traditional, boring biographies. It would be even better if it had more quotes from Kennedy himself, particularly his own reflections.

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

The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton by Connie Nordhielm

The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton by Connie Nordhielm is a fascinating biography that details the famous author s difficult and somewhat scandalous life. A very early reader, Edith Jones was born into a prominent New York family. As a child, she enjoyed voyages overseas to her favorite country, France, and quickly became fluent in English, French, German, and Italian. The next year, she began writing a novel but was criticized by her discouraging mother. She never finished the novel and instead switched to writing poetry. At the age of fifteen, she completed a first novel entitled Fast and Loose, a racy romance; a collection of her poems was published anonymously in 1880 when she was eighteen. After that, her published work increased, and she wrote many famous novels, including Ethan Frome.

The book also details Edith s unfortunate love life, including her unhappy marriage to Edward Wharton in 1885. Furthermore, it touches upon her volunteer work during the first World War, and, as an American, her allegiance to France. However, the title of the book is somewhat misleading. The escape mentioned is not actually an escape at all in the traditional sense. It is a metaphor for Edith s escape from the conventions of from her dysfunctional marriage and New York high society into her becoming a writer and an independent woman.

While this biography detailed some of Edith s creative process, it focused more on her personal life. However, her controversial life story was intriguing and well-written, so it held my attention. Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I learned a lot about someone of whom I knew nothing. However, the emphasis on her personal life and relationships - marital and extramarital - was a bit much, and it took away from a full exploration of Edith's work. In all, though, the book was a entertaining overview about a famous author, and I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys history or literature.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Chicago, IL United States

Ashfall

Thank you Flamingnet and JK_Panama for spending some of your precious reading time with my debut novel and writing such a thoughtful review. I'm currently working on my second draft of the sequel, ASHEN WINTER, which is scheduled for Fall 2012 release by Tanglewood Press. Thanks again! --Mike

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Ashfall by Mike Mullin

We open on a teenage boy, relaxing in his room; nothing
out of the ordinary. He is home alone, his family is on
vacation. As he takes a minute to think, his world is
changed forever. He is thrown violently around his room,
as he hears screams and terror outside. He manages to
survive the impact, and crawls under the remains of his
furniture to the door. Outside he meets his neighbor, who
is equally unsure of the current events. He soon discovers
that the Yellowstone volcano has erupted. Destruction is
widespread. This book follows Alex as he becomes a hero,
stopping at nothing to save his family. Alex experiences
feelings he's never felt before on his journey. He finds
love...and experiences the death of someone close. Will
Alex overcome his worst nightmare and eventually save his
family?

One word: wow. I was blown away by this book.
It's hard to say which was my favorite part. The eruption
was so detailed, I felt like I was experiencing it. When
Alex cried because of a death, I felt the way he
did. "Ashfall" sucked me in and wouldn't let go until it
was three a.m. and I fell asleep. I literally could not
stop reading, from the moment I started from Chapter One.
Alex and Darla form an impeccable duo, working together to
save their families. I laughed, I cried, I fell in love
with this fine literary work. And what a cliffhanger! I
cannot wait for the sequel. This book is on its way to
stardom.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Panama City, Florida USA

RE: The Hunger Games

ohmygosh yes! I was so mad with who she ended up with!

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Fast Readers

So....Im a VERY fast reader, and my teachers, parents, everyone says I skip words, but I dont! Then When I try to slow down I end up speeding up without knowing about it! Who Else does this????

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Miles From Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams

Lacey's mother is not well. She is plagued by the demons of years past and wrong decisions she made; because of her illness, she can't support herself or her fourteen-year-old daughter. Needing money to survive, Lacey gets a job at the local library- the same library where her aunt, who abandoned Lacey, worked years ago. She hopes that she can find any trace of the woman who left, the woman who can piece together the broken parts of her mother's mind. Miles From Ordinary chronicles one day in Lacey's life, the one day that changes her life forever.

I thought the book was extremely well-written. The author was able to portray what actually goes on in a normal fourteen-year-old's head- the narrator was not immature nor too mature. However, I was confused about her mother's illness; the words and phrases that the author uses seem to show a woman plagued by actual ghosts instead of a woman who is mentally ill. I thought there would be a supernatural aspect to the novel when I first read the description; however, this book has nothing of the sort. I liked that the novel encompassed only one day of Lacey's life. If the novel had minimized the depth of the descriptions of what happens, the reader would be left confused and wondering what had occured. All in all, Miles From Ordinary was a good read and I would suggest this novel to those who are interested in the life of a fourteen year old with hardships to face that are beyond her years.

Reviewer Age:18
Reviewer City, State and Country: Pottstown, PA United States

Master and Apprentice by Sonya Bateman

Master and Apprentice is a story about Donatti a distant relative of a djinn, or genie, Ian. But unfortunately Ian is the last djinn of the wolf clan, who were murdered viciously by the snake clan many years ago. Ian has been filled with rage ever since and is determined to hunt down every last member of the snake clan. If he doesn’t kill every last one of them, the curse goes down to the next generations. Ian and Donatti soon get caught up in a life or death adventure when Ian’s wife and then Ian get kidnapped by a group of the snake clan that is led by an evil djinn named Vaelyn who wants to take over the world. Now it’s up to Donatti to save everyone but the only way he can do that is if one of the enemy teaches him how to wield his untapped powers or everyone will pay the ultimate price.

In my opinion this book was written very well. The characters were so well developed that it made this book hard to put down. Master and Apprentice was full of originality with hilarious bits of sarcastic conversation. There were a few things that could have been explained better that were inconsistent. Donatti and Ian also enjoy swearing like sailors on every page or two so if you don’t want to read that sort of language through the whole book don’t read it. Otherwise I would fully recommend this book because the plot and characters were fully described and developed.

The swearing is excessive.
Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Loves Park, Illinois United States

Star of Stone by P.D. Baccalario

The sequel to 'Ring of Fire' by P.D. Baccalario, 'Star of Stone', involves four kids trying to save the world: Harvey from New York, Elettra from Rome, Mistral from Paris, and Sheng from Shanghai. As they find people who knew the late Alfred Van Der Berger, the professor who started them on their mission to Rome, they realize that their quest isn't over yet. When they find four coded postcards, written by the professor years before, they see their destiny even clearer than before. The kids go all over New York City searching for the Star of Stone, an artifact. Unfortunately, they are not the only ones looking for the Stone. A new bunch of villains will do anything to stop them from reaching their goal.

I was annoyed when I picked up the book and saw it was the second installment in the Century Quartet series. Having not read the first book in the series, it was very confusing to me. Some parts were very exciting and intense, others were somewhat boring and dull. I enjoyed the way P.D. Baccalario wrote the book from different peoples' points of view, but sometimes that confused the story a bit. The ending was a very good cliff-hanger,and I liked that. All in all, it would have made more sense if I had read the first book before reading this one, but in itself, it was a pretty good book.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Tatamy, PA USA