Jack Blank by Matt Myklusch

Twelve-year-old Jack Blank has been living in an unbearable orphanage, where he is persistently picked on by a bully named Rex. The only excitement he can find is in reading comic books. Jack Blank does not have any idea where he came from, where his family might be, and who he truly is. During the morning a killer robot from one of the comic books Jack reads becomes comes to life and tries to kill him. Jazen Knight, an agent from an ambiguous country named Imagine Nation, has arrived for Jack.

Imagine Nation is in perpetual motion and passes through countries of our world, even though the residences are from this nation they come from different places whether real, imaginary, or from outer space. There is a city named Cognito, a place where people go to disappear. The streets do not even have names. Imagine Nation is comprised of all sorts of living creatures, from regular people to androids, aliens, ninjas, sorcerers, kung-fu masters. It almost felt like another version of Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. The main characters had almost identical identities.

The book is a brilliant mix-up of characters that I have heard of and those that I have only dreamt of. The androids were describe as never before. The ninjas were almost predictable and yet their movements were hard to follow, along with the kung-fu masters and aliens. I could not believe how hard his life was due to him not knowing where his parents were and the life he lived in the orphanage. I had wished it had a better ending for my taste but there was not anything wrong with it.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Dyess, Arkansas United States of America

Color Struck by Pamela Tuck

Color Struck is the story of Bell, a young African-American woman who runs off to marry Buck Steele in secret because their fathers do not get along. Due to lack of money, the young couple has to live with Silas and Emma Steele, Buck's parents, who are less than thrilled to have Bell in the family. Living with Silas and Emma is hard enough for Bell, but soon she realizes that something about her stirs up a Steele family secret. The book is narrated by Bell herself as she uses her past to teach her granddaughters the lessons she learned because "A deathbed shouldn't be the peacemaker in this family."

I loved "Color Struck." Bell and her granddaughters are lovable and believable, showing realistic emotion and making hard decisions. The other characters, including Buck, Silas, and Emma, were well thought out and described. While their actions were sometimes horrible, they always fit with their personalities perfectly. The storyline itself was almost addicting, and I couldn't wait to find out what horrible thing Emma would do to Bell next. The very best thing about "Color Struck" was the lesson of love and acceptance, a theme that came out in a wonderful resolution that tied up all of my questions and left me feeling full. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes family secrets, strong young women, and realistic fiction.

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

Freshman: Tales of 9th Grade Obsessions, Revelations by Corinne Mucha

Annie is a mess. She's just started high school! Her big brother, a junior in high school, told her that what happens in her freshman year will strongly affect the rest of her life--forever. If what he told Annie is true, then her future's not looking too bright. Annie's lousy at sports, jealous of everyone else, and she has the hots for her best friend's older brother. Finally, Annie gets cast as a crying, whining old lady in the school's play. Annie totally forgets about the rest of her life--she just wants to survive freshman year.

I think this book was all right. I chose it because I am going to be a freshman in the fall, so I thought this would give me some pointers. I was a little dissapointed when they brought up smoking, drinking and being drunk, swearing, and making out. If that were to happen in high school, I would think it would start in sophmore or junior year. Other than that, the book was good. Annie's new best friend helped to bring out the best in her and to be true to herself. And, besides grades, I think that's all that really matters in high school.

I gave this book a 2 because there were a few inapropriate references, such as smoking, drinking/being drunk, swearing, and making out.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Hopkins, Michigan USA

Flamingnet Recommended Readng

Check out this article by the LA Times. It's a fascinating look at the trend of adults reading young adult fantasy books.

Speaking Out: LGBTQ Youth Stand Up, edited by Steve Berman

This collection of short stories is a look at situations that homosexual youth face in America. Although there are some coming out stories, it focuses more on stories of the finding out for yourself moment, rather than the tell people moment. This is a welcome change from most stories of gay teens, which heavily stress what society thinks of the person rather than what the person thinks of themselves. There are about an equal number of stories about girls and boys, another change from other books about gay youths. Many of the authors are homosexual themselves, which I think makes the writing more realistic, if slightly emotionally stiff. There are so many different stories in this book that it sort of defies placement into a genre but it is almost a romantic adventure, if not in the classic sense.

This book was inspirational, a moderately quick read, and I think it would be for anyone of any sexuality, as long as the reader is open-minded. I doubt that any homophobic people would consider reading this book in the first place, but obviously that would be one audience that this book would not appeal to. Many of the stories had only so-so writing, although the situations were realistic and moving. I really enjoyed the book overall, regardless. It is very different from any other books out there about homosexuality. Some of the stories got a little bit boring because the authors put too much outside information that didn’t have to do with the plot, but for the most part, this wasn’t something that happened. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the struggles of gay teenagers or just more about homosexuality in general.

Some of the stories have sexual material and the content is something not all parents would want their children reading.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Exeter, NH USA

Rating: 9

Content Rating: 2

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Hannah Baker is dead. She killed herself. So, who sent Clay Jensen the tapes with Hannah’s voice on them? And who is following him to make sure he sends them on? When Clay begins listening to the tapes, he starts hearing the thirteen reasons why Hannah decided to end her own life. He loved Hannah and never got to tell her, he doesn’t want to know what part he played in her death.

Thirteen Reasons Why is a thought-provoking story about love, loss, friendship, high school and tragedy. Clay’s character is one anyone can relate to. He is that person who didn’t say what he wanted to, and then found out that it was too late. Hannah’s voice on the tapes is cryptic, sarcastic and brutally honest. The insight that Asher provides into their lives and brains makes them seem as if they could be your friend, or even you. This book was wonderful and sad with comic relief intermixed in all the right places. This is a book that I would definitely recommend.

Reviewer Age: 18

Reviewer City, State and Country: Leverett, Ma US

Basic Anatomy for the Manga Artist by Christopher Hart

Unlike other Manga drawing books, this tells you about anatomy--the study of the structure of the human body. Most Manga books do not tell you about muscles to show in your drawings. It is divided into 6 chapters. The chapters are, for example: Body Symmetry & Asymmetry, The Foundations of the Body (bones), Topographic Anatomy (muscles), and Putting it All Into Practice.

I found this book very interesting. My personal favorite was Chapter 1 -- Basic Head Elements, like eyes, teeth, nose and ears. All of the pictures were very detailed but easy to take in. I really like how it told you what muscles to include in your drawings. It has cool little paragraphs and pictures to get the full Manga book experience. The author puts it in a way that is easy for children to understand. I recommend this book to anyone.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Uxbridge, MA USA

A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley

"A Traveller in Time " by Allison Uttley, is the story of a little known tale lost to one of the most well known eras of history. The Elizabethan times , also known as the Shakespearean times was a great Golden Age of England with much credit to Queen Elizabeth the wonderful.Yeah, everyone knows that. What people do not know, however , is that she quietly got rid of her cousin , Mary, Queen of Scots , her main opponent.

Penelope Cameron is sent to London to her Aunts farm , Thackers ,which ,in a different era is the place of Queen Mary's escape route and ardently devout supporters.Penelope is caught in a tug of war of time between the 1930's and the Elizabethan age, where she comes to love the era that is not her own.

I think this is an awesome book....for a girl living in the early 1900s. Uttley is an incredibly gifted writer with a knack for comprehensive and eloquent use of lexicon. Honestly, it was the first time I had ever actually seen the word flibbertigibbet used to describe someone. But sadly, the average 2011 child can t handle the vocabulary and would be yawning real soon while reading the overly descriptive writing.

I would not recommend this book to anyone, but if they had spunk and wanted to try anyways ...I will just give this one warning:

THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN IN THE 1900S !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: rockland county, new york usa

Punkzilla by Adam Rapp

Punkzilla is a short novel about a young man who travels across the country to see his older brother. It is told through a series of letters between the young Jamie "Punkzilla", his brother, parents, and old friends. There are also journal entries told from Jamie's perspective as he travels. He faces many challenges including being beaten in the bus station, having to lie to people, hitchhiking, and people constantly believing he is a girl. In this somewhat humorous but vibrantly honest novel, Jamie discovers much about himself and his place in this world.

I felt that Punkzilla was an interesting novel, and although it is not my favorite, it shows a dark side to teenage life that many people do not see. Most of the main characters had major flaws to their character, but it only made them more human and easier to believe in. A lot of the time I really liked the characters, but they also made me think about what I believe in when they fell out of my good graces. I had to recognize the motives behind their actions and consider my own moral standpoint, making this an interesting read. One problem I had with the novel was the format it was written in. It was often confusing and out of order and I found myself having to go back and reread. Keeping track of all these people who were flying through time with no organization was difficult and differed from the enjoyment of reading this book.I found this novel very interesting and it revealed a world that is vastly different from my own.

There is a lot of explicit language and some grafic descriptions of violence.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Minnetonka, Minnesota United States

In the Shadow of the Lamp by Susanne Dunlap

'In the Shadow of the Lamp' is a fufilling, deeply
immersing
story of willpower, truth, and the search for everlasting
love. In 1854, Molly Fraser, a lowly servant working for
an
elegant London household, is wrongly accused of thievery.
She is quite promptly banished from her claim and nearly
thrown out onto the streets. Now, her work and little
money
gone, she is forced to wander the city in search of a new
way of life. So when an opportunity arises for Molly to
possibly go to Crimea with a team of Florence
Nightingale's
nurses, she determinedly sets out for the battlefield. The
work there is exasperating, the hospitals are filthy and
infested with vermin, and young men lay writhing in pain
on
the blood-splattered floor. But Molly, refusing to back
down, does everything within her power to care for the
wounded soldiers. Caring for the young men soon becomes
more
than just that, though, when Molly finds herself falling
deeply in love with one of the doctors working in her
hospital. But all transposes when an old love from home
comes to fight as a soldier in the war, and seeks out
Molly
to tell her that he came just to be near her. One man of
two
will fall prey to the war's deadly guns, and where will
that
leave Molly? Dunlap carefully winds this story through
true
friends, deep love, and the acceptance of death as the
truth
of this story unfolds.

'In the Shadow of the Lamp' is a very lifelike, oldtime
almost-novel exceptionally written with very true
personalities and emotions. I think this book is very well-
done with astounding characters and will create incredible
pictures in readers' minds. Susanne Dunlap could have
lived
in this time herself for the way she deeply wove this
story.

n/a

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and
Country: Akron, Ohio United States