The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanna Birdsall

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by: Jeanne Birdsall is the third book the Penderwicks series. It is a fantastic book. The Penderwicks are splitting up. Dad, Iantha, and Ben are going to England for there honeymoon(Ben is too little to stay home); Rosalind is going to New Jersey with her friend; and Jane, Skye, and Batty are going to Maine with Aunt Claire. While in Maine, Jane is having a love survey and along the way thinks she is in love, Aunt Claire has an accident, Jeffrey finds someone who he wishes were his dad, and many, many more events happen. What happens to Aunt Claire? How does Jane being in love end up? What happens with Jeffrey? Read this great book to find out.
The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by: Jeanne Birdsall is the third book the Penderwicks series. I thought that it was a great book. I have read the first two books but the way the author writes this book you don't have to read the first two books to understand this one. It shows how great an O.A.P. Skye is even though she didn't believe in herself. And it also showed how the Penderwick sisters could be apart and survive. I liked how Jeffreys whole situation was cleared up and his father ended up being someone he very much liked.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Sandy, Oregon U.S.A

Super Life Secretcodes by Great Sun

"Super Life Secretcodes" is a self-help book on the topic of the metaphysical, written by Great Sun, which I can only hope is a pseudonym. Through various anecdotes, the author relays to readers his "tips" on how to live life better. This mental utopia of his--which he swears can be manifested in real life--includes everything from relationships, money, fame, happiness, and health. Lots of the advice has to do with thinking positively and somehow channeling energy into space to be enlightened (even though that word is not explicitly used). In addition to the many short chapters, there are little postscripts that read like letters to readers...and spirits.
I mostly dislike the New Age movement because it promises false hope (e.g.- do this, think this, say this, imagine this, and everything will be perfect).  The author left Christianity, explored other religions, and then met Friend G who gave him his insights.  Now, not everyone has to prescribe to Christianity, but it does not offer false hope.  Jesus says life will be hard but that we can persevere because He loves us.  This Friend G is written as having supernatural powersi, scientific insights and foreknowledge of doom.  I personally think this author has encountered the demonic or psychotic but not some great prophet.  There is a lot of fantasy universalism in this book.  God loves everybody, yes, but there is only one Way.  As a friend quoted, "If my truth and your truth aren't the same, then one of us is wrong."
This book mentions sexual things not suitable for young readers, amongst other mature topics
Reviewer Age:20
Reviewer City, State and Country: Staten Island, NY USA

Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

Gwen Frost is the lowest of the low at the weirdest school around: Mythos Academy. It's a school of teens who are filthy rich, know how to beat people up, kill them, even, and use magic. Freaky, no? But when the richest, prettiest, most popular girl in school is murdered, it's too much for Gwen, especially given the fact that she is convinced she should the one dead.She uses her Gypsy gift to investigate, and uncovers a plot that puts her life at risk and learns a surprising secret that her family had been hiding from her.
The thing most focused on in this book is suspense. Which, in my opinion, is a very good thing to focus on, and the other parts were well taken care of as well. Not to mention, the main antagonist is just a little cuckoo in the head, so finding out the mystery of a girl's murder was quite difficult. So, when you finally read those last few chapters, it's a total surprise. Suspenseful book leading up to a surprise ending - what could be better? Although, sometimes when filling in details for a sentence you may not understand, the story fills in too many details. It's given you the info you need to make sense of what you just read, but then it goes on...and on... and on. Sometimes 2 paragraphs, when all you needed was two simple sentences. So, this book has it's good and it's bad.

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

The Amanda Project Revealed by Amanda Valentino and Peter Silsbee

The Amanda Project Revealed tells the story of three teenagers, Callie, Nia, and Hal, as they try to find out what happened to Amanda Valentino, who disappeared, and their vice principal, Mr. Thornhill, who was attacked and is now in a coma. The path to find Amanda is full of twists and turns, and more and more people then they realize are involved. Hal finds a data-base on Mr. Thornhill's computer that involves his family, and many people he doesn't know. To their surprise, they learn something from this that none of them would have ever expected. Amanda Valentino is not who she said she was, and her real identity is far more hidden then it looks.





The Amanda Project Revealed was a wonderful, intense story. The plot never stayed the same or was dull for more than a chapter, and had more twists and turns then a river does. The author, Amanda Valentino, knew how to tantalize you, and pulled you closer and further away to the real Amanda. I would tell any young teenager who loves puzzles and mysteries wrapped in a book. I loved reading The Amanda Project Revealed, but I would recommend reading The Amanda Project first, as that is the first in the series.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Nappannee, Indiana United States of America

Changing the Little Things by J.L. Manning

Changing the Little Things by J.L. Manning is a book that is about changing small actions to affect those around you. The synopsis of this novel is quite short. A man, working on writing his novel, starts an online chat room to help people manipulate others to better suit their wishes. He starts a chat room to help people learn tricks to changing people. Each person is aiming to make someone close to them more likable; friends, family, coworkers. So they chat once a week and come up with ways to fix others instead of working on themselves.
This book is really not that great, in fact I hate to say it, but it is terrible. It wasnt just the lack of plot that made it bad, but also the scripted writing which was awkward and difficult to read. It was written in a very strict manner, but occasionally the author threw in common slang terms or acronyms like LOL. Some of them were less common though and left me wondering what the author was saying. Pretty much all of this novel was people complaining about how others need to work around them and how they could change them to make their own lives better. I was not fond of the idea, but the execution of this book made it so much worse. One good thing though: There were some insightful ideas on the small daily effects we have on others without even realizing, and the ability be have to influence everyone around us.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Minnetonka, Minnesota United States

Love Story by Jennifer Echols

As a college student trying to start her own career in New York, Erin Blackwell is doing her best to leave her past behind and pursue her career. In writing class one day however, it seems to be that her past appears in front of her at the worst time possible. Hunter's sudden appearance changes the way that Erin thinks, sleeps, and writes. Will Hunter coming back into her life change her future? Or will it just stir up bad memories of the past?
I thoroughly enjoyed the book Love Story by Jennifer Echols. I thought that the writer had the ability to connect with the reader, and make them believe anything that she says. The plot kept me turning pages to find out what would happen next in this incredible tale of a deep hatred and a fresh love that mixes together beautifully throughout the book. The characters relationships with each other add so much to the book and I think that Jennifer Echols did a wonderful job writing Love Story.Ill most definitely suggest this book to friends because of how much I liked it.
I gave this book the rating of mature readers only because the characters in the book are college aged, and the book is written from their points of view and what happens in their lives. I think at times it may be inappropriate for some younger readers.
Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Hermantown, Minnesota USA

The Study Train: Reunion of the Untouchables by Kurt Frenier

The book Study Train was about a boy, Ethan, who gets a mysterious invitation to ride on a train. He was unhappy at home and school, so he packs his bags and leaves on the train. Ethan meets the conductor/headmaster, Althulos, of the train, who introduces him to all the other people on the train. They are all friendly and welcome him warmly. The headmaster shows him the delivery room, where he learns many interesting things.

He finds out about the untouchables, people whose images are in the delivery room. The untouchables identify Ethan as their leader, and they train him in their powers. Ethan is asked by the headmaster to fly the train wherever he likes. Ethan picks Shanghi, where Althulos powers are weakest.

A battle occurs in Shanghai, which tests Ethans loyalties.  In the end, Ethan learns who his true friends are .

In my opinion, this book was OK.  It wasn't amazing, and it wasn't boring.
The author could have improved by giving more details.  The book was too fast paced in my opinion, and too short.  More information would have helped this problem.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Friendswood, TX USA

Eternity by Heather Terrell

Our story takes place where "Fallen Angel" left us. Ellie and her boyfriend, Michael, are now fully aware of who they are but not sure what to do about it. On an off chance that acting like normal teenagers will stop or slow down the End of Days they decide to play pretend. Unfortunately Michael gets a little caught up in this play and a rift begins to form between Ellie and Michael. To make matters worse Ellie joins a volunteer group where she meets Rafe, who she can't stop thinking about.

Even with all their efforts the clock has already begun to tick. It is up to Ellie, the Elect One, to finally take charge of her destiny and judge the human race. If she plans to save them then she must defeat the angels in charge of the seven signs but on the other hand if she deems mankind unworthy will she join the dark fallen?
It was love at first sight. I have learned so much from the Fallen Angel series. I knew about the book of Revelations but I never knew about the Book of Enoch or Jubilees. I never expected to be so pulled in to a... well sort of "Christian" book. The only way I could improve the story is to make the ending a page or two longer. Heather definitely achieved her purpose with her powerful words and mental images. I definitely reccomend this book to those who seek more understanding then what the "traditional Bible" offers. Even if you don't believe in god this is still a good book.

Reviewer Age:20
Reviewer City, State and Country: Az city, Arizona USA

The Look Book: 50 Iconic Beauties by Erika Stalder

According to The Look Book by Erika Stalder, celebrities have been setting hair and makeup trends for the last century. Now, you can recreate the look on your own, along with learning about the icon behind the trend. Because a celebrity hair stylist and makeup artist helped write this book, the book gives you tips and tricks to makeup and hair styles that only celebrities know. In the front of the book, the author also gives you basic makeup information that helps while trying to recreate the looks. The instructions for each look are well detailed and include pictures which help you visualize the look if you are confused.
I really enjoyed this book because it has a great concept and my friend is also interested in makeup, so we would have fun recreating looks from this book together. Some of the icons in this book I knew, but I also didn't know who some of them were. One recommendation that I have would be to mix some more current icons into the book to interest a younger generation. In this book, the directions were very easy to follow and if I wanted to recreate one of these looks, this would be my first stop to look for instructions and tips. Overall, I loved this book and would love to use it again if one of my friends or I wanted to achieve one of the signature styles.

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

Rock Bottom by Erin Brockovich

Rock Bottom is about AJ who teams up with a lawyer to bring down a big coal mining company in a small town. The small town happens to be AJs hometown that she left ten years ago. The companys coal sludge is contaminating the local water supply and the company is destroying the mountain top causing environmental problems. The lawyer dies before AJ begins to work with him. When lawyers daughter gets death threats because of his actions, AJ comes to her aid. AJ has conflicting emotions because she hates the man in charge of the company, but his son is a former boyfriend of hers and is the father of her child.

The best part of the book was the characters. I loved AJ, she was confident, extremely strong willed, and was a really good person with a lot of spirit. I also liked her son David and her friend Ty, who was so believable it felt like he could be sitting in the room with you. There was also a couple of interesting plot twists that I did not expect. I thought it was a little too dramatic towards the end and also that the AJs accident wasnt fully explained but it balanced out and I felt that the end of the book brought everything to a close nicely.
There is some language in the beginning.
Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Rockford, Illinois United States