The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston

In 1628, Bess Hawksmith loses her entire family to the plague, except her mother who is hanged for witchcraft. Bess escapes her own hanging and finds shelter and training in a warlock named Gideon. When he tries to make her his forever, she flees. In present day England in 2007, immortal witch Elizabeth befriends local teenager Tegan. Wary of letting someone into her life and past, she trains Tegan as a hedge witch. In the time they spend together, Tegan learns of Bess s past on the run from Gideon and notable moments in history in which she lived.

Brackston did a wonderful job combining the genres of historical fiction and fantasy. This page-turner would be great for introducing the fans of historical fiction to fantasy and vice versa. At first I was skeptical of Tegan s character, but by the end I could not imagine the story without her. The story truly brings you into the plot and makes you feel as you are there with Bess in each of her adventures. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, fantasy, or stories relating to the Salem Witch Trials (like I do).

Reviewer Age:22

Reviewer City, State and Country: Bay City, Texas USA

The Snow Queen's Shadow by Jim C. Hines

The book starts out in a small tavern in the kingdom of Lorindar, where we find out Snow and Talia are trying to capture the infamous witch hunting duo, Jack and Jill. Shortly thereafter Queen Beatrice dies, due to her injuries sustained in The Mermaids Madness. Snow unwilling to accept this, tries to place her soul in a new body but fails, and in doing so breaks her mother’s mirror and unleashes a Demon out on the world.

The book was a true page turner; I could not put it down. Hines did an incredible job closing up this series, and showing us you really can’t trust a fairy. His battles are fast paced and believable and his characters are fun and lovable with their wit and humor even when they are facing death. I read this without having read the first three but after this I may just have to. This book is good as a stand-alone, but I’m sure it will be out of this world when I read the others.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carbondale, IL United States

The Death Catchers by Jennifer Anne Kogler

One day, Elizabeth Mortimer is reading a newspaper when the letters change to from a new headline saying Lizzy's best friend, Jodi, just died. Lizzy is even more confused when her grandmother, Bizzy, insists that Lizzy tell no one. When Lizzy goes to check on Jodi, Jodi is nearly hit by a car, but she is saved by Bizzy, who pushes Jodi out of the way. When Bizzy and Lizzy are alone, Bizzy explains that they are part of an ancient bloodline, descended from Morgan Le Fay herself! Together they must stop the death of the Last Descendant against overwhelming odds, including Morgan's sister, Vivienne. Can an old woman and a young teenage girl save the day?

The Death Catchers was an amazing combination of the real world and ancient Arthurian sorceresses. It was scary when Vivienne froze Jodi and Lizzy, and Jodi didn't remember it at all. The idea of the Merlin statue in the graveyard was interesting. I hope there is a sequel to this book. Really, this is a good book for anyone who is intrigued by the story of King Arthur.

Reviewer Age:12

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

Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

Everyone thinks that Juliet died. They are wrong. She didn t kill herself, Romeo did. He killed her because he wanted to become immortal. And by doing this he became a spirit that took bodies that were dead and tried to break up true loves. What he didn t expect is that Juliet would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Life. Her job is to keep true loves together. For seven hundred years, Juliet has been doing her job and Romeo his, until they don t. They could become human again if they fell in love again, but Juliet has fallen for another and Romeo will do everything to stop them.

This book was okay. You could really understand Juliet s point and also Romeo s. I loved the concept for this book at the beginning but as the story continued on, it got boring. Almost all the characters were perfectly developed. I would recommend this book to people who liked Falling Under and Eden.

Reviewer Age:14

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

The Golden Ghost by Marion Dane Bauer

Delsie wants a dog more then anything. She then goes to a mill with her friend Todd and finds old abandoned houses. All the doors to the houses are locked.... except one. Delsie finds a surprise in the house, and is curious about it. Is the surprise good, or bad?

This book was a big disappointment. I expected the book to be larger, but it was a very small book with big print. It really only talked about how much Delsie wanted a dog, and there was too much description. The author really made it look like something great was going to happen, but nothing did. I knew the end before I read it, and I didn' t like that I finished the book in about a half hour. The only good part about the book was the 6th chapter, and that was it. If you want a good book and something that doesn' t waste your time, don' t get this one.

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Yucaipa, California United States Of America

How to Be an Attractive Man (eBook) by Adam Kisiel

How to be an Attractive Man is a concise, yet effective guide to bring out the attractive man in all of us. Adam Kisiel outlines 101 rules to help readers become more attractive men. These rules include wardrobe tips, grooming pointers, personality enhancers, and many more. The format of Kisiel s guide allows for the ultimate convenience and flexibility. The book encourages readers to choose the tips they wish to use and ignore those that they don't like. This provides each reader with a unique experience with becoming a more attractive man.

To give a proper review of this book, I decided to put some of the tips to the test. After implementing some of the advice in Kisiel s book, I felt more confident as a person. While the book aims to help men become more attractive, I think the tips help men become well rounded individuals. However, the best benefit of this book is the format. Readers do not have to invest a lot of time to take away all the nuggets in this book, and they can skip tips that they do not want to use. It is arguably the most convenient men's-help guide available. Overall, I recommend How to be an Attractive Man for its useful advice and easy-to-read format.

Reviewer Age:21
Reviewer City, State and Country: Eden Prairie, Minnesota United States

My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher

My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher is about a girl named Vanessa also known as Nessie. She's a girl who has her own version of fashion. She's always dyeing her hair different colors and wearing funky makeup and clothes. The thing is, she wants to grow up faster. Everyone is always asking why she wants to grow up so fast and telling her that she's not ready for it. However, she thinks she is ready, until she gets into a situation and realizes that everyone's right, she's not ready to grow up quite yet.

My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher was a great book. It shows that even if you think you are ready to grow up, you'rer probably not. And sometimes it will take you into a situation, like Vanessa, before you realize it. It also shows you some things about friendship,that a true friend will forgive you for your mistakes eventually, knowing that you didn't mean to hurt anybody. I like everybody's style of art. Everyone's art is unique and beautiful.

Reviewer Age:13

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

Flat Broke by Gary Paulsen

In the book "Flat Broke" the main characters are Kevin and John Paul. Kevin has lost his allowance due to lying. He is constantly thinking of ways to make money. His Aunt Buzz is refusing to pay him for working for her, because he lied to her too. Kevin baby sits a little boy named Markie to earn some money for his drivers' test. Kevin is always thinking of ways to get a girl named Tina to like him. He tries to earn money for two tickets to the school dance, and so he sets up poker games in his basement. I enjoyed reading this book, and hope Mr. Paulsen writes another book to keep the series alive!

In my opinion, "Flat Broke" was very fun to read. I think that Mr. Paulsen achieved his writing purpose very well. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends to read. I enjoyed this book because I got to enjoy a funny book. I liked the ending because it left it open for another book. I hope there is going to be another book in this series to continue the adventure and humor.

Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Glenwood, Arkansas United States

Torn by Erica O'Rourke

Torn by Erica O’Rourke was a wonderful mystery with a touch of magic and deception. In the beginning of the book, Maura’s best friend, Verity is murdered one night while they are out together. Maura gets away, but her best friend wasn’t so lucky. Maura wakes up in the hospital and for the first time she meets the mysterious Luc. When she gets out of the hospital, she goes to Verity’s funeral and sees some very strange things. Maura also finds an object that could help her find Verity’s killer. The police are still looking for the murderer, so Maura’s mother is worried about her and hires a bodyguard named Collin to keep her safe. She soon meets a friend of Luc’s named Evangeline who tells her information that will change everything. Maura and Luc soon start to piece together the murder and discover a magical world. I think that this book fits into two categories, mystery and romance. It is a mystery to find Verity's killer and stop the Torrent, but it is also a romantic book because she has to choose between two guys.

While reading this book, I felt like I was right there with the characters because the setting was so good. The mood of the book is deceiving because you feel like there is always something more than what meets the eye. I think that the characters in this book are very real because I can imagine them as real people. I think they seem this way because they don't seem phony or fake. They have traits that real people would have. The voice of the author is serious, sometimes sarcastic, and at some times funny. I think it was appropriate that the story was told in first person because it was easier to follow the story that way. The author left me wondering what happened to some characters and part of the plot at the end because it isn't a satisfactory ending. She also leaves you hanging, so there could definitely be a sequel. I definitely think that the author achieved their purpose to entertain because I was very entertained by this story and I really enjoyed reading it. I think that this piece was very well written because it was very descriptive and I made really good mental pictures in my head. It was also easy to understand. One of the strengths in this book is the many twists and turns that this mystery has. Other books in this genre have been a little slower than this book, so I like this book because it has a faster pace. I found this book very interesting because of how well this book was written and how the plot was laid out. One thing that I did not like is that the ending of this book isn't very satisfactory; it still leaves a couple things not completely resolved. I definitely think that this book could have a sequel. I would recommend this book to others because I really enjoyed it. I think that it is a book that everyone can enjoy because it is such a great mystery and a little bit of magic.

When Life Gives You O.J. by Erica S. Perl

A girl named Zelly really wants a dog. Her parents, on the other hand, aren't so willing to give in. They don't think she's quite ready for the responsibility. But when Zelly's grandpa, Ace (as everyone calls him) comes up with an idea involving an orange juice jug and some extra imagination, things change. You'll need to read the book to find out the rest!!

I was a HUGE fan of this book! I thought the author used a lot of imagination, and was thoughtful and amusing. I also really enjoyed how the author maintained the very humorous spirit of the character of Ace throughout the book. Of course, the other characters' spirits were maintained, too, but there was something in the way the author created Ace that was very entertaining. If you read the book, I have a feeling you'll know exactly what I mean...I don't want to spoil YOUR experience of reading it! The only problem I found was that I wanted the author to write more, like a series or something! I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a little fun!!!

Reviewer Age:10

Reviewer City, State and Country: Evanston, IL USA