The Secret Room (eBook) by Beth Kanell

While measuring an old stagecoach inn's dimensions for a math project, new friends Shawna and Thea discover a secret room behind a pile of wood in the cellar. A seemingly nonsensical code covers the walls, and the two math whizzes are determined to figure out what the secret room was used for. Unfortunately, word about the room gets out, and soon the whole town is excited about the room they assume was part of the underground railroad. Knowing that there is more to the truth than the solution that seems most obvious, Shawna and Thea enlist the help of the historical society to try and prove what everyone else is just assuming. Not only is Shawna kept busy with the secret room's mysteries, she is also sifting through her family's dirty laundry, struggling to make sense of her estranged older sister Alice and the sideways glances being exchanged between her family members.

The Secret Room was an interesting double mystery, and the author did an excellent job of weaving the two distinctly different plotlines together. Shawna, the overweight eigth grade math whiz, and Thea, her new best friend, are unique and well described. Their thoughts and actions fit their situations very believably, and their reactions were exciting enough to keep me involved in the story. The plot itself went fast in teh beginning as they found the room and began to puzzle out it's significance, but slowed down considerably in the middle with a lot of non-action progress being made on the research. The end sped up with a terrifying search and rescue, as well as resolutions to the big mysteries. Not all the loose ends were tied up, however, and I was a bit unclear as to the final verdict on the secret room. All in all, The Secret Room was a good story, and gives an important lesson in fact gathering and research credibility. I would recommend this book for preteens and teens with an interest in history and realistic fiction.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Harleysville, PA USA

Gamers

You' d think that this was a perfect computer generated high school. In LifeGame, you couldn' t be more wrong. In this adventurous novel, Gabby discovers the true side of the life she 's been living. The system she thought was perfect turns out to be extremely violent, and questions are left unanswered. When the Frags contact Gabby from outside of her small town, she is wary to trust them. Throughout the novel she learns who her real friends are and who can be trusted. But in life or death situations, can even your closest stay by your side? Gabby fights for her life as the obstacles presented to her get more and more difficult as well as more and more threatening.

I enjoyed the book Gamers by Thomas K Carpenter for many reasons. Typically when an alternate universe or future community is written about, the descriptions overrule the action in the book as the author tries to explain their idea. Luckily, that wasn' t the case in this book. Thomas K Carpenter had a way of having enough description that the reader understood the plot, while still keeping plenty of suspense to keep the pages turning. Another plus to this book was the character development. There were tons of action to go around, but there were also enough feelings within the characters to keep the events more personal. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Hermantown, Minnesota USA

This is not a Test by Courtney Summers

Sloane and five other teens are trapped inside their high school during a zombie outbreak. Just one bite to kill you and reanimate you as a vicious creature without any sense of love, compassion, or remorse: only a hunger for human flesh. People have become erratic and sometimes Sloane doesn't know who to trust. The necessities of the group change drastically, everything turns for the worse, and their willingness to survive takes them to a new level. The dead know the living are inside the high school and it's only a matter of time before the dead get past the barriers until something happens that will change the group, for better or for worse.

This book was one of the best books I've ever read. It was filled with action and suspense and sometimes I found myself yelling at the characters because of their slow thinking. But I don't blame them, because if I came face to face with a zombie there would be a lot of hesitating. This book isn't completely filled with action but instead focuses on the mind of someone who was in Sloane's situation and how they would react to the mental changes that turn them from a human to a survivor. It was the first zombie book I have read and it has convinced me that I've found my genre.
It is violent and gory.
Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leawood, Kansas United States

This One Time With Julia by David Lampson

Joe hasn't had an easy life. His parents were killed in a car crash when he was five and he was raised by his older brother. Besides that, Joe also has developmental disabilities that have prevented him from becoming a functioning member of society. He can't read and has limited cognitive abilities, so he's not sure what to make of his twin brother's disappearance. But when Alvin's ex-girlfriend Julia shows up, he decides to accompany her back to Tennessee and work at her family's hotel. It is here that Joe discovers the truth about Alvin's disappearance and just how much Julia's family is involved.

This One Time With Julia was a lot different from other books that I've read, and unfortunately I did not enjoy it that much. The only character I sympathized with was Joe because he seemed very geniune and sweet. But he was so unobservant that it made him an unreliable narrator. It was hard to get into the story when the main character doesn't even really know what's going on. I didn't like any of the other characters, and none of them were developed beyond a few superficial characters. A lot of them  just seemed like a caractitures of people. I didn't care for the plot, as there was a lot of telling about events and not showing them. For example, Joe discovers the truth about Alvin's disappearance via a ghost/hallucination. The only good thing about This One Time With Julia is that it's a short and easy read.

Reviewer Age:20
Reviewer City, State and Country: Aston, Pennsylvania United States

Lunch-Box Dream by Tony Abbott

In the Lunch-box Dream by Tony Abbott, the character Bobby and his brother Ricky go on a road trip with their family to visit Civil War battlefields.  The year is 1959, the era of the Civil Rights movement, and Bobby does not like black people. He calls them chocolates and does not want to have anything to do with them. When an accident cuts their trip short the family ends up taking the bus back to their hometown of Cleveland. Bobby and his family come face-to-face with racial discrimination that may jeopardize a black family' s seats on the bus.  The reason the family has to be on the bus though is because their child is missing in a different town.
This book was not one of my favorites. I did not really like the structure of the book. This book was not a back-and-forward book. It was a back-and-back-and-forward-and-other-and-another-and-other again book. The book was also very confusing since it contained many characters which made it hard to try to keep track of who was who.  Most of the book was building up to the end which wrapped up in two chapters.   If there were fewer characters telling that story it may have been better.

Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Rochester, New York USA

Sorghaghtani of Mongolia

        I read the book Sorghaghtani of Mongolia by Shrin Yim Bridges. It is a nonfiction book about a princess named Sorghaghtani. About the age of twelve Sorghaghtani married Prince Touli who was the son of Genghis Khan. While still a teenager she gives birth to their first son. Later she had three more sons. Touli spent most of his time away fighting while Sorghaghtani stayed home to care for their children. She also had to deal with government business if her husband was away. When she was only forty her husband died after a night of drinking alcoholic mare's milk . After her husband's death her brother in law gave her all authority over her husband's land . Later when this same brother in law tried to take control of most of China Sorghaghtani had to be wise and brave to keep him from taking all the land. In the end Sorghaghtani's son was elected the supreme ruler. Sorghaghtani was respected for her wisdom and for teaching her sons to be kind leaders that hel their people.


       This book is more than a story about Sorghaghtani life. It is also about the culture of the Mongol tribes who lived north of China. The book shows pictures of some many everyday things Sorghaghtani would have used. Princesses wore a dress with trousers tucked into boots. When they got married they wore a Baqta which was a hat that showed they were married. I was surprised to learn that the women did all the hard work of loading the wagons and getting the horses ready when the tribe decided to move to a different area. This book was very interesting and fun to read.

Destiny and Deception by Shannon Delany

The Rusakova family has just begun a normal life, as they have taken the cure to extend their lives and cease being werewolves. However, normal seems to be a let down after the previous adventures Jess has had with her boyfriend, Pietr Rusakova. Upset that his attentions seem to now be lying elsewhere, but determined to support him through anything, Jess finds herself caught between her wants and her promises. Then danger comes to the town in the form of a new werewolf pack. Will the Rusakovas be able to overcome past grievances to save the town? Or will their attempts simply crash and burn?

Destiny and Deception was an engaging read with interesting plot twists. However, the way the author connected the two interwoven plots of the story was oftentimes confusing. The plot seemed to rely more on the romantic interests of the characters than the dangers occurring in the town, a disappointment, as these conflicts were interesting and engaging. Nonetheless, Destiny and Deception was well written and the chapters written from each perspective gave the reader an understanding into every character s feelings and purpose. I would recommend Destiny and Deception for those who are fans of mysteries and fantasies, as well as those who have read the books in the 13 to Life series preceding this one.


Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Colleyville, Texas US

Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey

Eloise has lived a normal life with her funky single mom, Jaz, and her two best friends, Devin and Jo. She also had no idea that faeries existed; that is, until she was abducted by Strahan, the king of Faery. Strahan wants to use Eloise as a bargaining chip to get Eloise's Aunt Antonia back to the Faery court. Antonia is the only one who can stop Strahan, who has yet to give up his crown after the maximum seven years of ruling. Eloise must figure out a way to escape and help Antonia defeat Strahan, before the conflict of the Faery world trickles into the human world.
I wanted to read Stolen Away because I previously loved Hearts at Stake, another book by Alyxandra Harvey. Unfortunately, I didn't think that Stolen Away was as good as the author's other series. I liked the premise of Stolen Away, especially because I don't read that many books about fairies. However, I wish the book was a little bit longer so there was more development about the Faery court and politics. That seemed very interesting but was just glossed over. I also wish the characters were developed a little more beyond some superficial characteristics. Other than that, I really enjoyed the action at the end, and the romance between Eloise and Lucas and Jo and Eldric added something extra to the novel. Overall, even though Stolen Away wasn't as good as I was hoping, it was still an enjoyable novel.

Reviewer Age:20
Reviewer City, State and Country: Aston, Pennsylvania United States

The Phantom Limb

Summary: I read The Phantom Limb by William Sleator and Ann Monticone. I greatly enjoyed this book. It had an interesting plot and was unlike any other book that I have ever read. It is the story of Issac, a boy with a dead father and a mother in the hospital. Friends reccomend a hospital for Issac's mom, so the family moves to a new house with Issac's grandfather who hasn't been himself in years. Issac feels neglected and alone until he finds a mirror box in his new bedroom. When he tries out the mirror box, he realizes that it not only reflects his other limb...it reflects the limb of another boy. With Issac's mom getting worse, Issac turns to the phantom limb for help. Doing a little poking around, Issac soon learns that the phantom limb belongs to a boy murdered by the same doctor operating on his mother now. The phantom limb directs Issac on how to save his mother. But can Issac trust the phantom limb?


Opinion: I really enjoyed The Phantom Limb. It was extremely original, I doubt you could find anything else like it. William Sleator and Ann Monticone really made you feel for the main character. The boy who has been through so much, you really get a sense of who he is. However, my only problem was that the book was a little bit predictable. I didn't really see the ending coming, but I saw the rest of the book coming within the first half. The end wasn't one of those books that makes you want to throw it across the room, it ties up all loose ends which I liked. It's a short read, but each chapter leaves you wanting more. All in all, I would highly recommend The Phantom Limb.


Content:1

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7

Reviewer Age: 13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Tipp City, Ohio USA

Horse Diaries: Black Cloud by Patricia Hermes

Horse Diaries is about a horse named Black Cloud.  The story begins when he is born.  He explores around the meadow as his mother keeps them from harm.  After discovering many things throughout the meadow, they go back to the herd of horses.  He meets his father and some other colts and fillies.  After many days of playing, grazing, drinking, and sleeping with the other foals, a strange machine flies above their herd.  When all the other horses go running, Black Cloud follows.  He runs from the machine, which his mom calls a helicopter, for hours on end.  Soon, many of the horses begin to fall and never get back up.  When the machine leaves, the horses stop near a foul-tasting creek.  Many horses are captured by humans.  What will happen to Black Cloud?

The story wasn't as long as it could have been.  It was a nice story someone could read to a little brother or sister.  If it had more chapters, it could have been more interesting.  It had a lot of repeat sentences in the first two chapters.  The story didn't get me attached to the characters in the book.  Horse Diaries didn't have a lot of details about most of the things that happened to the horses.  I wouldn't recommend this book for people over the age of 9.

Reviewer Age:11

Reviewer City, State and Country: Leesburg, Virginia U.S.A