The Pale Death Moon by C.P. Goy

Terry and his friends have been whooshed into another world by a taurus(a kind of portal). They landed in a world on the edge war - a group of people broken away from their leader, who's started sacrificing blood offering to the "black spirits", finds Terry and his friends. They bring them in telling them that their old friends, Yalf, foretold their coming and that they (the people) were to help them. Terry requested their help finding the 3 tumblestones hidden in their world - one of which has reportedly fallen into the hands of their evil leader, Akru. Then, matters get even worse as Terry's new friend from the broken-off village, Pendu, is captured by Akru's men and is meant to be the next blood sacrifice at the full moon. Can terry and his friends find all three of the tumblestones and rescue Pendu, before it's too late?

This book is really fascinating! The wonderful grasp of the English language that the author enriches the book beyond words. It's the best imagery of the landscape, the word choice is fantastic, just... no words to describe it. Also, the writer's huge vocabulary prevents the book from becoming repetitive - instead of saying "the forest was green, and teeming with life", Goy says it at least 20 different ways. The details are so exact it feels like you could tell when a leaf dropped - even though it doesn't say so in the book. (If that makes any sense.) Not only that, but the plot is exciting and really, really deep. As the book goes on,you're able to slowly piece things together, and you realize things like, "Oh! That shadow - that was.... ohhh..... OMG." *reads next page frantically* The whole book was just amazing.

Reviewer Age:14

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

A Girl's Guide To Guns and Monsters by Martin H. Greenberg

This is a women butt kicking collection. I like when I read A Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters, which was 13 different stories and all had fast action. Most had some monsters, craziness, and different tones. The stories are in time order from the Old West to the future. Don 't worry you won t get confused.

One little problem from the stories was the setting. Some of them were set in the worlds of the author's other writing. I didn' t know the worlds or characters, but I could still follow them. I like that women were the main characters. It made the story seem strong.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Newburgh, NY US

Fangbone: Third-Grade Barbarian by Michael Rex

Fangbone is a graphic novel that was written by Michael Rex. It is the first in a new series about a third grade barbarian named Fangbone. He is a barbarian boy from the planet Skullbania that was sent to Earth to guard the toe of a great villain named Drool. This was an important job for Skullbania because if Drool got his toe back, he would become so strong no one on Skullbania would be able to beat him. While on Earth, Fangbone enrolls in Eastwood Elementary and meets lots of new friends including a boy named Bill. Bill becomes his best friend and Fangbone learns about all sorts of things that are not on his planet. Fangbone and his newfound friends have lots of crazy and exciting adventures and work together to try and stop Drool.

I was surprised to find out this was a graphic novel. It was full of humor and was very easy to read. This book was recommended for readers that are 9-12 but I feel it is better for 8-10 because of the word level and the length of the book. The book is great at getting your attention and because of this I plan to continue the series to find out what happens next. I do not read graphic novels often but this one seemed to be good for entertainment. I would recommend it to others looking to read something fun and adventurous.

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Henrico, VA USA

The Lunatic's Curse by F.E. Higgins

In The Lunatic's Curse, Rex Grammaticus is living in the town of Oppum Oppidulum. In this thrilling page-turner by F. E. Higgins, Rex is living with his father, Ambrose, and his new mother, Acantha. He hasn't been as happy since his father got engaged, but one night things really get bad. His father goes insane and he is sent to the asylum, but under false pretenses. Rex knows that he can get his father out. Now he just has to find the evidence to prove his father sane. He knows it will be a challenge, but he just doesn't know what he's getting into.

I believe that F. E. Higgins does a great job explaining the setting and immersing you into the characters lives. The characters are very interesting and aren't like any other characters you have ever known (except maybe in the authors other books). In this polyquel book the names of all the towns and people are kind of hard to pronounce, but that makes them all the more memorable. I have read many books, but this one is pretty high up on my list. I'm not sure I would rate it that high, but I would definitely recommend it.

It is a very good and interesting book, but it does have a bit of death, blood, and gruesome details. It has some... interesting descriptions, but it gives good reasons why it would put them in.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Overland Park, Kansas United States

The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters Vol.1 Phantom by L.J. Smith

Elana and her friends are back at Fells Church. But now there is a new evile their at Fells Church. This eveil is a Phantom that Stefan thinks Tylers cosen Calob let it lose to distroy the small town. When Elenas friends are trying to get rid of the Phantom. Elana is dreaming about the dead Damon. Merdith who is as strong at a bull, but is jealous Celia witch caused the Phantom to come to Fells Church.

I find that this book is an amazing book that shows how importent friendships are. I have a friend who is just like Bonnie and that made this book even more fun to read! I have recommended this book to almost all of my friends and can't wait to recommened it to a lot more of my friends. The only down fall to the story is that I fell bad for Elena and her friends for never getting a brake. I can't wait for the next book to come out.

Reviewer Age:13

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

Lenobia's Vow by P.C. Cast

In Lenobia' s Vow, readers are welcomed into the back-story of the favorite House of Night professor. Set in France in 1788, at the urging of her mother, Lenobia takes on the role of Cecile, her recently deceased half-sister, to better her life in New Orleans. Fate has a different plan for her, which centers around a mulatto she loves, horses, and the evil Bishop. Lenobia s plan works until the Bishop recognizes her as the illegitimate child and not Cecile. By the end of the novella, she has been introduced to world of magic and marked as a vampyre.

I must admit, I have not read any of the other House of Night novels, so I did some research before diving into a series midway. The novella is a wonderful stand alone book, but the Casts have caught my attention with Lenobia' s story, and I m ready to get lost in the magic of the House of Night.
Although I started of cautious at the beginning of Chapter One, by the end of it I was completely hooked. Needless to say I finished it in one sitting. To all magic lovers and House of Night fans, read this book!

Although the descriptions and language were not too graphic, especially for the setting, I still recommend parental guidance. The rest of the series is for more mature readers.

Reviewer Age:23

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

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