The Serpent in the Glass by D.M. Andrews

The Serpent in the Glass takes place in the present. It is about a boy named Thomas Farrell, whose father dies and leaves him a glass with a serpent in it and an already paid for education at Darkledun Manor, a school for gifted children.  Thomas doesn't feel very gifted, but goes anyway, and soon finds out that Darkledun Manor is anything but ordinary. While going to this school he will face challenges, along with his sister and friends. The main theme of this story is Thomas trying to find out who he is and how he fits into Darkledun Manor. This book would most likely be in Adventure, and Fantasy.

The Serpent in the Glass really pulled me in. I was dying to know what happens next, so I didn't want to put it down. Also, I felt like I could actually see everything that was going on like watching a movie. The mood of the story felt like a mystery, but also fun. I really liked the main character, Thomas. I really wanted him to find out who he is. Also, I liked his attitude towards everything. It didn't leave me hanging on any character, but it made me want to know if a second book will be made.


I think the author did achieve his purpose. The writing was effective and age appropriate. The strength of this book was how it pulled you into the book. Its weakness was trying to tell if the dreams where connected, some of them were italic, some were not.  It could become a movie, but I'm not good at telling if a book is good enough or not.  I haven't really read anything by D.M Andrews before now, but I am considering finding books written by him. My over all opinion of this book was it is really good and I am hoping there is a part two. The ending was great, it didn't leave me with any questions or confusion. I would recommend it to anyone who likes adventure, fantasy, or even just a bit of action.


Reviewer Age:18
Reviewer City, State and Country: Oskaloosa, Iowa U.S.A

The Survivors: Point of Origin by Amanda Havard

Point of Origin is a Paranormal Romance centered on Sadie Matthau and her quest for answers. Sadie, however, is not mortal, nor is her main love interest, Everett. Sadie is what is described as a Survivor, or, to humans, considered a Witch. Everett however, is called a Vieczy-a type of vampire. The pair, accompanied by some of Everett's family, travel across the globe researching more about their questions. Sadie yearns to know more about what she is exactly, how to kill a Survivor, if there are Survivors other than her and those in the Survivor City where she came from, and where they really originated from. However their search causes many problems and leads them to many dead ends and obstacles, both external and internal-including Sadie's struggle on whether she wants to be with her supernatural boyfriend Everett, or her old human flame, Cole, who still pines for her.

When I first began Point of Origin, I was actually a bit disappointed. It seemed that every time something exciting happened, it would get pushed aside and the plot would continue on without much mention of it. However, as the story progressed and I learned more about the situation and the characters, I began to get more involved in the book. I also realized that the past predicaments where pushed to the side for a reason. Each would be brought back at its proper time in order to help complete the plot. By the time the story was brought to its cliff hanger conclusion, I was completely engrossed in the book and anxious to know the answers to Sadie's questions-even those that I had previously thought of as somewhat insignificant to me. Overall, this book was suspenseful and thought provoking, and I will be waiting eagerly for the third installment of The Survivors.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Phillipsburg, New Jersey United States

Rating: 8
Content Rating: 1

Project Jackalope by Emily Ecton

Project Jackalope is about a boy and a girl who are on the run with a killer jackalope. A government agency named DARPA is after Jeremy who is a distracted boy, and Agatha who is a girl who is always trying to get good grades. These two kids are on the run with a killer bunny that Professor Twitchett, who is a scientist that dumped the jackalope in there hands, to take care of. But after those eyes blinked at Jeremy everything started going wrong. At the end do they get to keep it or have to give it to DARPA? Read the book to find out! 
I think that this book was very interesting. It is a fun and adventourous book. I recomend this book to all readers. It uses a swear word four to five times. I loved this book. 
Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Tomah, Wisconsin United States of America

Fire Works in the Hamptons by Celia Jerome

The book 'Fire Works in the Hamptons' is the incredible third installment of a series by Celia Jerome. I would describe it as a mix of sci-fi/fantasy, romance, suspense, and magic, all in one extraordinary adventure. The story is written from the point of view of the main character, Willow Tate, who is an author/artist visiting her summer home of Paumanok Harbor, Long Island. The town is home to not only over half a population of psychics, but to a whole range of mysterious rumors that just so happen to be true. Willow is a visualizer, similar to being telepathic, but only with pictures. Somehow or other, she 'summons' magical flaming beetles (or fireflies, as they are referred) that are starting fires all over the town. With the help of an unusually gifted fireman, Willy has to figure out what the fireflies are there for and for a way to get them to leave. Within her stress-filled adventures, she encounters obstacles other than the beetles she feels the need to protect: a flame-crying baby with an abusive father out to get the both of them, a reporter who may not exactly be what he seems, a science teacher who is trying to catch the bugs for 'scientific' purposes, and not to mention the confusing romantic tensions filling the air.

While it took me a little while to actually get around to reading this book (due to a small pile of other books needing to be read first), I really enjoyed it. I was unhappy to learn, after I had already received it in the mail, that it was the third book in a series; however, I was very relieved to see that it was not the type that requires you to read the others beforehand. Though some parts of the storyline refer back to the two previous books, they are nothing too relevant to the plot, and are easily explained without feeling like you've just missed something completely. This book is a very fantastic story with beautiful descriptions that make you feel as though you yourself were witness to the awesome splendor of the 'fireflies' plaguing the town. Overall, it is a wonderful read, and I highly recommend it, along with the rest of the series, to anyone who loves a good fantasy.


The main character, Willow, is relatable to people from the ages of mid-teen to early thirties; she has several issues that I am sure a lot of young women can sympathize with (for instance, her mother constantly nagging at her to settle down with a man and give her grandchildren). I think she is a rather down-to-earth person, even if every psychic in town thinks she is both looney and 'cursed'. She cares a great deal for the dogs that her mother rescues-though she may not always admit it. She says that she can't stand her hometown, but I think she secretly loves it-she just tires of it easily almost immediately after arriving. She claims that she would be a horrible mother, but yet grew so attached to a little baby that she was often referred to as "momma."
 
Rating:  3  I rated this book 3 because while it does not actually contain any sex, it is implied and talked about. I do not feel that anyone under a certain age should read something like that-I would definitely put this book in the teen section of a library.
 
Reviewer Age:17
 
Reviewer City, State and Country: Oskaloosa, Iowa USA

After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel

In After Obsession, there are four stages and none of them are pretty.

1.           Invitation: When you ask him in

2.           Infestation: When he destroys your home
3.           Obsession: When he destroys your body
4.           Possession: When there’s no coming back

After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel is an amazing story that I just finished. It is about a girl named Aimee, who lives in Maine, and her best friend, whose dad died just a few weeks ago. Then, a boy named Alan moves to Maine. Right from the start, Alan and Aimee are connected. They know they will have to work together to save someone or something; the only problem is, they don’t know who, or how.

 This book was very good, and once I started I couldn't stop. The entire time I was reading, I felt as if I was there in the book. The book has a very mysterious mood and tone that keeps you very intrigued. The authors give so much voice into the characters that I believed everything that they did and said. The authors’ writing is very effective and powerful. The ending really surprised me. It was not something I expected, and it really made me wish there was more. I would definitely recommend this book to a reader looking for a great story with a little mystery and some interesting characters.

 There is some mature content, strong language in this story, and some violence, so I would recommend this book to older teens. 

 Rating: 7

Content: 2
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leawood, Kansas United States of America

After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steve E. Wedel

A boy named Alan is forced to move from his home town in Oklahoma to Maine to live with his aunt and his cousin, Courtney, who has just lost her father in a boating accident. Alan meets Courtney's best friend Aimee and they immediately feel a strong connection. It turns out that they both have special powers that in the long run will save all of their town and Courtney's life. They start having feelings for each other and both struggle to keep them under wraps.  Aimee just broke up with her boyfriend a little after Alan arrives so she doesn't want to immediately start another relationship, because he is acting strange in a bad way. In fact the whole town is acting strange. It turns out that many years ago a brave hero trapped a dragon in the lake. Every decade, he tries to take over someone's body, in order to live and spread his hate. It has taken over Courtney, and Alan and Aimee must work together to get the spirit out of her before it completely takes over.

I loved this book and I had a hard time putting it down. I would recommend this book to anyone older than 14.   There is a bit of strong language, so it is more suitable for older teens.  I thought Carrie Jones and Steven Wedel made an amazing writing team. They make you feel like you're right beside Alan and Aimee through all the ups and downs. Their detail is amazingly good and it blew me away. The thing I loved most about the book was the character of Alan. He is kind and gentle, but has a hidden strength that makes him a reliable person. His relationship with Aimee was also written really realistically. The other interesting part about the book is that one paragraph is written through Alan's eyes and the next is through Aimee's eyes, so the chapters switch back and forth between Alan and Aimee (which was a new and enjoyable twist). I give this book two thumbs up!

 Rating: 9

Content: 1
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Tucson, AZ usa

Mallory in the Spotlight

I read the book Mallory in the Spotlight by Laurie
Friedman.  The main characters in the book are Mallory and
Mary Ann.  When their school decides to put on the play,
Annie both girls try out for a part.  Mallory wins the
part of Annie but Mary Ann does not get any part at all.
Mary Ann begins ignoring Mallory.  Mallory is sad and
doesn t know what to do about the situation.  Two girls in
the class begin to be nice to Mallory.  They act like they
are her new best friends.  Mallory sends them an email
explaining how sad she is that Mary Ann is ignoring her. 
They send the email on to Mary Ann. Mary Ann becomes upset
and Mallory get embarrassed. In the end Mary Ann and
Mallory work out their problems and promise to stay best
friends.

Mallory in the Spotlight is a good book and I could barely
put it down because of the excitement.  It was well
written and I wanted to know what would happen next.  My
favorite part is when Mallory and Mary Ann become friends
again. Jealousy can ruin a friendship.  These girls work
out their problems but that does not always happen in real
life. Mallory in the Spotlight is the fourteenth book in
the series.You don't have to read the first ones to
understand this one but now, I want to read them all.   I
think that girls seven through twelve will like this book.
  
Age 8
Jackson, MO USA

You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis

A year after Luna' s mother dies, Luna wants to take a chance. She decides to clean out her mother' s studio and finds her mother' s cell phone. Bright red. Fully charged. With seven unread messages.
When I picked out this book, I though it would be a well-written murder mystery. It isn' t. The only part of the plot that' s good is Luna 's trying to find out how her mom died. That took up about one-third of the book. The other two-thirds consisted of drama, teen angst, puppy love, and extremely unrealistic and paper-thin characters. The plot was just drawn out over way too many pages, when it could 've been put nicely into a smaller book.


Luna, as a character, is confusing. One minute she says she isn' t into guys, and the next minute she says she' s liked one since eighth grade. She starts out as a shy but strong person, but actually gets weaker towards the half-way point of the book.... and goes downhill from there.


Luna' s father is a wimpy, horrible character. He' s truly not fit to play the father role, and I disliked him very much throughout the entire book.


Tile, Luna' s brother, was the only really good character. While he may seem naive because of his age, he experiences life like no other person and changes for the better over the course of the story.


While the overall message of the book is good, the way the author gets to that message is unnecessarily complicated.  Saying that people who' ve not had sex before they turn 15 are prudes is highly subjective.  That parents are liars, and that marriages can' t last forever is not what I want to be reading about; and unfortunately, that' s what I got when I read this.
There are multiple curse words (no f-bombs, thankfully). The concepts of divorce, adultery, molesting, and homosexuality are talked about and seen.
Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Yucaipa, California USA

By The Time I'm Twenty

In By the Time I'm Twenty, Lawrence attempts to make money in the hood by selling drugs with his friend Winston until two of his friends get shot in a crack house. Then Lawrence realizes how dangerous drug dealing is, and he wants out. The problem is,  he doesn’t have enough money to "buy himself out" so he ends up telling his parents about all of it.  Now he has to make a decision, to tell the police, or not. Meanwhile, Winston and L.C, the drug lords, are after him.

In the book it makes you feel like you are right there in the action.  The characters of this book seem like very real people. Lawrence, the main character, is just like any other teenager, but is put into a tough situation. This book is written as a play so there is no feeling of a narrator. At the end of the book you actually know what happened to most of the characters. I believe the author shows about how drugs can ruin a person’s life in many ways. The book had a good climax and falling action which is very exciting. After finishing this book I learned about how school is important and how terrible drugs are. I would recommend this book to my friends because it is entertaining and after I finished the book I think I will never forget it.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Fairborn, Ohio USA

Blood Sun

Book Title: Blood Sun
Author: David Gilman
ISBN: 9780385735629
Summary: Blood Sun By David Gilman

The book Blood Sun was about a teenage kid named Max Gordan who tries to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of his mother. She died in the dangerous forests of Central America. There, man-eating snakes and deadly creatures wait at every turn. A powerful agency is also hunting down Max to exterminate him. Max is willing to die to uncover the truth, and he must find it before it's too late.
Opinion: The book Blood Sun was an amazing novel that generated constant suspense. I could actually imagine what everyone and everything looked like. I could understand everything the author said and found the book entertaining and interesting to read. I liked how in the end, Riga teamed up with Max to uncover the truth. I loved this book and it is definitely one of my favorites.

Content:1


Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9
Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Springfield, Ohio United States