2108: Eyes Open (eBook) by K.L. Glanville

When Jewel Peara met Forge, an alien bionic, she knew there would be trouble.  In the year 2108, the world is under the control of alien overseers, and their bionic followers.  Only in New Zealand, where Jewel and the other naturals live, are they safe from the alien influence.  However, as Jewel gets to know and falls for Forge, the threat of war keeps their relationship at a futuristic Romeo and Juliet scenario.  With the bionics spying from the bay, and their withholding of plastic (a necessary material to the naturals), Jewel and Forge must keep their relationship a secret, while knowing the other could betray them at any time.
After reading the first few pages of this book, I expected it to be a science fiction dystopian society book, such as 1984 or Fahrenheit 451.  Instead, I was surprised with a futuristic alien version of Romeo and Juliet, where Jewel and Forge are kept apart by their species/governments.  I thought this book had a good basic plot line, with many random twists, but overall this book was not what I expected.  The ending as well felt quite sudden and did not seem to solve most of the problems, probably leaving room for a sequel.  Overall this book would probably be enjoyed by any tween girl who would like a new spin on an old idea, however, this will not be one of my favorite books.
Slight suggestive themes.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Cypress, California USA

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a suspenseful Sci-fi novel. In the future people will do anything to escape to a virtual game world,OASIS, where everyone is who they aren't. One young teenager, Wade Watts, is an ordinary lower class boy. All he is trying to do is get through life. When he discovers the first gate in a contest in OASIS everyone suddenly knows who he is, some even want him dead. A big corporation by the name of IOI wants to get the prize that comes after the three gates and challenges are completed, of course they cheat and lie to do so. But in the end good prevails, and Wade even gets people to begin realizing the problems in the world, as well as getting them to begin to fix them.
Ready Player One was such a great book. It's plot was amazing and action packed. From death threats to intense gaming scenes, this book had almost anything you could think of, even love and friendship. The way the author makes you believe these characters are real is how he gives them real world conflicts and choices. Also this book throws the 80s era in there, such as things that were popular then, it makes you more aware of how our culture has changed and stayed the same. This book overall is too amazing to not read.
Contains sexual situations: masturbation.
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Nampa, Idaho United States

Signed by Zelda by Kate Feiffer

Young Lucy has moved to a new apartment. Signed by Zelda is about how Lucy 's life becomes intertwined with that of her upstairs neighbor as they try to find Nicky 's missing grandmother, Zelda. The only thing they have in common is their bird friend, Pigeon. Lucy is struggling to be accepted and taken seriously as a handwriting analyst. Nicky is trying to be accepted at home. He wants to have a good relationship with his insensitive father. When Nicky goes on a routine visit to Zelda 's, she is not there! The only clue is a handwritten note. Nicky, Lucy, and Pigeon must join forces to find Zelda. As they search and spy, Lucy and Nicky learn to understand each other as they each learn to deal with their lives and make difficult decisions.

This is a quirky book that is anything but predictable. I love the character of Pigeon. She is not treated as magical and amazing; she is just a normal character, and very believable.  She gives them an outlet for their problems, though she has problems of her own.  All the characters have distinct personalities and are far from perfect. Nicky 's father is also interesting. He is so caught up in himself that he forgets about everyone else. The book has many side plots, but it is fairly easy to read and flows well. The author writes about some serious things, but the story has many fun and funny parts. Signed by Zelda is moving, interesting, and unique.  I highly recommend it.

Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Calhoun, GA USA

The New Kid

The New Kid by Mavis Jukes was not the book I thought it would be. The New Kid is about a boy named Carson. He is a new kid at a school named Valley Oak Elementary. It was different from his old school of Rainbow Ridge. For one thing Valley Oak Elementary was a large public school that required students to wear uniforms. His old school was a very small private school that allowed students to wear jeans and T shirts. One interesting thing to Carson was that his new school had a pet rat named, Mr. Nibblenose. At one point in this book Carson loses his beloved stuffed animal Moose at school. Another time he and his classmates plan a camp out but end up having to go inside because of the rain. Another time Carson sets a bird free with a girl from his class and her mom.
If you are looking for adventure or suspense this is not the book for you. This book talks about Carson's relationships with family and friends. This book had no real conflict or problems that needed the character's attention. It had no mysteries that needed to be solved. A lost stuffed animal doesn't count as a mystery. The only part I thought was interesting was when Carson took home the class pet and found out that Mr. Nibblenose really should be named Mrs. Nibblenose. She had pups while Carson had the rat at his home. This book is written for students younger than third grade but it looks like it is for older students because it is a thick book. Students who are just learning to read may not like such a long book. Students who can handle the amount of text won't like the story very much. The only thing that kept me reading was that I thought the book might get better. I was disappointed.
Age 9  Jackson, MO USA

The Power of Powers:Volume One of the Huaxia Journals(eBook) by Lon Dee

A boy named Monkey and his sister Orchid come to Dunhuang, China. While Orchid is exploring she finds a tunnel .The siblings go into the tunnel and are transported back three thousand years to a place called Huanbei .They meet a little girl named Sparrow whose parents got killed by King Di Xin . Sparrow finds a shard that can make whoever is holding it obtain the five powers of wind,  rain, fire, mountain, and river. The powers can stop a war.

This book was a very slow read. It took me a long time to finish. The book picked up but the story didn’t seem to get any better. I didn’t like this book because it jumped around a lot and was hard to follow. I don’t recommend this book.

Rating: 5

Content Rating: 1

Reviewer Age:11

Reviewer City, State and Country: Glen Burnie, MD USA

Double or Nothing by Dennis Foon

In the book "Double or Nothing" by Dennis Foon, Kip is a clever seventeen year old in high school who enjoys casual gambling. He bets on small, everyday activities like whether or not his teacher, Mr. Cheeseman, will belch within 20 seconds after making the bet. He uses his talents in gambling to get money to save for college. One day, he meets the girl of his dreams whose father happens to be a famous magician. He and King, the magician, go to large venues such as casinos and horse races to bet large amounts of money. Though Kip gets caught up in the excitement and glamor of betting large amounts of money, he starts becoming addicted, later leading to dipping into his college fund for more money to gamble on. Will Kip learn his lesson or will he become absorbed by his addiction to gambling?
This book had a clear message, that dishonesty won't get anyone anywhere.
When we are first introduced to Kip, he appears as a clever young man who bet on things for fun with a small amount of money at stake. He was not addicted to gambling, nor had he ever planned on being addicted. What little money he did make from gambling, he put straight into his college fund. He had plans to go to college and be well off once he grew up. When Kip first begins to lose money on larger bets, he started lying to his girlfriend, friends, and mom about gambling. It soon became all he thought about and it got so bad that he nearly cleaned himself out, and has to work his way back up. His girlfriend broke up with him, he lost the majority of his friends, and his family was not happy with how his grade slipped from skipping school to go to casinos.
I found the writing style somewhat average, it was a simple, quick, and easy read.
I personally thought the book had a nice message, but I didn't connect with the story or the characters. This is a good book for anyone looking for a quick read.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Spring City, PA United States of America

The Seer and The Scribe by G.M. Dyrek

The book I read was The Seer and The Scribe by G.M. Dyrek.  This book was the tale of Volmar and Hildegard.  The book takes place in the Middle Ages in a monastery.  Volmar, a young monk, meets Hildegard there when he sees her dancing with someone who is not there.  Curious, Volmar approaches the girl to inquire what it is that she is doing.  We soon learn that Hildegard has the ability to see deceased people and communicate with them.  When a murder happens at the monastery, Volmar discovers a plan to steal the Spear of Destiny.  The spear is rumored to haunt anyone who takes its power for their own. 
I did not enjoy this book.  The main reason is just that I didn't understand a lot of what was going on.  It took me two months to read it and I went as fast as I could.  Because the book took place so long ago, I felt like I wasn't really understanding what was going on.  I probably should have become more familiar with the Middle Ages before reading this book.  I was highly disappointed with this book and would not recommend it.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Tipp City, Ohio United States

Delta Legend (eBook) by Kelan O'Connell

In Delta Legends by Kellan O 'Connell, Oakland teen Calvin gets into some trouble so his mom sends him to northern California to live with his great uncle.  When he gets there, his uncle puts him to work fixing up boats to keep him busy. The place he s at is a small riverside fishing town. Calvin 's experience gives him some better friends than he had previously; he also learns to make better life decisions.
As a  new reviewer, this was a great first read and I really enjoyed the process of reading and reviewing Delta Legends. It was an electrifying read and a struggle to put down. Calvin' s experience in the small town teaches him such a good lesson that I believe that many youth could use this lesson to better improve their behavior, and as a reader I enjoyed learning about the environmental problems such as the river systems in California. The book's themes are timeless; I would recommend this book to readers ten generations from now. Kellan O 'Connell did a fantastic job researching the background information as well reaching out to teens.

Reviewer Age:18
Reviewer City, State and Country: Columbus, Indiana USA

Tesania (eBook) by Grant E Brazell

   Tesania is just the teenage daughter of a blacksmith in her small village. All that changes when a troop of beasts massacre her village and kill her parents. Now she's a teen with a mission: to kill Tyrannth, the evil mage in charge of the beasts. Along the way Tesania meets Deavon, a ranger who is willing to help her get revenge. Together they assemble a band consisting of the ranger Aldan, The soldiers Giddy and Raim, The mages Nasha and Elddyn, Tean the monk, and Kailyn the maid. All of them make the hard journey through the mountains to Tyrannth's keep. But will it be worth the struggle? Or will it all end in the keep before they even have a chance?
    This book is among the best I have ever read. Tesania is so normal it's really easy to see yourself as her. She 's just like you and me (except for, you know, living in a medieval time period) only she's in extreme circumstances. Later in the book you find out she's not as normal as she seems, but it doesn't matter anymore because you're already seeing from her point of view, feeling her pain. As for Tyrannth and his keep, at first he seems so unreachable, completely invincible. But as the group gets closer they begin to see the cracks and the holes in Tyrannth's keep, his plan for taking over, and Tyrannth himself. It really shows how nothing is invincible and nothing lasts forever. My favorite thing about this book though, is that the good side is far from perfect as well. The people in the capital city are petty, the heads of the rangers, the soldiers, the mages, and the monks fight among themselves and the King lets over half the people in Rilmir City starve. It s not just the classic battle of good versus evil. I'd recommend this book to fantasy lovers of all ages.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Rockwell City, IA USA

Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

After Becca Chandler saves Chris Merrick from getting beat up, she is thrown into a world that she would have never expected. Becca soon finds out that Chris and his three brothers can control each of the elements(fire, earth, water, and air). But the horrible part is that Chris and his brothers are targeted to be killed by a special group called Guides. When Hunter shows up in school everything starts to feel normal again until Hunter starts to show his own dangerous side. Now Becca does not know who to trust in this crazy world she has been thrust into.
I did not enjoy this book. The beginning felt very repetitive and boring. Also, at some parts I could not tell whose feelings were being shown because it was written in third person. I thought this book would be like Carrier of the Mark but I was wrong. This book also felt very jumpy. One minute it would be action and the next it felt like fake romance.
There are lots of cuss words and an almost sex scene
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Denver, Colorado United States