Citadels of the Lost by Tracy Hickman

Drakis and his friends narrowly escape from a skirmish with dragons (which aren't supposed to exist) to find themselves in a land they know nothing about.  They met the dragons when running away from an elven estate whose Aether Well (a source of powerful magic) they destroyed.  The group discovers underground caverns, abandoned cities, drakoneti (devilish half-human, half-dragon beasts),and startling secrets about each other.  Eventually, they meet a tribe living in this strange wilderness, and learn they must travel to the Citaldels in the lost city of Chelesta.  There they must reverse a Font (another name for an Aether Well) so the magic can flow out into the surrounding lands by completing the Font with a hidden Key.  The magic will repair the ruins of the civilizations of those who lived in the wilderness.  However, a conniving dragon seeks to keep the Aether trapped within the Font.  Drakis must fight through his troubled emotions to prevail against the rebel dragon and accept terrible truths.

This book was quite interesting.  The beginning was slow, as I have not read the first book in the series, but after a few chapters, I grew accustomed to the characters personalities, and found the book much more enjoyable.  At that point, I found it hard to put down. My favorite characters were the Lyric, who has the ability to become any character from their world's folktales.  She was also funny because the other characters would often get confused trying to figure out who she was at a certain time.  The two varieties of magic, Aether and Aer, were unique and intriguing, since Aether is a simply very condensed version of Aer.  This is a good book for people experienced in unraveling intricate plots and comprehending complex ideas.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Lake City, IA USA

May Magic

Whose mom just visited the hypnotist and is now acting


like a duck? It is Bradley and Brian's mom in the book,

May Magic, by Ron Roy. This book is one of the Calendar

Mystery books. Bradley and Brian took their mom to see

Hypo the Hypnotist and now they think she has been

hypnotized into thinking she is a duck. She is quacking

like a duck, splashing in her bathtub, poured corn around

the house, and wanted to play in the rain. More than

anything the boys wanted their real mom back and wanted to

get rid of the duck silliness.


I really liked this book. It was interesting and funny

at the same time. It was a fun mystery to read. I wanted

to know what was going on with their mom as much as the

boys did. The ending really did surprise me. I would

recommend this book to students in second and third grade.

It is a good book for kids just starting to read chapter

books.

 Age:9

Jackson, MO USA

Oreo by Valerique Williams

Jayenia, a fourteen year old African American girl, is confused about who she is and who she thinks she is expected to be. She feels alone and and struggles with race issues internally and externally. Through the stress of starting high school and not being excepted by peers, Oreo shares what many African Americans go through in fitting in racially and socially, and the mental struggles they face about themselves.
In the beginning, Jayenia annoyed me. Her story felt slightly gloomy, and she is always in a bad mood. I kept reading, mostly because I could easily relate to her character, and that made the story worthwhile. Jayenia is shy, stubborn, and easily irritated. She doesn 't like loud, crazy parties, and worries constantly that people think she is stuck up, because of her personality, to which I can relate immensely!
She questions who her friends are, who she is, and if her family understands her.
The writing was like a first draft, peppered with grammatical errors.  It read okay, but was a bit distracting. The character kept me reading.
The subject matter was really interesting to read because of how Jayenia struggles with being called an Oreo (too black on the outside to be white,and too white on the inside to be black) and who she thinks she is supposed to be. She wants to be accepted for who she is, the only problem is that she s not always sure who that may be.
The ending was frustrating, as it didn t seem to wrap it all up.. but was also appealing because that is how life is. I would be anxious and happy to hear of a sequel!
There was some mild rude humor, and mild sexual references.
Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Sandy, Oregon United States

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