A new student review of The Golden Day

dancechicka posted a new student review of The Golden Day . See the full review.

I felt that this book was definitely on the more sinister/morbid side, but found it pretty disappointing for a couple of reasons.  Almost from the very beginning foreshadowing the happenstance of bad things to come, the tone meant to create a scene that kept you on pins and needles.  However, I felt that this creepiness was slightly overdone.   The author just seemed to try too hard to make sure you realized something bad was going to happen.  The characters were hard to relate to—the purpose was to make the reader pity or sympathize with the girls, but I just found them annoying and juvenile.  I also felt that many things mentioned in the novel were unrelated to the plot, with extravagant distribution of characters and other plot lines that led to nowhere.  Two girls were the only characters that were explored in-depth, and even then, the writing was vague.    Though the author had a wonderful vocabulary and prose to make the book sound refined and polished, I still felt that the book could have been better to make a more enjoyable read.

                “That’s what they were waiting for….Miss Baskerville would speak, and they would know what had really happened.  Any moment now.”

                I would recommend this book for ages ten and up, because, though there is no profanity or other indecency, there is that undertone of horridness and fear the could disturb younger readers.

                The eleven girl’s lives changed the one day in the cave by the sea.  Will The Golden Day by Ursula Dubosarsky change yours, too?

A new student review of The Zombie Rule Book: A Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide by Tony Newton

scifiguy posted a new student review of The Zombie Rule Book: A Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide by Tony Newton. See the full review.

I enjoyed The Zombie Rule Book because it was comical while being serious. The tips and rules would most likely be useful in the event of a zombie apocalypse. It was hard to put down the book once I started to read.

A new student review of Say It Ain't So

Dsun_ posted a new student review of Say It Ain't So . See the full review.

I felt that this story immediately captivated me from the start. Josh Berk has an incredibly good natural tone, as if he was Lenny talking to the reader. I lent Say It Ain't So to a friend during an extremely long testing period because he was bored and after reading for a while, he said it was really good and asked to read it later. After quickly reading it, he told me he really enjoyed the book and would love to read any other books by Josh Berk. I introduced him to the other book called Strike Three, You’re Dead.  Although Say It Ain't So was an incredible book, I believe the mystery part was a bit too rushed and that there was too much commentary for the games. Overall, a great book!

A new student review of The True Adventures of Nicolo Zen by Nicholas Christopher

nowhereman posted a new student review of The True Adventures of Nicolo Zen by Nicholas Christopher. See the full review.

I normally don't enjoy historical novel, but this was an exception that I really enjoyed. This novel is rich in the European history of the 1700s. Nicholas Christopher did an amazing job describing the setting of the story. He wrote with skill that made you seem that you were next to Nicolo in the streets of Venice listening to him play the clarinet. Mr. Christopher also described the characters making it feels like Nicolo and Adriana are real people. I also don't normally enjoy romance novels, but the book had enough action and mystery that it made reading it worthwhile. The only bad part of the book was that it started out fast-paced, but slowed down near the middle.

A new student review of Kaleidoscope Me by Hillary K. Grigonis

thudson36 posted a new student review of Kaleidoscope Me by Hillary K. Grigonis. See the full review.

I think Kaleidoscope Me was a pretty good book. It kept me interested while reading, and went really in depth with what Jayden felt and thought. I thought it could get a little confusing when it was jumping around from month to month. It had very good character development in it and was very easy to relate to. I would recommend this book, especially if you are going through a loss of a family member or friend.

A new student review of The Klaatu Terminus

nowhereman posted a new student review of The Klaatu Terminus . See the full review.

This book was simply amazing. Having read the trilogy, I can say that this is the best one in it by far. The author does a stellar job finishing up the story and weaving all the time streams together into one thrilling conclusion. All of your questions will be answered, and many of those questions will have suprising answers. Hautman does an amazing job of making Tucker, Lahlia, and Kosh feel like real people. Hautman also does a good job of making this time travel story feel not so far fetched that it could never happen in real life. I recommend this book to any teenagers that likes Sci-Fi, mystery, or action books.

A new student review of The Brewster Boys and the Red Revenge by Stephen Dittmer

NathanPechacek10 posted a new student review of The Brewster Boys and the Red Revenge by Stephen Dittmer. See the full review.

This is a great book for WWII history buffs like me.  The story is very exciting and is intense at times.  It was a little difficult to get into, but once I forced my way through the first four chapters, I couldn’t put it down.  This is the second book in the series.

In my opinion, this is an interesting book.  I would recommend starting by reading the first book.  I had a difficult time understanding the characters’ personalities and knowing them at first.  Though some adult language is used, I would recommend this book for ages 12-16.  I can’t wait to read the third book and find out what happens next.

A new student review of Burn Out by Kristi Helvig

cmason178 posted a new student review of Burn Out by Kristi Helvig. See the full review.

I feel that Helvig needs to appeal to a younger audience.  Burn Out is highly predictable, and the topic is overwritten.  While I did enjoy reading this book, I will not be one to purchase the second book.

A new student review of The Severed Tower: A Conquered Earth Novel

JesusFreak posted a new student review of The Severed Tower: A Conquered Earth Novel . See the full review.

When I requested this book, I had already read the first book in the Conquered Earth series, Midnight City, and enjoyed it quite a bit.  I was hoping that the second novel, The Severed Tower, would live up to my expectations.  I’m happy to say that it went beyond my expectations.

The Severed Tower is a book full of adventure and edge-of-your-seat suspense.  It gripped me from the beginning and it was easy for me to feel connected with the characters, especially Mira.  The description of the setting and of the aliens was one of the things that amazed me the most.  While the author, didn’t use so much description as to bore me, he used just enough to keep my attention while still successfully creating the image of the world in my mind.

 With beautiful cover art and an amazing plot, The Severed Tower is sure to amaze you.

A new student review of Counting to D by Kate Scott

taterb26 posted a new student review of Counting to D by Kate Scott. See the full review.

 Counting to D was a good book, though it's very cliched, and I'm not big on cliches unless I actually want to read them. In this case, I didn't. It's pretty boy-meets-girl and boy-and-girl-tension-just-kiss-already. This was apparent on every page.

 The book was sort of slow-moving. Getting past the first 30 pages was tedious. I did finally stop on the 90th page when I felt I had an accurate feel of the book. It just didn't grasp my attention. There would be moments when I really liked it and would be turning pages, but it didn't last long. This is probably what killed it for me.

 There were many good things about the book as well, though. Sam was an admirable main character. Her ways of coping with stress were quirky and I kept thinking that she would be so cool to know in real life. Nate was also a good character, very cute. I liked their friendship, but I feel a relationship was predictable.

 My favorite thing about this book was how it was written. Kate Scott's got a talent. The writing was personal and readable. Scott had good voice throughout the length of the book.

 This was a good book. If I would've gone into this wanting to read something cute, my opinion on this book would've been better, because this book really is good. It's just not my good.