A new student review of Amber's Summer by Cameron Glenn

Gwendolyn posted a new student review of Amber's Summer by Cameron Glenn. See the full review.

Amber's Summer

A new student review of Winter Falls (Twin Willows Trilogy) by Nicole Maggi

thomasst posted a new student review of Winter Falls (Twin Willows Trilogy) by Nicole Maggi. See the full review.

In my opinion, this book was definitely a page turner.  So much so in fact that I read it faster than I think I would read another book with its same length.  The thing that really pulled me in was that Nicole Maggi describes the setting of the book so well that I felt like I was in the setting instead of reading about it.  Also, the main and sub characters of the book were very cleverly and well introduced in the sense that I felt that I had a decent hand on what the characters were like.  In terms of the plot line of the book, I love the twists and turns this book lead the reader into.  Next, I'd like to comment on how I loved how she kept it a secret until the end of the book who one of the Malandanti were (no spoilers ;P).  Finally, there was a lot of foreshadowing in the book which was very well blended in, but not too much to overload the book.

 

The only reasons I didn't put five stars on this include two main reasons.  While the writing itself is exceptional, I would like to say that I think the main characters should have been introduced better, sooner.  What I mean by that is that in the beginning of the book, the characters were not very well described, so for a bit, I was confused about some aspects of some characters.  Also, but this is a more personal preference, I don't like those kinds of extreme romances like the one portrayed in this book.

I would definitely recommend this book to a friend or anyone who is okay with a little swearing and is ready for a good read.

A new student review of Divided by Elsie Chapman

ongsai posted a new student review of Divided by Elsie Chapman. See the full review.

In my opinion, this book is an interesting and engaging story. One of the things I liked about this book is that you never really know when the action stops. There is a part when West is about to fulfill one of her contracts but then she does something that made me think "Oh, she's in trouble." Then there was another part where her contracts are fulfilled and you think that she can get some time to relax, and then another problem barges its way into her life, just like that. Then the book moves into her fixing the problem and that's another scene in itself. The continuous action twists you around and pushes you down different paths of the story you never would've thought about.

Also, I liked the concept of twins that Elsie Chapman uses. There are plenty of twin based stories out there, or books that have twin characters in them, and they are all similar in some ways. The twins were separated at birth, then reunited; the twins were separated at birth, then try to kill each other; the twins are competing for power, the twins are magically connected somehow and are super powerful together, etc, etc. But this is a twist on the typical twins story, making it a situation of survival of the fittest, which is an interesting concept when you think about it. 

However, with all the twists and turns of the story, many of the details, weren't really detailed enough. Kersh is a new place , kind of like a modern day city, but I just couldn't get the feel for it. The setting, the fights, and the characters were all described in some kind of a vague fashion, which made it hard for me to connect to the story.

All in all, if you like futuristic books, then you just might like this one. It has the action to keep you on your toes, the romance that is not a lot, but enough to keep you satisfied that "they are a couple", however, personally, I'm glad the author did not focus on the boy-girl relationship. This book has a great  inner conflict, and the fight against the government that will make you think as you read.

A new student review of Warriors From Beyond by W.F. Blusheire

jotaf posted a new student review of Warriors From Beyond by W.F. Blusheire. See the full review.

Warriors From Beyond: Rise of the Empire wasn’t as good a book as I had hoped it would be.  There were a lot of things that confused me.  For example, one of the characters supposedly dies in the book, and not long after is up and about again.  I wasn’t exactly sure what to think about that.  Was she resurrected?  Was she not really dead?  I couldn’t figure out what the author was trying to convey.  In addition, a prophecy was told multiple times in which it was said that five warriors will save Beyond.  However, throughout most of the book, there are six warriors.  I think there was a really good idea behind the book, and the descriptions were fairly vivid, but I feel that it could have turned out better than it did. 

I did like that there was lots of action which spiced the book up considerably.  I just wish that the parts of the book that didn’t have as much action lived up to that.  I would recommend this book to ages 13 and up.

A new student review of The Hounds of Set by Troy A. Carrington

Jonah Ross posted a new student review of The Hounds of Set by Troy A. Carrington. See the full review.

Overall I thought that this was an excellent book.The book is full of action and is quite intriquing. The plot is very well done. I like how the author throws in just the right amount of twists and turns in the plot to make it interesting, but not so many that it has no cohesive storyline. The book is rather grabbing and hard to put down. I did find that there were some parts that were slightly too fast paced, but overall I really liked the book.  I would recommend this book to people who like historical fiction especially about Ancient Egypt.  I would also recommend it to people who like action stories.

A new student review of The Choosing Time by Donna Tesiero

thudson36 posted a new student review of The Choosing Time by Donna Tesiero. See the full review.

I thought The Choosing Time by Donna Tesiero was an interesting novel that provided a great balance of romance and history. The story moved along at a nice, quick pace, and I never found myself bored. I liked watching the relationship between Giselle and Jean develop, and I couldn’t help but root for them. Even though Giselle lived in the 16th century, I could still easily relate to her and her problems.

This novel was well thought out. It is obvious the author thoroughly researched the time period and how its society functioned. However, sometimes the facts and information were overabundant. In the back of the book is a glossary that explains words and phrases used that were unique to the setting. This was a great idea, and it helped me have a stronger understanding of the novel. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to others.

A new student review of Busy Dizzy (Inspirational bedtime story for kids ages 4-8) by Dr. Orly Katz

BG posted a new student review of Busy Dizzy (Inspirational bedtime story for kids ages 4-8) by Dr. Orly Katz. See the full review.

Busy Dizzy wouldn’t be my first choice of a children’s book. It does, however, hold some nice and pleasant qualities. The nice pictures and simple, good rhymes would be enjoyable for children. The teacher, Miss Young, suggests a cute way in which they learn to handle their problems. This story would be good for children who can relate with the characters.

A new student review of Awakening (Hope Trilogy #1) by Lauren Ashley

piercelg posted a new student review of Awakening (Hope Trilogy #1) by Lauren Ashley. See the full review.

I enjoyed this book a lot, though at first I was slightly bored with it. After reading on, this book had a good mixture of fighting, love, and intensity.  The plot was well written and it kept me interested for the most part. All of characters were involved, leaving no character in the margins. This was a fairly fast-paced book. There was at least one fight scene in every other chapter, which in my opinion kind of didn't allow for much fluctuation in suspense levels. But overall, Awakening was a bold, amazing story about breaking out of your shell.

A new student review of RedEye: Fulda Cold by Bill Fortin

TrickyCrow posted a new student review of RedEye: Fulda Cold by Bill Fortin. See the full review.

The format of this ficitonal book is separated by headings that contain a place, date and time.  The details of this book are heavy in military terminology and history.  Frequent footnotes explain many of the terms that I would not have known otherwise. As useful as the footnotes were, they distracted me from the main text. Also, it felt like the beginning of the book was broken up and did not have great flow or transitions. It did eventually smooth out and become more fluid, yet not quickly enough for me.

This book did not engage me as a reader. The book felt more like a nonfiction narrarative, than a work of fiction.  Although this book describes the military path well, and with great accuracy, it was difficult for me to connect with the main character of the story.  However this might be an interesting read for someone who had been in the military or someone interested in going into it. 

A new student review of Look Both Ways in the Barrio Blanco by Judith Robbins Rose

lovereading posted a new student review of Look Both Ways in the Barrio Blanco by Judith Robbins Rose. See the full review.

Look Both Ways in the Barrio Blanco gives readers an inside view of Jacinta’s life. The book definitely shows the hardships, but one of the best parts of the book is seeing Jacinta make her dreams come true. This encourages readers to be curious and explore new opportunities. I enjoyed reading about the friendship that developed between Jacinta and Miss. This book will certainly give readers a different perspective and a glimpse of what another person’s world is really like.