Lorenzo and the Turncoat by Lila and Rick Guzman

Lorenzo and the Turncoat, by Lila and Rick Guzman, is about Lorenzo Bannister, a former member of the Continental Army, now a doctor. The book starts out as a British general, Robert Hawthorne, is throwing a party in honor of the British Army's latest victory. In the middle of the party, a messenger bursts in, telling Hawthorne that his cousin has been hung for treason by Colonel Galvez, leader of the Spanish Army, in New Orleans. Hawthorne sets out for New Orleans on a mission to clear his family name. Meanwhile, Dr. Lorenzo finishes a pleasant lunch with his fiancee, Eugenie, and heads to work. When he arrives, he meets with a most curious patient, Charles Peel. Charles has been having strange migraines. After prescribing Charles some "medicine," Lorenzo walks home as a hurricane is starting to brew. Unfortunately Lorenzo is approached by Colonel Galvez, who notifies him that Eugenie has been kidnapped! Will Hawthorne clear his family name? Will Lorenzo rescue Eugenie? Read Lorenzo and the Turncoat to find out!

I thought Lorenzo and the Turncoat was a great book even though it is not of the usual Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre that I usually enjoy. The book was filled with historical events, times, locations, and people, which was interesting. The only thing I did not care for in the book was the excessive detail in places. But all in all it was a really good book. I would recommend Lorenzo and the Turncoat to anyone who enjoys reading about the Revolutionary War or who liked the book Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation, by M. T. Anderson.

There were some references to sex and sexually transmitted diseases that parents (or teachers) might want to be aware of.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Saugerties, NY USA

Lorenzo and the Turncoat by Lila and Rick Guzman

Lorenzo and the Turncoat, by Lila and Rick Guzman, is about Lorenzo Bannister, a former member of the Continental Army, now a doctor. The book starts out as a British general, Robert Hawthorne, is throwing a party in honor of the British Army's latest victory. In the middle of the party, a messenger bursts in, telling Hawthorne that his cousin has been hung for treason by Colonel Galvez, leader of the Spanish Army, in New Orleans. Hawthorne sets out for New Orleans on a mission to clear his family name. Meanwhile, Dr. Lorenzo finishes a pleasant lunch with his fiancee, Eugenie, and heads to work. When he arrives, he meets with a most curious patient, Charles Peel. Charles has been having strange migraines. After prescribing Charles some "medicine," Lorenzo walks home as a hurricane is starting to brew. Unfortunately Lorenzo is approached by Colonel Galvez, who notifies him that Eugenie has been kidnapped! Will Hawthorne clear his family name? Will Lorenzo rescue Eugenie? Read Lorenzo and the Turncoat to find out!

I thought Lorenzo and the Turncoat was a great book even though it is not of the usual Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre that I usually enjoy. The book was filled with historical events, times, locations, and people, which was interesting. The only thing I did not care for in the book was the excessive detail in places. But all in all it was a really good book. I would recommend Lorenzo and the Turncoat to anyone who enjoys reading about the Revolutionary War or who liked the book Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation, by M. T. Anderson.

There were some references to sex and sexually transmitted diseases that parents (or teachers) might want to be aware of.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Saugerties, NY USA

Kiss and Blog by Alyson Noel

Winter and Sloane have been best friends FOREVER. They grew up as neighbors and even when Sloane moved to a different area of town, they still maintained their constant friendship. The summer before sophomore year, both girls decide they are tired of being at the C table, they want to be popular; they want to join the A table girls. As the year begins and Sloane is becoming more and more popular, Winter realizes she has lost the opportunity to become popular and she has also lost her best friend. Struggling through, Winter finds herself with a new group--people she can really call friends. Kiss and Blog by Alyson Noel is a novel about friendship and love and what is worth fighting for.

A fun and easy to read book, Kiss and Blog is the perfect summer novel. A book filled with drama and organic smoothies, Winter is a great protagonist, a realistic and free-loving girl. She takes you along for a wild ride during the fall and winter of her sophomore year and you will find yourself turing each page in anticipation. Although not a "metally challenging" book, Kiss and Blog is a great book to blow off some steam and hit the beach.

Content:2This book contains minor drinking, smoking, and some strong language is used.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Concord, Massachusetts United States

Bad Girls Club by Judy Gregerson

In a family torn apart by a mom’s mental illness, Destiny and Cassidy are the ones who have to suffer. All is calm when their mom is in her right sense. But now she is increasingly becoming more and more delusional. And memories continue to haunt Destiny. Memories she had been ordered to forget. Destiny needs to get out of the house before she goes crazy; the darkness is coming for her. It’s already grabbed Cassidy, and Destiny doesn’t know what to do to get the darkness to relinquish its hold. She sees the effects that it has on her mother. And it isn’t good. Will they make it out of the house alive? Or will they be prisoners of the darkness forever?

I can use one word to describe this book. Shocking. The fact that the dad won’t believe that any thing is wrong is just truly horrifying. And the story that happens at Crater Lake is just… Shocking. That is the only word I can say to describe this book. But Judy Gregerson also wrote this book very well, making it even better. I never wanted to stop reading this book, and stayed up until midnight to finish this book because it was so wonderful. Perfect for a summer read, and perfect for anyone to read. I think it will appeal to anyone. One of the best I have ever read.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10

Reviewer Age: 12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Casa Grande, Arizona United States of America

Quantum Prophesy: The Awakening by Michael Carroll

Ten years ago all the superhumans disappeared fighting Ragnarök and his super battle tank. In Great Britain on the tenth anniversary of Mystery Day marking the day when all superhumans disappeared Colin Wagner and his friends Danny Cooper and Brian McDonald are hanging out when Danny moves inhumanly fast to save Brian's sister from being hit by a bus. Colin is shocked when he finds out about his parents past and that they were some of the most famous superheoroes along with Danny's dad. Soon after finding out that all superhumans retired or disappeared because Ragnarök created a power damper machinge Colin's powers start to manifest. Kidnapped along with Danny and his parents Colin is sent to Florida where he begins to control his new found powers of superhearing and superstrength. Escaping form his captors Colin is stranded all alone in Florida where he meets up with a car thief who helps him meet the former superhero and friend of his parents' Paragon. Trying to rescue his parents and his best friend from rerising villains and old heoroes Colin has to cross a foreign country all by himself.

Quantum Prophesy: The Awakening by Michael Carroll is a very good book. Not many books except fo comics recently actually had specific super heroes, normally they are just the protagonist vs. antagonist. I enjoyed the twists in the plot that were unexpected and the not completely obvious characterization like when Victor Cross was being introduced the author said how he typed really fast and the keys were almost all worn out except for delete and backspace. This book is good for mainly guys because it has some plot to it and has a few action/fighting scenes. I also like how they have unusual superpowers most of the time there is superstrength and flight, but in the book Danny Cooper slows down his perspective of time. Overall I really enjoyed reading Quantum Prophesy: The Awakening by Michael Carroll.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9

Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Eastchester, New York United States of America

Dragons From The Sea by Judson Roberts

The book Dragons from the Sea is set in the year 845. The main character is a "beardless youth" named Halfdan. Halfdan really wants to become a soldier on a ship and go raiding, but many people don't take him seriously because of his youth. Then he meets a captain of a very fine ship and impresses him with the shooting of his bow. The captain agrees to let him join his crew. Halfdan then learns that all the ships and soldiers are going south to the Franks to make war. Will he prove his worth to the rest of the crew in Frankia?

With the book referring to the Vikings I really enjoyed its fictional and historical values. The book was exciting up to the very last page. I definitely thought it was good the book was written in first person. Since it had only one main protagonist you were able to understand his feelings and get to know him better. If you are in to the medieval set books you'll like this. You can also check out the author's website, www.strongbowsaga.com, to find out more about the Vikings and the times they lived in.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9

Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Chambersburg, Pennsylvania U.S.A.

Life As It Comes by Anne-Laure Bondoux

Fifteen year old Mado is in a tragic situation. She has lost both her parents in a car accident and now lives in the hands of her twenty year old sister, Patty. Mado has always been more responsible than Patty and the two sisters balance each other--fun and loving, responsible and hardworking. Life has no true direction, the sisters are just attempting to move through their loss. That is, until Patty tells Mado she's pregnant. Issues must be taken care of and the two sisters head off the the country to spend some time away from Paris before Patty gives birth. There they fall in love with two Dutch boys and Mado lets loose and has fun. The peaceful times come to a close when Patty's baby arrives. This story is about a young girl who is influenced by the circle of life much more than anyone around her. A story about love, death, and peace, Mado juggles the things in her life that are the most important.

This book was great! Mado was a wonderful character, she discovers the true nature of living. Anne-Laure Bondoux brings her readers along for a wild ride in an unexpected adventure of two young girls trying to survive on their own. I couldn't put the book down--I was intrigued from the start. Patty was a fascinating character whom you found yourself loving and hating--just like any older sister, and Bondoux created wonderful and beautiful images of the French countryside in my mind. It was a great read, I will hope everyone gives it a try!

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9

Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Concord, Massachusetts United States

Skate by Michael Harmon

Morrison High in Spokane, Washington has no place for anyone but the sports teams. Ian McDermott is a punk skater. His little brother Sammy is a fourth grader who is slow in school and doesn't do well. Ian has to keep up in school and care for Sammy everyday. When Ian was four years old, his father left his home. Then, Sammy was still developing in his mother, and she was starting to smoke crack. They struggle to simply eat because their mother leaves no money for them, even on the rare days she is home. Finally, when Ian punches his gym teacher for being a jerk, they run away. They try to run away to see their father in Walla Walla, Washington. When they meet him he sets things straight for both Sammy and Ian. However there are many challenges in between.

I absolutely loved this book. Michael Harmon started his first book off extremely well. The characters show so much feeling, thought, and emotion. Skate was a very easy read and a page turner. This book reminded me of Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt. They both had kids that were running away due to their mothers and encountered many struggles along the way. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about odd kids fitting in with others or adventures.

This book mentions drugs, violence, and has some swearing in it.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8

Reviewer Age: 13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America

The Choice by Gloria Skurzynski

Ever since Corgan escaped his mortal enemy, Brigand, by fleeing the Florida domed city, he's felt haunted. He's haunted by the fact that Brigand is still in power in Florida, torturing innocent citizens (including Corgan's friend Thebos), but above all by the bitter memory that he ran away from Brigand rather than staying to fight. Corgan believes he mad the right choice at the time, but now he wants to face Brigand in one final battle. His passengers in the stolen zero-gravity spaceship- Sharla, Ananda, and Cyborg- have different ideas. Tired of arguing, Corgan chooses to land the ship in the only place he has ever been happy. But even there disaster follows him, until Sharla reveals a secret that gives him hope-hope that he can once again become the hero he was meant to be. This time, Corgan intends to stand up to Brigand, win or lose, in a fight to the death. This Thrilling sequel and conclusion to the Virtual War Chronologs has been eagerly awaited by Gloria Skurzynski's many fans.

The Choice by Gloria Skurzynski follows the story of Corgan and his companions on their quest to defeat his best friend's evil twin brother. All the the loose ends are neatly severed and most questions are left answered in a nice finale way. This book is pretty interesting and nice for a final book. My only complaint is that this book is basically a 200 page filler. A large portion of the book the main characters spend on a deserted island trying to resolve a minor minor minor problem that has no consequences whatsoever to the final outcome of the book. Another large portion of the book is reserved for the petty talk the main characters have after they save the world, which is really really tempting to skip. Another part of the book the characters spend time recalling all the events that took place in the previous book which, if you are reading this book, you apparently have some prior knowledge of the other books in the series. Wait, I almost forgot similar to how the author almost forgot to add the one page final action scene in where Corgan defeats his greatest adversary.

Overall this book could have been squeezed into the third book and nothing would have been lost. For those who have read the other books in the Virtual War series I would recommend this book to you. For those who have not read the previous book in the series I would not recommend this series book to you, but in all fairness you cannot rate a whole series based on only one book. In my opinion the Virtual War Chronologs in a whole is very much worth reading.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 5

Reviewer Age: 17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Starkville, Mississippi United States of America

Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel

Matt Cruse, now a part of the Airship Academy, is sent on a week-long voyage with the Flotsam, a dirty ship with a sullen crew and a mentally-unstable captain. The captain orders the ship into a raging storm, and as they plow through, they get a glimpse of the famous Hyperion, a ship known to have untold wealth aboard. Matt plots the coordinates and when he returns home, he sets off with Kate de Vries and a mysterious gypsy girl to recover the ship. In the air they meet deadly pirates searching for the Hyperion as well, and dangerous air beasts. With only his friends and his wits to help him, Matt must beat the pirates, survive the beasts of the sky, and sort out his confused feelings for the girls.

This story handles characters very well. Each of the characters seem real and relatable, even if the particular character was a villain. The conflicts they encounter are plausible, even though the setting itself is not real, and the descriptions are well-crafted. The story moves along at a fast pace, keeping your eyes glued to the pages long after midnight. If you read Airborn, this story enriches the characters and completes the previous tale, but Skybreaker stands well alone, each reference to Airborn sufficiently explained. The romance is not overly dramatic or cliche, and Oppel keeps the reader aware that Matt is just a boy; he has no superpowers and the things he does are plausible because of it. Matt is a character that everyone admires, because he struggles with life but never backs down. This story is a great read, and something everyone should have on their shelves.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 9

Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Overland Park, Kansas United States