Against The Tide by Hope Irvin Marston

This book is an inspirational story about a brave-hearted young lady. Based on a true story, you follow along with young Margaret as she is torn between her family and religion. She lives in a time of dragoons, kirks, unfair laws, and religious restrictions in 17th century Scotland. She is empowered to stay faithful to God but her life is threatened. With her true love and brothers off in hiding and her faith as strong as ever, will she do the unthinkable and run away with her younger siblings, or stay to keep her family safe? If she does leave, will she be caught?

Since the book was based on a true story it was more powerful. Margaret was very inspirational. I don't know how many girls could do what she did. I would recommend this to anyone would has just started reading historical fiction as well as those who have always loved historical fiction. This was not the most well written book but it was definitely a good book.

It has a few violent and disturbing thoughts and actions.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Germantown, TN United States

Rating: 10

Content Rating: 3

The Musician's Daughter by Susanne Dunlap

Maria Theresa lives in a place of murder and love otherwise
known as 18th-century Vienna. Her father turns up dead on
Christmas Eve, and the event does not help her pregnant
mother, little brother, or herself in any way. Theresa
finds a clue to her father's death when she notices the
gold pendant on his neck. Her friend Zolt￡n and godfather
Haydn help her overcome her struggle and sadness, and also
teach her about the secret life of her father. Meanwhile,
Theresa is learning more and more about her shifty uncle
and some interesting gypsies. Who exactly murdered her
musical father, and what role do they play in society?

An interesting mix of mystery, music, and romance is found in
The Musician's Daughter. The mixture of these genres
ensures that all kinds of readers will remain interested in
the book. I didn't particularly care for the musical aspect
of the story. However, the characters and plot were
interesting. A strength of the book is the multitude of
characters. However, after a while, I would forget which
characters were related and who was who. While it was a
good book, I didn't find myself always wanting to read it.
I recommend this book to readers interested in music and
mystery.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America

The Seems: The Split Second by John Hulme & Michael Wexler

The Seems: the Split Second is the sequel to the book The
Seems: the Glitch in Sleep. This is a fantasy book in
which two brave young people go on a Mission to Fix what
happened because of a Time Bomb, a bomb that can destroy
Time on earth. Fixer Becker Drane and Briefer Shan Mei-Lin
travel through other peoples Frozen Moments, moments people
will never forget, that are melting. When Fixer Drane
arrives at his own Frozen moment, he and Briefer Shan get
separated. From there, the story takes an exciting turn.
Whether it is broken Split Seconds or snow filled
landscapes, this story is sure to keep you turning the
pages.

This book is like no other. Even though it is not
a Harry Potter-type fantasy, it is a good book for fantasy
lovers. The beginning is a little slow, but once the ride
starts up, it doesn't slow down. When I got the book, The
Seems: the Split Second I tried to read the first chapter,
but it was very confusing. I went back and read the first
book and then it all made sense. I strongly suggest reading
the first book, The Seems: the Glitch in Sleep, first, like
I did.

Content Rating: 1
Rating: 9
Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Harleysville, PA USA

Trouble My Way

Karis Reed tries hard to be a godly person. She doesn't
mean to get into trouble; trouble seems to find her. When
Karis is busted for being at a boy's house unsupervised,
her mother takes away all of her electronics and grounds
her. Karis feels unjustly punished, and decides to take
matters into her own hands. Behind her mother's back,
Karis borrows her friend's cell phone which ends up being
a disaster and gets her into even more trouble. Will Karis
and her mother ever be able to get along? And can Karis
start acting like the good person she knows she is inside?

This book was okay. It was the author's first attempt
at writing young adult fiction and the writing showed her
inexperience. The premise of the story was good, but the
plot could use some doctoring. Parts of this book were
unrealistic and characters reacted to events differently
than what normally would be expected. Despite this, I
could tell that Karis was a good person even though she
got into all kinds of shenanigans, which is what the
author wanted to achieve. There were even some funny
moments that made me laugh. All in all, a good read that
could have been better with some more TLC.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Aston, Pennsylvania United States

Miley Cyrus by Brittany Kent

Miley Cyrus’s secrets and personal past, celebrity lifestyle, and much more, are revealed to you. With the help of this book, the reader ventures deeply into Miley’s world. This magazine style scrapbook is simple to read, yet informative. It is chock-full of photographs, fun facts, quotes, quizzes, and everything you ever wanted to know about Miley’s life.

This book served its purpose by presenting many surprising and interesting facts about Miley. I enjoyed the good advice on friendships and fashion, but was never truly engrossed in the hodgepodge of interview quotes. In my opinion, a complete interview might have been a better format. This book may best suit some of Miley’s super fans looking for the dish on their favorite star, but is not for her occasional admirers.

Reviewer Age:10

Reviewer City, State and Country: Cockeysville, MD USA

Book One of the Iron Elves: Darkness Forged in Fire

Konowa Swiftdragon is not your average elf; he was marked by the evil Shadow Monarch, was commander of the Iron Elves (a special branch of Her Majesty’s Military), killed a viceroy, and had his beloved Regiment disbanded. After his court-martial for killing the viceroy, Konowa was sent to the one place he hates the most, the forest. Now Konowa is called upon to reform the Iron Elves, but only as the second-in-command. However, the new Iron Elves are not his regiment from before. A legendary, magical Red Star falls from the sky and Konowa and the Iron Elves are in a race against several opponents to reach it first. If they fail to claim the Red Star, the empire may be doomed.

A Darkness Forged in Fire is a witty and tantalizing tale. I absolutely loved it! The characters are thought out and written well. The mood of the story changed depending on the situation; it was sarcastic and funny, but serious whenever the plot dictated. The main points of the story are well laid out and understandable. The text was very descriptive and enjoyable to read. This was an amazing read!

Sexual references and killing.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Shippensburg, PA USA

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Ever is sixteen and has been in an accident, where her family dies. After this tragic experence, Ever goes to live with her aunt and is presented with a new life. Most people would love it, but Ever just wants her life to be back to normal. Since the accident she can hear people's thoughts, see auras and know a person's life story by one small touch. Not only that, she can see her dead sister. Then Damen comes along and seems to be the cure to her weird gifts, yet there is something different about him.

I thought this book was very good! The author creates a great picture of each and every character in the book. I am a fan of the twlight series and I recommend this book to those who like the series as well. It is a very quick read, with all the interesting twist and turns in this book.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, PA USA

Need by Carrie Jones

Pixies have uncontrollable needs, and now one is stalking
Zara. Her step-father has just died, and she is living
with her step-grandma in Maine. At her high school, she
meets several friends: Issie, Devyn, and Nick. As she
learns more about them she also learns more about herself
and her phobias. As Zara gets accustomed to one fear, she
gains reason to add another to her fickle list. New
characters become involved frequently as Zara learns more
and more about the horrible nature of pixies. Who exactly
is after her, and what does he want from her?

Need was an exciting book to read because of the use of suspense.
The plot has great use of details and irony. This keeps
the reader interested and willing to continue reading. The
characters are not necessarily round, but they do display
significant traits that differentiate them from each
other. In the beginning of each chapter, it is named with
a phobia. I thought this was unique, but after a while it
didn't interest me and I stopped bothering to read them.
The resolution of the book was definitely worthy of
praise, and I loved the action that the climax had built.
This is a great book for suspense and romance lovers to
read.

Reviewer Age:15

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

Ancient Forces

Ancient Forces is another collection of Bill Myers exceptional stories from the Forbidden Doors series. This one includes books 10-The Ancients, 11-The Wiccan, and 12-The Cards.
The Ancients - Becka and Scott have been sent on another mission by their mysterious friend Z. This time to the mountains of New Mexico where a Native American cult has been greatly mislead in their teachings of religion. It is not only the Natives who are in trouble here though. When Scott is led astray by these new ideas, they are all placed in great danger.
The Wiccan - There is this new show on TV that everyone is watching called ”The Hex”. It has a lot to do with a type of witchcraft called Wiccan. But it's just a TV show, so everybody knows those things aren't real, right? Sarina, the star of the show, has been promoting this witchcraft as a type of healing practice and many of Becca's friends are captivated by it. Can she stop them before they get in too deep? Can she reach out to Sarina and show her truth?
The Cards - Philip, a close friend of Rebecca, has been going through a trying time in his life. Overwhelmed with stress, he turns to the tarot cards for a bit of insight into the future. But what do they really offer?

Once again I was very pleased with Bill Myers' book. Each story addressed a different way that demons may try to trick you into turning away from God. It reminded me to stay strong in my faith and not to be too open to new ideas. On a more critical note, however, I did not enjoy this collection nearly as much as the last one I reviewed, Invisible Terror. It was not as exciting for me, but that may just be personal opinion.
If you are interested in discussing or learning more about the Forbidden Doors series I highly suggest checking out this page: http://www.forbiddendoors.com/home.htm
Forbidden Doors
Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Osseo, Wisconsin USA

Cry of the Wolf by Rachel Roberts

Adriane has always shared a special bond with the
mistwolf Stormbringer. So when Storm finds out that she is
not the last of her kind and follows them to another
world, Adriane is determined to find the pack. Then she
finds that the Dark Sorceress has captured them. When she
meets an unexpected friend, they work together to free the
animals. But what is the mysterious rock that has been
following them around.

I was surprised that I still
understood most things without reading the second book in
the series. This book really describes where these sick
animals are coming from. I liked how the author had a
subplot including the mistwolves and the only other human
on Aldenmor. The book also explains how there is a safe
place, which is why not all of the animals on Aldenmoor
are infected with disease. I thought this was a good third
book in the series.

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Exeter , New Hampshire US