Dirty Little Secrets - C.J. Omololu

Can you imagine living in a dumpster? This is what life is
like for Lucy. With her mom's obsession of keeping useless
stuff and shoving it futher into her trash-compacted
house, Lucy has never been able to have friends in her
home. But things are turning around for Lucy. Her long-
time crush finally wants to date her and she is making the
popular girls envy her. But one day she comes home to find
her life completely turned around. How will she live a
normal life? You'll have to read the book to learn
her "Dirty little secret".

In my opinion, this book is crawling with mystery, horror, and sorrow. I found myself crying for Lucy as she struggled with her temperamental
mother. I never met a dull moment in this book. Secrets are a part of everyone's life, but Lucy possesses a secret that could never be matched. I also felt like I was in the cramped house, crying with Lucy. I could read this book over and over and never tire of it. C.J. Omololu has
created one of my favorite books.

It's scary.

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Panama City, Florida United States

The Family Greene by Ann Rinaldi

The Family Greene, by Ann Rinaldi, is a post-Revolutionary War book about the family of a well-known general who served second in command to George Washington. The two main characters are Caty Littlefield Greene and her daughter, Cornelia, whose stories are told in the two parts of the books. The book begins with Caty as she ventures out of her small world and into an exciting new life with her aunt, and then moves on to Cornelia, who is confused and upset after being confronted with the realization that she might not be her father's child. Throughout the book, Cornelia seeks to find the truth about her parentage while her mother, Caty, deals with struggles of her own. Readers will be captivated by this historical fiction account of two women's struggles to find a place in their family.

This book, while not my favorite by this author, was an interesting read. I enjoyed getting to know the two main characters, whose likeable personalities made me want to keep reading. The setting did not serve to spark my imagination, but I was still interested in the characters' surroundings. I thought the relationships between the characters were strong and believable, but I was left wanting a little more action besides what they did in their everyday lives. In my opinion, the quality of writing was the same as other books by this author, but the plot was a little lacking. I liked the ending, and I also enjoyed learning about the real family, the Greenes, who this book was based on. I would recommend The Family Greene to all historical fiction lovers, or anyone else who enjoys a story with strong female characters.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Bayside, WI U.S.

Shadowglass by Erica Hayes

In the dark fairyworld of the Shadowfae, hidden in the human world, Ice is just one fairy trying to survive the violence and catastrophe that surrounds her. The fairies are obsessed with clubbing, sparklies, and sex. Ice lusts after the hot metalfare, Indigo, a dangerous thief with a secret. When he turns her down, yet again, she throws herself into the arms of the demonlord, Kane. After a sultry night at his apartment, she leaves and steals a shiny mirror from his coat pocket. Soon, she and her friends begin to hear whispers after they looked in the mirror. The mirror shows Ice her counter-self, and it scares her deeply.

This dark and sultry novel kept my attention all the way through to the end. The storyline was exciting and kept me on the edge of my seat constantly wondering if the characters would figure out the mystery behind the mirror. The author made an exciting mix of romance, action, and psychology into this one novel. Although the storyline was intriguing, I was somewhat disgusted by the amount of sex scenes in the book. It seemed as though one was happening every other page. At the beginning of the book, I was reminded of Tithe by Holly Black because of the genre. However, Tithe is a more PG-13 alternative to the rated R Shadowglass.

Sex scenes

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Shippensburg, PA USA

Think Again by JonArno Lawson

Think Again makes you do just that (think again). Filled with short four-lined poems, this book keeps the mind intrigued while trying to guess at the deeper meaning in each one. The sometimes-puzzling poems get you thinking about the meaning of every word and are most enjoyable to read. Most of the lovely little poems are about mysterious young love and are very realistic. Every poem portrayed a unique mood, which kept the book interesting and guessing at what would come next. Each page has a cute well-drawn illustration that incorporates well with the poem. The author did a good job at using interesting words in every line to get the most appeal out of each poem.

I enjoyed reading Think Again and it was nice to pick up and read when I had a few extra minutes throughout the day. It was very convenient to read because it presented many different opportunities/places to stop at since it had a new poem on every page. I thought the poems were cute and pretty creative and the author did a good job at writing it. One thing I didn't like, however, was the shortness of the book. It didn't take very long to read and I was disappointed when I came to the end. I think Think Again would be great to take to the beach or just read before going to bed. It made me light-hearted and I got a few good laughs from this quirky book of four-lined poetry written by JonArno Lawson.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Upper Strasburg, PA USA

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

The novel Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready features a relatively normal girl named Aura, who has the ability to see and speak to ghosts, like everyone else born after the mysterious Shift. She lives with her Aunt, Gina, since her father is missing and her mother is deceased. On her boyfriend Logan’s birthday, due to excessive alcohol and drug consumption Logan dies during the after-party, which is supposed to celebrate his band’s success at a performance. However, Logan sticks aroundas a ghost. Aura becomes confused as her relationship with Logan continues, especially after meeting the peculiar Scottish Zachary, who has quite a lot of convoluted secrets. He helps Aura with her thesis, which involves Stonehenge, Newgrange, stars, and her deceased mother. Aura learns some surprising secrets about both Zachary as well as her mother.

Shade was a decently written novel with a mildly interesting plot and characters. It seems as if pretty much as if all of the supernatural beings, such as ghosts, werewolves, and vampires, have pretty much been written to death, but that does not stop even more from continuing to be published. While Shade had some unique characteristics, such as using obsidian and the color red to ward away ghosts, for the most part, the story-line and setting were not especially unique. I was intrigued by the strong and willful character of Aura, who kept going, even after her mother and boyfriend died and her father disappeared. Shade was a decent read, but it was definitely not a masterpiece.

Alcohol and drugs were part of the plot.

Reviewer Age:17

Reviewer City, State and Country: Charleston, SC USA

The Adventures of Jack Lime by James Leck

In this wonderfully written little novel by James Leek, the illustrious character of Jack Lime, self proclaimed private eye, is out to tackle his high school's biggest mysteries, from vanishing bikes to hamster hostages to missing brainiacs. There is no shortage of modern adventure or intrigue as our cool and confident protagonist Jack wanders about getting into all sorts of sticky situations. The book stands as a new sort of mystery novel, giving a youthful, fun take on the classic whodunit genre, throwing in just enough teenage romance and cliches to keep it light and fun. A short and sweet book that combines a mix of cleverly crafted characters and witty escapades, The Adventures of Jack Lime radiates mirth and mayhem.

"The Adventures of Jack Lime" uses convivial details to add to a solid, enjoyable plot. Leck uses his characters to add great panache to the tale, cleverly supplying the main character Jack with catchy sayings and endearing quirks. The book doesn't aim to be thoroughly thought-provoking, and instead intends to entertain and amuse readers, something it does well in its concise 126 pages. Written entirely in the first person, the book continually involves readers although it does not flow as one long tale. The book begins in the middle of the action and ends with the proper back story into Jack Lime's P.I career, but this backwards way of story-telling manages to work with Leck's atypical flare. The book goes down like a chilled glass of lemonade in the summer: tangy, refreshing, and just what you need to kick back and relax with. A nice read for middle and high school students, The Adventures of Jack Lime proves an easy yet highly entertaining novel that will keep you grinning with every page.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: South Pasadena, CA U.S.A

Birth Marked by Caragh M. O'Brien

Gaia Stone lives in a future world where she is a midwife alongside her mother. Gaia's world is divided in two, those who live inside the walls of the Enclave and those outside. Gaia is on the outside. Gaia serves the Enclave, as many do. Every month, the first three babies she delivers are brought to live inside the Enclave. When Gaia's parents are arrested for things Gaia believes they never did, she begins to question all she knows. Is life inside the Enclave really all its made out to be? Gaia has a choice, sneak into the Enclave and find her parents or live the rest of her life asking questions with no answers. Join Gaia as she learns the truth about herself, her parents, and the Enclave.

Birth Marked by Caragh M. O'Brien was a good book. Birth Marked is a little bit creepy because it takes place in the future and could possibly, but hopefully not, happen. The creepiness is part of what makes this book so good. The science in this book is about DNA. The scientists in the book have to check people's DNA to make sure no siblings marry each other. There were a few slow parts in the middle but other than that it was very interesting. O'Brien's writing style reminded me of Margaret Peterson Haddix's Among the Hidden books. I enjoyed both of these authors so if you like the Among the Hidden series, you will probably like Birth Marked. Overall, Birth Marked was a very interesting and captivating book.

This book is fine for young adults, but, since the main character is a midwife, there is a lot about giving birth in it.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Harleysville, PA USA

Worldshaker by, Richard Harland

Filthies are nasty. Filthies are dumb. Filthies aren't human. This is what Colbert Porpentine has grown up learning. But after a midnight visit from a Filthie, Col learns that he may have been lied to his whole life. As Colbert becomes more involved with the Filthie girl, Riff, his eyes are opened to the horrible injustice occurring on "Worldshaker," the juggernaut that Col and his family and many others live on. A revolution is rising. Relatives aren't what they seem, and Colbert Porpentine just might be in the middle of it.

This book was one of the best that I have read in a long time. It had a revolution, surprises, twists, turns, and just a little bit of romance. I kept turning page after page as fast as I could to get to the end. The author describes the juggernaut where the characters live with such vivid details that I think I might could navigate the structure! The part of this steampunk story that I liked the best, though, was when Colbert, the main character, realizes exactly what kind of person his grandmother and grandfather are. Let's just say nothing in this story is what you'll expect, but everything fits. ANYONE who gives this book a chance will love it. Guaranteed!

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Mineola, TX U.S.A.

The Gates by John Connolly

The book, The Gates by John Connolly,is a fantasy book
about a young boy, Samuel Johnson, and his dog, Boswell.
Not meant to necessarily be comic reading, the author
weaves the story with a funny twist, so as to render a
laugh or two in the process. Here is the plot of the
story. Samuel and his friends (and dog) happen to stumble
upon some strange activities going on at a neighbor's
house, just a few days before Halloween. The neighbors,
the Abernathys, while tinkering around with some
recreational devil-worshiping, just so happen to
mistakenly call forth Satan who ventures through a pair of
very large gates - the "gates" of Hell. It is then up to
Samuel and his friends to save the world from Satan and
his often funny demons by closing the gates before Satan
takes over the planet. The adults in his world don't
believe that the gates exist and that makes it harder than
ever to fight the battle.

Overall, I really liked this
book. I felt like the author brought me into the plot and
I could actually see myself as one of Samuel's friends,
running around with him and trying to save the planet.
I'm also a dog lover, so I easily identified with Boswell
and his keen senses and intelligence. As a follower of
many fantasy books, this one held my interest throughout
the entire story. There was enough of everything - scary
parts but not too scary, funny scenes, scientific
information (which I can identify with, too, since I am
interested in all types of science and experiments), and a
good, follow-along and kid-friendly story. I couldn't put
the book down for too long because I kept wanting to see
what would happen next. The characters were all developed
well and I could easily follow who did what and when. My
favorite characters were some of the demons. The story
flowed nicely and it wasn't too confusing like some books
can be. This book was probably one of my favorite to
review ever.

Reviewer Age:14
Towson, Maryland U.S.

Conspiracy 365: February by Gabrielle Lord

On December 31st Callum Ormond was told by a stranger to stay in hiding for 365 days, and that it had something to do with his father's mysterious death. After being framed for a crime Cal didn't commit, he's one of the most wanted teenage fugitives. Now its February and not only are the police after him but two dangerous gangs and worst of all he has no clue why. Relying on his best friend Boges, Cal must get to the bottom of what his father involved in, but who should he trust?

Since I read the first book I've been itching to read this one, and it lived up to my expectations. February's book went by really fast, but was still written very well and was overflowing with action and excitement. Even though I felt frustrated at the cliff hanger ending I still really applauded it. Before delving into this story, though, I recommend finding out how it all beganin Conspiracy 365: January. Ages 12 up.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: , New Mexico USA