Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World Of Food: Brains, Bugs, and Blood Sausage by Andrew Zimmern

Have you ever considered eating a beating frog heart or worm filled cheese? For most of us, the answer is no. For Andrew Zimmern, these are both tasty snacks.  Zimmern is a true foodie and aims to find good local food, where you least expect it. In this book, the Bizarre Foods host explores the world of food and travel, one bite of brain at a time.

This book seems like it would be page after page of disgusting depictions of nasty pots of moose jelly and head cheese, but its more like a behind-the-scenes journal. There are a lot of gross dishes, but its more a natural extension of the Travel Channel show Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. Overall, its pretty light reading, broken into chapters each describing a food adventure. Zimmern has a strong, adjective- heavy voice. He has a true passion for food and it carries through in his writing. I liked the little fun facts sprinkled throughout that give a bit of insight about a culture or type of nosh.  I think this book would be best read on vacation, where you need no emotional characters or twisting plot, just a good read that may inspire you to seek out an exciting meal.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Crescent City, CA USA

Dragon Castle by Joseph Bruchac

Why is Prince Rashko the only intelligent being in his family? No one knows. His parents mysteriously rode off in the middle of the night. His lovesick brother welcomed the Baron Temny and Princess Potenshenie - who may be their fiercest enemies - inside the protective walls of their castle, Hladka Hvorka.  However he may find help in the story of his ancestor Pavol the Good and his slaying of the seven Dragons. As he follows Pavol's story he finds there's much more to him and this castle than meets the eye. It is also possible that Rashko is the foolish one.

At first I had trouble with some of the words as the characters use some Slovak in their speech. Though as I eventually figured out, it translates the foreign words into English next to the Slovak words, and if you still don't understand, there is a glossary in the back. It was entertaining from the beginning through to the very end. All of the characters are deep and it makes them so real, even the bad guys! I believe we all have a mini Baron Temny and Princess Poteshenie inside of us and this is a perfect way of showing this. I recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy, especially on the subject of Dragons.

Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Rockwell City, IA USA

Nashoga: Book 1 of the Redstone Series by Rebecca Weinstein

In this book, a wolf named Nashoga has been driven from his pack by a rival wolf and his minions.  He makes friends and travels far on his quest for justice.
In this book, the auther tells the story through the eyes of an alpha wolf named Nashoga.  I enjoyed the uncertainty, the way you couldn't tell what would happen next. My favorite detail was how she described everything. I could see it as clearly as if I was there. I was, however, depressed and disappointed by the ending, which made several paragraphs earlier in the book pointless.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: woodbine, maryland USA

OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy

A Jewish girl at a Christian debate camp; what could go wrong? Ellie Taylor never thought that her religion would pose a problem at camp, but when an opportunity arose for her to gain a full scholarship to Benedicts, the school of her dreams, she started to rethink everything. With the help of Devon, the scholarship benefactor's grandson and her sizzling new crush, she might be able to pull the wool over his grandma's eyes. But when her deceit is made known and her family starts falling apart, Ellie might lose everything and everyone she loves. OyMG is right!
OyMG is a hilarious and fantastic addition to my library of books. Amy Fellner Dominy has written a story that shows kind of what life is like for teens during their first crushes. It also helps people, especially the teens of today, understand what can happen when people are prejudiced and don't respect others religions. It's a wonderful lesson that is put into a magnificent storyline. I can't wait to have my friends read it!

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: fresno, California USA

Accidental Ashes by Sara C. Roethle

'Accidental Ashes' is a top-notch fiction-fantasy novel written like a mug full to the brim with warm coffee - creamy with creativity and rich with reality. And everyone loves coffee.

In her previous book, Xoe Meyers, an extreme coffee lover of 17 years, is thrust into a realm she thought never existed; one completely built out of myths and legends. Her friends are vampires and werewolves, evil is lurking behind every corner, and nothing, absolutely nothing, is what it seems. Then again Xoe is thrown into a world of questions when she is cursed to bare the title 'half demon' upon her back.

The story continues in 'Accidental Ashes' when Xoe's powers begin to reveal themselves. She can burn things when she is angered - which seems to happen more frequently now - and her body seems to just mend itself when hurt. On top of it all, Xoe's father, who abandoned her as an infant, seeks out Xoe to warn her about more evil, coming closer and closer by the day. All collides in a fierce, illuminating birth of flames, as truth, dreams, and reality are spun together in an everlasting whirlwind, revealing the dark secrets from beyond.

If you're looking for a phenomenal fiction novel, Accidental Ashes will attract with its twists between haunting drama and uplifting levity. Sara C. Roethle begins and completes each chapter to perfection with the exactly the right proportion of apprehension, sense of evil entanglement and admirably, astonishing perception. I simply relished this absorbing fiction novel.

Content: 1
Rating: 9
Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Akron, Ohio The United States of America

Dark Passage by M. J. Putney

     In the romantic sequel to Dark Mirror, the gang is finally back in their own time period, only to face drama back home.  Tory and Allarde get closer together, but they get torn apart ton to a levitating mishap which gives Torys magic away to Allarde parents. He is to be disowned if he stays with Tory, so she does the brave thing and leaves him, with a huge hole torn in both their hearts. Cynthia is left at school for the holidays and finds a companion in Jack. She dines with, dances with, and even shares a Christmas kiss with him. But Cynthia being the daughter of a duke is turned off by his poor status. Can she overcome to love him? The group then goes on another adventure through the mirror to help Nick in 1940. They need to rescue a scientist who was inventing a medicine that one of nicks family members needs desperately. Can they do it in time? Will the Irregulars ever solve their relationship dramas? Read Dark Passage to find out.
    This book was dreamily romantic, with a couple dashes or drama and a splash of adventure.  It was a fun read. I would probably recommend it to girls my age, not to many boys though. Even though this book was very sweet and romantic, that was pretty much the whole of the story. Not as much adventure as I thought there would be. I really loved the characters in the book, especially Jack with his fun and teasing nature. Overall this book was fun and sweet, and definitely worth the read.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leawood, Kansas USA

The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson

The Friendship Doll tells the story of early America's relationship with Japan. They sent us 58 dolls as Ambassadors of Friendship, and this book follows the path of one doll, Miss Kanagawa. She traveled from New York to Oregon, visiting the Chicago's World Fair and many museums all during the time of the Great Depression. However, Miss Kanagawa's life of traveling from museum to museum was cut short when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. She was declared unpatriotic and was to be destroyed or hidden. In the story, she appeared one last time to cheer up the old lady who last knew her many years ago, but to this day her actual location is unknown.
In my opinion, The Friendship Doll, is a good book, but a bit confusing. As the book follows Miss Kanagawa's journey as an ambassador doll from Japan to the United States of America, the story line jumps around a bit. As Miss Kanagawa travels, she meets young girls, and the changing of the main character, from one young girl to the next is what makes this book confusing to me. This book takes place in the past, so while children might not realize it, they are actually learning American history. All in all, I think this is a wonderful book, and any young girl who enjoys more of a fantasy type book will definitely enjoy The Friendship Doll.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Nappannee, Indiana United States of America

A Million Miles from Boston by Karen Day

Lucys mom died when she was six, so she lives with her dad and brother in Boston, where the worlds most annoying boy, Ian Richards, just happens to live. She cant wait to get away for the summer at Peirson Point. She and her family have been going to the point ever since she was little, and it hasnt really changed. But, as soon as they arrive, news is brought to them that a new family is spending the summer, and it just happens to be Ians family. How could Lucys summer get any worse? How about her dads new girlfriend constantly coming up to see him? Her summer is a complete disaster, until she finds an unlikely friendship with Ian. And is her dads girlfriend really so bad?
I liked how the author made you feel like you were right there in the book. You could get a good picture in your head of what everything looked like. I felt like I could understand the characters easily.  I found the book very interesting. I thought there was too much information sometimes, but it was still good.

Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Lake City, Iowa US

The Resisters by Eric Nylund

 Ethan was torn from his home, the only place he had ever known. Fed an unbelievable story by Madison and Felix and then realized that he was fed a lie his entire life. So he joins the resisters--a group fighting the Chzar with mechanical insects. His ride is a hornet. The only problem is they almost have his sister.  He goes on a mission to save her and others.  
I think the author did a really good job writing The Resisters. The detail of his world makes you feel like youre there as Ethan, fighting for your life and the life of the planet. It stands out from other books that I have read.  One of the ways it stands out is the aliens unique bug-robots including spiders and ants.  When describing the ant, the author wrote But the thing that made Ethan involuntarily scoot back in fear was the stinger that extended from its rear.  It was six feet long&smoldering with heat.  And pointed at Ethan.   You could easily make a video game out of the idea. Many kids and teens would like this book. The only thing I didnt like about this book is how short it is and how there isnt a second book out yet. If you read it and like it then you should like The Roar by Emma Clayton. I recommend this book to people 10 and up.



Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Uxbridge, Ma USA

Dark Eden by Patrick Carman

I thought that Dark Eden, by Patrick Carmen, was a most enjoyable read. The plot line features a group of seven children who are struck with completely debilitating fears. These seven children are all the same age, and are all seeing the same therapist, Dr. Stevens. Dr. Stevens recommends a place called Fort Eden to help them with their terror. The story follows one of the children, Will, a fifteen year old teenager who already knows everything about the other people- and Fort Eden. The reason behind this is that he has hacked Dr. Stevenss computer and borrowed the files on it. He knows that something is amiss about the place, so he hides and refuses to enter. His hiding place is a place just outside the fort called The Bunker. In his race to find out what is wrong with Fort Eden, Will tries to save the girl he has been secretly watching for a long time, ever since the sessions with Dr. Stevens before Fort Eden. But will Will be able to save her, and deny her the cure, or will he even be able to save anyone? It will be impossible to stop reading once you get going.
I enjoyed reading Dark Eden, but it had large draw backs as well that made it hard to read in some places. Even though it had problems it was a very easy story to get swept away in.  It had a good story line, fantastic characters that are really very easy to relate to, and a most puzzling dilemma. One of the draw backs I thought held the book up was that it seemed to be pushing hard for a creepy, slightly scary theme, but never really achieved it. Whenever it got a little bit scary, it always killed the suspense by adding good or happy elements to the book. The angle in which the story is written is through the observers eyes. I enjoyed this because I have never read a book like that, it was rather interesting. The other major drawback in the book was the explanation. The story seemed to branch out into a completely different story when it finally explained everything. The explanation never even seemed like it was trying to flow with the rest of the story. It almost seemed like the author took the easy way out. It was such a good book, and the story was so well written, however, that it I could not stop reading this book once I picked it up. This book may have flaws, but if you focus on them, you can never enjoy this book as what it is, a good read.  

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Monrovia, MD USA