The King's Rose

A new and different approach to the Tudors and Henry VIII, Alisa Libby's The King's Rose tells the story of Henry's fifth wife, Catherine Howard. Cousin to Anne Boleyn, Catherine's story reveals her concerns with the marriage even before the king's proposal. Free from any glaring historical anomalies, The King's Rose builds upon real letters and testimonies to develop a love plot between Catherine and her cousin Thomas. The novel is structured around the contradictions of court life. Though outsiders to the situation may see her as greedy, this portrayal of Catherine focuses on her young age and responsibility, especially as her marriage is presented as a duty. In this way, The King's Rose tells the story of a teenage girl who perhaps isn't ready to become Queen, but who is thrown into the position regardless in order to protect her family interests and then must struggle to balance King Henry's interests with her own.

Considering my interest in history, I truly enjoyed reading The King's Rose. To my knowledge, the setting is accurate and well developed, though liberty was clearly taken with the romantic plot. I was pleased to note Libby's emphasis on the importance of family in early English society, between Henry's nightmares over his heir and Catherine's rise to Queen as critical to social status of the Howard lineage. Though I knew how the novel would end, I appreciated how Libby led into it. Like Catherine herself, the reader feels helpless to the control of the council and upon finishing will likely contemplate Catherine's decisions as I couldn't help but do. In addition to young adults, this novel is certainly accessible to an older crowd with an interest in the Tudor era and the many wives of Henry VII.

Reviewer Age:19

Reviewer City, State and Country: Farmington, CT USA

The Case of the Silk King

"The Case of the Silk King", one of the Choose Your Own Adventure Series, is a book of many adventures. In this story the reader is the main character. You, as the reader, are a detective and haven't had an exciting case in a year. You start with the same beginning by getting a plain brown envelope with no return address. It contains two one thousand dollar bills, a plane ticket, and a newspaper article. The article is about Jim Thomas. He works for the OSS and has now disappeared while visiting friends in Malaysia. As you continue you will have to decide what to do; such as, if you decide to leave for Bangkok tonight, turn to page 15. If you decide to put off your leave until you have more information, turn to page 6.

If you like adventurous books, you will be interested in The Case of the Silk King. I would recommend this book for ages ten and up. The hand drawn sketches are terrific and detailed. You never know what will happen next. Each character has their own individual personality. Mr. Sing is a sly man and Ning is a young friendly woman. I chose three different ways to find Jim Thomas. Out of the three different ways I chose two of them ended in disaster and one was sucessful. Each route is about fifteen pages long. I enjoyed this book very much and hope you do to.

Reviewer Age:11

Reviewer City, State and Country: Leopold, Missouri USA

The Way He Lived by Emily Wing Smith

Joel Espen was the nice guy of the community - always friendly, kind, and helpful. Everyone considered Joel to be a friend. So, when he unexpectedly dies of dehydration on a boy scout camping trip, the whole town of Haven is shocked and upset. In this heartbreaking novel, the six teens closest to Joel each explain their story and must learn to cope with Joel's death, and learn to live the way he did.

I was not impressed by this book at all. Since the novel has the point-of-view of six different teenagers, and each teenager takes turns narrating, the novel was choppy and unorganized. There was no plot, just six people rambling on about nothing very important. The characters didn't have any interaction with each other, and the author should have tried to tie them together better. The only saving grace of the book was the character of Joel, and he wasn't even alive. He seemed to be a good person, and a respectable role model for all teens.

Reviewer Age:16

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

Ariel's Journey by Doug Kane & Christy Wood

Ariel's Journey by Doug Kane and Christy Wood is a fantasy book. The book starts out in a 'normal' world with Kim and Emily, two sisters whose parents own Icelandic horses they keep behind their house. They are great friends with many girls, like Darcy, from the 4-H club that they attend. However, girls from the club often make fun of Kim and Emily for their love of the Icelandic ponies. After Emily gets into a fight with another girl from 4-H, Emily and Kim's mother decides to arrange for all the girls to go on an overnight trail ride in hopes they will bond. This begins an adventure that brings the girls to a 'fantasy' world where they will discover more about their horses and themselves.

I liked Ariel's Journey initially because it was about horses, a genre that I enjoy a lot because of my own horseback riding experiences. The characters were likeable and believable, as well as the relationships they share with their horses. However, after the girls transport into the other world I lost interest in the book. Instead of a page-turner, the book turns to a lot of description and I found myself flipping past many parts. I didn't feel satisfied with the way the author sums things up at the end of the novel. Many loose ends tie up quickly and without depth. I would recommend this book for horse loving children under the age of 12; however, I would not recommend this book if you are looking for a fast-paced adventure story.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Westerville, OH USA

The New York Yankees by Matt Christopher

The reason I love this book is because of all the facts that were given. I liked learning that the Yankees won 26 World Series and 39 pennants. Another fact given was when Babe Ruth called his shot to center field, and then on the next pitch he hit it right where he pointed! That was a really good story. I never knew the New York Yankees had such a history.

I loved the stats given at the end such as the Hall of Famers and their regular season results. I even keep stats myself, mostly of the Cardinals because they're my favorite team. It's fun to see what today's players like Albert Pujols are doing compared to the great players of years ago like Babe Ruth. This book will be enjoyed by many sports fans.

Reviewer Age:11
Leopold, MO USA

Faust

Faust is a book about the japenese culture of manga-ka. There are ten stories in this book. They are all different examples of how manga is different from english writing styles. Some are about being different and not following the crowd, and how it may affect a person's abilities later in life. Others tell about what can drive a person to suicide; and how one girl can save many others. This book includes stories by: Clamp, Takeshi Obata, Ueda Hajime, NISIOISIN, Yun Kouga, Take, and Kouhei Kadono. There is also an interview between Kinoku Nasu and the writers of the book, mostly asking questions to Nasu about his book The Garden of Sinners. If you thought this was a manga book, this is not the book for you.

To me Faust was a totally different from what I expected because I thought this was a manga book. For me it was hard reading a book that is about manga, and having parts of the books in it that I may have already read without the pictures. So of course like a normal book I had to picture everything that was happening. Also it was a little difficult to follow because all the different stories made it hard to keep up. Other than that I totally loved this book. I was fascinated with all the different styles of manga-ka.

because it has sexual content

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Casa Grande, Arizona United states

The Golden Tower by Fiona Patton

This book is about two boys named Spar and Graize. They both live in completely different worlds. They both have a demon/god. He is both children's demon and god. Graize wants to burn down Spar's city so he enlists the help of a different tribe. I thought I would really like this book, but I found it confusing.

You should not read this book until you have read the first one. It doesn't seem to make much sense by itself. Maybe I should have read the first book so I could understand what was going on in the story. The character names and cities seem to be difficult to say and remember. I don't really feel it's fair to say it's not a good book, maybe if I would have read the first one it would make more sense.
Age 12
Leopold, Missouri USA

Sandlot Summit by Fishman

Sandlot Summit is a great fictional story. It is about two teams [American and the Soviet Union]playing baseball. During 1984 President Regan and famous Russian General Kostilo' Boneface' Zolotov have young baseball players. Each team must battle for their own country.The teams are playing baseball instead of fighting a war. Whoever wins the baseball game wins the war.

I like the book Sandlot Summit because it is about baseball. I also like it because it is funny. I would recommend this book to a young reader ages 9-12. I would also recommend this book to a person who likes to read baseball or humorous books. I really enjoyed this book.

Age:11
Leopold, MO USA

Sam's Quest: The Royal Trident by Ben Furman

This is the second book in a series. Even though I hadn't read the first book,I could follow the action. Sam's Quest is a story about a girl who goes on a trip with her Grandpa's dog on the Crimson Crystal. Then, she meets up with a prince. Together they save King Kaylan from the Pax.

I love this book because it is action-packed and exciting. The author did a very good job of thinking of the adventures in the book. Also, it was clever how both Sam and Princess Digan looked exactly alike. Prince Buznor was very funny to me.

Age:11
Leopold, MO USA

Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka

This book is about a boy with five other brothers. He is the second born and they get in a lot of trouble together. They also have a lot of fun. They are average boys with average boy dreams. They like the Law Of The Pack promise because to them it means they should run around like a bunch of wild animals.

This book is action packed and realistic. My favorite part is that it is so funny. It is even hysterical at times. It tells about living with five other brothers. They even made up their own game called Slaughter Ball. In Slaughter Ball you jump on the guy with the ball. Boys like that kind of thing. The realistic humor is why I like this book.

Reviewer Age:11
Leopold, Missouri USA

The Return of the Light

The Return of Light is a great book. Treewing is tree that became a Christmas tree a year early. The Christmas deer said he had a special destiny. When they came for the trees, Treewing was taken. When he got to the lot,he was disappointed because he had been told wonderful stories about becoming a Christmas tree. This was not like the stories at all. Soon he realized he had to be sold to someone first to be able to be part of the wonderful Christmas Stories about becoming a Christmas tree. He waited and waited. He wasn't sold. A young boy named Luke had stopped by every day to see him. He had put an ornaments on Treewing that he had made at school because he didn't have a tree of his own to put it on. A woman named Peacock saw the tree with the ornaments and thought it was a sign that this tree was special. Of course, Lolly, the woman who owned the lot would take the ornaments off. On Christmas Eve, Lolly left the lot to go to the store. While she was gone, Peacock came by with a group of friends and started to decorate Treewing. When Lolly came back she was not very happy with what she saw. Treewing was all decorated for Christmas. Luke persuaded Lolly to join in the decorating fun by giving her a special baseball that his father had given to him. Treewing now knew that this was the special destiny the deer had been talking about. Treewing soon started to light up with a bright glow that everyone was amazed to see. He had brought the return of the light.

The Return of the Light is an awesome book. It has good details. I felt like I could see everything that was happening. It is not sad or scary. It is a very happy book. It is not an action/adventure type of book but it has a great story. It is a book full of surprises. I wish everyone would read it.


Age:12
Leopold, Missouri USA

The Comet's Curse by Dom Testa

Space travel? Enemy aboard ship? The human race depending on you? These are only a few of the problems Triana Marshall faces as she pulls away from earth with 250 other teenagers- none over the age of 16- in her command. Their mission is to save Earth from the quickly spreading disease that the comet Bhaktul is causing, the result of which is death. Will the young adults succeed? Or will human life cease to exist as we know it?

I've never been a huge fan of science fiction, but this book has forever changed my opinion. It was filled with a constant eerie mystery and a little hint of romance. What I liked most about this book is the description of character. It was like I had met each person in the book personally. Dom Testa did a wonderful job creating the sense of suspense, and character. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick entertaining, suspense filled read.

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Seaside, OR USA

The Haunting of Anne MacKay

The Haunting of Annie MacKay is more of a mystery than a scary story. It's about a young middle school girl named Annie MacKay. She and her parents are starving artists and they move a lot. Then the news comes that Annie inherits a house and the family moves into it. Annie begins to learn of the mystery of a girl named Annie MacKay (she's been named after this other girl.) The Annie from the past suffered a traumatic death and the Annie of today has to figure out how the other Annie died.

I enjoyed this book very much. It's very easy to read and it's a page turner. I couldn't put it down. I like mystery books and this one was great. The book demonstrates friendship, love and determination. I love the relationship Annie had with her parents. They told each other the truth no matter how ridiculous it may have seemed.

Reviewer Age:18
Reviewer City, State and Country: Newville, Pennsylvania Untied States

Beginner's Guide to Animation by Mary Murphy

Do you want to learn about animation? The Beginner's Guide to Animation has everything you need to know to start making animated features. Animation is basically the manner in how movement occurs; you have to move, modify, or replace an object, and then record a frame. By doing this many times you will create a visual appearance of the item moving. The first section contains a plethora of information on tools and all the technology you need to start. Part two explains how to use sand, pixilation, 2D animation, and more in creating a short film. Then the process explanation is completed, and you learn how to put the frames into a show reel and then turn it into a film.

This is a very helpful book on how to start animating and contains all of the information needed for beginners. I knew absolutely nothing about animation before reading this, and that proved not to matter. The different techniques and processes are explained well so that the reader knows exactly how to do them. I liked the diagrams and pictures that were used. If they were not there, then the information would be difficult to understand and comprehend. Now I can start to animate by using clay and all of the other materials the book suggests. I recommend this book to any person who wants to make films or animate.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Rating: 6

Content Rating: 1

Into the Wildwood by Gillian Summer

Next stop: the Wildewood Renaissance Faire. After destroying the evil Red Cap at the High Mountain Renaissance Festival, Keelie Heartwood and her dad head to the next faire for the hot summer months. Little does Keelie know, but she's in for a troublesome surprise. Keelie already has enough to worry about, such as why her boyfriend, Sean, hasn't gotten in touch with her, how's she's going to pay for the designer boots she bought, and the snotty elf-girl Elia that always finds a way to ruin her life, and then out of nowhere comes a unicorn that is good at enchanting her and becoming the center of attention in all of her thoughts. All of the elves, including her father, are seriously ill. Also, there is something seriously wrong with the trees; they are incessantly calling for her help and sending her negative green energy. Her father says that the unicorn is the ruler of the forest and his health is the trees' health. After coming into contact with the unicorn again, Keelie notices how quickly his health is ailing and realizes that she doesn't have much time if she's going to rescue the faire from its certain death and save the unicorn, the trees, and most importantly, her father. Will she be able to summon all of her courage and energy and save everything that she holds dear to her before it's too late?

I really enjoyed reading this wonderful sequel to the Tree Shepherd's Daughter, and I think that it was a really great novel. Gillian Summers is an amazing author and is great at holding the reader's attention. I really liked Into the Wildewood, but I was kind of disappointed at Sean's rare presence in this novel because he is one of my favorite elements and characters in this action-packed trilogy. The vocabulary was easy to understand and there were many new and exciting characters, which kept the story intriguing. I can't wait for the last book in this wonderful trilogy, The Faire Folk trilogy by Gillian Summers, and I recommend this wonderful book to teens, ages 12-16.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Upper Strasburg, Pennsylvania United States

Balancing Act by Donna King

Carli Carroll is your not-so-average gymnast. After all, being a genius on the mat means special training and possibly Olympic fame! But with Carli's not-so-genius report card and a life on the ranch, who has time for gymnastic glory? After knowing that she needs to contribute more time to her gymnastics life, Carli takes Saturday practices and works extra hard. When one old-time gold medalist turned gymnastic coach, Rick, wants to teach Carli the way to be a gymnastic star, she is afraid to ask her parents. But when Rick gets arrested for a reason no one can seem to understand, how can Carli chase her dreams when her life seems so unbalanced? Can she really go all the way, when one fall costs you your career?

The book was okay, but an easy read. At the end it went from angry to all of a sudden, her parents were accepting. They had been so against the gymnastics that, you thought that they would say no. It was really a dynamic character problem.

Reviewer Age:13

Reviewer City, State and Country: Oakville, Pennsylvania US of A

Alicia Afterimage by Lulu Delacre

Alicia Delacre was a normal, pretty, popular teenager. Her peers, teachers and parents adored her and she lived an untroubled life. All this was brought to a halt with one fatal car wreck. Alicia Afterimage is a collection of memoirs about Alicia. These memoirs come from her friends and family, the people who knew her best. These treasured memories are wound so perfectly together that they evoke emotion from readers with ease.

Alicia Afterimage is an emotional read. These memories of a loved one changed my own opinion on how to live my life. This was a relatively easy read; though the writing was not always perfect, the content was profound. Lulu Delacre also shares an intimate perspective considering that Alicia was her daughter and she integrates her own feelings. This book is an impressive must-read because of its thought-provoking themes. I would recommend this to anyone who is a mature reader, boys and girls alike.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Midlothian, Virginia United States of America

FLYGIRL by Sherri L. Smith

This book, FLYGIRL by Sherri L. Smith, is about an African-American girl a couple years out of high school in Louisiana in the 1940's, who has a passion for flying. After learning how to fly from her late father, she is intent on getting her pilot's license. To do that she works to save up enough money to go to the flying school in Chicago run by African-Americans where her father learned to fly. Then Pearl Harbor is bombed, and she feels that she has a duty to serve her country. When her brother finds an article about the WASP, the Women Airforce Service Pilots, she hopes to pass for a white woman so she will be accepted into the WASP and be able to live her dream to fly.

This is certainly one of the better books I've read. The mood changes constantly throughout the book ranging from joyful to sad to frightful. It is a very powerful and quite moving book that filled me with many emotions, and the way the author told the story made you seem attached to Ida throughout her thrilling journey. This book keeps you on edge and has surprises around every corner to catch you unprepared, although I wish the author had tied up the loose ends at the end of the book to leave you with a better sense of closure. Telling more about what happened after the story leaves off would have greatly improved this book, in my opinion; though I do recommend FLYGIRL to anyone who is looking for a good book to read and who would like to learn a little bit at the same time.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Yuma, Arizona United States

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I think this is one of the best books I have ever read. This story is so powerful that sometimes I laughed, and sometimes I cried, but I simply could not stop turning the page. If you had the choice to live or die, what choice would you make? I started asking myself this as I read If I Stay, by Gayle Forman. This book is about a High School girl named Mia who finds she must make that choice. The story is descriptive and I became submerged in the tale as if I were watching everything happen myself. A fun family snow day turns into a tragic winter car accident in Oregon that takes the lives of her family and leaves Mia in coma. She is outside of her body in this odd state, and soon finds out that it is her choice if she lives or dies. Mia can't be seen, but is somehow aware of what is going on around her and she can move freely through the real world. Mia witnesses the struggle of the people left in her life as they show their true feelings to her while she lies in her hospital bed fighting for her life. You also experience all the twists and turns of the flood of life memories being revisited by Mia and back to the present as she considers her choice. Although, this can be a bit confusing, it allows you understand in depth about Mia, her family and her life. What choice will she make? Will she stay, or will she give up and let go? Read the book to find out; I highly recommend it.

The book If I Stay, by Gayle Forman, makes you think and see that there is more to your every day life than you realize. The writing was very descriptive and was age appropriate for me. I liked how the book made me feel like I was in the story but struggled a bit with the change from life memories to present settings. I could relate to Mia's characture who played the Cello, as I play the Oboe and also enjoy music that is not always considered cool. I learned, like Mia, that there is more love in the world for me than just at home and how we probably don't think about the little things and how much people mean to us until they might be gone. I will definately recommend this book to my friends!

Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Mishawaka, IN USA

We Think Therefore We Are by Peter Crowther

Peter Crowther's "We Think, Therefore We Are" is compiled
with several short stories about the trepidation of
artificial intelligence. As there are many different
authors with their own points-of-view, there are many
emotions that this book evokes. From the demented machine
that thinks on the same level as a schizophrenic, to the
fastidious robot that would kill people if it would
increase production / efficiency, this book has it all.
Even religion and love are conquered, as artificial
intelligences vainly try to find God or have compassion
for others. In many of the stories, the machines try to
be more like humans and do not comprehend why they can
never be. Sure, holograms and metal can make machines
appear human, but true human emotions are never felt by
robots. That is why the fear of robots killing humans
without any tinge of remorse is so frighteningly
plausible.

The short stories in Peter Crowther's "We
Think, Therefore We Are" are definitely geared towards a
certain audience--those with a scientific background. The
impact of the book can not truly be felt by one who does
not know of how science is dashing forward. After all, to
those not immersed in science culture, the stories in the
book are just for leisure; they are not something that
will creep up on them possibly within the next couple of
decades. Overall, the book was engaging. The only flaw
was the occasional lewd sentence or interjected
obscenity. On the whole, the book is very enjoyable and
leaves readers sweating with fear if they know a thing or
two about technological development.

There are some
swear words in it.

Reviewer Age:17

Reviewer City,
State and Country: Staten Island, NY USA