Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Travel Team by Mike Lupica

I thought this book was excellent. It was very well written and the author used a lot of terms that a teen-aged boy would use. It is very similar to an actual person. The characters used computers and had family issues. It was suspenseful and I couldn't put it down. It is a very well written book and a great novel.

5 Stars

Kieran

Holes by Louis Sachar

In my opinion, this is a very good book for people of all ages to read. It definitely deserves the Newbery award on the cover and I really enjoyed it. I thought that the characters were well developed and I couldn't help but think what I would do if I was in the horrible situation that the people in this book are in. I thought the situation these boys were in was truly horrible, but I liked this book anyway.

4 Stars

Katie

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

This was a great book about the future. It's good because it shows what somebody can do to go into the past and break laws. The main character, Tally, is bright and mischievious girl. I thing she was a very interesting character in this amazingly written story.

5 Stars

Lucy

Dead Connection by Charlie Price

Murray is another nerd in his school, with a secret. He can talk and listen to ghosts. He hears a new voice that he thinks is the missing cheerleader at his school. He teams up with Pearl, who lives in the graveyard, to solve the murder of Nikki.

Dead Connection was a good book. It made the connection of Murray and the dead believable. I didnt like how the point of view was different every chapter, i found myself confused at times.

3 Stars

Erica

Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Susan was raped while she was a teenager. Her father tries his hardest to find the killer and Susan, trapped between heaven and Earth, sends him signs. She also helps her sister prove who the killer was.

Lovely Bones was a great book, and it was wonderfully written. It showed an idea of what the after life is like for people. The plot was okay, but it could have had better details.

4 Stars
 
Erica

Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Love never separates Henry and Claire. Henry has a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel without warning. He always comes back for Claire though.

The Time Traveler's Wife was a very romantic novel that shows that nothing could separate their love.

4 Stars
 
Erica

The New Policeman by

I thought that The New Policeman by Kate Thompson was a lovely, enthralling story. The plot was very interesting and attention grabbing, though it takes a while to get into the action. I enjoyed reading about the mystical world of time and thought others my age would also like it. One aspect of this novel was the use of music and its qualities. The musical outlook gives the adventure a very Irish perspective.

4 Stars
 
Rosie

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Tegami Bachi Letter Bee: Vol. 2 by Hiroyuki Asada

The plot thickens as more is unveiled and new characters come. Volume 2 it just as good as Volume 1 in Tegami Bachi. The art is just as good as before.

One of my new favorite characters is Steak. And, just as a warning, Volume 3 is not translated yet so look for the anime if you want to know what happens next.

4 Stars
 
Nora

Tegami Bachi Letter Bee: Vol. 1 by Hiroyuki Asada

First of all, this is a very confusing manga. The art in this manga is very good. The characters' costumes are very good. This manga is about a boy who is delivered by a letter bee (a futuristic mailman) and decides that is what he wants to be.

My favorite characters are Gauche Suede and his dingo Roda. This is one of my favorite mangas and I would recommend it to any sci- fi-liking, manga-liking, graphic art-liking people.

4 Stars
 
Nora

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

This is a sci-fi book about a world where you become pretty at 16 and are considered ugly any time before that. This book is all seen through Tally's eyes, a girl who really wants to become pretty.

This is a good book if you like to bang your head in your hands and say "why did you do that?" to the characters. All in all, I thought in was a pretty good book.

3 Stars
 
Nora

Holes by Louis Sachar

I thought that Holes by Louis Sachar is a very descriptive book with complete thoughts. I liked how many different plots, past and present were drawn together throughout the story. Every topic seemed to be linked together. I thought the writing itself was very good, and the descriptions of characters very believable. What made this story stand out from others was its use of character reactions. One thing I was surprised, however that certain characters got over their hate quickly when it seemed they should have been angry for longer.

4 Stars

Rosie

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

I thought New Moon was a little unsatisfying. Compared to Twilight, New Moon was not as good as i thought it would be. There also was a lot of waiting and less action.

3 Stars

Lucy

The Truth About Sparrows by Marian Hale

Missouri is in the midst of a drought, and during the Depression that becomes the straw that broke the back of the Wynn family.

Sadie and her family leave to Texas, where her father can get work as a fisherman. Sadie hates this new life, where she lives in a one-room shanty, spends hours cleaning shrimp for a few cents and her disabled father is stared at everywhere he goes. Is it possible she will ever be able to call this place home?

I really enjoyed this book. The writing is simple and lyrical and the characters are interesting, with just enough flaws to make them seem real. My only real complaint is that the pacing of the story was very uneven, sometimes rushed and sometimes dragging into the land of boring.

4 Stars
 
Emme

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

When a fisherman turns up dead, possibly murdered, his tiny home island is shocked and horrified. Blame quickly falls on a Japanese American man whose family had feuded with the dead man's family for many years. As the murder trial runs, everyone in the town thinks back on the history of the people of the island and the relationships that occurred, trying to understand why this happened.

I found this book boring, to be honest. The writing was dry, the characters distanced, uninteresting and hard to care about and the whole book had an air of taking itself far too seriously, and trying too hard to be "literature" rather than mere fiction.

3 Stars

Emme

The Haunting by Joan Lowery Nixon

When Lia's great-grandmother dies she leaves her mother a house called Graymoss. The house has been haunted for generations and no one can live in it. Lia's mother refuses to believe the house is really dangerous and wants to move into it.

Lia will have to use the original owner's diary and a worn copy of a collection of Edger Allen Poe's stories to figure out how to drive the evil from the house.

The first of Nixon's book that I read and the one I still think is the best. The characters are solid and fleshed out, the plot avoids the tendency of many of her books to hit dead stops where nothing interesting happens, and, as a bookworm, I enjoyed the fact that most of Lia's sleuthing is done from home or the library using books in order to figure out how to chase the ghost out, rather than a Nancy Drew-ish method.

4 Stars
 
Emme

Monday, June 28, 2010

Story Time by Edward Bloor

Kate and her uncle George are accepted into the Whittaker Magnet School. It is the finest education in the United States. Kate wanted to stay in her old school and star in a play. The school is based on tests and when Kate thought it couldnt get worse, strange things started happening in their new school, including murders.

I think this book was wonderfully written and it kept me wanting to read more.

4 Stars

Erica

Ghost Huntress: The guidance by Marley Gibson

Kendall recently got Jason as her boyfriend (Cortneys ex). Kendall and her team help guide the ghosts in their town to the afterlife. Cortney gets jealous and starts ghost hunting too. An angry ghost makes this very difficult for Kendall and her team and puts Cortney in danger.

I think this book was alright, but the plot could have been better. The dialog was good though.

2 Stars

Erica

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

This was a fantastic book. It was my second time reading it, but it was still a pleasure to read it again. It is about two families in Copenhagen, Denmark during WWII. The two families, one Jewish, the Rosens, and one Christian, the Johansen's, help each other a lot. The Christian one helps the Jews by hiding Ellen Rosen in Annemarie Johansens bed and pretending that they are sisters rather than best friends, when the soldiers are looking for any Jews.

5 Stars

Amalia

Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander

Gareth is a little black cat...who can time travel. He and his owner Jason go on nine adventures, from Ancient Egypt to the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Along the way they meet many different people and many different attitudes towards cats!

When I was little I thought this book was the cat's meow (pun intended) but not so much now. It seems quite flat and the historical fiction is heavy on fiction. Only a few characters were still interesting. A good book for the younger set, but critical thinkers and readers will want to look elsewhere.

3 Stars
 
Emme

Crusader by Edward Bloor

When Roberta was a little girl, her mother was murdered and no one ever caught the culprit. It isn't something she thinks about a lot, it's the past and it can't be changed. She spends her time working with her father at his video game arcade in a run-down mall. When a number of hate crimes occur at the mall and fingers start to point, particularly at the violent and frequently racist games, Roberta decides to try and help keep her family and friends from getting caught in the cross-hairs. But is it possible these crimes are somehow connected to her mother's death?

From the back of this book I was afraid I was going to get a Nancy Drew-ish "kid-detective" story. I was very glad that it wasn't. Instead it is an almost introspective book, there is a lot more time spent on how things affect people and their livelihoods than on clues and mystery.The characters felt realistic and solid, with a good number of flaws and issues of their own. The plot is well-paced until the end, which was a bit rushed. The writing was a bit flat now and then, but for the majority of the book it is well-done.

4 Stars
 
Emme

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Breaking Dwan is the fourth book of the Twilight Series. Bella and Edward are now married. During their honeymoon they find out something shocking, Bella is pregnant. It slowly kills her and she has to become a vampire. The Volturi find out about the child and now are coming after the Cullens. They gather all the Vampires they know and are ready to fight.

Breaking Dawn is a great ending to the Twilight series, it was very intriging.

3 Stars
 
Erica

Warriors: The Darkest Hour by Erin Hunter

Out of the four warrior clans, Thunderclan is in the darkest of times. Tigerstar, a murderer and traitor to Thunderclan, seeks power - lots of it. Tigerstar wreaks terror upon the forest and the only way Fireheart can stop it is to uncover the meaning of a message starclan sent him: Four will become two. Lion and tiger will meet in battle, and blood will rule the forest. Piece by piece Fireheart unravels the messages meaning, just in time to be precise. Using the meaning, Fireheart brings the clans together and a battle takes place.

5 Stars

Megan

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse is the third book to the Twilight series. Now that Edward is back, everthing seems to be better. Except for the fact that a group of blood thirsty vampires are after Bella once again. The Vampires and werewolfs have to group up to defeat these vampires. Bella has to make a choice Edward or Jacob.

Eclipse was a great book. The book was wonderfully written and kept me wanting to read more.

3 Stars
 
Erica

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

New Moon is the second book of the Twilight Series. Bella is in her senior year now. She celebrates her 18th birthday at the Cullens house. Disaster breaks out as she accidently cuts her finger open and Edward throws her into glass to keep her from getting hurt. He leaves Bella and she goes into depression. Bella relies on her old friend Jacob, who turns out to be a werewolf. Laurent comes back and almost kills Bella. When Bella jumps off a clift, Edward goes to the Volturi to kill himself. Bella saves him with the promise of becoming a vampire herself.

New Moon was a great sequel to Twilight.

3 Stars
 
Erica

Fell by David Clement-Davies

Fell, the legendary wolf, also a loner seperated from his pack by the cursed power of the sight and his guilt of his sister Larkas death, has the power to see into the minds of other animals. His power is special, it could lead him to greater powers beyond his belief depending on how he uses it. Meanwhile as he wanders alone, Alina a changeling rescued by the shepherd, Maduk, and dressed as a boy for safety reasons, is feared by the villagers. All is well in her hard and difficult life, but when she learns the truth about her past that goes along with her dreams, she sets out to find her real home. During their journey Fell and Alina meet and when they find they are both looking for answers to the visions haunting them they must overcome their natures no matter what, to share this journey that will bring their worlds: anmial and humans, to a greater understanding.

This book was wonderful. The unraveling adventure bringing animals and humans to a better understanding is a interesting topic. For readers who like adventure and exploring questions and thoughts, this is the book you should read.

5 Stars
 
Megan

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Bella Swan moves to the rainy town of Forks and thinks its just a boring small town. She first sees Edward Cullen in school and everthing then changes. The next few days he avoids her, making her wonder what is different about him. He continously saves her from danger. Bella finds out that he is actually a vampire, and finds herself falling in love with him. Everthing goes fine until a group of visiting vampires cause Bella to fight for her life.

Twilight is a great love story that is at the same time suspenseful.

3 Stars
 
Erica

The Immortals: Evermore by Alyson Noel

Ever Bloom lost her family in a horrible car crash in her home town. She goes to live with her aunt Sabine. Ever has two best friends who end up being the misfits of the school. Ever avoids people to keep from "knowing" their whole life. She is a physic, and with her ipod handy, she supresses her abilities. Everthing changes as Damen, a mysterious wealthy boy, goes to their school. Ever finds many strange things about him that dont add up and his past raises many questions for Ever.

I found this book as a great read for teens. if you like the Twilight series, you will find that you will like Evermore.

3 Stars
 
Erica

The Sight by David Clement-Davies

Morgra, a lone wolf who's possessed with a mysteriously dangerous power called the sight stalks a loving and protective wolf pack who seeks shelter near an abandoned castle. A she-wolf within the pack gives birth to pups and Morgra knows that one of those pups is special and can help lead Morgra to a far greater power. The pack, knowing that they're in danger, will protect themselves even if they have to start a battle involving all of nature, including the wolves most feared creature out there: man.


I was intrigued with this book. It had such a imaginative plot, with suspense under every corner. This is a book that should be read.

5 Stars
 
Megan

Warriors: Firestar's Quest by Erin Hunter

All four warrior clans are in a peaceful time and life is easy. No battles, no prey shortage, ex... Then Thunderclan's leader Firestar discovers a secret that is most definitely shocking. Their warrior ancestors have lied to them. Knowing this, Firestar and Sandstorm, his mate goes on a journey to discover the truth behind the lies even if it means nothing will ever be the same. On the way he and Sandstorm survive bad storms and fights, but they make new friends, who shelter them and help them on their way.


I like this book because it has descriptive language and i can picture the events happening. Also i like this book because it has a interesting plot. You should read this book.

5 Stars
 
Megan
 

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Young Griet is a maid working in Vermeer's household. Although she begins only doing menial tasks and cleaning Vermeer's studio, in time she starts to work secretly as his assistant, culminating with her modeling for his painting Girl With a Pearl Earring.

This popular book is one person's imagining who the girl in this painting was and her connection to Vermeer. I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I had heard so many singing this book's praises, but I don't think it was all that special. It is certainly well-written and the characters are interesting, but for me it lacked the special *spark* that makes a great book different from one that is just very good. I didn't feel much of an attachment to any of the characters, and that made it difficult to care overly much about what was happening to them.

This book was enjoyable and entertaining, but not perfect.

4 Stars
 
Emme

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Benedick and Beatrice have always despised each other. Every time they meet insults fly and tempers flame, while their friends listen with worry. However, as a challenge some of their friends decide to do a little matchmaking, and see if they can bring an end to this "merry war." But a pair of innocent lovers, Hero and Claudio, get caught in the tangle of lies, tricks and disguises, giving a villain a chance to split them.

An excellent and amusing comedy! The swift bickering and not-so-subtle insults are well-done, not heavy-handed. It is a very approachable Shakespeare story, and there is less slang then many, so it is a good intro for someone interested in reading Shakespeare. It is also quite short, the play itself is less than a hundred pages.

I also recommend the movie version with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, it captures the feel of the story nearly perfectly.

5 Stars
 
Emme

The Sword of Shibito: Vol. 1 by

A groups of travelers are attacked and brought to a strange castle whose master is trying to resurrect his son, Shibito. When he finally succeeds his son has no knowledge of his past life, so he appoints one of the travelers, an pharmacist with few skills outside of his job, to keep an eye on him until he regains it.

When Shibito leaves the castle, can a mere pharmacist keep him from from indulging in mindless violence and help him discover his past?

This book is the first of the series, and the first half is terribly boring. It just throws new characters at the reader with little introduction or plot. The second half however shows real promise and the start of an interesting story. The characters seem like they could be quite interesting and the plot (while rather derivative of Frankenstein in this book) has a lot of potential.

The artwork in this manga is wildly inconsistent; some is truly beautiful and some parts look like rough sketches. I was really bothered by this. If you can create nice artwork, why settle for poor work? The fight scenes were kind of crowded and there was a sense of excessive dramatics during them.

3 Stars
 
Emme

A Box of Matches by Nicholson Baker

Every morning, very early, Emmett gets up and lights a fire. He makes coffee and uses this quiet morning ritual as a time to think about everything and anything. His family, people he has met, past events, future hopes, his pets, work; all of these are things that he thinks about and the subject of this book.

For a book with almost no plot this is remarkably engrossing! I spent most of a day on a camping trip being "anti-social" and reading in the tent because I couldn't seem to put it down for long. The characters feel so real and the chance to delve into this person's mind was fascinating. Reading this celebration and embracement of the ordinary and less than ordinary parts of life makes you realize just how special these little things can be!

5 Stars
 
Emme

The Giver by Lois Lowry

I think this is a really good book that gets more exciting. It starts in a community without weather, color, or landforms. It is about a boy named Jonas who gets training from The Giver when he turns 12. It starts to seem more like our world in the future, which is totally new to Jonas.

5 Stars

David

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

This book was the same over and over again, every time Bella looked at his face and it got boring after a while. I see how teens love it but for a 10 year old I wouldn't recommend it.

2 Stars
 
The-o

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

This is a very good book. All my friends think its just a love story, it is but there is a lot of action to go along with it. I cant wait to read the next book.

4 Stars

The-o

Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer by John Grisham

This is the best book i have ever read, it has no boring parts. The only problem is that there is a little love story witch i thought the story didnt need. This is an amazing book which keeps you on your toes.

5 Stars

The-o

Redwall: The Sable Quean by Brian Jacques

I love the Redwall books but this one was a big let down. The story moved too slowly and there is not a lot of action. I highly recomend the other Redwall books.

1 Star

The-o

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

This is an amazing book. It is a story where you can easily feel what the characters are thinking, feeling and more. This is a must read. I was so blown away by the writing of the story and the use of language is great.

The-o

Dream a Little Dream by Piers Anthony & Julie Brady

Nola has always had vivid dreams and an active imagination, the escape provided by them is the only thing that have kept her from taking her own life as a way out of her abusive relationship. What she doesn't know is that she is a Creator, one of a handful of humans whose dreams and imaginings actually exist in another universe. But that world is under attack, and with only a couple Creators willing to believe in the thing their mind comes up with, the people of this other world must find a way to contact Nola and enlist her help to repair their universe.

This book has been sitting in my "to be read" stack for over a year and I finally got around to reading it. I can't believe it took me so long! It was a wonderful read. The characters were very real and the creation and manipulation of one world through the dreams of another, although not original, is extremely well- executed. I kept making myself slow down and stretch the book out because I didn't want to leave the two fascinating worlds.

As a semi-lucid dreamer (I admit to sometimes losing control or simply letting it go because I want to see what happens) I found the idea of writing a book based on a series of controlled dreams very interesting.

5 Stars
 
Emme

A Gift of Magic by Lois Duncan

Kirby is an incredible dancer. Brendon can play music without having been taught. Nancy can do tricks with her mind: knowing what is going to happen and knowing what someone is thinking or doing. All of these powerful skills were left to the children by their grandmother, but can they handle them or will they only harm themselves and others?

I first read this book when I was a kid, and still enjoy it now. The characters can be a touch cliche but are interesting none the less. The writing and the plot are a bit simple but enjoyable

4 Stars
 
Emme

Monday, June 14, 2010

Revenge of the Rose by Nicole Galland

Jouglet is many things; spy, minstrel, advisor, manipulator and friend. This clever person's latest plan? To bring a poor knight and his sister up in the world. One will be done by convincing King Konrad to take the young knight under his wing, the other by a perfect marriage. But will Jouglet be able to keep from being caught in webs of complicated plots that fill the court?

I am very critical while I read books. I constantly edit, change and adjust. I enjoy finding clearer ways to say things, better word choices and making minor plot and character changes. It is a rare book that I become so enthralled by that I can put aside these busy mental exercises, and become absorbed in the story and writing. This was one.

The writing is smooth and well-paced; the plot (while convoluted and complicated) was not hard to follow. The characters felt real and solid, they also felt well-suited to the time the story is set in (fictional 1200's.)

My main complaint is that the plot has an occasional tendency to feel rushed. There were also some supporting characters I would have liked to see more of.

5 Stars

Emme

Vampire Plagues: London, 1850 by Sebastian Rook

When a ship comes in to port it is an opportunity for the local street urchins to steal something from the ship or its disoriented passengers. But the ship that sails into London is different than any that young Jack has seen. No crew disembarks; only one man and a lot of bats. Jack creeps on and finds a starved stowaway who tells him of a trip to the Americas that found something horrible, and now this evil has come to England. The two boys will have to find a way to stop it on their own, because no-one would believe their tale that vampires have come to London.

I bought this for a few cents expecting it to be truly horrible. It actually wasn't. It was thoroughly mediocre and the writing is childishly simplistic and dull, but the plot was actually somewhat interesting. There was a lot of vampiric lore involved and many traditional vampiric weaknesses and strengths. It was a mildly interesting way to spend a bit of time.

2 Stars

Emme

Monday, June 7, 2010

Star Trek: Voyager: Violations by Susan Wright

In a classic Star Trek scenario, a group of alien pirates (although they are more like Privateers, as they have a governmental OK to do so) disable Voyager and steal the main processor. The crew of Voyager must creatively and carefully use the back up systems to navigate their way to an alien station. Then they must attempt to keep the ship running while starting to hunt down the location of their processor through both legal and non-legal channels.

If this sounds completely familiar, you are right! "Concerning Flight" a season 4 episode, was almost the exact same plot, however that episode was done two years after this book was published.

This book is packed with technobabble (and biobabble ;-) ), which I know some people can't stand. However, if you can't keep your ODN (Optical Data Network) conduits and EPSs (Electro-Plasma Systems) straight you will not comprehend a good bit of this book. This narrows it's audience down to a small, and quite OCD, portion of Trekdom. I personally loved it! I liked that the book didn't gloss over (as the episode did) the fact that it was the heart of the ship that was removed, and that the crew was struggling to keep everything from failing. I liked the fact that the ship's bio-neural circuitry was not ignored or treated as it was merely the same as pure tech.

The characterizations were very well done, although both Kim and Paris were spotty at the start. One thing that quite confused me was that the Doctor was always referred to as Zimmerman. Pre-production and in a few scripts, that was the name was planned for the character, and for one episode of the show he considers, but rejects, giving himself that name. As this was one of the very first Voyager novels, I assume it was written when that was the planned name, and the change somehow slipped through Pocket Book's quality control.

The writing was very good, and I highly enjoyed reading this. I highly recommend it to die-hard Trekkies, but would warn those who have only casually watched that this may not be the best place to start.

5 Stars

Emme