Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French

This book was good and I learned about redwoods.

Three Stars
Yuuki

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl is a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind, and his first big plot is to steal the gold of the fairies, pixies, and sprites. This book was funny and easy to read, but real enough to engage. Five stars!

Five Stars
Sarah

Scumble by Ingrid Law

It is a great book.

4 Stars
Joseph

The City Of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

This book is about a girl named Lina, and a boy named Doon. They lived in an underground city called Ember. Before the city was made, the builders wanted to make the people to live in Ember for 240 years. The builders made a locked box with an instruction to get out in 240 years. The mayors of Ember would pass the box secretly to their children year after year, until the box opened. One day, a mayor died, just before the mayor could tell his son about the instruction, so the instuctions got lost; somewhere in Ember.
Doon was a pipeworker, and was very interested in mechanism. One day, Lina's younger sister, Poppy, found the box in a closet, and was chewing on the paper! Lina quickly took the paper away from Poppy. She and Doon were going to decode it and save Ember.
Five Stars
Joseph

Island of Tory by Regina M. Geither

This book is about a teenage girl who ends up in a car accident and is sent to live with her aunt on a remote Irish island. She then discovers that the island might have a curse. This book gave me a whole new sense of literature and perspective. I found it very interesting how the author wrote. The mystery in this novel kept me intrigued and involved in the plot. I was not able to put the book down and I even finished it in one day! I was also very impressed when I found out that the author used real island myth and locations.

Four Stars
literaturelova

Best Ever Teen Novels?

Can you narrow down all the books you've ever read to a top ten list? NPR is running a survey to determine the ten best novels written for young adults. Hop on over to NPR and vote for your picks!

Corydon & the Island of Monsters by Tobias Druitt

Corydon is not an ordinary boy. He has a goat leg. Considered a monster, he joins up with other monsters to defeat the Olympians. The plot in this book was very confusing, I felt like he never really accomplished his mission, and I sometimes I didn't fully understand what was going on. There were also some points in the book that were downright silly, while other parts of the book were very serious. While humor and seriousness can go together, in this book, it wasn't really done right.

3 Stars
Sarah

The Book of Dragons by Michael Hague

This book is a collection of short stories about dragons. The stories were cute, sometimes funny, sometimes more serious. The only problem was, some of the stories were excerpts from books, and it was hard to understand what was going on if you hadn't read the book already.

3 Stars
Sarah

Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman

Meggy Swann is crippled, and can't walk without the help of walking sticks. Her mother doesn't like her and sends her to her father, who doesn't want her either. Her father is an alchemist, and she discovers a terrible secret. This book was very engaging. The speech of the character's was old-fashioned, but not to the point where the book becomes cumbersome.
4 Stars
Sarah

The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker

This book is a retelling of the Frog Prince. Done in a very child-friendly manner, it is a quick and cute read. But overall, a little too cute for my taste. The danger never seemed real, and I couldn't really tell whether I liked the prince for being nice, or thought he was annoying.

3 Stars
Sarah

The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

This book is hard to classify in one genre. It has elements of a historical fiction novel in it, but almost none of it could happen in real life, so it could definitely be fantasy. Whatever the case, this book is spectacularly written, with spell-binding text all about fairies and underground worlds.

5 Stars
Sarah

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

This book is the pinnacle of fantasy novels. After having this book and its sequels read to me when I was eight, I fell in love with the characters and the world. After watching the movies and researching more, I find myself becoming nostalgic, seeing the rolling hills and beautiful wild vastnesses that so rarely exist in this day and age. If there was any book I could go inside of, it would be this one. One of the things I liked the best was the utter normalness of the hero. Instead of being some kind of superhero and perfect overall, or on the other extreme, being so depressed and unstable that he does terrible things, he just has a couple quirks, his little faults, but is still lovable.

5 Stars
Sarah

A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle

The writing in this book was beautiful as all of Madeleine L'Engle's books are, but this time, I felt I had not nearly enjoyed her book as much as I do her others. The entire book was about death, with her grandfather dying of leukemia and a boyfriend turned suicidal and unstable. Being tossed around between three boyfriends is Vicky, a girl who is forced to deal with all the death and evil around her. The book was entirely depressing, and I would not recommend it.
1 Star
Sarah

The Pilgrim's Progress by Paul Bunyan

This book was a spectacular piece of writing when it was written in the 1600's. Now, the writing is old-fashioned and sometimes cumbersome, causing me to slog through it very slowly sometimes. But once I had put it down, I realized that it had left me with a sense of new life and vigor, thinking about some of the messages and morals presented in the book.

3 Stars
Sarah

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This book's writing style is not very masterful, and the story itself is dark and often depressing and violent, but it is still intensely captivating. The characters were so diverse, so saddening and poignant, that it made me pick up the second and third books. Compared to the first, these were a total disappointment, but I loved the first enough to buy if for my collection.

4 Stars
Sarah

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Like the Hunger Games and Matched, The Giver is another of these post-apocalyptic dystopian books that is so popular these days. The difference between this and the others is its simplicity. There is no complex rebellion by the hero who deals with depression and doubt, no love story that becomes destructive, but a boy who is chosen to hold all the memories of the world before. His story is still deep and reflective though, and a captivating read. The uncertain ending was annoying, but later books in the series resolved the issue, so overall, I loved this book.
5 Stars
Sarah

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

If you like fantasy, this book is spectacular. The rich settings and deep characters, along with the drastic differences between good and evil is reminiscent of Lord of the Rings, but it's much easier to read. The only thing I disliked about this book was the inconclusive ending. It makes you read the next book, which is just as good, but ends on an even worse cliffhanger. It goes on like that for a while, which makes me wish for a more decisive completion. Great for ages 10 and up.
5 Stars
Sarah

The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie by Jacylyn Moriarty

This book was very good with a deep plot and great characters.

5 Stars

Yuuki

Nintendo by Mary Firestone

This book taught me a lot about Nintendo and its founders.

3 Stars
Yuuki

You Wouldn't Want to Be a Suffragist! by Fiona Macdonald

This book taught me about women's rights.
3 Stars
Yuuki

Digital Revolution by Steve Lohr

This book was great, I learned a lot about technology.

4 Stars
Yuuki

Windcatcher by Avi

This book is about a boy named Tony Souza. While he was wondering what to do in the summer,
he walked into the Mart, and he saw a sailboat hanging from the ceiling. The outside was blue,
and the inside was white, and a wooden rudder in the back. It said “Snark” on the front. Tony
definitely wanted the sailboat. Soon, the arrangement was made, that a girl would teach him
how to sail, while Tony lives with his Grandma. One day, while he was on his own, he suddenly got
lost! He left his boat on an island and tried to swim. A strange couple in a motor boat found Tony
on an island. They saved him, and his Grandma found him.
I would recommend this story because it teaches you about the Rhode Island, and about
sailing. I really would like to recommend this book.

5 Stars
Joseph

 

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

I THINK THIS BOOK IS GREAT. I THINK I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.

4 Stars
Joseph

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a good book, but it wasn't a great one. The characters
weren't very diverse, and Mark Twain mainly kept recycling the same characters over and over.
The story is about Huckleberry Finn's dad coming back and trying to take the money Huckleberry
amassed in the previous book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Huckleberry has already been adopted by a judge, so his dad decides to kidnap his son and drags him out into the wilderness, so he'll become a real man. Huckleberry runs away with a slave named Jim, but instead of going back to his home, he becomes nomad, swindling and stealing from people.
Overall, it was a good book but not a great one.

3 Stars
Yuuki

Slob by Ellen Potter

Slob is the story of a boy named Owen. Owen is 12 years old and is really fat so he gets picked on a lot. Owen lives with his mom that adopted him because his parents were killed.Owen invents a contraption called nemisis to try to find out who murdered his parents. Another problem Owen is
having is that somebody seems to be stealing his Oreo cookies and Owen thinks it is a bully who carries around a switchblade in his sock.
Will Owen figure out who murdered his parents and why?
Will Owen find out who is really stealing his Oreo cookies?
Go to your public library and check out Slob! :)

5 Stars
Imani

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is about a boy called Tom Sawyer who lives in an unnamed town.
The book chronicles the late portions of Tom Sawyer's childhood.
The book was amusing because Tom thinks that the best life a person could live would be as a
notorious bandit, looting and plundering passerby. On several occasions Tom and his friends attempt
to run away for that life, though never successful.
I highly suggest reading this book, as it has lots of interesting content, which will keep you
reading for hours at a time.
5 Stars
Yuuki

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Seas by Jules Verne

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Seas was a great book. The plot, taking place mostly in the
seas, is compelling and was fresh enough to keep me from getting bored. The main character of the
story Dr. Annorax is a scientist on board a ship searching the seas for a strange beast that has
sunken metal steamships. It turns out to be it was a type of submarine and Dr Annorax, along with his
butler and a fisherman called Ned Land, become its unwilling passengers.
Many amazing situations occur, including an encounter with a giant squid, and discovering the
lost city of Atlantis.
In conclusion, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Science Fiction and Adventure.
5 Stars
Yuuki

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

I enjoyed the book WHEN YOU REACH ME, but it was a bit confusing and if you read it you may have to go back and re-read. It's hard to put down and things turn for the least expected.
Miranda goes on journey that not everyone will have the chance to experience but you can listen in by reading this fun book!

4 Stars
Bella

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

I loved this book. It was unpredictable, and it didn't end how I thought it would. The main character was funny, and brave. another reason I liked this book so much is it is historical fiction (my
favorite genre). Some parts were sad and some characters were unfeeling, but that just added to the plot of the story.

5 Stars
Patience

The Summit by Gordon Korman

As the final book in the Everest series I think it does a good job of
wrapping things up. When one of the characters looses his life on
the mountain I felt very sad, even though he had been a mean and
selfish person. It is not a fairytale like story. There is a very realistic
theme. Only 2 of the 4 climbers reach the summit, and only 3 make
it off the mountain. By the end I had sympathy for all of the
characters.

5 Stars
Patience

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Maniac Magee is full of ups and downs. At times I wanted to jump for joy, and other times I just wanted to cry. During certain sections the story was happy and heart warming. During other sections the story was sad pitiful. The author helped me to understand what the characters thoughts were even if he didn't say them.

5 Stars
Patience
 

This Isn't What It Looks Like by Pseudonymous Bosch

I found this story a little bit darker than the other three that came before it. It wasn't bad, but I prefer uplifting stories. The characters came so close to reaching their goals countless times and eventually that got annoying. There were a few funny scenes in the book to change the mood though.

3 Stars
Patience

This Book Is not Good For You by Pseudonymous Bosch

This Book Is not Good For you is the third book in a very unusual series. The whole series is centered around the secret to immortality. Although the plot is intense and creepy the book has a certain humor about it that hooks you in. the characters are so realistic that I have become very attached to them and when ever
they get themselves into trouble (which is very often) I worry about them as I would a real person

4 Stars
Patience
 

The Climb by Gordan Korman

Imagine climbing the tallest mountain in the wold and completing a daring rescue with involves saving the lives of two climbers, one of which is unconcience. Now imagine two 15 year olds, one 14 year old, and one 13 year old pulling this off. Believe it or not that's how the story goes.
This story is the kind of book that you can't put down until you are finished. When I was done reading it I absolutely couldn't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series. I found this story thrilling and inspiring. I don't mean inspiring like I want to go climb Everest. I mean I feel inspired to help others and to keep going even when it is difficult.

5 Stars

Patience

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

"Around the World in Eighty Days" was about a wealthy man named Phileas Fogg, who bets 20000 pounds on a bet while trying to convince some friends that one could travel around the entire world in 80 days.

This was a good book. The characters and atmosphere felt very real. The main plot was decent enough, though it didn't make much sense for someone to just gamble half their savings on such a risky venture. The book could also get a bit long winded at times, which could make some sections boring.
 "Around the World in Eighty Days" was a very enjoyable book, but not perfect, so it's worth.

4 Stars
Yuuki