Ranger's Apprentice, by John Flangagan

This is an excellent book. It was recommended to me by a friend
who likes J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings a lot. It is a story that
takes place in a world of fiefs and kings. Will, the main
character, is a 15-year-old orphan boy who wards with Baron
Arald. At the age of 15 all of the castle wards are "chosen" for
their lifetime job. Will is chosen to be apprenticed to Ranger
Halt. He learns a lot about life and a lot more about the world
around him. It is an excellent read full of adventure, suspense, humor, and friendship. It really keeps you on the edge of your
seat while reading about heroes battle fearsome monsters and
evil enemies. It is a great book and I recommend it for all teen
adventure lovers. I highly recommend it. :)

5 Stars,
Suni

The Frog Princess, by E.D. Baker

This story is about a princess named Emma who runs to a swamp after her mother tells her that she has plans to have her married at the end of the summer to an evil prince.She meets a frog who claims to be a prince and that if she kissed him he would turn into a handsome prince.When she agrees she herself turn into a frog herself.Will she ever be human?

3 Stars,
Lucynda

Gaia Girls: Way of Water, by Lee Welles

I felt the beginning of this book was very sad because the main
character, Miho's parents died. The sadness was stressed all
throughout the book but it faded away as Miho received the power
to talk to dolphins, the power to ride the sound of a whale, and
many other powers. I learned about how water pollution and the
annual Japanese dolphin hunt harm the dolphin population. The
Gaia Girls series is very interesting because it is both fiction and
something that helps you learn about the environment.

5 Stars,
Anna

Gaia Girls: Enter the Earth, by Lee Welles

I felt that this was an extremely good book. Every chapter had
something interesting in it. It was fascinating when the main
character, Elizabeth, discovered lots of information on factory
farming. I had no idea that people could possibly contaminate the
ground with so much pig poop and not do anything about it. I
personally thought that it was quite amusing to have the whole of
the earth represented by an otter. After I read this book, I couldn't
wait to read the second book.

5 Stars,
Anna

The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd

This book is really good. Shows how things really used to be with racism in the sixties. A girl growing up without a mother and an African American house keeper is exposed to this more then most kids. Great book. Read it!!

4 Stars,
Emily

Girlosophy, by Anthea Paul

This book was amazing! So inspirational for every teenage girl. All different aspects of life are adressed. Really helpful in many situations. Read it!

5 Stars,
Emily

Zooman Sam, by Lois Lowry

This is a great book for younger children. Lois Lowry does a great job of detail in this book. There is a Future Job Day in Sam's Kindergarten class. He wants to be a zookeeper when he grows up. and he gets alot of baseball hats from a friend that have names of alot animals. If you don't like this book, try some of Lois Lowry's other gret books.
3 stars,
Josiah

Wild Pitch, by Mike Lupica

Everyone deserves a second chance, right? Charlie Stoddard, the Boston Red Sox baseball star pitcher of late, messed up his arm and has never been able to pitch like he has before. Five years have passed and while getting drunk most every night and having one night stands with numerous girls, Charlie meets this mysterious physical therapist who "fixes" Charlies arm. Charlie goes back to pitch for Boston alongside his son who absolutely loathes him and stars again for the time being. Although centered around a Boston pitcher, Mike Lupica does a nice job of creating a baseball fiction based story.
4 stars,
Ethan

Candyfreak, by Steve Almond

This book was interesting in a few different ways. Steve Almond goes around the country describing his visits to various candy collectors, candy factories, etc. He brings back and describes many different types of old candy (many of which i have never heard of)that have never been mass produced. I would recommend this book to people who are interested about candy bars and would like to learn how different types of candy are made.
3 stars,
Ethan

What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones

What My Mother Doesn't Know is written as a verse novel but it reads like a diary. The novel follows the ups and downs of Sophie's love life. This was a quick but very enjoyable summer read. I can't wait to read the next book to see how it compares!

5 Stars,
Erin

Holes, by Louis Sachar

This is a very good book about a innocent boy named stanley. He is convicted of a crime that he had no idea about. There is a curse on his family, and he ends going to a detention centre called Camp Green Lake. There Stanley and the rest of the criminals have to dig one hole each day in search of a treasure. Eventually Stanleys lawyer comes to say he was innocent but by that time Stanley ran away in search of Gods thumb. But by the end of the book Stanley is home with a treasure. I really liked this book because it was very interesting.

4 Stars,
Dillon

The Hero and the Crown, by robin mckinley

I LOVED THIS BOOK!! (well parts of it.) If you read this book, be warned, it starts out boring and then gets exciting and then gets boring and then gets exciting again so don't get discouraged by the boring parts!
It's about a girl names Aerin whose father is the King but her late mother was said to be a witch woman, but more than that she was foreigner and wasn't really ever supposed to merry the king. So Aerin is always in the castle and everything, but nobody treats her with respect (kind of the opposite.) They fear her because she may possess her mother abilities, but they also just treat her very unfairly. You should definitely read this book! It's an adventure book, and a romance book, and an incredible fantasy book. READ!!!

5 Stars,
Selly

Breathing Underwater, by Alex Flinn

This is a very intense book about a guy who hit his girl friend and had to go to court for it. The judge ordered him to keep a journal, so he wrote about how and why he hit his girlfriend. This book varies between entries from his journal and his life right now. I think this book was alright, but the topic is simultaneously depressing and, for lack of a better term, nauseating. Don't read it unprepared for some real messed up stuff.
2 Stars,
Windingpath77

Things Not Seen, by Andrew Clements

I have recently read the great book Things Not Seen by the consistently fun author Andrew Clements.
This book is about a boy named Bobby who, one day, becomes invisible. One day he’s there, the next he’s not; there’s no explanation.
Bobby’s father insists, however, that everything has a cause and he searches ceaselessly for an answer.
Along the way there are many perils and problems such as the fact that if Bobby wishes to go about in public without drawing attention he must go completely naked.
As the plot unfolds and the authorities start searching for Bobby (who has been deemed “missing”) everything hangs on the hope that what ever happened to Bobby will unhappen before the police arrest Bobby’s parents.
This book is truly worth a read.
4 stars,
Selly