Touching Spirit Bear * * * * *

Touching Spirit Bear is a fiction book and I loved this book. It had a ton of adventure. I give this book a five star rating. This book is about a 15 year old convict named Cole Mathews. He beats up another boy so that he has a lifetime injury. His choices are go to jail or go to a remote island in Alaska for a year alone. He choses to go to the island, but when he gets there he burns down all his supplies. Then, he is attacked by a spirit bear and is on the edge of death when they rescue him. When he gets better and goes back he is a better person and isn’t always mad at everyone and he accepts the blame he deserves. If you liked this book you will like any other type of adventure book.
 
Do spirit bears even exist? Visit this website to find out more about this amazing creature! http://www.bearlife.org/kermode-bear.html
 
Reviewed by MR

Stalker Girl * * * *

The book Stalker Girl is very mysterious and creepy. It all starts out when the main character, Carly Finnegan, breaks up with her boyfriend Brian. She is heartbroken to find out that he has a new girlfriend, Taylor Dean. But then she starts to stalk her. Instead of just stalking her from her room on the computer she is actually following her every move! When will she stop and how will she now when she is obsessed?    


Check out the author's website.  It has more information on the book and a cool book trailer! http://rosemarygraham.com/books/stalker-girl/


Reviewed by JH

A Wrinkle in Time * * * * *

I’m sort of unfaithful to books; books go on and off my favorites list depending on the mood I’m in and what I’ve been reading lately. However, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle is always on my favorites list! L’Engle wrote A Wrinkle in Time as her first young adults’ novel after a long career of writing for adults, but since L’Engle herself described young people’s literature as any book that a kid would read, A Wrinkle in Time is a book with the potential to reach across differences and appeal to lots of people. The book is about the Murray family, specifically Meg and Charles Wallace Murray and their father. Mr. Murray went missing while on a secret government mission, and Meg and Charles Wallace find out that they have a chance to rescue him. Unfortunately, that chance involves a lot of danger, some space travel via something called a tesseract, and a special task for Meg: to discover the most powerful force in the universe. I like this book because of the spellbinding descriptions of tesseracts and the surprise at what Meg discovers about power. It was not what I had guessed!


If you read and liked A Wrinkle in Time, you’ll be happy to know that it’s the first in a series! The second book is A Wind in the Door, and it provides more opportunities to travel to other realms with the Murray family!

Reviewed by SS

Cirque du Freak: the Vampire's Assistant * * *

This is the second book of the Cirque Du Freak Series... and it's very unpredictable! It’s about an ordinary boy named Darren Shan who visits a mysterious freak show, which changes his life forever. He becomes Mr. Crepsly’s vampire’s assistant. He gets lonely, because he can’t have any friends since he is stronger than humans, and it is very easy to harm them. So he goes to the Cirque Du Freak to feel more accepted, not so weird and different. But who says different is weird?

To learn more about the author and see his book covers published all over the world, look at fan art and get some background on his movie of this book, go to this site: http://www.darrenshan.com/vampires/

Reviewed by DZ

Evermore * * * *

This book is about a girl named Ever, she can see auras and can read minds, she has been able to do this since she was in a fatal car accident. Her family died in this car accident. Since her family died Ever has to go live with her aunt in California. Ever changes her look from being a beautiful looking teen to one who now wears a sweatshirt and baggy jeans everyday. When a new guy comes to school every girl is crushing on him and he just happens to sit by Ever in one of her classes. What will happen between the two of them?

Here is the author's webiste with information on the book, the series, and a book trailer! http://www.alysonnoel.com/immortals/evermore.php

Reviewed by CW

The Lying Game * * * * *

This is a book about a girl named Emma. Emma is a foster child who has been moved from house to house since she was seven. She was just getting comfortable in her latest foster mom’s house when that all changes. Emma finds her long lost twin sister and Emma thinks it would be a good idea to go hang out with her twin, Sutton, and try to move in with her. But when she gets to her house, Emma finds out that Sutton might have been murdered, so now Emma is stuck in Sutton’s life trying to find her killer and she might just live in the next room.

Here is the author's websites with lots of pictures, interviews, and a book trailer! http://www.prettylittleliars.com/the-lying-game/

Reviewed by KL

Beyonders: a World without Heroes * * * * *

Jason Walker lives an ordinary life. He plays baseball, goes to high school and works in a zoo. One day after school he falls into a very unusual place which turns his life inside out. When he gains consciousness, a new world, Lyrian, greets him. Now Jason must survive in a world without heroes...

This book is surprisingly good despite the fact that it came out a few months after the last Fablehaven book. Mull wrote it well and this book is delightfully interesting. The only problem is that the two main characters are both very athletic, most main characters are supposed to complement each other not be identical twins.

To get move information about the this book watch this book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMCWz4iR2Es

Reviewed by HB

Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary * * * * *

A breathtaking and heartstopping fairytale.  I give this book a rating of a 5 because it kept me up throughout the night reading.

Kendra and Seth discover that their grandparents own a secret preserve called FableHaven. They are tested throughout their stay. Kendra and Seth both think that their stay at FableHaven is going to be boring because there is nothing to do there.

Here is an awesome Fablehaven Book Trailer on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yox9ZFShayk

Reviewed by CC

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

This is an awesome best seller and it lives up to it's name. It's a magical adventure and a fantasy world that you will never forget, and you will not regret reading it.  This is what it's about: Harry Potter and his parents are attacked by an evil wizard by the name of Voldemort.  Unfortunately, Harry's parents do not survive the attack. Harry discovers he is also a wizard and he must survive wizard school and the evil Lord Voldemort. 

Reviewed by JW

Ten Things I Hate about Me * * * * *

The genre in this book is humor. I absolutely loved this book, it kept me laughing on every page. This book is about a Lebanese Muslim girl named Jamilah. Jamilah lives two live:s one at home and one at school where she calls herself “Jamie.” Jamilah is worried about what other people think of her so she hides her true self from her friends. In this story she gets betrayed by her cyber-friend that she opens up to, the only friend that she has opened up to. She has to deal with her life having some difficult changes. Will she ever figure out that what’s best for her to do with her life before everything goes downhill ?

This website shows the many different books Randa Abdel Fattah wrote. I love comedy books and I think she writes wonderful books. She is an amazing writer here’s a link to her webpage: http://www.randaabdelfattah.com/index.asp

Reviewed by SRL

Eragon * * * * *

A fantasy better than Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter

This story is based in a medieval fantasy world with elves, dwarves and magic. In it a young boy named Eragon finds a blue stone from which a dragon hatches and bonds with Eragon causing him to become a dragon rider. All the other Dragon Riders have been killed by the evil tyrant king that is a Dragon Rider himself. When supernatural agents of the king come to his village to find the dragon and they end up killing his uncle, Eragon and his newborn dragon, Sapphira, depart and try to chase them down. Along with the town’s mysterious storyteller, Brom, he follows them all while learning to fight and control magic. Will he catch these dark creatures? Could Eragon find a way to vanquish the evil King? Read on to find out.

Visit this link to check out the author’s website and view his other books: http://www.alagaesia.com/index.php

Reviewed by CO

As Easy As Falling off the Face of the Earth * *

This book is about a boy named Ry going to camp by train, but then the he gets a note saying that the camp has closed. Ry tries to call his parents and his grandpa, but there is no connection. Since the train has been broken down for a while, he gets off the train. Still no connection. So he climbs up a hill, then the train starts leaving. The battery is now low on the phone. He doesn’t have any idea where he is. How is he supposed to get home? Why aren’t his parents and grandpa calling back? Find out when you read this book!

Here is a link to a book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acl35ZkbRuo
 
Reviewed by KR

The Icebound Land * * * *

Ranger’s Apprentice Book 3

This is a good action/adventure book.

This book is the third book in the Ranger's Apprentice series of 10 books. It is set in medieval times with knights and all that. It is about a kid who is basically an informal police officer for the country, but is very respected. This book is about the boy, named Will, who gets kidnapped by Skandians, people from a very snowy land. He is accompanied by the princess of his home country. They are sold as slaves to the king of Skandia. Then, with the help of their kidnapper, they escape to a cabin in the forest and have to survive.This is a bestselling series that I highly recommend. If you liked this series, you should look for this author’s second series, about two boys who live in the country bordering Will’s. This series is called the Brotherband Chronicles.

Take a look at his website: http://www.rangersapprentice.com/

Reviewed by CL

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott * * * * *

An Exhilirating Read!

     Have you read The Alchymist? It is an intriguing book written Michael Scott which deserves 5 out of 5 stars. The Alchemyst is a book about two twins named Sophie and Josh Newman. They are just two normal teenagers working across the street from each other in San Francisco, until one day a mysterious car pulls up across the street from the coffee shop Sophie works at. Four mysterious people...or are they people?...get out of the car and go into the bookstore across the street, which is where Josh works with Nicholas Fleming. She watches for a minute, then all the windows in the building shatter. Sophie races out of the coffee shop, and runs into Perry Fleming, Nicholas’ wife. Sophie tells her what she saw, and they run into the bookstore together. They find a man, and two men...made with clay. The third man had been melted on the street. The strange Dee man takes a book from Nicholas and takes Perry. And then he’s gone. If you want any more, then check out The Alchymest in your library. You won’t be able to put it down!!!

A useful website:  http://www.dillonscott.com/the-secrets-of-the-immortal-nicholas-flamel/books/the-alchemyst/

Reviewed by MJ

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld * * * * *

Behemoth is the follow up to Leviathan and is the third book in a planned trilogy. Behemoth is set in an alternate history of World War I where the allied powers (or Darwinists) all use genetically engineered beasts as weapons, and the axis powers (or Clankers) use gigantic robot like machines as weapons. The story is a continuation of the tale of Alek, who is a fugitive Clanker prince, the son of the recently assassinated Archduke Ferdinand, and Deryn, a girl passing as a boy so she can get into the British Air Service. In this tale the two of them have landed in Istanbul, still a neutral power, and are helping in a mission to keep the Ottoman Empire neutral. The Clankers are just about to push the Ottomans onto their side when Deryn is sent on an ill-fated mission, and Alek is captured by revolutionaries. Will the two of them succeed in keeping the Ottomans neutral? Will Alek discover that Deryn is a girl? Read this book and find out! But then you'll be biting your fingernails waiting for the final book in the trilogy, Goliath, to come out in September 2011. This book is highly recommended and is one of the most exciting Steampunk books I have read. If you loved this series you'll want to try some other Steampunk series like Airborn or The Golden Compass.

Check out Scott Westerfeld's cool website to get more information on this trilogy, watch a book trailer, or see more of the illustrator's work: http://scottwesterfeld.com/books/leviathan/ 

Reviewed by NR

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks * * * * *

Are you tired of the same old same old vampire story? Good looking immortals with super powers? Then how about a book where the vampires are all sickly and afraid to leave their houses? That's what this one is about! And they would all stay inside and wallow in their misery forever if one of their own hadn't turned up staked to death. Now they have to leave their comfort zone and find out who the killer is, with no super powers except the ability to see in the dark! Can they survive the blinding lights and the run in with an illegal werewolf fighting ring? Check it out and find out!

Since this story is set in Australia and you may not be familiar with the culture and setting, you might want to read about Australia's culture here: http://www.australia.com/about/culture.aspx

Reviewed by NR

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins * * * *

This book was not what a lot of people had expected, but it is well worth the read if you read the first two, and will give you much to think about. Granted there are many hard scenes to get through, but after doing some research on Suzanne Collins, I discovered that this book is first and foremost a war novel. It is meant to show the horrors of war, especially when children are caught up in them. It did seem that some of the deaths were senseless and that Katniss was not in control many times, but that is war. My biggest problem with the book was when Katniss woke up and heard Gale and Peeta talking about her. It wasn't necessary and trivialized the relationship between the three of them.

To help you understand that the book is a war novel, you might want to read this insightful interview with Suzanne Collins: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/home/885800-312/the_last_battle_with_mockingjay.html.csp

Reviewed by NR

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins * * * * *

This is the story of Anna, who is sent to Paris to spend her senior year at boarding school. She hates the idea of leaving all her friends in Atlanta, but her famous author father (think Nicholas Sparks) thinks it would be good for her (and his reputation) if she went abroad. Anna is welcomed into the small, elite school by a few interesting characters, notably Etienne St. Clair. St. Clair is half-French, half-American, raised in England (read: sexy English accent)--and taken. Anna and St. Clair become fast friends, but throughout the whole year his girlfriend comes between them. Will things ever change? There are many romantic books in middle school libraries, but this is a full-blown, mushy romance. If you're looking for a good diversion and a quick pick-me-up that you won't feel guilty about (because it is well written!), then try this one!

If you want a little preview of what this book is about, watch this awesome book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6Xe2lbt1lk&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active 

Reviewed by NR