Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Title: Children of Blood and Bone
Author: Tomi Adeyemi
Publisher: Holt Books for Young Readers
Rating: 4.75 Stars
Reviewer: Evelyn
Age: 13

Children of Blood and Bone is an amazing tale that lures readers and ensnares them into reading. Zélie's journey through Orïsha is representative to her spiritual journey. At first, the tale is confusing, but smooths out over the book. I would recommend this to readers who have read books that have some violence in them. Overall, Tomi Adeyemi did a great job of weaving a tale that makes sense and captivates me.

Find out more here

Here's a video to inspire you about writing from the author of Children of Blood and Bone:

Rutabaga: Adventure Chef by Eric Colossal

Title: Rutabaga: Adventure Chef
Author: Eric Colossal
Publisher: Abrams Books
Reviewer: Snowden
Age: 11

     This is a review of the book “Rutabaga the Adventure Chef” Eric Colossal.  It’s a graphic novel. I am going to start explaining this book now. It’s about a young boy named Rutabaga who meets three young adventurers. Winn their leader, Manny the injured, and Beef the tank.
     When the adventure begins Rutabaga decided that he wanted to go with them on their journey to kill the all mighty dragon that destroyed their castle. When they finally get to the cave where the dragon lives they find nothing but an egg. When Rutabaga tries to cook it a baby dragon pops out! He ran away but after a while they caught up with it. It was with its mom the Mighty dragon. All three adventurers were wiped out except for Rutabaga the ADVENTURE chef.  He pulled out some exploding mushrooms and threw them at the dragon and killed it. 
     You think that’s a lot of action? Well get ready that was only the first chapter!
     I am not going to write down the whole book (in case someone wants to read it.) But in the end here I would like to say, I really enjoyed reading this book I would recommend it to 8-10 year olds because there is a little death and darkness in this book, but it’s also funny and charming too!! I guarantee you will have a blast reading this book. I know I did!!!

     

Luv Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle

Title: Luv Ya Bunches

Author: Lauren Myracle

Publisher: Abrams Books

Rating: 5 stars

Reviewer: Leah R.

Age: 11

I read a book called Luv Ya Bunches, by Lauren Myracle. It was amazing!!!!! This book is about four friends in middle school who try to break up a group of mean girls. There are many lessons in it about friendships.  This was a life changing book for me. I could relate to the characters.  This helped me feel involved with the story. They seemed almost real to me.  My favorite part was almost at the end, at the ice cream social.  Do the friends succeed in their plan to break up the mean girls?  What happens at the ice cream social?  Will this book change your life too?  It is a great book! I hope you enjoy Luv Ya Bunches as much as I did.

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Title: Johnny Tremain
Author: Esther Forbes
Date Published: 1943
Reviewer: David
Rating: 

     Johnny Tremain, was a young apprentice silversmith, he was known as the head boy on Hancock's wharf. However things soon took a turn when Johnny burnt his hand and could no longer do silver work. Now without a job he got swept up in Boston’s cry for independence in the 1770’s. He became apart of ‘The Boston Tea Party’ and ‘The Battle of Lexington’.Johnny Tremain also went through other things such as, the hardship of unemployment, love, being rejected from his family, and hunger. Despite all of this he has a revelation about his own life.
     I love this novel about historical happenings mixed in with fiction. I like how Johnny Tremain meets revolutionary characters such as Doctor Warren, Paul Revere, and John Hancock.

National Velvet by Enid Bagnold

Title: National Velvet
Author: Enid Bagnold
Date Published: 1935
Reviewer: Leah (12)
Rating:

National Velvet is a book about a girl named Velvet who loves horses. In the beginning of the book she has only one horse, but soon she receives 6. Velvet is a very good rider and everybody comments on how well her seat is. She has 3 sisters: Mally, Merry, and Edwina, and one little brother named Donald. This book in the beginning can seem kind of confusing, but you should understand more as you go along. One thing I noticed about this book is that I could not really connect with Velvet even though I love horses too. I think this is because the author did not give enough description of the character. Don't get me wrong it is a very well written book, but I felt no connection. Velvet was supposedly born with a natural seat and I don't doubt that that can happen, but it just seems she barely had any practice and was an amazing rider who wins awards, which I think is very unrealistic. When I finished this book I was not very satisfied first because I did not understand the character, and at the end she did not get what she deserved. I am sorry to say that I would not read this book again or recommend it to a friend. On a good note this is a great book on girl empowerment. #GirlPower

I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Title: I Was Here
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Viking Books
Reviewer: Katie (12)
Recommended Age: Grade 9+
Rating:

 I’m doing this review on the book, I Was Here by Gayle Forman. I think it’s good to be honest in book reviews.  Well, here I am being honest. I totally cried about six times. That being said, I might want to tell you what this book is about. Cody is the girl whose story I am telling you about, and her best friend Meg who committed suicide. Except that Cody thinks that somebody helped her.  In this book you go on a long journey with Cody to find out what really happened to her better half.
     Cody and Meg had known each other since they were children. Meg went off to college and Cody stayed in the town they grew up in.  Cody would go to visit every once in a while, but the visits grew less and less as Cody was unconsciously envious that Meg got out of their small town. They never kept secrets though. Or that’s what Cody thought.
     Meg’s ex-boyfriend, Ben, and Cody went on a search for the suspect who might have helped Meg commit suicide.  They ended up in Nevada to confront him.
     Reading this book will make you feel what Cody felt. Anger at the people calling her dead best friend crazy and sadness over losing an amazing character/friend. In conclusion, this a tragically beautiful story with well thought out characters and I recommend it to all teenagers who enjoy thought provoking and emotional books.

The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of Pig by Emer Stamp

Title: The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of Pig
Author: Emer Stamp
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Reviewer: Bennimus
Age: 15
Recommended Age: 7-12
Rating: 3.9

WARNING: Crude humor protocol level 2:
Fart/Poop jokes.
Adults will be offended




Stretching the physical boundaries of time and space, The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of Pig brings out the child's innocent desire to save animals as Pig goes there and back again to not get eaten by the Farmer (or catapulted into oblivion by the chickens). A very funny and entertaining book if you have a somewhat irreverent mind, because beware, the book is filled to the brim with poo and farts to keep your little devils laughing it up.

This book explores the blissful ignorance of the animals and the misunderstandings they might have, which, of course, has to be hilarious. This book is a must-have for every little kid who loves animals and particularly enjoys their lack of proper human intelligence.

Candy Fairies: Cool Mint by Helen Perelman

Title: Candy Fairies: Cool Mint
Author: Helen Perelman
Publisher: Simon & Schuster / Aladdin
Reviewer: Sadie
Age: 11
Rating: 5 Hearts

The Candy Faries: Cool Mint is an easy book to read. I like it because it has funny ways of saying things are good, such as "so mint", "Choc-o-rific", and so on. The main character is a small mint fairy who has a sled and wants to race it. Like I said the book is an easy book with no hard words, so this is a good book to practice reading on if somebody in your family is just learning. The book is a fun book with many different Candy lands. Pretty cool, right? They grow mint and other candies and it is a great book and I can't wait to read the next one!

Creature Keepers and the Hijacked Hydro-hide by Peter Nelson & Rohitash Rao

Title: Creature Keepers and the Hijacked Hydro-hide

Authors: Peter Nelson & Rohitash Rao

Publisher: Balzer & Bray (Harper Collins)

Reviewer: Sadie

Age: 10

Rating: 5 Hearts

If you like funny and adventurous and sometimes sad, but mostly funny books, you would like this one. The characters are humans that help the creatures, and the creatures are cryptids.

The problem the characters faced in this book was saving the Loch Ness Monster. The main character was Jordan Grimsley. and he wanted to see all the Cryptids. My favorite character was Bernard the totally awesome Skunk Ape, because he was super funny and awesome.

Here are some actual things said in the book:

“Gentlemen, the bunny has landed.”

“Sorry if i got too real back there. That’s kinda my thing. Keepin’ it real, I mean.”

“That’s quite enough Lou.”

“Just keepin’ it real.”

“Real dumb.”

“You wanna piece of this, stinky?”

The best scene was when Bernard first came up from the pool and started bickering with Lou. It is such a cool book and if you read it I hope you enjoy it!

Wish by Beth Bracken and Kay Fraser (Faerieground Series #1)

Title: Wish
Authors: Beth Bracken and Kay Fraser
Illustrator: Odessa Sawyer
Publisher: Stone Arch Books
Reviewer: Sadie (9)
Rating: 5 Hearts

           This book was AWESOME. It is a Great fairy, love, action book. The best Book I’ve ever read. It was full of great things like a forest called Fairy Ground, two girls who find out one of them  was the Fairy Queen’s daughter, romance, anger, prison, lie’s and wishes.

            I love this book because I like the fairy grounds. I showed two of my friends and they asked if they could read it. My favorite person in this book is Soli, Soli is my favorite because she made a mess and she was willing to risk her life to fix it.

         So if you like this book it’s got GREAT pictures. And it’s REALLY cool, the Fairy Grounds is a place where if you make a wish it will come true. I really think you should buy it. I liked this book So much that when I started reading when I was on chapter 13 or 14 when I started reading it all the way to the end. Hope you like the book!

Mom's note: The illustrations throughout the book really make it a quick read and very rewarding and accessible even for those on the low end of the suggested 9-12 age range. It is a book that my daughter looked at and said, "Ooooohhh."

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Princess
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: March 19, 2013
Reviewer: Bethany (15)
Rating: 5 cheeseburgers

“Clockwork Princess” is the final installment in the Infernal Devices trilogy. I reviewed the first book, “Clockwork Angel,” in April of last year, so as it’s now April again I thought I would write a review of the closing. May contain slight spoilers.

The series takes place in 1878 London, England. Tessa Gray, an American shape-shifter, is being protected at the London Institute by the shadowhunters, a special race of people bred to kill demons. It’s been two months since the close of “Clockwork Prince,” and Tessa is still stuck in a love triangle between her English fiancé, James Carstairs, and his best friend William Herondale. The race to find Mortmain, the man who created Tessa, comes to a head when she’s kidnapped from the Institute. Now William must rescue her before Mortmain can use her powers for evil.

If there’s a better series out there than the Infernal Devices, I haven’t read it yet. At first, I was apprehensive to read “Clockwork Princess,” as I didn’t want the story to end, but I found that the ending was one of the best closings I have ever read. It’s such a wonderful story, as well as the Mortal Instruments, Cassandra Clare’s other shadowhunter series, which hasn’t ended yet. I can’t really articulate how much I love her writing, and how much I love her stories. I said it in my review of “Clock Angel,” and I’ll say it again: the Infernal Devices is my favorite book series to date. It broke my heart. Beautiful read, five whole cheeseburgers.

Rock 'N' Roll Soldier by Dean Ellis Kohler and Susan VanHecke

Title: Rock 'N' Roll Soldier
Author: Dean Ellis Kohler and Susan VanHecke
Publisher: HarperTeen
Reviewer: Benny
Rating: 4.5 Cheeseburgers

Prepare to have your mind blown. Rock n’ Roll Soldier is a unique, true, memoir about Dean Kohler’s service in the Vietnam War during which he starts a rock band, gets some chicks, and even records a single. This is a book that made me look at music in a different life-changing way. I no longer see it as a way to entertain people, but as a way to lift their spirits and let them sink into it. All that Kohler had to do while fighting the Viet Cong forces in Qui Nhon. The effort described in the book was surprising and entertaining to me and I congratulate Kohler for his great efforts and loyalty.

Anyone who loves music and warfare will love this book, though it has some mild language and some weird moments that the little kiddies wouldn’t understand. Also, the plot will have some gaps unless you know about the Vietnam War. At first, I wondered why Kohler had a Vietnamese girlfriend when they were attacking Vietnam, but then I looked it up and found out they were supporting southern Vietnam whilst fighting northern Vietnam.

I like the fact that something that actually happened turned out to look so much like a fictional story. However, I think the Author’s Note would be much better labeled “Prologue” because it seemed more like a prologue than an author’s note, because I didn’t know what was happening because I skipped the Author’s Note. But it was a very good book which was very well put together, and not only taught me the power of music but also how humanity can work together to build skyscrapers, form an organized society, and even play rock bands in warzones. This book restored my faith in humanity, as well as taught me the true meaning of music.

For more info, visit the book's web site: Rock 'N' Roll Soldier

Once Was Lost by Sarah Zarr

Title: Once Was Lost
Author: Sara Zarr
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Publication Date: October 1, 2009
Reviewer: Bethany (15)
Rating: 5 cheeseburgers

“Once Was Lost” is the story of fifteen-year-old Samara Taylor, the daughter of a pastor. The book takes place at the end of a long, hot summer, when her mother lands in rehab after a DUI and her father seems more interested in his congregation than his family. Sam struggles contemplatively with her faith, what little she had left fighting for survival once another tragedy strikes the hot Californian town in which she lives.

I liked “Once Was Lost” because it was different. It wasn’t a love story, even though Samara does develop an interest in a boy in her town, and it wasn’t about whether God exists or not. It was about the characters; not just Sam, but everyone, and their suffering and recovery. My favorite line in the book is, “I want to believe the stories, that there really is someone who would search the whole mountainside just to find that one thing that he loves, and bring it home.” It basically sums up the novel in its entirety. Thanks to Sara Zarr, Samara is now one of my favorite literary characters. The religious aspect is a device used to show how Sam really loses herself, and though you never really learn where she stands on the subject of God by the end, I think the book was better for it. I give it five whole cheeseburgers; my love for Sara Zarr is cemented.

Note from editor: This book has a new title, What We Lost. Don't be confused! :) It was a National Book Award Finalist too. 

Hunger (Gone #2) by Michael Grant

Title: Hunger (Gone #2) 
Author: Michael Grant 
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Reviewer: Shira (11)
Rating: 11/10

 Readers won't be able to put the book down, and will be submersed in the world of the 'FAYZ' -- A world of kids all under 15 years of age, trapped in a forcefield like bubble, and gaining mutant superpowers.

 In Hunger, we follow the main character, Sam Temple, and his friends as they try to survive in the world of the FAYZ while fighting Sam's brother, Cain Soren,and his posse. In the end, the kids team up to fight the 'Gaiaphage',a mutant power that has been growing in the depths of the earth, living off of nuclear power from a meteorite that hit Perdido Beach, CA, 13 years prior.

 This book is undoubtedly the best book I'v read ,I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves action, drama, and excitement.

Skinny by Donna Cooner

Title: Skinny
Author: Donna Cooner
Publisher: Scholastic Teen
Publication Date: October 1, 2012
Reviewer: Maggie (13)


“Skinny” tells the story of Ever, a 15 year old girl who has to deal not only with being over 100 pounds overweight, but also with a voice in her head that tells her she won’t ever be good enough – a voice called Skinny. Ever loves musicals, fairy tales, and singing, but doesn’t enter the school musical because she doesn’t want people to judge her. After Ever accidentally breaks a chair at a school function, she decides to undergo gastric bypass surgery, which basically cuts down the size of her stomach permanently so she won’t eat as much (and will therefore lose weight).

The book is mostly about Ever’s life after the surgery, and how her life at school changes when she loses weight and gains some confidence, therefore defeating Skinny. However, there’s a subplot where Ever chases after a guy, Jackson (who hasn’t noticed her since she started gaining weight) only to realize that her best friend, Rat, has been in love with her the whole time.

“Skinny” was pretty well written – I really liked the scene near the end when Ever realizes that Skinny doesn’t actually know anything about her, and all Ever needs to do to move on with her life is ignore the little voice in her head. The book had some funny bits, and it showed that losing weight isn’t always as easy as dieting and exercise. That said, Ever wasn’t always a really sympathetic character to me. She obviously had good reason to be upset – besides her problems at school, her mother died of cancer when she was ten, and she doesn’t really get along with her stepsisters that well at the beginning of the book. But that’s kind of Ever’s fault – she’s so busy feeling sorry for herself that she kind of assumes her stepsisters hate her, and she’s pre-emptively mean to them. That goes for most of the people at her school, as well – whenever Skinny tells her “Oh, those people think you’re a waste of space,” Ever gets annoyed at them even if they never actually said anything.

In the end, I think this is a pretty good book, but I think it’s definitely geared more towards teenager-ish girls than boys.

The Encyclopedia of Me by Karen Rivers

Title: The Encyclopedia of Me
Author: Karen Rivers
Publication Date: September 2012
Publisher: Scholastic
Reviewer: Martina (11)
Rating: 4 ½ Cheeseburgers

The Encyclopedia Of Me is written from the point of view of “Tink” Isadora Aaron-Martin, a 12-year-old girl from the outskirts of New York, New York. It takes you through her friend troubles, boy drama and shows you the hardships of having an autistic brother, while sorting it alphabetically and in the layout of a proper encyclopedia. This book gives you the definition of friendship, loyalty, and love. It is an amazing book for 10-14 year old girls though I wouldn’t recommend it for a guy because it’s a walk in a girl’s shoes and probably wouldn’t make much sense. Overall, The Encyclopedia of Me is an exhilarating, funny and captivating novel that left me begging for more.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Author: Ernest Cline
Publisher: Random House
Publication date: August 16, 2011
Reviewer: Benny (12)
Rating: 5 Cheeseburgers


In a very popular virtual reality online multiplayer game, something that could change the world happens, and it all comes to life in this great novel. This book uses video game language, so it's easy for gamers to understand.
  The creator of the game passed away, and left behind the greatest video game competition of all time, so great that some people would kill to win it. It's up to five game adicts to rescue the game from going into the wrong hands. This thrilling novel has kept me longingly reading for a long time. Anyone who's addicted to video games will love this book.
  This book has mild language, but it isn't very strong. The book is also relatively hard to comprehend by people who aren't gamers due to its occasional video game language. It also has some very tragic points in it. Some points that made me feel as if the end of the book was really close.
  The characters in this book are really well thought through, and the position the main character finds himself in. Him having a crush on a girl who he's never known except for how hot her avatar looked. The
book also makes a good impression on what it might be in the future. How terrible it is with everyone starving, homeless, and having to escape it all by playing a video game.

Infinity Ring by James Dashner

Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication date: August 28, 2012
Reviewer: Stephen (11)
Rating: 3 Cheeseburgers


It’s about two nerds, Dak and Sera, who have a time travel device and try to save the world. Dak’s parents invented the Infinity Ring, Sera got it working and they are approached by the Hystorians, who need the Infinity Ring to correct Breaks in history, stop the SQ, and save the
world from a Cataclysm. The book was interesting because of the time travel concept and science stuff, but the plot is not really explained and there is no explanation of what is going on and what the SQ is. I think it is a decent read for ages 11 and up, and I would give it 3 stars.

Infinity Ring: A Mutiny in Time

Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication date: August 28, 2012
Reviewer: Benny (12)
Rating: 4 Cheeseburgers

This is the soon-to-be first book of a series called "Infinity Ring". It's about a couple of kids named Dak and Sera that discover that Dak's parents have been working on a top-secret experiment: A handheld time-space wormhole device known as the Infinity Ring (or you could just call it a pocket time machine, whatever works). Dak and Sera can't keep it a secret, and it appears to be key for a group called the Historians to fix history which has apparently been broken. Now it's up to Dak and Sera to fix history with a teenager called Riq, so a rival group called the SQ doesn't gain power in the future (or present?).

Much like the 39 clues, this is a collaborative series done by several authors, with an online game that goes along with the book. I think that the book has some sudden introductions. You kinda have to figure everything out mid-book. I didn't even know what the SQ was until, like, Chapter 15. Aside from that, it was an interesting book that I bet is the beginning of a great series. Time travel kinda confuses me, though. If Dak and Sera fix the future, then there won't be a broken past to begin with, therefore they won't come back to the past to fix it because there's nothing wrong with it, but then it would have to remain broken, and the cycle goes on and on. Still, the plot is interesting. I've read 10 of the 39 clues books and they've each had their own "flavor" so I bet these books will be like that too.

Planet Tad by Tim Carvell

Book: Planet Tad
Author: Tim Carvell
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication date: May 18, 2012
Reviewer: Ben (11)
Rating: 4 4/5 Cheeseburgers


This book is, very, very, VERY funny. In this book, Tad, a middle-school boy, who blogs every day.  He blogs about his family, his friends, about school and about everything that happens to him.  Tad has a very funny way of looking at the world and can make even the most ordinary things sound hilarious.  Very soon after I started I could not put the book down AT ALL. I read the whole thing in one night! This book is very funny and I congratulate the author on an amazing book that is worthy of many more people reading it.

My rating for this amazing book is 4.8/5, because I would like to see a little more book and a little less blog. Well that is all my own opinion and if I were some one else I would rate it 5/5.

Good work, Tim Carvell.


[Editor's note: This book is such a favorite among our reviewers (and their moms!) that our ARC is starting to look like it was chewed by wolves. One mom even asked the local comic book store to order a case, since they would make such great go-to birthday gifts. Good work, Tim Carvell, indeed!]