Spring 2003-04 Authors and Titles

This book is the “battle” that took place in London while a young African tried to get back to his country and the Civil war. He had been put into London and an accident occurred involving a hit and run that started a gang war. The boy was making plans to get back to Africa to fight the civil war that was going on over there and he was dragged into this “war” so he could save the girl who apparently did the hit and run. It turned out that the girl did not commit the hit and run but she got hurt by one of the gangs and that made the African stay in London instead of going back to his country and fighting. 

This is a story that will probably interest readers from grades 8-12. The book was a very boring book that I had trouble reading. I would pick it up and read it for about half an hour and then I would set it down. It was very hard to get through because to me it did not hold a lot of action until the end. When the “war” finally broke out the story started to get good. But that was at the end of the book so you really can’t get into it when you’re at the end. All in all it was a book that I had a hard time getting into and I would not read again. I would however recommend this for a history study for high schoolers. 
 

~Vincent Calautti, grade 8, Boardman Center Middle School 

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This book was about a boy named Mike and his family in 1933.  The family owned a store called Costa Brothers Fine Foods.  Mike has to deal with many things, like rats in his father’s shop, his sick grandfather, and a boy named Andy Simms who has chosen Mike to bully.  Mike’s family has money stored to hold them over until the depression is over, so their finances are not an issue in his house.  He catches a sneaky rat who has been stealing the cheese off his traps, and begins testing things on it that could possible make his grandfather sick.  It will be a real surprise to readers where the answer to the mystery will come from.

I really enjoyed reading this book by Katherine Ayres.  It helped me understand more about the Depression and at the same time see what life would have been like for the more fortunate families.  I would recommend this book to a sixth or seventh grader who liked historical fiction or mystery stories.  I thought the vocabulary level was low and the story was basically easy to understand.  I also felt that the ending was predictable, but would not be for a younger reader.  Readers will learn a lot from this book and I hope they enjoy it.

~Abi Dawson, 8th grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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The Farthest-Away Mountain is a magical-myth of a mountain in the distance. The mountaintop is covered in snow that changes many different colors. It is called the Farthest-Away Mountain, because no one has ever been able to reach it. No matter how long anyone travels, the Mountain has always stayed in the distance.

A girl named Dakin awakes one morning to the Mountain calling her. So she packs her things and sets out on an adventure that she would never forget. I think this book is believable for elementary school students and kids starting middle school. I really liked this book and I think that Lynne Reid Banks detailed and described astonishingly. I felt as I was reading that I was there watching, seeing every aspect of what was going on through the phases and triumphs that Dakin went through. Dakin was a very interesting character. She was bossy, but then had spunk. For a while I felt that personally we were alike in many ways. If you like mysteries or fantasies then you'll love The Farthest-Away Mountain. I could barely put this book down, and I'm sure you'll remember it just as I have.

~Kyra May, 8th grade, Reed Middle School, Hubbard, OH

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This book is about a boy named Moose who ends up on the island of Alcatraz when it was in operation. He has a sister who suffers from autism, a father who works on Alcatraz and a mom who only cares about Natalie his sister. On the island he meets a girl named Piper, who he ends up liking. She helps to get him into trouble with the warden (her dad) and Moose vows not to trust her. During this, his parents are trying to get Natalie into the Ester P. Marinoff School where they can help her with her autism. They won’t accept her, however because she is too old to go to the school. So Moose teams up with Piper and writes a letter to Al Capone asking to help his sister get into the school. Al does help and his sister gets into the school.

This is a story that will probably interest readers from grades 6-10. The book was a very interesting book that kept me hooked from the time that I started it until I finished it. There are many adventures that Moose and his sister get into and that keeps the story moving. The only bad part about the whole thing is that the narrator is speaking as if you are in his mind and everything is going on at that time like he sighs and sits down or Warden Willems folds his glasses and sits down. But over all it was a very good book, one of the best I’ve read. 
~Vincent Calautti, 8th grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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Ostrich Eye by Beth Cooley is a story about Ginger and her family.  While her parents are working during the summer, Ginger is forced to baby-sit her little sister Vivian.  Sometimes they hang out with her friend Nicholas, who is her only friend left in their small town, since all the others went on summer vacations.  Soon, Ginger, Nicholas and Vivian start to notice a strange man that seems to be following them around.  Ginger has a feeling he is her real father who abandoned her years ago, but she is afraid to tell her mom.  Ginger, Vivian and Nicholas hang out with her father in secret, and he even visits them at the house, but only when no one is home.  Overjoyed at the fact of having met her real father, it is a daily routine for Vivian and Ginger to go out with him to eat or to see a movie.  One day, Ginger and Vivian go out to rent a movie, and her father says he will take Vivian to pick up some money and candy at the bank, and then be back to pick up Ginger.  As time passes, and no one shows up, Ginger calls her mom to tell her the truth: her father kidnapped her sister.  When Ginger finds out her father is actually dead, everyone has to find the kidnapper and Vivian before it is too late.  As the story comes to a close, another twist is revealed and it is so unexpected that it changes the message of the whole novel.

Ostrich Eye is one of the best books I have ever read.  The beginning went a little slow, so I figured it was going to be another predictable novel about a teenage girl’s summer and her babysitting job that interferes with her boyfriend.  As I continued to read, the story really picked up.  I predicted the fact that this mystery man was Ginger’s father, but never expected the twist at the end.  This novel is so good I could not put it down.  I would recommend it to anyone in high school, because some of the subject matter might be inappropriate for anyone younger.

~Jennifer Pisansky, 9^th Grade, Springfield High School, Springfield, Ohio

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This book is about the murder of a young African American boy during the time that African Americans had to be in separate places from white people such as segregated bathrooms. This boy named Emmett Till comes down to Mississippi where segregation is strong and makes “ugly remarks” to a white woman and whistles at her. He is then kidnapped and brutally beaten and killed. His naked and mutilated body was found in a river three days after his disappearance. The worst part was that the men who committed the crime were pronounced innocent because the jury was made up of white men. The two men later admitted to killing Emmett and wrote a book about it. The whole thing upset Americans so much that the civil rights were started. So began the civil rights movement because of one boy’s murder.  

This is a story that will probably interest readers from grades 7-12. The book was very intense and grotesque at times because of what happened to Emmett. This book was very hard to get into at the beginning because the author decided to tell the readers what had gone on before the Emmett Till murder. I found myself constantly putting the book down and reading something else. I personally think he should have started off with the background of Emmett instead of the background of the U.S. He finally got to the background of Emmett and that is where the book started to get good. The way he described the court and what Emmett did was very good. The pictures in the book were actual pictures of the places where everything took place, including the mutilated body of Emmett. All in all, this book was a so-so book that mostly kids in high school should read. 

~Vincent Calautti, 8^th grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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In the year 1881, there is a girl named Rodzina, and she lived in Chicago with her family. Now, however, her parents have died, and she is left all alone in an orphan home. One day the people in charge of the home tell all of the orphans that they are going to the west and they will have a good life with their family. Rodzina does not believe this at all, however, and she goes on the train with visions of becoming a slave. When she gets on the train she encounters many different people like a lady doctor and a few other orphans. She also becomes friends with a little girl named Lacey. Rodzina has to face the terrible times of being on the train and being sold to many different families. Sometimes, she feels that she wants to give up hope. In the end she experiences something wonderful and is able to live a good life after all.

I think this was a very good book because everything is extremely real to life during those times. All of the characters are very vivid and can be pictured clearly. The most interesting part of the book was learning about the orphan trains and how many orphans went to different families. Also, I like the author's writing style and the way she tells her story. I would recommend this book to middle school and high school students, or anyone who wants to learn about the life orphans lead in the 1860's.

~ Joy Mistovich, 8^th Grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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Elana has just graduated from the Federation Anthropological Service Academy. She has also been told that she is going to go on her first solo mission; she is to be going to the Youngling planet of Toris to observe the key to make it through the Critical Stage. The Critical Stage is when a Youngling planet (less advanced people live on these planets than the people of the Federation planets as Elana does) is on the brink of a nuclear war. Most of the time, a Youngling planet doesn't make it past this stage. Most of the time, the

nuclear war wipes out the planet's entire population, in other words, it keeps the Federation Service from finding a way to stop the Critical Stage and saving millions of innocent people. What Elana doesn't know though, is that another Service member, Randil, will be positioned in the same city as she will, but she doesn't learn this until one day in the library which will completely change the lives they live now. Elana also doesn't know that her roommate, Kari, starts going out with Randil, which creates a major complication. When the

Service members have to leave, how will she tell Kari that Randil and she have to leave forever? What makes things worse, is Randil is going to try and save the entire planet of Toris and wants her to help, but he doesn't realize that since she's on a solo mission, they're not allowed to communicate.

I loved this book! I thought it was well written and throughout the entire thing, it leads up to an exiting and dangerous adventure. I would highly recommend this novel for grades 6-10 because that's the age group that is going through the most stressful time in their life and it would be relaxing to sit down and read this book!

~Kayla Aldan, 8th grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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This book is about a young girl, Bonnie, who faces trouble at home.  She tries to fix it all by running away from the verbal abuse.  She ends up in a different world, where everything is seemingly parallel to her old world.  The exception is, that there is now two of her...  She loves this world, these people... They welcomed her without questions.  However, she has choices to make and an adventure to make.....

 I recommend this book for anybody with a sense of mystery and adventure.  It is a page turner.  You really can't put the book down.  It gives you a window into another world, and it shows the consequences of wishing for too much.  It is suitable for Grade 7- Adult.  It takes some understanding, but I believe that it is well worth the efforts.

~Jenn Carman, 8th Grade, Boardman Glenwood Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke, is a very dull and boring book.  The book takes place in modern-day Europe.  It is about how Meggie and Mo, Meggie’s father, are forced to leave their home because Capricorn, a mysterious character, is coming to their house to retrieve a very special book. They travel to Meg’s Aunt Elinor’s house, which contains a very extensive library and many vaults that contain valuable books.  Soon, however, Capricorn’s men manage to get hold of the book, which turns out to be called Inkheart, and they kidnap Mo.  It turns out that when Mo read Inkheart out loud the characters came out, one of whom is Capricorn.

Generally when I read books I can easily get through them. However, after the first 200 pages of so of Inkheart, I realized that it was very tedious and boring.  The story was not very interesting and it kept going on and on.  It was a very slow read.  It wasn’t very believable, and I feel that even a fantasy book like this has to be realistic enough to get the reader to relate to it.  There is a little background on the characters, but the background basically just says a lot without really telling you anything.  I would not recommend this book to anyone.

~Jonathan Raybin, 8th grade, Stanton Middle School, Kent, Ohio

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Wise Child used to live with her mother, Maeve. Her father, Fillan, was off on one of his merchant ships. It was when she was but a little girl that her mother left her with her grandmother. With each passing day, Wise Child's grandmother gets weaker and sicker. Soon, Wise Child moves in with her aunt because she no longer has a grandparent to live with. There lies a problem; her aunt can't afford to house another mouth under her roof. They decide to have a public auction to give Wise Child into a good family. Wise Child ends up going to live with Juniper, the village’s "witch" as she's known to the villagers. She learns to have a wonderful life learning all of the different herbs and learning different academic lessons from Juniper. Wise Child enjoys living with Juniper and would never want to go back to her mother because she remembers that her mother was cruel to her and never really loved her. Her mother also doesn't like Juniper, in fact she hates Juniper. That's when Wise Child must decide which person she'd rather live with, and it may not work out as planned.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and I believe that anyone would love this book if they were to take the time to read. Wise Child's life is like any other person's life on this earth. Her life is full of hard decisions. I would recommend this book to grades 5 through 12, but anyone who would want to read it could read it because it is such a good book. It would brighten any day just to sit and read a chapter or two. I enjoyed reading this book and will read it again!

~Kayla Aldan, 8th grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, crownprincess of Kildenree, did not wake for three days until her aunt visited the newborn, telling her stories of ancient tales thought to be lost long ago.  When growing up her father, the King, and her beloved aunt passed away, leaving Ani, who was already labeled as “different”, all alone in a world of unsatisfied people.  Soon she broken-heartedly discovered she would be sent away to marry the prince of Bayern, preventing war between the two countries. Unfortunately, after departing for her long journey, her lady-in-waiting, who had seemed so loyal, conceived a horrendous plan with her lover Ungolad to murder the princess and take her place.  While the boisterous traitors destroyed Ani’s loyal guards, including Talone, who was like a father to Ani, she managed to escape, although Ungolad nearly killed her.  She later became a lowly goose girl in Bayern since Selia, her lady-in-waiting, had already taken over the kingdom.  Despite her countless misfortunes while maintaining secrecy and endure life without the comforts she was accustomed to, Ani eventually regained her position, earning numerous friends and cherishing the depth of her talent on the way.

Early on in life, Anidori-Kiladra faced many difficulties because of her unusual gift of animal-speaking, whereas her mother and Selia possessed the gift of people-speaking, seemingly giving them more power.  After years of enduring her mother’s rules of “Separation, Elevation, Delegation,” Ani was betrayed, first by the queen, then by her best friend, until she was stranded alone in the forest with no one to help her.  Although Ani always strove to be like her mother, in truth, she was far more fortunate with her rare talents.  She was not only compassionate but also shunned and continuously pummeled with others’ hatred.  Eventually, fortune allowed her to stumble upon Gilsa and her son Fynn, people who actually cared enough to aid and heal Ani from her disoriented wanderings, people who had no place but the forest and were treated like unwanted animals.  Despite her cheerfulness, the unadvised fear of Ungolad returning lurked in the back of her mind. She was forced to live in secret like a criminal while attempting to right the wrongs Selia ill fully created through greed.  Her true courage finally proved true when she did not run away but stayed in Bayern as a goose girl.  For once, the workers appreciated Ani, and she in turn treated her own special horse Falada with the most respect only to find him gone mad and slaughtered.  All she knew rejected her, but she progressed from losing everything to discovering true love and lasting friendship.  In this tale so near the stories Ani relayed to other workers, Anidora struggled to complete her journey with no hopes of ever marrying the prince; however, greed’s power eventually dissipated so that everything was restored to its proper order. Shannon Hale's countless twists and turns throughout her fantastic novel keeps readers of all ages clinging to the characters and growing with them until they almost become a part of the readers' lives, providing me with a wonderfully detailed look into the past.

~Rebecca Theophanous, 9th Grade, Boardman High School, Boardman, Ohio

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Love, Ghosts, and Facial Hair is author Steven Herrick’s beliefs about love as a teenager.   Jack is the main character in this free verse story.

Jack lives with his dad, sister and the ghost of his dead mother.  Alone at night, Jack talks with the ghost--she is as much a part of his life as his living family--until he meets Annabel.  Annabel is the first person who understands Jack's thoughts, which includes love and facial hair.  Together, the two begin to see what love and life is all about and Jack makes a step toward the future without dwelling on the past.

The book is enjoyable and especially appreciable for middle school to early high school students.  Juniors and seniors in high school may feel a little too old for the full effect of this book.  Students in their later teens may feel like they have exceeded Jack's stage in life, where as younger students will better relate to the mystery of a maturing relationship.  However, at no matter what age, all students will be able to relate to Jack's character.  This novel is written so well that any person would easily be able to visualize his or herself in Jack’s situation.  Love, Ghosts, and Facial Hair, also gives two female perspectives for those who find it hard to relate to a male character.  The female sub-characters, Jack's sister and Annabel, are as well detailed as Jack's personality.  All the characters are well presented and developed.

This story is more like a heart to heart conversation with a friend than a fictional story.  Love, Ghosts, and Facial Hair, is an easy read, casual and fun.  However, it is enjoyable enough to earn a permanent place on the book shelf.

~Roslyn Esperon, 12th grade, Canfield High School, Canfield, Ohio

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Kashega is a small village of happiness and peace. It is a place to hunt and fish, for this is about the only way people can survive. The village is on the eastern tip of Alaska and a few families live there. A girl named Vera, who lives in Unalaska, wants to visit her family and friends in this village. When she gets there her mother, father, and friends are very happy to see her again. She is thrilled to be with them. On this vacation she lives her days to the fullest extent of happiness. Later, however, in June 1942 Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, and all of the people in the village must evacuate. But before they can do this, they are taken by the military on a ship called the SS Columbia. A few other villages are also taken on the ship. Once aboard the ship government officials tell everyone that they want them to be saved, thus the reason they are being moved to another location. No one believes this, but they listen to the officials anyway. When everyone reaches their first destination they disembark the ship and begin their new life. This destination is a temporary camp which is called Wrangell Institute, and everyone tries to live the best that they can. After they leave Wrangell Institute they move on to two other campsites, and by 1945, everyone was allowed to go back to their own village. By the time each returns to his village, they find very few people who survived. When Vera goes back to her village she finds a terrible horror, and therefore, she must begin a new life.

I think this book of poetry was a good one because it told about the Aleutian people of Alaska and how they had to survive in different surroundings. However, I did not expect that this book would be free verse poetry. This type of poetry is all in its own category, and it takes a little bit more thought to truly like it. I would recommend this book to grades 7 through 12, or it can be for anyone who wants to learn about the Aleutian people and how they survived World War II.

~Joy Mistovich, 8th Grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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This book really opened my eyes to the life of the immigrants in New York on the Lower East Side.  It is the popular opinion that America was a great place to come to from other countries, but this was not always true.  It was hard to find jobs and housing in the city, and many went hungry.  This book told the story of several young people during this time period.  It followed the lives of Rose Cohen, Leonard Covello, Maurice Hindus, Pauline Newman, and Marcus Ravage. These true characters told the story of the hunger and deprivation of so many people on the Lower East Side. Another part of life it told about was the jobs of these citizens.  Women had to work making clothes and dresses for very low wages.  Many immigrants had to buy products at the store and resell them on the street.  In any case, all had to find a way to make money and pay rent.  Many also felt the need to get an education at the same time.  They had to go to night school and get day jobs to pay for a place to sleep. I found this book interesting and informative.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in American History or economics.  I would not recommend it to anyone under age 12 because it is difficult to read with a high vocabulary level and requires some previous knowledge of this time period.  This book included intriguing characters even though they were nonfiction.  I think it would hold the interest of readers even if they weren’t interested in this time period.  I enjoyed this book and hope that others will enjoy it too.

~Abi Dawson, 8th Grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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Jarrett Logan is sixteen, which in 1910 was old enough to make your own path in life.  Jarrett refuses the job his father got him at the railroad so he can fight forest fires.  While applying for a firefighter job, he finds his brother, Samuel Logan.  Jarrett and Samuel meet Lizbeth and Celia Whitcomb while patrolling the forest and fall in love.  Jarrett then joins the fight with his new friend, Seth, in the fight against the forest fires destroying Idaho and Montana.  The fires become worse then anyone imagine and they threaten everything and everyone Jarrett holds dear. 

I feel this book is confusing in the beginning because of the way it uses three separate perspectives.  As you continue to read these three perspectives give you an interesting look from all sides.  I can relate to some of the characters in this book, as will many others.  I would recommend this book to high school juniors and seniors, although guys may relate to the story line better than girls. 

~Kelly Leonard, 10th grade, Niles McKinley High School, Niles, Ohio

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Tess is not your average teenager. She is a dedicated violinist. She has one bad solo and her whole outlook on her future career is questioned. She takes a trip to see her father in Montana, her old home, trying to shape her destiny. When she was a child, her life was changed one Christmas when she received her violin as a Christmas present. Her parents get into argument after argument and Tess and her mother move to New York.

 Tess attends a regular high school at first and then she begins to tackle both high school and music school. She auditions for chairs and she gets 2nd which is a very high honor. She meets a boy named Ben and they become good friends and eventually start dating. She does this her freshman, sophomore, and junior years and then she begins to question her motives. She spends the summer with her dad, her stepmom, and her stepsister Amy. They go hiking in the woods because her stepmom is an Archaeologist. They discover the story of Freddrick Bottner, also a Violin player. His daughter Katherine is still alive.  Tess and her stepmom visit Katherine at her nursing home and discover Freddrick's violin. After her vacation, Tess realizes her home is in New York with her violin at hand.

 I enjoyed this story because I understand how hard it is sometimes to be a musician. It really brings home the meaning of what a true musician and true dreams are made of. I would recommend this book for anyone in 7- 12 grade, who really enjoys music and its challenges.

~Darla Conti, 8th grade, Lowellville High School, Lowellville, Ohio

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This book is about a mummy named Ramose who lives in Egypt.  His mum got taken away from him and now the mummy Ramose wants to find his mum.  He tries finding her by a talking camel, by ship, and by getting help from a pigeon.  This book is set in modern times.  Ramose's problems in the book were his mum was stolen from their tomb, the camel, Mahmut, he rode on was stubborn, and if he touched something too hard his hand that he touched the thing with would turn to dust.  The camel found it fun to torment Ramose by turning the wrong way while they were traveling and he even ran away at the beginning of their journey.  I really liked the part when Ramose was riding the camel through the red lands because Mahmut was mean to Ramose.  He ran to the spot where they began and he pretended not to hear Ramose.  It was really funny.  This book is fiction and it couldn't happen because mummies and animals don't talk and mummies can't walk or come to life.  The characters in this book are likeable because they are funny and interesting.  This is a good book because it is humorous and engaging.  I feel that 10 and 11 year old kids would really like the story.  If people like fantasy books they would like this book.

 ~Abe Chevlen, 5th Grade, Akiva Acadamy, Youngstown, Ohio

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Budda Boy is a novel about a boy named Jinsen and his experiences moving to a new school.  When he arrives at Edward Rucher High School, he is labeled a freak by his fellow classmates and becomes the victim of constant insults, criticism and taunts from the jocks.  When Justin is paired to work on a class project with Jinsen, he is forced to go to Jinsen's house after school in order to finish the assignment.  While there, Justin learns a lot about Jinsen, including that he has great artistic abilities and that he has had a very hard life.  Before long, Justin and Jinsen become close friends, and as a result Justin too, begins to get picked on.  He must decide whether he wants to stand up for both himself and Jinsen, or if he wants to sacrifice a friendship in order to fit in with the popular kids.

 I guess the old cliché is true, you can't judge a book by its cover.  I'll admit, when I first received this book I was not at all interested in reading it, because it didn't seem like the type of novel I would like. Once I began reading however, I was pleasantly surprised, and I really enjoyed this novel.  The entire storyline was very believable, because you always see kids getting picked on at school.  This book really made me step back and think how those kids are affected by seemingly harmless bullying. Also I felt this book had many great twists that added to the plot, such as the fact that Jinsen himself was once a bully.  I would recommend this book to anyone in Intermediate School because it was fairly easy reading, but I think that high school students would enjoy it as well.

~Jennifer Pisansky, 9^th Grade, Springfield High School, Springfield, Ohio

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Bittersweet by Drew Lamm is a book about Taylor Rose, a young artist. 

She lives with her father and her grandmother, and her grandmother has always been her inspiration for her artwork.  But when Taylor's grandmother becomes ill, Taylor is no longer able to create artwork the way she used to, and she has trouble dealing with all the changes in her life.  Adding to the confusion is Mike, a boy she hates but suddenly finds herself hanging out with, and Bears, her next door neighbor and best friend.  It is soon time for the art competition Taylor and her grandmother have been planning for their whole life, but without her grandmother by her side, Taylor doesn't know if she will be able to create any artwork to submit.

I thought this was a very good book, but also very predictable.  I think that if Mike would have raped Taylor's best friend, that may have added to the storyline. (Although maybe he did, and I just missed it, because at times the characters were very confusing.) I thought that the book was also a little bit repetitive in that Taylor was constantly trying to create new art and then failing. Also you knew that her grandmother was going to die before it even happened. I did however enjoy the fact that at the end of the novel Taylor found her grandmother's journal. I felt this was an enjoyable and unexpected twist in the plot.

~Jennifer Pisansky, 9th grade, Springfield High School, Springfield, Ohio

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I really enjoyed this book. It's about a 14-year-old girl named Clem who takes an adventure out sea. She ends up sailing her boat that is called the Fisher Bird and ends up finding a Chinese man named Tong Ling who has to hide out because he is Chinese and he came to America. Is this book believable? Yes, because any person that wants to reach their goal can do so.

Clem sails her boat to get Tong Ling to safety. Along with her on this journey is Sarah, who is her cousin that she really hates, and Jed, someone that she met at a funeral for Sarah's dad. They all team up together to help Tong Ling. Sarah always has rude comments to Clem. That's why Clem doesn't like Sarah. But in the end they end up liking each other. Clem's Uncle Doran turns out to be a bad guy in the story. He doesn't like Chinese men so he and his partner Ray Chung were going to kill the Chinese men. At the end of the book, Clem catches her Uncle Doran, and saves the day by getting Tong Ling to where he had to go. Uncle Doran was arrested and so was Ray Chung.

I think this is a great book. For anyone who likes adventure books, get this one. When I grabbed this book I thought it was going to be boring, but once I stared reading it was really interesting. I really like it. Like the saying, don't judge a book by its cover. You may think a book seems boring or stupid but it turns out to be your favorite book.  Who I think that would like this book is grades 6-8. I choose those grades not because it’s a "Little Kids' Book" but that they would enjoy it more. High school kids might want a more mature book then this one. Not saying that this one isn't. But as you get older you want a book that's suitable for your age group.

~Victoria Baughman, 8th grade, Reed Middle School, Hubbard, Ohio

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Arthur Penhaligon is about to die due to the deadliest asthma attack he's ever had on Monday. If it hadn't been for two oddly shaped and dressed men by the names of Sneezer and Mister Monday, he would be. When they arrived in his world, they brought with them the first part of the first Key(that is in the shape of a minute hand of a clock) to the Lower House of the Epicenter of All Creation. Part One of the Will has chosen Arthur as the Rightful Heir to the Architect's House. First, he must battle Mister Monday to get the second and greater half of the Key, which is the hour hand. Together, these two hands will form the first Key, Monday's Key. After he has accomplished this, he goes back to the Secondary Realms, his home. On Tuesday, he's going to have to go back to the House that had nearly killed him on Monday. There he must battle Grim Tuesday to get the Second Key of the House. This time, though, he doesn't get help from the first Part of the Will as he did when he went up against Mister Monday. His Lord Tuesday is also a lot smarter than his rival Lord Monday was. Arthur isn't quite ready to go up against what Grim Tuesday has in store for him. The adventure he has begun to embark on continues after Tuesday in the upcoming books and isn't about to end any time soon.

I loved both of these books. I'm going to make sure to get the rest of the series as the books come out because they were so good! I was reading well into the night each day after I finished all of my activities because they were so excellent! I would recommend the entire series (even though some of the books aren't even out yet) to grades 4 through 12 because they're extremely entertaining, better than a lot of books that I have read and that's quite a lot! I really enjoyed these books and I hope that anyone else who reads them likes them as much as I did.

~Kayla Aldan, 8th grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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Ebba Rose, known as Rose, was the last and seventh child in the family. She had been named after the eastern point on the compass rose, but she was a north-born, so her father had secretly called her Nyamh. Where she came from, the parents named their children after their birth direction, in other words, the direction they had been facing when they were born. Rose was always wandering around and never staying in one spot. This was because of her birth direction. North-borns are always wanderers discovering new places and new things. Because of that reason, her mother didn't like northern children, so she refused to believe that her child was a north-born. So the only person who actually took note of the truth, was Rose's father. It wasn't until several years later that a white bear came to the family's door and asked for Rose to come with him. Her family was refusing, even if it meant the death of one of their other daughters, Sara. The bear said he would be back in one week to receive Rose's answer, not her family's. A week passed all too quickly. The Bear was back to receive Rose's answer. Right after that, Rose and the Bear were on their way, leaving a devastated family behind them. Hence begins Rose's journey to find out who the Bear really is, but she must figure it out on her own, for even he does not remember. Rose ends up on her own, to find out the truth...

I thought this novel was excellent! I finished it in two nights--that's how good it was! It was full of adventure and excitement, keeping me embedded in Rose's journey. I highly recommend this book for grades 5 and up! It's the perfect book to read when you're bored or when you have to do a book report because you can't put it down!

~Kayla Aldan, 8th grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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Brown Hannah has lived in the Tanglewood for as long as she can remember. Her caretakers are Badger and Magpie, along with the company of three fox pups. Once every month, she must pluck the herbs and plants that grow among her hair to make an herbal tea for the Wizard of the Wood. Every once in a while, she sees young knights come from far away. They travel into the heart of the Tanglewood, never to return. The Wizard assures her that they make it through safely, but Hannah finds out otherwise. She ventures into the wood's heart and learns the truth. The treasure the knights seem to be seeking is tons of piles of gold coins, pearls, and loads of all sorts of treasure. She notices though, that the Wizard has lied to her, the knights didn't make it safely through the wood, they died in the tusks of the Golden Boar for their bones lay strewn in piles along with rusting armor and rotting spears. She then faints for she had forgotten to brew the Wizard his tea, so he plucked every shoot from her head, leaving her nauseous. Her caretakers discover her and bring her back to her hut near the edge of the wood. After weeks of recovering, she is out gathering wood for the fire that burns in her home. That's when she sees another knight. She calls out to him to try and tell him that he's heading to his death. He turns and happens to be the first to actually acknowledge her. She gives him a lily from her hair for his journey. Only hours later, she decides to go after him to see if she can catch him before he goes any farther, closer to his death. She finds him with a broken leg and takes him back to her home to care for him. She learns about him and finds he is a nameless knight, for his sorcerer queen will reward the knight with his name if he returns with the treasure. Hannah sets off one night to bring the Wizard his draught and then goes to the treasure's hidden cove. Only then, she learns what she must do...

I loved this book! I really like how Hannah won't give up to find what she's determined to find. There's this saying I've heard that goes like this, "Some succeed because they're destined. Most succeed because they're determined," and I believe that this is the motto that the author is trying to get to us because determination is more powerful than destiny if you know you really want to do it. Hannah does succeed in her quest to save this nameless knight and find out who she really is. I recommend this book mainly for grades 5 through 12 or anyone who likes an outstandingly well-written book!

~Kayla Aldan, 8th grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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Alianne Cooper, known as Aly to family and friends, wanted so much to be a spy of Tortall. Her father, George, was second in command of his realm's spies. Her mother, Alanna, is the King's Champion, also known as the Lioness. It just so happens that Alanna comes home for a little vacation. This is when Aly decides her mom and dad need some time to be alone, so she goes on a little boat ride only to get herself caught by pirates. These pirates then, after shaving her head, sell her to a matcher who ends up selling her to the Balitangs. She realizes she got the best possible master who feeds all his slaves and treats them all equally whether they are raka (dark-skinned native), luarin (white-skinned conquerors), or half of each. Aly is a luarin and is picked to go with the Balitangs into exile. She only goes because it is a wager with a raka god, Kyprioth. In this wager, she must keep the four Balitang children alive through the entire summer. With the help of the crows and Nawat, who's a crow who turned into a human, along with other raka, they use Aly's skills to look for anything that gives them a wary feeling. As the summer winds on she realizes that this may be her ticket to becoming a spy for her homeland, if she lives through the summer and keeps the children alive.

I loved this book! As I read further into it, I thought to myself, "Yes, women can do the same things men can do, maybe they're even better (even if the men don't want to admit it that we can do the same things)!" I believe this is the perfect book for grades 7-12 or anyone who feels they can't do anything because after they read this book, they know they can do something, even if it's the smallest thing! Or if you're just looking for something to do, this book is perfect! Especially for those of you who are "tricksters."

~Kayla Aldan, 8th grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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Freddy lived in a pet shop. He wanted very badly to get a home. Finally, his wish came true. Freddy was bought. He was very happy. When he got to his home, he was a little shaken from the car ride. But he found that he was with a loving and caring family. Sophie, Freddy's owner, was 6 years old. Everyday when she came home from school, she fed Freddy. Freddy loved her. But she didn't know Freddy was special. Freddy was very smart. And Freddy wanted to read. So, everyday when Sophie did her homework, Freddy would try to read it. He learned fast. When he heard that Sophie's Mom had a whole book shelf full of reading material, he wanted desperately to get out and see it. So one night, he escaped. The next day, Sophie's Mom said they had to get rid of Freddy because she was allergic to him. Sophie was very sad to hear this. But her father's friend, Mr. John, said that he would take Freddy. At first, Freddy hated it because the smell was awful, but he was surrounded by books to read. He was very excited about that. Although the guinea pigs that Mr. John had made fun of Freddy, he learned to accept it. Finally one day, Mr. John's cat helped Freddy get down to the computer that Mr. John had. He finally got to type, "Dear Mr. John, Many thanks for allowing me to live in your home as a civilized hamster free to roam wherever he wants." Ever since then, Freddy and Mr. John got to communicate.

I found the book to be good. It was interesting to hear about how one tiny animal wanted to read. He tried very hard and I found that wonderful. If you like books by Dietlof Reiche, and you like hamsters, then you will like this book.

~Megan Webb, 8th grade, Reed Middle School, Hubbard, Ohio

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It is a time when knights, jugglers, and jousting were still popular. In twelfth century France, 15-year-old Eloise is going to get married to one of her father's very good friends, 30-year-old Robert. After the marriage, Robert realizes she's not happy. There isn't a twinkle in her eyes like there used to be when they were when she was a young girl. He wanted to do whatever he could to get it back because he had fallen in love with the younger, livelier girl that she had been. She never seems to enjoy the hunts when she goes with him and her only sign of little joy comes from their tiny son. It may take a lot of time getting used to, but Eloise will be able to live with it. When she meets a boy from her childhood, that's all Robert needed to get that twinkle back which had made him so attached to her in the first place. Shortly afterwards,

Robert will never see his wife or son again...

I loved this book! In the beginning, it had been going from her childhood to her wedding day, but after it stayed on her married life. I really enjoyed reading about Eloise and the song that came in after every few paragraphs. I recommend this book for grades 8-12. It may be a small book, but it's an excellent read.

~Kayla Aldan, 8th grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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This book is fantastic and I encourage everyone to read it. The story is told through a journal written by a soldier. The journal is given to Jim as a birthday present from a great-grandparent. This journal is about another Jim and starts when he is a young boy. The country that Jim lives in enters WWI. Jim's father is drafted and Jim, interested in the war, keeps good records of positions and battles. When Jim finds out about his father's death he is eager to take his father's position. With all the bad news, Jim's mother passes from mental illness. Jim goes off to war and starts to write in his journal documenting his thoughts and feelings. Finally, when "the big push" disembarked, Jim, like everyone else, thought the Germans would be easily defeated. When the soldiers charged out of their bunkers, Jim saw lines of soldiers dropping like dominoes as the Germans fired. Jim, seeing all of his friends lying in pools of blood, started to walk away. He was headed toward home where he planned to meet his girlfriend to have a picnic. Later he was found and shot for desertion. This book was very interesting. It was suspenseful and also "action packed." Since it was historical fiction, you learn some facts from the war. This book is for seventh or eighth grade boys interested in action, suspense, and war. I recommend it even to girls because it has a love story. This is a well-rounded book for everyone and I encourage you to read it.

~Joe Strawinski, 8th grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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In this book the main character is Millicent Min, who is more commonly referred to as Millie. Millie is eleven years old, but is a genius, so this summer she will be taking a poetry class at a local college. While in the fall she will be a senior at JFK High School. Her summer seems simple at the beginning, but quickly grows into tackling volleyball, new friends, tutoring, not to mention her poetry class and her family. The book focuses on the summer that Millicent has and what challenges she faces.

I think that the author that wrote this book has a very intelligent writing style and has the potential to write many great stories. The bad thing about this book is that it is unbelievable. I’m sure that maybe someone could be very smart and be eleven and getting ready to be a senior, but that’s rare. I could never really get into the book because I could never believe that this could happen. Due to the fact that I couldn’t believe the plot from page one, I didn’t like the book. I would definitely not recommend it to any of my friends. There is great vocabulary in the book and a lot of facts about famous writers, novels, scientists and mathematicians. If there weren’t so many facts and high vocabulary I would recommend this book to fourth and fifth graders because maybe they could get into the plot a little better. As for my age group I think that they could handle the vocabulary and facts, but I personally don’t know of anyone of my peers that would be interested in this book. I believe that another reason that I didn’t like this story was because I couldn’t relate to the character. The girl has no idea what being a teenager is like and she constantly talks about how she can’t wait to grow up and get a job. Not many eleven year old girls are thinking about that. Overall I was disappointed with this book, and would probably not recommend it to any of my peers.

~Dana Infante, 8^th Grade, Boardman Center Middle School, Boardman, Ohio

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