Autumn 2005 Authors and Titles:

To Top

To Top

To Top

To Top

To Top

To Top

To Top

Miri woke early in the morning, to find her sister Marda and her father asleep. She started to get dressed when her father stirred, woke, and stopped her. Miri's dream was to work in the quarry, but her father would not let her. Marda was thirteen before she was allowed to work with her father. Instead, Miri stayed at home on top of their mountain, away from the lowlanders, and tended the family goats. Her childhood friend, Peder came over later that day and brought his family's goats to tend with Miri. In the afternoon, the traders were supposed to come over the mountain to trade with the quarry workers. It was the last trade of the year, therefore it was the most important. As soon as they brought the goats home, they heard the horn that meant that it was an urgent, the traders were there! But, there was something else waiting for them.

There was a bright blue carriage standing in the square, and out walked an imperial messenger from the palace. He announced that the prince was to marry a girl from Mount Eskel. They were to pack, and the next day they would be rounded up to go to an academy, to be taught proper manners. All the girls went, to the arduous academy, to be away from their families for a year. Britta was the only non-mountain girl, she was from the lowlands. The girls were constantly in trouble and were not allowed to visit their families on rest days. Finally they were fed up with waiting, and they fled. Then they went back with a pact that their tutor and they would have to live by for the rest of the year.

Then the time came for the ball, and to meet the prince. Excitement and nervousness was everywhere in the academy. After the ball, the prince left without making a decision and bandits came to the academy. They stayed with the girls, waiting for them to say which one was the princess, but none were. Through quarry speech and deep concentration, Miri contacted Peder and told him to get help. Later, their parents came in the middle of the night and waited for the bandits. Most of the girls escaped, but nine did not. The bandits left, and they went home safe, sound, and alive. A month later, the prince came back to see the girls again, and he choose his life long friend.

I really enjoyed this book because it was like I had gone back in time, it was a mix of ancient Mesopotamian life and modern life, with a happy ending. I would recommend this book for middle school students because I think most would enjoy the twist like I did.

 ~ Ashley Aldan, grade 7, Boardman Center Middle School

To Top

Esperanza's family went from being rich and one of the most respected families living in Mexico, to living in poverty in America.  The week before her birthday was grape harvesting week and after should have come her birthday fiesta, but the fiesta never came.  The day before her birthday, her father promised her they would cut the roses after he fixed a fence on his property for the following day’s celebration.  He never came home.  During the night, his brothers came to comfort the family but they didn't help. An hour or so later, some of her father's workers brought back the news that he was dead. One of the brothers proposed marriage to Esperanza's mother, but she rejected him. Finally, she accepted, but they left for California that night to live and work at a camp for Mexican immigrants. After about three months of working there and her mother became ill.  Esperanza took her mother’s place working and earning money to pay for the medical bills, and to pay for her grandmother to go and live with them. Surviving her new life was not easy, but she did it . . . barely.

The suspense in this book was amazing!  The author is a wonderful writer. I would recommend this book for middle school students because they would be able to connect with the book more.

~ Ashley Aldan, grade 7, Boardman Center Middle School

To Top

Jenna Boller has a newfound job and is going to Al-Anon meetings to help her cope with her dad's problems.  Everything is going fine at Gladstone's Shoe Store until Tanner Cobb attempts stealing a pair of shoes. To make up for his actions, he offers to work at the store.  Jenna is queasy at the notion, but Mrs. Gladstone has another idea. Tanner starts working at the store and conflicts arise. Mrs. Gladstone's son is now in charge of everything that goes on in the Gladstone's Shoe Stores. For one thing, the shoes are being made incorrectly, and a rebellion forms.

In this book it talks about everyday problems, and about second chances to change your life. I would recommend this book for middle school students because I think we have the hardest time with second chances and we should realize they won’t kill us.

To Top

Overall I thought this was a great book. It dealt with many things that deal with anybody’s interest. It involved a primitive coast guard established in the 1800’s, fishing, and especially racism. I would recommend this book highly to 8^th through 10^th graders, as it had some language.

The book was about a child who had the dream of becoming a “Storm Warrior” - a person who watches the ocean for crashed ships. If a ship is wrecked, they send a crew of people to save the people on the ship. The boys struggles because of racism.  It shows of how he must overcome the problems of being a black man and he also has to deal with much death in his family. His mother dies when he is younger and his grandfather dies of malaria halfway through the book. Even though the boy isn’t a Storm Warrior, he still helps them save many people. They utilize the medical knowledge he learned from the Warriors.

I believe the style of writing she used was excellent and will appeal to most readers. One thing that I didn’t like was it was very short and it didn’t take very long to read. So overall this book was excellent and I will recommend it to anyone.

~ Justin Wilkinson, grade 8, Boardman Center Middle School

To Top

To Top

    This story is about a girl named Vicki who lives behind the seawall of a bay over the restaurant her father runs called Ye Old Seashell Room. The problems that Vicki faces are that there is the head of The Storm Goddess in her restaurant and she believes that there is a secret to this figurehead. For example, she wonders why was it only a head when figure heads were formed from one piece of Timber in the 1800’s.

   But Vicki has even bigger problems. Just as she is starting to discover the secrets of The Storm Goddess, the water from the bay mysteriously disappears. Could these two mysteries be related? And just when Vicki thinks things couldn’t get any more mysterious, a ship called the storm goddess, which was believed to be shipwrecked, is found in the empty bay. Together, with her new best friend Peter, Vicki will uncover the mystery that is The Storm Goddess.

          The quality of this book was unbelievable. Although I know ghost stories do not exist and this book is fiction, this author made it seem somewhat believable. I think that the characters are very likable and certainly interesting.  I mean they definitely don’t have boring lives if such young characters get to go on such an adventure. I think this book is very descriptive and creative for, although its 313 pages, I finished it within 3 days because I could not put it down for a second! I think that this book would best suit middle school students, most likely in the 5^th or 6^th grade. Although I suggest it to those grades, I think that any ages could enjoy this fun-filled adventure. I would recommend this book to anybody looking for adventure. I hope those of you who read it will enjoy it as much as I did!

~ Shoshannah Diehl, grade 8, Boardman Center Middle School

To Top

    Poison, a young girl who's lived in the Black Marshes in the village of Gull all her life, wants to leave to find her younger sister, Azalea, who was kidnapped on Soulswatch Eve by the Scarecrow of the Land of Phaeries. In her place was a changeling. In order to get her sister back, her stepmother, Snapdragon, and her father, Hew, would have to take care of the changeling as if it were their own daughter, but it wouldn't be an easy task.
    Soulswatch Eve is an event when the marshwraiths come out. A wraith-catcher comes to town every year to collect them from the cages and sells to the wealthy in other towns and cities. Our particular wraith-catcher's name is Bram. He always leaves after he's done collecting the marshwraiths, which are little orb-like objects that swirl around. He'll be the person who takes Poison to the town that Fleet, a traveler who's originally from Gull, told her to go to. Once there, Poison must find a man by the name of  Lamprey.
       Lamprey tells her that she must go to the House of the Bone Witch in order to cross over to the Phaerie World and to see the Hierophant, the creator of everything. However, it's extremely dangerous in there. The witch is blind and deaf, but she can smell. Her two giant dogs are her sight and ears, but they can't smell. After a little while in the house, she meets Anderson, who's a cat, and Peppercorn, and girl not much older than she is. The three of them and Bram leave the house after a long day and enter the foreign world of the phaerie.
       Will Poison be able to find the Hierophant and rescue her sister before the Phaerie Lord kills her?
       I thought this was a well written novel that kept me guessing. I was always trying to figure out what was going to happen next. Would Poison make it out of the Bone Witch's house? Would she find her sister? Had she met her sister on her journey? Would she ever make if home? I think Artemis Fowl fans would love this book. I also think anyone between 13 and 17 would enjoy traveling with Poison to find her sister.

~ Kayla Aldan, 10th grade, Boardman High School

To Top

To Top

To Top

            Dancing at the Odinochka was a wonderful book about a young girl who lives in Russia America, or Alaska. The story is told in first person by Erinia Pavaloff, and starts out as a basic historic fiction novel until the telegraph men come. They are men who come from America to put in a telegraph system connecting Russia America with the rest of the continent. Soon after, the seven people who live in this town must adapt to the changes that take place, such as the conversion of measurements. This story was well written and is full of facts. I didn’t actually know until after I read the book but Erinia Pavaloff is a real person and even though her life was tweaked a bit, the story was all possible (some of the events were added to make the story interesting).  The story was based on a five page document that Erinia wrote herself.

~ Michael McMaster, grade 8, Boardman Center Middle School.

To Top

            The book Kringle is a fantasy novel about Santa Clause at the age of 12. The goblins attack his house in “The Bottoms” and he is forced out of his house by his guardian (his parents are both dead), Merwin, while she stays back and fights off the goblins. After he is left with nothing accept the clothes on his back, he ends up going to a city that has been abandoned. Now that the only place he knows of is abandoned he goes the woods in hope of finding a city, but instead he falls asleep under a tree and is discovered by elves where he lives for a while. The only thing on his mind is finding Merwin and his only hope is to get her back from the goblins is to go to the goblin fortress. Can he destroy all of the goblins, get back Merwin, and find out about his parents?  That is what this novel is about.

            I thought this book was a terribly written story lacking a realistic plot. The story was not well written and was mostly a twelve year old boy thinking to himself in kindergarten level sentences, or repetitive short choppy sentences. Also, the story plot added too much to the traditional story of Santa Clause. I mean since when does Santa, or Kringle, attack goblins with a staff, or since when has Santa never heard of Jesus?  Kringle was one of the worst novels I have ever read, and would be best enjoyed by young men who act or wish they were children, but not the kind of book most teenagers would enjoy.

~ Michael McMaster, grade 8, Boardman Center Middle School.

To Top

To Top

To Top

        A Great and Terrible Beauty is about the adventures of a girl named Gemma and her three friends, Pipa, Ann, and Felicity.  Gemma has a special give: she can travel back and forth through the sacred reams.  When here mother dies a mysterious death, Gemma's journey begins.  She learns about her heritage as part of the order, which is a group of sorceresses that keep the realm's magic safe from dark spirits.  Also, Gemma starts to realize that her mother's death s not the only thing mysterious about her . . .

    A Great and Terrible Beauty is the best book I have ever read and it also has a good sequel!  It is one of those books that you can't put down.  There is adventure and excitement from start to finish.  I would have to say my favorite part of it was when Gemma finally found out what happened twenty years ago to Mary Dowd and Sara, also know as Cerce.

    I would recommend this book to girls ages 12 and up.  There is some adult material in it but, I think for the most part, girls 12 and up could handle it.

~ Tammy Chevlen, grade 8, Montessori School of the Mahoning Valley

To Top

~ Brandy Rosine, grade 8, Boardman Center Middle School

To Top

Killing Britney by Sean Olin starts off slow but than turns out to be a very interesting book. The first few chapters tell you a lot of things that you don’t need to know. But you do need to pay attention because between all the things you don’t need to know are a lot of things that make sense at the end. As you read, the twists and turns keep you guessing until the end. The way the characters are described is good but the way they talk is unrealistic.

              Britney is a young girl who feels that the whole world is out to get her. She’s not safe anywhere or with anyone. All the people close to her are dieing every day-starting with her mom on a white water rafting trip. She’s just waiting to be next. In third person you know things from everyone’s life, but you don’t know all of the things that they are thinking or what they are seeing. You are there for every murder but you don’t know who the murderer is. The clues lead you everywhere until the end when your told everything that you never expected. 

            I admit that at the beginning of this book I didn’t like it. It was slow starting and the kind of language that was used isn’t used in every day life. But the book turned out to be a good murder mystery. At points you feel like you are there or at least seeing it on a T.V. screen. If you are a murder mystery lover, than this is a great book for you. I love a good murder mystery, and I enjoyed it.

~ Marie Flickenger, grade 12, Trumbull Country Career and Technical Center

To Top

        The title of the book I read was Art Geeks and Prom Queens by Alyson Noel.  The main character is Rio.  A couple of other important characters are Kristi, Kayla, Jen Jen, Jas, and Mason.  The story is about Rio moving from New York City to Newport Beach in California.  She meets Mason and Jas in art class and starts to be friends with them.  Then she starts to talk to and become friends with this rich, popular girl named Kristi.  They do a lot of bad things together, like drugs.  Then Kristi turns on Rio.  Kristi spreads rumors and hides something in Rio’s locker.  Then Rio gets her back and Kristi gets kicked out of school. Rio ends up going out with Jas in the end.

            I liked how the book was written.  This book is really believable because kids do fight with each other and talk about people behind their back.  Plus, kids do drugs and drink alcohol.  I thought the characters were very interesting and likeable.  They were funny and mean but also cool, and they all had problems that they worked out together in the end.  Again, I think it was a great book because it talks a lot about things that go on in schools.  I would suggest this book to high school juniors and seniors.

 ~ Amber Lockney, grade 12, Trumbull Country Career and Technical Center

To Top

            This book was about a fifteen year old girl named Robin who is a self described “chunk”.  She lives next door to Frankie who is “very charming and very hot.”  Janice, Robin’s step mom, sleeps with Frankie as Robin watches through the window.  Robin is shocked and angry, but not really surprised.  This is just one of the many secrets that Robin has to keep.  Robin also has feelings for this young man, but she knew nothing would every happen.  The book tells of secret affairs that nobody seems to notice except for Robin. 

            I enjoyed this book because I think it’s believable, and I could relate to the characters.  I like that the author does not sugar coat things.  She simply tells them how they are.  The author does not try to skirt around delicate subjects, and I find that type of honesty and realism in a book very refreshing.  Robin is a very likeable character, and I believe a lot of young girls could relate to her.  I believe that the people who would most enjoy this book are girls from ages 13 to 17.  Again, I enjoyed this book, and I believe that some of you will enjoy it too.

~ Andie Taylor, grade 11, Trumbull Career and Technical Center

To Top

            This book is a roller coaster of emotions from one dramatic emotion to another.  It is also somewhat of a tear jerker.  The book alternates in poetry form from Paulie and Jeremy’s perspective.  This kind of story is difficult to understand because of the way it is written.  However, this book is also best if read in one sitting.  I would suggest that you dedicate a lot time to this book. If you enjoy reading for leisure and light topics and easy reads, this is not the book for you.

~ Sarah Bauer, grade 12, Trumbull Country Career and Technical Institute

To Top

        “Paul is definitely gay and has a very good sense of self” is what this books main character’s kindergarten teacher wrote on his report card.  Paul always knew he was gay, but it was not confirmed until he was in Kindergarten. This book deals with teenage relationships on the different sides of life and not just being straight in high school.

            This book is believable because its characters show you what life is like being a homosexual in high school.  It explains different types of relationships.  It deals with different problems that you may not deal with in your everyday life. 

This is a great book.  It is probably one of my favorite books that I have read in a long time.  Do you hear of many books having to do with different types of sexualities written for teenagers?  Not many books deal with Paul’s way of getting through high school and being gay.  I love this book because it deals with a subject that I have never read about before.  There are lots of books about high school relationships, but you don’t read about relationships like Paul’s in many other books. 

This book focuses on high school relationships, but I think everyone and anyone will enjoy this book.  Paul puts his point across in this book that it is alright to be different.  You don’t have to listen to what everyone else says in high school: just be yourself.  I think people of all ages will enjoy this book, and everyone will look at Paul and his perspective on life differently than they may have before.

~ Holly Smaltz, grade 12, Trumbull County Career and Technical Center

To Top

            Life is Funny is about a group of teenagers living today.  This story mostly takes place at a playground with two girls whose names are China and Ebony.  While at the playground, they meet another boy who they say isn’t dressed too decent.  They were playing in the tire swing when he came over to talk to them and he told the girls that his name was Mickey.  Then while they are still at the playground, there is a school on the playground and they hear a bell ring and the doors open and a bunch of daycare kids come running out.  Ebony’s twin sisters, Mattie and Elaine, come up to her.

            This book does not go by chapters; it goes by years.  In each year, there is about 18 characters.  For example, there is a year about a girl named Sonia whose brother told her that a man who jumped off the Statue of Liberty was Sarim.  Sarim committed suicide by doing this.  Sonia didn’t believe her brother until two weeks when by and Sarim never came home.  Sonia’s religion is Muslim.  She always tries to follow the rules that the Muslim’s do that her parents showed her. 

            I think that this is a believable story.  To me the characters are likeable and interesting, except for Sarim.  This book was a very good book to me because it talks about how teens live today and what they do today. I would recommend this to other high school students. 

 ~ Heidi Huff, grade 12, Trumbull County Career and Technical Center

To Top

        I could not keep interest in this book.  It’s the second book in a trilogy, and nothing was explained about what happened in the first book.  For a long while I understood nothing.  The book seems to be set in the future, and a lot of things aren’t realistic.  Hoverboards, Hovercars, talking walls, and “the operation” are examples of futuristic elements in the book.  Girls were walking around with gemstone eyes.  So unrealistic.

            The book was basically about this girl, Tally, who doesn’t want this life anymore.  During a party, she receives a message telling her there is a cure.  The rest of the book is about her attempts to stay pretty-minded and not let anyone know she is cured.  Things become boring for the next 100 pages or so.  Then they plot the escape.  Three of the pretties jump from a hot air balloon to escape the city.  Tally ends up lost in the wilderness alone for a few weeks where she has to fight for her life.  She lived with the fear of being found by the specials who are kind of like the police.  She finally makes it to where she is supposed to be when someone enters her life from her ugly days.  From here on out, I was interested in the book, but I really struggled through 300 pages to get slightly interested.  I would recommend this to teens who have read and liked the first book.  Maybe then you would understand and enjoy this one more than I did.

~ Ashley Senko, grade 12, Trumbull County Career and Technical Center

To Top

            Nobody True by James Herbert is a great read from beginning to end.  It starts out with great vibrancy and detail, catching the reader’s attention right from the beginning.  The only think that I disliked about the book was that it had to end.

            The story starts out with the main character, James True, telling about how he became to know that he was having Out of Body Experiences (OBE).  After a while, he learns to control his OBE’s, and he can send his mind wherever he wants to go.  After one OBE, he returns to find he no longer has a body to go back to because he was murdered.  James observes his killer and becomes closer to him.  But he’s dead.  What can he do?  He is unable to touch or move anything, and he has no way of communication. 

            I would recommend this book more for a high school to adult level.  Some parts of it are a little too gruesome for a younger age group.  I believe that anyone who is into science-fiction and mysteries would love to read this book.  This book is a must read.  Once you tart to read it you don’t want to put it down.  The attention paid to detail is so well written that you almost feel as if you’re right in the book along with the characters.  This is the type of book that actually gets you to think, “What if my life was like that?”

            So if you are looking for a great book to keep your attention, I would choose this one.  Once you begin to read it you’re not going to want to put it down.

 ~ Shannon Isaac, grade 12, Trumbull County Career and Technical Center

To Top

        The Revenge of the Shadow King by Derek Benz and J. S. Lewis is an enthralling novel. It is about four characters, Max, Harley, Ernie, and Natalia, who form their own secret club. This club is called the Grey Griffins. The story takes place in a town in Minnesota. The people living there don’t seem to notice that strange occurrences keep cropping up. Creatures such as goblins and fairies start to appear in Max’s backyard. These creatures coincidentally are from the card game that the Grey Griffins play. The friends all know that something isn’t quite right in their Minnesota town when these creatures keep surfacing, and they know that it is up to them to do something about it.

      I thought that this book was very entertaining and suspenseful. There are new twists and turns on every page. I found that this book was impossible to put down, and I can’t wait for the next installment in the series! The story was very believable, and the characters are easy to relate to. I would recommend this book to middle school students. It is similar to books such as the Spiderwick series. I believe that anyone who reads this book will feel the same way about it as I do.

- Jon Wallace, eighth grade, Boardman Center Middle School

To Top