Bass Ackwards and Belly Up

Bass Ackwards and Belly Up, by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain (NEW YA Fiction)
by Melanie R., almost a 12th grader

Bass Ackwards and Belly Up is about four best friends that are supposed to be doing the “surburban plan” and go off to college in the fall. They all ultimately end up following their dreams, and all but one of them ditch college to pursue their dreams. The book switches between the four girls’ points of view and what they are doing.

This book reminded me of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. The characters are very realistic, and relatable. The writing style was surprisingly consistent for having been written by two authors. I would definitely recommend this book to all teenage girls.

Who’s Your Daddy?

Who’s Your Daddy?, by Lydia Sandoval (NEW YA Fiction)
by Melanie, almost a 12th grader

Three best friends and their intimidating fathers.

The novel follows of the three girls as they try to cope with their lack of relationships because of who their fathers are. The girls hold a Dumb Supper, a Celtic ritual, to discover who they are supposed to go out with.

This book was well-written and the characters were well-developed. There was a happy ending, of course, but it was not as predictable as some books are.

If We Kiss

If We Kiss, by Rachel Vail (NEW YA Fiction)

by Melanie, almost a 12th grader

This book is about a girl named Charlotte who kisses a boy at school. He becomes off limits when he and her best friend start going out, and then her mother and his father begin dating.

I did not think it was possible for an author to elaborate on one kiss for an entire 259-page book, when the kiss happened within the first 5 pages. The book was a little slow at times, but overall well written.

The Cannibals

The Cannibals, by Iain Lawrence (NEW YA Fiction)
by Marina, 7th grader

The Cannibals is an excellent book. It starts out slow in the beginning, but picks up as you go on. This group of kids are convicts and are being shipped to Australia. The main character's father is the ship's captain and everyone has different plans. His father doesn't want to bring his son to jail, and the kids have no intention of going there anyway. The two main characters are framed and not really convicts, and they've read of a place where they think is safe, and where they think they're going to escape to. But the real convicts who have it in for them try to escape first and really screw up their plans.

The book twists and turns, confuses and confounds the reader. Just when you think you have it figured out, it lets something slip and you're in the dark again. I highly recommend it. Enjoy!

To Kill a Mockingbird: Two Reviews

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (YA Fiction)
by Colleen

To Kill a Mockingbird is about a lawyer named Atticus Finch who decided to defend an innocent black man accused of a horrible crime. It is the story of how the whole town reacted to the trial, told by the lawyer's daughter, Scout, who remembers exactly what it was like to be 8 years old in 1935, in Maycomb, Alabama. A man called Boo Radley lives next door. Very few people have ever seen Boo, and Scout and her friends have a lot of fun telling scary stories about him. The mystery about Boo Radley is just one of the reasons you want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens. Even though the story took place many years ago, you get the idea that parts of it could happen today, in any town where people distrust and fear each other's differences.

I really didn't think I would like this book because it took place a really long time ago, but it was really interesting to read. This book is great because it helps you get a better understanding of what it would be like to live during the 1930s.

by Melanie B., 9th grader
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (YA Fiction)

This book is about a lawyer named Atticus Finch. Everyone in this book is racist. Atticus Finch is defending a black man during a trial and even though he knows that he is losing he is still determined to keep going.

Tree Girl

Tree Girl, by Ben Mikaelsen (NEW YA Fiction)
by Monica, 11th grader

Everyone has learned about the Holocaust, about slavery, and maybe even about more obscure atrocities such as the Rwandan genocide from movies (Hotel Rwanda). But what of the 1980s Mayan genocide in Guatemala? It was no less terrifying, no less wrong, than all the other horrible events that fill our history books. Maybe we haven't heard of it before, but it happened, and the story deserves to be told just as much as any other. And we need to listen.

I think this is one of those books that everyone should read. To begin with, it's simply a good book filled with rich imagery. But what's more, it carries a message that is both intensely personal and yet sweepingly metaphorical. It carries you away on waves of thought and emotion. It's beautiful. Unforgettable.

Read it.

Loamhedge

Loamhedge, by Brian Jacques (YA Fiction)
by Monica, 11th grader

A fairly recent installment of the Redwall series, though not the most recent (I’m still catching up), this book finds badgers, Redwallers, and “vermin” questing for revenge, secrets, and “magic swords,” respectively. As always, Brian Jacques tells a great story filled with humor, adventure, and emotion. He is one of those rare authors who can make me laugh out loud just from reading his words. It’s not very helpful if you want other people to think you’re sane — bursting into laughter for no apparent reason can seem strange to others — but it makes for a wonderful reading experience. Start here with Loamhedge, or back at the beginning of the series with Mossflower or Redwall. Each book tells its own story, and every book is a remarkable display of Brian Jacques’ talent.

Fade to Black

Fade to Black, by Alex Flinn (NEW YA Fiction)
by Monica, 11th grader

Alex Crusan is an HIV-positive teenager who just wants to be normal. Clinton Cole, newly popular, wants nothing more than for Alex to get out — fast. When Clinton's sister starts befriending the Crusans, Clinton is desperate. But desperate enough to smash Alex's car, with Alex inside? Now the town of Pinedale, Florida, has a criminal investigation on its hands. Three stories, one truth.

I randomly picked this book from the shelves, and I wasn't disappointed. It is a mystery novel at the surface, but it is also the story of tolerance and conscience. Everyone must do what they think is right. Little things make all the difference.

Try this book!

That Summer

by Colleen
That Summer, by Sarah Dessen (YA Fiction)
This past week I just finished reading That Summer by Sarah Dessen. This book was great. I really liked the book because the author made it easy for anyone who is reading it to relate to at least one thing in the book. I also really liked this book because it was written in Haven's (the main character) point of view. It made the book fun to read because she would always be adding funny comments. This book was never boring. It was very real, and the author made it seem like all of this could be happening to anyone you know.

Haven was your typical high school teenager waiting for something exciting to happen in her life. She worked at a shoe store in the mall, and couldn't hate her job more. On top of that, her dad gets re-married; later she finds out his new wife is pregnant, about a week after their wedding! Also, her sister is getting married and she's driving Haven crazy! The most exciting part of the book is when Haven's older sister's (Ashley) old boyfriend gets re-entered in Haven's life. Haven is in love.

I loved this book and would recommend it to any girl!

Shade’s Children

by Monica, 11th grader
Shade's Children, by Garth Nix (YA Fiction)

I had been planning to read this book for years (talk about procrastinating), and now that I have, I will be quick to recommend it. Shade's Children is a science-fiction novel about a world — our world — suddenly changed.

The new world is a frightful place where children are harvested for body parts upon turning 14, where machine-creatures hunt any children who try to escape their fate, and where seven evil overlords battle amongst themselves in ritual confrontations.

Then there is Shade, dedicated to training any escaped children in an effort to fight the Overlords. Chief among these children — Shade's children — are Ella, Drum, Ninde, and Gold-Eye, who, each with his/her special talent, find themselves in a deadly struggle to return the world to the way it used to be.

All this makes for a novel that is thrilling, thought-provoking, and memorable. Nearly everything, from the plot to the writing style, rings of originality — something sadly lacking in many sci-fi novels. There is little need to go on. Suffice to say that this is surely a book worth reading.