The Pearl

The Pearl
By: John Steinbeck
Reviewed by: Arely, 15
Rating: It was amazing!

This book tells the adventures of a family and how one pearl can change their life forever. It one of my favorite books of all time. The book it well written. It kept me in suspense the whole time. I coudn't put it down for a second.

Recommended to: Everyone

Tyger Tyger

 Tyger Tyger
By: Kersten Hamilton
Reviewed by: Dihmar, 16
Rating: Really liked it

The book is about a girl finding out what she truly is and her journey on finding her father in a different world. Also, trying to figure out fer feeling for Finn who is telling her that goblin exist. It's an awesome book and I totally recommend it.

Recommended to: Everyone!

Ender's Shadow

Ender's Shadow
By: Orson Scott Card
Reviewed by: Esther, 15
Rating: It was amazing!

I never read any other book in the series besides Ender's Game and I was ready to end right there until my English teacher mentioned that this book was the same exact story as Ender's Game except only this time, it was from Bean's point of view. The story starts off with Bean as a young child. Readers get a clear view of the many struggles Bean faces and also how he overcomes them with his almost supernatural brilliance. The story then continues into what happens at the Battle School. Exact scenes from Ender's Game are repeated of course, except the view you receive of it is different. *SPOILER ALERT* For an example of this, when Ender sees Dragon Army, he thinks that all of these students are the rejects and the worse soldiers possible chosen by the teacher. But after reading Ender's Shadow, one is able to see that these were the best soldiers who were neglected by the teachers but chosen by Bean. Some parts were frustrating when seeing Ender's ignorance.

Recommeded to: Read Ender's Game first. Then read this.

Speak Now (music CD)

Speak Now (music CD)
Artist: Taylor Swift
Reviewed by: Esther, 15
Rating: It was amazing!

Another amazing piece of work by Taylor Swift! One of my favorite is Never Grow Up. It's one of those few songs out there that doesn't focus mainly on love. Instead, it captures the sweet sense of living in innocence and the importance of cherishing moments. Mine is another great piece of work. The lyrics speaks of a hope for love. All her songs on here are really good. Check them all out!

Recommended to: People who like Pop.

How to Save a Life music CD

How to Save a Life (music CD)
Musical Group: The Fray
Reviewed by: Esther, 15
Rating: It was amazing!

Probably my favorite album by them yet. They have this amazing sense of authenticity and purity ringing in their voice that will be sure to sweep you away. The most popular from the album are How to Save A Life and Over My Head. Definitely check out the acoustic version of Look After You

Recommended to: The Fray is more of an  Alternative Piano Pop-Rock band so if you like that type of music then they will be amazing for you.

Tears of a Tiger

Tears of a Tiger
By: Sharon M. Draper
Reviewed by: Jose R., 18
Rating: It was amazing!

Andy Jackson and his friends thought it would be fun to celebrate their basketball victory with a night out and a few beers. When Andy's car started weaving on the interstate, they thought it was hilarious. But when the car crashed into a retaining wall and burst into flames with Andy's best friend trapped inside, their laughter died quickly as their world was turned upside down. The death of Rob Washington, captain of the Hazelwood High basketball team and fun-loving friend to all, affects the entire school. But perhaps the person most profoundly impacted is Andy, who cannot come to terms with his friend's death and his role in it. Tormented by feelings of guilt and sorrow, Andy withdraws from everyone who cares for him: family, friends, teachers, his girlfriend. Hiding his pain behind a mask of laughing antics, he finds himself unable to reconcile the past, cope with the present, or envision a future and commits suicide. This first book of the Hazelwood High trilogy is a beautiful crafted, heart-wrenching story of despair and impossible atonement, friendship and hope.

Recommended to: Everyone who likes a good story

Freak the Mighty

Freak the Mighty
By: Rodman Philbrick
Reviewed by: Raquel P., 15
Rating: Really liked it

It is a book about the relationship two people could have. Friendship is a strong relationship to have with anyone.

Recommended to: Everyone

Snail Mail No More

Snail Mail No More
By: Paula Danziger
Reviewed by: JNoto, 14
Rating: It was alright

Tara Starr and Elizabeth are back being best friends after their little feud the year before. However, instead of using letters to communicate, they break into emailing each other. And with Tara’s mom pregnant and Elizabeth’s alcoholic dad showing up again, will their friendship last? Or will it crumble – again? Cute book, but it's more suited for pre-teens.

The Giver

The Giver
By: Lois Lowry
Reviewed by: JNoto, 14
Rating: It was amazing!

Sameness. That’s what rules Jonas’s world. The world where children have the same birthday, are colorblind, and have no individuality, much less know what independence is. But when Jonas becomes a Twelve, he is selected to be the Receiver of Memory. During his training he discovers what the world used to be – all the sadness, happiness, regret, loneliness, even color. And the more he learns, the more he wishes to escape to Elsewhere. But can he do it? Can he break free of the monotonous lifestyle he’s grown up in? This book is very perceptive. I’m sure that everyone has, at one point of their life, wondered what the world would be like if everyone thought the same. This book covers one possibility of that notion, and it’s very well written and developed.

Fudge-a-Mania

Fudge-a-Mania
By: Judy Blume
Reviewed by: JNoto, 14
Rating: Really liked it

Peter Hatcher is doomed for a life without a vacation. Just when he thought living with his hyperactive younger brother Fudge was bad, he finds out that his parents have rented a summer house that they will be sharing with Sheila’s family. Sheila, his worst possible enemy. Peter has no clue how he’ll survive three weeks with the Cootie Queen and Fudge.I liked this book for its humor, which you can’t help but chuckle or smile upon reading. The antics the character set themselves up for is priceless.

Baby

Baby
By: Patricia MacLachlan
Reviewed by: JNoto, 14
Rating: Really liked it

Larkin’s life is turned upside down when she finds a baby in a basket sitting in the middle of her driveway. The only identification is a note found with the baby from her mother: “This is Sophie. She is almost a year old and she is good…. I will come back for her one day. I love her.”Larkin and her family welcome Sophie with open arms. As Sophie grows, laughs, and plays, she becomes part of the family. Larkin and her family love Sophie, even though they know that one day Sophie’s mother will come back and take her away.This is really such a sweet and enchanting book. It’s sad that not many people have read it – at least, among the people I know.

Needle and Thread

Needle and Thread
By: Ann M. Martin
Reviewed by: JNoto, 14
Rating: It was alright

Flora and Ruby are just beginning to get settled in their new home. There are, though, separate thoughts that crowd the mind of them both and their two friends. For Flora, it’s the realization of spending a mid-autumn holiday without their parents; for Ruby, it’s earning a part in a school play. Olivia and Nikki have to adjust to a new life at home. Even with all the worries that plague their minds, the girls are able to get sustain their friendship and make it through the obstacles life throws at them.I felt that the second book of the Main Street series was a lot like the first, at least the general overview. I was kind of disappointed.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
By: Lewis Carroll
Reviewed by: Liam J., 13
Rating: Really liked it

Alice really wants to grow up (she does enough of that you'll see) so as to have tea with her sister, mother, and their friends. As she follows a white rabbit, through a tunnel and down a hole, things start to change. She drinks from a bottle and grows fifteen feet tall. Then she eats some cake and shrinks to the size of a mouse. This happens a few times during her adventure, along with many other peculiar things. Lewis Carroll even quoted afterwards, "I had sent my heroine down a rabbit-hole... without the slightest idea what was to happen afterwards." Great book overall, finished it in one day.

Recommeded to: Everybody

What Happened to Goodbye?

What Happened to Goodbye?
By: Sarah Dessen
Reviewed by: JessicaC, 13
Rating: Really liked it

This is a book about a girl who moves every few months to new places due to her father's job. Deciding to reinvent herself, she puts on a new "face" wherever she is. Until the day when she meets her next door neighbor. From that day on, her life changes as if never before. Find out what happens after. It is a really great book, and you should read it too.

Recommended to: Anyone interested

The Clique

The Clique
By: Lisi Harrison
Reviewed by: SamL, 13
Rating: Really liked it

I have to admit, im a "girly-girl". shoes, clothes, makeup, friends, you know it! This book is about a "clique" or a group/posse. They are known as the Pretty Commitee and they are best at being popular (they take it pretty seriously too) Each member is different and they are all lead by Massie and boy is she reallly something. When Claire the new girl who is anti fashionable compared to Massie's expensive luxuries. Massie wants to do everything to make Claire's life horrible. Who ever said being popular was the life? It may look easy getting whatever you want, but deep down, the perfectionist Massie has more worries and concerns than easy going, nice girl Claire. This is just the first book out of many, and a great book to read. Its a good book for girls, where you can maybe relate to some of these problems or maybe laugh along at some. I love any of these girly books. There is a movie to go along with this book too.

Recommended to: Girls-tweens/teens

Susannah

Susannah
By: Janet Hickman
Reviewed by: JNoto, 14
Rating: It was amazing!

Fourteen year old Susannah lives with her father with a band of Shakers, or Believers. However, Susannah does not accept their principles and desperately wants to escape. She also watches over a young girl named Mary, whose mother managed to escape from the settlement and is trying to get Mary out as well. As violence ensues, Susannah has to make the hardest choice of her life: save herself or save Mary?I loved this book. It takes the turmoil of being surrounded by people who think differently than you do and combines it with vintage drama. Loved it.

The Hunger Games movie

The Hunger Games (movie)By: Gary Ross
Reviewed by: Shaelynn, 16
Rating: It was amazing!

This has one of the best movies i've seen in a while. The movie is amazing. If u were debating weather or not to go see it. GO SEE IT. I'm telling you you will not regret seeing this movie. The graphics were amazing. The actors seemed like this was really happening to them and the finale of the games is the most intense. You will not want to miss a second of it!

Recommended to: Everyone!

Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn
By: Stephenie Meyer
Reviewed by: Athena, 13
Rating: It was amazing!

It was amazing. Now I cannot wait for the movie Breaking Dawn part 2 because the book is awsome, surely the movie would be too.

Recommended to: All teens

The Hungers Games movie

The Hunger Games (movie)
By: Gary Ross
Reviewed by: Athena, 13
Rating: It was amazing!

It was the most awesome movie I had ever seen since Breaking Dawn. It was filled with so much action. The faked love between katniss and peeta. It seems Peeta really loves her. I cannot wait to see if there is another movie.

Recommended to: Everyone!

Catching Fire

Catching Fire
By: Suzanne Collins
Reviewed by: JNoto, 14
Rating: Hated it!

After winning the 74th Hunger Games, Peeta and Katniss return to District 12 to begin a Victory Tour around the nation. However, Katniss is visited by President Snow, who says in order to keep her loved ones safe she must Snow that she and Peeta are really in love. Despite their attempts to make their act of love appear genuine, rebellion stirs in the other districts.One year passes and the 75th Hunger Games, or the Quarter Quell, approach. Since it won’t be the average Hunger Games, this year 24 winning tributes of pass games will compete in the arena. While Peeta and Katniss form bonds with other tributes, the talk of rebellion continues and they find themselves in the midst of a rebel organization.A bit better than the first book, but I still didn’t like it. While Collins might have tried to make Katniss more relatable to the readers by making her callous and suspicious, I thought that it made Katniss a shallow, stubborn, stuck up teenager. I couldn’t relate to her at all. Whatever independence or fierceness she was supposed to have was not convincing nor admirable. It was more annoying to me.

Mockingjay

Mockingjay
By: Suzanne Collins
Reviewed by: JNoto, 14
Rating: Hated it!

In the last installment of the Hunger Games trilogy, Katniss is rescued from the Quarter Quell by District 13 rebels. After much persuading, they convince her to be the Mockingjay, the symbol of rebellion against the Capitol. Along with the survivors of District 13 and her teammates from the Quarter Quell, Katniss and her squad attempt to stealthily ambush the Capitol. Little do they know, however, that chaos will soon break loose.In my opinion, this was the worst book in the Hunger Games trilogy. The action was literally in the last ten pages of the book, and Katniss's "depression" was not believable at all. This was also my least favorite book in the series and just brings the overall quality of the series down.

Welcome to Camden Falls

Welcome to Camden Falls
By Ann M. Martin

Reveiwed by JNoto, 14
Rating: Really liked it

Flora and Ruby Northrop do NOT want to move to Camden Falls. However, with their parents dead from a recent car accident, they now live under the care of their grandmother, which means the move is inevitable. But after meeting Olivia, the girl next door, and Nikki, who lives a troubled life, the two sisters are able to start their new life with blossoming hope.
This book is really cute, and also easy to relate to. I like how the characters' feelings were realistic.