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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written and Illustrated by Tom Angleberger
 This is a great kids book for elementary schools, and jr. high school students would enjoy it also. Tommy and his friends are the most unpopular boys in school and then Dwight (the nerdiest) makes this origami Yoda and he starts giving them all advice in this weird Yoda voice with strange mixed-up sayings. Yoda advice really starts helping people and everyone is shocked, so Yoda becomes the center of attention (good and bad) as the story unfolds and the kids wonder if Yoda is some sort of hoax or if the Force is really helping them.
Best part: there are instructions on how to make your own origami Yoda in the back of the book.
Review by Angela Pratt, Library Media Assistant, Hillsdale Elementary School
Rating: ★★★★★
Interest Level: Grades 3-9
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
Amulet Books
152 pages
ISBN: 978-0-8109-8425-7
Release Date: Mar 2010
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Lise Haines
 This book was very good. The only part I didn't like was the ending because it didn't end how I wanted it to end. It was not exciting like I thought it would be.
Review by a student, Cyprus High School
Rating: ★★★½✩
Interest Level: High School
Abstract: In Massachusetts, eighteen-year-old Lyn, who has grown up in the public eye as the daughter of seven gladiators, wants nothing less than to follow her mother's path, but her only way of avoiding marriage to the warrior who killed her last stepfather may be to face him in the arena.
Girl in the Arena
Bloomsbury
324 pages
ISBN: 9781599903729
Release Date: October 2009
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Jenny Moss
 I loved this book. I enjoyed being in a small town for a while to learn first-hand what life was like during the first World War. It was interesting to experience with Winnie the helplessness she felt about life, death, and her relationship with her mother and grandmother. I will definitely recommend this book to students.
Review by Linda Lamoreaux, Library Media Clerk, Wasatch Jr. High School
Rating: ★★★★✩
Interest Level: Grades 5-10
Winnie's War
Walker & Company
178 pages
ISBN: 978-0-8027-9819-0
Release Date: Feb 2009
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Eva Ibbotson
 The Reluctant Heiress was a good book. I enjoyed the development of the setting and the characters. Ibbotson’s writing style is very entertaining, but predictable. Those students who are already fans of Eva Ibbotson will, I’m sure, find this one to be very appealing, also.
Review by Linda Lamoreaux, Library Media Clerk, Wasatch Jr. High School
Rating: ★★★✩✩
Interest Level: Grades 7-10
The Reluctant Heiress
Speak / Penguin Group
325 pages
ISBN: 9780142412770
Release Date: Apr 2009
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Gary D. Schmidt
 Great historical fiction: easy to read and entertaining. Characters are developed well and you are rooting for Anson all the way through.
Review by Jeff Curran, Library Media Specialist, Granite Park Jr. School
Rating: ★★★★★
Interest Level: Grades 5-12
Anson's Way
Sandpiper / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
213 pages
ISBN: 978-0-547-23761-9
Release Date: Apr 2009 (reprint)
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
 Seven Paths to Death the adventure of a Seiki, a young samurai, and his step-father, Judge Ooka. The case they are investigating this time is the mysterious attack of a tattooed man who winds up in the rice patty field of a nearby village. There are seven tattoos that are on seven men. Seiki and Judge Ooka aren't quite sure what they are but their idea is it's some sort of map. The men that have these maps are targets and require protection from the evil ninja Kitsune.
Reviewed by a student at West Lake Jr. High School
Rating: ★★★★½
Interest Level: Grades 5+
Seven Paths to Death (A Samurai Mystery)
Philomel / Penguin Group
189 pages
ISBN: 978-0-399-24610-4
Release Date: Nov 2009
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Heather Brewer
 The fourth installment of the Vladimir Tod series. This book started slow, with a lot of plot and background building. While it was hard to get started it was impossible to put the book down during the second half of the book. It will leave readers unable to wait for the next book in the series.
Do not read this book without reading the other books in the series. A must read for followers of this series. This is a perfect series for reluctant readers, vampire fans, and boys.
Review by Jessica Moody, Library Media Specialist, Olympus Jr. High School
Rating: ★★★★✩
Interest Level: Grades 7-12
Eleventh Grade Burns (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Book 4)
Dutton / Penguin Group
309 pages
ISBN: 978-0-525-42243-3
Release Date: Feb 2010
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Laini Taylor
 Whisper Silksinger is pursued by devils and her flying carpet is not fast enough to elude them. She carries with her in a teapot the Djinn Azael. Along the way she joins up with Hirik who wants to be the Djinn King's champion, but his race is accused of betraying the King millenium ago. The story is full of unique characters and fast-paced action. It kept me reading!
Review by Fay Mason, Library Media Specialist, Churchill Jr. High School
Rating: ★★★★★
Interest Level: Grades 6-9
Silksinger (Dreamdark Series)
G.P. Putnam's Sons / Penguin Group
445 pages
ISBN: 9780399246319
Release Date: Sep 2009
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Erin Hunter
 Toklo, Kallik, Lusa, and Ujark have finally reached the Last Great Wilderness. The legendary bear paradise is everything they ever dreamed of. They sense, however, a deep unrest among the other inhabitants. Each bear from different circumstances, different pasts start to remember their true nature. When their world becomes endangered and one of the three's friends gets taken, Toklo, Kallik, and Ujarak must travel to the world of flat-faces to save their friend as well as themselves.
A endearing adventure that is fast-paced, full of discovery, and fantasy. Readers will enjoy the human and bear qualities the author brings to life and intermixes well in the story. Would recommend this to lovers of fantasy, Erin Hunter's previous books, adventure, and animals.
Review by Jessica Moody, Library Media Specialist, Olympus Jr. High School
Rating: ★★★★★
Interest Level: Grades 5-8
The Last Wilderness (Seekers Series)
HarperCollins
265 pages
ISBN: 9780060871314
Release Date: Feb 2010
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Patricia C. Wrede
 This book is a retelling of the fairy tale by the same name. Patricia Wrede inclues a paragraph from the original tale at the beginning of each chapter. The book is full of Faerie magic, sorcerers, spells and counter spells. Snow White and Rose Red live with their mother on the edge of woods which lead into Faerie. John and his brother Hugh are sons of the Faerie Queen but also half mortal. Then there are a couple of human sorcerers trying to capture the Faeirie magic that end up turning Hugh into a bear. The book is set in 16th century England with language of the time - a lot of thee and thou. Sometimes the language is tricky to read to one who isn't accostomed. There is adventure, magic and romance. The book is quite a page turner.
Review by Fay Mason, Library Media Teacher, Churchill Jr. High School
Rating: ★★★★★
Interest Level: Grades 6-9
Snow White and Rose Red
Firebird / Penguin Group
273 pages
ISBN: 978-0-14-241121-6
Release Date: Feb 2009
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Libba Bray
 Cameron is an aimless, sarcastic stoner who is alienated from his family and has no real friends of which to speak. When he starts having hallucinations and loses control of his body a couple of times, everyone assumes he must be using hallucinogenic drugs. Not true: after getting fired from Buddha Burger, getting suspended from school, being forced into therapy by his parents, and having a run-in with a flaming toaster oven, he is finally diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob (a.k.a. “Mad Cow”) disease. It will deteriorate his brain and kill him.
It is at this point when things get interesting. A pink-haired punker angel, complete with combat boots, torn fishnets, and actual feather wings spray-painted with graffiti, appears to Cameron in his hospital room. She urges Cameron to escape the hospital and undertake a quest to find the mysterious Dr. X, a traveler through dimensions who has inadvertently brought dark energy back with him to our universe. It is this dark energy that is attacking Cameron’s brain, not Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and if he can find Dr. X and get him to close up the wormhole, he will not only find a cure for himself but save the universe!
What follows is a kaleidoscopic adventure full of quirky characters and a million plot twists and details. The book is stuffed with a mess of references, touching on everything from Norse mythology to Star Wars, quantum mechanics to MTV Spring Break. Best of all, some of the hippest “references,” such as the legendary mystical free jazz trumpet player Junior Webster, are actually entirely made up by the author. While the book at times reads like both a Percy Jackson title for the 17+ crowd and Paper Towns on acid, Don Quixote looms large in the background and the idea of living out one’s life in a week’s time hearkens back to Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Hilarious, weird, life affirming, surreal and ironic, above all Going Bovine is just a whole lot of wacky fun. (four stars)
[Flags: this book depicts drug use, pervasive profanity, and an irresponsible and somewhat ridiculous teenage fantasy sex scene. I hate sex scenes in books in general, and this one specifically knocks a half-point off my rating and makes it a definite “high school only” title. But really, if a dying teenage boy actually is dreaming his way through the end of his life, among other things of course he is going to dream himself up some sex, so maybe it can be forgiven?]
Review by Joshua Whiting, Library Media / Instructional Technology Dept.
Rating: ★★★★
Interest Level: High School
Going Bovine
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
496 pages
ISBN: 978-0385733977
Release Date: Sep 22, 2009
goingbovine.com
libbabray.com
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Dom Testa
 I enjoyed this easy read about for students Grade 8 Up—More than 200 years in the future, Comet Bhaktul hurtles past Earth, leaving a deadly contagion in its wake. Bhaktul's disease threatens to annihilate the human race within a decade, but the mysterious illness only affects adults. Scientists worldwide scramble to find a cure, while one scientist proposes a controversial project to preserve humanity, should other efforts fail. Under Project Galahad, 251 teens are sent on a mission to reach a habitable planet free of Bhaktul's contamination. As Galahad enters space, the young people must deal with the intense pressure of saving humankind and the sadness of leaving their families behind. Sixteen-year-old Triana, the ship's commander, must manage daily operations while also dealing with her father's recent death. I enjoyed reading this book. I am looking forward to reading book 2.
Review by Michelle Asay, Library Media Specialist, Granger High School
Rating: ★★★★½
Interest Level: 8-12 grades
Galahad 1: The Comet's Curse
Tor Teen/Profound Impact Group
pages 240
ISBN: 9780976056409
Release Date: January 2005
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Carrie Jones
 This book is slow in the first half. The story line took a little too long to develop for me. For those who like books about vampires this book might be one to add to your list of books to read. Although there are no vampires in this book there is a character similar to a vampire and of course creatures such as werewolves, and weretigers. Read and see what you think.
Review by Michelle Asay, Library Media Specialist, Granger High School
Rating: ★★★½✩
Interest Level: 7-12 grades
Need
Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
pages 306
ISBN: 9781599903385
Release Date: December 2008
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Elizabeth Scott
 Amy is in emotional, physical and mental anguish. Her best friend, Julia, is dead, and Amy blames herself.
Amy is leaving rehab and returning to life she no longer knows. Her parents are now involved in her life, she's in honors classes at school and she's seeing a therapist weekly. Before Amy drank; she drank to fit in, drank to feel numb and empty, drank to just be. Now, she doesn't have Julia or a drink to help her cope. She feels all alone, until she meets Patrick.
Patrick is dealing with his own loss which has left him withdrawn and aloof. Both Amy and Patrick are drawn to each other as they continue to move forward with their lives. Each struggles with his/her own loss in a different way.
Amy begins to process the events that occurred the night Julia dies. Amy is adamant that she caused Julia's death. It's with the help of Patrick and her therapist that she begins to see the truth about that night and her friendship with Julia. The fog that her grief left behind is slowly lifting and Amy is able to finally accept what happened that night: the choices she and Julia made.
Love You Hate You Miss You is about the emptiness, loneliness, guilt and regret one feels after someone has died. You wake up one morning to a life that you no longer know, a life that no longer makes sense. Written in Amy's perspective and her letters to Julia, Love You Hate You Miss You is a compelling read. Ms. Scott writes a touching story bringing together two people who cannot see beyond their hurt and pain.
Review by Heidi Williams, Library Media Specialist, Skyline High School
Rating: ★★★✩✩
Interest Level: 9-12 grades
Love You Hate You Miss You
HarperCollins Publishers
pages 288
ISBN: 9780061122835
Release Date: May 2009
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Anne Osterlund
 Aerin is an escaped prisoner who is given a second chance. She is accepted in to the most prestigious school in the universe, Academy 7. Dane Madousin is also accepted at Academy 7, but his father doesn’t want him there. As the top two students at the Academy, they are very competitive. What will bring them together? What is hiding in both of their pasts? Can they unite and where will they end up?
Review by Jessica Moody, Library Media Specialist, Olympus Jr. High School
Rating: ★★★½✩
Interest Level: Grades 7-12
Academy 7
Speak / Penguin Group
259 pages
ISBN: 978-0-14-241437-8
Release Date: May 14, 2009
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Katherine Sturtevant
 Kit and Christy are twins. Christy is "simple" and needs a lot of attention and help from his brother. When the Great Frost sets in and forces Kit to abandon his brother in search of work, he heads to town and finds a job as an apprentice to a struggling artist. He will soon realize, however, that there are more important things in life than money and that family will always be there for you. A touching, view-altering book on life, love of family, and happiness. Lovers of historical and inspirational fiction will enjoy this book as well as those who enjoy adventure.
Review by Jessica Moody, Library Media Specialist, Olympus Jr. High School
Rating: ★★★★✩
Interest Level: Grades 5-9
The Brothers Story
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
275 pages
ISBN: 978-0-374-30992-3
Release Date: Nov 10, 2009
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Mal Peet
 Otello is South America's star soccer player and has just been signed to play for the southern part of the country where racism is strong. He falls in love and marries Desmeralda, a white pop star. Their controversial relationship propels them into the spotlight, as well as the kids they have. This causes their relationship to start to fall apart as well as attract enemies- including one very close to them. Will their relationship last through the media's destructive behavior? Will Otello discover who his true enemies are? A modernized version of Othello with a somewhat happier ending, this book is still a well-developed tragedy type novel. Sports and celebrity fans as well as those who like tragic-themed books will like reading this book.
Review by Jessica Moody, Library Media Specialist, Olympus Jr. High School
Rating: ★★★★½
Interest Level: Grades 8 and up
Exposure
Candlewick Press
430 pages
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3941-9
Release Date: Oct 13, 2009
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by David Whitley
 Agora is a world full of materialism, unclimbable walls, astrological predictions, and a government ruled by the Director. Everything can be bought, including your life. Nothing comes without a price. When Mark gets sold to a doctor and later becomes apprenticed to an astrologer and meets Lilly, the servant of his boss, he gains the opinion that he needs to work within the system to gain security and respect. Lilly, however, believes that charity is the only way to a healthy and happy society. Forced into situations by the Powers-that-Be and their society, Mark and Lilly will find their destinies intertwined as they find themselves part of a prophecy that will either build or destroy their world. What will become of Mark and Lilly? Will they succeed in fulfilling the prophecy in the best way possible? A Harry Potter meets Oliver Twist type story, this fantasy-filled world of greed that might still be saved gives kids hope that mistakes never have to be permanent. Lovers of fantasy, science fiction, and dystopian fiction will enjoy this book.
Review by Jessica Moody, Library Media Specialist, Olympus Jr. High School
Rating: ★★★★½
Interest Level: Grades 5-9
The Midnight Charter
Roaring Brook Press
336 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59643-381-6
Release Date: Sep 1, 2009
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Allegra Goodman
 Honor lives in a world where everything is ruled by the corporation and Earth Mother. All islands are numbers and all lives are controlled. Not everything is a Utopia, however. There are people called reverse engineers who want to break the ceiling that controls the weather on earth. When Honor's parents disappear, she discovers that there is a much darker secret surrounding earth and the corporation. Where are Honor's parents? Can she save her parents before its too late? A Giver-esque universe that doesn't really have an ending. The author leaves the book on an unsolved note and asks the reader to imagine how they think it would end. Children who like happy or resolved endings will find this book unfulfilling, but lovers of the Giver and Lois Lowry, as well as science fiction and books that make you think will probably like this book.
Review by Jessica Moody, Library Media Specialist, Olympus Jr. High School
Rating: ★★★½✩
Interest Level: Grades 7+
The Other Side of the Island
Razorbill / Penguin Group
288 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59514-196-5
Release Date: May 14, 2009 (paperback)
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Book Reviews -
Secondary/YA Fiction
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Written by Kevin Emerson
 Trina and her friends are sick of Carlos. Carlos is always getting their class in trouble and humiliating people. The girls come up with a plan to scare Carlos big-time while their class goes camping. Trina, however, is reluctant and even starts to sympathize with him despite Carlos humiliating her on the camping trip. Will Trina help her friends to scare Carlos? Will Carlos finally start being nice? What else will happen on the class camping trip? A funny, mixed-up story that will have you wanting to read more. Avid readers who like humor, chick-lit, and/or realistic fiction will enjoy reading this novel.
Review by Jessica Moody, Library Media Specialist, Olympus Jr. High School
Rating: ★★★★½
Interest Level: Grades 6-9
Carlos Is Gonna Get It
Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic
291 pages
ISBN: 978-0-439-93525-8
Release Date: Oct 1, 2008
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