Heir Apparent: Vivian Vande Velde

                                                         

           Heir Apparent is an incredibly hilarious book, that will keep you up all night. It is a mix between action and comedy, and is a book that will keep you interested and not bored. It is the story of Giannini Bellisario, and her quest to save her own life. Through her adventure she will encounter a head chopping statue, an annoying dwarf, a Fierce dragon and much much more. 

           It is Giannini Bellisario Birthday, and her father has given her a gift certificate to Rasmussen Game Center. All that she gets from her dad are the occasional gifts, and other that that, she doesn't really associate with her dad. Meanwhile, Rasmussen Game Center is a place where you can play virtual video games and play them for real. Eventually Giannini decides to play Heir Apparent, a game set in medieval times and you play as the soon to be crowned king who is trying to be killed. When Giannini starts playing the game, a group called the CPOC, or Citizen to Protect our Children, attack Rasmussen Came Center, thinking that anything that is fiction is bad for children. However in the process they damage some of the equipment while she is still on the game. Now the only way for Giannini to survive all the damage that has been done by the CPOC, is to complete the game,and every time you die in the game you have to start all over. However, she only has a certain number of tries before she dies in real life. 

         Some of the issues that is brought of was making the right choice, and we all know that to be important, but in this book it is was extremely important. Every time Giannini would make a wrong choice she would get killed, or get close to it. The book also helped me learn about learning from your mistakes, Giannini was constantly having to learn from her mistakes to avoid being killed again, as she lowered her chances of surviving in doing so. Also, be prepared to laugh, all throughout the book I would giggle to myself because is was so funny.

        Well, if I were to give this book a grade, I would give it an A, because it wasn't my all-time favorite book, but it was still a good book that kept me interested, and I would recommend it for People who like funny books packed with action.  

          

                                              

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

By: Richard Paul Evans

     Ever since Michael was born he was more than just an ordinary kid.  Not only was he born with Tourette Syndrome but he has had electric powers for as long as he can remember.  Everything changes when he finds out that a girl in his grade,Taylor Ridley, may have the same type of powers.  The weirdest part is Taylor and his birthdays are really close together and they were born in the same hospital.  They begin looking at the hospitals records to see if that may be the link to their special powers.  As soon as they start investigating a peculiar school known as the Elgen Academy takes certain interest in the two teenagers.  Every goes down hill when Taylor and Micheal's mom are kidnapped.  Micheal will do anything to get them back even if that means risking his own life.

      The book suggests that the human race needs to be improved.  There are certain aspects of the world that should be changed but this book basically says that we should knock down the whole empire we have created and start a new with human 2.0.   It shows what happens when people are brainwashed and put into seclusion for so long they just lose all humanity they might have ever had.  It also shows us that our views on society really do shape who we are.  Not only that even the way we grow up and where we grow up effects who we are as a person.  Learning everything about this really makes you take a step back and evaluate the world today and look closely at the events that made you who you are today.

     I find the book very interesting because it's really the first of it's kind to be done.  Never before has there been electric children put into literature.  It's highly entertaining because there is a lot of action.  While there might be a few dull moments, in my opinion, the story always picks back up and gets even better with twists you never saw coming.  The book leaves off at a good place but it has that suspenseful feeling that if you don't get the next book you might just die.  I personally cannot wait to get my hands on the second book.

     I really did love this book and I'd recommend it to anyone.  It's just your typical children's book of our age.  Overall I give it an A.

The Secret Journal of  Brett Colton

By Kay Lynn Mangum

          

      Kathy Colton is the youngest of a non-religious family, who doesn’t care much for Mormons. Her older brother Brett Colton died of Leukemia when he was 17 and she was 2.

Kathy Colton has never been keen on the idea of her older brother Brett. All she ever heard was stories of how amazing Brett was. “He was the star athlete, and the star actor of Once upon a Mattress, and he did it all while fighting leukemia during his last two years here.” She just never heard the end of her “great” brother. Kathy didn’t remember anything about Brett, all she knew relating to Brett is that he died and she was two at the time. No relationship what so ever, or so she thought…

                When Kathy starts her first year at Central High, she feels she is ready for anything. Well anything that is until she finds out she has to tutor the star quarterback Jason West.  This is her biggest challenge yet. It’s not because he’s the star quarter back, or that he’s the most popular kid in school. No, it’s the fact that he’s MORMON!

On her 16^th birthday she is given one of the most surprising birthday gifts ever. A journal from her brother Brett, taking place during the two years he had leukemia.  This journal was life changing.

                As the year progresses she tutors Jason and he shares more about his religion.  She is also reading Brett’s journal entries at the same time. She comes to understand how Brett feels towards the LDS church and how it affected him. This sparks an interest in the LDS Faith. The journal and these tutoring sessions have a great effect on Kathy and cause her to change her views, and how she relates to her friends, family and herself.

                This book hits on a very sensitive topic, religion. It’s hard enough when you have to choose a religion, but when you have to choose between family and friends because of a belief, its way tougher. And that’s exactly what this book shows. She is introduced to a faith that’s different from what she has been taught. Her family feels that the LDS faith is completely wrong, but she feels that it’s right. Soon in the end she feels like she has to make a choice and she has to decide what is truly right and what is wrong. Consequently this happens to many teens and adults; they are put in this decision just like the main character is in this book. When they have to choose too.

                The Secret Journal of Brett Colton is an exhilarating book. I could never put it down; I really loved it that much. Also it was great because it made me see things in a whole new perspective. It showed me how hard it is when you are put in difficult decisions and how the consequences aren’t always how you expect them to be. Truly a very fun book always keeps you on your toes and really surprises you in the end. Kay Lynn Mangum is a really great author and she is really enjoyable.  Right now I’m reading her next novel “When the Bough Breaks”.  And it’s even better and you should check it out!

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the greatest 20th century American writers, is somewhat of an adult novel. It tells the story of the rich and handsome Jay Gatsby, who fell deeply in love with a woman named Daisy, but came back from the war to discover that she had been married. They meet again through the narrator, Daisy's cousin and Gatsby's next door neighbor, Nick Carraway, and have an affair. Meanwhile, Daisy's husband Tom is seeing another married woman as well. In the end (SPOILER ALERT), Daisy and Gatsby run over Tom's mistress, whose husband figures out that is was them and shoots Gatsby. 

Fitzgerald's novel, though it seems to be only a romance, delves much deeper into serious themes, and focuses particularly on the American dream, or the idea that because we live in a free country, anyone can have the opportunity to lead happy, prosperous and profitable lives if they work hard. It took a good amount of thought (and help from Mrs. Jensen...) for me to figure it out, but Gatsby is obsessed with the American dream, because he believes that Daisy will love him if he is wealthy and financially successful, so, to fulfill this, he resorts to bootlegging. Fitzgerald also presents other issues through his characters- Daisy is depressingly materialistic, Nick and Gatsby, as a result of fighting in the war, are pessimists, and Gatsby's countless party guests are greedy moochers, as my father would put it. These and other moral issues come up throughout the book, and make for a fascinating and thought-provoking (thought-requiring?) yet rather difficult reading experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Great Gatsby. While somewhat confusing, the writing was lovely, and it helped that the book is a mere 180 pages. I hadn't ever read anything set in the 1920s before, so it was interesting to learn a little bit about what New York, and much of America in general, was like during that time period. Fitzgerald's characters are nothing short of intriguing, and it was refreshing to read something a little on the challenging side and to have to really look deeply into what I was reading. Overall, I give Gatsby a well deserved A+.

Nancy Drew the demon in River Height

Nancy drew by Stefan Petruch

This book is about this young girl name Nancy Drew who is known as a great detective  in the there small town River Heights. Nancy friends Ethan and Nathan are filming the in river height  when a mysterious demon ghost appears in  river heights Nancy has to start a investigation.Soon after the starts she starts the investigation her two friends Ethan and Nathan have gone missing . After they go missing she goes to investigate the place they were filming with her two friend Bees and Liz .While checking for clues they come across a bear which then starts to chasing Nancy get chased into a tree.After that a object shaped like a man starts chasing all if them out of the woods until they got to the car where then a car pulls up and a man gets out his name Mr.Angle and now he own the minding shafts in River heights.He  then ask the girl if they want a ride to town they say yes he drops the girls off at police office. after they left the police office nancy want to go and investigate at Nathan and Ethan dorm room  but there she  finds  nothing but there roommate that tell her he has not seen them in 2 day so on the drive back to river heights she runs out of gas.She tries to call her friend but there is no reception were she is stuck at.So she see a light coming out of the woods so she goes to check it out little does the know that two men are following her.Finally she see that they are following and she began to run but the falls and they catch her and takes her to a minding shaft and drops her in the shaft were she finds her friend that were missing.

This was a good book if you like mystery . It was a very interesting and very suspenseful and had a lot of good details and more.   

The Red Pyramid

    The amazing author Rick Riordan has created another wonderful series and he's kicked it off with The Red Pyramid. This fiction adventure book does an amazing job of explaining egyptian mythology and adding a twist to it. This series, The Kane Chronicles is told from the point of view of two siblings who haven't even realized how special they are, and this book takes you on the very beginning of their awesome journey.
    The story starts off from the point of view of Carter Kane, a 14 year old teenage boy who has traveled the world with his dad who's an archeologist. Sadie, Carter's 12 year old sister who has lived with her grandparents because her mother is dead, gets to see Carter and her dad twice every year. On the day that this story starts, it is one of these days where there family gets to spend some time together. What Sadie and Carter think is just another visit to a stupid museum is really where there entire journey begins...
    At the museum Carter and Sadie realize that this trip is not what they thought it was going to be. First of all, their dad tells them to lock up the museum owner, and then when they return to their father he is chanting something and blue heiroglyphs are floating around him, illuminating the room with blue light. After several minutes of this, the artifact which their dad is holding causes an enormous explosion, and when Carter and Sadie wake up, a flaming red creature is speaking to their dad. In the moments that follow, their dad ends up being captured by this creature and Carter and Sadie are knocked unconscious. When they wake up they are in their grandparents home and they are visited by a mysterious man named Amos.
    Amos turns out to be Carter and Sadie's uncle, and he informs them that they are in grave danger.     Amos says he can help protect them, and Sadie and Carter end up going to live with him. At their new home, Sadie and Carter learn that they have magical abilities and that they are related to phaoros of ancient times. They discover that they have very powerful abilities, and that they must use them to defeat the evil god Set, the god that captured their father and that plans to destroy the world. As they train for a very short amount of time, they realize that they're even more powerful than they thought and they are in serious danger. Their journey is quite incredible, and to defeat Set they have to make great sacrifices.
    I found this book to be very intriguing and also very exciting. I very much enjoyed learning about egyptian mythology and the different aspects of it. I found that when reading this book, I just didn't want to put it down, and the hilarious chapter titles make you want to keep going forever. I liked the way the author added the little bits of teasing and joking between Carter and Sadie that regular siblings experience. It really helped me connect to the book better, because I too know what that relationship is like.
    All in all, this book was very good. I didn't ever find myself bored and like I said before, I just didn't want to put it down. I would suggest that even before you read this book, you study a little bit of egyptian mythology and try to gain a better understanding of it. I know that I would've really liked a little background knowledge before I started, but obviously it isn't needed. I would suggest this book to anyone who's looking for a good read, or even wants to learn more about egyptian mythology. I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083

Book By: Andrea White

Review By: Brendan Larsen

        Historical Survivor is a TV show where kids are sent back to reenact important journies, and events of the past (20th and 21st century). But here is the catch. It is real. In Historical Survivor: The Alamo; those are real bullets that are ringing out around the kids, and there is no medical team that will try to save them. They are all on their own. They have to depend on each other to stay alive. 

       This time, five kids have to go and reenact Robert F. Scott's journey to the South Pole. And it would be a stretch to say that the kid's journey is much easier than Scott's. There is another thing that you will want to know. There is an Editing Team. Two, actually. There is the Day Shift, who play by the rules, and a Night Shift, who, well... doesn't. And Steve has been appointed to Night Shift. Steve has seen the dark side of things, and knows that the Entertainment based government is really screwed up. After a while, things start to get ugly. The Secretary of Entertainment, a.k.a. "Hot Sauce," has taken things too far. One of the kids is dying, the supplies are running low, and they have no way of getting out. That is when Steve decides to interfere. 

        

        I really loved this book, and would suggest it to any one who liked the Hunger Games, which is, to say, basically everyone. I am pretty sure that the Hunger Games was based off of this book, and yes, Surviving Antarctica came out a good time before Hunger games. This book is an action book, with plenty of suspence, and political points. It can also go to show just how messed up our government can become.

The Princess Bride

        Every book with princess in the title has got to be good, right? Well in this case that is without a doubt true. The Princess Bride is an amazing fantasy that is so well written. This love themed action packed book takes you on a great adventure in search of love. It kept me super entertained throughout the who entire book.
        In this story a very beautiful young woman named Buttercup lived on a farm with her parents, horse, and a farm-boy named Westley whom she has known nearly her whole life. It turns out that she was madly in love with this boy. But as soon as she confesses her love to him, he is quickly swept away to America. Shortly after he leaves he is said to have been killed by pirates. As you can imagine, Buttercup was devastated and vowed to never love again. However, she was actually supposed to marry a prince in a very short amount of time. Not having the will power to marry anyone but Westley she runs away. In the process she manages to get kidnapped by three goons. With no hope of escaping these men she expects to die.
        She expects to die, that is until a mysterious hero comes to her assistance and saves the damsel in distress. This man is later revealed to be none other than her lost love Westley. Obviously the two of them were ecstatic to be reunited with one another. But their reunion was just the beginning of this story and their crazy adventure. The task of staying together becomes more and more difficult as you read through the book. And their love for each other grows increasingly through each hard moment.
        I absolutely loved this book. Love is such a strong theme in this book and it is basically what makes The Princess Bride a story. This book clearly states that love is stronger than any other feeling. It is amazing what two people who are in love will do. The extent of things they will do is crazy. Also, a clear message in this book is once you have love don't ever let it go. Because if you let love go you will regret it for the rest of your life. The effort put into love is worth it in the long run.
        Don't worry, this book is not all a mushy love story. There is so much action packed into this book it's crazy. There are blistering winds, scorching desserts, and daring sword fights. I was quite certainly kept on my toes through the whole book. It is crazy how intense this book was throughout the process of reading. Without a doubt, this book is amazing. I would for sure give it an A.

And Then There Were None

     And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. And Then There Were none is a great book if you enjoy murder mysteries. I'll start of with a summary. Keep in mind though at the beginning of the book it gives you a poem to read it's called, "Ten Little Soldier Boys." Anyway, 10 strangers are called to Solider Island by a mysterious host by the name of U.N Owen. When all 10 guest arrive the host is not there! The evening starts off like a normal night until an unusual record accuses all of them of murder! Then a guest chokes and dies before the group of people! Everyone is scared and frightened so they go to bed to shake off the creepy feeling and decide to get help in the morning. 

     The only problem though in the morning another guest doesn't wake up and is found dead. The group then realizes that this isn't a coincidence but a murder on the loose following the Ten Little Soldiers Poem. However, there is no one else on the island except the group that came...only meaning one thing...that the murder is one of them!

     This book was extremely well written. Especially the end just blows your mind! This book makes you think a lot about what these positions these people are in and it also makes you think about the mystery behind this book.  I think Agatha Christie was trying to tell the reader that justice or fairness will soon catch up to you. Also saying that it is important to be a good person. Overall it is written well and is awesome how the author connected the book to the poem.   
     The beginning of this book was a slight confusing but cleared up and got really good! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes murder mystery, mystery and suspense but, some people might find this book creepy! In Conclusion I give this book an A+!

Halo: the fall or Reach
By: Eric Nylund


   Imagine humans 525 years into the future, with multiple planets we now call "home", and us at war with an alien group known as the covenant, and you've got this book. Prequel to the game series Halo, this book is a great science fiction read. On a human colony known as Harvest, an evil alien society attacks. Because of this we enter a huge war. But men win wars not guns... so we created the Spartans 9ft. tall genetically engineered super humans in huge power suits. This book follows the story of a 6 year old boy (later grows up) known as soldier John 117.
   I enjoyed this great book because of its story of how John was taken at an early age and endured difficult military training. As he grows up John faces life threatening encounters with the covenant. Asd I read this book i felt every hard pace he endured and the challenging trials he faced from bombing a ship to surviving long trips in snowy mountains. This book changes with great transitions from each and every year in spartan training. But all the training and violence pays off when he lives as the last spartan and  faces his most challenging trial yet on the planet Reach. Where the most important war happens in the whole universe.
   i highly recommend reading this great novel because of how well it is written. The great story in this book describes what would happen if we where ever at a point this high of hardship. This is one of my favorite books i have read by far. A

Stargirl

 Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli is such a good book. This book is fiction, and young adult. Stargirl starts off with just your average high-schooler. In this case, his name is Leo. It's everyone's first day of school, and everything is going fine util he hears a name, Stargirl. Stargirl is definitely not you normal teenager. She's different. Stargirl sings during lunch, while she strums away on her ukuele. She also carries her pet rat around. And not just that, but somehow she knows everyones birthdays. So, she sings "happy birthday" to them in frot of everyone during lunchtime. Another thing that makes her different is her style in clothes. She wears things from the 1900s. Eventually the students all began to enjoy her company, and they grow to love her. Especially Leo. But they were also curious about where she came from, why her personality was so different. At school events, like basketball, she would cheer and cheer so much that it led the school to finals. And not just that, but the cheer captain offered her a sopt on the team, and Stargirl would soon become one of the most popular students in school. But, popularity doesn't last forever.
       Stargirl will delight you until its very last words. This book will keep you thinking. One thing that Jerry Spinelli teaches in this book is acceptance. Like I said before, Stargirl is different from all of the other students. But, that doesn't mean shes bad. The students accepted her for who she was, and they liked her that way. Sometimes Stargirl would be so strange that you would think to judge her, but then later on, she was strange for a reason. The author keeps you guessing about her for a reason that will be revealed at the end.
       Another issue this book brings up is not caring what people think about you. Stargirl sure didn't. Even though some people thought she was just plain weird, and that she should stop her hobbies because she was different in a bad way, she didn't care. She didn't let popularity get to her, either. She stayed herself through the whole thing. No matter what people said. The author tell you that it doesn't matter what people think of you, if you're happy then don't change. He tells you this through this fun, memorable book.
     I thought this book was so good, I keep reading it over and over again. It never gets old. The lessons taught in this book are life lessons tied into a fun, compelling, and just plain amazing book. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great read. This book gets an A.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

The three heroes in this book are named Piper, daughter of Aphrodite, Jason, son of Zeus, and Leo, son of Hephaestus. It starts off on a field trip, where all three of them are attending Wilderness school (for “bad kids.”) Jason has no recollection of the school or Leo who claims to be his best friend and Piper who is apparently his girlfriend. They are attacked by storm spirits called venti, and their camp director, Coach Hedge, is carried away by them. Of course, Coach Hedge is a satyr assigned to keep Piper, Leo, and Jason protected, just like Grover in Percy Jackson. A girl named Annabeth takes the trio to Camp Half Blood, the only safe place for demigods. There, a lot of the characters backstories are made known. Annabeth reveals to Piper that Jason was never her boyfriend, and he used something that is used to cover up all the magic that muggles mortal humans would not understand, called The Mist. To add to that, Piper’s dad has been kidnapped by a giant who wants her to betray her friends in exchange for her father. We learn that Leo is a rare child of Hephaestus who can produce fire, as well as resist it. His mother was killed by a fire he started (as well as other things you’ll learn about later in the book), and Hera was his babysitter. Jason’s whole quest is to regain his memory, but Chiron the centaur tells him he should be dead, and he strangely knows all the gods for their Roman names rather than the Greek ones. They embark on the journey on an epic, metal, happy dragon named Festus (Festus means happy J.)  Before they leave here’s what they know: the gods aren’t communicating with any of their children and they’ve closed off Olympus, Annabeth’s boyfriend Percy Jackson is missing, and Hera has been captured by a giant. Not much to go on, but they know they need to save Hera, and Piper’s dad while they’re at it. They start off by going to see the god of the north wind, Aeolus, and later run in to all sorts of things like Cyclopes, a hypnotizing witch, King Midas, and much more.

Riordan is an amazing author! I loved the Percy Jackson series, and this one isn’t far behind. My favorite thing about him is the characters he creates. Jason’s very down to earth, very serious, but it’s because of his conflict with memory loss. Piper’s conflict adds the most suspense to the story. She’s afraid to get close to Leo and Jason because she knows she’s just going to have to betray them. Leo’s my favorite character. He adds so much humor to the story, and he’s just plain awesome. But deep inside he’s really sad because of his mom and crazy childhood with Hera as his babysitter. He describes running from foster home to foster home, making friends, and laughing it off, then running again, “Don’t stay in one place for too long. It was the only way to stay ahead of the sadness.”

It’s difficult to compare to Percy Jackson. I don’t know which one is better. Percy Jackson was funnier I think, and The Lost Hero is more complicated. The clash between Greek and Roman worlds is pure genius! But again, quite complicated and I liked how carefree-ish the Percy Jackson series was. The suspense in The Lost Hero kept me on edge wanting to read. My love for the character in both books is equal. It’s a tough comparison.

Overall, I would totally recommend this book to anyone. It’s a great read, you don’t really have to read Percy Jackson first (but it’s nice so you know Annabeth and Percy and have more knowledge on Half Blood Camp.) You also don’t need too much background knowledge on Greek and Roman gods, because it is explained in the book. A

Brotherband Chronicles: The Invaders

     A young Scandanavian named Hal, along with his crew, have just left their hometown, Hallasholm and set out to sea to find a stolen treasure he was "able" to guard but taken. They get stuck in a storm and are forced to stay in a cove where they train and prepare for when they meet up with the pirates who stole their treasure or as the Scandians call it, the Andomal.

     While this is happening, the scandian leader or the Oberjarl, Erak, sends out a crew of Scandians to find Hal and his crew. When the storm settles they leave to get supplies and when they come back the crew of Scandians is waiting. But instead of taking them back to Hallosholm, they say they are there to help. 

     If i told you the rest it would spoil the story. Let me just say this is one of my favorite books and has a very good theme on friendship and overcoming fear. Also it has a theme of it is best when one corrects the problems they cause.

     In my opinion John Flannagan is one of the best writers ever and he has come up with another great series.

Shin's Escape

Shin’s Escape

By Will McFarland

Blaine Hardin’s Escape from Camp 14 follows Shin, a young Korean boy who escapes from a brutal North Korean prison camp. Shin was the first North Korean to be born in Camp 14 to successfully escape. Shins parents were among the few prisoners allowed to marry and have a child, but the pressure to survive caused them to neglect him. Since the day he was born Shin was forced to live like an animal. In the camp it is survival of the fittest all they are taught to do is to obey, work and focus on living through each day. In the camps the guards have control over everything any prisoner receives: the amount of food, number of beatings, etc. and the prisoners are treated like slaves, forced to eat minimal amounts of food and preform back breaking work without pay.  At the age of ten Shins mother and Brother plot to escape, Shin finds out and tells a guard but the guard takes the credit, and Shin must watch his mother and brother be murdered before his eyes.

Later Shin gets a job fixing sewing machines. It looks like he will spend his remaining days in the sewing machine shop until a new well-educated prisoner is sent to work with him. Shin is ordered to spy on the new prisoner but they started talking and became great friends, this man is what inspired Shin and made his escape possible. They planned to escape on the night of the New Year. They were supposed to be cutting trees and planned to jump through the fence and escape. There were two problems with this plan: one was that the camp ran so many volts of electricity through its fences, that it would kill a man instantly; and two, there were guards patrolling the fence with automatic weapons in spaced intervals. But they put their plan into action anyway. As they were running up to the fence Shin slipped so his friend jumped through first and was electrocuted. Shin ran up soon after and used the body to clear the fence. Without that man, he would have surely died.

 After his escape, he traveled through China to South Korea, and then to the United States of America, where he lives today. For the first few years Shin had a hard time fitting in. He had to find a job and started working with local human rights groups and today he gives speeches on human rights and his time in the camp to raise awareness about these horrible things.

This was one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone, no matter what genre of book they like. This book has encouraged countless people to join the fight to stop these horrible things from taking place in North Korea, and it is an amazing read. A+

Beautiful creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl 
This book was very interesting it was about a boy named Ethan  and this girl named Lena she is the new girl in town.Immediately two girl named Savannah and Emily do not take the a liking to her they thought that she was weird was because her uncle was known as the weird man in their small town Gatlin. Before she arrived Ethan had a dream about this girl  who was falling but he could not catch her.Then she arrived he thought that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.Turn out that she in one of his classes along with the girls who do not like her.They were in class one day and Savannah started to say bad thing about her family and lena tried to control herself  but then something came over her and she broke the window in the classroom without touching it and then ran out of the classroom Ethan ran after her . He ran after and followed her to a big mansion and then though a garden  where she sits on the grown crying and he say what wrong then she say all i wanted was to be normal then all of a sudden they have a flashback were im not going to tell you because it will ruin the story but after the flashback they talked then became friends.Soon after that he asked her what are you she said i cant tell you .Later on in the story he fines out that her family has power but she get to pick if she light or dark light mean good dark mean bad. This was a really good book for young adult  and if you like magic this is the book for you .

Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

     Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports is the third book by James Patterson in the Maximum Ride series. I thought it was a great book loaded with action as well as wit. I think it might be the best book in the series so far.
     Max and her family of friends are the product of crazy scientists who grafted bird DNA into them. Ever since they escaped the awful place they were born and raised, the "flock" has merely tried to live. (If you want to know more, look at the book review of the first book, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment) At the beginning of the book, the bird kids are on the run from the crazy scientists and a worldwide company called Itex. Itex has an insane plan to kill every human in the world with imperfections and problems and to create genetically improved people instead. Itex wants to do this because they think that the world has become really polluted because there are too many people in it. They created Max and the bird kids, but now that Max knows about their plan, she has set out on a mission to stop it. While on her quest, she and the bird kids are captured and put in an Itex prison.
      While she is stuck there, an old enemy returns named Ari. Ari is part wolf and has tried to kill Max on numerous occasions, but now he has gone good, or so Max thinks. Ari helps them escape, but Fang, one of the bird kids, doesn't trust Ari. Because of this, the flock splits up. This is a huge problem. While they are apart, it becomes harder and harder to be safe, and the bird kids are in more danger than ever. The only trick up their sleeves is Fang's blog to spread the word about Itex all around the world to help save the planet.
     I liked with many of the themes in this book. One of the biggest themes in this book is that pollution is bad, but there are answers to put a stop to it. Pollution plays a big roll in the book. One of the other main themes is that giving someone a second chance pays off. The bird kids give Ari a second chance, as well as a man named Jeb who betrayed them, and it ends up being for the best. I liked the themes, but there were some loudly expressed opinions that I didn't agree with and didn't seem neccessary to the plot, but I enjoyed the book enough to look past those things.
     Although this book may not be my favorite, it is definitely worth the time to read. I thought it was very creative and interesting. Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports is another great hit for James Patterson.
    

e=Einstein by 24 people (I'm not going to list off)

For those interested in physics and science, here's a book that will intrigue you. Like they say on the back, "A group of contributors look at Albert Einstein the man, his accomplishments, and his impact today." That is exactly what this book is! 24 people contribute essays about the life of the great Einstein and his discoveries about the universe. Essays are about his time in Germany, expeditions, his dream, the time-space continuum, relativity, quantum physics, gravity, and the Big Bang. The introduction gives a brief overview of Einstein, and his most important discoveries. It then is divided into 4 parts, Einstein's life, Einstein's early science, Einstein's later science, and Einstein's enduring influence. Although it does have a slow and quite boring start, the concepts and subjects later in the book are amazing. This book really gives you sample of Einstein's thoughts. He really was an amazing person of the 20th century. His discoveries have lead us to a greater understanding of the universe, and they have also lead us to better technology and weapons. Without his idea about the splitting of an atom WWII might have gone on for a few more years. This book was amazing and I recommend  it to all who like this kind of science. It was great overall, but because of the boring start it could have been better. B+

Baked Alaska by: Josi S. Kilpack

      This book is a culinary mystery by Josi Kilpack. It's the last book in the series so far there are 8 books before it. The main character a lady named Sadie Hoffmiller. She is usually the one to discover the murder or mystery then she goes on through out the book helping solve it. To help her solve it is her boyfriend Pete and sometimes her kids Breanna and Shawn. 

        Sadie and the rest of her family decide to go on a relaxing five day cruise to get away from all the stress they have been through lately. Sadie and her daughter arrive first and start getting settled in by going to the buffet. When Sadie's son Shawn and her boyfriend Pete arrive she hugs Pete but then goes to find Shawn. When she finally finds him he is talking with a lady that she doesn't know. Shawn seemed upset so she got his attention and they continued on their way. Sadie could not stop thinking about this lady. Sadie wanted to know who that lady was and tried following her but lost her when she got distracted. Sadie ends up buying the picture of the lady that was taken when they got on the ship. Later that evening when Sadie and Pete were walking back to their rooms they see the lady lying in a pool chair. They think she's asleep but when they check on her she barely has a pulse. This is just the start to the most chaotic cruise.

          This is a great book and I would recommend reading it. I would recommend reading the books before it 1st.  You like mysteries you will most likely very much enjoy this book. Although you may think it is for an older audience and kind of weird. You will come to find that you very much enjoy it and want to keep reading more. A

Imagine you pop up in a box and you're surrounded by dirty teenage boys staring at you like you just did something crazy. Well that's how Thomas feels when he comes through the box up into the glade. As the reader you are experience the story in first person so at this point  both you the reader and Thomas have no idea what is going on. In fact he has no memory at all except his name and the face of a girl. That girl shows up the day afyer and all she says is I triggered the ending.

Thomas has been brought to the Glade. The Glade is a place that is covered in green grass one main building and a few others around the area. It is surrounded by huge stone walls that as we learn later on... move. Beyond these stone walls is the maze. I'm not talking about a little maze on the back of a children’s' menu, I'm talking about a huge maze that changes every night. 

There is a system in the Glade everyone has a job and each job is different. Thomas is forced to try every job but the one that caught his eye from the start was runner. A runner was someone who would leave the glade every day to go into the maze to find an exit. Every morning the runners leave into the maze and when they get back they have to write a map of where they ran and how the maze moved. They have been there two years and they have found no exit However it was a dangerous job because there was more danger than just being lost in the maze. There were grievers. grievers were big gray slug like creatures with spikes all over their bodies. If you were caught by a griever you would be stung and would have to go through the changing. The changing is a terrible thing it sends that person into terrible pain and suffering but the one good thing that comes from all of it is you regain memories (IMPORTANT). 

 This book is very similar to The Hunger Games and in real life it could be related to global warming. I believe that James Dashner did a great job on this book it kept you always wanting more never satisfied. The suspense always is there it almost is never gone. I have to say that I was actually skeptical when I started because of how strange everything was and how annoying it was that they had their own language in the Glade. Well, it wasn't really a full language it was just a few terms such as klunk and shuck. This was a great read that I recommend to anyone with a desire for adventure. That’s why I give Maze Runner an A+