The Mediator :)

The Haunted Mediator by Meg Cabot is unlike any other book I have read. WARNING! You have to read the other 5 books in order to understand what's going on... Just thought I'd warn you :). Also, thre are very few swear words and alot of death. BUt it isnt gross or very descriptive. The main character of this book, Susannah Simon, is a superhero. Not like Superman, I mean she doesn't run around in spandex or catch bullets with her eyelids. No, she see's the dead. Now you're probably thinking, "Gosh, so boring!" Well what she does with the dead is unbelieveable. (HENCE THE FICTION *cough cough*). Suze, she refuses to be called Susannah except by her centry old boyfriend (I'll explain that later!) and her mother, is what we call a mediator. She sends the dead who haven't moved onto Heaven, to Heaven. But along the way she meets serial killers, pysco revengful murderers, oh and a certain boy who wants to kill her and kiss her at the same time... That one person is Paul Slater.

Now Paul Slater may not sound evil, but in book 4 Paul tried to killl Suze. But let's begin at book 1. Suze and her mother lived together in New York City, just the two of them. Her father comitted suicid right in front of her when she was around 6. Since about then she has been able to talk to ghost and help them move along. Granted her father still pops in on her every now and then to see how she is holding up, and each time he refuses to allow her to move hime along to Heaven. She is now 17, has done over hundreds of mediations since then and has grown. Her mother has married Andy and has moved her to sunny California. Once there she realized two things. One, she gain 3 stepbrothers, Dopey, Sleepy, and Doc, plus a stepfather. You'd have thought that being ripped from her old home and life, shipped out to an entire new world and finding a (her words not mine...) sexy ghost in her bedroom would phase a woman. NoPe. Like I said, Suze is a regular Wonder Woman. Things take a durastic change when a former student at her school comes back for a vistit, although this time she's dead and no one can see or hear her. Her name is Heather and she killed herself all because her boyfriend dumped her. All in all, the poor girl was literally crazy in love. Now Suze must face facts and accept that ghost will follow her everywhere, not just in New York.

I really really really love this series! Suze is sarcastic, smart, really funny, and reminds me of my friends. But do not puck any of these books up before you go to bed cause you will find yourself being forced to read them to the end. Hope ya enjoy :)

The Thief Lord

The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke, is a jaw dropping fantasy adventure that kept me reading and reading! 345 pages of non-stop adventure for a kid named Scipio and his gang. Though not knowing "The Thief Lords" true backround, Prosper, Bo, Hornet, Mosca, and Riccio find lodging in a run down movie theatre waiting for Scipio to bring in the latest steal. Prosper and Bo ran away from their aunt and uncle to find their dream home in a magical place their mother always talked about: VENICE! But little did this run down city know about these runaways and children with their incredible secrets! A major break in will get the kids millions of dollars but who would have thought that the house keeper would be their only hope for survival in the future? Prosper's aunt hires a detective to find his little brother Bo, but the little theifs out smart him big time. He is a key part to an adventure to break onto an island to look for a magical merry-go-round. The merciful sisters had this merry-go-round for all of the orphans but what they didn't know was that it held a magical power to turn kids into adults, and adults into kids. This book shows that it doesn't matter how small you are, just live your life to the highest degree. Through weaving canals to magical merry-go-rounds, Venice is full of surprises for you to discover. A-

Midnighters

As you can see, this book is called Midnighters: The Secret Hour. It's very well written by Scott Westerfield, who also wrote the Uglies series. It is about a girl named Jessica Day, who just moved from Chicago to a very small town in Ohio. How small? Less than 200 kids go to the high-school. Jessica sticks out like a sore thumb. She befriends a group of misfits, who are Dess, Rex, and Melissa. These social outcasts are struggling their way through high school. Although these kids are misfits, they have something special. They have the secret hour. Every night at midnight the world stops. Everyone, except for the midnighters who were born at exactly midnight, is frozen in time. They have an hour to themselves, a shelter from their everyday lives. They soon find out that there is a lot more to this secret hour than they expected. Innocent creatures who left the midnighters alone before aren't so innocent anymore. All because of Jessica.

This book is original, fast-paced, and includes just about everything expected in a good teen book. It has romance (although thankfully it isn't a focal point in the story), humor, and action. On the cover there is a quote from Ursula K. Le Guin. She says, " Fast-paced and spooky-- a good read for the dark hours." Yes, it was fast paced and was a great read for late at night (I was definitely up later than I should have been while I was reading it) but spooky? Not so much. No need to worry, your pants will stay dry.

Scott Westerfield did a great job writing this book. He illustrates his point page by page. This book is mainly written to entertain, but can also teach a valuable lesson. The main characters are all extremely socially awkward. They are put through terrible things at school, but when the secret hour comes, it is a whole other story. In the secret hour, they can truly shine. He helps us realize that there is a place for everyone. No, it may not be as cool as the secret hour, but everyone belongs somewhere, teaching us that there is no such thing as a useless person.

In the end he set it up for a sequel (of course), making any reader desperate for the next book. I really enjoyed this book, with it's quick, original plot, easy to relate characters, and unique style of writing, I would definitely recommend it to any teen looking for a good read. B+

Twelfth Grade Kills

Twelfth Grade Kills by Heather Brewer is an action packed suspense. It’s the final book in The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod (make sure you read the other four books first). This book is, obviously, about Vladimir Tod, and his struggles with school, an annoying “pest,” being a half vampire, vampires, and vampire slayers. He sees his father, who died when he was ten, and has to survive a “trial” with the Elysian council. Also, He has to find his father’s journal before December 31^st or he’s screwed (going to die). At the very end of the last book (this is NOT a spoiler) he drinks this insane vampire's blood. Right after he drinks the blood he sees his father, so he's not sure if he's halicinating or not. SIDEAFFECTS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO: THE BOOK SEEMINGLY BEING GLUED TO YOUR HANDS, INSOMNIA, AND PAPERCUTS. WARNING: ADDICTION TO THIS BOOK IS POSSIBLE AND MAY REQUIRE FINISHING THE LAST BOOK SLOWLY TO AVOID WITHDRAWL. All in all, this was a great ending to the series. I give the book an A+.

Pathfinder

What's got an interesting beginning, slow, but occasionally exciting middle, and an amazing, cliff hanger end? That would be Pathfinder, a science- fiction, by Orson Scott Card, all about some kid named Rigg.

Rigg is a young boy that works with his father, trapping animals for their pelts. But, as most main characters in books, Rigg is special. He can see anywhere anyone has been. He sees the path that they took, hence the title "Pathfinder". All of Rigg's life, he has used his ability to find animals, so he can take their fur. But, when his father gets smooshed under a tree and dies, everything changes.

The last instructions from Riggs dad is to go find his sister, that he's never seen, or even knew existed. On his way, he gets accused of being the long lost prince. That would be absolutely terrific, if it weren't for a few let downs, such as:

1) The Royals don't rule anymore. Ever since the revolution, the people have taken over, and the Royals can't own anything, and are only alive to be mocked. Sounds like a blast.

2) The male line of Royals is not allowed to rule. Only the female line can. So they tend to kill of the male line. Even if the people in charge of this decision say he should live, so many people are going to want him dead. Lovely.

3) This long lost prince is supposed to be dead. They've thought him dead for a long time. That will be a fun situation to be in.

So being this prince is actually kind of a bad thing, unless you're extremely fond of the idea of a one way road to death. Apparently Rigg isn't too fond of death, so he wants to find a way to get out of this royal pain. But, in his little adventure, his world is turned around.

In Riggs seemingly normal world, you learn the importance of learning, and discovery. You can also see the possibility that your world may not be what it seems. The only way to figure it out is to look yourself, not just listen to other people and their theories. In Riggs world, there are other worlds surrounding him, but on the same planet. There are living people beyond them. So, maybe there are some living people on planets far away from us. The possibles are infinite. Only we can figure it out. It's not likely that some aliens will show up to prove it for us.

Anyway, this book is really fantastic, but you do have to endure some slow parts throughout it. For most parts it's interesting, and makes you ask questions, and want to keep reading, like any good book. But the part I thought was the worst, is a killer cliff hanger. If you decide to pick up this book, and hit the middle and it feels like a chore to read it, keep reading it. It gets good. Really good. B

Matched by Allie Condie Book Review

Matched by Allie Condie is a truly fantastic book. It's depth and forethought were obvious and refreshing. This young adult/fantasy book is a post-apocalypse adventure that is rooted in self-discovery. The main character, Cassia Reyes, has been raised in the Society, a dystopia that is much too structured. They're strict enough to choose the citizens' Matches, their life partners. When Cassia is Matched with Xander Carrow, her best friend, she is elated. But when she goes home to watch her micro card (a small chip that includes details about the Matches that each pair gets once they're Matched to get to know their partner), the screen shows a different face. Instead, it shows one of Ky Markham, a boy she has seen around but doesn't know very well. The Society never makes mistakes. At least that's what Cassia thought. She is reassured by the Society that it was a simple mistake, a glitch in the chip. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, his face up on that screen. What did it mean? Did they give her the wrong Match? Then she starts questioning the Society itself, if it's Utopian impression is just a cover of an insufficient attempt at redemption. Although I thought this nearly impeccable book was a good read, there were some flaws. At some points there just wasn't enough urgency to Condie's writing. Likewise, the conflicts and conversations had a tendency to be somewhat dull, not much of a urgency to read into. She made good overall interest, but some points I thought were just too slow. Upon reading this book, I have been able to recognize the connection between Condie's points and our society as it is currently standing. I am not making any judgements, nor am I taking sides, but after interpreting Condie's hidden meanings and her underlying themes (exemption and free will), I have come to agree with Cassia and her choices. Her determination is modern and quite nicely displayed. Overall, I would give Matched by Allie Condie a definite thumbs up. This book is a great read and is very wonderfully written. A-

Before Midnight

Before Midnight is written amazedly by Cameron Dorky. This fantasy is the retold tail of Cinderella which is part of a whole group of retold classic fairy tails. Now don't think you've heard Cinderella's story plenty times before and that you don't need to read Before Midnight. Because you should. Dorky takes it and puts a whole new spin to it. In the traditional story Cinderella's father has died, but in Dorky's version he has just simply left. Cameron Dorky is a fantastic author who has written many other books. As I mentioned before, Before Midnight is part of a whole group of twisted fairy tails. Dorky and a few other authors have gotten together to rewrite and change all the classic fairy tails. This is just one of many great books I have had the privilege to read.

This book starts at the beginning, with the birth of the main character. On the eave of the new baby's birth a multiple of signs occurred. One of the many signs is when the wind whirls down all the chimneys in the house distinguishing all of the fires. Sadly the baby girl's mother dies in childbirth and is unable to give her a name. The nurse mary who will end up raising the child names her after her mother, Constanze. When the old Nurse mary nestles the baby by the coals to keep her warm, all of the fires suddenly ignite. That is how Constanze got the nickname La Cendrillon, or child of cinders.

Now you may be thinking that her name is supposed to be Cinderella, but that is not so in this version of the story. Any how, back to the story.

When Cendrillon's father finds out about the death of his wife, he blames it on his infant daughter. In his grief, he wishes to never see her again and leaves the manor in anger. Cendrillon grows to be a fine young lady along side a boy who has no idea about his past.

You're probably wondering who this boy is, let me explain.

When Cendrillon's father came back to the house seeking his wife, he brings a baby boy. No one knows who or where he came from. When Cendrillon's father leaves, he leaves the boy in the care of the nurse mary. A few days after Cendrillon's 16th birthday, three strange women arrive at the manor. It turns out that they are Cendrillon's new step mother and sisters.

This is finally when the original story of Cinderella creeps in. Cendrillon becomes a maid in her own household because she is too afraid to tell her step mother and sisters who she really is. Then one day the invitation to the ball arrives.

The rest of the story sort of follows the original story but with some unexpected turns and twists. I personally loved the book and recommend it to any one who takes interest. However at some parts I wondered how it was going to be like Cinderella at all in the end, but it mostly pulled through. For instance, There were 2 possible boys Cendrillon could end up with even before she met any prince. Plus, Cendrillon actually ended up having a good relationship with her step mother and two step sisters. Also Cendrillon gets kidnapped by her own father! but you'll have to read the book to find out how that ended up.

I think Before Midnight was definitely entertaining as well as memorable. It was interesting to see how much Dorky could twist the classic fairy tail of Cinderella, but still be able to recognize it as the same story. The one confusing part of the whole story is when Cendrillon's father changed his heart, and let go of all the hurt and anger, then suddenly disappeared out of the story. All in all I liked the out come of this book. Every one gets their happily ever after and all the girls get their guys.