Chasing the Falconers (Reviewed by S.L.)

Chasing the Falconers by Gordon Korman is about two kids named Aidan and Meg Falconer. Aidan and Meg’s parents were recruited to work for the CIA by their friend Frank Lindanaur, who also worked for the CIA. Then, they are accused of being spies and passing classified information to terrorists.
After their parents are sentenced to a lifetime in prison, Aidan and Meg are placed at Sunnydale, a juvenile correction farm in Nebraska. After they escape Sunnydale, they try to prove their parents’ innocent while on the run from the FBI.
This book is a mystery narrative, aimed at kids who like mysteries. I loved Chasing the Falconers because it is an interesting book that makes me think. it is interesting because of all the clever ways the Falconers manage to stay hidden, like when Aidan has to get Meg out of the custody of the police, he dresses up like a policeman so people will not recognize him. However once you read it, you will have to read the other books in the series. I definitely recommend Chasing the Falconers.

Reviewed by S.L.

Scorpions (Reviewed by C.G.)

Scorpions By: Walter Dean Myers

Scorpions is a realistic fiction book about a kid named Jamal.
Jamal Hicks lives New York, with his mom, and his little sister Sassy. Jamal has to take the part as man of the family because, his dad divorced his mom and his older brother Randy is in jail.
Randy’s friend Mack wants Jamal to take over the Scorpions (a neighborhood gang) because he thinks that Jamal has the heart to do it. Jamal and his friend Tito are not sure what to on being in the Scorpions.
After a short period of time, Mack gives Jamal a gun.
Jamal and Tito get into some tough situations with the gun. Jamal takes the gun to school, and sticks the gun in a student’s face and threatens to shoot him.
It all leads up to one huge mistake with the gun, but you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens.
I would say that the target audience would be early teens to adults. Scorpions is a great book, and I would recommend it to anyone that loves action packed books.
Student of ALS, C. G.

Titanic by Bob Temple (Review by J.P.)

Titanic is an Informational History book by Bob Temple. In the beginning, everyone thinks the Titanic is unsinkable. Because it has, all water tight walls and fifteen water tight doors. The Titanic also has a grand staircase and three dinning rooms.

The setting takes place in the Atlantic Ocean. They are going from England to America. In the ship, they have a first class, second class and a third class. The voyage goes well the first few days in until the night of Sunday April 14.

That night people hear a crash but do not think anything of it. They decide to go back to what they were doing. Then the caption orders them to go up on the deck. Most people start to complain until they find out what happened. That night the ship hits an iceberg.

The people who would like this most would be people who like history and adventure. I thought it was a good book because I really like history, adventure, and drama. I also liked that it gave different paths for you to go through. The path I liked best was the passengers’ view because you really get to understand what it was like to ride the Titanic and really know how the passengers felt when they hit the Iceberg. The thing I thought they should have made clearer was when the paths ended. I thought that you just went on to the end and then I got confused and had to go back to the beginning.

Reviewed by J.P.

Review for Paintball Blast by RW

Paintball Blast by Jake Maddox is an interesting narrative about Max [the main character] and his teammate Tyler. They had been playing paintball together for a long time. They usually win most of their games. Well, that is until he faced Ryan’s team.
Max noticed something strange about Ryan’s team one day. When Ryan took one shot he hit the opponent with one and two hit the wall. Max thought to himself, how can that be? He also noticed that Ryan’s team always had yellow paintballs.
Max and his team worked hard to get ready for the challenge cup. They won their first two games and then are in the finals against Ryan’s team. You will have read this book to see if Max and Tyler can figure out if Ryan’s team is cheating.
Paintball Blast is a great mystery that would be enjoyed by boys or anyone who likes paintball. I enjoyed the book because it kept me in suspense. I was eager to read more because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Like Max, I too like to play hard while following the rules. I expect others to also.

Reviewed by RW

Review of Nancy Drew by P.B.

I want to tell you about a book I like. It is called Nancy Drew by Stefan Petrucha Vaughn Ross. It is a graphic novel, which is one of my favorite genres.

The setting is on a sailing boat. Nancy and her friends are sailing. Then all of a sudden the water starts to spin around like a tornado, and everybody on the beach gets sucked in. Then everybody is asking Nancy what happened. The book is mainly about treasure and how Nancy and her friends find it. They are trying to give it to the be owner, but Nancy thinks the owner is dead.

Nancy Drew loves being a girl detective. If you love mysteries and graphic novels, you will love this book. It is a good book, but at the very beginning, you might wonder what it is because it is doesn’t seem like a mystery. In about the middle, its starts talking about what happened to the be owner of the treasure, and it gets more exciting than the beginning.

Reviewed by P.B.

Twelve by Lauren Myracle (reviewed by E.Z.)

I read a book called “Twelve” by Lauren Myrcle. It is a realistic fiction book and it is from the “Eleven” series. The main idea of the book is about all the changes that happened to Winnie (the main character) when she was twelve. One of the changes that happened is that Winnie went to middle school. Another big change is Winnie lost her best friend.
The main characters of the book include Winnie (the main girl character), Dinah (Winnies best friend) and Cinnamon (Winnies other friend). They are all going through lots of changes in their life. Sandra is Winnie’s big sister who is a total girly girl teenager. She helps Winnie with all the changes because Sandra was once twelve. I would recommend this book to eleven or twelve year old girls. It is a funny book and makes you want to keep reading.
Mostly, the setting is at middle school. The setting is also at Winnie’s house a lot. I defiantly know that most things in this book are realistic, because it’s about all the things that can happen to Twelve year old girls. If you read this book I would also recommend the book “Thirteen” because it’s from the same series. I like this book a lot because its funny, and it can relate to me because I’m about to turn twelve. I also like it because the author always ends the chapter with the reader wanting to know what happens. I would defiantly recommend it to other girls!

Reviewed by E.Z.

Zach's Lie

I choose this title as the second book in my 40 book challenge because I noticed that it is by Roland Smith. I read Peak by Roland Smith last year because it was on the Battle of the Books list. It was such a great read and I was thrilled to see that Smith has written other books!

Zach's Lie is a story about a middle school student, Jack Osborne who is forced to become Zach Granger after his father found himself in the middle of an illegal drug operation that forced his family to enter the witness protection program. Readers follow Jack (a.k.a Zach) as he struggles to re-invent himself while holding tightly to how things have always been. Full of suspense, I recommend this book to boys and girls who enjoy realistic fiction or books with a bit of danger.

I just found out that there is a sequel to Zach's Lie called Jack's Run. I can't wait to read it and find out how this story continues!

Mockingjay

WHAT A FANTASTIC WAY TO END THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY! The third and final book of this trilogy is the best one yet! Suzanne Collins provides the answer to the question that so many readers have been asking since finishing Catching Fire, "Does Katniss choose Peeta or Gale?" Mockingjay departs slightly from the theme and tone of the other books in the trilogy and can easily be described as a war story. More information is discovered about District 13 and its inhabitants and you see Katniss in a new light as she struggles to define herself as the face of the rebellion while trying to recover from the scars (both physical and emotional) that remain from being a two time victor of the Hunger Games.

I was unable to put this book down and found myself wondering if Collins would really be able to walk away from this story line after just three books...if I'm lucky, maybe there will be a prequel or spin off series :)

The Boy Book by E. Lockhart (reviewed by VD)

Welcome to the Tate Universe (Tate is a small private school where everyone has known each other since kindergarten) world of Ruby Oliver lead character in The Boy Book. Living in Seattle on a house boat, seeing a shrink, being a junior at Tate, being an outcast (or as Ruby calls it a leper) this is the life of Ruby (aka Roo). Which you can read about in The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, and The Treasure Map to Boys.


The story could best be summed up in a list( something Roo makes lots of) of who she is speaking to as this is about her life and relationships are a huge part of life. So without further ado who Ruby is and isn't speaking to:


Kim-former best friend-not speaking to, not even when she's back from Tokyo.


Cricket-former best friend-not speaking to.


Nora-former best friend- speaking to, sort of. They have talked but aren't calling each other or anything.


Noel-friend fellow member in the HRS-speaking, NOT dating.


Meghan- friend- speaking, but she has no one else.


Dr.Z-Shrink-speaking.


Angelo-friend-no longer speaking.


Jackson- former boyfriend-NOT SPEAKING.


So, yeah Ruby's world is weird.But after the horror of last year (read the Boyfriend List for more) this is a lot of people to be talking to.


This is a great book that will make any teen/tween girl laugh. You should definitely read this book if you want something light and funny. It's no action adventure but its a page turner.

V.D.