New Year - New Top Ten!

The reading list of Top Ten books is here for the 2013 - 2014 school year! There's something for everyone.

Books are available at all participating libraries. Post your reviews in the comments section of this post. We'd love to hear what you think of these books!

MHHS Students wins haircuts at Bratt-Pak!

Congrats to Caesaria at Hat High who wrote a review of the Cellist of Sarajevo for the Medicine Hat News and to Mariene who wrote a review of Final Four also for the Medicine Hat News!

Turtles for Madison LaCroix!

Madison, Grade 11 CHHS, got some delicious turtle donuts from McBride's Bakery. Thanks for participating!

Beastly by Katie Ogden

Beastly by Alex Flinn
Beastly is a book about a man named Kyle Kingsbury who has it all, the money, the looks, and the popularity. Until he is transformed into a beast who hides during day and prowls by night. The curse could only be broken if he found someone to truly love him in a years’ time, for his beastly form. Will Kyle overcome his arrogance and find his true love, or will he remain a beast forever? I personally loved the book because it is classified as a romance novel, and was written by an amazing author: Alex Flinn. I loved this book because it has a bit of a twist; it’s not like most fairy tales. Beastly shows you that love is never ugly, no matter what you look like, it’s on the inside that counts. If you like or are interested in romance this is definitely a book for you!

American Sniper by George Douvis 'n' Dat Le

American Sniper by Chris Kyle

We are writing about the book called “American Sniper”, tis about a Navy SEAL (SEa Air Land) named Chris Kyle. Navy SEAL/s is an elite military group, also known for the killing of Osama Bin Laden. I have great respect for these men and their risky work that they go through.
I chose this Autobiography of Chris Kyle, because of everything he went through and everything he sacrificed just to serve his country, I enjoyed this book learning about a SEALs life and what kind of work they do for a living.. I would recommend this to people who enjoy military style books. This book was very good because there was many twist and turns in his journey. 

….We didn’t rush to make this book report… 
George ‘n’ Dat

Dead to You by Jordan Jakubowsky

Dead to You
By: Lisa McMann

This story is about a boy named Ethan DeWilde, who was abducted from his front yard when he was 7 years old and goes back home, 9 years later. He returns to his mother, father, younger brother and younger sister. Blake, who is 13, remembers all of it. He remembers when Ethan ran up to the abductors car and climbed in. He meets a girl, she becomes his girlfriend, and his mom forces him to go to high school, to make it worse. Stuck in a 2nd grade mentality age, He doesn’t know much, only to fend for his life on the streets with his kidnapper. He gets humiliated and school because of it, he gets too much attention, and his brother, Blake, thinks he’s not real. Just when he thinks it’s all going smooth, he ruins it. Blake is in a desperate state and is trying to convince his parents that this boy is not Ethan. Lines are crossed between the brothers and they don’t get along well. Anyways, it’s a very good book and stuff and I highly recommend it. I like this book because it has lots of twists and turns and because it tells everyone’s perspective on the kidnapping, including the students. The end.

Shiver by Jessica Nelson

Shiver
By: Stiefvater, Maggie

The Book “Shiver” is an intriguing book. At the beginning it feels like just another Twilight book, but in reality it is not the same. All though the book is about a teenage girl being fascinated by werewolves and she falls in love with them. The book is very basic and has a different approach on werewolves and a different story on why she finds herself so drawn to them. Unlike Twilight saga there is no love triangle and no guy ripping off his shirt 24/7, so guys that are against Twilight, may possibly like this book. I like this book because there are a lot of untold things in the book until you keep reading. Everything falls into place once you keep reading. I like this book because there is no big dramas in it, no sappy cheesy lines (except for some, because it is after all a bit of a love story). 
I feel as though Stiefvater really captures the setting and emotion in this book and makes it quite enjoyable for the reader. If you are into these werewolf books, with a bit of love I recommend this book. But if you are a person that likes war and battle and comics …well stick with those and not this book.

A Child called "It" by Kyndra Gammon

A Child called “It”
By: Dave Pelzer
The book that I have been reading was ‘A Child called “it”. This book is
based on a true story, the story of Dave Pelzer. This story is about a boy beating
beaten by his alcoholic mother. The mother would be playing torturous,
unpredictable games. The games that the mother would played, nearly would
have the boy dead. This boy is not considered as a son to the mother only a slave;
and no longer a boy, but an “it”. The boy’s real name is Dave but his mother
always called him it. Dave’s bed would be on cement in his basement and his
clothes are torn and old. Dave’s mother would treat his baby brother like an angel
but would treat Dave like he was nothing. The only way that Dave would eat
anything was only if he finished his chores on a certain time and if he doesn’t he
doesn’t get any food tell he finishes his duties. Dave’s father would be at the bar a
lot or at work but if he was home he would help Dave and he would save him. If
the father is home the mother wouldn’t be treating the boy how she usually
treats him, but the father does know how the mother would really treat him. The
boy would always get picked on at school because he always smelled and always
had torn clothes. Dave would always have to find a way to survive from his
mother’s brutally games so he wouldn’t end up dead.
This is one of my favorite books to read but a little disturbing. I love to read
books that are about other people’s lives and what they have been through. I
would and wouldn’t recommend this book to people because there are some
parts in the book that is a little bit disturbing and gross but there will be some
parts that are fine. But if you’re like me and you like to read books that’s about
other people’s life and if you can take the gory parts and some intense parts then
I’d recommend it.
By Kyndra Gammon 

Damage by Addison Jalbert

Damage by Anya Parrish
I have read a book lately called “Damage” by Amy Parrish. I liked it very much! The book is about two teenagers named Jesse and Dani that were part of “The Dream Project” when they were little. This project was supposed to make the children that they treated never have an illness or disease ever again. Instead, this project accidentally activated an ability to see imaginary assassins that try to kill them. They also got different diseases like cancer. The imaginary assassins that most of them saw had an ability to move things in real life. Jesse and Dani saw them all the time when they were little, and Dani’s even pushed her from a building! Until after this freak accident one day, they weren’t able to see them, but now they’re deadly as ever! They throw bottles; knock down trees, and many other things. On top of that, a terrorist group is after them as they learn the truth about how and why they can see these things. I would recommend this book to others for sure because it’s very descriptive.

Adam Canfield of the Slash by Wilder Froment

I am reading the book Adam Canfield of the Slash, by Michael Winerip. This book is about Adam Canfield trying to find some good stories for his school newspaper the Slash; he has to go through a lot of troubles to find some though, like dealing with the new cub reporter, Phoebe, who finds a few good stories but Adam feels he can’t accept stories from a cub reporter. He also has to go down to an old part of town in the Willows, to figure out more about an old woman who left money in her will to the school. I liked this book because it uses a way to tell the book not very often used, it uses a Omniscient perspective.

Stupid Cupid by Kody Wilson

In the story, Stupid Cupid, Reed is faced with the difficulties of having a match-maker as a mother. Reed’s mom is always setting her up on dates and outings with boys who she really has no interest in. One day, Reed finally snaps and makes a deal with her mom that if she [Reed] can find a boyfriend on her own, then her mom will stop trying to set her up. When the opportunity arises Reed gets help from her health partner, Parker, by asking him to be her ‘fake boyfriend’. Parker surprises Reed by agreeing but when things take a wrong turn, they end up having to do a little more ‘fake dating’ than they planned. Reed’s best friend, Maya, has had a crush on Parker for years, and Reed knew that too, but Maya saw Reed and Parker holding hands before Reed got a chance to explain herself. As revenge, Maya teams up with Parker’s crazy ex-girlfriend, Triss and together they plan to ruin their lives. Will Reed and Parker figure out how to solve this problem without hurting anymore people? Read it and find out! 

The Dragon Seer by Vienna Buchholz

"The Dragon Seer"
By: Janet McNaughton
“The Dragon Seer” by Janet McNaughton is a truly thought provoking book. The summary is as follows; once a generation someone is chosen for to care for the mystical dragons. Fourteen year old Madoca was a lowly slave until at the Divination ceremony in which she was chosen to be the next Dragon Seer. Her newly acquired position means she must learn the way of the dragon and their magic. Though her powers come through strong she has little control over them. All is not well with the dragons. Their numbers are rapidly decreasing and they face possible annihilation from the Vikings. Not to mention the people are losing faith in the dragons and their age old traditions. What lengths will Madoca go to in order to protect these magnificent creatures? 
“The Dragon Seer” shows people what love truly is. It shows us that though something may be hard one can never give up. Along with that amazing message the plot is well planned and exciting. McNaughton really outdid herself from a great preliminary research on the Picts (a group of people who used to live off the coast of Scotland whose history is rather unknown as they relied on verbal means to pass history on) to an impressive storyline. This book has many dynamics as well as believable dialogue making it a wonderful book for teens and even adults. It is very thought provoking, making people question how they live now. “The Dragon Seer” is a book everyone should read.

Yummy by Taylor Russell

My book is called Yummy (the last days of a Southside shorty) by G. Neri and illustrated by randy Duburke. This book is about an eleven year old named Roger trying to make sense of his classmate named Robert “Yummy” death. But first he has to make sense of Yummy’s life. Roger searches for the truth, tries to find more and more questions and answers. He tries to find out what happened. I like this book because it’s very interesting and based on a real event.

Changing Jareth by Neysa Montebello

Changing Jareth Book Review
Elizabeth Wennick

Changing Jareth is one of my favorite books because I’ve always been fascinated with action books and movies and this book didn’t have too much action but it had just enough. It shows you the world of a troubled teenager with a drunken mom who didn’t take care of her kids and his little brother, Brad. Brad was always sick so Jareth basically had to take care of him. One day Brad asked to be picked up from school and his mother was drunk and got mad and beat him. He was so badly injured he died in the hospital. Jareth was traumatized by this and it completely changed him. After talking to the police his mother got arrested and put in jail. Just a little bit after Brad died Jareth went home and tried to overdose on pills he found and cut his wrist. He was slowly dying and he decided to say goodbye to his friend Matthew but he wasn’t home. His dad named Vic answered the door and saw Jareths wrist and found out he had overdosed. Vic took him to the hospital and made sure he would be okay. A little bit after that Vic helped Jareth find a place to live at his friend Dan and Stewarts home. While Jareth is at their house he started to change. He only did one break in since he was there; he cut his hair, got new clothes, new attitude, got a job, started drawing and met some new friends. Going to this new house has really helped Jareth change, in a good way.
I really liked this book because it showed what it’s like to not have a good life and house with nobody who cares. It made me realize that my life isn’t so bad and I should start to appreciate everyone in my life and all the little things because you never know what you have until it’s gone. Reading this book actually helped me recover from some stuff and now I appreciate everything in my life because I have everything that I need and I’m lucky to have a good family and friends.

From The Ground Up (FTGU) by Theo Weigel

From The Ground Up (FTGU)

In the time given in class I chose to read From The Ground Up (FTGU). The book is basically a manual on how to fly a plane and get your license. It covers all aspects of general aviation flying, from the aircraft itself, to engines, airports/aerodromes, Rules, Weather, Navigation and Communication(s). I find the “Lessons” very easy to understand! I love the fact that the book itself costs very little compared to ground school, (however if you where to go for a license I believe you should take ground school) and also that it was designed and produced right here in Medicine Hat. I liked this book because I am looking forward to getting my license very shortly, and it has helped me understand basic weather and airmanship (right of ways, what certain lights mean, different cloud types etc.). I would recommend it to others, but only if they one day do want something to do in the aviation industry (even if they don’t want to be a pilot). I believe that it would be a hard read if you had no interest in the field, or hobby. 

Looking for Alaska by Andrea Pearton

Looking for Alaska, By John Green is a tragic story told by a boy named Miles Halter, aka Pudge. He leaves home to go to a boarding school, to seek his next adventure. He meets The Colonel, Takumi, Lara and Alaska. They are the typical highshool weirdos. Miles has a bit of a crush on Alaska, but she has a sad past and a boyfriend. Instead Miles and Alaska become close friends. They seek their adventures by plotting pranks against The Eagle, the camp counselor and the weekday warriors, the crazy rich cool kids. I loved this book a lot. Pudge’s protagonist point of view gives you a different type of story and a different outlook on things. I would recommend this book to anybody, male or female, young or old. This story is tragic and different. It shows Pudge’s undying courage in life. I think we could all learn something from him. 

Twisted by Austin Jones

Twisted
By: Laurie Halse Anderson
In Twisted; the book is about a boy who in his early
years was titled “Nerd Boy”. He soon got tired of being
called this so he did a prank on his school to show kids
what he’s about. Tyler spray painted his name on the
front of his school. He got arrested shortly after, and on
the first day of school he had everybody look at him like
he was some kind of hero, but also people looked at him
for some kind of freak. He is like every other grade 11
who has fallen for the girl of his dreams. This girl so
happens to be named Bethany Milbury, but is also the
daughter of Tyler’s dad’s boss!
Once Tyler got used to his reputation, he started
going to parties, mostly with his girlfriend. One time
Bethany invited him to a party, and when Tyler showed
up she was so drunk she couldn’t stand. Soon after Tyler
showed up she invited him into a bedroom, hoping they
would have sex. Tyler shut her down because he didn’t
want to do anything with her when she’s drunk, which
caused a big scene and later got the police involved.
When Tyler got home he noticed a police car in his
driveway, when he walks into house he sees a police man
talking to his parents. 

A Child Called "It" by Julia Wilkinghoff

The book “A child called "It” by Dave Pelzer, is a very inspirational book. This book is about child abuse, and it tells the story of one person’s experience with it. It shows how one happy family was devastated by child abuse, and it also shows the eventual survival and victory of the abused child. Dave Pelzer tells his story about the unthinkable abuse he went through when he was just a little kid. No child should ever have to go through that. I really liked this book because I think that it’s important that people know about child abuse and how big of a problem it is. I would definitely recommend this book. Mostly to teens and adults, because I don’t think that younger kids would be mature enough to read it. 

Changing Jareth by Shelby Kisch

Changing Jareth
By Elizabeth Wennick

I read the Changing Jareth. It was about this boy named Jareth who wasn’t a very good kid; he broke into people’s houses and stole money and more. He only wanted a family, a real one. His mom was a drunk and his little brother was very sick and always in the hospital. Eventually, his brother died and his mom got put into jail. Jareth went to his friend’s, Matthew, step-dad to get help, because Jareth tried killing himself. After a while in the hospital, Vic, Matthew’s step-dad took him to his old friend’s house so Jareth had a place to live. Jareth met a few new friends who helped him a lot but he also met an enemy or two.
I enjoyed the book by the end but there were some parts that weren’t too exciting, but if they weren’t there, the book would be totally different. The reason I enjoyed it so much is because it really is how some teenagers live, or have experienced depression, much like Jareth. Overall I find this book has lots of good parts as well as bad parts. I would recommend this book to others because it could represent the life of some teenagers.

Crank by Ally Schafer

The book I read this week was “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins. This was the first book that I have ever read that I wanted to finish and did that in 3 days! I took a lot of curiosity into reading this, I’ve heard from a couple of different individuals that it was very interesting and detailed, once I started reading I agreed. Crank is about a girl named Kristina or Bree, whose parents are separated and her dad lives in a different area of the states. Kristina went to visit her drug addict father for about 3 or so weeks in the summer, then she stumbled upon a boy who she found was perfection, she had never had a boyfriend before so this was quite knew to her. The book carries on getting very intense and descriptive; you would always know what Kristina was feeling and when the monster wanted OUT. I would definitely recommend this book to others, especially the people that don’t like reading as much; I found this one a book I could not put down! 

Impulse by Katy Rose

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

“Tony's painful childhood memories can be quelled only through pills. Vanessa has a secret that keeps her coming back to the blade. And Conner seems to have the perfect life on the outside, but his inward battle with his parents, his peers, and himself give him one last choice -- to pull the trigger.
These are three lives that would have been cut short if not for the hasty intervention by loved ones, or fate. Now they are given a second chance at a better life -- but only if they help one another, and if they find the strength to let go of their inner demons. For good” (plot summary from back of the book)
The reason why this book is one of my favorites and why I tend to read it over, and over, is because this book talks about how our society has been driving people to commit such a terrible act. I think the reason why I am so close to this book is because there have been many people in my life who have committed suicide, so I’ve know from a very young age that it’s nothing to joke about. 
I would recommend this book 100%. It’s one of the only books that have ever made me cry. It’s beautifully written, by that I mean it’s written in poems. It’s an amazing read. It really makes you think. 

Safe Haven by Raylena Walker

“Love hurts. There is nothing as painful as heartbreak. But in order to learn to love again, you must learn to trust again.” By: Nicholas Sparks, Safe Haven.

My book is called Safe Haven. It’s about a woman named Katie who married a detective named Kevin. Kevin was a drinker; he would drink morning noon and night, and even secretly on the job. When he was drunk he became abusive towards Katie, hitting her over and over, even threatening her with weapons since he was able to because of his job. She was a slave, stuck at home; getting his calls to make sure she hadn’t ran away. But one day Katie got the nerve to leave. She cut her hair and dyed it blonde so no one would recognize her. Where she ended up was a small town named Southport, Where she met a widowed man with two kids. Katie knew she couldn’t trust anyone, or Kevin could find her. But this man was different, he made her feel loved, needed, like a woman should be treated. She slowly but surely fell in love with him and his kids. Eventually Kevin did find Katie in Southport. He burned the man’s house down and tried to kill Katie with his gun, Katie of course knew she had to save the kids, as she was babysitting at the time and accidentally ended up shooting Kevin in her fight to stay alive. In the end Katie was free, she had a man to treat her well, kids to call her own, and a brand new life to live the way it should have been the first time.

Hey Grade 9s.  Post your book reviews here!

Kim Aebly gets some treats from McBride's Bakery

Kim Aebly, Grade 11 Eagle Butte High School, participated in this reading initiative and got some unexpected treats today.

She's a millionaire! Well...she has millionaire bars from McBride's Bakery.

Kamina Moore gets a box of Millionaire Bars from McBride's Bakery!

Kamina Moore, MHHS Grade 9.
Thanks Kamina for participating in the reading initiative!

Trojan Odyssey -- reviewed by Shpend Kerqeli

Trojan Odyssey
By Clive Cussler

The author of this book is known for spinning a yarn of action, suspense, and adventure in his novels but this may very well be the best novel of the DIRK PITT™ series. The story begins when our hero DIRK PITT™ when he meets the children he didn’t know he had. Everything goes south when his children are stuck inside of a research habitat 50 feet below the surface in the middle of the most chaotic hurricane in 60 years and their air is running out! DIRK PITT™ saves his children from the hurricane before saving an ocean going hotel! He is then sent on to investigate a mysterious substance called “the brown crud” that is killing marine life in South America and Haiti. He soon finds out that a mysterious billionaire who goes by the name of specter is creating the brown crud for his own profit. He is sent on an investigation where he cheats death numerous times and foils specters plan. This book will have you hooked in the first chapter guaranteed. This book is one of the best books I have ever read. Do yourself a favor and sign this book out.

Swim the Fly -- reviewed by Josh Rumble

Swim the Fly
By Don Calame

Three best friends go to a school. They are on a swimming team. Each summer off school they always have a competition where whichever one is the bravest one to accomplish that challenge. One of the challenges is that one of them has to see a naked girl before the summer is over. Three years ago they had to ask out a girl that was the most popular of the school. I think this is a great story because it has cliffhangers every end of the chapter. When I read it I wanted to read more and more. I really want to read more swim the fly books. They are so interesting and teens only kind of book. I think they done a good job writing these books, people would really enjoy them if there more copies and more places to sell. I would recommend this book if someone asks. Swim the fly is a great book to read for teenagers

Luna -- reviewed by Tashina McIntyre

Luna
By Julie Peters

This book is about a boy named Liam who is transgender and nobody knows accept his sister Regan. Regan helps her brother hide that he is transgender from their parents. Every night Liam would wake Regan up at 2 in the morning and transform himself into a girl and put on skirts and dresses and wigs. Liam wanted to tell his dad that he didn’t want to play guy sports like football or baseball. He wanted to be like a girl he wanted to have sleepovers, do makeup and paint nails but he couldn’t let his dad find out or he would be sad. Regan was having a hard time with her boyfriend named Chris because she didn’t want him to know about Liam and that he is transgender but Chris wanted to know everything about her life. Liam had a hard time not telling his best friend Aly because he wanted her to know everything about her but one day he had to tell her because he didn’t want her to hate him if he didn’t tell her. On Liam’s birthday he decided he didn’t care what his dad thought of him. So he transformed himself into a girl. Liam’s dad was mad. He was so mad he almost punched him. So the next morning Liam woke Regan up and they drove to the airport. Liam said he was going to move with terri-lynn the girl she talked to online that was trans gender and helped Liam be ok with it. So when the airplane came Liam left and Regan got everything that Liam left behind. Regan hasn’t seen Liam in a long time after that

The Dark Tower -- reviewed by Tyrell Eresman-Berglund

The Dark Tower: The Wind Through The Keyhole Review
Stephen King

By Tyrell Eresman-Berglund

Now I really don’t know how to start this off, but from my experience of reading, “The Dark Tower” series, Stephen King has done a fantastic job, especially since he originally decided to stop writing the series after 2004 with the seventh book as the climax of the tale. Now the secondary part of the title, “The Wind through the Keyhole” comes from a childhood story that Roland Deschain’s mother told him, when he was a child. Now if you don’t know who Roland Deschain is, he has been the protagonist of the series & is a gunslinger, which in his “world” is basically a knight who is of from the Line of The Eld, basically descendants of Arthur Eld (In our world known as King Arthur). Now Roland & his ka-tet (his posse) Jake Chambers, Eddie Dean, Susannah Dean & Oy begin their story arriving at a river on their journey to the Dark Tower, where an elderly ferryman named Bix offers a ride across the river and also informs the Ka-tet that a starkblast (severe storm) is going to hit and that they must seek shelter nearby. Now from there, Roland’s ka-tet shelter themselves in the town center of River Whye and begins to tell the second part of this story starts with Roland and Jamie De Curry traveling to the town of Debaria to hunt a skin-man (shape shifter). After going to a gruesome massacre in Debaria of one of the local families, they find a sole survivor, Bill. After bringing Bill back to Debaria’s jail to keep him safe from a vengeful skin-man, Roland decides to comfort Bill by telling him a childhood fairy tale his own mother read to him as a child, which leads to the third part of our story and the title of the story.
Now this part of the story, is where we get the artistic design of the cover and the title The Wind Through The Keyhole, which is about Tim Ross, the son of Big Ross (A lumberjack) who was supposedly murdered by a dragon but actually murdered by his woodsman partner Big Kells, who ends up marrying Tim’s mother because Tim’s mother couldn’t afford the price of taxes that the Covenant Man collects for himself every year. Now Tim goes on a quest to find a cure for his mother’s blindness after Big Kells brutally beats her. Now I’ll leave the summary of the story so I don’t ruin the ending for you. Now for the entire amount of the series I’ve read and of the amount of Stephen King books I read, this novel is very action packed, surprising and obviously it’s not Stephen King’s typical horror/thriller genre he tends to fall into, but his fantasy universe “The Dark Tower” & his in-between novel The Wind Through The Keyhole, is a fantastic addition to the series and I honestly put it in my top three reads.

Impulse -- reviewed by Faith Straub

Impulse
By Ellen Hopkins

The book I was reading is called Impulse; it had some interesting detail and some not so interesting detail. Impulse is about a few teenagers that have been through some hard struggles throughout life and have been majorly affected by it. The actions these teens chose to deal with the situation were not very good decisions, they chose self-harm or harm towards others. After choosing the decisions of suicide attempts, these three teens quickly became locked up in a psychiatric facility. They each live with a dark past filled with abuse but slowly they begin to open up to one another and build tight bonds. One of the main characters ended up killing his abuser, one character had sex with a teacher and the other watched his mentally ill mother die. Also in the story there is cutting, abortion, bi-polar disorder, over achieving and a character who thinks he is gay. At the end of this story it became pretty intense because one of the protagonists dies a really violent death. I myself didn’t like this book because it wasn’t something that popped, it wasn’t anything special. It got boring at points of the book, but the one thing that I did like about this book was the free verse writing, which was an interesting thing because it made the book easier to read and a bit easier to follow. One part that I did like about this read is the detail they put in when talking about what they have done to harm themselves and the detailing of what happens in a psychiatric facility. Like I said, the book itself wasn’t the best but some of the detailing it. Ellen Hopkins is an amazing author and she has some really great books, but this one just isn’t for me.

The Manticore -- reviewed by Jordan Dickens

The Manticore
by Robertson Davies 
The Manticore is an interesting book set in the past I like this book because it is a mystery book it takes place in east London, the Manticore is about a guy named David Staunton who finds out his father’s dead. Then he finds an analysis to help him. But then also finds out that his father’s death was homicide marked by strange symbols like a stone that ended up in his mouth when he died and different symbols like a Manticore which is a monster with the head of a man the body of a loin and the tail of a scorpion. 

Karma -- reviewed by Sarah Helem

Karma
By Cathy Ostlere
I picked this book out because it caught my eye by the cover. It has short little poems when her father and she move to India and start a new life there. I like the book I can’t put it down it’s so good and juicy. This book is for people that don’t like to read. This book is full of little cute stories. I thought it was about a story that a girl is mean to her friends but her father decided to get up and move because her mother dies. From my point of view it’s interesting but some people don’t like short stories. If you like mysteries or surprises this book is for you. Then she meets a boy and she opens up to him and tells him how she kind of loves living in India but rather live Delhi. It’s about how she meets new friends and how she likes school but wishes she lives in Delhi and where all her friends are.

Eragon -- reviewed by James Mandani

This review is about the book by Christopher Paolini titled Eragon, the first book in the inheritance cycle. This book is a great read for those that like fantasy, action and magic. The story takes place during the medieval times when serfs and lords existed as well as the strong belief about magical creatures, magic and races other than humans. 


Now to the story, this book is about a young man named Eragon while hunting, suddenly gets blinded by a light and in its place laid a beautiful blue stone. Not being able to catch anything, he takes the stone home thinking it may be traded for some money or food. But little does he know that the stone he picked up would change his life in a way he least expects. 


Truly a great book to read that even me who does not like to read very much was sucked into it to the point of not hearing and not being able to pay attention to my surroundings often forgetting that I am in school inside my class when we have free reading time. For a person who does not like to read like me, Eragon will get you started.


A personal opinion; the best part about this book to me is waiting In anticipation on how the main character would develop alongside his friends and comrades, how his new future or fate would affect him and how he will try to adapt to his new surroundings. 

Cinder -- reviewed by Shennah Jacob

I read the book Cinder, by Marissa Meyer. It’s set in the future when the world has united after the fourth world war. Linh Cinder is an adopted cyborg; she can’t recall anything before she was adopted at age 11. She has been told she got into a hover accident and her biological parents died. This is suspicious because the hovers are too advanced to get into an accident. The man who adopted her had died as well and now Cinder is left with her step mother. Cinder’s younger step sister comes in contact with the plague going around and is only expected to live a few days. The step mother volunteers Cinder to test the latest antidote for the plague, she turns out to be fully immune to the disease so she may go home.
The author writes the book as if there’s a narrator but knows Cinder’s thoughts. Then it is switched so the narrator is telling Prince Kai’s thoughts. A lot of the story is similar to Cinderella. I like the book except for when the author switches views because it doesn’t seem significant or needed. Other than that I thought the book was cleverly written and keeps you interested.

Burned -- reviewed by Cola Gauthier

Burned by Ellen Hopkins.
Review by Cola Gauthier.

I have never read any reviews on this book but it is the best book I've read (personally). I don’t read much and I only like books that are interesting from start to finish. This book can relate to most teenagers of how they feel about things and some situations they are in. I have fallen in love with this book and the characters I could read it again and again. When I started reading this book I could not put it down. This book is actually so intense its feels as like you are in the story yourself, it also the story makes you have various emotions reading it. My friends have told me before that it is a good book, but it’s beyond good. When you first look at the cover and read the title it doesn't make sense to what the book might be about, for me I thought it was a typical story about school drama. Burned is so more than that. The main character, Pattyn at first has a passion for a boy at school but when her father finds out, he sends her off to her aunt's in the wilds of Nevada to find redemption. What she finds instead is love and acceptance. Until she realizes her old ways will not let her go.

The Coming of the Horseclans -- reviewed by Michael Newton

The Coming of the Horseclans.
By Robert Adams

“The Coming of the Horseclans” has a great story to tell. It uses strong verbs and, at many points throughout the story, gruesome details. This series of books tells of a chief named Milo, living in the twenty seventh century, post-apocalyptic America. He must lead his tribe back to their homeland near the sea to fulfill the “Prophecy of Return.” He is aided by huge prairie cats and large, vicious horses, who he communicates too using “Mindspeak”, a telepathic bond between man and animal alike. Milo has a condition known as the “Curse of the Undying,” which means he is immune to death by ordinary means. The Ehleenoee people believe he is a terrible spawn of the devil, and have sworn to stop his alliance, and therefor victory, with the other tribes by any means.

This book, while fantastic and entrancing, loses its charm throughout the story at multiple points. The tribes seem to have a great amount of meetings and it is sometimes very hard (for me, at least) to follow along and keep track of what all is being said. There are so many different tribes with oddball names, such as “Ehleenoee,” and “Kahtahphraktoee,” that it is sometimes very hard to keep track of them all. Adams explains the scenes as action is occurring, for instance, as Milo is slaying the Ehleenoee mercenaries, it is describing more of the environment in better detail, so a lot of my mental imagery was proven wrong, which forced me to start that paragraph over again. I found this very frustrating at times. Although this book isn’t a “You can just breeze through it” read, it is definitely worth a shot.

While this book has its problems, it isn’t to be overlooked. The author captures the settings and actions of all the characters very well, and explains them in great detail. Although, as mentioned in my last paragraph, the timing for these details can be off, it definitely paints a clear, and often gruesome, picture in your head. Adams excels at making all of his characters defined, and their constant personality holds the story together nicely. I felt the characters were extremely concentrated. The protagonist is a calm, prestigious man, while the main antagonist is a dirty, perverted monster. 

“The Coming of the Horseclans” is, at times, a very difficult read, but when you start to understand the style of writing, it is an extremely good novel and a story that you will always remember. I am looking forward to continuing with this series.

Blood Red Road Book -- review by Josh Bunyan

Blood Red Road Book Review by Moria Young

Blood Red Road is a awesome book set in the future. The whole world is pretty much nothing but a desert because the Wreckers, (who are meant to be us), have used up everything. Saba, an eighteen year old girl, has met no one in her life apart from her twin brother (Luke), her little sister (Emmy), her dad and mom- though her mom died giving birth to her little sister. Saba blames her little sister for her mom’s death so she hates her for it.
One day, some tough looking men on horseback murder her father and kidnap her twin brother. Saba is soon thrust into a long and terrifying journey in search of her brother. This book is great because it is told from Saba's point of view and everybody speaks almost like the cowboys do in those western movies, but I couldn’t really get used to that part. The book is actually part of a trilogy, Rebel Heart is the next one after it but I haven't read it yet. If you're looking for a gripping book to stick your nose in then I recommend Blood Red Road.

Chief Honor -- reviewed by Cole Schreiber

Chief Honor by Sigmund Brouwer

This is a really good book. I have really enjoyed it. My favorite thing about this book is that there is action right at the start of the book. I like hockey and this is what the book is all about. In the book there is competition between two players fighting for the number one job. If you’re looking for a book that is a quick easier read that captures your attention right away this would be a good book for you. It starts off by having a competition but as things get close to finishing we have a huge story appear. People cheating, goalie suspended for something she didn’t do, things get really interesting. So if you’re a hockey fan but like to have suspense in your book and you like a short mystery this would be the book for you. If you didn’t know the competition was between a boy and a girl you’re in for a real treat as things get big.

Fallout -- Reviewed by Megan Grimes.

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins

I personally think Fallout is the best book in the Ellen Hopkins trilogy. It finishes off the series perfectly and is different from the other two books because it doesn’t just tell about Kristina’s life; it tells three different peoples stories impacted by Kristina’s methamphetamine addiction. Once I started reading it I was hooked, just like all of Ellen Hopkins books it was fantastic. Fallout is a book about three different kids living three different lives, connected by one thing: Kristina. It tells the complicated stories of Autumn, Summer, and Hunter and how their messed up mom, Kristina made them have these complicated lives. I recommend this book to any high school student and even adults. Once you start reading it, you won’t be able to stop!