Children and Teen Reviews in Brief

BENJAMIN FRANKLINSTEIN LIVES! by Matthew McElligott & Larry Tuxbury

“I really liked this book. It was very funny and it had a great story line. In the story the authors put fake advertisements in as a joke. They put little pictures with descriptions on them, and some are very funny. I think it was a great book and I want to read more books by these authors.”

-Walker Anderson

THIS BOOK WILL BE RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 2ND

THIS TOTALLY BITES! by Ruth Ames

“This Totally Bites! is a story about a girl named Emma Rose Paley. Emma seems like a typical girl, but then her great aunt Margo comes from Romania. After witnessing a startling event regarding her aunt, Emma begins to wonder if she (Emma) might be a vampire. Emma does some research, and becomes convinced! The facts are: Emma is very pale, and even has the nickname “Pale Paley.” Emma only wears red and black. And Emma loves cranberry juice. There are even more facts that persuade her to believe in this horrifying conclusion, but her best friend, Gabby, tries to talk her out of it. I think this book makes a powerful point that jumping to conclusions isn’t always the answer. At the beginning of the story Emma feels a bit insecure about herself, and is teased and bullied by other kids. But picturing herself as a vampire helps Emma to feel stronger and more powerful about herself (that’s how I think all girls should feel and believe themselves to be), and this has an effect on how others treat her. This Totally Bites! has friendship, lol’s, conversations between best friends, and it shows that sometimes all you need to say to the bullies is: bite me.”

-Emilie McCarthy

THE KNEEBONE BOY by Ellen Potter

“The Kneebone Boy (probably the best book I’ve read so far this year!) The book starts out describing three siblings, Otto, Lucia, and Max. The adventure starts when the kids get lost in London. But their Aunt Haddie lives there, and the kids eventually make their way to her house where she welcomes them warmly. I like Haddie because she has lots of spunk and goes with the flow. The kids end up living there for a while, having so much fun that they don’t want to go home. Did I mention their aunt lived in a castle? While staying with their aunt, the trio is meets new people, spies from towers, and helps unravel the mystery of the Kneebone Boy.

The Kneebone Boy was said to live in a nearby castle and legend had it that he was half animal and half human! The siblings make shocking discoveries about not only the Kneebone Boy, but the truth about a missing family member as well. I love how the author doesn’t tell you which one of the three children is telling the story, yet somehow the story makes sense. This story has adventure, fun, suspense, companionship, and mystery!”

-Emilie McCarthy

THIS BOOK WILL BE RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 14TH

THE BILLIONAIRE'S CURSE by Richard Newsome

“The Billionaire’s Curse is a book of mysteries and puzzles. The book is mainly about a boy named Gerald Wilkins. When his great aunt dies, he inherits a fortune from her. There is a man who then starts to stalk, threaten, and even attempt to kill Gerald. Call me gory, but I like this guy! I mean it’s like this stalker guy pops out of nowhere, and then disappears again! I have to give credit to Ruby and Max, who are companions with Gerald on the adventure. They save Gerald from peril in a clever diversion, and help him unravel the mystery of his great aunt’s death! I really like how the author makes Max, Ruby, and Gerald put their heads together when they have to solve something; it makes you feel as though you are really with the trio, solving the puzzles! If you like Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys, you’ll love this book! Mysteries, hidden passage ways, murder, friendship, money, diamonds...this book’s got it all!”

-Emilie McCarthy

THE SUMMER OF MOONLIGHT SECRETS by Danette Haworth

“I really enjoyed The Summer of Moonlight Secrets! The story starts out with this mysterious girl who breaks all the rules while swimming at the Meriwether hotel pool. Another girl, Allie Jo, lives at the hotel, which is the setting of our fabulous story. I loved how the author is playful with the perspectives.

Every chapter she switches from the perspective of Allie Jo, to a boy named Chase. It took me a while to realize that was what she was doing! Once I figured it out, there was sooo much suspense!! The author, Danette Haworth, kept making one character’s story so exciting in one chapter, that it made me want to keep reading past the other character’s chapter to find out what happened next! But back to Chase: he is no minor guy in this story at all! Chase is this skateboarding dude who meets up with Allie Jo, and together they decide to find out who that mysterious girl is that I told you about at the beginning. The mysterious girl turns out to be Tara, and she is not really a girl at all. She’s some kind of creature called a Selkie.

I think the author maybe could have done a better job on explaining how Tara survived; and how she got around in the Meriwether without being kicked out! I think the author could have done a better job explaining Tara’s background a little better, too. The author appallingly tops off this book with a friendship taking a fatal turn, in a race to save one of them from a dangerous pursuer. This book has a heap of adventure, a load of fun, lots of laughs, and a twist of romance! ”

-Emilie McCarthy

WALLS WITHIN WALLS by Maureen Sherry

“Walls Within Walls was a fun and clever book to read. Three kids find what seems to be a riddle that starts in their own New York City house, and it leads them to New York's greatest buildings. It appears that the person who solves the riddle will find the lost Post fortune. While the kids attempt to solve the mystery, they make a variety of new friends.”

-Christi Goff

THE FAMILIARS by Adam Jay Epstein

“The Familiars was easily one of the best books I have ever read. The Familiars was a book about how no matter how different you are from one another, friends will always come through for you. Three magical animals come togeather to save their loyals, and along the way they go through many adventures that keep the reader in suspense all the way to the end of the book.”

-Christi Goff

THIS BOOK WILL BE RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 7TH

SAVING MAX by Antionette Van Heugten

“Warning - Do not start this book unless you have time to finish it!! And don't read it at night ... or you may not sleep too well!! The most haunting and chilling book I have ever read!! Story telling and character development at it's best!! ”

-Mindy Poorman

THIS BOOK WILL BE RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 28TH

FIRELIGHT by Sophie Jordan

“The perfect book: enough action to keep your heart racing. Beautiful chemistry to keep you from breathing. A new species to keep you interested. Conflict, desire, action, romance...it's perfect.”

-Lindsay

THIS BOOK WILL BE RELEASED IN SEPTEMBER

MOCKINGBIRD by Kathryn Erskine

“Caitlin, a fifth-grader with Asperger’s, is struggling to make sense of her older brother Devon’s death from a school shooting. However, she just wants things to be black and white, but Caitlin is realizing that interpersonal relationships, while important and necessary, are anything but easy. Caitlin must learn how to best interact with others in order to find closure regarding Devon’s death.

MOCKINGBIRD is a moving and important book about several difficult subjects. Opening up this book is like leaping immediately into Caitlin’s world and seeing the world as we know it in a different light. (Read more. . .)

-Stephanie Su

THE POISON DIARIES by Maryrose Wood, Duchess of Northumberland

“Jessamine lives alone with her father. Her father is an apothecarian and botanist obsessed with unraveling the secrets of plants. He forbids Jessamine to enter the poison garden, in which he keeps all the most dangerous plants he has managed to acquire from around the world.

Then a strange boy is dumped on their doorstep. The boy, who goes by the name of Weed, is peculiar, with a nearly miraculous sensitivity to plants. He seems frightened of the poison garden, calling it an unnatural collection that can do no good. Yet as Jessamine and Weed fall in love, they are drawn into the poison garden in more horrifying ways than they can imagine. (Read more. . .)”

-Stephanie Su

HOW TO MAKE A BIRD by Martine Murray

“HOW TO MAKE A BIRD begins with a girl named Manon leaving home, wearing her mother's red dress. At first you know nothing of why she is leaving, or where she is going, only that something has happened to make her go. I love the way this story unfolds, slowly and mysteriously, making me turn the pages again and again. From the very first sentence, "There are these wings and they're in the sky", I was captured by the unique writing style that is used throughout the book. The book is written using memories of Mannie's about her confusing mother, her brother Eddie who has always outshone her, and her maybe boyfriend, Harry Jacob. Mannie's memories are really what make this book remarkable, memories of her friends, family, and events that she uses to try to piece bits of her life back together. I really enjoyed this bittersweet book about a very real and strangely lovable character figuring out where to go next when everything seems to have fallen apart.”

-Emma Buchanan

SHE THIEF by Daniel Flinn

“This book got better as it progressed, and at times was a little hard to grasp.  However, I loved it. The characters were the best part-Daniel Finn got them exactly right, it seemed, even though they were fictional. Demi-who's got such a big head it might explode, and Fay. Fay was my favorite character to read about; she's tough but not unbreakable and still has a secret longing to be the mother of her son, who she gave away when he was born. They are all vividly describd. I loved this book, even though in the beginning it was a little bit slow and underdramatic, but only in the very begining. I'm glad I picked it up.”

-Tessa Kettelberger

THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES by Carrie Ryan

“In a matter of moments, Gabry's safe and quiet life has been turned upside-down.  Suddenly all of her friends are dead, infected, or imprisoned, and things are getting worse.  As Gabry fears for her future and that of her friends, mysteries from the past keep pushing their way into the light.  One of the most intriguing things about this book is the readers' window into parts of Gabry's character of which  she herself is unaware until the end.  Ryan's story takes the reader on what feels like a very long journey from that one fateful night to the cliff-hanger ending.  The story moves quickly from moments of Gabry's deep introspection to fast-paced suspense and violence.  

Through it all, Ryan reminds the reader of the constant soundtrack of moans from the undead Mudo, adding a note of desperation to the plot.  It seems obvious that a follow-up is on the way -- too many loose ends otherwise.  But at the same time, this exciting book will grip readers who are not familiar with the companion -- The Forest of Hands and Teeth -- and stands alone as a savory bite of zombie fiction."

-Kate Hammond