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Ender's
Game (Ender's series, #1)
By: Orson Scott Card
YA Fic SF
The alien Buggers
threaten humanity with extinction, and Earth's ultimate savior
may be one small boy. Andrew "Ender" Wiggins thinks
he is only playing computer games, but he is really commanding
Earth's last great fleet.
 It
was extremely hard to put down! ENDER'S GAME is very interesting,
suspenseful and sad. There is also a huge twist at the end. If
you like fantasy or science fiction, you'll love this book.
Sarah B., age 15
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Saving
the World and Other Extreme Sports (Maximum Ride, #3)
By: James Patterson
YA Fic SF
The time has come
for Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel to face their ultimate
enemy and, despite many obstacles, try to save the world from
a sinister plan to re-engineer a select population into a scientifically
superior master race.
This
book is filled with great humor, characters that are easily identified
with and felt with, and an exciting plot that keeps you on the
edge of your seat. This is the third book in the Maximum Ride
series, about a girl named Max and her friends, who are all the
results of genetic experiments which have made them part bird.
Max, along with all of her "flock" of human-bird-children,
must save the world, while still going through the same problems
and emotions that most kids do.
Elizabeth H., age 17
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Framed!
(Traces: Luke Harding, Forensic Investigator, #1)
By: Malcolm Rose
YA Fic M
Forensic scientist
Luke Harding and his robot assistant must solve a series of on-campus
murders, especially since Luke is being framed for the murders.
This book is a very thrilling mystery starring
a clever first-time forensic investigator. Not only that, but
this book is set in a wonderfully described alternate world only
slightly different than our own. The author skillfully creates
interesting characters and a plot that keeps the reader in suspense
until the end.
Elizabeth H., age 17
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The Lost
Colony (Artemis Fowl series, #5)
By: Eoin Colfer
Juv Fic SF
Once again, Artemis
will have to pair up with his old comrade, captain Holly Short,
to track down the missing demon and rescue him before the time
spell dissolves and the lost demon colony returns violently to
Earth.
This book is the latest in the Artemis
Fowl series and although not as good as the previous ones in
the series, this book still had the same captivating and fun
characters and exciting mix of magic and technology. What makes
this book especially interesting is that this time, young genius
Artemis has competition in even younger Minerva. Artemis' problems
with her and the trouble she causes make this book interesting,
despite a few times when the plot gets boring. Overall, a very
good book.
Elizabeth H., age 17
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Speak
By: Laurie Halse Anderson
YA Fic
A traumatic event
near the end of the summer has a devastating effect of Melinda's
freshman year in high school.
This book is a good book because it tells
the un-romanticized version of being a social outcast in high
school. It was easy to read because it was divided up into paragraphs
which made it easy to stop and put down (not that you should)
but it was easier go get the concept that way. It also had a
lot of description and that was a good thing as well.
Anna B., age 12
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Alice
in the Know (Alice McKinley series, #18)
By: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
YA Fic
Alice fills the summer
before her junior year of high school with a job at the mall,
hanging out with her friends, and wishing she had a bigger family.
It is a great book in the series about
the girl named Alice. This book takes place in the summer before
her junior year. It has several happy and sad events that happen.
It makes you want to read the next book right away.
Amity W., age 13
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The Princess
and the Pauper
By: Kate Brian
YA Fic
When sixteen-year-old
Julia, of Los Angeles, and sixteen-year-old Princess Carina,
of Vineland, switch places, Julia dances at the ball with the
incredible Markus and Carina escapes rigid protocol to spend
time with a rock star.
THE PRINCESS AND THE PAUPER was, overall,
a good book. The author depicted evil very well. The rock star,
Ribbit, whom everyone loved, actually was a very evil man. He
was inconsiderate, a cheater and an addict. Plus, he left her,
which was bad. The characters were awesome! They have real life
problems. But they don't have any superpowers, so they get out
of it the way we are supposed to do. Some parts of this book
are almost too good to be true, like just enough money, someone
right there that is willing to help. This was a fast-paced, energetic
and entertaining book. I enjoyed it, so I couldn't put it down!
I recommend this book for anyone who wishes they could switch
places with anyone for a day, because they'll think about it
more.
Margaret S., age 12
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The Green
Mile
By: Stephen King
Fic
Set in the 1930s at
the Cold Mountain Penitentiary's death-row facility, The Green
Mile is the riveting and tragic story of John Coffey, a giant,
preternaturally gentle inmate condemned to death for the rape
and murder of twin nine-year-old girls. It is a story narrated
years later by Paul Edgecomb, the ward superintendent compelled
to help every prisoner spend his last days peacefully and every
man walk the green mile to execution with his humanity intact.
I love the way it is written. It evokes
a sense of magic and mystery. There are some sad parts but you
will always find yourself wanting to know what happens next!
I think many people will enjoy it, but mostly kids my age and
adults too! This is one of my favorite books and although other
people may not like it that much, it will make them gasp,
laugh, cry and smile, as they Paul Edgecomb's account of the
man that came to E block and the miracles he performed
Olivia H., age 12
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Howl's
Moving Castle
By: Diana Wynne Jones
Juv Fic SF
Eldest of three sisters
in a land where it is considered to be a misfortune, Sophie is
resigned to her fate as a hat shop apprentice until a witch turns
her into an old woman and she finds herself in the castle of
the greatly feared wizard Howl.
All the "good" characters in
this book are lovable. Sophie - the protagonist - gets turned
into an old lady by the Wicked Witch of the Waste. This doesn't
get her down. She goes off "in search of her fortune"
and ends up meeting the Wizard Howl and gets more of an adventure
than she bargained for. I liked how in the beginning Sophie is
resigned to a boring future as a hatter, but by getting turned
into an old lady she is forced to go out in the world. By the
end of the book, she realizes that she's not the fusty old lady
she felt she was turning into, even before the witch worked her
magic. I like the way the story unravels and has a good - if
slightly predictable - ending.
Linda B., age 14
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The Golden
Tree (The Guardians of Ga'Hoole, #12)
By: Kathryn Lasky
Juv Fic SF
Soren, Twilight, Gyfie,
and Digger face their biggest challenge yet as the young king,
haunted by suspicion that haggish blood is within him, hunts
for the truth; meanwhile, the ember that Coryn retrieved, causes
the tree and the guardians to change.
I really loved this book. It was really
exciting and at times I didn't want to put it down. In the book,
Coryn, the King of the Great Tree, has retrieved the ember and
read the legends with the Band and Otulissa (from previous books).
A golden era is beginning on the Great Tree because St. Aggies
and the Pure Ones had been defeated. Soren, Gyfie, Twilight and
Digger (the Band) go with Coryn to hunt for the truth of the
suspicion that haggish blood flows through his veins and if Nyra,
leader of the Pure Ones and the evil mother of Coryn, still lives.
They must hunt the entire owl world to find the truth. At the
tree, the ember changes the owl guardians and the tree. Otulissa
objects [to] the strange new ways, of the owls, to honor the
ember. She is in grave danger and someone must tell the Band
and Coryn. But who can?
Joelle D., age 12
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Little
Little
By: M.E. Kerr
YA Fic
The shenanigans of
two dwarfs as they compete for the heart of Little Little, a
dwarf heiress who's tired of being treated like a pretty doll.
This romance rox! LITTLE LITTLE is about
a girl (age 18) whose parents have decided [on] a husband for
her. Oh! One other thing, this girl is 3 feet, 3 inches tall.
The guy she is supposed to marry is okay but she falls for someone
else. This is a great romance everyone should read.
Abby D., age 12
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The Legend
of Lady Ilena
By: Patricia Malone
YA Fic
In sixth-century Great
Britain, a fifteen-year-old girl seeking knowledge of her lineage
is drawn into battle to defend the homeland she never knew, aided
by one of King Arthur's knights.
This book was great. It's about a girl
who is chief of a city but has no idea. This is action-packed
and full of surprises. This book is awesome, especially for people
who love adventure.
Abby D., age 12
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13 Little
Blue Envelopes
By: Maureen Johnson
YA Fic
When seventeen-year-old
Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her favorite
aunt, she leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a sort of
scavenger hunt that transforms her life.
This book made me want to go on Ginny's
strange but exciting trip with her! It felt like it all happened
perfectly and left me wanting to read more. Have you ever thought
about journeying through Europe with just money and a backpack?
Just read this book.
Allison P., age 12
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Dead
Girls Don't Write Letters
By: Gail Giles
YA Fic M
Fourteen-year-old
Sunny is stunned when a total stranger shows up at her house
posing as her older sister Jazz, who supposedly died out of town
in a fire months earlier.
This book really reels you in to the main
character, Sunny. I read it all in almost one sitting and I never
wanted to stop. It's mysterious, a tad strange but most of all
it makes you think. I really like how it was resolved and I would
definitely recommend it. The journey through Sunny's feelings
and thoughts about herself, her sister and her family will make
this book one you won't soon forget.
Allison P., age 12
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Summerland
By: Michael Chabon
YA Fic SF
Ethan Feld, the worst
baseball player in the history of the game, finds himself recruited
by a 100-year-old scout to help a band of fairies triumph over
an ancient enemy.
This is a great book for anyone who likes
baseball and enjoyable even if you don't. The characters are
fun and the land created through this book is vibrant and interesting.
This is a book that the reader lives through its characters and
which the reader will want to stay in forever.
Elizabeth H., age 17
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