High Heat - a review by Mario Cordova Salcido

High Heat

by Carl Deuker

*** stars

High Heat is about Shane, he plays baseball, he has a very luxury house and he goes to a very luxury school too, everything is going very good in his life until his dad suicided because he was involved in drugs. This was a very hard moment for all the family, for Shane, for Marian and for his mom. So they just continued living their lives without him, that was hard because they lost a lot luxuries in their life, of course is very hard for children to lose their dad, and for a wife to lose to her husband.

Shane changed to a public high school so did Marian too, but Shane continued playing baseball, then he realized that the world doesn't stop because you are suffering, he realized that you have to carry on. One day Shane was playing with his baseball team, he was a pitcher a closer to be exact, he was not having a good time because he was sad about his dad, Shane had a lot of questions about the suicide. Reese was hitting, Reese's family had bought Shane's old luxury home.

Shane hit him on the head by accident but a lot of people thought it was on purpose.

After that Shane could not throw hard again because he was nervous when he was facing to the hitters. Later when Reese was cured saw to Shane again in a baseball game, they talked and they started training baseball together, Reese just wanted to hit against Shane again because he was not doing so well after that bad pitch. At the end of the story Shane faced Reese again in a baseball game and Shane did a strike out to Reese with a 91 mph fastball. They were friends again like the old times, also Shane was called to get a scholarship in a college so his mom and Marian were very happy for him.

I was expecting an other kind of end because it was like the same facts through the history, Shane was talking about his games again and again that was good at the beginning but after it was a kind of boring. The book was a little bit sad I think because the beginning was very shocking because when everything seemed fine and then the suicide of the dad, I think that fact was very quick like just at the beginning of the book; High Heat was a good book but maybe it need like more funny stuff like funny histories or something like that.

On the Bright Side...-- a review by Ashley R. Jackson

On the Bright Side I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God

Author: Louise Rennison

** stars

This story is about a 14 year old girl named Georgia. She's going out with a 17 years old boy who she thinks is the cutest boy of all time. Her family is insane; her dad is in New Zealand, her mom is cheating with a doctor, and her sister treats people as pets. Her best friend Jas is going out with his friend who is also older. Jas is one of those people that only care about what’s going on in her own life. Georgia is getting more and more insecure with herself because she doesn't feel she can live up to the standards of an older boy. She is also very childish when it comes to her actions. Because of this boy she is losing her closest friends. The Sex God doesn’t really talk to Georgia as much as she wants and to top it all off she’s moving to New Zealand. Will this be the end of her and the Sex God? Will she ever see her friends again? Maybe, maybe not, guess we just have to wait and see.

I felt the book was a little boring. It had some interesting parts but for the most part it was quite boring. It was missing a big climax. Everything in the book just flowed evenly without a big, crazy scene. The ending was so unexpected; it just stopped like as if they ran out of things to say. In my opinion there should've been a bigger finale and a more interesting climax. In some ways it actually can relate to teen reality as far as girls with older boys and the sexually aspect of it.

Running for my Life -- a review by Jayla Smith

Running For My Life

By Ann Gonzalez

***** Stars

Running for my Life is the story told by a 14-year-old girl named Andrea McKane who struggles to cope with her mother’s schizophrenia. She has to recognize that her old mom that she uses to know and love may never ever come back. To help with McKane’s coping, her best friend, Margie, settles on joining the school track team. This also helps Margie to keep an eye on senior track stars Matthew and Sean for Andrea.

Andrea’s pass with her mother has a huge effect on her in the future to the point where she starts to have nightmares and mental breakdowns. With her family and friends, like Pedro, her stuff animal, Andrea will try to not live in the pass and with the fear of her mother’s illness. What has her mother done to her that is so dreadful and ghastly? Will her breakthrough this nightmare and overcome the impossible?

I think that Running for my Life shows one of the numerous challenges that most teens have to face today in this society. This book shows the backbreaking experiences that Andrea faces that most teens may face when they are in similar situations. At same time, she has to get through high school which may not be too easy for most people. I personally haven’t been through her situation but I can relate it to when one of my family members became sick as well. If you are interested with the effects of illness, this book is good for you to read. With this is book you look at what illness does to those who were affected by it. Running for my Life is an interesting book and it enjoyed it and I think you will too!

Taken -- a review by Bryce Foster

Taken

By: Edward Bloor

Rating: 3 Stars

Taken is set in 2035, when kidnapping has become a common crime.

Charity Meyers, a thirteen-year-old girl in the Highlands, Florida, lives with her father and ex-stepmother. She is the protagonist or main character in this story that is very wealthy. Charity must live in a highly defended home to protect her from kidnappers and their well-known 24-hour ransom process. However, when defense fails Charity finds herself strapped to a stretcher in the back of an ambulance. She reminds herself to stay calm, but soon finds out that this kidnapping would not follow the normal pattern of business, and in fact, change her life forever. This novel shows the power of wealth and if you are rich, your children live in secure, gated communities and are escorted to and from school by armed guards. What is unique about this novel is that Charity’s biggest fear is not knowing how to handle this situation because it isn’t the same as the others. The fear of not knowing is one of the scariest fears there are for children!

If you like books that are set in the future and deal with mysteries, thrillers, and the power of wealth I would suggest this book to you.

If you love realistic fiction this novel is also for you. I felt that the novel, Taken put me in the shoes of Charity and made myself fear the unknown of what’s going to happen since it was different then a normal kidnapping. I gave this book 3 stars because I thought this was going to be told in a different way and I was disappointed in the content. Overall, if you are into mysterious, I would still suggest that you read more into Taken.

Sucker Punch -- a review by Jorge Morejón

Sucker Punch

by David Hernández

** stars

Sucker Punch is a book about two Hispanic brothers (Marcus and Enrique), who live in California with their mother after their father left them. Marcus, or "Nub" as his some of his friends call him, is a senior in high school. Senior's in high school named Marcus Mendoza have lots of problems. They only have only 9 fingers after a bad skateboarding incident, their friend's dad just killed himself and they have to figure out what to say, and they’re too shy to talk to any girl; not to mention the fact that his little brother Enrique is better than him at almost everything. But there is one advantage he has over Enrique; he didn't get beat by their dad for 5 years since he left. Enrique's scarred by this, and practically falls apart without his anti-depressants. Marcus feels guilty for never doing anything to stop it, and after a few month's of getting high and tripping out with his friends, the two of them decide to make things better themselves after their mom tells them their dad wants to come back. Enrique has the bright idea of showing his dad what it feels like to be the one with no power, and Marcus, along with Ashley (Enrique's girlfriend who Marcus is oh so jealous of) and one of Marcus friends, come along too. Enrique and Marcus take a gun with them when they go talk to their father, and Enrique feels like what it really is like to be the one in power. After the incident with their father on the way back, Marcus finds out what it's like to have to take a life after a man's trailer crashes and his horse has to be put down. When they get back, there's a crow that stays with their family. Right after Marcus starts getting comfortable with the crow, he leaves and flies off, never to be seen again.

Overall, this book wasn't that good. I read it in 3 hours, one sitting, and wasn't that impressed. The story-telling was very casual, but the material wasn't that good. I found it interesting to read how Enrique was becoming more like the man he despised through the book, without it being completely spelled out. I never felt that close to Marcus. He feels alienated by people and his drug-ridden, dysfunctional failure lifestyle was presented in a way that made me feel somewhat alienated from him too. I just couldn't get that comfortable with his way of thinking and describing things. This book isn't all butterflies and rainbows, so don't expect that at least.

This book isn't available in the O'Hara library, but can be ordered through the public library for delivery to O'Hara.