Blue Moon -- a review by Aspen Gates

Blue Moon

By Alyson Noel

** stars

Blue Moon is the second book in the Immortal Series with Evermore as the first. For those of you have not read Evermore, it is about this teenage girl named Ever who is the only survivor of a car crash that killed her family and dog. However, when Ever wakes up in the hospital, she can't remember anything except looking into someone's eyes before she passed out. Now Ever has moved to sunny California with her aunt and started a new life for herself making new friends, or has she? After the crash Ever can see peoples auras and see their life flash before her eyes by a single touch. So to avoid such things she remains to herself and is there regarded as the school freak. All that changes when she meets hot and sexy looking Damen who seems to be the only person she can't read. Ever falls in love with him, but things head down hill when she discovers he is an immortal and had something to do with her family's accident and bringing her back to life. He made her an immortal. Now, in Blue Moon Ever has accepted who she is, and as an immortal she is quite eager to learn everything she can about her new abilities. Except there is one problem, Damen seems to be losing his abilities while Ever is gaining hers. Now Ever must find a solution quick before she loses the love of her life, but when she discovers the answer another opportunity arises, the chance to be with her family again. Will she choose her family, or the love of her life?

I gave this novel two stars because it was so predictable. I mean right away I had a pretty good idea how the book was going to end and that just made me not want to read it anymore although I did. Don't get me wrong there were some eye catching spots, but all together, it felt like a waste of paper. Hopefully Alyson Noel's third book in this series, Shadowland, will be much better and save Blue Moon and Evermore from being one of the worst series I have read.

Vibes -- a review by George Morejon

Vibes

Amy Kathleen Ryan

*** stars

Vibes starts with the main character, Kristi, telling the reader that she's a fat, ugly, unpopular girl that no one likes, who happens to be able to read minds. Her life at home sucks. She hates her mom and her dad abandoned them both. Her school's a total joke, being described as something I would call a new-age hippie experiment gone who-knows-where. Anyway the classes are a joke. She hates the popular crowd, but still can't help being attracted to her ex-best friend's brother, Gusty. Her only friend is one of the school's most unpopular kids, Jacob Flax, a real nerd. Isn't high school grand?

Things are going as well as they ever will until a new kid named Mallory shows up. He's a pimply ginger kid who gives off a dangerous feeling mental vibe, but Kristi's able to really connect with him. Between the feelings with her and Mallory, the character assessment program she has to do with Gusty (thanks to Jacob), and her dad coming home after 2 years of absence, she's got a lot to handle.

This book had a somewhat slow start. It wasn't really that exciting at all in the beginning. Just about the only thing good about it was Kristi's personality around the first third of the book. She was a total jerk-loner type, but she was different from a lot of other stereotypes I would think of for teenage girls. She matures (if you would view the way she changes "maturing") a lot over the novel into almost a different person. Personally I didn't like the change she made, but that's just me. There's a lot of stuff I had to skip over though, so read the book to find out everything. Okay, not everything, since this book has quite a few loose ends to it, but on the plus side there were some unexpected turns in it. I'd say about average time to read, maybe 10 hours. A little slow.

Halt's Peril -- a review by Ian Ziglinski

Halt's Peril (#9 Ranger's Apprentice)

by John Flanagan

***** stars

Will's racing through the countryside again, but this time he has an alarming sense of worry and panic. Halt and Will were ambushed by the Genovesians while tracking Tennyson and his band of bandits and murderous cutthroats, and Halt was scratched by a poisoned bolt! Will, plagued with concern for his former master, hurries to Castle Macindaw to get the help of his "wizard" healer, who's possibly the only person who will be able to cure Halt. Is Will going to make it in time? Will he save Halt from certain death from the treacherous Genovesian's poison? you'll have to read it to find out!

I found the ninth book of the Ranger's Apprentice just as good as all the others, if not even better! I loved the whole sense of urgency in the book, and it even compels you to keep reading! I found it a very good, very quick read. I would recommend this book to anyone, but for it to have any meaning you must read the whole series! If you have, definitely read this book it'll keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish!

The Missing Girl -- a review by Hope Austin

The Missing Girl

by Norma Fox Mazer

***

Five sisters, Beauty, Mim, Stevie, Fancy and Autumn are unknowingly watched by a recluse known only as "the man". He watches them from afar, blissfully unaware of each girl’s individual problems. The oldest, Beauty, is dealing with both making half of the family’s income and for the first time, boys. Quiet and mature Mim has a secret of her own. Stevie is always bursting into fits of anger. Fancy is has special needs and talks a lot—not that anybody wants to listen. Autumn, the youngest, thinks she’s nothing special compared her sisters. Together, they strive through all kinds of hardships, knowing that nothing could tear them apart. Or so they think.

The Missing Girl is a coming-of age story about five sisters that slowly morphs into a suspenseful thriller. It’s told from multiple perspectives, but not enough. We hear from the man who stalks the girls, Beauty, Fancy, and Autumn. By excluding the perspectives of the other two sisters, it feels as if Mazer has omitted a third of the story. Mim is at best a background character, less important than the parents, Beauty’s love interest or the stalker. What is mentioned about her life is only mentioned in passing, and it leaves the reader curious for more. We only see glimpses of Stevie’s life, and for a character like hers, it’s just not enough. The Missing Girl is an entertaining story about growing up and full of suspense; it’s just not long enough to make a completely satisfying story.

Ever -- a review by Amy Lyon

Ever

By: Gail Carson Levine

* star

From the author of bizarre romances comes yet another. Ever is the story of the Akkan god of wind, Olus following his fascination with humans and interacting with a certain family, out of his territory. This family’s most important member, at least in Olus’s eyes, is Kezi, the daughter who weaves exceptionally. Unfortunately, her father makes a promise to their god that if his wife becomes well, he will sacrifice the first person to congratulate him on his wife’s returned health. Not being able to handle the possible death her aunt, Kezi congratulates her father before her aunt can, forfeiting her own life. Olus is disbelieving, but determined to change her supposed destiny. Thus ensues the frantic race against time to make her immortal before her mortal life ends.

While I enjoyed Levine’s Fairest, I didn’t think this confused jumble could be considered a novel. The summary grabbed me, but the story itself didn’t live up to it. Her idea had potential; it just was not executed well. There was a lot of rambling nonsense about destiny and love, not much substance to this story. This book was far too frou-frou for my tastes, even being a romance. I was disappointed and I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone over the age of ten.

Amy L.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Slow moving and not as good as I had hoped..., October 4, 2010 This review is from: Revolution After reading the reviews on this product page, and with much anticipation for a great historical fiction story, I opened this book and found...boredom. I am not sure what novel the others read, but it couldn't have been this one?! I am afraid that I will be one of the few dissenters in raving about this book. In case I am wrong about what teenagers like to read, I'm going to pass it on for a true "teen test" by giving it to one of my Library Science students. I thought the story was "ok" but in the latter section toward the end I had to stop myself from shouting out, "You've got to be kidding!" The suspension of disbelief required for me to finish the novel was immense. The heroine, Andi Alpers, was quite annoying and totally addled -- certainly didn't act like the brainy private school girl that she was supposed to be. Her self medication treatment, depression, suicidal ideation, and fixation on her music was interesting enough to portray the teen angst so popular in YA fiction today, BUT the side story of her trip to Paris and her "involvement" in the life of Alexandrine Paradis was just a bit too far-fetched. I'm not a European History expert so I can't say how accurate the portrayal of the famous royals and the other characters was, but I will definitely will be researching that out of curiosity. I also thought the part about the guitar and the music went on too long but perhaps a music major would find it all interesting. This novel is supposed to be about the "struggles of the human heart" and certainly these two girls endured their private personal struggles -- quite differently. I do not think that this book, however, will touch the teen reader nearly as effectively as did Jennifer Donnelly's previous novel (which I loved), A Northern Light. This is no masterpiece and I don't see "classic" written all over it. Sometimes I think adults who read YA literature rave and like different things about a book than do the teens in the market that the book was supposedly written for. I was not impressed but I will see if the students check out and read this book. I would guess most won't finish it! Hesitate to recommend. I would like to hear/read a review written by a teen or young adult. Let me know what you think! Ms C.