The Killing Woods reviewed by Portia Rockers

The Killing Woods is about a girl named Emily whose father goes into the woods and comes out with a dead body. The dead body happened to be a girl named Ashlee Parker, the most popular and prettiest girl in the school. Emily's father gets blamed for the murder, and he confesses to it. Emily doesn't believe her father actually committed the crime and is determined to prove his innocence. Damon Hilary, who was Ashlee's boyfriend, puts most the blame on Emily for what her father has done along with the rest of the town. Damon and his friends, along with Ashlee play a game in the woods where they get high and try and find each other. The catch is when you find the person you beat then and take their dog collar. Did this game have anything to do with Ashlee's death?

I really enjoyed the plot of this book, the story had a lot of plot twisters that kept me turning the page and wanting to read more. I also really liked how descripted the author was with this book. When she described the dark woods, the place where Damon and his friends would play their game, I got chills and could picture it perfectly. Another thing about the book that I really loved was that it was written in two different point of views, Damon's and Emily's. One thing I didn't like about the book was the choices the characters choices. Damon despised Emily for what he thought her dad did to Ashlee, but the only reason he cared for Ashlee so much was basically for sex and her looks. Emily even though knowing Damon wasn't a good guy still continues to have a crush on him to the end. I enjoyed the book, because it was plot twisting and chilling with a shocking ending. I would defiantly recommend this to other who enjoy murder mysteries. If you like The Killing Woods you might want to  read Lucy Christopher's other book Stolen or a book called The Impossible Knife of Memory.









The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer reviewed by Molly Varney

By: Michelle Hodkin *****

Mara doesn't think her life can get any worse. She woke up to find herself in the hospital and learned that her friends were killed in an accident that she was also in. Only she couldn't remember anything. Her family decided to move to help Mara deal with her friends death, but wherever she went, the hallucinations followed. Seeing her dead friends didn't help Mara with the stress of moving and trying to recover from her loss. As she moves to Rhode Island she makes an unlikley friend. Noah is a mysterious, dark boy at her new school and though she tries to ignore him, they are inexplicably drawn to each other. As she tries to remember what happened that night, Mara starts to uncover the truth about herself and what's really happening to her.

I absolutley loved this book! It was extremely well written and I enjoyed reading every word of it. The plot was a lot different from most books I've read. It was even a little scary at some points. I loved the how it kept you guessing and guessing until almost the end of the book. The ending caught me completely off guard and I can't wait until the next book's out. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries and a little horror.

Ruined -- A Review by Sarah Gnefkow

Ruined

by Paula Morris

*** Stars

Rebecca has to go live in New Orleans with her Aunt because her father is away on business in China. The house she is staying at is really creepy because her Aunt is a tarot card reader so she is a strong believer in the after-life and warding off any evil spirits. It doesn't help that it is also across the street from an old cemetery. A cemetery where Lisette, a ghost, has hung around for over 100 years now and will remain to stay there until she gets revenge for her untimely death. Now in New Orleans Rebecca must attend a school for mean rich girls. The only good thing that seems to have come her way is Anton Grey , who is very cute. But is he such a good thing after all...?

I thought that this book was pretty good, I'm just not that into the ghost thing. It wasn't one of those books where I just couldn't put it down. But I honestly did want to know what was going to happen next. So if you are into ghosts, mystery, and shocks I definitely recommend this to you.

When Dad Killed Mom -- a review by Sarah Gnefkow

When Dad Killed Mom

by: Julius Lester

**** Stars

Jeremy and Jenna are the members of what it seems to be a normal family. Jeremy a mommas boy and Jenna is such a daddys girl. There parents weren't on the best of terms and had been fighting a lot but they didn't exactly hate eachother either. One day the school pulls Jenna and Jeremy out of class to tell them the most shocking news they would ever hear in their lives, their dad had killed their mom. This news was shocking to everyone. Soon after this tradgedy they look differently at what had happened and more importantly why. By figuring out the answer to one question it just branches out into two or three new questions. So will they ever figure out why their dad had done such a horrible thing? Or will it remain a mystery forever...

I loved this book that's why I gave it four stars. Some of the parts of the book were completely pointless and made me feel a little uncomfortable but for the most part it was pretty good. It alternated paragraphs between Jenna and Jeremy and how they experienced everything throughtout the book. I did not put it down until I literally had to. So if you like shocking discoveries and trying to peice things together you would love this book!