Need--Reviewed by Sarah Roberts

" A want is a desire to possess or do something. A wish. A need is something required because it is essential. Something very important that you cannot live without."

"What do you need?"

                   Social media is the most important thing to teens these days. So when a social media cite called NEED starts offering to send teens in the small town of Nottawa whatever they need in exchange for small tasks to be carried out, what could be sweeter. At first the tasks are as simple as inviting people to join NEED, and then everything changes. A fellow classmate is the first to die after cookies were "mysteriously" delivered to her containing the one thing that could kill her...peanuts. The culprit is a fellow classmate, and NEED member, who was just following through on the task given to them. As more teens begin to die off, there's only on teen who wants to end NEED for good. Follow Kayla, as she tries to find out who is behind NEED, and hopefully put a stop to them before more classmates meet their untimely deaths.
 

            I became obsessed with this book after the first chapter! This is why I rated the book a five out of five stars. This book will have you begging for more. I thoroughly enjoyed how each chapter was from a different point of view of each character. Just like every person has their own opinions and point of views, so do the characters. You really get to experience what goes on in every character's head through the progression of each chapter. The ending of this book will leave you breathless. It was also make you think that this story could possibly happen in real life today.



Panic - reviewed by: Portia Rockers

                                      

Heather is a young girl in her teens who lives in a town called Carp. Carp only has a population of 12,000 people, and is in the middle of nowhere. Since there isn't much to do in Carp the graduating seniors play a game called panic. Heather has never found interest in the game but, the thought of the large cash prize starts to change her mind. Even though the game is dangerous and her sister is paralyzed from last years game she decides to play. Dodge who isn't afraid of the game enters as well, and even though Heather is seen as one of the weaker competitors he and her form an alliance. And maybe something more. 

I thought this book was great and I really liked it. I gave the book four stars because I thought the concept of the game was a bit like Hunger Games, but the author was able to make it different and unique. I really liked the chemistry between Dodge and Heather, they were so cute. Heather was a really unique voice and you can really feel the emotions she goes through as the book progresses. I also like how the book is realistic, it takes place in modern times, and I like how she shows the flaws that the characters have. I would recommend this book to people who like thrill, action, and some romance. They are also making this book into a movie, which I'm excited to see how it will turn out. 

Hold Still--Review by Desarae Coffey

Hold Still by Nina Lacour

This book is divided into seasons. It follows the main character, Caitlin Madison, over the course of a year summers, fall, winter, spring, and summer again. Though these are many themes running through the pages of Hold Still I wont say healing is the main one, being a junior in high school come fall. However during the summer before her best friend commits sucide by cutting her wrist in her bath tub. Caitlin realzes that her best friend had been very depreessed and tortured and had even taken medication forn it. As Cailtin begins school she also begins the journey of healing and learning to live life without Ingrid.

One day while looking for her remote control, she finds Ingrid's journel giving her insight into her best friend's world. It also folows Cailtin as she developes a new friend, with a new best frined named Dylan, who happens to be openly gay. Dylan tries to help Caitlin heal from her loss but at the same time her relationship with Dylan causes her to feel guilty, like she is betraying Ingrid.

And there is her relationship with Taylor who gradually becomes her boyfriend. Also Caitlin's photography, it becomes some what of a memorail to Ingrid. Relationships with other people and sleeping in back seat and building a very conmplex tree house, all theraputic in her path of healing.

I would rate Hold Still by Nina Lacour a four and half stars out of the five star system. I enjoyed the book and feel there are so many things to be taken from the story, the themes are deep and realistic but I do feel book is alittle long and drawn out some times.

I would classify this book as drama. I would recommend it to a friend I know likes drama, however, as I said I left it was a little drawn out. There are so many seasons one can learn from Hold Still and so many conversial topics dycussed however so I did enjoy the story overall.

The Summoning-reviewed by Nallely S.

* * * * * STARS

reviewed by Nallely Saavedra

Chloe Saunders knows she isn't crazy. So why is she put in a center for disturbed teens? Well....for one thing she isn't really "normal". Chloe sees dead people. At Lyle House, Chloe notices there is something off about Lyle House. Chloe only wanted to "recover" and get out of there a.s.a.p. But when her room mate disappears, after confessing her secret, Chloe can't just leave. Chloe, along with her fellow room mates, must uncover the truth, even if it means unveiling her secret.

I gave this book 5 stars because I remember checking it out last summer and I was captivated. Yeah, it might be like any other paranormal series/book yet it's so different. Armstrong's characters captivated me like no other. I felt that unlike other paranormal books, Armstrong didn't make her characters perfect, they had flaws from the very beginning. To me that shows that no one is or will ever be perfect. That's reality. I liked that. Haha. I loved the plot and overall enjoyed reading this book!

-Nallely Saavedra

How to Save a Life reviewed by Kaitlin Kimbrell

how to save a life

By Sara Zarr

We all meet each other in different ways. This different way let us know about the person we are meeting. Many people don't like me new people and other's couldn't live without it. Jill and Mandy have had two different ways of seeing each other.

All Jill wanted was her life back to the way it was before her dad died. She loved her dad and thought it was the end of any true connnection she would have with any other person. When Jill found out her mom was planning on adopting a baby she knew that her mom was just trying to start over and begin her own life. Jill felt betrayed when she met Mandy. If Jill would have been picking the girl giving her mom a baby Mandy would have been the last person she ever would have picked.

For Mandy life was different. She didn't feel loved and got pregnant even though she didn't want to be her mother. When Mandy found Jill's mom she was glad to be giving it to a woman who would truly care for her child. However, meeting Jill was a different story. Mandy took one look at Jill and didn't really want anything to do with her. How was she going to manage til the baby was born.

Will this new life change their lives forever?

Personal this book to me was very average. I did relate to how the girls felt about each other, but couldn't fully get into the book. I do believe, however, that you should think about reading this book. You might get a different feeling from it.

The Farther You Run reviewed by Molly Varney

By: Davida Wills Hurwin ****

A little over a year ago, Sammie would have been in dance class with her friend Jules. She would have graduated with her and they would have jobs, and boyfriends and would be happy with their lives. Now none of that would happen. Sammie had lost Jules to cancer earlier that year. Without Jules, Sammie didn't have a reason to dance or graduate anymore. Her life seemed worthless and she felt lost without her other half. Since she failed her last year in high school, she had to take summer classes. She wasn't expecting to find a new friend. Mona had problems of her own. She had also failed her last year in high school and had to take summer classes. Her mother was bipolar and she was used to not having friends. Soon enough the two had jobs and had moved in together. Things were going good until the one year anniversary of Jules's death was coming up and things started falling apart all over again. She had to deal with her loss again and try to move on with her new life.

This is the sequel to A Time For Dancing. I thought it was pretty good but I liked the first one better. I thought it was good to have a second book because it told a lot about what happened after Jules died and how it affected her family and Sammie. My favorite part of the whole book was probably the ending. It was one of the sweetest endings I've ever read. Both of the books are sad but are written beautifully and have a very good meaning.

Cracked up to be review by Kaitlin Kimbrell

cracked up to be

by Courtney Summers

When you're perfect with everything you do people tend to want to be like you. Everybody body has a desire to be perfect, but what is the breaking point?

For Parker Fadley being perfect was all she knew. She was the perfect cheerleader, had the perfect popular boyfriend, the perfect best friend, and the perfect grades. Parker was the most popular girl at St. Peter's High, until that one night. That is when perfect Parker became the perfect mess. Nobody really knew why Parker started to come to school drunk, quit as captain of the cheerleading team, broke up with her boyfriend, and started to hate everyone. What happen to perfect Parker? Did she find her breaking point? Can you just not ever stay perfect like you think?

This book is not in my usual choices, but I really liked it. The struggles that Parker goes through actually shows what many people my age might be going through too. This put me in Parker shoes and made me think 'what would I have done if I would have been her?' I don't know what I would have done and I don't know who I would have wanted on my side, if anyone at all. This book did make me realize though that nobody is as perfect as we think.



The Other Countess review by Kaitlin Kimbrell

The OTHER COUNTESS

by: Eve Edwards



Love is looked for and wanted by everyone. It can be splendid and wonderful. If everything is going wrong in your life feeling loved is the most amazing thing you can hope.

Lady Eleanor Rodriguez, Countess of San Jaime (Ellie) at age sixteen was not looking for love. It was quite possibly the last thing on her mind.  All  Ellie wanted was for her father, Sir Arthur Hutton, to stop with his quest to make gold out of lead and just live with her in a happy peaceful life, but she knew her father would never go for that and that is why Ellie was stuck in the house of Lord Mountjoy's  during the time of court.

William Lacey, Earl of Dorset (Will) at age eighteen was trying to help his family survive after the death of his father left them with little money and many problems. Will needed a wealthy lady that would marry him to save his land, his family from destitution, and him from being bitter at such a young age. Will went to court looking for a lady of wealth. He wanted this marriage to have love, but he could live without it if he could just save his family.

This two lives did not plan to meet again after the last time, when Will kick Ellie and her father off his land for the alchemy four years before, but when Will arrives at court she is the first lady he meets. Will not recognizing her, and knowing she was a maid with no money, was transfixed by her beauty and her intelligence. Ellie on the other hand was angry and scared that he was there because she knew that once he found out who she was he would not be so kind to her with his words. 

Soon they both realize that they have fallen for each other, but they did not believe anything could become of this infatuation. What will Will choose Lady Jane, a rich woman he also meets at court, who would solve all his money problems by their marriage? Or will Will choose love with Ellie and decide that is better than anything money can buy? Will Ellie even have him if he did want her after the way he treated her and her father just a few years ago? Will Lady Jane even want Will? Or would she rather James, one of the earl's brothers? Will love win out or the powers of money take over?

I truly enjoyed The Other Countess and I believe that anyone to read it after would like it, also. The different scandals that are going on will make you want to read the whole book in one night. Love is such a thing to look for that when it hits us in the face we can do nothing but try and hold onto it.

Timing is everything. 



The Eleventh Plague reviewed by Molly Varney

By: Jeff Hirsch ****

The eleventh plague destroyed the world before Stephen was born. He grew up with his father and his grandfather, after his mother and unborn baby sister died. All he knew to life was to salvage anything worth trading and staying on the Path. After his grandfather died, however, his father decided to leave the Path for one day. Before they even could however, they were forced to run from slavers after saving the lives of two strangers. This caused Stephen's father to be seriously injured after falling. Stephen had to decide to trust the help of some other men who offered their help to him. As he waited for his father to recover, he found himself in a small town. As he got more familiar with the town he met Jenny, a troublesome Chinese girl who he couldn't stop thinking about. As he gets more comfortable with the small town, he has to decide between leaving or staying with Jenny and the family who took him in.

I gave this book four stars because I really liked the storyline but it got a little dry at some parts. I liked all of the characters and thought that they were easy to relate to. I'm not really into books about the world ending but this one was more about people trying to cope with what they had left. If you like books about the world being over then you'll definitely love this one!

Passion--a review by Nallely Saavedra

Fallen by Lauren Kate
* * * * Stars

"What if you find your soul mate....at the wrong time?" - Passion

All Luce Price wants is to finally be happy with Daniel Grigor. In the first and second books, we were introduced to many characters and were left with many questions. In Passion most of them are answered. After stepping into the Announcer, Luce can finally see her past first hand. Daniel, afraid that she might rewrite their history and future, chases after her, but he isn't the only one. In Passion, you will slowly see Luce's and Daniel's past unfold while new questions are formed. Luce sets on this quest to break the curse that keeps her from being with Daniel and having to die over and over again. Luce wants it to stop once and for all. But the Outcasts and Archangels want Luce alive for a reason that's deeper than the curse itself. But when Lucifer, himself, steps in..What will become of Luce and the future of them all?

I gave Passion * * * * stars because it answered some of my questions but it also confused me. It was depressing because of the way Kate wrote and described the love between Luce and Daniel. It was kind of annoying how Luce kept dying over and over again, and how Daniel seemed to be the reason why she always died. It also made me mad because Daniel knows how to break the curse and he gives up on hope before trying while Luce just goes back in time to try and stop it. He won't tell Luce and that's why she goes back in time. Other than that though..it was awesome~!

-Enjoy,
Nallely S. X)