Can't get there from Here -- Book review by Carmen Corsino

Can't Get There From Here

By Todd Strasser
****
The book ‘Can't get there from here’, by Todd Strasser, is rated a 4 to me. It is an adventure or teen angst book about a girl, Maybe, and her struggles growing up on the streets. A ‘gang’ is created and Maybe watches as, one by one, the friends she hangs with die from disease, abuse and illness. The other teens on the street with Maybe include Maggot, Rainbow, Jewel and then Tears, a 12-year-old runaway. On a day to day basis, their life consist of begging for change, doing chores for money, finding food and shelter, and ripping off tourists with fake drugs. Being clean is a luxury and Rainbow and Maybe are sexually harassed in a public library restroom. "Street urchins," as they are called, like Maybe, cant afford medicines so they are out of luck if something goes wrong.

It’s a generally serious, life telling story about the life of young people on the streets. Rebellious, Rainbow refused to be helped by adults as there are freedoms on the street, but warm beds in shelters. A night at one of these shelters shows Maybe that the rules might just be worth it and makes her realize Tears could have more than all this. When Maybe meets a hopeful librarian, will she realize she can't get a better life from refusing help? Find out in ‘Can't get there from here’ by Todd Strasser. Over all I liked the book but would only recommend it to people into books about hardship.

Bewitching Season --- A Review By Amy Lyon

Bewitching Season
by Marissa Doyle

****

Twins Persephone (Persy) and Penelope (Pen) are preparing for their first London Season. Pen can't wait to go to all the balls, flirt with gentlemen, and finally have the freedom she's always craved. Persy, on the other hand, would rather study magic with Ally, their governess, than go traipsing all over England. But when Persy's childhood crush, Lochinvar visits unexpectedly, she decides maybe London won't be so bad. Unfortunately, Ally must go ahead to prepare the city staff and call the dressmaker.

When the family arrives, Ally isn't there; in fact, Ally hasn't been seen in days. Pen and Persy know immediately something is wrong, especially when a note shows up from Ally. Deciding not to trouble there parents, the twins start there own investigation, with a little magical help. As the girls dig deeper, they discover that not only is Ally not the only victim, but Victoria, the Princess Regent, is the target in this dangerous game.

Meanwhile, things start to heat up with Lochinvar; not only is she unsure which twin he prefers, but Persy found out that rumor has it his mom was killed by witches. Can Persy maintain a calm front while searching for her friend and keep this possibly budding romance?

Bewitching Season was a fascinating series of twists and turns that kept me guessing throughout the novel. Doyle hit on many topics: romantic confusion, issues with the patriarchal society, faith in loved ones, self-sacrifice, and of course there's the magical element. I enjoyed reading about these quirky twins, with opposite personalities, they were very entertaining. I'm sure I'll read more by this author.

Castaway Kid --- A Review By Skyler Young

Castaway Kid

by R.B. Mitchell

****

In this book you meet a young boy named Robby who is going through a rough part in his life right now. One day his mother drops him off at a place where there are alot of kids and a few adults. Robby soon realized that where he was was a home. Wondering why his mother doesnt love him? Why she would do this to him? He goes into a depression stage. Robby meets a lady named Nola in the home who he wishes would have been his birth mother. Nola looked out for Robby and took care of him more than she did the others.One day, Robby's mother came back for him on a rampage she snatched him and rushed out the home. Nola worried and distraught thought of Robby everyday he was gone and scared for his saftey.Robby and his mother lived in a terrible apartment with no television and one bed. When Robby was home one day and his mother drunk in the other room the police knocked on the door and arrested the mother and put Robby in a detention home.Robby goes into a stage of anger and vows never to let someone else hurt him this bad.

Follow Robby's troubled life and future with love & family in this novel and I promise you will not regret it. Castaway Kid is very similar to many people's lives in this world. Kids wondering why their parents gave them away ? Why they cant live with them? So many people can relate to this book and that is why I think it is a good book. I also like this book because it puts you in the mind of a unwanted child and what are the things that go through their mind and it makes you feel sad and blessed that you have the life you have. I recommend this book to people who are intrested in real life issues and like to read about them.

The Warrior Heir --- A Review By Sam Baird

The Warrior Heir
by Cinda Williams Chima


****

The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima is set in a modern world just like today. In the book we follow jack, a sophomore in high school who was born with a heart defect and was saved by a doctor when he was a baby. His aunt Linda comes to visit him and takes him and his friends on a hunt for his dead grandmother’s grave. What they find is a sword and Jack finds a whole new world that was hidden to him before and he is in the center of it. Jack found himself in a modern day world of wizardry. Jack is a warrior and will be played by wizards in a fight to the death for control of the world.

I liked this book because it tells a story that I can actually think about happening. It makes you feel as if this sort of thing could actually happen in real life. The Warrior Heir is the first in a series of three books followed by The Wizard Heir and The Dragon Heir.

Prom -- a review by Hope Austin

Prom

by: Laurie Halse Anderson

***

Prom is about Ashley, a lower-middle-class girl in urban Philadelphia who touts herself as "normal". She has a job and a boyfriend who she plans on moving in with after grtaduation. She doesn't care about much: college, her sky-high stack of detentions, and least of all, prom. Ironically, that makes her abnormal, as every other girl in the senior class is absolutely crazy over prom, including Ashley's best friend, Nat. Nat is the leader of the prom committee. Ashley could not care less about prom, much to her mother's chagrin. Unfortunately for her, fate has other plans. The math teacher steals all of the prom money, leaving the school without a prom. Even though Ashley doesn't care about prom, she knows that the a great deal of girls and their families made massive sacrifices for that one night. At the urging of Nat, she begrudgingly joins the prom committee. Hey, it beats detention. Now Ashley must take on one of the biggest responisbilities of her life: planning an entire prom in about a week.

The other Laurie Halse Anderson books I have read are Speak, Catalyst, and Wintergirls. Imagine my surpise when I opened up this book and found a great deal of humor. It's good to know that an author who writes about such serious topics can be lighthearted at times, too. i could really have done without the comparisons to Cinderella, however. It's more of story with fairy-tale elements, but there's little comparison with any sort of Cinderella story. Otherwise, it's a good, fun story.

Fever 1793 – a review by George Morejon

Fever 1793

by Laurie Halse Anderson

**** stars

Fever 1793 is set in Pennsylvania just a little over a decade after the Revolutionary war. Mattie lives with her mother and grandfather in their family coffee house. In the summer and fall of 1793 however, their quiet lives are interrupted as yellow fever breaks out across the area. At first, none of them think it'll be that bad; but that all changes when a good friend of Mattie's dies of the fever.

Panicked by all this commotion, Mattie's mother sends the rest of the family away to a far right as she gets sick to keep them safe. But because of the paranoia surrounding the fever, they can never make it to their safe haven.

Mattie has to find her way back to Philadelphia with her sickly grandfather after they get stranded, before they both pass out, nearly dying in the forest. They get nursed back to health though and get back to Philadelphia, but what they see when they get back is shocking. Dead bodies everywhere, everything broken into, and a baby that Mattie has to do something with.

Overall, I liked this book. It was historical fiction, which isn't something I had ever really been into before. This was a welcome change. I liked how Mattie rose up to the challenge of everything when the fever came, going from 14 year old girl everyone bossed around to her own woman in-charge of a business.

Catalyst -- A review by Ian Zig.

Catalyst
by Laurie Halse Anderson
*

The Catalyst is about a regular "plain-jane" girl who excells in chemistry and relies way too much on her original plan. Kate is a bright daughter of a minister, with extremely high hopes for going to MIT. MIT is her dream, it is her goal, it is her life. The problem is, she has absolutely no fall back plan. Good Kate, against all logic and reason, has only applied to MIT. But as she waits expectantly for the acceptance letter of her dreams, her life refuses to hold its breath as well. Her neighbor's house suddenly burns down, and her father being a good friendly pastor and neighbor, invites "miss" Teri Litch and her younger brother to stay with them. Teri Litch is pretty much a brute of a woman. Teri is always getting into fights with the football team at school. Not only that, to Kate's displeasure, but Teri is also a compulsive thief. Kate, who already was the woman of the house taking care of her little brother, now has quite a handfull.

The Catalyst started out perfectly, it really drew me in and grabbed my interest immediately. Unfortunately after a few chapters, it quickly ran downhill. I thought it wasn't at all realistic. Kate's made out to be such a smart girl with a bright future ahead of her, except for the fact that anyone with half a brain would apply to several colleges and have a fall back plan. That is the main reason I gave this book only one star. I felt that Kate's inability to sleep was horribly pathetic, sleep is something that comes naturally and if you really can't sleep you tell your parents or go get something to help you sleep. All in all, I definitely would not recommend you read this book, just because of how disappointing the story becomes.

Teenage Love Affair -- a review by Marli Bartlett

Teenage Love Affair

By: Ni-Ni Simone

*****

This is Ni-Ni Simone’s fourth novel and by far her best. The novel begins with characters Zsa-Zsa, Asha, Courtney and Malachi in June of 2004. Zsa-Zsa is living two different lives between school and home. At school she has Malachi professing his love for her and begging her to be his girl, but at home it’s a completely different story. On Friday nights when her dad is drunk he comes home beating his wife, in front of their children Zsa-Zsa and her younger sister Hadiah. When the beatings would occur, Zsa-Zsa and her sister would sneak upstairs to Malachi’s house and spend the night there, until Malachi moved away.

The story picks up in 2009 and Zsa-Zsa is now seventeen. She thinks her life is perfect. She has her best friends Asha and Courtney by her side, and her so-called wonderful boyfriend Ameen. In the beginning Ameen seems to be a great guy, until his temper starts to flare and Zsa-Zsa finds herself in an abusive relationship, but she too is in denial like her mother. While out with Ameen, Zsa-Zsa sees a familiar face she hasn’t seen in awhile. It’s Malachi! While Zsa-Zsa is overjoyed, Ameen becomes jealous and his jealousy turns into anger. Zsa-Zsa is starting to take the same beatings her mother had taken and is doing nothing about it. Malachi wants to pick up where they left off before he moved away but Zsa-Zsa is in “love” with Ameen.

I gave Teenage Love Affair 5 stars because it’s a great story on love. Teenage Love Affair is also a story on abusive relationships. Ni-Ni Simone does a great job of exploring these topics and making them relatable to teenagers that could be in the same situation. If you are a fan of the Bluford High series, you will LOVE Ni-Ni Simone’s Teenage Love Affair.

Yellow Flag -- Review by Chase Scott

Yellow Flag

by: Robert Lipsyte

3* rating

Genre-School Stories, Adventure, and Sports

Kyle Hildebrand is a teenager in the high school band. Kyle's family is a family of racers. Kyle's grandpa, Sir Walter, was a Nascar legend, and his dad was also a big name racer. After Sir Walter retired and and his dad got hurt in a race, Hilebrand Racing wasnt making very much money. Now Kris, Kyle's brother, is trying to bring Hildebrand Racing back by getting a sponsor in the next big race. Kyle however never got into racing like the rest of his family and would rather play in his band. Kyle has a masters class for his band he wants to go to but his dad tells him that he cant go because Kris' normal spotter is in the hospital. Kyle is not happy but agrees to go even after getting lectured from his band coach. Kris plans on doing a move called the sling in this race and needs Kyle to help him through it so in the last lap Kyle tells him when to go and it wins Kris the race. A green car ,that Kris passed, angrily bumped the back of Kris and mad his car flip right after he crossed the finish line.Kris seems alright but the next morning Kris passes out and they find out he has a concussion. Now Kyle is forced to race in his brothers place and is then faced with the situation on wheather he wants to stick with his band or help his family and take over for his brother.

This book is a good read and is entertaining even if your not into racing. Robert Lipsyte did a good job of keeping it simple and easy to understand even if you dont know to much about racing. I would recommend this book if you enjoy a quick fun read.

Cut -- a review by Vicky Jun

Cut

By: Patricia McCormick

★★★ stars

Have you seen any of your teenage friends cut themselves? According to Self Growth, there are millions of American teenagers and adults who voluntarily injure themselves today. A 15 year old girl, was named Callie, was sent to the hospital, by her parents. They found her cutting herself in silence. It was not a normal hospital, because it was a place for teenagers who were mentally ill. The first days in the hospital, Callie wasn’t improving at all, because all the people were talking about their children living in a “residential treatment facility.” Callie acts like she doesn’t care about what people say, or do, however she listens and worries about what people are saying so much that she is stressed. She doesn’t like to talk anyone. When she was young, she had to take care of her brother who was sick; while she was caring for him, he was rushed to emergency room. After it all happened, she thinks her parents hated her, and decides not to talk to anyone in her family. She wasn’t very happy with that, and decided to cut herself. What is going to happen to Callie in the hospital? Is she ever going to talk? Is she going to stop cutting?

After reading this book, I was scared to talk to people. I started to think that perhaps I could hurt someone's feelings without knowing it. I am also a teenager, and sometimes I feel the same way Callie does. The author says that I am the only one who can keep me safe and control of me. I was sad that Callie didn't have any physical problems; however her mental problems caused her to not talk.