Ship Breaker - a review by George Morejon

Ship Breaker
by Paolo Gacigalupi
**** stars

Ship Breaker is set in the future, somewhere along the Gulf coast. Thanks to things like giant sea storms, among other things, it's a harsh life in the day of someone on light team, what the scavengers who strip light materials from the old ships call themselves. Nailer's the main character, and around 15 and scrawny with a mother who's not there and a father who doesn't care. Perfect for a light crew worker. Life's hard in the crew though, always having to get enough goods like copper to survive. Miss your quota and you're done. There's no other work.

One day Nailer's out and about in the ship getting some copper like usual when the floor breaks and he's dumped in a room flooded with oil. After being betrayed by one of his fellow crew mates, he makes it out alive. Next time he goes down after a big storm, he finds a girl in an untouched ship. Would he return the favour of not saving someone in trouble, or would he save the girl?

Ship Breaker's an interesting book. It's also big, at around nine hours of reading. Everything's all super poverty, which is something I don't usually read. It's amazing how bad everything can seem, how cut throat. Nailer's personality made me feel on his side throughout the book, and the girl was interesting. For a rich girl, she was very street smart.

Hex Hall --- a review by Amy Lyon

Hex Hall
by Rachel Hawkins
****


Sophie Mercer has moved eighteen times in sixteen years. Sophie has always had a problem fitting in, and not just because she's always the new girl, but because she's a witch. And with a love spell gone horribly wrong, Sophie ends up at Hecate Hall (aka Hex Hall) rooming with a vampire. Yikes! But wait, their room is covered in...pink? And Hex's resident bad boy, Archer Cross, is tall, dark, and gorgous and he just saved her life.

The first day is full of....interesting experiences: first, the three most popular girls knock on the door in the middle of the night, asking her to join their coven, but these girls seem a little too evil and they don't take Sophie's refusal easily...next, Sophie watches two fae get in a fight with a shapeshifter, then she gets slobbered on by a werewolf, only to get back to her room in time to see her roommate having a midnight snack...

The first day of classes is just as promising, resulting in cellar duty for a semester, on the bright side, it will be with Archer. On the other hand, maybe that's not so great...

While part of the book is a cliche, it doesn't detract from the rest of the novel. There are some interesting twists that make me want to read the next book and the characters aren't as cliched as the overall situation. Anyone who likes paranormal should definitely read this.

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard -- a review by Hope Austin

The Lying Game
by Sara Shepard
***

There are only two things Emma Paxton and Sutton Mercer have in common. They look exactly alike, and both want to find out who murdered Sutton. Sutton is a ghost, following Emma around, trying to make sense of what happened. Emma is a foster kid trying to survive the next school year with her hellish foster family. Through a series of of convoluted events, Emma ditches her Nevada foster family and winds up in Sutton's hometown of Tuscon, Arizona. Emma is instantly mistaken for Sutton and introduced to the lifestyle of the rich and fabulous. Even though Emma knows next to nothing about Sutton, she tries to adjust as best as she can. Although Sutton and Emma can't communicate, they both desperately try to find the answer to one question : Who was Sutton Mercer, and why would somebody want to kill her?

If you're going to read this book, you'll need to have a strong suspension of disbelief, or you'll be staring at the book saying, "You have got to be kidding me." Even so, it was a fun quick read. If you're looking for a book with a deep meaning, skip this one. However, if you just need to pass the time, this is a great book for that. I've said this before, but Sara Shepard knows how to keep a reader on the edge of their seat. What I really liked about it, though, was that it only bore a few similarities to Pretty Little Liars, so you know that Shepard isn't just a one-trick pony. I'll definitely be reading the next one in the series.

Rules of Attraction--Review by Sarah Gnefkow

Rules of Attraction

Simone Elkeles

***1/2 stars

Carlos Fuentes has lived many places in the seventeen years of his life. He originally was raised in Chicago before his older brother Alex started to get into gangs trying keep his family safe. Carlos' mother moved their family to Mexico after Alex had left the gang. Now Carlos is moving back to the United States a year later to live in Colorado with his older brother (which is now on the right track) who tried to carve out a life for Carlos that he doesn't want. Carlos doesn't abide to anyone else's rules but his own. Kiara a straight A student was asked to escort Carlos around his new school for the first week. They both are dealing with social situations at school, for Carlos its his current reputation and for Kiara its her stuttering problem. Carlos decides that he doesn't need a guide and blows Kiara off. By doing this Kiara wants to get even, which ends up attracting each other. But will these sparks be enough to get over their social issues?

This book was pretty good, but definitely not as good as Perfect Chemistry. In a way they were both really similar and after reading the first one the outcome was quite predictable. The book goes by alternating speakers. I didn't really want to put it down, but in a way the endings were the exact same so I gave it 3 1/2 stars. It was a pretty good series so I do suggest checking these books out.

Stolen - Review by Halea Coulter

Stolen
By Lucy Christopher

* * * * Stars

Ty has always been there. Ever since Gemma was 10, and he was 18, Ty has been watching over her, listening to her tales of fairies, beating up boys that got to close, protecting her, and learning about her. She has been his life for six years, and now it's time that Gemma is made aware of his presence. So, Ty walks up to Gemma at an airport, offers to buy her drink, and while she's not looking, doses it with drugs. When Gemma wakes up all she knows is that it's hot. She is in a very tiny house, it the middle of nowhere, the desert, obviously, she is no longer in England. As she comes to find out, she is in Australia. At first Gemma hates Ty, but slowly, she learns that she has to accept being around him. Gemma tries every way to escape but nothing ever works, and as time goes on shes ok, she even seems to enjoy Ty's company. As the story progresses, Ty seems to know more about Gemma than she does herself, and its frightening to her because most of it is true. Even near the end of the book, Gemma doesn't believe that she'll ever be free, so that's the question . . . can she escape?

I really liked this book. It was very interesting, and it wasn't just the story line, it was the relationship that developed between the two characters and how intricately Ty and Gemma's characters were woven together through stories recounted through the book. I didn't care much for Gemma, but she wasn't that bad as a character. But Ty was a fascinating character, just through his childhood and all the stories he tells, and how he treats Gemma, and what he does for her, he is one of my favorite male characters I've ever read. The book was also interesting in the way it showed Gemma's development of Stockholm Syndrome, which is when the person kidnapped begins to like and enjoy their captor. I know that Gemma developed Stockholm Syndrome, but it was something I didn't want to believe. The relationship between the two characters was so fascinating, and they both came to a point where they respected each other, and it just upset me because I know it was Stockholm Syndrome, but the book makes the reader want their relationship to be pure, actual emotion. I would classify the book as suspense, or really as an adventure, because that's what it was, I loved this book and I would definitely recommend it.

The Running Dream- Review by Aspen Gates

The Running Dream

Wendelin Van Draanen

****stars

In the book, The Running Dream, Jessica is a 16 year old girl who is a star at track, and was hoping to get a scholarship to college along with her friend Fiona. However, all that changes when they were coming from a successful track meet and a drunk driver rams into their bus killing one girl and crushing Jessica's leg so bad that she had to get it amputated. After a couple of days in the hospital she is finally released when doctors are convinced she can take care of her leg properly. When she finally get home she begins to shut everyone out until she realizes that she is not the only one suffering, and decides to move on with her life yet scared at the same time. When Jessica comes back to school she is completely overwhelmed with homework and almost doesn't pass math until she meets Rosa who not only helps her understand math, but helps Jessica realize that her life is not over. With this new realization, Jessica must rethink what she wants to do with her life since she can't run anymore. Or can she? Read this gripping story and find out not only what happens to Jessica, but what she does for Rosa as a thank you for everything.

I thought this book was going to be quite predictable, but my was I wrong. It took a completely different turn and I loved every second of it and because of that I gave this book four stars. Wedelin Van Draaen keeps the readers attention in this story and makes you not want to put the book down for any reason at all. So if you like reading books about tragedy and overcoming it, then The Running Dream is definitely for you.

Aftershock -- Review by Ian Zig.

Aftershock

by Kelly Easton

****

Aftershock is a story of an adventure. You could call it a sort of "walk-about." Seventeen-year-old Adam, begins his journey with a fatal car wreck that kills both of his parents. His trip with his parents leaves him an orphan, stranded in the middle of nowhere, on the opposite side of the country from where he lives, and quite literally speechless. Adam, still in shock from the wreck, begins a trek of a lifetime. As he hitch-hikes across the country, he must weed out all the travelers who don't mind giving a ride to a mute, ragged, dirty teenager. Will he make it home?.. Will he starve?... Read and find out.

This book did a pretty good job at keeping my attention, but at times I felt that it was dragging a little bit. I gave it four stars because I thought it wasn't a really realistic story. The author did a good job showing the desperation that such bad luck would bring, and I liked the transitions for the flashbacks. All in all, it was a fairly good book that I would suggest for some but not for others.

Solitary -- Review by Ian Zig.

Solitary

by Alexander Gordon Smith

*****

Solitary, the second book of the series Escape From Furnace, was one heck of a ride! Alex Sawyer is back picking the story of his stay in furnace right where he left it in book one... Falling down into the raging, unforgiveable river beneath Furnace! But Alex's little field trip to the caverns and caves of Furnace was short lived. His friends and him were flushed out by the vicous rats, another messed up nightmare of Furnace, landing him and his best pal Zee in the dreaded Solitary confinement for a whole month!... Will Alex lose his mind while alone with his thoughts?... Or will he come up with yet another daring and extraordinary plan to get out of his new coffin?... You'll have to read it to find out!

Solitary was an awesome book that gave me chills thinking of the nightmares of Furnace! I gave this book five stars and it deserved every single one of them. I highly recommend that any guy at least, should read this series.

Trapped - a review by George Morejon

Trapped

by Michael Northrop

*** stars

Trapped is told from Scotty's point of view, one of the kids trapped. That day, it started snowing. A LOT. As the afternoon goes on, it gets worse and worse. People leave, even the teacher that's suppose to stay with them. After a hours and hours of waiting, it's just Scotty, some friends of his, 2 girls, and 2 other guys. And they realise that no one is going to come get them.

At first it doesn't seem so bad. A sleep over at school. Getting to see what's different about it. Not to mention the fact that the girls there a pretty hot. Great time, yeah?

Wrong. Things quickly go from kinda bad to much worse. People getting upset over little things, arguing, and people's plans not working correctly all push everyone's buttons in the wrong way. The way they start annoying each other so fast is just a baaad sign. And then a giant accident happens...

I thought this was a good book, and it was funny that I got it right after we had a big snow storm since that made it real easy saying "What if this was people I knew?" I took ~4 hours to get through, and while it had some slow parts, I kept wanting to read more to find out what was happening. The ending was kinda abrupt though, like the publisher cut out the last few chapters. And unrelated thing, but one thing I like is how the chapter title pages have snow falling, and it slowly build each chapter, until it's just completely overwhelmed. Cool, random detail.

Perfect Chemistry- Review by Sarah Gnefkow

Perfect Chemistry

by Simone Elkeles

***** Stars

Brittany Ellis is the most popular girl in the school. But underneath her life isn't so great, she has to keep up the image that her school life, home life, and family life is all perfect. In chemistry class she is partnered with the schools bad boy, Alex Fuentes. He is in a gang and has the image of doing drugs, getting arrested, and selling but just like Brittany he really isn't what he seems. Alex decides to make a bet with his friends that he can get with Brittany, he does this with no hesitation. But what Alex didn't realize was that Brittany was much more than money and being perfect, he discovered that her life was anything but that. Soon the bet he had made with his friends has turned into much more than he'd expected. They will have to face the reality of getting past the stereotypes and judgments of their families and fellow peers to be together. But will love be enough?

I loved this book, and a lot of my other friends did too! I did not want to put this book down at all and when I wasn't reading it I was always wondering what was going to happen next with Brittany and Alex. The book was written with alternate speakers, it would switch paragraphs back and forth between Brittany and Alex's point of views. I never wanted this book to end. The only thing that I was disappointed with about this book was the way it ended because I wanted to know more about what happened with them! All in all I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes excitement and romance.