Zan-Gah -- reviewed by Alexandra Lopez

Zan-Gah

Author: Allan Richard Shickman

Reveiwed:Alexandra Lopez

Rated: ***

   Zan-Gah a young boy between boyhood and manhood. He proves himself over time that he has come of age to his people, however he never truly feels like a man. He blames himself for losing his twin, his other half, Dael. He takes a stand and ventures into the prehistoric wild he calls home, to find him, risking his life and maybe the saftey of his people to find his brother.

  The intro of Zan-Gah caught my attention. It jumped right into the story, and was very enjoyable for awhile. The story was good, but not as great as it should have been. I would say this book is more appropriate for children. The flaws would be the pacing, and character depth. Other than that Zan-Gah was one wild ride.

 The pacing was fine in the beginning gave just enough detail to understand where the book was headed. Maybe that's why I loved it, it just dived right into action.  However as the story continued it wasn't as good. The story felt cramped, it took three years for him to find his sibling, some scenes were either muddled or were not detailed enough.

  Another problem was that even though we knew of Zan-Gah, we didn't really know him. Yes he was a hero to his people, but what did he enjoy? Considering the time, which is the Stone Age it wasn't a bad problem. Survival was more important, Zan-Gah mentioned that quite often. However we would have liked a bit more about Zan-Gah other than his bravery.

  Overall I have mixed feelings about this. It had an entertaining story, and great action, without the gory detail. Still I rated 3 out 5 stars. I believe the author was writing for a different audience. Other than that it was enjoyable. If you have the time it's a good book to read.

Book Club

November Book Club -- 

Thinking about reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Your thoughts?

Ms C.

New Books -- Come in and check one out today!

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan (#3 in the Heroes of Olympus series)

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Newbery Medal winner)

The Kill Order by James Dashner (the prequel to the Maze Runner series)

The Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone

Caught by Margaret Peterson Haddix (#5 in The Missing series)

New series by John Grisham: Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer and the second, The Abduction

The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riorddan (#3 in the Kane Chronicles series)

The Magiserium by Jeff Hirsch

Keep Holding On by Susane Colansanti

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and her teen daughter, Samantha Van Leer

Changeling: Order of Darkness Book One by Philippa Gregory

October Book Club

The following book has been chosen for the October book club read. I have ordered books from the library system and will let you know when they are available for pick up.

Beautiful Creatures
Kami Garcia

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Check out the following about the film adaptation due out 2-13-13.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/beautiful-creatures-trailer-debuts-smells-372552

Ms. C

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

Sweethearts reviewed by Molly Varney

By: Sara Zarr     * * * * *

Jennifer has never been popular. In fact, she is the most picked on, lonely little girl in her school.  She is quiet and not as skinny as any of the other girls. Her only other friend is Cameron who was also picked on and excluded from everything. They did't mind though and were perfectly happy with each other. There were things Jennifer didn't know about Cameron though. Like when he came to school once with his arm in a cast and wouldn't talk for days then acted like everything was fine. They were best friends forever all the same. Then Cameron didn't show up for school. Jennifer heard from one of the girls at school that Cameron had died. Her mother had comforted her when she got back from school and tried to help her move on.
Now in her junior year of high school, Jennifer, now Jenna, has a totally new life. She has friends, a boyfriend, a new school, and has lost weight. She is happy, or as happy as she can be. Just when things were going fine in her life, everything got turned upside down when Cameron enrolled in her school. Now Jenna has to figure out everything that had happened, keep her life in line, and deal with her mother who didn't know what happened when she and Cameron were little.

I gave Sweethearts five stars because it was a very well written and interesting book. It was full of twists and surprises that made it enjoyable to read and kept you guessing. I thought it was a cool plot and loved reading it. I didn't really like the ending but it made sense. It showed that not everything goes how we want it too.

The Great Gatsby by Kaitlin Kimbrell

The Great Gatsby

by: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jay Gatsby thought that by changing his whole life and throwing big parties he would end up with the love of his life. Jay started his life in the Midwest with a different name. Jay Gatsby's real name is James Gats, but after he met Daisy he wanted to change his life. He went out and created a life that he knew would win Daisy over. However, life doesn't always turn out as we plan and we cannot recreate the past.

Nick Carraway went to start a new chapter in his life. He moved closer to his cousin Daisy and met Jay Gatsby by happenstance. The two became neighbors and with Nick's help Jay re-meet Daisy. Their lives will forever be changed.

I didn't really enjoy this book because there was too much deception, cheating, and fake people. When we meet Gatsby to me he seems creepy he stares at Daisy's house from a distance and she doesn't know he is there. Then they make Nick help them sneak around Tom (Daisy's husband) so they can see each other. All the while Tom is cheating on Daisy. None of this is okay with me and I really just dislike this book. 



Summer Reading Program at Midcontinent Public Library!

Wanting to keep up with reading this summer? Join the Teen Summer Reading Program at your local Midcontinent Public Library.

The TSRP has greatly changed from summers past.  Students will now be able to earn library “bucks” for submitting online book reviews.  The bucks can be exchanged for ear buds or flash drives, free books, even paying fines. 

Visit your nearby branch today to find out more!

Just like that--reviewed by Nallely S.

by Marsha Qualey

* * * * Stars

Hanna just broke up with her boyfriend, and no one understands why. Stressed and tired, she takes a midnight walk to a lake near by. Depressed, and mad, she sees two teens drive by on a snow mobile. Later she realizes she just witnessed a tragedy. She's convinced she could have prevented it from happening. Soon she finds out she's not the only one involved. Will, a boy she soon develops a relationship with is connected to the tragedy. Hanna finds herself in a turmoil, having been captivated by Will and trapped by the image she can't forget of that night. Follow Hanna and Will in this beautiful tragedy.

I gave this book a 4 because although I did enjoy it, I didn't really feel the plot. I felt that Qualey could've elaborated more. It was a fun read and I loved Will's sisters and Hanna's mom. Hanna rushed things when she shouldn't have! Hanna felt guilty for something she really didn't have power over and that kind of bothered me because although she could have said something to the guy and girl, they wouldn't have really listened to her. Since they were there on there own accord. Overall I liked this book. ^ ^  I really wish there was a sequel but the ending pretty much made me happy! ^ ^

-Nallely <3

Runaway Reviewed by Molly Varney

By: Wendelin Van Draanen * * * *

Holly's life has never been easy. Since she can remember her and her mother had lived in apartments until they got kicked out, in a van, or just on the streets. Since her mothers death she had been living in foster homes and hated all of them. She had run away before but this time she stayed away. The most recent house she lived in was horrible. The Benders posed as loving parents but were heartless people. Holly's plan was to run away and this time it worked. As she writes in the journal her teacher gave her, she writes about her mother that she would never talk about. She writes about her love for dogs, and her dream of becoming a veternarian. Soon though she starts to need a plan. Holly is only a twelve year old girl but is more grown up than most people. Holly needs a plan for her future now that she's away from her horrible past, but how is she going to survive the next six years?

I thought Runaway was a pretty cool book. I had my doubts about it but it turned out to be ok. I liked how she wrote in it because it gave you a really good insight to how she felt all the time. It wasn't my favorite book but it was a very well written book. I loved how she talked about dogs and how she never really gave up. I loved the ending to the book and how she changed her own life by being stubborn and never giving up.