Fly On the Wall in the Locker Room

By: Alli D.

                The book Fly on the Wall is a book a teenage girl would enjoy. The book is about a girl who attends Manhattan School for art and music. The main character Gretchen is very quiet and isn't the most popular girl in the school and doesn't like socializing, she is very self-conscious about what people think about her. Gretchen has one real friend at her school named Kayla, and it's the only person she tells everything too. She has a crush on a boy named Titus but she doesn't want to tell him.  Gretchen wishes she could be a fly on the wall in the boy's locker room and listen to what the boys have to say when they think that no girls are listening. Gretchen got her wish one day and got to be a fly on the wall in the boy's locker room. She learns a lot about them, things she never would have imagined. Being a fly on the wall gave her a new perspective on life.

Saving Bernie Carbo

By Adam B.

When there is a fork in the road you have two choices, either take the right path or veer to the left. Bernie Carbo and Dr. Peter Hantzis teamed up to portray the life of Bernie Carbo. A struggling ball player who not only had his fair shares of struggles on the field but struggling issues

Is Your Shot Worth A Million Dollars?

By: Jordan D.

"The Million Dollar Shot" is an inspiring story by Dan Gutman about a poor boy named Eddie Ball who lives in Louisiana. His father just recently died and now he lives in a trailer with his mom. He loves basketball and has always had a really good shot. Mostly because he has really good aim. His mom works for a factory called "Finkle Foods". She gets laid off, and now they are in an even worse situation financially than before. There is another girl who lives in the trailer park named Annie. She lives with her dad, and her and Eddie always play together. Not to long after his mom was laid off, a contest was started by the owner of Finkle Foods. Whoever can write the best poem, will get a chance to make a free throw for a million dollars. Eddie writes a poem and shows it to Annie , but she doesn't like it so she writes one for him. He uses it to enter, and he wins. Now he must train, so that he has a perfect foul shot. Annie's dad is an expert at free throws, so he helps Eddie practice and makes him an amazing free throw shooter. Now we just have to see if he can make it in the real thing. Will the pressure get to him, or will he follow through and solve his family's financial issues?

Can You Take The Heat?

By Derek D.

Heat by Mike Lupica is about a 12 year old boy named Michael Arroyo who immigrates to the Bronx of New York City with his 17 year old brother Carlos. While Michael's 17 year old brother pays the bills since his dad died a year ago. He is a little league pitcher who is carrying his team to the championship because he has an amazing throwing arm. Until a kid named Justin starts complaining to the coaches because he thinks Michael isn't age legal due to the heat he packs with every pitch. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem because he could just prove to them that he is 12 by showing his birth certificate. But Michael has no proof of his age because  his certificate is still in Cuba. And if the services find out that Michael is an illegal immigrant, him and his brother will get sent back to Cuba and most likely separated. Michael happens to meet a girl who turns out to be the daughter of a Yankee star named El Grande. Michael opened up to her about his story and she told her father El Grande. He felt sorry for Michael so he contacting his friends in Havana asking if they have any way of finding Michaels information. After some searching, they found Michaels certificate! (You will have to read the book to find out the rest of this heart touching book).

Will You Let it Unwind You?

by Punk

Ever since the war, things have never been the same. Now, instead of sending your misbehaving child off to military school, and spending a great deal of money, you can just unwind them. Unwinding is a totally "natural" process where they take a child apart piece by piece, using 99.95% of your body. The Unwind's parts go to hospitals and are used to save other people's lives. Connor is a rowdy teen who finds out he is going to be unwound, and he won't stand for it. He runs from home and causes a major car crash, saving the lives of Lev and Risa, fellow Unwinds. Lev believes he needs to be unwound, as he is a tithe, and it's his religious duty, but as the story goes on, he realizes that he doesn't even believe in God. A tithe is a child who is given to God in the form of unwinding as a part of the familie's 10% donation. Connor, Risa, and Lev travel together across the country to a safe place until their 18th birthday, the Graveyard. The Graveyard is a place in the desert where the send decommissioned planes to rot away, out of sight. The Graveyard also happens to be a hiding place for unwinds until they turn 18.   

You Have Entered... The Dead Zone

By Justin H.

         Another interesting book by a man who has written many horror stories. This man is Stephen King, with The Dead Zone. In this you follow the extraordinary life of John No-Middle-Name Smith, who is unlucky enough to be a magnet for head injuries. John Smith was an average teacher who lived in New England; up until he got in a car crash and into a coma that lasted more than four years. However, nothing was the same when he awoke, he became a psychic that when touching something he can see its past, present, and the future. There is one thing he can not see or even explain, the dead zone.

Gold Medal Summer

By Summer A.

I'm a girl who loves gymnastics. It's my life. I can relate to the girl who is in this book. A 14 year old girls life isn't easy being a serious gymnast. Johanna known as joey has drama coming back and forth and gymnastics just adds on her plate. A girl that has gymnastics seven days a week for six hours can't fix all the drama in one day.

To another world? Or not?

By Zoey A.

This book begins with just a normal day for Josephine Byrne, however, that day just seems to go downhill. And to mess up her day even more, weird things start happening, all at the same time. Actually, they occur at exactly 3:59, whether it be during the day or in the morning, it's always at 3:59. Oh, did I also mention that at 3:59 a portal opens to another dimension with scary creatures called the Nox.

Dome's Dilemna

By Quenten F.

I am reviewing the book Under the Dome by Stephen King. He has written other books such as Carrie, It, and The Shining. This book represents the genre of horror is a fairly intense type of it. The book is about the city of Chester's Mill, Maine which has been encompassed by an enormous dome, cutting them off from the rest of the world. Everyone in the city as well as society begins to unfold.

The Simulator's For Real

By Chris G.

Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing a war game simulator, however the situation at hand is far more real than one could comprehend. Ender is the result of genetic experimentation, he is the hope that Earth needs in its fight against invading aliens who seek to destroy humans as we know it. Ender's brothers, Peter and Valentine, are also unusual in their own ways, Peter is the violent sibling, and Valentine has no ability to be violent. Both found useless by the military, the two brothers work together to save Earth- because if Ender fails, then the Earth is at an end. Does he do it? Find out by reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

Once This was a Great Read

by Brian B.

This review is for the book Once We Were Brothers written by Ronald H. Balson, an attorney currently in practice and former professor at the University of Chicago. Once We Were Brothers is the most popular and first book that Balson has written. The book is considered to be historical fiction based on World War II and, more specifically, the Holocaust. The book is a twist-filled tale of two boys who grew up together in Poland during the war. Supposedly, one of the boys abandoned the family and resurfaced discretely many years later under a different name. The plot follows the story of the boys in the past along with the present accusations that lead to an intense trial.

More Like Song of My Tears

By Sarah K.

The Song of Achilles is an adaptive novel. Written by Madeline Miller, it takes the story of the Iliad, the Trojan War, and Achilles in particular and retells it from the perspective of Patroclus, Achilles friend. Patroclus was the son of a king, but was exiled when he accidently caused the death of another boy. He was sent to Phtia, where the king Peleus took in boys. Patroclus became close friends with Peleus's son Achilles and when Achilles was sent to train on Mount Pelion Patroclus went with him.

Book review that I sent to a random wrong email (Caitlyn Boucher

By Caitlyn B.                                    

22 years old, successful tattoo artist, never had a girlfriend but has had his share of girls, and a temper that can go off at any second. That's Rule Archer. Shaw Landon, 19, blonde hair, everything she owns costs more than Rule's closet. Shaw has been in love with Rule since Rule's now deceased twin brother brought her home at 14. Remy Archer was the mediator of the family. He let people think him and Shaw were together so his sexual orientation wouldn't be questioned. He died in a car crash at 20. Rule was left twin less and Shaw kept a secret about her best friend that wasn't hers to share. Rule ignored Shaw for years. She walked into his one night stands every Sunday just to try and keep the Archer family in one piece for a family dinner. On Shaw's 20th birthday, she drunkenly threw herself at Rule. Expected to be a one night stand, it turned into a long term relationship that was complicated but full of love. Two completely different people were trying to be one person.

A Mice Filled Society (typos and sentence fragments)

By Cameron R.

written by Brian Jacques. This story revolves around two mice, an older one named Brother Abbot, and a y
oung up and coming mouse named Matthias. All seems to be at peace in Redwall, but an evil rat named Cluny and his crew are lurking near the borders of this peaceful Abbey. This first book focuses on how young Matthias rises up to the challenge of keeping Cluny away from Redwall, and keeping the peaceful Redwall society. It also focuses on other types of animals trying to survive Cluny's wrath.

You'll be Running to Read Maze Runner

by Josh R.

I have read the book Maze Runner by James Dashner. This thrilling Sci-Fi book is about the adventure of a sixteen year old boy, Thomas. Throughout the novel Thomas finds himself in constant struggle with not only his surroundings, but with other people as well. Life for Thomas is not easy. Trapped in this place he calls the Glade, with fellow Gladers, Thomas must find a way to escape. Through constant horrors and drama Thomas fights through with some deep and special friends. This book is part of a four part series consisting of The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and The Kill Order. Other series written by Dashner include the Mortality Doctrine series, the 13th Reality series, and two books in the Infinity Ring series.

One Ring to Rule Them All

By Cameron M.

        Trouble in Middle Earth! Frodo Baggins, a Hobbit from the mystical green hills of the Shire embarks on a journey with 9 other companions (including himself) to complete a quest in The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. This wonderful novel was written by J.R.R Tolkien, and it is a sequel to the previous novel, The Hobbit. This story is the first to a three part series which I cannot wait to finish because of how entertaining this great novel is. The Fellowship of the Ring is a fantasy story revolving around a group of 9 people who are assigned to a very important mission.

Lame Title and Lots of Typos

 By Quinn M.

Lord of the clans is the 7th book of the Warcraft series. It has a main character that has to escape his slave master and he learns to communicate with others. I would recommend this piece of writing if you wanted to learn the story of the game before it was created. It shows and tells part of the story you can't experience through the game. Though it's counter part, the game "Warcraft" has hints of what happens, to experience the full story, the book is definally what i would recommend to someone who is looking to learn more about that side of the game.

Back For Another Spin

Back for Another Spin

by: Nathan B.

Rick Riordan has come out with the final book in The Heros of Olympus, The Blood of Olympus. At 516 pager long it is quite a read. Some of his other series include the Kane Chronicles and the Percy Jackson series. This book represents the fiction genre.  It is about demigods who are on a quest started by a prophecy. A demigod is a human that has some god powers because they have a god as one of their parents. The prophecy states that one of them will die during their quest.  They need to gather the ingredients of the physician's cure so they can revive their dead friend. The Roman demigods are on the verge of launching an assault on the Greek demigod camp and Renya, Nico, and Coach Hedge need to bring the Athena Parthenos to the Greek camp so they will not declare war. At the same time, the rest of the crew will need to be sure not to spill blood at Gaea's awakening ritual and make it to the Greek camp too.

Longer Than I Expected

By Kendra M.

                                Nineteen Minutes doesn't seem like a lot of time, but you'd be surprised at what can happen in that short amount of time. Jodi Picoult's 'Nineteen Minutes' was definitely one of the better, if not the best, books I've had the pleasure to read.

High Heat from Mike Lupica

By Sean H.

Mike Lupica gives another stellar writing in the young adults genre. Lupica's protagonist Michael Arroyo is a stud, Middle league baseball player in New York City from Cuba, trying to fulfill his fathers goal of getting himself to the Little League World Series.

Arroyo is a great young pitcher who throws gas and is on a team with aspirations to go  to the Little League World Series. He lives with his dad and his older brother in an apartment in Manhattan. From Cuba and his dad has been a really strong influence on him. His dad who is a taxi driver tries to chase down a  man who robbed a woman's purse, gets a heart attack and dies. Michael and his brother (17 years old) now have to find a way to keep everything under wraps so they don't get into human resources and to have Michael still be able to play for his team.

‘Romance, Tears And Laughter’

By Kendra M.

Everyone loves a romantic novel, including myself. That's why I fell in love with John Green's 'The Fault In Our Stars'. 'The Fault In Our Stars' was an absolutely amazing book. I loved every minute spent reading the book and wouldn't change a single thing about this book. Yes, even the ending.

Hazel Grace Lancaster, the narrator, is a sixteen year old girl who has cancer,  specifically thyroid cancer. She talks about how her parents made her attend a cancer support group where she meets Augustus Waters, a seventeen year old who also has cancer. Augustus only has one leg because he has Osteosarcoma, which led to him having to get his leg amputated. Hazel ends up falling for Augustus and the book follows their love story through Hazel's point of view. John Green has written several other books including 'Looking For Alaska' and 'Paper Towns'. He typically writes young adult fiction and is most famously known for writing 'The Fault In Our Stars'.

Ceremony of Good Literature

  By Nicole M.


Lois Lowry's *The Giver* is about a boy named Jonas who lives in a

structured dystopian society where unfortunate events rarely happen,
excellent language skills are valued and they have special ceremonies in
place of birthday parties. Jonas finds out at the Ceremony of Twelve that
his Assignment is to become the community's new Receiver of Memory. Jonas
becomes alienated by the rest of the community due to his new position. Now
that he is the new Receiver of Memory, Jonas is able to recall things from
the past from all over the world in order to spread wisdom to the
community. He is now able to experience feelings and events that were
unattainable in the community due to its rules.