It's Not You, It's Me by Kerry Cohen Hoffmann

It's Not You, It's Me is about a high school junior, Zoe, who is heartbroken when her boyfriend dumps her. He wants to focus on his band, he says, and not have a girlfriend right now. Obviously he's made a big mistake. Zoe thinks after 6 months of making out and hugging and a total of 218 kisses (she keeps track) a sudden breakup seems fishy. Her best friends discourage her efforts to win him back (which include stuffing her poetry through his bedroom window, snooping through his email, and flirting with his friends) and tell her she's acting crazy, but she can't help herself. She has been completely wrapped up in Henry since they started dating, up to the point where she believes the world revolves around her and Henry. She also comes to the conclusion that he is seeing another girl (a freshman cheerleader who sings very good). Now that he's taken himself out of her life, she has trouble coping with this loss of identity. Zoe does everything in her power to try to win Henry back, increasingly embarassing herself every time. It's a common story but not realistically told. Zoe is believably self-centered, but her friends' lives apparently center on her, too, offering advice and encouragement (and, in the case of one male friend, offering himself as "excellent boyfriend material").

The rushed conclusion is odd. Girls will relate to the teen's heartbreak and healing, though her self-pity and manipulations may irritate more than amuse. I liked this book but it wasn't written well and the story line is unrealistic. This book will make you laugh at love-stricken Zoe rather than pity her. It will make you glad not to be her. I would recommend this book to girl ages 11-14 because the way this novel was written may bore older teens.
~ Kaitlyn, Teen Book Reviewer

Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser

Todd Strasser's Wish You Were Dead was without a doubt something never expected. From beginning to end, he made a complete 180 turn. This book had a lot of suspicion and mystery going on. I would recommend this book for those who like mystery and love to predict of what might happen next to the characters. To be honest, at first, the book to me was boring and I didn't like it. After about halfway through the book when the suspicions and mystery started to expose, it became a lot more interesting and I just had to find out what happened next. It was pulling me into itself. I laid awake at night just to find out what would happen next. I couldn't just put the book down and stop. I feel as if others who read this book will have and/or make the same predictions I did, and finding out what happened and what didn't might surprise them. Mystery book lovers will [hopefully] find this book as great as I did.
~ Loudmila, Teen Book Reviewer

Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica

I have read just about all of Mike Lupica's books, all of which really don't have a problem, everything always goes the characters way, but in Million-Dollar throw Ned Broadie has anything, but luck. Million-Dollar Throw puts you through every emotion possible. Million-Dollar Throw is basically about a kid named Nate Broadie whose parents are struggling financially and just barely keeping their house. But some luck was on Nate's side when he bought a signed Tom Brady ball and won a raffle to throw a football through a target and win 1 million dollars. But mean while Nate's good friend Abby was going through an awful disease where someone's vision deteriorates at a slow pace, but Abby had it bad and her vision was of the charts bad in a quick amount of time. The only problem was is that Nate the top rated quarterback in the state was on the verge of losing his starting job as quarterback . Would Nate lose his starting job?
Would he make the throw? What happens to Abby? I would highly recommend this book, I would rate it an easy five out of five, this is a must read for not just sports fans.
~Mary, Teen Book Reviewer

Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford

In the book Carter Finally Gets It, the main character Will Carter is a fresh man in Merrian High School. He isn't the most popular in school, but his reputation as an athletic teenager got him far. He has trouble being around seniors and especially girls. Basically, he's not ready for high school. He searches everywhere, anywhere, and anyone for love, acceptance, and dating. In the process he finds himself running into many situations where he gets into danger. He faces many obstacles to reach his goal and wants. This book shows the way it happens in high school. There are excellent details and descriptions that makes this adventure more realistic. I think this book is a good read for teenagers who wish to learn about highs school as well as get some laughs from this funny and vivid novel. I think Brent Crawford is a great writer who explains many things in his book. Not only does he make the novel hilarious, but he also gave factual information of an everyday-life in high school. I think that this book is very well written and I recommend it to young adults and teenagers.
~Robert, Teen Book Reviewer

The Palace Of Laughter by Jon Berkeley

In the Palace of Laughter Miles Wednesday was an orphan. His mother had died when he was born, and his father disappeared soon after. He had been named and raised in the Pinchbucket Orphanage, and tried to escape as often as he could. One time, his plan worked, and he ended up living in a barrel. When the Circus Oscuro came to town, he was amazed by it, and snuck in to see it, but he was found and was kicked out. He got a silver ticket which entitled him to a ticket to the Palace Of Laughter. He hopes to find his father there, since he was once in a circus, and on his way he meets a four-hundred year old girl named Little who has actual wings!! He befriends her, and they set out on an adventure, looking for Little's friend and Miles' father, and trying to figure out what the Palace Of Laughter really is.
~Catherine, Teen Book Reviewer

No Choirboy: Murder, Violence and Teenagers on Deathrow by Susan Kuklin

Susan Kuklin's non-fictional novel, NO CHOIRBOY,descriptively portrays the lifestyle of 3 teenagers on death row as well as two victimized families who have been traumatized by their losses. In 2005, a Supreme Court Decision made it illegal for juveniles to receive the Death Penalty. In America, juveniles are still given the Death Penalty despite the Supreme Court's decision. As the book elapses, all of its key figures, even the victimized family members, oppose the Death Sentence. This book contains very mature context and should not be exposed to those readers who are not willing to accept the concept that these problems are issues faced in our society to this very date. I think that Susan Kuklin certainly made her point on capital punishment in this book, but I would not recommend this book to the general public. I think that the book NO CHOIRBOY is more well suited to those who are going through similar experiences in their own lives. I personally did not enjoy this book and I thought that the book was not worth the time reading it. Perhaps it is because I have no experience whatsoever regarding such issues.

~Justin, Teen Book Reviewer

Alcatraz versus the Knights of Crystallia by Brandon Sanderson

The third book in an ongoing series, The Knights of Crystallia is a funny, lighthearted book, and very over-the-top. The story is about a boy named Alcatraz Smedry who discovered that he and his family have distinct noble powers over glass, and use items called ‘lenses’ to focus them. They are currently battling against the evil organization of Librarians, who seek to control the world. This time around, he has to take a new stance; he must stop them from signing an alliance with the kingdom of Nalhalla while also protecting the Royal Archive (not a library) from the evil librarians.


“Alcatraz” is obviously a comedic story that isn’t meant to be ready completely seriously; this is clear after reading only several pages. However, Brandon Sanderson is very clever, witty, and funny and addictive. One thing that seems to stand out is that the story seems to be told as if Alcatraz is reminiscing about his adventures in the future. He even adds that a certain event will occur in Book 6. He also opens every chapter with a funny, unrelated narrative spoken as if you were conversing with Sanderson himself. One of these, for example, talks about fish sticks. In another, he notes that breaks between chapters are very useful for doing things like going to the bathroom. Things like that make the book very entertaining. Here is a short example:


"I glanced to the side, then jumped as I saw an enormous reptile crawling along the sides of the buildings towards us. Like a spider crawling across the front of a fence.
"Dragon!" I yelled, pointing.
"Brilliant observation, Smedry," Bastille noted besides me.
I was too alarmed to make an amazing comeback. Fortunately, I'm the author of this book, so I can rewrite history as I feel necessary. Let's try that again.
Ahem.
I glanced to the side, whereupon I noticed a dangerous scaly lizard slithering its way along the sides of the buildings, obviously bent on devouring us all.
"Behold!" I bellowed. " 'Tis a foul beast of the netherhells. Stand behind me and I shall slay it!"
"Oh, Alcatraz," Bastille breathed. "Thou art awesomeish and manlyish"
"Lo, let it be such," I said."


I would definitely recommend this book for anyone between the ages of 9 and 13, because it is very fun and enjoyable and the author is clever and witty. I highly recommend reading the previous books before, because it can get confusing in the beginning.

~ Shantanu, Teen Book Reviewer