Walk Softly, Rachel by Kate Banks

Walk Softly, Rachel by Kate Banks is a great summer pick! Reading this book you will fall into 14-year-old Rachel’s world. It all started when Rachel was 7 and her brother, Jake, died in a tragic car accident. Her parents have put the past behind them and can barely mention Jake's name. After that tragic happening her family becomes distant with each other and their ways of coping have teared them apart silently. However, they have left Jake’s room untouched after his death to relive his finest moments and memories. Rachel soon figures out this might be her one and only chance to connect with Jake, is by entering his room and searching through his items. As she travels through the items she finds out they each have a story behind them and they each speak to her through Jake’s voice. Through Rachel’s own shortcomings and experiences she finds out who she really is and the power her mind has to heal. Walk Softly, Rachel by Kate Banks is a warm hearting book about love, loss, and letting go through Rachel’s eyes. This is a must read book and I highly recommend it!

~Chelsea, Teen Book Reviewer

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Incarceron is a book about a girl, her betrothed [that was supposedly murdered], her father, her teacher, and a prison called Incarceron. Claudia always knew that there was something fishy about Prince Giles's death, but she could never find out anything because it would breach Protocol and get her in serious trouble with the Havaarna Dynasty. Until one day her father [the Warden of Incarceron] is away and Jared, a Sapient and her teacher, help her to sneak into his office. She finds that her father has a key inside his desk that he can get to with the password "Incarceron". Through this key she learns many things about Incarceron and meets a few inmates: Finn, who is 17, Keiro, Finn's oathbrother, Attia, who Finn rescued, and Gildas, a very old type of Sapient. She also begins to wonder who Finn really is, and where he came from, because he claims to be from Outside Incarceron. After discovering many new things that the Key can do, meeting Finn and his friends, and learning more about Incarceron, Claudia has to deal with the evil Queen of the kingdom, the Warden, her newly betrothed, Caspar, and a secret order that may be planning to corrupt the Dynasty, if they can get Clkaudia's help. Meanwhile, Finn has some visions that lead him to believe that he is the Prince Giles that Claudia thinks he is. But no one can find the way in or out of the Prison!! Will Claudia be able to keep the Key from her father and ruin the Queen's plan for her to marry Caspar?! Or will her father steal back the Key, force her to marry Caspar, and have Incarceron trap Finn and his friends inside it forever?!

~Catherine, Teen Book Reviewer

Alphas by Lisi Harrison

Lisi Harrison, author of the Clique series, has just released her new realistic fiction novel, Alphas. Alphas is about a group of girls that are selected to go to a special school called Alpha Academy in order to reach the highest of their abilities. Skye Hamilton however, has trouble trying to reach her inner alpha because there are no boys around. But when Skye runs into the sons of the owner of the school, she is willing to bend some rules to get to know them. Even though they are strictly off limits, the girls are constantly sneaking out at night and meeting the boys, but one night, things don't go as planned. When Charlie, one of Skye's housemates, tells the owner of Alpha Academy that the girls have been sneaking out at night, one of them gets expelled, crushing their dreams of ever becoming the best Alpha. The girls then refrain from their nighttime visits, but only for a little while. When Charlie finds a way around Shira, the owner, she helps her friends meet the boys, all to prove that she is not Shira's spy and that she wouldn't turn another girl in. In this fun and realistic story, girls of any age will enjoy it. If you liked the clique series, then I recommend this new series, Alphas, by Lisi Harrison. The only thing I really disliked bout this book was that the middle was very predictable and boring. Nothing important to the story happened in the middle. But towards the end of the middle was when the book really got interesting.

~Alicia Teen Book Reviewer

Max Cassidy Escape from Shadow Island by Paul Adam

Max Cassidy is a fourteen year old escape artist whose dad was murdered and his mom was charged with his murder. Although he knows that his mom is innocent, there is nothing that he can do because the murder took place in Santo Domingo and he lives in England. All of a sudden a mysterious visitor comes and tells Max that his father is alive and his mother is innocent. He was murdered before he could tell Max everything he knew. As Max heads out to Santo Domingo to find out what happened two years ago at Playa d'Oro he embarks on an adventure that is so beautifully written out by Paul Adam in his fictional novel Max Cassidy - Escape from Shadow Island. This book is fast paced and can be hard to understand, but if you like action, then this is the book for you.

~Joe, Teen Book Reviewer

The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante

This month, I read The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante. It is about two girls named Agnes and Honey. Despite their differences, they are best friends. The live at Mount Blessing, a religious commune run by Emmanuel and Veronica. Abandoned there as a baby, Honey is rebellious, resentful towards Emmanuel and Veronica, and longs for a normal life, finding her own comfort at Winky’s butterfly garden. Agnes is the opposite. Firm in her faith, her dream is to become a saint. When Agnes’s grandmother visits the commune as a surprise, she finds out about the Regulation Room, a hidden room used to beat the “Believers” when they “commit a sin”. She immediately takes them away from Mount Blessing for their own good. Honey is ready to leave without a second glance, but Agnes’s beliefs are firm, and she refuses to leave without a fight. Leaving Mount Blessing was supposed to be a good thing, but it’s the final blow that might rip the two apart.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give this book a solid 9.5. It’s a nice break from the romance and vampires. Reading the book from two points of view (Agnes’s and Honey’s) really helped me understand the characters. I was a little resentful towards Agnes throughout the book, wanting to just knock a brick over her head and be done with it, but she redeems herself. It’s not too hard of a book to read, but it’s not easy either. To read this, you also have to be able to accept some things, such as Agnes’s annoying belief that can kill them all.

Overall, this was a very good read. I would mostly recommend this to girls though, since it’s told from their point of view and deals with those types of things. Don’t let the outlandish storyline stop you, The Patron Saint of Butterflies is a book worth reading.

~ Joanna, Teen Book Reviewer

The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy

In the book The Cinderella Society, sixteen year old Jessica Parker feels like an outsider in school. She tries hard to fit in, but no one really accepts her until she gets an invitation to join the club called the Cindys, or otherwise known as the Cinderella Society. This club consists of the most popular girls in school. The Cindys main job is to protect themselves and the Reggies (regular people) from the Wickeds. The Wickeds (are like Cinderella's wicked step sisters) are a club that blackmail people into doing things for them. As the story progresses, read all about the moment when Jessica finally feels like she fits in. Also, find out who Jessica's arch enemy is, as well as who finally notices her after a makeover. Join Jessica on this exciting journey through happiness, sadness, and romance. This book is highly recommended for girls 10 and up.

~Sarah, Teen Book Reviewer