Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I read the book Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. This is the third book of the series The Hunger Games. Mockingjay is about a girl named Katniss who lives in the country of Panem and participated in something called the hunger games. Now, as the head of the rebellion, Katniss has ended up in District 13, a part of Panem that has been prospering underground for years, untouched by the capitol. While trying to film a commercial for the rebels, Katniss and her friends are attacked by air bombs hitting a hospital. When Katniss sees the damage that has been done, she realizes just how serious the situation is, and decides to be the mockingjay. Her and a team of people then head out into the capitol in disguises and try to reach the president, and when they find him, Katniss is the one who wants to kill him. But when the time comes, the unthinkable happens. I would reccomend this book to anyone who is in 5th-9th grade. The series is very adventurous and unpredictable, making you never able to put the book down.

~Alicia, Teen Book Reviewer

Kissing Vanessa by Simon Cheshire

Kissing Vanessa, by Simon Cheshire, is a book that can be made into a movie. It's definitely something you'd see on Disney.

Kevin Watts is a 15 yr. old 10th grader looking to do well in school. That changes when Vanessa Wishart walks into his classroom. She's a beautiful new student, and Kevin has a crush on her from the minute he sees her. The principal wants Kevin to show Vanessa around. Kevin tries his best, but it never seems to work out well for him. There are a few really funny (but embarrassing) things that happen to him throughout the story.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a story you can totally relate to. Kevin was a likeable character and while reading Kissing Vanessa, you'll really hope things work out for him in the end.

~Jonathan, Teen Book Reviewer

Survival of the Fiercest: A Sloan Sisters novel by Anna Carey

In the second Sloane Sister Novel, Survival of the Fiercest, Cate and Andie are still living on New York's Upper East Side and their father has just gotten married to their friend's (Stella and Lola) mom. When their parents leave for their honeymoon, things heat up! Cate is determined that she and Stella will form their own High School sorority. This is because they had a fight a few days earlier with their former best friends Blythe, Priya, and Sophie that resulted in Cate and Stella being banned from their own sorority. Cate’s number one goal is to form an even more popular sorority by herself! Cate recruites Stella to help work on starting the sorority and they make a new friend on the way. Additionally, Andie is dealing with a major crush problem. She likes this guy named Kyle, but her new stepsister Lola likes him too! Lola is, of course, trying to impress Kyle, but she is also meeting with a famous fashion designer to become a model!!!! I love this book, and I can’t wait to read the next one! This book is exciting, has good story lines and is full of drama! I will definitely recommend this book to any girl 8 and up!!!

~Sarah, Teen Book Reviewer

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game takes placed entirely in the future. In this book's future, there's a bug-like, alien race called the Buggers. We are at war with the Buggers since they have attacked Earth two times in the recent past. Since we are at war, the Government has to select the brightest and toughest kids to train for the epic battles with the Buggers. Six year old Ender Wiggin is one of those lucky chosen kids after he won a nasty and really bloody fight with a schoolmate. It was after this fight that the Government thought, after much consideration, that little Ender Wiggin could defeat the evil Buggers. Ender was thought to be the perfect hero because he had two of the best traits that ran in his family. He had the violence and hatred of his brother, Peter, and the empathy and kindness of his sister, Valentine. As the book progresses, Ender launches off with other kids on a ship to Battle School, which is in outer space. Ender finds Battle School to be an entertaining place, especially the game room, where the team battles happen. You'll learn about the Game Room, and it's rules, as you read through "Ender's Game", so it won't be confusing. Ender gets put in the absolute beginners group (team), the Launchies. Ender is teased and made fun of at first, but, because of his abilities, he later becomes respected and befriended by the other kids. The Government advances Ender extremely quickly through Battle school since they want him to be isolated from the other kids and be prepared for battle as quickly as possible. The result is Ender becomes lonely and overworked. Those problems make Ender want to quit Battle School forever. Will Ender quit Battle School? If he stays, will he be the hero that he's supposed to be? Find out those answers, and more in "Ender's Game".

In my opinion, "Ender's Game" is an awesome reading experience. Although this is a reissue of a pretty old book, it hasn't shown much age since it is science fiction that takes place in the distant future. "Ender's Game" always kept me interested, from beginning to end. There are some good, unexpected plot twists, especially at the closing of the book. I was intrigued by the futuristic science and technology of the book. I am a huge fan of sci-fi books, and I was surprisingly impressed by "Ender's Game".

~Mathew, Teen Book Reviewer

Kite by Melvin Burgess is a fiction about two boys, and how they are trying raise a large majestic bird called a Kite. They live in Britain and they are only a few Kites left due to habitat loss and overhunting. They found the Kite as an egg, named it Teresa and as it keep growing, it was harder and harder to keep. Maybe too hard.

“Kite” is an extraordinary story. The author did an amazing job bringing out the characters, the plot line, and the details. I highly recommend this book to anyone, bird fanatic or not. I can guaranteed that this book won’t disappoint.

~Edward, Teen Book Reviewer

Mudville by Kurtis Scaletta

Mudville is a story about baseball and the excitement it can bring to one child, or an entire town. Mudville is a town where the rain never stops. In fact, it has been 22 years since the rain has stopped in Mudville. It started to rain in the middle of the huge baseball game between Mudville and their Rivals, Sinister Bend. Since then, the town has been unable to continue playing a lot of baseball, and this upsets young Roy McGuire. However, oddly enough, when he meets a new foster kid in his home named Sturgis, the rain stops and its once again time to resume America’s pastime in the town that has been cursed for years. Roy is just like any twelve-year-old boy who loves baseball, but Sturgis is a mysterious character that provides intrigue throughout. The two boys embark on a mission to form a baseball team back together in Mudville to play a rematch that needs to be resumed from 22 years prior. As a huge baseball player and baseball fan, this book was fun and easy to read. I would certainly recommend this to all baseball fans, but I would not necessarily limit the book to just people who like baseball. It is a heart-warming page-turner about friendship, mystery and even a few life lessons.

~Eric, Teen Book Reviewer

The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy

In The Cinderella Society Jessica Parker was the new girl at school this year. On the last day of school she peeks inside her bag to look for something and she finds an envelope addressed to her. When she opens it, she finds an invitation that changes her life and a pin. She is finally going to turn her life around and not be the lame new girl loser she was this year. As she joins the Cinderella Society, she gets friends, a makeover, a special boyfriend and a lot more. But as she involves herself into the society she can’t help but wonder “is this really what I signed up for?” Jess finds herself in many tough situations and knows that even though it sounded easy and fun, The Cinderella Society is no picnic. I would recommend this book to all girls who like books about good girls (the Cindy's) and the evil girls (the wicked’s). I really enjoyed this book and I hope you guys will too.

~Alexandra, Teen Book Reviewer

Gone by Lisa Mcmann

Things should be great for Janie, the main character of Gone by Lisa Mcmann. She has graduated from high school and is spending her summer with Cabel, the guy she's totally in love with. Despite the thought, she thinks she is a totally train wreak and that she doesn’t deserve him. She starts to think there’s only one way to give Cabel the life he deserves, by disappearing even though it might kill them both. But deep down inside, there is more to worry about. Janie starts panicking about how she's going to survive her future when getting sucked into other people's dreams is really starting to take its toll on her life. However, things get even more complicated when she meets a fellow stranger. Her future takes an unexpected twist that requires many life or death decisions from Janie, all when time is running out. I highly recommend this book because it’s a real page-turner and you wouldn’t dare to put it down. I also strongly recommend reading the first two books in the Wake trilogy, because this is the final book in the Wake trilogy.

~Chelsea, Teen Book Reviewer

The Cardturner by Louis Sachar

In the book, The Cardturner isn’t about card games that teenagers play. Instead, it's about the adult's game, bridge. This book starts out when young Alton gets a call from his Great Uncle Trapp. Trapp is a blind and rich senior citizen that he wants Alton to play bridge with him. Alton is forced to play with Great Uncle Trapp(by his parents), but he doesn’t want to play bridge.

From the start of the book, Alton’s (and his family’s) life is filled with problems. Alton got dumped by his girlfriend, Kate. Alton’s best friend, Cliff, is now Kate’s girlfriend. The reason Alton’s parents forced him to play is so they can get into Great Uncle Trapp’s will. However, they are “in competition” with the Castenedas, a family that’s supposedly full of psychos, who happen to be close to Great Uncle Trapp.

When Alton gets to the bridge club, it turns out that Alton doesn’t have to play. Instead, he’s Great Uncle Trapp’s card turner. Throughout the next few weeks, Alton learns how to play bridge, and more about his uncle’s mysterious life. Alton also teaches his younger sister, Leslie, how to play bridge. One day, Toni Casteneda goes to the bridge club. Alton is fascinated by Toni, and thinks that she is normal, unlike her other family members. The two teens later become friends.

For all of Trapp’s life, he wanted to win the National Bridge tournament. Due to family reasons, his dream was never accomplished. Later in this book, Trapp plays in the Nationals again to suprising results. Will Alton find out about Trapp’s past? What will Alton and Toni do to honor Trapp? Find out about this, and more in “The Cardturner.”

I didn't really find this book entertaining. Many parts of the book discussed the bridge games that the characters participated in. Those parts were confusing to me. If you have a knowledge of card games, then you might enjoy it, but if you don't, it can be a bit boring. There is a slight chance that you could become interested by the mysterious events of the book. However, I wouldn't recommend this book to my friends, but I wouldn't tell them to avoid "The Cardturner" either.

~Matthew, Teen Book Reviewer