Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry, is a great sci-fi novel about how humans would exist post-apocalypse. Benny's earliest memory is of the First Night, when his brother Tom ran away with him, leaving behind his parents to be taken by zombies. Now, fourteen years later, the two Imura brothers live in the village of Mountainside, where only a fence separates them from the Rot and Ruin, home of the zombies. Fifteen-year-old Benny now has to get a job in order to keep his food rations, and he finds one in the "family business" of bounty hunting. However, his entire view of the world is altered when he ventures into the Rot and Ruin for the first time with Tom. All of his heros aren't who they seem and he realizes he is always in constant danger, both from zombies and people. All the while, this teen has to deal with his crush on his best friend and the loss of his parents. I would definitely recommend this book (9 out of 10 stars) because it has action, suspense, mystery, and romance all in one. So go out and read this book!

~Divya, Teen Book Reviewer

Grace by Elizabeth Scott

Grace by Elizabeth Scott is about a girl named Grace who was raised to be an angel; a messenger of death by suicide bomb. She refuses to die for the cause and is on the run in search for freedom. She is traveling to reach a border she may never find. On her journey she travels amongst evil-minded soldiers on a battered and broken-down train across the desert. She is accompanied by a mysterious and puzzling character named Kerr on her journey for freedom at the border. Grace struggles to be invisible, but her fear of discovery appears large as she remembers and recalls the sequence of events and her struggling past that delivered her to her questionable or uncertain fate. In this book Elizabeth Scott creates a world where you are told what you will be. A life without choices and many, many sacrifices. A colorless life, without beauty and connection and it is excessively cruel. In such a basic story the readers mind is continuously swirling as it puts together the pieces of information and the actions of the protagonist, Grace, and Kerr.

To me, this book was exciting and kept you on the edge of your seat when you wanted to find out what the next obstacle would be on Grace's quest for freedom. It was a bit confusing however, with the characters and the fact that some characters were spirits. This book had some historical fiction and religious beliefs to it, with all of the sacrifices for an almighty Keran Berj. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction, suspenseful books, and someone who can keep track of characters. Overall, it was a well-written book.

~Carly Skudin, Teen Book reviewer

Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick

Patricia McCormick has already enlightened the world with Sold and Cut. Purple Heart is no different. Purple Heart is about a young Matt Duffy who awakens in a hospital in Iraq with no idea how he got there. He was also injured and because he has a Traumatic Brain Injury he does not know how or why. The one little memory he has is of a little Iraqi boy being blown up. The next day he is awarded the Purple Heart medal.

After he has recovered and joined his squad he keeps having flashbacks about the young Iraqi boy being blown up. Matt soon finds out that the boy was Ali the Iraqi boy that his squad had befriended. With this memory his conscience keeps nagging him. Could he have been the one who killed him? In the second half of the story Matt goes on a series of missions; though some of the members of his squad get killed he learns how to pull through and protect the others.

Patricia McCormick uses figurative language and has such a way with words that you feel like you are actually fighting alongside Private Duffy. And the idea with using a younger man with modern war was excellent.

I recommend this book to young male readers who have interests in war, This book is also good for parents who have teenagers that play games such as Call of Duty or Halo Reach. If they like to play those action packed video games then maybe they’ll like this action packed book.

~Gene, Teen Book Reviewer

The Firefly Letters by Margarita Engle

In the book The Firefly Letters, three completely different girls meet in Cuba and go on a journey that will change their lives forever! As Cecilia is dealing with a new husband (who was chosen for her) and a baby on the way, the other girls have some problems of their own! Fredika wants to explore the country in hopes of inspiring herself to write, but along the way, she wants to help free the slaves. Elena is different from the other girls because she comes from a very rich and proper family, rather than a poor or slaved family. Elena searches for freedom from being “locked up” by her mother and not being able to go outside to do the one thing the girls all have in common. They all like to catch fireflies and set them free. I enjoyed The Firefly Letters because I liked how the author wrote about the lives of three very different girls, and shared with us what was happening to them all at the same time! I would recommend this book because it was insightful and an interesting read.

~Sarah, Teen Book Reviewer

The Overlord Protocol by Mark Walden

In The Overlord Protocol Otto Malpense and his friends are attending H.I.V.E. for their second year, and things go wrong. Otto Malpense is a 14 year old boy who is the main character of this book. He is known to be very smart. His best friend is Wing, and Wing is well-known due to his amazing hand-to-hand combat. When Wing's father dies, Otto and Wing are granted permission to leave campus to attend the funeral. Nero, who is the principal of H.I.V.E, which stands for the Higher Institute of Villainous Education, hires Raven, a professional assassin that makes sure Otto and Wing don't get into trouble. What Otto and Wing don't know know is that one of the members of G.L.O.V.E., which stands for the Global League of Villainous Enterprises, who's name is Cypher, is determined to take Nero's place in the organization. Cypher threatens to kill the students of H.I.V.E. Otto and Raven try to rescue Wing. Cypher believes that Number One is one who has a tendency toward killing other human beings, and one of his projects is called Overlord, which nearly killed both Nero and himself.

I would recommend this book to people who like to read books full of action and suspense. This book kept me so entertained, I finished it in four sittings. Also, this book is part of a series, so people who like to read books from a series will want to read this book.

~Carson, Teen Book Reviewer

Fire In The Sky: Seekers Book 5 by Erin Hunter

Fire in the Sky is about four bears who must go on a perilous quest to save the wild. These bears names are Lusa, Toklo, Kallik, and Ujurak. They have been following the Pathway Star throughout their whole journey, but now it is directly overhead, and they have reached the Endless Ice. Ujurak, who was elected as the leader of this quest, decides that they must go onto the ice for the next part of their quest. But there are many dangers on the ice, and the black and brown bears are trying to fight the pull of longsleep, which all black and brown bears do in the wintertime. Kallik must find food and shelter for everybody on the ice, and she soon discovers that it was not the frozen paradise that she had dreamed of. She realizes that she doesn't know where she is leading her friends, and needs Ujurak to tell her the signs that will direct them to their final destination. There is nothing for Lusa, the little black bear, to eat out on the ice, and seal makes her sick. She feels the pull of longsleep the most, and her friends are worried that she might fall asleep and not wake up until spring. Toklo is worried that she might get sick and die, so he tells he others that they must go on without them, because he and Lusa are going back to the mainland. Will they find their way back to the forest, or will they have to turn around and go back to their friends? And most importantly, will they all survive until they've reached their destinations????

I would reccommend this book for animal lovers and teens who like to read about journeys and quests into the unknown. This was a 5 star book; I was left hanging until the very end. Fire In The Sky should be the next book on your "To Read" list!!!

~Catherine, Teen Book Reviewer

Shadoweyes by Ross Campbell

Shadoweyes by Ross Campbell is a graphic novel that takes place in a dark city named Dranac during the year 200X. The city is covered with disease, crime and garbage. Hobos litter the streets. The story is about a teenager named Scout Montana who becomes a strange super strong creature and becomes an inspiring vigilante known as Shadoweyes. And through her acts of justice she slowly becomes a hero. Her life comes to a halt, as it became harder and harder to change back to human form. She becomes separated from society and things aren't as easy as before.

This graphic novel is brilliantly illustrated, but the plot can be hard to believe some times. For instance, she gains her powers from getting hit with a brick. The characters are a bit sketchy too. They are thrown at you, one after another with hardly any information to help the reader know what is going on. Other than that, the novel is decent, however I wouldn’t recommend it to people who want a good story, but to people who want something new.

~Edward, Teen Book Reviewer

The Hunchback Assignment​s by Arthur Slade

I read the book The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade. A guy named Mr.Socrates rescues a child named Modo. Modo's face is deformed and he has a hunchback. Modo can change his ugly face into a normal face. But he can not do this for a long time.He is really ugly, and Mr.Socrates does not let him see the world until he is 14. Modo lives his life seperated from the world as an agent for the Permanent Association.

When Modo is out on the streets in London, he meets Octavia Milkweed. Octavia Milkweed is another Association agent who helps Modo discover the truth about missing children. Their enemies are a mysterious Clockwork Guild and their mad scientist Dr.Hyde. Dr.Hyde wants to transform humans into living robots.Modo and Octavia fight many people in order to discover the terrifying plot against the British government. Octavia and Modo are determined to save their country. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading a book that takes place in the Victorian era.

~Kyle, Teen Book Reviewer

Dark Life by Kat Falls

After the oceans rose and earthquakes occurred causing whole regions to fall into the deep,humans lived packed into stacked cities hardly going outside because sunlight could cause 3rd degree burns. As a result, some people were living on the ocean floors. Ty (the main character) was born and raised in the deep and was angry to hear he might die because pirates and outlaws were stealing their supplies. Can the outlaws be stopped?

I wouldn’t recommend Dark Life to kids under 14 due to difficulty of the language. I would recommend this book for the age range of 15-18. In order to enjoy this book you must like science-fiction and be able to comprehend it. You can pick this book up at your local library.

~John, Teen Book Reviewer

Karma Bites by Stacy Kramer & Valerie Thomas

Karma Bites was an awesome book. I couldn’t put it down. It was really interesting and it kept pulling me into the book. All girls would love this book. Franny’s best friends aren’t talking to her, her parents divorced and her grandmother has moved in. Franny then finds a magic box filled with recipes to fix all problems. But Franny learns that you can’t play with magic or karma and when messed with, it came come back unexpectedly to bite. Most girls have drama and can relate to this book in some way. I was able to relate to this book and many will. I really enjoyed this book and I hope you will to.

~Alex, Teen Book Reviewer

How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford

This is a very creative novel about two people uncovering their identities through their friendship. How to Say Goodbye in Robot, is about Beatrice, a new girl moving to a new town. She experiences many obstacles and surprises when she meets Jonah Tate. As their friendship grows stronger, they uncover their identities as Ghost Boy and Robot Girl through the night show “The Night Light” show. They both have obstacles in their lives, which they fight or solve together. In the end, their friendship becomes a bond that is not breakable. Is their friendship about more than being friends? Read the book to find more about the story. I would recommend this book to teens who like reading about friendship novels. Overall, “How to Say Goodbye in Robot” creates a suspenseful mood that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

~Erem, Teen Book Reviewer