Title: The Dealer
Author: Robert Muchamore
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Copyright: October 2005
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This second book in the Cherub series was only okay, but not as good as the first one. This series is designed especially for teenage boys who like action adventure. The main character, James Adams, is recruited into a secret agent organization that uses children as operatives. As an adult, this story was an alright read, but I wasn't thrilled with the mixed messages sent to teens in this story about drugs. James goes undercover as an illegal drug delivery person in a sting designed to catch a rather sympathetically portrayed drug lord.

Title: Forever in Blue: The 4th Summer of the Sisterhood
Author: Ann Brashares
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Forever in Blue", the fourth Traveling Pants novel series, continues the lives of Tibby, Carmen, Bridget and Lena as they try to balance love and friendship in their ever expanding lives. As the girls are now in college the themes become more mature.

Title: Gift of Gold
Author: Beverly Butler
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this sequel to "Light a Single Candle", Cathy, now a college student, faces more difficulties as a blind person with a desire to become a speech therapist. In addition to trying to find her place in the world, she's trying to decide which man she'll let find a place in her heart.

Title: Hattie Big Sky
Author: Kirby Larson
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Alone in the world, 16 year old Hattie moves to Montana in 1917 to "prove up" her deceased uncle's homestead claim. Her backbreaking challenges are lightened by several neighbors as she learns the true meaning of home. Akin to the "Little House" series grown-up, this would appeal to any teen reader with an interest in an historical period setting.

Title: The House of the Scorpion
Author: Nancy Farmer
Publisher: Thompson Gale
Copyright: April 2003
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: For readers who enjoy a bit of science fiction mixed with what life would be like if human cloning were possible and drug lords reigned between the US and Mexico to establish some semblance of order. This was an intriguing book.

Title: I Am the Cheese
Author: Robert Cormier
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Reminiscent in tone of Flowers for Algernon, this teen read is a dark look at reality versus nightmare. I highly recommend it.

Title: Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace (Review #1)
Author: MaryJanice Davidson & Anthony Alongi
Publisher: Berkley Trade (JAM imprint)
Copyright: August 2005
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This young adult novel series introduces the reader to Jennifer at a pivotal point in her young life. She has just turned fourteen and discovered a secret that her parents have kept from her too long - she is a weredragon like her father and grandfather. The authors have penned a humorous, yet realistic look of her trials as she tries to cope with her large lizard-like body, its new powers, and the betrayal she feels about her parents' secrets. She isn't given too much time to adjust before she must try her new wings and help her mother find her father before he is killed. This is a book that all ages can enjoy.

Title: Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace (Review #2)
Author: MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi
Publisher: Berkley Publishing
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Jennifer Scales is full of teen-aged angst and then some; particularly after finding out that she is a weredragon. I picked this book up after reading Venus’ review and was thrilled to see such a delightful teen tale written by the only paranormal romance writer I enjoy reading. Although the series is written for young adults, I bet some “old adults” would find it a fun and engaging read.

Title: Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace (Review #3)
Author: MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
Copyright: August 2005
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Enjoyable series about a teenage girl who finds she can turn into a dragon, and the misadventures she gets into trying to come to terms with this ability. She learns that the world is a much stranger place than she ever thought it was.

Title: Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace (Review #4)
Author: MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
Copyright: August 2005
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Teen fantasy series. Move over, "teenage werewolf," here comes "I was a teenage weredragon." Great read. I definitely look forward to reading more of Jennifer's adventures. She's got the attitude, AND she breathes fire! Look out, world, this sassy shapeshifter is just getting started!

Title: Jennifer Scales and the Messenger of Light (Review #1)
Author: MaryJanice Davidson & Anthony Alongi
Publisher: Berkley Publishing
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the second Jennifer Scales series book written by the husband and wife team, and what a mystery this team weaves for young adults!  Full of were-dragons, were-spiders and warriors sans the horror normally found in books of this genre.  Jennifer and friends are dealing with normal adolescent problems common among most teens.  Throw in some very unique anthropomorphic changes and you wonder just how they hold it together.  The story focuses on maintaining friendships regardless of the dramatic personal differences that try to tear this group apart.  Also, it is great to see Jennifer find common ground between her diverse parents.  Anyone, regardless of age, who appreciates a good lycanthrope story, will enjoy these books.

Title: Jennifer Scales and the Messenger of Light (Review #2)
Author: MaryJanice Davidson & Anthony Alongi
Publisher: Berkley Jam Books
Copyright: June 2006
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The second in the Jennifer Scales series is also a very good read. At first I found the somewhat soap-opera-ish plot to be a bit much even for a fantasy, but once I accepted the drama I thoroughly enjoyed it. This series is marketed for teens but is a good read for adults as well. Jennifer is being trained in her mother's heritage and struggling with friend and family relationships, while trying to avoid being killed. Who says teenagers have it easy?! Especially half-weredragon teenagers facing a lot of secrets. I look forward to the third book!

Title: Jinx
Author: Meg Cabot
Publisher: HarperTeen
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Sixteen-year-old Jean Honeychurch finds herself living with relatives in Manhattan after a prankish spell went awry, forcing her to leave her Iowa home. Nicknamed Jinx by the attending physician at her birth, Jinx believes she has had nothing but bad luck all her life. When Jinx arrives in Manhattan, she finds her cousin has radically changed, believing she inherited magic powers from their ancestor and tries to force Jinx to join her high school coven. When Jinx falls in love with the neighbor boy her cousin has a crush on, her cousin takes to revenge. However, only one woman per generation actually inherits magical powers and the story takes on a ‘good witch,’ ‘evil witch’ until the true witch emerges. Meg Cabot is one of the best tween/teen writers being published today. The stories are contemporary, and always seem to appeal to young women and this new entry is a delightful addition!

Title: Light a Single Candle
Author: Beverly Butler
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This story is about Cathy, a 14 year old who goes blind and must learn how to adjust. After awhile, she gets a German Shepherd guide dog, Trudy, and attends public high school. The author of this novel was blind herself and therefore well able to express the friendship difficulties that Cathy experiences. There is a sequel, "Gift of Gold."

Title: Maximum Security
Author: Robert Muchamore
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Copyright: June 2006
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: #3 in the Cherub series. This time young teen James Adams goes undercover in a juvenile prison to engineer a prison break for the son of a most-wanted criminal, as bait for the big fish. His sister Lauren, also an agent, joins him for the first time on this mission. This story had a more exciting and intense plot than the 2nd one, but still I feel my enthusiasm for this series dimming. The violence and harshness encountered by the children as part of their missions bothers me because children shouldn't be expected to deal with adult complexities. The fact that "survival of the fittest and toughest" is presented as admirable and necessary is also disturbing to me. I just don't think these stories send the best messages to kids. However, this story might help to "scare straight" anybody on a cross course with the law: the depiction of the juvenile prison should make anyone reconsider ending up there. Okay one-time read overall, but definitely not a favorite.

Title: Missing You:  1-800-Where-R-You ____
Author: Meg Cabot
Publisher: HarperTempest
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The fifth and final installment from the 1-800-Where-R-You series and the first of these books released without the author’s alias, Jenny Carroll.  Jessica Mastriani is all grown up, attending Juilliard after spending a year in Afghanistan “finding” things for the government.  She has lost her powers as the “Lightening Girl” to find missing persons due to a severe case of PTSD.  Life is just getting back to normal when her old boyfriend finds her in NYC and needs her help to find his lost sister.  This book is a fantastic finale to great young adult series. 

Title: Orfe
Author: Cyntha Voigt
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Copyright: January 2002
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: At a young age, Enny becomes friends with Orfe, a strange and yet talented girl. The two part ways only to meet up once they are in college. Orfe has become a trouble artist trying to make her claim in the music industry and Enny has offered to be Orfe's manager. Many decisions later, this novel leaves you feeling empty and thinking that had you skipped right to the end, you might have saved yourself from the most painful parts of this sad tale. This was not one of Voigt's finest.

Title: SERIES - The Mars Diaries
Author: Sigumund Brouwer
Publisher: Tyndale Kids
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In the year 2039, Tyce Sanders, a 14-year-old virtual reality specialist and atheist, finds life at the experimental Mars community difficult. As he explores his strange surroundings, he finds the mysteries of the red planet point to his greatest discovery-a relationship with God. This series is a Christian science fiction for teens.

Title: SERIES - Norby Chronicles
Author: Janet Asimov & Isaac Asimov
Publisher: Various
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A series of short science fiction novels for young teens. These are the delightful adventures of fourteen years old Jeff Wells, a Space Academy cadet and Norby, his second-hand robot with unusual abilities. Enjoyable reads for preteens on up to adults. Fun!

Title: SERIES - Regeneration
Author: L. J. Singleton
Publisher: Various
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A series about five teens created in a secret cloning experiment on a mysterious yacht. Something went wrong and now one of the doctors is trying to kill off each clone. An enjoyable read but never really given a satisfactory ending. Written for young teens.

Title: The Silver Moon Elm
Author: MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi
Publisher: Berkley Jam
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I love this series and this third installment does not disappoint.  Jennifer, weredragon/beaststalker, has to rely on her newly discovered skills as the Ancient Furnace to survive the onslaught of a universe filled with were-spiders.  The adventures of Jennifer and her growing circle of unlikely friends will entertain any one who loves a witty, fast-pasted adventure involving unusual lycanthropes.  Although I love Davidson’s charming and witty writing in most of her series, her characters can be quite dimwitted at times.  That is not the case in this series and the skill at weaving this tale most likely relies on her husband Anthony Alongi’s contribution.

Title: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Author: Ann Brashares
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the first in a fiction series (3 so far) of stories involving four teenage girls whose lives are forever connected. Teens, moms and grand moms would enjoy this series.

Title: Things Not Seen
Author: Andrew Clements
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: 15 year old Bobby wakes up and finds himself invisible. This
entertaining book continues with Bobby and his family searching to find out why. In the ensuing time he meets a blind teenage girl. They both struggle to overcome their respective conditions. Written in the first person, with humor, the story is well done and appeals to more than just its teenage audience

Title: ttyl
Author: Lauren Myracle
Publisher: Amulet Books/Harry Abrams, Inc.
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: If they were giving an award for shallow stories, this book should win. Three teenage girls instant message each other, which in this case makes for the kind of reading that kills off brain cells. Recommended only for masochists and "blondes."