A New Spring: The Graphic Novel by Robert Jordan

I found the graphic novel version of the Wheel of Time: A New Spring to be both intriguing and interesting. However, if you are like me and prefer detail and background in books, then I wouldn't suggest this. I was only able to make sense of it because I had read the actual novel before. It skipped over the parts they weren't able to put into dialogue boxes and pictures and even I began to get confused. I did enjoy the pictures though. They were well done and portrayed the characters as I saw them. Another thing I enjoyed was small tidbits that were there that are part if its prequels. Overall this is a good graphic novel to pick, for it shows the plot, however it may not be for everyone.

Reviewed by Megan.

Hidden by Helen Frost

The girls meet at camp purely by chance. But they've met before; Darra's father stole a car with Wren in the back seat, unbeknownst to Darra's father. Wren and Darra have to confront their mutual secrets, but how?

PG for some intense scenes. I really enjoyed the book and couldn't put it down. This is a fairly short read, but good. I would recommend it to those who like books in verse or realistic fiction.

Reviewed by Colleen.

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

The story follows a young boy, Ian Drake, and the librarian, Lucy Hull, he kidnaps. On a crazy road trip they go, encountering such things as ferrets, a crazy boyfriend, the Australian national anthem, and numerous members of the local Russian mafia.

I really enjoyed this book and I could hardly put it down. PG for some suggestive theme including talk of gays and trying to change their orientation. I would recommend it for those who like realistic fiction and comedy.

Reviewed by Colleen.
Reviewed from an advanced reader copy.

Shimmer by Alyson Noel

The novel Shimmer written by Alyson Noel is about a ghost girl named Riley, her dog Buttercup - also a ghost - and Bodhi, Riley's guide in the Here and Now realm. In Here and Now, Riley's job is to coax other lingering ghosts over the bridge into the Here and Now world where all ghosts go after their living body has died. After Riley coaxes over her first ghost she, Bodhi, and Buttercup are allowed a vacation by the council. It's on St. Johns Island where Riley meets a ghost girl named Rebecca and decides to cross her over to Here and Now, but Rebecca won't go without a fight. Rebecca died in a slave revolt back in 1733 and is so angered that she keeps all of the ghosts that died with her trapped and unable to move on to Here and Now. To get Rebecca to let go of the past Riley must team up with one of Rebecca's slaves, an African prince taken from his home. It takes a while but Riley is finally able to convince Rebecca to cross the bridge into Here and Now and to let all of the slaves go.

Alyson Noel's sequel to Radiance was a perfect follow up. Riley was an exciting character that knew what she wanted but did not know how to get it. Alyson Noel knew exactly what she was doing and knows how to make her readers want more.

The Yo-Yo Prophet by Karen Krossing

The novel The Yo-Yo Prophet written by Karen Krossing is about Calvin, a high school yo-yo fanatic. His mother died, his grandmother is sick and getting worse every day, and his father ran out on them years ago. Calvin's only relief in life is taking out a yo-yo and practicing as many tricks as possible. Calvin takes up performing on the streets and people immediately love him. He takes up the name the Yo-Yo Prophet and things start going well in life for a change. Then tragedy strikes. Calvin's grandmother sells the family laundromat along with the house and now they must find themselves a new place to live. Calvin's street performing isn't going so good either. Since his predictions are not coming true people stop watching his shows. Calvin must somehow find a way to save his performances and his frayed family.

Altogether, The Yo-Yo Prophet was a phenomenal book and the ending just warms your heart. Calvin is a character many people can relate to and Karen Krossing really knows how to bring readers in. Good job!

Reviewed by Hannah.
Reviewed from an advanced reader copy.

Bongo Fishing by Thacher Hurd

In Bongo Fishing 11 year old Max meets a couple of extraterrestrials, but not your normal extraterrestrials. In a surprising twist they are pretty much short, blue grandparents. In this humorous book for kids, Max goes on a space fishing trip, has to help his alien friends get off earth when they have UFO problems and save his friend from a psychopathic therapist, all in the span of a few months.

Bongo Fishing is a great book for children. With its humorous and creative explanation of things in space and aliens, this book is a delight to read. But like I said this book will probably be more appealing to a younger demographic. While I found it pretty funny at times it was pretty childish (though in a good way). So overall for older kids this book is probably a 2 maybe 2.5 stars. But for kids it's 4.5 to 5 stars.

Reviewed by Josh.

Spellbound: The Books of Elsewhere, Volume 2 by Jacqueline West

I listened to "Spellbound: The Books of Elsewhere, Volume 2" by Jacqueline West, read by Lexi Fridell. It was really good. It is a fantasy/fiction. The book was about a girl named Olive Demwitty. Her parents were mathematicians and they taught at a college. Her parents Alec and Alice Demwitty were very odd. when Mr. Demwitty mowed the grass he left the lawnmower out for 3 or 4 days afterwords. Her mother, Mrs. Demwitty, had a habit of leaving groceries on the top of her car and when she drove away onions and oranges came toppling off the car.

Olive's friend Morton was stuck inside of a painting. Olive really wanted to get Morton out. The house she lives in used to belong to a family with the last name of McMartin. Mr. McMartin was a painter and painted enchanted paintings. They left all their paintings in the house, their three talking cats, and a pair of thick spectacles. Olive had found Annabelle McMartin's locket in a lake while trying to be drowned by Annabelle. Olive really tries to get Morton out. How do you think she'll do it? If you'd like to know, read or listen to "Spellbound: The Books of Elsewhere" by Jacqueline West read by Lexi Fridell.

Overall, I really liked it. The book was a little bit confusing because when it said that Annabelle McMartin had tried to drown Olive, it never gave a reason. The reader was good, but it was hard to figure out which character was speaking. One word that they said too much was "gangly".

Reviewed by Grace.
Reviewed from an audiobook on CD.

Anya's War by Andrea Alban

Anya's War is set during World War II. The book starts right after Anya moves to China from the Ukraine to escape Hitler because her family is Jewish. One day while riding her bike home she finds a baby in the gutter. Anya, with the help of her brother and the cook, search for the lost baby's family. During the search Anya goes through many things and becomes more responsible and grown up.

This book is about Anya's trying times and her emotional and family stress. I loved this book because I liked how realistic it was. I loved the characters, especially Anya and Li Mei, because they are nice and funny. I enjoyed reading this book. I think the author did a splendid job and shouldn't change a thing. I would recommend this book to kids ages 12 and up.

Reviewed by Shannen.

Lemonade and Other Poems Squeezed From a Single Word by Bob Raczka, illustrated by Nancy Doniger

Lemonade and Other Poems Squeezed From a Single Word is a short book, but I found it a little confusing and hard to read. It is not my favorite book. The pictures were in black, white and red. They could have been more colorful. The book was a little boring.

One of the poems goes like this, but the letters are more spread out and staggered in the book:

A

S I

L

E

N T


L ION

TELL


S


A N

A


N

C
I

E

N T


T

A

L

E


That means: " A silent lion tells an ancient tale"

It is very confusing and hard to read!



Reviewed by Shannen.

Shutout by Brendan Halpin

Shutout is a book about a girl named Amanda who is starting her first year of high school. Amanda and her best friend Lena have been best friends for years. Both friends love soccer and try out for the high school team. But when Lena makes the varsity soccer team and Amanda only makes junior varsity, Lena starts to get more popular than Amanda. Amanda starts to feel shutout of her friend's life and even gets in trouble to try to keep her friend. Will her friendship with Lena survive or will Amanda start to make new friends?

I really liked this book because it's interesting to see how someone's life can change so much in so little time and to see how Amanda deals with it all.

Reviewed by Morgan.

His Shoes Were Far Too Tight by Edward Lear; masterminded by Daniel Pinkwater; illustrated by Calef Brown

His Shoes Were Far Too Tight by Edward Lear, masterminded by Daniel Pinkwater and illustrated by Calef Brown was a funny book of poems. One of my favorites was called "Nonsense Alphabet". It is about letters of the alphabet and an animal, person, or thing that represents them.

The illustrations in this book are good and on a scale of 1 - 10, I would say 9. This book isn't a story. It's a collection of poems kids would like.

Reviewed by Grace.

Legacies by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill

The novel Legacies by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill is an enticing novel about a young teenage girl named Spirit who loses her family in a terrible car accident. It was a miracle that she had even lived. When spirit is transferred to Oakhurst Academy - a boarding school for orphans - she figures out that this is no ordinary orphanage, including the students, who are far from ordinary. All the students there are Legacies, children who have special powers relating to a certain element. When spirit and her friends figure out that something strange is happening that could endanger the future of all the students at the academy, they plot and plan, then fight to the death. This novel is extremely exciting, with a nice twist on the supernatural world.

Reviewed by Kera.
Reviewed from an advanced reader copy.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Legacies by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill is overall a good novel. Spirit White, a girl who just had her parents and sister die in a car accident, is called upon by a special school for her unknown talents. This school, Oakhurst, is for children who are legacies of magic. Spirit faces many problems at Oakhurst because she can't do magic and students are mysteriously disappearing. She and her friends try to find out who is behind the horrendous acts. It takes spying, sneaking, and a lot of bravery to defeat the monsters.

I enjoyed this book a lot. The characters had a lot of great qualities which made the book a good read. The mystery behind Oakhurst leaves readers on the edge of their seats and eager to turn the page. However, some aspects of Legacies could have been better. The novel had many minor characters which made the book confusing at times. Overall, Legacies: A Shadow Grail Novel by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill was a good book and is highly recommended to the young adult readers who enjoy fiction and fantasy books about magic.

Reviewed by Kaitlin.
Reviewed from an advanced reader copy.