Riddle of Keys

Fablehaven
by Brandon Mull
Middle Grade Novel, $5.99
Published by Simon & Schuster
Ages 9+

Kendra and Seth go to Grandma and Grandpa Sorensen's house while their parents are on a Caribbean cruise. They soon find out that their grandparents live on and keep an ancient magical preserve. They find this out through a riddle of keys and magic milk from a giant cow. Soon a witch breaks out of her hold and tries to take over the whole preserve! Will Seth and Kendra be able to help? Will the whole preserve fall? Join Brandon Mull in his amazing adventure, Fablehaven.

Reviewed by Ethan (Age 10)

He Becomes Her Eyes

A Corner of the Universe
by Ann M. Martin
Middle Grade Novel, $5.99
Published by Scholastic Inc.
Ages 11+

A Corner of the Universe is about a girl named Hattie in the early 1960s. She meets her uncle who has autism. Adam had been kept a secret from Hattie, because their grandparents found him disgraceful to their prim and proper family. Hattie becomes his only friend and he, in turn, becomes her eyes as he shows her a different corner of the universe.

Reviewed by Maggie (Age 12)

Journey into the Gruesome World of Vampires

Cirque du Freak
by Darren Shan
Young Adult Novel
Published by Little Brown
Ages 10+

When Darren Shan gets mixed up in the world of vampires, his life takes a turn...for the worst! Now Darren Shan is Mr. Crepsley's assistant. Mr. Crepsley is the vampire who made Darren a vampire. To become a vampire, your blood has to be tested. If you have good blood, a vampire can pump blood into you, through cuts they make by their sharp fingernails. You become a half-vampire. Darren has to either get used to being a half-vampire, or get murdered by the vampanese, a vampire's worst enemy. Join Darren on his journey into the gruesome world of vampires and vampanese.

Reviewed by Walter (Age 10)

READ Interview with the Author, "Why Vampires?"

Hairier Than Average Feet

The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Young Adult Novel, $11.99
Published by Houghton Mifflin
Ages 11+

I've recently read The Hobbit, a classic novel by J.R.R Tolkien. It's a story about a hobbit (small, plump beings with hairier than average feet) named Bilbo. One day, a wizard named Gandalf appears on his doorstep and lures him into coming on an adventure. (You see, hobbits are the kind of folk who would prefer to live in the same house and tend the same field all their life, and would rather jump off a bridge than suffer the public embarrassment of going on an adventure). So Bilbo ends up traveling far across Middle Earth, the fantastic world Tolkien has created, where he battles dragons, giant spiders, trolls, and meets all sorts of strange creatures.

The Hobbit is a great book for anyone who's around 11 or older, due to the length of the book and the small print. I highly recommend it!

Reviewed by from Graeme (Age 14)

WATCH interview with Tolkien

Genius & Savoir-Faire

I Smell A Pop Quiz!, a compilation of “Big Nate” comic strips by Lincoln Peirce, starts with 11-year-old Nate Wright suffering through the waning days of summer vacation, dreading the start of another school year. By the end of his first day at P.S. 38, he’s in detention. And that’s the way the year goes: his genius and savoir-faire go unappreciated, except by Big Nate himself.

At school, he’s pitted against mean Mrs. Godfrey, bombastic Coach John, and Chester, the short-tempered pituitary case. At home, embarrassing Dad is handing out dried apricots at Halloween. But sometimes Nate can chalk up a victory. He’s a pretty good chess player (though not as good as Artur) and a pretty good soccer goalie. He’s a pretty good kid, too--in his own way. Fans of “Big Nate” identify with the storylines and characters according to their own ages and tastes and life experiences. I have a soft spot in my heart for Mr. Rosa, the long-suffering art teacher and chess team adviser.

I Smell A Pop Quiz! ends with Big Nate on summer vacation again, trying to get his beloved Jenny--finally!--to give him the time of day.

“It’s one-thirty,” she says. “Time for you to get out of my face.”

Reading this “Big Nate” book is--believe it or not--more fun than reading the daily comic strip because the book format gives us time to linger in Big Nate’s world. Instead of a quick visit over the breakfast table, we get to spend as much time as we want with Nate, Francis, Teddy, Gina, Spitsy, School Picture Guy, and all the other funny “Big Nate” characters created by Lincoln Peirce. It’s time well spent.

Reviewed by Brian Daly (Age Less)

SHOP for Cool Big Nate Merch !
READ fun interview with Lincoln Peirce

Strange Tendency to Steal Books

The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
Young Adult Novel, $11.99
Published by Random House
Ages 12+

This is a love story, a sob story, a story of hope, a story of dark. Set in Nazi Germany and narrated by Death, it tells the story of a young German girl named Liesel. Liesel is sent to live with a foster family.

Meanwhile, the war gets closer and closer to where they live. Having a strange tendency to steal books, this is the story of Liesel's coping with her no-nonsense mother, her gentle foster father, and the flourishing relationship between a young boy named Rudy, constantly seeking a kiss from his good friend.

However, perhaps the German family don't exactly conform to their surroundings. They boldly decide to hide a Jewish man in their basement. An awkward greeting between the Jewish Max and Liesel turns into a friendship. There is no way to be neutral about this book - people either love it or not.

Reviewed by Ali (Age 13)

UNBEARABLY Hard to Put Down

The Book of a Thousand Days
By Shannon Hale
Young Adult Novel, $16.95
Published by Bloomsbury
Ages 11+

Everyone has been raving about it, so I decided to try it, and I'm so glad I did! That book is an actual page turner. No joke. Dashti, a ladies maid, is ordered to stay locked with her lady in a tower for seven years. After their brilliant escape, Dashti realizes that she isn't meant to serve her lady and finds that she has some inner feelings that are hard to control... and maybe those feelings are for the wrong person...

In the beginning you may find this book to be a little slow, you might even think I'm insane to call it a magnificent book, but keep reading!!! This story is completely turned upside down and around with the second half being UNBEARABLY hard to put down. You'll fall in love with brave Dashti and this ingenious plot.

Reviewed by Deanna (Age 14)

HALE'S website is a must read after closing the last pages.

2% Bird, 98% Human

Maximum Ride
By James Patterson
Young Adult Novel, $7.99
Published by Little Brown
Ages 12+

The book is about a group of six kids--Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel. They are 2% bird and 98% human. The book tells about their adventures, and how they escape from police and people that want to put then through more experiments.

Reviewed by Lexi (Age 13)

Future of Mankind

Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
Young Adult Novel, $13.95
Published by HarperCollins Publishers
Ages 13+

Brave New World is in my top 5 favorite books of all time. The author predicts the future of mankind and the superficial reality of it. Nobody experiences pain or loneliness because they all use sex and drugs to numb their feelings. A young "couple" (they aren't really a couple because polygamy is practiced by everyone) is visiting a reservation for people who do not wish to practice the methods of happiness the rest of the world does. They encounter a savage who is the actual child (an embarrassment to the parents because everyone ís polygamous and born in a test tube) of the Director, a politician. They bring him back. He destroys the reputation of his farther inadvertently, yet he is disgusted in the lack of courage by the citizens of the World State.

I recommend this to kids who liked The Giver, but are ready for something older.

Reviewed by Jake (Age 14)

Launched Across the Galaxy

The Pendragon Series
By D.J. MacHale
Middle Grade Novels, $7.99
Published by Simon & Schuster
Ages 10-16

I’m reviewing the Pendragon series. I’ve read all nine and am awaiting the next. Fifteen year old Bobby Pendragon is a normal kid who plays a lot of sports. He had a perfect life until his uncle Press came along and launches him across the galaxy to save another territory (which is like a world). It’s full of suspense and surprises and is about good against evil.

Reviewed by Carter (Age 12)

Kind of Like in Harry Potter

The Ruins of Gorlan
(Ranger's Apprentice Series #1)
By John Flanagan
Young Adult Novel, $7.99
Published by Penguin USA
Ages 12-16

I’m reading the Ranger’s Apprentice. It’s kind of like in Harry Potter, the main character, Will, gets dropped off at Redmont Castle. His father died a hero, his mother died in childbirth. When Will turns fifteen he applies for battle school, but is turned down. In a strange turn of events, he’s picked to be the ranger’s apprentice. You don’t know what is going happen next. Definitely a good read.

Reviewed by Eli (Age 12)

The Year of Ms. Meyer

Twilight is about a teenage girl named Bella, who meets a curious, yet beautiful, boy. The many secrets that flutter about the boy and his family separate them from everyone else. Bella is "unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him," though, even after she finds out that he is a vampire, thirsting for her blood.

Reviewed by Chapin (Age 12)

I read Host by Stephanie Meyer. It's not as gushy as Twilight and it's not about vampires. It is similar in that non-human entities are challenging the humans' way of life. But otherwise, it's a totally different story. There's a hidden love story in it, but it's an adventure story too. Melanie Strider is fighting against the "soul" that is trying to take her body over, at that same time as that "soul" is warming up to her and going against its own mission. The souls think their mission is for the good of all humanity. But is it?

Reviewed by Nina (Age 13)