Fall 2006 Authors and Titles

 To Top

Sky Carver begins with a boy who hates the way people in his village expect him to live up to his father's work as a painter. Thomas hates what his father did, but he is stuck as an apprentice to his uncle, a painter. Even though his real talent is carving, no one listens to what he wants to do. He dreams of going away and being apprentice to a carver and changing his name to Carver.

Everything changes when he finds a wand and discovers he can use it! He is sent to be apprentice to a weather mage. On his way, he discovers he has a stalker, a very dirty-mouthed bird mage who is trying to steal the wand. He strikes a deal with the truth-twisting raven and continues onward with his new travel mate. He had promised his town he would come back as soon as he could use the wand to make it rain on their town, for they had been in a drought for quite a while. He changes his name to Carver and begins carving small objects along the road. He travels by foot and boat through many cities. 

Soon he discovers the one and only weather mage known is now dead, so he is forced to search further for a weather mage. Along the way he meets a young man named Fireboy who had rescues him and gives him a ride downriver. They soon find themselves both in trouble and have to be rescued by Raven. They then hear word of a great mage who is said to have mastered all powers.

Can they free themselves and keep going until they find the mage? Or will they get caught and be sent off to farms as runaways? You'll have to read to find out. Sky Carver has greatly detailed characters who have very unique personalities. The characters aren't just some made up fantasy people, so don't be fooled because the genre is fantasy. Fantasy doesn't mean the characters aren't believable. I think Sky Carver is a wonderful book for magic lovers and for people who believe in things like mages. I think people who like Eragon should read Sky Carver.

-Amy Arquilla, Grade 8, Volney Rogers Junior High, Youngstown, OH

 To Top

Singer of Souls is a book about a boy named Douglas who leaves Minnesota for Scotland where his grandma lives to stop his heroin addiction. Once in Scotland, he begins to make money as a guitarist on the streets or, as his grandma calls it, being a busker. While making money at a yearly festival, Doug meets a mysterious woman who gives him powers. These powers enable him to see a whole new world: a dangerous world of old Scotland. Now Doug must figure out how to get out of the mess he’s in before it’s too late. He must use his powers to combat and fight the evil around him.

In my opinion, this was a great book. The story is a little slow at first but picks up soon after Doug receives his powers. Doug changes throughout the book, and this makes for a very interesting time. The book is very fast-paced with a compelling story line that keeps you reading for hours. Kids in high school would enjoy reading the book. I would recommend reading this book as a way to pass the time.

 - Vincent Calautti, Grade 11, Boardman High School, Boardman, OH

 To Top

Jenna MacDonald is on the McNeil Island dock when a little girl falls into the water. She is so used to jumping in the deep end of the pool where she used to live that she doesn’t even think about where she is or what she is about to do—she just jumps in to save the little girl. But when both girls are safely out of the water, Jenna's mom Lynn has something to say about it. Most other parents would have been proud of what Jenna did, but not Lynn, because the McNeil Island dock is where Jenna's dad Bernie lives.

The McNeil Island Corrections Center is the prison where Bernie is at for killing another man. Lynn has a very important rule for her daughter: no matter what, don’t tell anyone about your father! Lynn is upset, because she feels that the wives of criminals are treated like criminals even when they don’t do anything wrong. She’s afraid that if people find out about her husband, she will be kicked out of her paralegal program.

Jenna, her mom, and little brother Zeke have recently moved in with their grandparents, and it hasn't been very easy for them. Jenna just wants to make new friends and tell the truth, but she can't. She feels that without being able to talk about her dad, she can't make friends. Friends always ask questions like “Where is your dad?” and “Why do you live with your grandparents?” She doesn't want to lie, but she also doesn't want to break her mom's rule. In Jenna's eyes, it's hard being An Inmate's Daughter.

I think that this book is very good. It was interesting to read, and I love that it deals with something that a lot of people in America are dealing with: a loved one in jail or prison. Most of the characters are likeable except for Sara. I think that this was a good book that middle or high school kids would like to read, especially if they know someone in prison.

 - Lauren Moss, Grade 11, Youngstown Early College, Youngstown, OH

To Top

Burned by Ellen Hopkins is about a Mormon teenager named Pattyn Scarlett Von Sratten. She is the oldest of seven children. Pattyn lives at home with her alcoholic father, who beats his wife when he drinks. Pattyn doesn't believe in the Mormon ways of life. She doesn't believe that women should only be able to bear children. She also doesn't believe that her father should be able to beat her mother. Patty is always forced to do the dishes, clean the house and take care of her little sisters. She, like her mother, must listen to what her father says.

One of her father’s rules is “no dating”. Well, all of that changes when she meets Derek and she starts to move toward sex. When her father finds out she is about to have sex and that she is getting into trouble in school, he sends Pattyn to live with her Aunt J in Nevada.

What is supposed to be a punishment turns out to be a blessing. In Nevada, Pattyn learns how to love herself and others while finding true love. Pattyn is living in a dream until her nightmare reappears and she finds out that she will be moving back to Cedar City with her family. It is then when Pattyn’s life takes a turn for the worse.

This book is well written and believable. It is very close to real life for some people, and it keeps you hooked until the book is finished. Some of the characters I liked were Pattyn, Jackie, Aunt J, and Ethan, but I really didn't like her father or mother. I didn't like her father because he was an alcoholic and beat his wife, and I didn't like her mother because she never told anyone she was getting beat by her husband. I think this was a great book. The ending me cry. I think that this book would be mostly read by high school students, because they are the ones who would most likely identify with the characters and the problems they face.

-Lauren Moss, Grade 11, Youngstown Early College, Youngstown, OH

To Top

How would you like to have this life: You are the star pitcher on a high school baseball team, and you have the best friend anyone could have, a great new girlfriend, and even a great family that gives you love and support. Well, Mark Warren has that life. Mark’s life is going wonderfully until one day his dad gets horrible news from his doctor. Mark and his dad are out back in the garden when the phone rings, and Mr. Warren finds out he has cancer. It is at this moment that Mark begins to question everything he believes in: his love, God, and even the future. He begins to wish he was in anyone else’s shoes but his own.

I liked this book. It was written in a poem format, which is cool. I think the author gets the point across that no matter what kind of life you have, it is always hard to find out that someone’s become sick. What I especially like about the book is Mark’s relationship with his little sister—before Mr. Warren gets sick, they aren’t that bad to each other, but after he gets sick they never fight. I think that mostly middle school students would like this book.

 - Lauren Moss, Grade 11, Youngstown Early College, Youngstown, OH

To Top

At first there were three: Evie Gomez, Raquel Diaz, and Dee Dee de La Fluente, but the Dee Dee moves to Mexico, leaving two. All three girls have been best friends since they were little, so Dee Dee’s move forces Evie to begin questioning who she is and where she fits in. This is when Evie and Raquel meet Jose, Mondo, and Alex. Raquel begins dating Jose, and all five of them become known as the Flojos because they all constantly wear flojos, or flip flops. Evie convinces everybody that she is a Flojo, but then Dee Dee moves back to Rio Estates, leaving Evies' questions of identity unanswered. Eventually, with the help of Dee Dee, Evie finds out that she is beautiful and learns to flaunt it, even if it means turning into a Sangro. This is when Evie becomes Honey Blonde Chica.

The quality of the book was okay. It is very believable, because a lot of high school students go through the same phrase in life as Evie does. It is a good book, even though it really wasn't all that interesting for me, and I really didn't get into it. I think that mostly high school and middle school girls will read this book.

- Lauren Moss, Grade 11, Youngstown Early College, Youngstown, OH

To Top

I Don’t Want to be Crazy is about author Samantha Schutz’s attempts to deal with her anxiety disorder. Samantha Schutz is a normal senior in high school just like everyone else. She goes to school, has an after-school job, and even a boyfriend. Graduation is coming up soon and she will be off to college, meeting new friends, and learning new things. It will be a new chapter in her life.

When college comes and she moves away to go to school, every thing seems to be the same. She goes to parties with her new friends, drinks, and even hooks up with people. Everything seems normal, until one day while she is in class and she starts to have a panic attack. She doesn’t think anything of it until it starts to happen more often, sometimes a few times every day. So she goes to the school psychologist to see what is happening, and she is diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. She begins to take medicine and goes to a therapist for her problems.

The book is written in a poem format, and it is really well-written. It is funny at some parts and serious at others, so it is well balanced. The author writes about her ways of dealing and not dealing with her disorder. I think that this book would be most enjoyable for high school students, because middle school student probably wouldn’t understand what she was going though.

- Lauren Moss, Grade 11, Youngstown Early College, Youngstown, OH

To Top

Have you ever felt like you are an outcast and that you don’t belong? Well, that is exactly how Cindy Bixby feels all throughout high school. Cindy just wants to be popular and cool, but she constantly gets made fun of and talked about. So when Cindy starts college at Rumson University, she feels like she can pretend to be popular and cool.

That is until she meets her roommate, who has an obsessive eating disorder and leaves her trash all over the room floor. Desperate to make other friends and find a boyfriend, Cindy pledges the sorority Alpha Beta Delta. To Cindy’s surprise, she actually gets pledged in, and during pledge week she makes lots of new friends, Including Meri Sugarman. At first Meri helps Cindy, giving her a makeover, a new haircut, and all new clothes. With all the help from Meri, Cindy meets Keith. That is when Meri lets Cindy see the backstabbing non-friend that she really is. She frames Keith and destroys all of Cindy’s clothes, dreams, and even her grades. Cindy and all her new friends make a plan to haze Meri Sugarman.

I think that this book was okay. It really shows how some girls can be possessive of ex-boyfriends and friends. This book is somewhat believable and is written in the form of Cindy Bixby’s diary. I think that mostly high school students in the 11^th and 12^th grade would like this book. If you like this book, you should check out the Gossip Girls series.

-Lauren Moss, Grade 11, Youngstown Early College, Youngstown, OH

To Top