Book Review: Interview with a Vampire

The Interview with the Vampire 
by Anne Rice

• Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 18, 1997)
• ISBN-10: 0345409647
• ISBN-13: 978-0345409645

Review by Kendall L. 

*This book is Adult Fiction

This book is about a vampire named Louis. He decides to tell his life story to a man. So he tells this guy his life before and after he became a vampire. He faces a lot of obstacles during his vampire life and loses a lot of people he loves because of it. He travels, fights, falls in love, and betrays his creator.

There's not a whole lot to say about this book. He is basically telling about his life story. There's a lot of description and really gets into what life was like back in the 18th and 19th centuries. But of course it's a fictional story, so not everything is true.

I thought the book was okay. It got interesting at some parts, and made me want keep reading without stopping; other times it was just going on with the same subjects and I didn't read it for days. The book was also long to read. I'm a slow reader so it took me a long time to finish it and it seemed to go on forever. But if you like they historical fiction/ sci-fi stuff then it's perfect for you.

Book Review: The Help

The Help

by Kathryn Stockett

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
• Publisher: Berkeley Trade; Mti Rei edition (June 28, 2011)
• ISBN-10: 0425245136
• ISBN-13: 978-0425245132

Review By: Kendall L.  
The Help is a story about Jackson Mississippi in the 1960s. During that time there was still segregation so there was a lot of feelings towards races, black and white. There's 3 main characters, Skeeter ( or Eugenia), Aiblieen, and Minny. 
 
Skeeter, a white woman, just got a degree in English, and was in the hopes of getting a job in New York City in the publishing industry, but was turned down due to lack of experience. Aiblieen is a black maid and works for Skeeter's friend Elizabeth. Minny is also a black maid and Minny's best friend. She has 5 kids and an abusive husband. Minny has a major "sass-mouth" and doesn't know when to keep quiet or stop!
 
These 3 women come to a weird friendship and decided to make a book together , but the laws during the time of the 1960s strained their friendship and forced them to keep quiet about the whole thing, in fear of being tormented or going to jail. People get kicked, beat to death, put to prison, and all in between in this book, but it shows what it was like back then so it makes it really interesting. 
 
This book isn't like your average book with chapters, but each chapter is different perspectives of each of the 3 characters I described above. It shows the struggle for everyday life or just some drama, but it's a really awesome book!!!

Manga Review: Fairy Tail Vol 1

Fairy Tail: Volume 1

By: Hiro Mashima

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
• Publisher: Kodansha Comics (August 28, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 1612622763
• ISBN-13: 978-1612622767

Review by Kendall L. 

 

Lucy is a normal celestial wizard just passing through a normal town when she finds another wizard named Salamander. At first she thinks she has found a powerful wizard, and starts to fall in love with him, but all the sudden some kid named Natsu and his cat Happy interrupted their connection, and found that Salamander was using a spell on her. To show her appreciation to Natsu and his cat, she treats them to lunch, not knowing that Natsu is also a wizard. Besides that, Lucy has always dreamed of joining a wizard guild (a "clan" of wizards that come together through thick and thin and look for assignments to do), and the one she wants to join desperately is a guild called Fairy Tail. When she is fantasizing about joining aloud, Salamander hears this, and uses it to his advantage. He said if Lucy went to him to a party on his yacht that he would let her become part of the Fairy Tail guild, because he was part of it. Now knowing this information, Lucy sucks up her rage for now and agrees to go to the party with him, finally getting to enter the Fairy Tail guild!

 

However, things turn for the worst at the party on the yacht just a few hours later accepting the invite. Lucy figures out that Salamander isn't really who he says he is, and brings women on his yacht to sell them as slaves. She tries to use her celestial keys, but "Salamander" takes them from her and throws them in the ocean. Now defenseless, there's nothing she can do. When all seems lost, a familiar face comes to save her... and it's the real Salamander! So what will happen to Lucy and the real Salamander? Will Lucy join Fairy Tail? You got to read to find out!

Manga Review: One Piece Vol 2

One Piece: Vol. 2 Buggy the Clown 

by: Eiichiro Oda

• • Publisher: VIZ Media LLC (November 19, 2003)
  • ISBN-10: 159116057X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1591160571

Review By: Kendall L. 

*This book is a manga and is rated "T" for teens.

After defeating Captain Morgan and successfully getting Zolo in his pirate crew, Luffy and Zolo went and sailed into the sea, where they find another village in desperate need. There they find a thief named Nami, who hates pirates. Luffy wants her to be on his crew but she refuses. While on another conflict a pirate named Captain Buggy the Clown has seized the village that Luffy was on, and he was destroying anything in his path.

A dog named Chou Chou however guarded a pet food store that his late master owned and would give anything to protect it. As Chou Chou was being beat up by a pirate this stuck with Luffy seeing that the dog was trying to protect the only thing he had left and came to the dog's aid. Nami saw this and thought maybe some pirates are good, but she still didn't like him. After defeating some more enemies Luffy finally came 1 on 1 with Captain Buggy and Buggy told him something that but his brain into shock...

The series keeps on getting better as I read on, and this one had a cliff hanger! So I don't know what's going to happen next (I wish I did know though) but I bet there's going to be lots of drama and fights!!!

Manga Review: One Piece vol 1

One Piece: Vol. 1 Romance Dawn 
story and art by Eiichiro Oda

• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC (July 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569319014
• ISBN-13: 978-1569319017
• Review by Kendall L.
• 
  
• *This story is a manga book that's rated "T" for teens.
   
  Monkey D. Luffy is a little boy in the beginning of the book who inspires to be a great pirate one day. His older pirate friend, Captain "Red-Haired" Shanks, saves him from a bunch of mountain bandits and a sea monster and Luffy swears to be just like him one day, or greater. But there's a complication, Luffy doesn't know how to swim (which he was going to learn eventually) and then he accidently eats a devil fruit which gives him a special power but takes away the ability to swim. Despite this setback luffy left his home 10 years later in search of a crew to be the "king of pirates". 
   
  But his adventure at sea is cut short when he gets sucked into a huge whirlpool and ends up at a island which he finds other pirates on, and not the good kind. But he eventually gets off that island and travels onto another island, after getting another boat, where the Navy was stationed. Along with the Navy their was a strange vibe to Luffy about the villagers living there that they were scared, and Luffy wanted to find out what. Turns out a infamous swordsman who is also a pirate bounty hunter, named Roronoa Zolo, was being imprisoned there and a evil captain, Captain Morgan, was controlling the village and killing anyone who defied him. 
   
  I thought this was a very funny and action-packed book. It's almost like an anime Pirates of the Caribbean (but of course the adventures are different)!!! 

Book Review: Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust

Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust

by: Allan Zullo and Mara Bovsun

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (March 1, 2005)
• ISBN-10: 0439669960
• ISBN-13: 978-0439669962

Reviewed by: Kendall L.

*I recommend this book being read by ages 13 and up

 

Everyone has heard of World War II and of course the gruesome Holocaust. You learned about it in your world history class and how awful and tragic it was, but is it all true? Sure Holocaust survivors have told numerous people about their experience, but have they ever thought about the children who survived? It may seem hard to believe but just as adults have survived, children did too. This book goes through the life of 8 young children's lives before, during, and after this great tragedy. Moving from one depressing story to the next, then to rejoicing and happiness for the people in the book, it will open your eyes to the TRUE Holocaust.

 

Not to mention it's not all that much to read (just about 200 pages), it goes into depth what these children went through. Seeing people getting gassed in the chambers, starving to death from lack of food, suffering from lice and disease, these kids stuck through it all and which practically forced them to grow up pretty quick... or die young. I suppose you can call this a biography, but it's not a boring one that's for sure. It's a great view from the past and can teach you a lot about it. So check it out in your library if they have it or get it online, either way it'll be a great book!

Book Review: Dengeki Daisy vol 1

Dengeki Daisy, Vol. 1 

By Kyousuke Motomi (Author, Illustrator)

• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
• ISBN-10: 1421537273
• ISBN-13: 978-1421537276

Review by Anneliese G. 

This story follows a teenage girl named Teru who lost her brother and parents at a young age. Before her brother died, he gave her a cell phone and told her that if she was ever in trouble or just plain old sad, to contact someone named Daisy. Ever since then, Teru has spoken to Daisy more often than not. It seems as if though she has fallen in love with Daisy. Anyways, in high school, Teru is constantly getting bullied for being poor by the rich student council. Teru accidentally broke a window when someone saved her from the council by throwing tennis balls at them; Teru threw one tennis ball back at the savior, in attempting to return it to whomever it was. But to no avail. The next day, she walks into class and sees the school janitor sitting on top of someone's desk. He suddenly ask the person who broke the window to step forward. Teru tells him that it was her and then the janitor, whom we find out his name is Kurosaki, says she must pay off the damages with her body, meaning she must work for him. But why does it seem like he is always coming to her rescue? Could he be 'Daisy'?

Book Review: Blank Confession

• Blank Confession

  By Pete Hautman
• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• ISBN-10: 1416913289
• ISBN-13: 978-1416913283

Review by Anneliese G.

This book was AMAZING!

It is all about a group of people all caught up in the wrong situation. George Rawls is the detective that gets involved in the murder case involving Shayne Blank. Shayne Blank is the mysterious new kid at school who is brave and stands up for people. Then there is Mikey Martin, the short little Mexican-looking kid who isn't Mexican. Mikey is a loud-mouth sarcastic guy who quickly befriends the weird Shayne. Mikey's sister is, unfortunately, dating the Wellstone's school drug dealer Jon. Jon gets Mikey in some trouble and then Mikey owes him some money; which Mikey doesn't have. This leads to Shayne in an interrogation room with George claiming he murdered someone, but who?

Hunger Games Book to Movie Review: Warning Contains Spoilers

One of our Teen Advisory Group members wrote a review comparing the movie Hunger Games to the book. What was your take on the movie?




Slight Spoiler Warning
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
review by Kendall L.


The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is about a girl named Katniss Everdeen in a futuristic society with districts of Panem and their capitol. Every year they have a tournament called the Hunger Games. Each district has to give one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 and one boy to fight to the death with others from other districts. This year is her sister's first time going into the "reaping"(which is how the determine who is going into the games), and out of a million,on her first time joining the reaping, she gets chosen. Of course Katniss volunteers to take her place, and now she has to compete with 23 other people to return to her home in District 12.
 
The book was more in depth with descriptions and how everything "flowed" together compared to the movie, which left out a lot of things and had false information. In the book when Rue died ( a girl from District 11) she was in a net when Marvel ( a boy from District 1) shot a spear into her stomach, while in the the movie Katniss almost saved her when Marvel shot her. Also in the movie Rue pulled out the spear out of her stomach, and in the book her and Katniss left it. 
 
The book and the movie maybe slightly different but other than a few more mistakes it was a good movie. It was full of passion, action, and blood!!! But if you haven't read or watched it, I would recommend reading it first, then watching. Its just better imagining in your mind what everything looks like, then seeing what others think of it too. But they were both excellent and I would read and watch it over again!!!
 

Review: Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; Reprint edition (July 3, 2010)
• ISBN-13: 978-0439023528
• Review by Kendall L.
• The Hunger Games is a book of strategy, suspense, and action starring the main character, Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is an average 16 year-old girl living since birth in District 12. Every year the Capitol (the "control group") has a tournament called the Hunger Games (two children from each district have to compete in an organized fight and must kill to literally save their lives) and this year Katniss has to go. She enters with her opponent, Peeta Mellark, and something happens that no one ever expects...
• I really enjoyed this book. It was full of description, lots of drama, and all that fighting stuff that we teenagers like to see in a book. We crave for these kinds of books because it's appealing to the eye, which is almost like the vampire books everyone reads now, but luckily not vampires this time! There’s a cliff hanger at almost every chapter so it makes you want to read more. For example, the first time I read this book, it literally took me three days to finish it (including school in between)!!! 
• Day and night, this makes for a great escape when you want to get away from something, or just snuggle down with a good book, either way it's truly a fantastic book. In the end, I definitely recommend this book.

Graphic Novel Review: My Boyfriend is a Monster Series

My Boyfriend is a Monster 

graphic novel series published by Graphic Universe

Volume 3: MyBoyfriend Bites

by Dan Jolley  illustrated by Alitha E. Martinez 

ISBN 978-0761370789

Volume 4: Under his Spell

by Marie P. Croall, illustrated by Hyeondo Park

ISBN 978-0761370765

Review by Matthew M. 

The My Boyfriend is a Monster series is an anthology, with each story being standalone, but the basic concept is used for each story. Following a Twilight-style plot, these high school girls Vanessa Shingle (Vol. 3) and Bethany Farmer (Vol. 4) are attracted to Jean-Paul McClellan and Allein, a vampire and a faerie respectively. Afterwards, it turns out that the monsters are going up against other monsters from their worlds. The monster and the girl then team up and take down the other monsters. That’s the basic idea for each story. While it does sound like it borrows from Twilight (I haven’t read Twilight), the stories do belong to the genre of high school romance monster action. The romance parts goes as much as you would expect, with the girls’ being curious about the guys, then finding out, then spend time with each other, the way each story is told is different. Vanessa’s story is different form Bethany’s, with how they are personality wise, and how they deal with the monsters they meet. Besides the romance, there’s plenty of high school wit that won’t exactly make you laugh, but is somewhat clever and gets your attention.

            As comic books, the art is decent. Done in B&W, with a few color pages, the art get’s the job done. The fight scenes are handle well, be it in a classroom or another dimension. The characters are drawn with some detail, even several minor characters, so everyone can be kept track of. With each book being over 100 pages, they can be read in one sitting, or spread out. Handling the concept of teen girls dating monsters with some quality, and decent artwork, the books can only be recommended for comic fans. You don’t have to be a fan of monster romance series to enjoy it. 3/5.

Book Review: Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (March 29, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312624670
• ISBN-13: 978-0312624675
• --publisher info via Amazon.com
• 
  

Reviewed by Anneliese G.

Witches, werewolves, vampires and faeries! Oh my! Not to mention ghosts that continue to haunt you every second of the day and three guys who seem to hold some part of your heart. Kylie Galen, the main character, is a strong and kind person who is very honest. Despite this, she is faced with many hardships. Her parents divorcing, getting sent to a camp that was supposed to be for the delinquent-like kids that is actually filled to the brim with mythological creatures that shouldn’t exist, dealing with an ex-boyfriend who wants her back, a pregnant best friend who doesn’t know who the father is, finding out what she is, and dealing with a werewolf from her past and a faerie who reminds her of her old boyfriend. What more could go wrong? In Shadow Falls Camp, everything is not what it seems. For two months, the love triangle between Lucas, the werewolf of Kylie’s past, and Derek, the faerie who doesn’t want his powers, and Kylie Galen, the girl who doesn’t want to be there and doesn’t want to accept that she might be something more than human, rages on and has no sure point as to where it might lead. This was a very good read that I would recommend to every Twilight lover and to anyone who loves paranormal with a little side-serving of romance.

Book Review: The Shattering

The Shattering 

by Karen Healey

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (September 5, 2011)
• ISBN: 978-0316125727

Reviewed by Leah S. 

The Shattering was a magnificently written book though I would not recommend it to any child under the age of eleven due to explicit language and material used throughout the book.  Karen Healey helped to portray the reality, despair, and frustration of the situation that the main characters were in by using the tone that many teens can relate to today.  This tone made the book an easy and relatable read.  With each chapter narrated by alternating characters, the reader will be able to connect to the way the characters portray themselves and really delve into their personality traits.  Keri, Sione, and Janna (extremely different from one another but all have one thing in common) had each lost their older brother due to apparent suicides. However, when they start to put the puzzle pieces of the suicides together and discover a pattern; they come to the conclusion that their brothers did not commit suicide-- they were murdered.  Throughout the book, Healey describes obstacles that the three friends encountered throughout their journey; Sione must discover who he is and what he wants to do in life, Janna deals with her true love, and Keri reveals her best-kept secret.  Little did the friends know, there was something more than a murderer behind the deaths of older brothers over the years, something supernatural that was keeping their town of Summerton from falling apart.  People that they trust are now suspected of the murders and many stones are overturned with secrets and hints hiding beneath them.  The Shattering is recommended to anyone who wants to read a gripping and page-turning novel or anyone who had geared their preferences toward science fiction, fantasy, or mystery.  Karen Healey prevails with this thoughtfully-written, infatuating piece of literature that is sure to astound any reader.

Book Review: This Brave Balance

This Brave Balance

By Rusalka Reh

Paperback: 142 pages

Publisher: AmazonCrossing (August 23, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1611090059

ISBN-13: 978-1611090055

Reviewed by Matt M.

                This Brave Balance is a book from Germany that is set in an unidentified run down city. It focuses on a teenage boy Dipper, and his group of parkour (free running) athletes: Skylark, Jay, and Corone, along with Corone’s mentally challenged sister, Kittiwake. Dipper doesn’t really have much going for him, as he’s not too good in school, works in construction, and hardly sees his mom outside of coffee at 3 in the morning. Parkour is everything to him and his friends, and everything changes when Corone’s ex-girlfriend Kite joins. Kite and Dipper get along “too well”, and a chain of events occur where the group is threatened to be taken apart, with Dipper struggling to apprehend everything going on.

                The story, though short, is decent, but maybe due to cultural and translation issues, the story feels off. To describe the good, Reh ultimately conveys a series of event s through the eyes of a teenager struggling with issues, from family, friends, romance, and parkour. The story feels real, that we may know someone who can relate to one of the characters (if not relating ourselves). While some characters are more developed than others, with Dipper being the main character that grows through the story, it does a good job making the main characters real in a short length. For the not so good, some things can be said. The story would’ve benefited being longer.  To keep spoilers to a minimum, halfway through the story, Dipper learns that Corone has family problems. This seems to be the main problem, as far as showing how powerless some of the characters are, but near the end, the last 20 pages or so, several revelations are revealed, and then settled 2 pages afterwards or so. In short, the pacing is even till the end, when everything starts happening. Also, I feel the story would have been better if it were told through the views of other characters, mainly Corone, Kite, and Kittywake as they are important to the story. One last thing that should be said is the use of strong language, just to let the reader know. All in all, for a foreign story, it’s quite different from other books I’ve read, and feels strange once finished (the ending itself is kinda hanging). A 2.5/5

Book Review: GAMER GIRL

Gamer Girl

By Mari Mancusi

Dutton Children’s Books

248 pages

Reviewed by Matt Monte

Gamer Girl is like a new candy flavor, new and sweet but doesn’t last long. The story is about Madeline “Maddy” Starr, a teenage girl who moved from the big city to a small suburb in New England after her parents divorced. Add to the fact it’s halfway through the school year, and she has to live with her mother in her grandmother’s house, far from her friends; and on the first day of school, through a series of misfortunes, is named “Freak Girl” by the popular group, which she nicknames the Haters (and she has a crush on one of them), her life is not rockin’. If this sounds familiar, it’s only because this setup has been done many times in many romance stories. After reading the first 4 chapters or so, you’ll be able to predict how the story will generally end.

What makes this story stand out (and separates it from other romances), is that Maddy is into manga and video games. She gets through school drawing, and when she’s home, she play’s the MMO Fields of Fantasy, where she is a totally different person, even having an online romance with another player. The pop culture references are small, but make the story more realistic, mentioning animes/mangas like Inuyasha, .hack//sign, My Chemical Romance, and even Voltron. The only problem with this story, though, is that it’s short, took me 2 days to finish it, and thus, only Maddy fully develops, the rest of the characters don’t change, or change slightly (save for one character), and there’s no real reason. In one part, Maddy’s sister is described as a Hater, but later, she stands by Maddy’s side with no real reason. Also, the manga and MMO details were good, but could have been developed more. This book gets a 3.5/5, the story is short and predictable, but has enough ideas to make it somewhat original (maybe it would’ve been better as a manga).

Book Review: Dragonbreath: Curse of the Were-Wiener

Dragonbreath: Curse of the Were-Wiener

by Ursula Vernon. 

ISBN 0803734697

Review by: Jerry L. Collins II

In the book, best friends Danny Dragonbreath, a young dragon, and Wendell, an iguana, try to stop an impending attack from those bitten by "Were-wieners,"(special red hotdogs from Transylvania,) and their leader, the Alpha Wurst. But to stop them, they'll need a little help from a friend from the past. The town where the character lives is unspecified, although the school in which much of the story takes place is Herpitax-Phibbias School for Reptiles and Amphibians. I found this story quite enjoyable and it made me want to pick it up and keep reading. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a strange, yet entertaining story.