New Moon

Try imagining,one second you are living a normal life and then the next your vampire boyfriend left you and your best friend becomes an overgrown werewolf. Stephanie Meyers' New Moon, written in 2006, is a 563 page contemporary fiction novel. Not only do I like this book because I like the creativity put into it but the way Meyers twist and turn the plot is amazing. When reading this novel, you are on your toes and it is ,if not then close to, almost impossible to set the book down. Bella being heart broken from being left by her boyfriend ,Edward, turns to a new friend, Jacob. At first it was just fine and dandy but as the book progress, he turns into a werewolf, the enemies of vampires. Now that she is exposed to their kind,she is putting her life in the hands of death everyday.In the mist of everything,Edward hearing wrong, thinks that Bella dead; so he decides end his life. Bella comes in time and saves him. However, will this cost her to lose her life? Meyer's style is similar to J.K. cowling's Harry Potter series. Readers of any age can enjoy this action pack novel.

(written by Amanda)

Note: You may want to read Twilight, the first book, before New Moon, the second book in the saga.

The Woman Warrior

"You must not tell anyone, my mother said, what I am about to tell you." Imaging finding out that you have an aunt which you have never heard of. In Maxine Hong Kingston's semi auto biographical semi fiction novel Women Warrior about her child hood as the first generation Chinese America women. This book takes though part fiction short stories and part of Maxine life. It a fast paste book with humor and sadness. You wont be able to put it down once you start reading . Kingston does such a great job in describing her life and her culture. You will fall in live with Brave Orchid and Moon Orchid Maxine's mothers and aunt.Through out the novel you that Kingston is a passive feminist along with all the women in her book who are all warriors in their lives. Kingston takes us through her child hood as a women in a Chinese American family who owns a dry cleaners. Her childhood with her mother who did not let he breath or her adult years where she is still unsure of herself. Also there narratives that are short made of stories or other about the life of her mother. It is almost like a satire! The author write short stories that make a larger picture that relates to life as well as the book.If you enjoy culture book, women empowerment , or short stories you love this book i suggest you be at least a a junior or senior in H.S to read this book. If you have ever read Little Children it is written is the same style. ENJOY!!!!!

(written by Albert)

The Lovely Bones

"You aren't leaving Susie. You're mine now." Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, written in 2002 is a 328 murder novel. I enjoyed reading this book because it showed me how one girl's death had completely changed her family and everyone who knew her. This reminded me of the ripple effect, when a drop of water lands in a larger pool of still water it makes many ripples effecting a larger part. In the novel we see a girl named Susie Salmon, she is a young 8th grader about to start high school get raped and murdered by the psychotic George Harvey. Then she watches from heaven her father Jack Salmon and sister Lindsey Salmon try to solve her murder. She also watches her baby brother grow up and her friends experience high school life such as sex and getting driver's licences. Also she sees how her mother, Abigail deal with her death by leaving Susie's family. Alice Sebold's style is similiar to Jodi Picout's My Sister's Keeper. Readers aged 15 and higher would be suitable for reading this book because this book deals with mature content. Also people interested in the after life, and murder cases would be interested in this novel because those are the two major parts of it. After reading this book it gave me alot to to think about so I would strongly recommend this novel to somebody who would like to discuss what they read with others.

(written by Bhupinder)

It's Kind Of A Funny Story

"It's so hard to talk when you want to kill yourself," Ned Vizzini's It's Kind Of A Funny Story is a mind boggling teen book based on real events that happened to the author. Craig, the main character, lives in New York and like all teenasgers, he struggles to balance his school life with his social life. But this is very difficult for him. Unlike his peers, Craig attends the most prestigious high school in New York.

He finds the competition with other students to be too rigorous for him to handle. The fact that he isn't the top student leads him in a critical and depressed state. With no one to turn tp, Craig decides that jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge would free him from his misery, but right before killing himself he hesitates and decides to call 1-800-SUICIDE. The anonymous suicide counsleradvises craig to have the ambulance to pick him up and send him to a psychiartric facility. Ther we see Craig transform from an up-tight worry-wart to a carefree, easygoing individual.

I like this book because it related to me and how I felt about school. Also it teaches you that happiness is right around the corner even if you were not looking for it. I would recommend any adolescent to read this book. It's very relatable and has many funny anecdotes to lighten up the storyline so that it's not all serious. I give it 5 stars out of 5.

(written by Anna)

The Fountainhead

What does it mean to be perfect? Does it mean that all you are flawless in every way? Maybe it is something that humans will never achieve, a dream that will never come true. What does perfection really mean?

Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, written in 1943, is a 694 philosophical novel that deals with the greatness of man, as well as their weaknesses. Rand's creativity and in depth talk about life, man, and perfection lured me in. I was amazed at how Rand shows that one person could go through all this cruelty and suffering, yet they still come out without even a scratch. During the first two pages, Rand's writing gives so much imagery that you feel as if you are in the novel, feeling the nature, being relaxed, and maybe even feeling a slight feeling of what it's like to be perfect.

Starting out, a man named Howard Roark was being expelled for his ideals and beliefs about how architecture should be. He believes that each building should have its own ideals, integrity, and even a soul of its own. Throughout the novel, he goes through many obstacles that tries to prove his ideals wrong. It was just him against the world. Roark never seems worried though, and his beliefs stand firm. In the end, he stood on top of a building; it was only him, and the world.

If you ever read her other novels such as Atlas or maybe even Anthem, you would definitely want to read this. People interested in philosophy should also read the novel. Readers 15 and up will surely enjoy the book.

(written by Phi)

Passion, Betrayal and Killer Highlights

"Leah, she's dead." Kyra Davis' Passion, Betrayal, and Killer Highlights, written in 2006, is a 344 page mystery novel. I enjoy her novels because it's a constant hooker, where intensity is throughout each and every page, keeping you guessing until the very end. There truly is no dull moment! In the novel Sophie Katz, the main character has a sister, Leah, who's husband was in a homocide a couple days ago, leaving Leah a heartbroken widow, just shortly after the news that he had been cheating on her for quite a while now. Struggling to prove her sister's innocence with her hot Russian god, Anatoly, a private investigator, the search is on, leading them to meet yet another woman who could possibly be a rebound for this dead man when he was still alive. Finding this quite shocking evidence, then stumbling upon another dead body of their friend, more pressure is on Sophie to figure who this evil mastermind is before the biased police locks her sister up for good, leaving behind her good for nothing, annoying son in Sophie's custody, bound to drive her to the insane asylum for good. Readers in the teens who are into investigation of crimes kind of movies will have an awesome time enjoying this book, no doubt.

(written by Alaura)

Of Mice and Men

"Lennie dipped his whole head under..." (the water). What next? Read to find out. John Steinback's Of Mice and Men, written in 1937, is a 107 page tragedy fiction novel. I like this book because it's interesting and it has a good storyline. Lennie and George are two guys who are drastically different than each other but are very close, sticking together through everything because they grew up together. They live hard lives and work wherever they can to support themselves. They have a plan to try to fulfill their dream, which is to have their own acre of land and their own shack, and try to carry it out. Readers of all ages will enjoy this book.

(written by Tri)

Falling Into Manholes

"After seventeen years in recovery from alcoholism and bulimia, and having lost all my money in what I call 'my spectacular codependent bottom of 2000' with the help of my gambling addict ex-stockbroker-turned-mattress-salesman boyfriend, it has dawned on me that I can use my contempt, which is really my fear, to predict my future—or better yet, to change it." Wendy Merrill's Falling Into Manholes The Memoir of a Bad/Good Girl, written in March 2008, is a 240 page autobiography. I think this book is a very real, honest, high awakening book showing that life isn't something you can just waste. This book is of a local authors' life struggles while growing up in San Francisco, California. In this memoir she tells readers her most honest, emabarassing conflicts with drug and alcohol abuse and her fight with bulimia. I recommend this book to young adults who may or want to keep from enduring the same pressures of life she struggled with. It is amazing to see the writer bounce back from the bottom to reach a respected status of author.

(written by Kenisha)

Cirque du Freak

Are you afraid of the dark? Do you have a constant fear that something is lying in the shadows? In this book you will fear the dark like never before. Darren Shan’s Cirque Du Freak, the first out of an amazing 9 book series, was written in January 4 2000, and is a 192 page young adult horror novel. I loved this fast paced book and couldn’t put the series down; it’s a fun quick read that I think everyone could enjoy. The main plot in the story of Darren Shan is a Darren at a young age going to a freak show where they have many performers there. One of the performers is a Vampire with a unique spider that can do tricks, which Darren steals due to his fascination of spiders. At home with the stolen spider his friend gets bit and is dying slowly so Darren goes back to the freak show (Cirque Du Freak) to make a deal with the vampire. The deal is that for in exchange for his friend’s life he will have to leave his own young life and become a half vampire, also known as a Vampire’s Assistant. Darren’s writing style is much like J.k. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Readers at the age of 15 and 17 that are into horror novels would enjoy this book.

(written by Lorenzo)

The Looking Glass Wars

When you hear the word "Wonderland," what do you think of? Some thoughts might jump to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, a story about a little girl that finds herself falling down a rabbit hole into Wonderland. You've probably heard of this story, or even watched the movie adaptation of it. You know who Alice is, who the White Rabbit is, who the Mad Hatter is, and you can't possibly forget the temperamental Queen of Hearts. You know about Wonderland; what else is new?

You have been misinformed.

Meet Alyss Heart, daughter of Queen Genevieve and King Nolan, who resides in the magical world of Wonderland. When the queendom is attacked by Alyss' Aunt Redd and her mother and father are assassinated, Alyss is forced to flee from her aunt to a whole new world: Earth. She tries to tell the people around her about her past, but instead is ridiculed for her stories of a "make-believe" place. Distraught, Alyss deliberately forgets about where she comes from, convincing herself that it must have all been a dream. Years later, Hatter Madigan, a royal bodyguard from Wonderland, finds her and takes her back home to Wonderland so that she may defeat her tyrannical aunt and reclaim the throne.

In The Looking Glass Wars, Frank Beddor spins a fantastic 384-page tale of adventure, love, betrayal, and fantasy--and it's only one of three books. He takes one of my favorite children's stories and turns it into something else entirely, making it seem almost real the way he brings Alyss of Wonderland to our world. Similar to perhaps Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted and Fairest and Gregory Macguire's Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Beddor transforms a simple fairytale into a story with much more depth, making it all the more interesting to read. If you're drawn towards fantasy novels with princesses, queens and kings, war, betrayal, and perhaps even clairvoyant, hookah-smoking caterpillars, The Looking Glass Wars might be of some interest to you, whether you are a teenager searching for adventure, or an adult who misses reading fairytales but wants a little more than "happily ever after" at the end. Even if it doesn't make it onto your "favorites" list, it will still be worth the read.

(written by Helene)