Monday, April 30, 2012

Hemlock


Out of all of the books I have gotten from Fresh Ink at Porter Square Books, few have failed to capture my love for the characters. I am happy to say that Hemlock was not one of those few. I found myself practically crying when the wolves were being hurt and laughing out loud when the main character or the narrator made a joke. I highly recommend this book to anybody who enjoys YA fantasies.

Juliette, 11

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Supergirl Mixtapes


When Maria goes to live with her estranged mother from New York, she falls in love with the city and the life style her mother leads. But soon, she discovers a dark secret that threatens everything, and overturns the way she views the world. 

Supergirl Mixtapes is a great, fast read. My only issue with it was that it takes a very superficial view on some really intense topics, and never really takes you to a place where you feel like you know what the characters are feeling. However, I would recommend this book because it is really fun and enjoyable.

Jenna, 15

Wednesday, April 25, 2012


Under the Never Sky is set in a futuristic world where most people literally live in a bubble because the outside world is too dangerous and polluted. However, there are also people who live on the outside. 

This book is about how a girl named Aria, from the inside, meets a man named Perry from the outside. I felt like this plot was a good idea, a good basis, but the writing was just disorganized. The reader doesn't understand the characters. The story jumps too quickly into the action. I realize that this is a way to interest your reader in theory, but it wasn't used very well in this situation. For example, I didn't feel attachment to Aria's friend when she was killed in a fire, because I had only met her about 30 pages ago. I kept thinking, This scene sounds like the end of a book, not the beginning.

I did like the characters surrounding Perry, though, especially his nephew Talon and Talon's father. They were better thought out than the characters that lived inside the bubble.

Kira, 13

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The Amazing Adventures of John Smith, Jr. AKA Houdini


The Amazing Adventures of John Smith, Jr. AKA Houdini is about a boy with a rather chaotic and very eventful life. He has five problems: 1) a creepy guy who lives in his neighborhood; 2) his even creepier dog; 3) a bully named Angel; 4) a selfish Mayor; and 5) (this one's a biggie) his brother who's off fighting in a war.  

Amazingly, with a little luck and some help from his friends Houdini is able to fix his problems in ways you will never imagine. The problems usually seem to play a part in the solution of other problems until everything is fixed. It all turns out fine in the end. This was an amazing story. I began to read and then I sat down for an hour or two and completely finished the book. It's that good!  

Ty, 9

Monday, April 23, 2012

The Selection


America finds herself in a competition to become the next princess of her country, all the while longing for the man that she loves. 

The Selection is very reminiscent of The Hunger Games. It was very fast-paced, I read it all in one night because I simply couldn't put it down. I would definitely recommend it.  

Jenna, 15

Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Fourth Stall II


The Fourth Stall is an entertaining, brilliantly plotted novel about a boy named Mac running a business inside his school to help people solve problems. Mac is forced to choose between business and ethics in this great book that has it all: humor, action, and suspense, and is sure to entertain any reader.

Max,10

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Rock On


Rock On was a light and blatant novel about people on the internet making real life connections. The boring and frequently used YA characters had very predictable actions. This book is probably not as bad as I make it out to be. But if you are looking for something serious that will engage your brain this is not the book. If you want light fluff reading this is one of the legion. 

Gideon, 13