"Deliver Us from Normal" by Kate Klise

Charles has an all-consuming problem - being one of five kids in a very odd family living in a town called Normal, Illinois. Everything about his family seems different: their homemade clothes, their bargain-basement shopping, their being too poor to even be able to own their own house. And Charles's oddity seems to be a greater-than-normal ability to tune into other people's opinions about his family and STRESS about it all to an impressive extent. Charles's worst fears come true when his sister's campaign for school president comes to a humiliating halt when her posters are defaced by mean kids, and his family reacts to the situation by packing up, moving out of Normal, and buying a houseboat sight-unseen!

Even though the story is written in Charles's (very-worried) voice, this book is anything but stressful to read. Charles writes about his family in a very easy and humorous manner, and the reader can identify with many of the situations he lives through. I found myself wanting to be able to drop in and visit with Charles, his siblings, parents, and their two pet rabbits. It is ultimately a very touching story, and I can't wait to read the sequel "Far from Normal."

I'd rate this fiction book 4.5 out of 5 stars!

"New Boy" by Julian Houston

"New Boy" is about a colored boy named Rob in the 1950's. He goes to Draper, a high School in Conneticuit. There has never been any colored students in the history of the school. He makes high honor role and is doing good at Draper. He makes two new friends, one with terrible acne, and another a grade higher then him. But his friends back in his hometown, Virginia, are planing an act against the whites, a sit-in, that could get them injured, or worse, killed. After meeting the girl of his dreams, and seeing his best friends again, will it all end over a sit-in? Read this MUST READ fiction adventure, "New Boy' and find out.
This booked affected me by explaining the way of life for a teenager back in the late 1950's. It got me really intristed in segregation and civil rights. Also there is some language in about every chapter so only mature young adults should read this book.
I would give this book a 4.5 out of a 5 rating.

"Break into the Game Industry" By Ernest Adams

If you are interested in getting a career as a video game tester, designer, or any job pertaining to the video game industry, this book is for you. It doesn't teach you the skills needed to be one of these people, but it does teach you important information about getting a job in the video game industry. It will teach you about making a resume, the time it takes to make video games, and add in stories and comments from actual people in the game industry. This book also reveals some of the history of video games, like the video game crash caused by atari in 1983, (although the full effects were in 1983) to nowadays video game history. This book was one I enjoyed because of it's informative writing style and straight forward, and easy-to-read text. I rate this book a five of five stars to those who aspire to work with video games!

"What Happened to Cass McBride?" by Gail Giles

Can you imagine waking up from a deep sleep to discover that when you open your eyes, all you see is ... nothing? and when you stretch your elbows and legs they quickly bump into a rough wooden surface? and then, in a panic, you attempt to raise your head only to have it hit a ceiling that is about three inches above your face? and that awful nightmarish moment when you realize that you have been buried alive?

In the suspense novel "What Happened to Cass McBride?", Cass faces one of the most common, basic - and terrifying - human fears, that of being buried alive. She soon discovers, via a small air tube that connects her to the surface, that her prison has been devised by Kyle, who holds Cass responsible for the recent suicide of his younger brother. After kidnapping and burying her, Kyle plans to further torment Cass to fully exact his revenge. The psychological drama deepens when Cass realizes her ability to survive depends on her being able to sell Kyle on her innocence. Suspense builds as the story interweaves with the ongoing, and seemingly ineffective, police investigation.

This page-turner, because of some language and content (you will not quickly forget the content of David's suicide note, nor the manner in which he left it), is best read by mature middle- and high-school teens.

FOUR out of FIVE stars!

"The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells

This book is about a man (whose name is stated as The Time Traveller) who has created a time machine. The book begins with the time traveller stumbling into a room where some of his colleges were talking. One of the people, Filby, remembers the events of one week ago, when the time traveller showed them his new machine. The Time Traveller then tells his tale of time travel. His story begins with him in his lab, about to test his machine. After his trip from 10:00 to 3:30, he then travels to the year 802,701 A.D. In this strange future, he finds out the fate of man. Afterwards, he travels to a desolate future. Returning to the past, he makes one more stop, arriving in a strange future where the humans have divided agains each other in the North and South. A great tale of possible futures, I give this book a five of five. This is a classic every one should read!

"A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 13, The End" By Lemony Snicket

This book, as the title suggests, is the final installment in the A Series of Unfortunate Events book. After escaping from the burning hotel Denouement with Count Olaf, (Read book 12, The Penultimate peril) the orphans find themselves adrift at sea. Their ship is soon swept away by a terrible storm, and the four of them are soon stranded on an island. The inhabitants of the island allow the Baudelaires to live with them, but ban Count Olaf from staying. The Baudelaires soon start living a peaceful, yet boring lifestyle. Soon, a raft of books end up on the island's shore and the person riding it is the Baudelaire's friend, Kit Snicket. Ishmal, the islands arbitrator, believes that Kit should be left on the coastal shelf, because she has the same tattoo of an eye on her ankle as Count Olaf. However, the orphans stay with Kit, and are also left on the coastal shelf. When night falls, some of the islanders visit the Baudelairs and ask them if they want to join in their mutiny. The orphans, left with no other choice, agree to help the islanders. They travel to where all of the items the islanders find are kept, in search for weapons. Once there they find a tree with a hallowed spot in the trunk. They travel down the tree into a room filled with books, machinery, and spices. They are not there long, as Ishmal finds them and forces them out. When they get back to the island however, the mutiny has begun. I loved this book because it ends, but doesn't really end and in my opinion, this book is a 5 of 5 stars!

"Pendragon Merchant of Death" by D.J. MacHale

This book is all about a teen named Bobby Pendragon. It all starts when Bobby misses the biggest B-ball game of his life (so far) to help his uncle Press "help people in need". Turns out, those people are halfway across the universe! Bobby and his uncle use a flume(dimensinal gate) to get to a planet called Denduron, wher they have to save the world from impending doom by Saint Dane, the villan of the series. Want to find out more? Read the book at NMS library to find out!!!

"The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

This book is about a boy named Matteo Alacrán. He is not actually a boy, he is a clone of the drug lord El Patrón. El Patrón controls a country called Opium. It is a small strip of poppy fields between the United States and what was once known as Mexico. Matt was born form the womb of a cow. Matt grows up in entire secrecy, until he is found out by a group of kids. Unfortunately, curiosity gets the best of him, so he breaks a window and jumps out. He gets his hands and feet full of glass. He is taken to a mansion where he gets poor treatment for his injuries. He is locked in a room full of saw dust, and is treated like an animal for six months, until El Patrón comes by for his 140th birthday. After that day he is treated with respect, and gets his own body guard, music lessons, and teacher. Unfortunately the teacher turns out to be an eejit. An eejit is a person with a chip in their brain that turns them into zombies. The have to be told what to do. They are hungry when they are told to be hungry. Matt enjoys his life, until El Patrón has a heart attack. He gets a small donor heart to help him, but has another heart attack. Matt finds out that El Patrón needs Matt's heart, but Matt escapes, and heads across boarder. Will Matt find a new life in the US, or will he go back to Opium and turn things around? This realistic fiction book has some may twists and turns, that i must be a MUST READ on every ones list.


Rated: FIVE Stars (out of five stars)

"Searching for David's Heart", By Cherie Bennett

This book is about a girl named Darcy Deeton who has a tough life. Her family forgets she's there and her dad yells at her all the time for no reason at all. The only one that Darcy can go to is her older brother David. They have always been close, until her brother David gets a girlfriend. David starts treating her like a pest and can't stand her anymore. To find out what happens next, read the book "Searching for David's Heart", By Cherie Bennett.

"Who Owns Kelly Paddik" by Beth Goobie

Kelly Paddik is a troubled teen who cannot escape the haunting memories of being raped by her father. Although he's no longer in the picture, his memory is locked in her brain. From the very first pages, we follow Kelly as she is sent to yet another girls' home. All she wants to do is escape, but escape from what?

Using tight, restrictive spaces throughout the novel, Goobie does a great job allowing the reader to experience the same isolated, oppressive, trapped feeling that Kelly expreinces both mentally and phisically. This book really grabs your attention, and it's a quick, easy read. I'd highly recommend it.

I'd rate this Five out of Five stars!

"Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin

A fascinating - and funny! - peek into the hereafter is the premise of "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin. Liz, a 16-year-old, is riding her bike to the mall when she sails through an intersection and is hit and killed by a car. Liz finds herself travelling to and eventually arriving at a place called Elsewhere, which looks very much like planet Earth with one BIG difference. On Earth, as time goes by, one ages, but on Elsewhere, as time passes, one gets younger. Consequently, Liz meets her grandmother, who appears much younger than the woman she remembers before she died. Liz is very angry about the whole "being dead" scene; she feels she was robbed at so much that life on Earth had to offer - the prom, getting her driver's license, falling in love, etc. - and she is ticked that she will again be a helpless baby after a few short years.

Will Liz ever adjust to "life" on Elsewhere? Luckily for Liz, and for us readers, the answer to this question is answered via Zevin's clever writing and the colorful cast of characters she creates. This fiction book is a MUST read!

Rated : FIVE stars (out of FIVE)

"Such a Pretty Girl" by Laura Wiess

Much like the book "Speak" by Laurie Anderson, "Such a Pretty Girl" transports the reader to an intense atmosphere in which you can almost share the emotions of the main character. Meredith, a 15-year-old girl who lives with her mom in a condo complex, is feeling any sense of safety and security slip away as the date of her father's return approaches. Meredith's dad is soon to be released from prison, where he's been locked up for sexually molesting Meredith when she was younger. Unexpectedly released earlier than expected, Meredith's mom is anxiously waiting to welcome dear old dad back despite the fact that he is not supposed to be living under the same roof as Meredith. Knowing her father as she does, Meredith is sure that it is only a matter of time before her father molests her again. As she desperately tries to retreat behind the relative safety of questionable personal hygiene and a relationship with a boy who also was abused by her father, Meredith tries to figure out her options. Unfortunately, she feels the only permanent option is to set herself up as a victim once again to entrap her father into what would be a more permanent prison sentence. But can she bring herself to experience the horror once again to ensure her safety and the safety of others?

Warning: There is some mature content in this very gripping novel.

Rated: FIVE (Out of FIVE STARS)