"American Civil Liberties Union Handbooks for Young Americans The Rights of Students" By Eve Cary, Alan H. Levine and Janet Price

If you are a student interested in knowing your rights, this book is for you. It is an easy to understand book about what rights students have. If you are in need of information for a court case, or just need to know your student rights, then pick up this book. It is a powerful nonfiction, that I rate 5 of 5 stars based on the amount of information it holds, and it readability. It was a very enjoyable book for me, and it let me know my rights.

"Snakehead" by Anthony Horowitz

Snakehead is the seventh book in the Alex Rider series. I think that is is one of the better ones. I recommend that you read the first six in order first though before reading "Snakehead" or, in most parts, you will be totally lost. Alex is recruited by the ASIS, Australian Secret Intelligence Service. They want him to go undercover with a man named Ash and pretend to be his son. But he soon realizes that Ash may have some connection to his family. After almost being killed in a Muay Thai match, the most aggressive and dangerous form of martial art in the world, and hiding on a crate ship that was supposed to have smuggle him across the ocean, Alex finds out that it was all for nothing. At least that's what he thinks. MI6, British Secret Service, contacts him and the worst news of all comes. Scorpia has stolen a very dangerous bomb called Royal Blue. They plan to create a tsunami and wipe out a whole island. And it doesn't stop there. It will destroy half the Australian coast, killing thousands of people. Not long after that, he is captured and taken into the middle of the rain forest to a little hospital. They want to cut out his liver, eyes, and any other organ that he can live without until he finally dies, and sell them and make thousands and millions of dollars. And the worst part is, they act like nothing is even happening. The end of the book comes with a big shocker. Want to know what it is? Then you'll have to read the book.

I rate this book 4/5 stars.

P.S.- The picture above is from the movie "Alex Rider, Operation Stormbreaker". (The first book)

"Because of Winn-Dixie" By Kate DiCamillo

When 10 year old India Opal Buloni moves to Florida, she doesn't know what's in store for her. One day at the supermarket, she finds a dog, who was causing alot of trouble. She soon adopts him and names him Winn-Dixie.With Winn-Dixie is around, Opal (the name she goes by) isn't lonely anymore and can tell him anything. With the help of their new dog, Opal and her father learn what they should be thankful for.

This book was such a great story. It is now one of my favorites!! I would reccommend this book to anyone who has a dog companion just like Opal.I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

Moving isn't always easy, but for Isabella Swan moving is a new change. After living in Phoenix her whole life, she decides to move to Forks, Washington . While living there, she meets the handsome and mysterious Edward Cullen. She soons spends more time with him not realizing that it could put her in danger. Will Edward and Bella fall in love or will his dark secret force to stay apart forever?

This book is very good. I would gave it a 5 out of 5. At first, you would think that the book was really boring but it turns out to be one of the best books I have ever read. If you enjoy this book, then you can also read the sequels- New Moon and Eclispe.

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie

Did you ever hear the allegory about a bunch of rats trying to escape from the bottom of a barrel? Instead of working together to solve their problem, like banding together to form a pyramid, they would all just keep pulling down any rat that tried to climb out of the barrel. Communities of us humans can act in much the same way - somehow punishing (bullying, making fun of, excluding) anyone who tries to rise above the group in some way. Junior Spirit feels the heavy weight of his community as he starts his freshman year in high school on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Junior is fully aware of the problems common on the reservation and in his family - rampant alcoholism, crushing poverty, and the lack of hope for a better life. Junior's spirit rises above the rest, however, when he eagerly opens his geometry book on the first day of school and sees that it is the same one used by his mother when she attended the class thirty years ago! Disgusted and angry by the lack of opportunities on the rez, he determines to attend the better white school despite the fact that he has no reliable transportation to travel the twenty-three miles it takes to get there. Complicating his plans is the fact that the reservation community now considers him a traitor for choosing to live in the white world. Will Junior survive the many strikes against him to "climb out of the barrel?"

This book skyrocketed to the top of many bestselling lists and has won many awards. No surprise - Sherman Alexie's book is Wonderful! - full of laughs and tears on every page. Junior "Spirit" is aptly named, for his indomitable spirit somehow keeps trying to rise above the challenges he's faced since birth. This character feels so real (I kept expecting to look up from the page to see him in the room!); again, no surprise because Alexie has based Junior on his own experiences growing up on the Spokane Indian reservation (See Alexie's bio on his website: http://www.fallsapart.com/biography.html). The book's humor is enhanced by cartoons that more fully illustrate Junior's trials.

This novel comes Highly Recommended: FIVE out of FIVE stars! Read it SOON!

Anthology of Short Stories by Young Americans

This is a collection of short stories by Americans between the ages of 5 and 18. These stories are just a selected handful out of the thousands of stories that get submitted each year. This years copy features a short story called "The Stormy Strife", by the Norwich Middle School's only Joshua Mahannah. This is an amazing tale about three friends, and there survival through a deadly disaster. As I have found out, from certain sources, this story takes place in Norwich. Some of the Names used may represent other students, but the character's are not based on them.

Rated 5 out 5 stars.

"Peace Like a River" by Leif Enger

In this realistic fiction book, a 12 year old boy, named Reuben Land experiences second of many miracle faced in the book. Let me go back to tell you about the first miracle. When Reuben was born, he didn't breath. He father prayed to God for the help to save his son. Twelve minutes later Reuben, started breathing. He had been an asthmatic ever since that day. The second miracle, was that as he walked to the outhouse on the farm he was hunting on, he watched his father walk and pray on a truck bed. His father walked over the edge of the bed, and REMAINED IN THE AIR. He couldn't believe his eyes, so he found somewhere else to relive himself, and he did. Unfortunately, the fun did not last long after he returned home. His father broke up a fight, and the two boys that were fighting the girl wanted revenge. Reuben's brother, Davy, planned that the boys would sneak into their house in the night, and when they did, he shot them to protect his family. Davy, got arrested, and was put behind bars. He was put before court, and Reuben testified to save his brother. The night before, Davy's conviction, Davy escapes from jail, and Reuben, his father, and sister go on a cross country search for him. They didn't know until a fed, shows up, that they would be followed by him. When ever they escaped the fed, the cops would search for them, but never find them, due to the miracles that Reuben's dad prayed for. Finally, Reuben catches up with his brother, and learns that he cannot tell anyone. What will Reuben do? Should he tell his family, and the police? When he squeals, will out his family in danger? Read the book to find out what happens. This book has so many twists and turns, that it remained enjoyable, and exciting. This book is a must read.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars.