"Swallowing Stones" by Joyce McDonald

July 4th- Michael's 17th birthday. It's the day he should just relax and have fun enjoying his party. Nothing could go wrong, right? WRONG!!!

For Michael's birthday, his grandfather gives him a rifle that he had as a boy. Michael is proud of it and shows it off. He decides to try it out-no one would hear it. There are fireworks going off.

The next day Michael takes his driving test and hears a report over the radio. A man was shot and no one knew how. Michael knows it had to be him.

Will Michael come clean about the accident or will he "Swallow the Stone" and keep it a secret?

This was an excellent book.It deserves a 5 out of 5. This book will have the reader on the edge of their seat waiting to see what will happen. It was hard to stop reading this book, it was that good!!! I would recommend this book to all readers.

"Breathe" by Penni Russon

The book is about this girl, Undine, who learns she can do magic like her parents. Her dad takes her to greece on a vacation and tells her about his childhood. Undine's baby brother makes a new friend and shows her a magic trick. Undine's best friend Trout knows that she can do magic. Trout thought that he should be dead, but realizes he was wrong.

" The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

"Are you a Gifted Child looking for special opportunities?"

When this ad appears in the newspaper, many kids enroll to take the many mind-bending tests. However only 4 children are chosen. Reynie, Sticky,Kate and Constance are told to go on a secret mission that only intelligent and resourceful children will be able to complete. To suceed at this mission, they have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened. As they face both physical and mental challenges, their only option is to turn to each other for support. With their new friendship at stake, will they be able to pass the most important test of all?

This book has got to be one of the greatest books ever written. The reader is able to help solve the many riddles that the Mysterious Benedict Society solve. This book is exciting and was very hard to stop reading. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read puzzle books that force you to use your brain to solve the riddle. In my opinion, this book deserves a 5 out of 5 and is a must read for anyone.

"Kicked Out" by Beth Goobie

Kicked Out by Beth Goobie is about Dime, 15, going through a rough time with her parents so she moves in with her paralyzed brother, Darren. Her parents had a problem with everything that Dime did just because she wasn't the way they wanted her to be. She was the kind of girl who hangs out with 17 year old guys and dresses differently then most girls in highschool. Her parents make her curfew at nine o'clock. Her and her parents got into a fight one night because she was late and they told her that it's their house and their rules, and you'll obey them... and that's when she said make me. Everything changed in that moment. She was going through a hard time in her life. Nothing was going right. The boy she liked kept playing games with her head. He'd like her one day then the next him and his ex were back together. Will things get better for her? Will she get the boy to understand how much she really likes him? And will she move back in with her parents? I rate this book a three out of five.

"No Problem" by Dayle Cambell Gaetz

No Problem by Dayle Cambell Gaetz is about a teenage boy, Curt, who is stressed out about baseball and his girlfriend and his father pressuring him to be the best baseball player in the world. His new girlfriend, Leah, has just moved into his city and he started to date her but things got a little weird. She'd have to leave to go home and she wouldn't tell Curt why she had to leave so suddenly. Then he met this girl named Rachel, that gave him a ride home one night but instead they went back to her place and she was smoking and drinking. Then she pulled out a baggie of white powder and he asked "cocaine?" and she said "yeah, its way better then beer. Try some." And she pushed it toward him. And she said "come on, it won't hurt you." So as she sprinkled the white powder onto her hand mirror. He tried some. Will that mess up his future for baseball? Will Leah confess why she always acts weird and has to leave suddenly? What will happen? Take a chance and read this book. I gaurentee you'll love it and won't be able to put it down. I rate this book a four out of five!!!!

"Child Called It" by Dave Pelzer

This is a book that is not for little kids! The punishments that Dave suffers, and eventually survives, is impossible to even imagine...a young kid experiencing severe abuse. I couldn't get through reading the book without crying. Dave wrote this book for his anger mangement classes to deal with all the anger that he held for his mother. I love this story because it really grabded my attention with all the drama that happens in it. I couldn't put the book down! I rate this true story a five out of five stars.

"Converting Kate" by Beckie Weinheimer

Kate, newly relocated with her mom to Maine, was raised in Arizona within the strict guidelines of her mother's very conservative church. Now, though, a year after her father's unexpected death, Kate is in the process of questioning everything about her religious unbringing: the extremely modest clothing, the banning of all but church-approved reading material, and the constant proselytizing of church non-members. Instead, Kate joins the school cross-country team, makes a variety of friends, reads books that had been banned to her, and even starts attending the youth group run by the town's new liberal minister. Subsequently, Kate finds herself in an almost constant battle with her mother.

Like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, Kate finds in each new relationship, book, and experience a way to reform her beliefs and her way of thinking. Contrasting the lush greenery of Maine with the arid desert of Arizona, Kate emerges into a whole new world, inside and out.

Kate's search for her own moral compass is one with which most young adults can identify. Teens are naturals at questioning the rules and guidelines that adults can sometimes take for granted. Personally, I've always been fascinated with the psychology of how people form their beliefs, so "Converting Kate" was an especially good read for me. I admired Kate's strength in her struggle to question beliefs that were not personally valid for her.

Author Beckie Weinheimer was forty when she broke away from the church community that, from the time of her childhood, "dictated what I thought, drank, wore, read, and saw." In writing about a teen going through the same process, Weinheimer was successfully able to capture the emotions she must have had as a grown woman going through the same process making Kate's story very believable. You can read more about the author at her website: www.beckieweinheimer.com.

I'd rate this novel FOUR and a HALF out of FIVE stars.