A Web of Air by Philip Reeve

Set far in the future, the sequel to Fever Crumb brings us to when Fever is sixteen years old.  The highly rational Engineer is now working and living with a group of traveling performers.  When she arrives in the city of Mayda, she finds out that there is a man named Arlo Thursday working furiously to rediscover the lost secret of flight.  However, every person before him who dreamed of flight mysteriously died before they could real their goal.  Fever and Arlo race to finish a flying machine amongst deadly plots and skeptical religious fanatics.  There is only one thing they need to do: fly, when no one has left the ground for hundreds of years.

This book is slow to take off, but once it does, prepare for a wild ride.  Fever's cold and rational character and her background may come as a bit of a shock to those who haven't read the first book, but she is surprisingly relatable.  The plots takes unpredictable twists and turns, and no one that Fever meets can really be trusted.  Be prepared to become annoyed with several of the characters! A Web of Air is a great read for anyone, but be sure to read Fever Crumb first so as to understand the setting and Fever's background.

4 stars

So Yesterday by Scott Westerfield

Hunter Brauqe is the 17 year old you imagine in the streets on NYC: black tee-shirt, skinny jeans and a close cropped hair-line. However, there is more to him than just the average teen. He is involved in a extreme money-making underground operation known as "cool hunting". The concept is that they find people, known as Innovators, who break away from the mainstream of culture, develop new styles in language, clothing, hair, etc., and wear them (obviously). Hunter finds these people, reports them to his boss and then sells them to large corporations, who develop the next "cool" style. One day, Hunter finds his bosses phone in an abandoned building and goes on an insane quest to find out what exactly happened.

So Yesterday is a great novel. It provides this great writing sense in that you don't have all the pieces of the mystery until the end, making you continue to inhale the book as fast as you can. The plot is very new and is quite believable in almost all the parts. It moves very quickly and might inspire the hipster in you. There isn't much more to say than be new and find the "cool" in the world.

4.5 Stars

Jacob Aubrecht

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Theseus Cassio, known as Cas, is a ghost hunter.  He's not your run-of-the-mill Ghostbuster.  Rather, he kills spirits that have come back to wreak havoc on mortals.  Cas has been one of the world's only ghost hunters since his father's death, traveling around and slaying spirits.  When he hears about a ghost in  Canada known as Anna Dressed in Blood, who savagely kills runaway kids and homeless people who are unlucky enough to seek refuge in her house, Cas smells a challenge.  With the help of a teenage mind-reading witch and a prom queen, he tracks down Anna and prepares to send her back six feet under.  There's just one thing wrong: Anna knows what she's done, unlike countless other ghosts Cas has killed.  She has a conscious, and seems more human. For some reason, she can't bring herself to kill him.

This is a dark novel, that has just enough romance to accent the magic and mystery without overpowering it.  Anna and the other ghosts Cas encounters are not the friendly Casper variety, and will be sure to keep the reader up at night.  The style of writing hooks the reader in from the first page.  Prepare for a wild ride into Blake's brilliantly crafted supernatural world right to the shocking end

5 stars

The second book in the series, Girl of Nightmares, is due out August 7th, 2012.

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

In a long ago kingdom, Princess Rose and her eleven sisters have a secret.  A secret that leads to their dancing slippers being worn out night after night after night.  They've been forced to keep this secret for six years, unable to reassure their worrying father the king.  When the king offers his daughter's hand in marriage to whoever can discover their secret, not one prince can solve the puzzle.  A young war veteran, fresh from the war, befriends Rose and decides to try his hand at the task to save her.  The only tools he possesses are an invisibility cloak and some magic wool given to him by a witch.  He is determined to succeed, or die trying...

This was a brilliant retelling of the fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses."  Anyone who enjoyed the tale when they were younger will certainly appreciate this novel.  A bit darker than the original, some elements of medieval history are introduced, such as church members accusing people of witchcraft and the brutality of war.  If you haven't read the original fairy tale, check it out anyways.

5 stars

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen

What would you do if there was a nuclear war? If you had forty minutes to live? In The Compound, Eli's billionaire father has been planning for a nuclear disaster for years.  In the forty minutes that they had, Eli and his family rushed to an underground bunker that is outfitted with everything they could ever need in the fifteen years they will have to stay underground.  However, six years after the disaster, there are problems with the food supply, and Eli's father seems to be hiding something...

The Compound is a fast-paced novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page.  It looks into the minds of the characters as well as questioning a few ethical issues.  The question here is, are Eli and his family really safer three stories underground?

5 stars

Poison Ivy by Amy Goldman Koss

Poison Ivy is not your typical Disney Channel-esque bully novel.  The ringleader, Ann, and her two lackeys have mercilessly tormented a distant Ivy since her arrival to the town, dubbing her, "Poison Ivy."  When Ms. Gold, an American Goverment teacher, decides to hold a mock civil trial to try the bullies for their crimes against Ivy, things don't go quite as planned.

Koss tells a story that fits in with real life more than any happy-ending tale of the victims becoming the victors ever will.  Told through interviews with eight of Ms. Gold's students, the inner workings of Sea View High School's social hierarchy is revealed, as well as the minds of the students.

4 stars

Leviathan by Scott Westerfield

Set on an alternative Earth at the brink of World War One, Leviathan introduces two young characters: Deryn, a headstrong girl determined to join the British Air Service and escape her smothering family, and  Alek, whose royal parents were just killed in an act that will set off the Great War.  The two meet when the ship Deryn is on, the Leviathan, crashes near Alek's safehouse.  The two encounter German warships and other dangers, and must cooperate to survive, even if they are on opposing sides.

Leviathan is a great read.  Westerfield weaves a brilliant tale that mixes past customs with future technology.  This book introduces the rest of the trilogy in a way that will leave the reader itching for the next installment.

5 stars

A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley

Charlie and her father come to the same small town where her grandparents live every summer from the city.  She writes songs, but has always been too scared to sing in front of anyone.  Charlie has always been envious of Rose and her two friends Luke and Dave, and wishes she were better friends with them.  Rose wants nothing more than to escape the town she's always lived in.  She secretly is accepted to a school in the city behind her parents' backs.  Charlie seems to be the ticket out of the town that keeps weighing on her back.  Get ready for a ride through the words of Charlie and Rose about this eventful summer. 

This book was one of the best i've read this summer.  Written in alternating chapters through the voices of Rose and Charlie, events from the past and present unfold.  The plot winds through friendships, betrayals, romance, and loss. 

5 stars

I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

I'll Be There is not your typical romance.  Romance is only part of the plot in this book about human nature.  Sam and his brother Riddle have been constantly uprooted by their unstable father since Sam was eleven and Riddle was a baby.  Emily is a collector of people's stories, and believes everything is connected.  So when she sees Sam at the back of her church while she is singing "I'll Be There", she feels a connection. The story that follows is beautifully written and shows just how much people can be connected. 

5 stars

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series By Rick Riordan

This series is a must read for kids ages ten and up. It follows our young hero Percy Jackson and his friends, Annabeth and Grover through a perilous journey to save the world on several different occasions. In the final book Percy endures a shocking showdown with the king of the evil Titans, Kronos. This series is amazing. Look for other books by this author.




Reviewed by Jacob Kowalski

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

This book follows the dangerous and exciting life of Andrew “Ender” Wiggin. He travels to Battle School to train and sharpen his skills for one purpose only: to defend Earth against the threat of the “buggers”, an alien race that has invaded Earth twice. It is a winner-take-all showdown between Ender, his friends, and the billions of buggers.

This book is recommended for ages ten and up. With action, suspense, and drama, this book has it all.



5 out of 5 stars



Reviewed by Jacob Kowalski

The Lost World by Michael Crichton

When mysterious carcasses are discovered on the coastline of Costa Rica, two groups begin a race to find a lost world. One group is determined to study the creatures that have not been found for 65 million years. The other group however is determined to steal and exploit the dinosaurs. Little do the teams know, they are embarking on a quest in the most dangerous territory on the planet. A fantastic book for teens and older and the sequel to the hit book Jurassic Park.


5 out of 5 stars


 Reviewed by Jacob Kowalski

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Set in the future, society is split up into five groups based on a character trait they value. Beatrice Prior has spent  the first 18 years of her life in Abnegation, which promotes selflessness.  When she takes a test to reveal which faction she should, join, it is revealed that she is a Divergent, able to choose between factions.  She is dangerous to her society.. Now she has to choose between her family and freedom to be herself.

This was an incredible book! It was well written, with vivid description.  Beatrice becomes a well developed character and easy to relate to.  By the end of the book, you feel like you live in Beatrice's city.  You will not be able to put this book down until you finish it!

5 out of 5 stars

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

In Lena's world, love has been classified as a disease: amor deliria nervosa.  Everyone has and operation once they hit 18 to make them safe from the disease.  Lena's mother's operation never really worked, and she committed suicide as a result of the deliria.  Lena believes her society is safe and perfect.  With ninety-five days to her cure, she'll never succumb to love. Right?

I absolutely loved this book! It was a fantastic read.  You watch Lena's mindset on her society change along with how she views her friends.  Very good description and attentions to detail.  This is another example of how no society can be perfect.

5 out of 5 stars