Juvenile Fiction Book reviews and recommendations

"Brilliant take on a book you have to know. I think more people should take a look at it. The writer's amazing."

"I enjoyed the book well enough, though I hardly fall into the target readership. Full review is here: http://teenfiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/review_chat_room_by_kristin_butcher"

"Interesting suspenseful book personally i loved it!!"

"The ALA best book for young adults, Someone Like You, by the New York Times Best Selling Author, Sarah Dessen, is about a highschool girl, Halley, dealing with love, death, peer pressure, and just about anything else you could think of. Halley, who is usually the quiet one, learns to step up and become herself. She has to determine if loosing her awesome relationship with her mom is worth loosing it to some guy she met that claims loves her. I think this book is aimed toward middle and highschool transion students. This book was a great guide to how I could handle different situations. Someone Like You was comforting knowing that I have been through many of the scnarieos taht Halley has been through. I would recomend this to any of my friends around my age. I'd give it "2 thumbs up!""

"In "The Race for a New Life (Oklahoma Land Rush)", ten-year-old Josh takes his injured father's place in the Cherokee Strip Land Rush of 1893. The book also contains information on the early history of Oklahoma. This book is illustrated and contains archival photographs and drawings. It also includes bolded vocabulary words with a glossary. Children will be able to identify with the young, main character and learn about an important even in American history at the same time."

"I first picked up this book because I knew of AVI and enjoyed his other books. Tho only one of these shorts is actually written by AVI the collection is fantastic. A book every teacher who reads aloud needs. I use several of the stories in literature circle classes to teach the jobs before the students start on their own. All the shorts are fiction, full of deep meanings, funny parts, scary parts, parts we all relate to, and the pure wonder of good fantasy. My particular favorite is "Baby in the Night Deposit Box"; the one about a very extraordinary princess baby who appears in a very ordinary bank with the motto 'Your treasure is safe with us'. Great stuff!"

"A very good book for little kids. They can receive their first informations about Greek Mythology like a fair tale."

"ISBN 0590424017 - A fan of James Herriot and Lassie (among others!), I was excited to read true dog stories for children. And the inclusion of a talented "bad" dog, in Grip the thief, was a pleasant surprise. Five very short dog stories, each told in a few pages. Dox, a police dog in Italy, is bought by a policeman who just happened to pass a pet store. He'd had no thought of buying a dog at all - but he did it, and then he turned him into a superb detective. Grip, owned by a thief and a successful thief himself, leads a life of crime until his owner is caught and Grip gets a surprising new owner. Author Alfred Payson Terhune's dog, Wolf, lives with many other dogs at Sunnybank Farm. He isn't very sociable, but he does watch out for the other dogs, right up to the very end. Barry is one of the very special St Bernards living at a monastery in Switzerland. The dogs are trained to rescue people, and Barry is even a little more special than the others. Balto is a sled dog in Alaska when Nome calls out to the outside world for help. They need medicine and the only way in is by sled. The town is in terrible trouble, but Balto comes to their rescue. The stories are all true, and the reader can follow up most of them by reading longer books and stories about these dogs. That's a nice thing, a way to encourage reading, and answer some questions that the book leaves unanswered - like why there's a statue of Balto in New York, when his heroic actions were in Alaska. Not superbly written, but the author is hampered by the attempt to keep the stories short. The back cover says RL2, ages 7-9, and that's the only thing I have to disagree there. The stories seem to me to be better suited for younger children. - AnnaLovesBooks"

"As a Christian teen who grew up around books, I know how hard it is to find ones that can really be trusted to stay true to the Christian values, especially in the fiction genre. I almost did a dance when I stumbled upon "Raising Dragons" in my local Christian bookstore, and read it for the first time. Not only has this author successfully presented Christian themes alongside fantasy (almost completely unheard of at that time), but he has done so with a storyline and characters that are genuinely enjoyable, even for an older teen like myself. Parents, you can feel safe letting your children lose themselves in these pages. And for anyone older, don't pass this one up either!"

"Enoch's Ghost continues the stories from Dragons in our Midst and Eye of the Oracle following Walter, Ashley, Karen, and Thigocia on their adventure. This book isn't about Billy and Bonnie but that doesn't make it any less worth reading than the rest of the books! The day I got this book I finished it because I couldn't put it down! I have read Enoch's Ghost over and over again and every time I have noticed more things that I missed the first time I read it. The Dragons in our Midst and Oracles of fire series never get boring no matter how many times you read them! "

"Uniting familiar characters with delightful new ones, “The Rise of the Wyrm Lord” chronicles the further adventures of Aidan Thomas as he readjusts to life in our world, the Mirror Realm, as well as detailing the journeys of headstrong Antoinette Reed. When the teenagers meet at school, they quickly discover a mutual love for King Eliam and his ways. Convinced that Antoinette is being called to the Realm, Aidan secures her promise to search for Robby’s Glimpse and persuade him to join them while he tries to persuade him in their own world. Never dreaming of the trouble it would cause, Antoinette gives her word and soon her adventures in the Realm begin. Like “The Door Within,” “The Rise of the Wyrm Lord” works with a broad cast of twelve knights, each with different strengths. This book introduces my favorite character, the herbmaster and pyromaniac knight Sir Oswyn. Batson manages to keep his main characters—both the Glimpses from each other and Antoinette from Aidan—very distinct so that we do not lose track of characters for the number of them. Teenagers who enjoy fantasy will love this second book in the Door Within trilogy. Woven within the fast-paced tale is a lesson of trust and obedience—and the consequences of ignoring wise counsel. The only problem with the book is that it is the middle of the sequence. The ending leaves one wanting more! And that is hardly a true problem. "

"Bloodthirsty pirates. Buried treasure. Mysterious monks. Hidden islands. Daring escapes. Perilous searches. All these things and more are found in “The Isle of Swords.” As Captain Declan Ross tries to discover a way to leave piracy behind, his daughter tries to persuade him to let her join the crew and his newest deckhand tries to recover his memory. A strange monk offers Captain Ross his chance to escape piracy if he will grant him passage to an island no one has seen. But the ruthless Captain Bartholomew Thorne also wants the treasure and will do anything to get his hands on the map now in Captain Ross’ possession. I had a little trouble at first with the manner in which Batson constantly shifts the point-of-view from which the story is being told. Hearing from half a dozen different characters who I barely knew was a bit confusing and frustrating. However, as the story progressed, I quickly lost sight of the point-of-view changes and lost myself in the story. “The Isle of Swords” is first and foremost an action and adventure story populated with memorably quirky characters. Secondly, it is a tale of what is really important in life—not the adventure, but those family and friends who share it with us. The message is smoothly interwoven into the story with the same skill Batson has shown in his Door Within trilogy. Nearly every reader should be enthralled by this fast-paced story set on the high seas. "

"Eye of the Oracle is my favorite book out of the whole series! Not only does it leave you with the answers to questions you had left over from Dragons in our Midst, it starts another story blending new characters into the Dragons in our Midst story. Eye of the Oracle is kind of like behind the scenes for Dragons in our Midst. It starts all the way back at the flood and comes up to Bonnie’s story so you’ll find out what happens before raising dragons. But Eye of the Oracle isn’t just about filling you in. It’s packed with just as much action as the rest of the books in the series that will keep you up reading all night long!"

"ISBN 1568990782 - While not exactly non-fiction, Manatee Winter is educational, which is always a plus. The involvement of the Smithsonian Institution is a good thing, too, but not quite good enough. A mother manatee and her calf head to warmer waters for the winter, encountering the dangerous propellers of fishing boats along the way. One specific encounter separates the two, scaring Little Calf into weeds which he can't escape on his own. Mother must help him and continue encouraging him so that they can reach the safety of a warm spring, where Little Calf will meet other baby manatees for the first time. Illustrator Steven James Petruccio did a very nice job; the problem isn't his work but the general boring-ness of the relatively accurate images. A manatee under water looks like a manatee under water and there are few images including anything else. In the back of the book, there is a list of "Points of Interest" that name pages where you can find specific things. For pages 22-23, it says "egret, red mangrove trees", but the egret's head is mostly cut off at the top of the page and the trees are represented only by roots. Author Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld did a very nice job, as well, and the book is best, in my opinion, as a vaguely educational text. As a storybook for young children, it's a little boring. - AnnaLovesBooks"

"If you thought Raising Dragons was good then you HAVE to get The Candlestone! The thing about the Dragons in our Midst series: the books keep getting better as the series progresses and Mr. Davis comes up with a whole new idea for each book. This is the kind of book that you will want to read again, and again, and again… "

"Circles of Seven, another book to add to my absolute favorites list! Mr. Davis has done an amazing job of writing a book that is like no other in the series (or the entire bookstore) and in my opinion even tops the first two books. As soon as I got this book my parents didn’t see me until I finished reading it and I couldn’t wait for the next one to come out! But before you read Circles of Seven make sure you get Raising Dragons and The Candlestone and read those first. You will be able to understand and enjoy the Dragons in our Midst series much better all together."

"Just when I thought Bryan Davis couldn’t possibly have any more ideas left for books out come Tears of a Dragons. Reading other reviews on Dragons in our Midst book you’ll notice most say the same thing: YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! And that’s because it’s true! With Tears of a Dragon and all the other book in this series. Make sure you get the whole series at once because once you finish one of the books you won’t ant to wait any longer to start the next one! "