Birth Marked

Reader: Annika M
Age: 14
Title: Birth Marked
Author: Caragh M. O'Brien
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Pub Date: 2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
How would you convince someone to read the book: I would tell them it’s a dystopian novel about DNA.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The most compelling aspect of this book was the characters. You don't ever really know who's good and who's evil, so it leaves you with a lot to think about.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: The middle of the book got a little dull, but it picked up after a chapter or two.
Did the cover tempt you: The cover tempted me to pick up the book, because the design and how the words were set was so interesting. After I got closer and saw the cover up close I wanted to read it to see why the girl's face was scarred.
Age Range: 14-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

The Clearing

Reader: Elizabeth S
Age: 16
Title: The Clearing
Author: Heather Davis
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group
Pub Date: 04/2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Did the cover tempt you: I liked the cover of this book, actually. I'm usually not a fan of sentences on the front (not "blurbs," per se, but sentences describing the contents of the book). I liked the separation between both pictures, characters, and fonts on the cover. I thought this was a great way to reflect the contents of this book and the way the eras were separated. I also liked the "foggy" quality of the cover. I thought it made the title and the center picture clearer and more eye-catching. I disliked, however, the trees on the top of the cover. It distracted me a little from the focus of the cover and drew my eye away from both the title and the author.
Recommend: No
Convince us to read the book: I wouldn't recommend this book because I don't think it had many new ideas to offer. It didn't draw me in as much as other time-crossed love stories have, and I found it to be a little clichéd.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I can't really think of one distinct compelling aspect of this book. I wanted to like the characterization, but as soon as a secondary character was introduced
that I thought would be interesting to read about, they were pulled out of the story or made so one-sided that I didn't care to read about them anymore. Henry could have been a very interesting character, but he was a very one-sided character. He was too innocent and too unrelatable; though he was from a different era, I feel that he still could have had more characteristics that made me relate to him. Amy was an interesting character, but I feel like she was underdeveloped and her conclusion was rushed. Aunt Mae, in my opinion, was the most compelling character. She had a hidden past that made her more three-dimensional, and, though she was more of a guiding character than a central player, I felt like she was the most interesting to read about.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I was particularly disappointed with the ending. While I don't necessarily feel as if all love stories must end happily, I think it was really unresolved. Amy and Henry separated, and I know the past would have changed, but I felt as if this distinct change was a little implausible. It left me with too many questions to be perfectly content with the book. Did Henry remember what had happened? Did Amy remember any of it? It was too abrupt to feel resolute. I did like, however, the foreshadowing hinting at Amy's happy future with Jackson that was somewhat resolved in the ending. I just feel as if the author was trying to end it all super fast. It was also told implausibly. It felt awkward and forced, and I think the book would have been much better with a better-developed ending.
Age Range: 14-17
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

The Hunchback Assignments

Reader: Luke M
Age: 16
Title: The Hunchback Assignments
Author: Arthyr Slade
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Pub Date: 9-22-10
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Annotation: Found in a freak show and rescued by a mysterious man, Modo is no ordinary boy. His special talents allow him to change his shape but leave him hideous and he is raised in the service of England. Soon he finds himself on the streets of London, searching for missing children and steam-powered men but the clock is ticking and the stakes get ever higher…
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: It’s a science fiction about a boy working for a secret society investigating a strange turn of events in London.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I enjoyed Modo as a character. He seemed realistic, his abilities well explained and not too far-fetched, and I thought his upbringing original. The events in the story, especially Dr. Hyde's parts were good. I also liked how as the book went on Mr. Socrates went from a good guy to more of a grey. I also liked how Modo failed a few missions. No one should be perfect.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book: I thought the book was too short. They find the sewer system, then find the robot. A few dead ends and maybe a run-in with some assassins would add some more time for character development. We could maybe begin to see the darker side of the Permanent Association. I also thought the system for powering the robot unrealistic. There was no reason powering the robot with kids. The kids should have been the army (lead by the prince; this would allow Oppie to fight Modo, in which Modo holds back is nearly killed) with the robot just the main attraction. The robot would be much better to be powered with steam, like Fuhr.
Comments: Names: Several names need to be changed. Dr. Hyde is overused for mad scientists, let’s be more imaginative. Fuhr is evil but let us learn that from his character, not the implications from his name. A cute name would be better, giving him something to live down.
Sequels: I hope there is a plan for a sequel and that would be good to include on the book cover. The clockwork guild is not finished, Modos doubts about Mr. Socrates goodness and Modos and Octavia's romance are all unexplored.
Did the cover tempt you and/or reflect the contents of the book: The cover was very good, it even matched the book well. The city was obviously London, Modo looked like he should, he is on a roof like he was often and the symbols were either relevant or actually the Clockwork's guild symbol. The only change that I would make would be to have Modo wearing a mask, like he did in the book.
Age Range: 12-15
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

The Ask and the Answer

Reader: Sophie D
Age: 14
Title: The Ask and the Answer
Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Pub Date: 2009
Galley: No
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Annotation: After reaching what was once the town of Haven, now New Prentisstown, Todd and Viola are separated from each other. Each becomes crucial to one of the warring armies. Will they be able to fight for what is right, overcome fear, and most of all, stay true to each other?
Did the cover tempt you: The cover is nice and simple, not overdone, yet not boring. After reading the first book, the cover kind of creeped me out, because the bad guys are usually riding horses.
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: It is the perfect companion to the first book. The plot is horribly depressing, and also kind of a set up for the next book, but you know you can't trust anyone and have to read to the end.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The way the characters change is fascinating. Both the main characters are barely recognizable by the end of the book, and characters who I started out hating redeem themselves and I was very sad when they died.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I could not find anything about this book to be disappointing.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder

Reader: Elise S
Age: 14
Title: Into the Wild Nerd Yonder
Author: Julie Halpern
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pub Date: Oct. 2009
Galley: Yes
Did the cover tempt you: I don't think the cover I had was the final cover, because it had a long quote from the book all over it, which I didn't like. However, I doubt they're going to actually use that, and I liked the green polka-dots! The font was perfect too, funky, but not completely wacko.
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This book is hilarious, refreshing, honest, and AWESOME! The characters are real and very relate-able (especially to geeks like me!) It properly demonstrates the awesomeness of being different, and the difficulties of being one's self. Plus, it makes me REALLY want to play dungeons and dragons.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I loved watching Jessie grow, and becoming attached to her new friends. I am a complete Renaissance Festival person, so those descriptions enchanted me.
Jessie's voice was clear and funny, without resorting to the overly-used heavy sarcasm.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book: I was in no way disappointed with the book.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

For The Win

Reader: Elizabeth S
Age: 16
Title: For The Win
Author: Cory Doctorow
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pub Date: 05/11/10
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
which I loved. It sort of portrayed the book's content, but I think it was a little too militaristic for the actual fighting of the book.
Recommend: No
Convince us to read the book: I wouldn't recommend it. It jumped all over the place and was hard to finish without being wholly dedicated to reading it. I think Doctorow's last novel is much better for people interested in computers and international or national politics.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The most compelling aspect of the book was its main plot idea. It seemed very interesting to read about four teens who try to overthrow international economics through a mysterious organization. However, there were more than four main characters who were all very hard to keep straight. I found myself being thrown around from country to country, viewpoint to viewpoint, without knowing where the character was, what she or he was doing, and not even knowing who he or she was. It was really disorienting and made it hard to keep track of the plot. I did like the idea though, and some of the explanatory chapters were pretty interesting. I learned a lot from those chapters, and actually looked forward to them because of the easy-to-understand way they were written.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: It was too hard to follow and had too implausible an ending. The huge conflict Doctorow built up to throughout the novel seemed to be a hugely interesting ending, but instead was resolved in a few pages in one conversation. I felt let down after investing so much time working my way through the book. My favorite characters weren't focused on in the end, and my favorite aspects pretty much fizzled away as the few characters involved in the resolution just talked. I was really disappointed with this ending.
Did the cover tempt you or reflect the contents: I didn't like the cover so much. It looked too dark and too busy. Nothing seemed to go together, and it was definitely a let-down compared to Doctorow's last novel's cover,
Age Range: 12-15
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 2P Only for special interest

Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials

Reader: Kristen A
Age: 15
Title: Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials
Author: Rosalind Wiseman
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Pub Date: Jan 2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: No
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The concept was good, but it was too cliché. Try to mix it up a little! It was very obvious that the main character would fall in love with her friend.
Were you disappointed with the book: As I said before, I thought it was very cliché, which disappointed me. It was hard for me to read because of this, but the story could appeal to other teenage girls who are more into books about falling in love and losing and keeping friends.
Did the cover tempt you and/or reflect the contents: The cover made me want to read the book, because the colors and bomb on it made it seem like it would be a funny, silly book that made you laugh. Instead, it was a very cliché book, where the girl has problems with friends and ends up falling in love with her oldest guy friend. The cover did not reflect the contents of the book.
Comments: The characters, especially the main character, Charlie, could use a lot more development. I felt like all I knew about her was that she was a typical boy-crazy teenage girl with self-esteem issues. It would have been nice to see more depth into her character. There were also many grammatical errors, which was annoying, but they could be easily fixed.
Age Range: 14-15
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

Beautiful Creatures

Reader: Sophie D
Age: 14
Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pub Date: Jan. 2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: It's a perfect combination of boring reality and the supernatural. The plot is engaging, somewhat confusing but interesting. The characters are believable and fun to listen to.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The magic is really awesome. It's not overblown, but it's still pretty cool when one of the main characters can make a hurricane happen whenever she's angry.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: The only disappointment was the ending. I do not like abrupt endings, or endings that tell something about the future of the characters that gets you wondering what will happen next, when there probably won't be a sequel.
Did the cover tempt you: The cover is very pretty. It sets up an atmosphere of mystery, which fits the book perfectly. It's also interesting because of the color combination, and draws your eyes to it.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Reader: Elizabeth S
Age: 16
Title: Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Author: John Green and David Levithan
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pub Date: 04/06/10
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Top 10: No
Did the cover tempt you and/or reflect the contents of the book: The cover of this book was decent. I thought it was a nice looking cover, especially with the overlapping "Will Graysons" and the bright lights. It wasn't my favorite cover ever, but I was glad it didn't have faces or clichéd pictures on it. I thought it reflected the theatre portion of the novel especially.
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: I would probably only recommend this book to a friend if they were a die-hard John Green fan. I, personally, don't think I would have enjoyed it without his parts of the book. To a John Green fan, I would say that this book is a good representation of his wit and teenage humor that makes his other books so readable.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The most compelling aspect of the book was the plot line set in place by John Green. I loved his Will Grayson and I especially loved Tiny. My favorite part of John Green's books is his colorful characters, and this book didn't disappoint. His characters were well-developed, funny, and relatable. I really liked Tiny's play as well, which made me laugh. His chapters were the only things which kept me reading, and I really enjoyed them.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I was disappointed with Levithan's chapters in the book. I thought they were too self-centered to be truly compelling, and I had a hard time relating to his characters. His plot line seemed to be driven only by John Green's corresponding chapters. I thought it added to the overall plot, but I thought it was a lot weaker than the other parts of the book. The lack of capitalization also bugged me. It made it hard to fully concentrate on the story rather than the individual words.
Age Range: 14-18 up
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

Far From You

Reader: Elise S
Age: 14
Title: Far From You
Author: Lisa Schroeder
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub Date: Jan 2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Did the cover tempt you: Honestly, my first reaction to the cover was eww. Point #1: Her hair is quite obviously dyed, you can see the dark roots through the unnaturalness. And you'd think they'd actually have her WASH her hair before being photographed. Point #2: What is up with the dress? Her butt is hanging out way too much, and I was not grooving on the lace. Point #3: The wings were uber-fakey.
Recommend: No
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I loved the creative metaphors, with the memories and snowflakes. I thought some of the comparisons she made were really interesting.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I had hope for this book. Then it turned into the girl pretty much moaning in prose. And the ending was so cliché. Mom dies, Dad remarries, girl hates stepmother and newborn baby, gets stuck in snowstorm alone with stepmom, has some good bonding time, only to nearly lose her and the baby, it all turns into one big happy family with no further thoughts of the dead mom. Woah! Didn't see that coming. Also, the way Schroeder combined Alice's hallucinations/dreams was too abrupt and didn't feel well blended. She should either make it clear from the beginning that it's a part fantasy book, or get rid of those parts.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

Things I Know About Love

Reader: Sabrina K
Age: 16
Title: Things I Know About Love
Author: Kate Le Vann
Publisher: Egmont USA
Pub Date: June 2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teen’s Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This book shows that love isn't what you always think it's going to be- and that everyone has a different perception on things. And that there are many different types and parts of love that you have to go through before you actually get "there".
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The most compelling aspect would be the main character Livia, she was very upbeat and optimistic about everything even though she was dealing with leukemia. Her writing her experiences of love is heartwarming and makes her character even more lovable. How Livia views everything was so refreshing and kept the story going- even in her final moments.
Comments: I wish the ending was a bit more cleaned up. It felt very rushed, and Livia should have a final saying really and not Adam—it left the book with a bit of a sour note. Other than that, the book was great and it felt like I was watching a chick flick!
Did the cover tempt you and/or reflect the contents of the book: The cover did tempt me, but more so the title did then anything else. The cover was great—having Livia wearing high heels (because she never wears sensible shoes when walking long distances), and then having New York city in black and white right behind her is a great reflection of the book and captures the message perfectly.
Age Range: 16-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Thirst

Reader: Maddie S
Age: 16
Title: Thirst
Author: Christopher Pike
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub Date: Jan 2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teen’s Top 10: No
Recommend: No
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The fact that this story is about a vampire, of old and new traditions. The history of old fashioned vampiric myths and new inventive vampire methods. It was a whole jumble of old and new put together.
Comments: I found it dull and lacking spice. It just seemed like too outrageous a plot for me, and when you just about thought it would end, it kept going. Inside this book was packed with things about new found Latino Jesus to Ray Guns!! That sort of plot is so far past some of the bizarre plots I have read. The person required to have read this should have had a more open mind about a book like this.
Convince us to read the book: If you have an open hour do not read it. It takes hours to comprehend.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I didn't read the first book so it was hard for me to actually get into it. When I did, you had to read very thoroughly or you may be left behind. It was a more difficult read because it always left you with more questions than answers, especially if you didn't read the first one.
Did the cover tempt you: I found the cover very seductive and was astounded by the title, so I had to pick it up.
Age Range: 14-15
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 2P Only for special interest

The Wager

Reader: David L
Age: 16
Title: The Wager
Author: Donna Jo Napoli
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Pub Date: 04/27/2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teen’s Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: It is an interesting, creative myth put into modern English and written in an exciting, tantalizing manner.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The very idea of a wager with the Devil is enticing, but I think the most compelling aspect of the book is its basis in a myth that we've all heard mentioned.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I was a little disappointed with the ending--I've almost, believe it or not, come to expect sad endings, and the way that the book just came to an abrupt, happy end left me floundering in the water, unsated. It also felt as if the book lacked a good final conflict. The Wager simply trailed off at the end, with no greater suspense than the first few chapters of the book.
Did the cover tempt you and/or reflect the contents of the book: The cover certainly tempted me to pick the book up, but I don't think it reflected the contents of the book very well. The red, "devilish" cover was enough to tempt a slightly irreverent teenage boy to pick it up, but the book itself does not seem very... red. The pictures of Sicily that were described in the book were pictures of springtime and life, dirt and riches--the red of the cover did not portray this well. On the other hand, the little drawings do a good job of showing things in the novel without giving them away.
Age Range: 14-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

The Mission

Reader: Maddie S
Age: 16
Title: The Mission
Author: Jason Myers
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub Date: 2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teen’s Top 10: No
Recommend: No
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I found the most compelling aspect of the story was that a person can change so rapidly from something so pure like Kaden to something so dark and experienced in a matter of a week. This story seemed to me to almost be real. I loved the reality the book portrayed, as if I were the one experiencing it, as if I were Kaden.
Comments: The story helped me to understand a little more clearly what people in big cities go through daily. It was eye opening and disturbing. I didn't understand the decisions the main character made, why he made them.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I was disappointed in the actual plot. I didn't find that I would be interested in it as much as a boy would have been. It only represented a certain jargon of the population of teens: boys—which can be good and bad.
Did you finish: Yes
Did the cover tempt you: I found the cover sort of dark and sad looking, my eyes were immediately drawn to it.
Age Range: 16-17
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

The Maze Runner

Reader: Maddie S
Age: 16
Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Random House
Pub Date: Oct/13/09
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teen’s Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The most compelling aspect would be that this group of boys are being tested beyond their mental capacity. The goal is to realize that there is no actual goal, there is no escape. To escape is to realize you can't escape.
Comments: This story took me a while to understand. I could not fathom that these boys had to realize that there was no escape in order for them to escape. The only way out was to come to terms with oneself. I also admired how the author portrayed these teens—that they could create such a world for themselves. Not many people realize how strong and capable teenagers are at surviving and adapting, except for teens themselves. I loved how James described and detailed everything that was of most interest to me. He really understood on a personal level what I wanted and expected from this book. I got so much more from it then I expected.
Convince us to read the book: This story will really test your emotional capacity, pick it up and run with it.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I was not disappointed with this book in the least.
Did the cover tempt you: The actual title of the book I found intriguing and mysterious. I had to know more about such a unique title.
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Reader: Sophie D
Age: 14
Title: Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Author: John Green and David Levithan
Publisher: Dutton Books
Pub Date: April 2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teen’s Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince to read book: It's funny, the characters are believable and deep, you can sympathize with them, and the plot is unexpected and well thought out.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I really, really liked the two main characters, and I had to keep reading because I felt so bad for them and I had to find out whether something good would happen to them in the end. I could not put this book down, because I knew that on every page there would be something that would make me laugh out loud, or something that would make me really sad, or something that would make me stop and say "Hey! I feel exactly the same way!"
Were you disappointed with the book at all: The only thing that annoyed me about this book was that in the depressed Will Grayson's part, nothing was capitalized. The sentences would run together in my head and I would get confused. Also, the dialogue was written kind of weird, but sometimes it was okay, because you would know that it was the second Will Grayson's part, not the first.
Did you finish: Yes
Did the cover tempt you and/or reflect the contents of the book: I love the cover, because it's shiny and pretty, but I don't think it really reflects the contents. Well, I suppose it could be saying that both of their lives kind of exploded.
Age Range: 14-17
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

The Indigo Notebook

Reader: Annika M
Age: 14
Title: The Indigo Notebook
Author: Laura Resau
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pub Date: 10/13/09
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teen’s Top 10: No
How would you convince someone to read the book: I would tell them its about a girl living abroad in Asia.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The main character of this book has an amazing life. She gets to live in different countries in Asia, and speak seven different languages. I guess it was just really compelling to learn about the different cultures and how people live in Asia.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I was a little dissapointed by the end, because it wrapped up too quickly.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Epitaph Road

Reader: Payton G
Age: 14
Title: Epitaph Road
Author: David Patneaude
Publisher: Egmont USA
Pub Date: 03/??/2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teen’s Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
How would you convince someone to read the book: I would tell them that it is about a female dominant world, but it still is pretty bad because not everything is as perfect as it is made up to be.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: To me, the most compelling aspect was the fact that there really aren't many books about female dominant worlds. Much less ones written by a guy. That intrigued me.
Did the cover tempt you: The cover definitely tempted me to pick it up, because you really don't see many books with a bunch of flaming crosses on the cover, now do you? Plus, I was interested to see what an epitaph road is.
Did you finish: Yes
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it

Crashed

Reader: Meghan K
Age: 15
Title: Crashed
Author: Robin Wasserman
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub Date: 9/8/09
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teen’s Top 10: Yes
Did the cover tempt you and/or reflect the contents of the book: This cover is bad. Bad. With a capital B. For one, it looks too much like the cover of the Uglies series, and it also proudly displays some of the worst photoshopping I've ever seen. The cover of the first book in this trilogy is really good. What happened?
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Crashed is the second book in an as-of-yet unnamed trilogy, about Lia Kahn, whose consciousness was transferred into a robot body after a car crash. After the events of the first book, Lia is living with other people who have been transferred into robot bodies. The 'mechs', as they call themselves mostly keep to themselves, trying to avoid prejudice. The characters are interesting and well-developed, and this book is well-paced.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I think one of my favorite things about this series is the realism. The characters are genuinely flawed; they make rash decisions, they misjudge people, they lose their tempers. This makes them so much more interesting to read about than most characters in YA novels. It seems most authors are genuinely afraid to give their characters any consistent flaws. This book was refreshing in that the character flaws were established early on, and remained throughout the book.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: This book does not stand on its own. You won't be able to understand it without having read the first book. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just a personal thing. Other than that, I have no complaints.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

City of Screams

Reader: Sophie D
Age: 14
Title: City of Screams
Author: John Brindley
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books
Pub Date: 2009
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teen’s Top 10: No
Recommend: No
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I really could not find anything compelling about this book. If I had, maybe I would have read past the 60th page. Everything happened too fast without any explanation, the characters felt flat and their personalities seemed forced. I could already tell pretty much the way the book was going to go. This was the first book from TKB that I have started and not finished.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: The main annoying thing is that the chapters were way too short. Short chapters that are about a page long are okay in Maximum Ride, but that's about it. In this book it just got on my nerves, because events are supposed to happen in chapters, and these chapters were just full of random little pieces that could have been combined into larger parts.
Did you finish: No
Did the cover tempt you: I kind of like the cover, because of the very dark backgound and shapes and then the one colorful bit is on fire, but the eyes creeped me out. It was nothing really special.
Age Range: 12-15
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

Brightly Woven

Reader: Megan W
Age: 17
Title: Brightly Woven
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Pub Date: 03/23/10
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teen’s Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Actually, this book was recommended to me by a good friend of mine. She had told me that it was really good and that I should read it. I did, and I'm glad I listened. It's about magic, but not overpoweringly so. A girl, Sydelle, has lived her whole life in a small town, longing for freedom. One day a man named Wayland North (or commonly referred to as 'North') comes and offers her a chance to leave her town and become his assistant. Only after leaving does Sydelle realize that freedom doesn't come without a cost.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: For me, my favorite part of the book was watching the characters grow. They have to learn to get along and work together, because they have information that could stop their country from entering a pointless war. Sydelle and North did not like each other in the beginning, and they were always fighting. I found it funny because the writing style was witty, thus making the characters witty as well. Gradually a bitter hatred turns to friendship, and it is that growth that interested me.
Comments: I found this book easy and fun to read, and I could not put it down. In fact, I stayed up entirely too late on a school night to finish it because I simply could not stop reading. The story and the characters drew me in.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: The only real problem I had with the book is it leaves a few unanswered questions at the end. I hope there is a sequel.
Did the cover tempt you: This cover definitely tempted me to pick it up. The bright colors caught my eye immediately. The reds and oranges are firey colors that demand to be noticed, while the subtle purple in the background has a calming and mysterious undertone. It drew me in, and once I read the back I was interested.
Age Range: 16-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most

Absolutely Maybe

Reader: Meghan K
Age: 15
Title: Absolutely Maybe
Author: Lisa Yee
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Pub Date: 2/??/2009
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teen’s Top 10: No
Recommend: No
Convince us to read the book: This book struggled mightily from pacing issues, a main character who was a little too perfect, and several tactical nukes to my willing suspension of disbelief. That said, I did not hate this book. I didn't like it, but I finished it.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure why I bothered finishing this book. It wasn't terrible, it started out very good. But some hackneyed plot devices and uneven exposition made things go downhill pretty quickly.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: This book had an interesting story, but it was really clumsily executed. I find it difficult to believe that the main character's mother wouldn't attempt to contact her at all, and I felt the main character's brief stint as homeless in LA seriously downplayed the seriousness of homelessness. Not everyone has an author waiting in the wings, prepared to drop a deus ex machina in their lap if things start to look too grim.
Did the cover tempt you: The cover of this book is okay. I would probably like it more, but there are/were several books with inordinately similar covers shelved near it, so it didn't stand out in any way.
Age Range: 12-15
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

A Wizard of Mars

Reader: Luke M
Age: 16
Title: A Wizard of Mars
Author: Diane Duane
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books
Pub Date: April 2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teen’s Top 10: No
Recommend: No
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I liked the explanation of how people came to live on Mars, what they were like and why they were coming back. This back-story was much more believable than just saying no one had ever noticed the Martians before. I also liked how the Martians were warring among themselves and the peaceful resolution of sending them back in time, as it seemed what a wizard would do.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I thought much of the book was very dull. Little happened until Kit was taken over. It was hard to keep reading the book. I also wished Dairine had more of a part. Having her be gone was a disappointment. She played a major role in the rest of the series and is barely mentioned here. Camela's parts could be downplayed in favor of Dairine. Dairine would be much more likely to understand the alien language than a non-wizard.
Did you finish: Yes
Did the cover tempt you and/or reflect the contents of the book: The cover was very interesting and caught my attention, but it didn't reflect the contents. The tripods aren't scorpions but the tripods are described to shoot red light, not green, and even if they are tripods, Nita never fought them. Only Darryl, Ronan and Kit did.
Comments: The back cover's synopsis needs to be changed. To quote it "If they fail, the history that left Mars lifeless will repeat itself on Earth." One, mars is not lifeless in the book and the Martians don't seem that interested in killing humans. The humans would do nothing more than panic some. It also mentions interplanetary war and violation of wizard laws. There is no interplanetary war at all and the only violation of wizard law is the possessed Kit and some insane Martians. Many characters are excluded in the story. Darryl and Ronan are important in the star and then left. Kit may want the glory but wouldn't Nita bring them with. As mentioned earlier, Dairine is also left out along with Tom and Carl.
Age Range: 14-15
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal