Scrivener's Moon - YA Book Review by Eli

Reader: Eli S-M
Age: 13
Title: Scrivener's Moon
Author: Philip Reeve
Publisher: Scholastic
Pub Date: 11/1/12
Galley: No
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: The book was very good because the characters were extraordinarily well developed and multi-faceted. One of my favorite parts of this book was how even though the characters were very different from the norm,the story was not written about that, it was just allowed to add to it. The plot was also exciting and fast moving. My only complaint is that the book is the last installment in the prequel series to Mortal Engines, another series by Phillip Reeve, and features heavy foreshadowing to that. This means that certain seemingly unnecessary details may bog down the story for those who have not read Mortal Engines.
Memorable or Forgettable: The qualities of the book that made it memorable for me were the character diversity, the post-apocalyptic setting, and the method of switching between many characters to tell a larger story.
Cover: The cover attracted me to the book, and it reflects one facet of the plot, but I feel it did [not do a good] job showing the others. The whole book was really about New London, not a pyramid.
Age Range: 12 through 15
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

tags: Fever Crumb trilogy / Mortal Engines series prequel / post-apocalyptic / steampunk / dystopian / ya lit

Need a break from the hectic holiday season?  Take a mini "bookcation" with the booktrailer our teens created for Geoff Herbach's book, Stupid Fast:

 http://vimeo.com/40908360.  

Enjoy!

Reader: Grace KL
Age: 13
Title: Pickle: The (Formerly) Anonymous Prank Club of Fountain Point Middle School
Author: Kim Baker
Publisher: Roaring Book Press
Pub Date: 09/04/2012
Galley: No
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: The main characteristic of this middle-grade novel is humor, especially since the focus of the book is a prank club.  Although written for younger readers, the characters in the book were relatable, and the theme of the book was much more than not getting caught while pulling pranks.  The one thing I did not enjoy was the setting.  The characters seemed to inhabit one of those "happy, everyone lives near each other" towns.  This always annoys me because I can't relate, and the idea that all of these kids, and a zoo are walking distance away has never felt very believable.
Memorable or Forgettable: This book was slightly memorable in that the pranks were ones I had never thought of before.  Other than that, the dialogue and descriptions were nothing special.
Cover:  The cover does accurately portray what happens in the story, but does not go much further than that.  What really drew me in were the words "prank club".
Age Range: Under 12 through 13
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

Reader: Lyric K
Age: 13
Title: The Edumacation Of Jay Baker
Author: Jay Clark
Publisher: Square Fish
Pub Date: 01/31/12
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book:  The book is good because the author does a great job at writing in general, as in putting words together. The author was also very good at making the kind of jokes teenagers actually make. The main character's family life is hilarious and there are some great coincidences worked into the book. In the beginning there isn't very good character development, but it is a short book so the beginning does overlap with the body of the book which makes for still learning the characters while reading the story. The dialogue is very "teenager," which is good because those are the characters in the book. Over all the book is good but the combination of a short book, a slightly slow plot, and not much going on in the plot in general makes it feel like something was lacking once you're done reading.
Memorable or Forgettable:  It was a memorable book, and I will probably recommend it to a friend.
Cover:  The cover did make me interested, and I am glad it did not show a face. The cover did show what part the book was about. However it did not show the other part about romance. The inside cover says that there is a love triangle in the book, but if it even had one I didn't notice it... it's true the main character liked two people but he never cheats on anyone.
Age Range: 12 through 17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Additional Comments:  Not "better than most," but more, "pretty good."