Dope Sick by Walter Dean Myers

Have you ever had a really bad day and wished you could just go back and change one thing? Hiding from the police after being an accomplice to a shooting during a drug deal gone wrong, Lil J finds himself squirreled away in an old abandoned crack house with a man who calls himself Kelly. Kelly has a television and remote control that allow him not only to view the scene outside the building, but rewind and fast forward Lil J's life. As Lil J comes face to face with the decisions he's made and potentially ending his life, he must decide if he can change or if being dope sick will ultimately determine his future.

Why I picked the book up: The book is part of the 2011 Great Stories Club Grant. If we are accepted, this is one of the books we will be using next spring for Roosevelt book club.

Why I finished it: The book is short and easy to read. I think it gives readers a lot to think about, especially in terms of who has control over your life and the decisions you make.

I'd give it to: teens and adults. Readers who don't mind the use of street talk and real life situations.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Case Closed

Name: Serina

grade: 12th+

Book: Case Closed series

Author/artist: Gosho Aoyama

Jimmy Kudo is a master detective. He can crack any case placed before him and the police have no choice but to listen intently to his clever deductions, since he is always right. Yes, Jimmy is a brilliant guy. And he is only in high school. After one particular case Jimmy solves dealing with the decapitation of a man in the black tunnel on the roller coaster, he decides to follow two very suspicious men dressed all in black. While listening in on their shady conversation about a murder plan, Jimmy is hit from behind by a lead pipe and knocked unconscious. The two men in black decide to give him an untested poison that is supposed to leave no trace in the human body. Unfortunately for them, and for Jimmy, the drug had a strange side effect; it caused Jimmy's body to shrink back to grade school age. Stuck as a child, Jimmy has to consult the mad scientist next door, Doctor Agasa, for a cure. But the doctor can't do anything until he has a sample of the drug Jimmy was given. So Jimmy is forced to go under the false name Conan Edogawa and live with his childhood friend, Rachel, and her wanna-be-detective father, Richard Moore. Richard is probably one of the worst detectives in business, but he has a knack for always ending up somewhere a murder has taken place. Unable to resist cracking a case, Jimmy/Conan drops hints to the man to help him solve it. Unfortunately, Richard doesn't really want a kid hanging around, so Conan has Doctor Agasa make him some special gadgets. One is a wrist watch stun gun, the other a bowtie voice modulator that can mimic any timbre and tone. Using his spy-like tools, Conan knocks Richard unconscious and sits him in a seated position while he uses the detective's voice to fool the police into thinking that Richard is solving the case. Because he is slumped over and looks like he is sleeping, Richard earns the nickname 'Sleeping Moore.' For some reason, no one seems to notice that Richard's mouth is not moving. With each case he solves, Jimmy hopes to get closer to the men in black so he can get back to the way he was before. But so far in the series, he'll just have to solve all the cases he comes across in the meantime.

The art for this manga (Japanese comic) is a bit different than the usual style, but it still appealing and grows on the readers. While the deductions in the series are usually ridiculous, as well as the stupidity of some of the characters, other than Jimmy, it is still great fun to read!

I picked this book up because it looked fun.

I finished all the series so far because it is a bit addicting.

I'd give this book to anyone who loves mystery and graphic novels.

Rating: ***

Pretty Little Liars written by: Sara Shephard

Name: Shelby

Grade: 12+

Book: Pretty Little #1

Author: Sara Shephard

Five best friends Emily, Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Alison were inseparable. They did everything together. they had believed that their friendship was based on secrets. They knew that's what made them closer... or did it? That is, until Alison disappeared one evening. For three years later, they still are trying to figure out about what actually happened to Alison, but as far as they were concerned they had all moved on. Emily had become a champion swimmer that lately has been questioning her relationship with her boyfriend is really too good to be true, Aria has returned home from a long trip of living in Iceland- where the real sophisticated life, and the ways of the world are; and has decided that she has feelings for her English teacher. Hanna is the most popular- the queen bee of the school, but is putting too much risk to stay there, and last Spencer is striving hard to make other straight "A" students with 4.0 grade point averages, look average; and in the process winning the heart unintentionally of her sisters boyfriend. They were all going through separate issues, things, until they were brought back together by their once held secrets.

One by one they start receiving mysterious texts signed by someone named A. A knows everything that's going on in their lives, everything that's surrounding them, but they have no idea who it is. Is it really Alison coming back to haunt them? Or is it someone who is a super slick stalker. Work with each of the girls as they discover the secrets of the past, the absolute truth of the secrets that held them together, and who A really is.

I'd give this book to: Any girl who loves a mystery, and action, and is really into fashion, the world, twists, and relationships.

I picked up this book because: I have most recently started watching the series on ABC family, and have wanted to see what the book was like, and I've decided I really enjoy them.

I finished this book because: I wanted to see how it ended, it is the first in many of the series of Pretty Little Liars, and follows the series on television quite well. It is interesting, and while usually I don't like books like this, this book has mystery and questioning/thinking about it that makes it more enjoyable.

Ratings:

4Q

5P

Halo; The Fall of Reach

For all those die hard fans of the Halo games you have probably by now played the game Halo Reach and know the tragic end of Humanity's last hope. You know the heroics of Noble Team as they fight for survival of both them and the entire planet of Reach as the Covenent try to "cleanse" the planet. But the story of Reach goes deeper than that. The spartans of Noble Team weren't the only ones who faught the Covenent on Reach and this story tells the tale of the other brave spartans who died for the planet including Master Chief.

This book is his story and know one else's. And the great thing about it is that it goes deeper into the life of Spartan 117. Where he came from, the crualty and dedication of becoming a spartan, and how Master Chief became the last of a powerfull team. If you thought you knew Master Chief before than prepare yourself for an even bigger experience. Read and follow the story of not just Master Chief but of every spartan to come out of the secret Spartan II Program. The hard trials and decisions made by them as they go from being the most powerful soldiers in the history of the universe to the story of the only one who survived.

If you have the guts to read the book than I recommend it to you. Whether your a science fiction dude or maybe just a gamer, reading this will only make want to read the rest of the series. I picked this book for the game but I finished it because it was a book of suspence, action, heroics, and sadness. Every page will tell you something you never would have known about the Spartans and believe me you will be astonished. To all those die hard fans of halo I say

HOO HAA!!!

Esteban O. Mena

Rating: 9/10