Skulduggery Pleasant

Name: Serina

Grade: College

Title: Skulduggery Pleasant

Author: Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant is the suavest, smooth-talking detective to ever walk the earth. He also is an ancient wizard that has been fighting a secret war for generations against evil sorcerers that are trying to throw the world into chaos and rule it with an iron fist. Oh yeah, and he's dead...

When twelve-year-old Stephanie Edgley's novelist uncle dies, he leaves her his mansion and all his possessions, including some rather dangerous ones that have magical properties. At the reading of her uncle's will, a mysterious man was invited. Called Skulduggery Pleasant, he wore a large coat and concealed his face with a hat and sunglasses, but he had the most beautiful voice that she has ever heard. Later, while staying at her uncle's home, which has not suddenly become hers, Stephanie is attacked by a strange man, demanding to know where the 'key' is. When things become dire and Stephanie is not able to escape, the man in the coat from the will reading barges in and, to Stephanie's amazement, creates a fireball in his gloved hand and shoots it at her attacker, driving him away. However, in the scuffle, Skulduggery loses his hat and sunglasses, giving Stephanie an even greater shock. Skulduggery Pleasant is a walking skeleton.

From there on, Stephanie is dragged into an ancient battle that has been going on behind humanity's back for hundreds of years. Skulduggery died during the war, but could not move on. So, with a bit of magic, he reanimated his bones and has been walking around since. Skulduggery believes that one particularly bad sorcerer is after something said to only exist in myth, the Scepter of the Ancients. He also believes that Stephanie's uncle was murdered.

In an attempt to escape her boring life, Stephanie accompanies Skulduggery on his quest to avenge her uncle's murder and to stop the evil sorcerer called Nefarian Serpine, even though he is not very willing to have her along. But what's a skeleton to do?

I picked this book up because it had an awesome cover.

I finished this book because it was fun and interesting.

Rating: ****

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Name: Caitlin

Grade: 12

Book: An Abundance of Katherines

Author: John Green

Colin Singleton is single- that's because he was very recently dumped by the "love of his life,Katherine. To Colin, this Katherine was Katherine the Great; losing her was a tragedy in itself; this was the 19th Katherine he had dated in his life and she left him-- his life is over. Although Colin is intent on wallowing in his misery and maybe trying to get Katherine back, his friend Hassan, a Judge-Judy obsessed Muslim who is not a terrorist decides it's time for a road trip. They eventually land in a very small town and take shelter with one of the local families. Their adventures there are both hilarious and sweet as Colin learns that Katherines aren't the only girls in the world.
An Abundance of Katherines is a book that all teenagers can relate to--well, mostly. It does deal with teen relationships, which really everyone can relate to, but John Green managed to put a unique twist on it, as is his style. Colin is a prodigy, a child genius who remembers nearly everything he reads. The book is full up with mathematical equations, random facts and general nerdery; Hassan is practically in love with Judge Judy and all of these character quirks make the characters more human and definitely more lovable. John Green has a way of taking a typical boy gets dumped, boy meets girl, teenage coming of age road trip story and making it interesting and funny again. This book was hilarious and easy to relate to and all together a good read.

Why I picked up the book: I'm a nerdfighter, how could I not? If you don't know what a nerdfighter is, I encourage you to check out this site:

http://nerdfighters.ning.com/

Why I finished it: It was quick and very entertaining, so not finishing it would have been a challenge.

I'd Give this book to: Really any teen. It's a good reminder that being dumped is not the end of the world. Otherwise, anyone who likes nerdier fiction or someone looking for something funny to read.

My Rating for this book: ****

Poppy by Avi

"No creature is allowed to leave their homes without the permission of the great horned owl, Ocax." One night Poppy, a young deer mouse, and her boyfriend Ragweed go out at night to dance. They thought that they weren't being watches but they were wrong. Ocax in a fit of rage swoops down and devours Ragweed while slightly missing Poppy. Poppy runs back home to her family who are all wanting to move to a new house in search for food. When her family asks the great owl for permission he immediately says no. Poppy being blamed for it all now must journey to investigate why the horned owl rejects their offer. On her journey she meets a cranky old porcupine who agrees to help Poppy get to the new house. When they arrive Poppy is stopped by Ocax. As a last gift to a friend the porcupine gives Poppy one of his needles to fend off the owl. The question is will it work? This book is amazing a and exhilarating. Every page made me want to continue. Though a children's book, I strongly recommend this to any teen. It is a story of adventure, sadness, and courage. I give it this book a good 5/5. This book is marvel and anyone who reads this will be amazed.

Briana
12th Grade
The Bone People
by: Keri Hulme

An estranged artist, a mute boy, and an abusive adoptive father are all brought together in this enticing story of native New Zealanders, and their fight to preserve their way of life. These three characters were "walking dead", never amused by anything and putting on a fake face for the outside world- until one event throws them all together.
Kerewin Holmes, an artist and a lottery winner, she is tough, hard, blunt, and capable of fending for herself. One night, a boy shows up on her doorstep; a mute boy with long blond hair, white skin, and bruises on his body with every intention of reeking havoc on Kerewin's simple life. Simon P. (at least, that is the only name the boy ever responds too) Gillayley, adoptive son of Joe Gillayley, has had it rough. Found nearly dead and shipwrecked on the coast, was taken in by Joe and his dying wife so that he could live like a normal child- but Simon is not a normal child. He knows much more than he should at his age, is always seeking attention by stealing and beating other kids at school, and revealing terrifying secrets when he believes himself to be alone. Joe- widowed and hurt, seeks happiness, often coming in the form of drinking himself into oblivion. The strains of being a widow and having to raise a feisty foster son wear Joe down all the time, until he meets Kerewin.
The Bone people is about these three unlikely friends, their blossoming relationship, the shattering of such a good thing, and their struggles afterwards.

Why I picked this book up: This novel was an assigned reading book for my English class.

Why I finished the book: Contrary to popular belief, this assigned book was a great read. I really enjoyed this novel because it had a great plot line that can be related to everyone in one way or another.

Who I would recommend this book too: Anyone who is not sure what to read next. Unlike most books today, it is not a part of a series, making the perfect "in-between" novel. There is deception, love, joy, heartache, and suspense all crammed in this novel. The characters are portrayed so that they are loved, and the plot line depicts many inner struggles.

Rating: *** Good

Soaring Eagle Book Awards

And the winner is.....

Wyoming Soaring Eagle Book Award (7th-12th grade)
2011-2012 Nominees


Eighth Grade Bites
(Chronicles of Vladimir Tod #1)
by Heather Brewer

Fire
(Seven Kingdoms Trilogy #2)
by Kristin Cashore

Clockwork Angel
(Infernal Devices #1)
by Cassandra Clare

Catching Fire
(Hunger Games #2)
by Suzanne Collins

The Maze Runner
(Maze Runner #1)
by James Dashner

Halt's Peril
(Ranger’s Apprentice #9)
by John Flanagan

Football Hero
by Tim Green

Glass *
(Crank #2)
by Ellen Hopkins

The Iron King
(Iron Fey #1)
by Julie Kagawa

Unwind
by Neal Shusterman

The Last Song
by Nicholas Sparks

Shiver
(Wolves of Mercy Falls #1)
by Maggie Stiefvater

Blood on My Hands
(Wish You Were Dead #2)
by Todd Strasser

Confessions of Serial Kisser
by Wendelin Van Draanen

Paranormalcy
(Paranormalcy #1)
by Kiersten White

Desires of the Dead

Name: Krystiana Graham

Grade: 12th grade

Title: Desires of the Dead

Author: Kimberly Derting

Review: Desires of the Dead is the sequel to Bodyfinder, by Kimberly Derting. And let me tell you something - the wait was well worth it. Desires of the Dead continues the story of Psychic Girl; Violet Ambrose, her steady boyfriend; Jay, and her closest friends. Violet is able to hear 'echos' from those whose lives had been cut short by the actions of another. Animals and humans alike. And the killers carry a similar echo as well. In this book, however, you are in for another gut clenching, adrenaline pumping story. Violet is at it again, when it comes to finding bodies, this time the body is that of a young boy who was locked in a container at a shipping dock and was left to die. Do to this find, Violet is finally put on the radar for the FBI. Sara Priest is introduced as the not-so-FBI agent, with her helper, Rafe. Along with these two new characters you are introduced to a pair of siblings - the new kids who share a shocking secret. There mother ran out on them... That, or... as the FBI suspects, their mother is dead. Violet soon starts to receive threatening messages , that leave her second guessing who she can trust and who she can't. And with the FBI watching her from around every corner; it's not surprising Violet starts keeping secrets. Eventually she finds a suspect who might be sending her the messages, and when she goes to discuss it with Jay, she finds herself battling him over whether or not she could be right; ending up with them having a huge fight and she going to the only person she can think of, to help her figure out what to do. Sara Priest's odd helper, who seemed to understand just how 'unique' Violet is.

Eventually she decides to give some files that Rafe gave her - a look through, and calls Rafe, deciding to look into one of the cases. The case about the sibling's mother. Going to a suspects house, she finds an echo and follows it quickly to where a body is buried, wrapped in plastic. She isn't able to unwrap it before Rafe shows up, leads her away, and calls Sara and the police. However, the body turned out to be nothing more then a dog. When Violet finally goes to Jay - apologizing, she tells him the whole truth in regards to what is going on, and after talking some things out they are there for each other once again. Soon she, Jay, her friends, and the two siblings are planning a trip up to a cabin, with the sibling's father... It is there that the story starts to pick up. Echo of a body discovered - though she's unable to dig it up. Matching echos to the sibling's father. And finally, the discovery of what really happened to the siblings' mother. But if you want to know about what isn't mentioned - then you better check the book out; and find out what happens for yourself.

Why I picked this book up: I picked this book up; because I've always been interested with stories that involve killers, and the cases trying to be solved. I'd read the first book in the series, so i was excited to see what happened in the next. Though I had to wait a bit before I found enough time to actually sit down and be able to read the book.

Why I finished it: I greatly dislike having to stop reading a book in the middle of it, do to the fact that I'll constantly be wondering about what happened - and often times will make up my own ending just to appease my brain. Luckily this wasn't a problem with Desires of the Dead. This book is quick about grabbing your attention, and keeps you interested through the entire thing. I read this book in bed, on the bus, during class. I couldn't stop reading... And, why would I want too... with a story like this?

I'd give this book to: You can't get better then combining two of the most interesting topics in the world. Psychic Powers, and Murders. For anyone who likes reading those type of books (and for those of you who might have similar powers) this is a most read. The store is engaging, and most anyone could find something to connect to, with in the plot. It's an amazing story... but why am I still telling you this? Go check the book out for yourself and find out.

Rating: Four out of Five; It was really good, especially considering it was the type of book that you could read with out having read the first in the series.