Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith by Gabrielle Douglas

If you watched the 2012 London Olympic Games, you've heard of Gabrielle Douglas. She was a member of the Fierce Five, who won team gold for the USA and she became the first woman of color from any nationality to win the all around gold. But there is a lot more to know about this sixteen year old phenom. Learn about her siblings, her family struggles, and what she sacrificed in order to fulfill her Olympic dreams.

Why I picked up this book: I love reading current "celebrity" biographies and this looked like it would be appealing to teens. Gymnastics and ice skating are my favorite sports to watch in the Olympics.

Why I finished it: The book is very simple and a fast read.

I'd give it to: Gymnasts. Fans of the 2012 Olympics and those who want to know more about the "flying squirrel". Teens looking for a fast, easy read.

While the book was good, it lacks depth that would come from an older teen/adult. It has only been five months since the London Games so it is apparent that the book was rushed to publication.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

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When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

I reviewed this book in Jan 2010 when I first read it.  Click here to read the review.

I reread it today to refresh myself for our middle school book club. They read "A Wrinkle in Time" not too long ago so I thought this would be a great choice. I would say I appreciated it more this time around because I knew what was coming and was able to pick up on the clues the author was leaving.

Leverage by Joshua C. Cohen

Danny is a gymnast who hopes to be captain of the team by his senior year and earn a scholarship to college. He is small (even though he is a sophomore, he is often mistaken for a freshman) but so are the other members of the team, and being small has its advantages when you are throwing yourself in the air doing flips, cartwheels, back handsprings, and the high or parallel bars. It isn't always so great in the hallways of the hell that is high school or in the locker rooms that the football team thinks they are kings of.

Kurt is a monster, size-wise. The football coach has seen to it that his foster mom is treated well so that Kurt will play for Oregrove. The horrors that Kurt has seen in his past have left him with a scar on his face and a terrible stutter that convinces others that he is less than intelligent. But Kurt is smarter and more sensitive to the plight of others than anyone might imagine.

The football coach thinks he has an ace up his sleeve. His stars have an extra boost in terms of a "vitamin supplement", which has made them even more mean, huge, and violent. What starts as "boys will be boys" pranks, bullying, and entitlement has escalated to life threatening levels. The football team doesn't care for the gymnasts, especially after the gymnastics coach calls dibs on the "football" weight room. Will Danny and Kurt survive the pressure of the season and of high school?

Why I picked up the book: One of the books for the CY staff readers club. My husband is a huge sports fan, so there is plenty of sports info buzzing around my house, but I don't usually read sports novels.

Why I finished it: I had to know if someone would finally step up and stop the violence. I realize that we put some people and especially sports heroes on pedestals but we are all human and everyone deserves to be treated with respect. I also wanted to make sure that Kurt survives the horrors that those in power have brought upon him. I wanted to reach into the book and give him a hug and tell him he would survive.

I'd give it to: high school readers and adults who work with teens. Readers who won't be turned off by the violence and brutality.

Some reviewers feel that the violence was too over the top but I think it is realistic, especially in communities where sports/football are a religion.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Nathan's Review: The Listless by Steven Mohr

Reader's Name (First & Last):: Nathan Green
What grade are you in?: 11
Book Title: The Listless
Author: Steven Mohr
: It's a simple story about finding ourselves again. It’s really only a couple of weeks in young college grad’s life. It's written in way that's easy to understand and relate to. If you're ever feeling down or just weird about life, read this book. The end is like some different, bittersweet (sort of depressing but sort of freeing) speech that is oddly motivational. It made me smile. I felt inspired. I recommend this to anyone who has ever felt the pangs of heartbreak, the compression of work life, or the depression of figuring out where to go in a world that’s full of capable people but less opportunity.
Why I picked the book up:: I love books about bands
Why I finished it:: It started slow but it got to be fun, funny, and just good
I'd give this book to:: A friend
My rating for this book:: **** Really Liked It

**This is an ebook and is not currently available through the library.**

My Sisters Keeper

Name: Michelle Sherwin

Grade: 12+
Title: My Sister's Keeper
Author: Jodi Picoult


What would you do if you were born specifically to save someone else? Maybe like Anna it was meant to be a one time save or maybe it would be time after time. Anna who is 13 at the time of this story looks at how she was born and made for a different purpose than any of the other people who are around her. The unfortunate truth that she is in the midst of discovering is that unlike girls her age who are trying to figure themselves out and who they are she is trying to see herself not connected to her sister and her sisters leukemia. What would it be like, she thinks, if her sister were not always sick and in need of another piece of her? Anna sets out to find the answer to this question when she files for medical emancipation. This whole ordeal takes her family and many of the other people around her by surprise. She continues to get help from her lawyer Campbell Alexander. Although he is not thrilled by the case he finds that it challenges him in every way he never would have expected it too. During this Kate begins to get sick and in need of another transplant and their mother Sara seems to be continually living in the past and never wanting to get beyond that. The dividing lines begin to be seen throughout the family, but is this problem bigger than the lawsuit. Everyone must explore some of the simplest concepts of life including how do you define who you are? and don't take things from people without asking. But will it be to late for Kate by the time anyone can ask Anna?

I liked the way the book seemed to always be moving and how each of the characters got to tell parts of the story from their own point of view. It took a little getting use to in order to understand each characters point of view.

I did not like the way that the author did not reveal how some of the characters were affected by the ending from their own point of view. The only character we do hear the ending from is Kate and I was hoping that the rest of the characters would give a little insight on their feelings at the end of the book.

I picked this book up because it looked interesting and it seemed like a book that would bring a bit of a challenge to me. While this book did not present a challenge to me on the level that it was written it did present a challenge to me in thinking about what I would do given the choices Anna was given.

I finished it because even in to the epilogue there were new things to discover about each of the characters and a chance to get to know them better.

I would give this book to anyone who likes to be challenged in the way they think about life.

My rating for this book is a ***

Leslee's Review: Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Leslee

11^th Grade

Double Identity

By:  Margaret Peterson Haddix

This story is about a thirteen year old girl named Bethany.  Her life seems fairly normal up until recently, when everything seems to upset her parents.  Eventually, her parents randomly take Bethany to her Aunt Myrlie’s house and leave with no explanations.  Now Bethany’s life is turned upside down as she begins to hear things about a girl named Elizabeth and as she starts to uncover her history.  She worries about her parents and constantly tries to figure out what kind of trouble they may be in.  Furthermore, Bethany is the talk of the town, where everyone that sees her not only recognizes her, but acts as though they have seen a ghost.  Similarities and differences emerge between Bethany and Elizabeth, strange clues that Elizabeth eventually pieces together to discover who she really is and where she really came from.  We discover what happened to Elizabeth and what Bethany’s parents are running from.  This is an intense book that is hard to put down.  I picked it up because I like Margaret Peterson Haddix, and I finished it because it kept me interested.  I had to know the answers Bethany was searching for.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense, mystery, and excitement.  I would give this book a 5***** star rating. 

Long Lankin

Name: Serina

Grade: 12+

Title: Long Lankin

Author: Lindsey Barraclough

Said my Lord to my Lady,
as he rode away
'Beware of Long Lankin
that lives in the hay.'

Cora and her younger sister, Mimi are sent to live with their elderly aunt, who is not at all happy to see them, in the small village called Byers Guerdon. Aunt Ida is strict and cold, and she treats the girls distantly, making them yearn for their home back in London, and she even asks that their father come get them and take them away even though they have to stay. But what the girl's can't know is that there is a history of disappearing children in their aunt's family, and she will do anything to keep the same fate from befalling her nieces. Cora is curious about the strange town, and about the secrets that are hidden there, so she befriends a couple of village boys that are eager to help her unravel things. However, an ancient evil has been patiently and silently waiting for its next victim, and it has set its sights on Mimi. Cora has to race against time to save her sister's life from a darkness that has an insatiable hunger for children.

Kaitlin
Fiela's Child
By:  Danele Matthee
Fiela's Child is a book of self identification. It tells the story of a young white boy named Benjamin who was raised by a colored family during the 18th century in South Africa. One day, two men from the village come to collect information about each family for census. When they see that Benjamin is white, and is living with and calls a colored family his family, the men start to ask questions. The believe that Benjamin is a lost child that wandered into the forest at age 3 and was forever lost, nine years ago. They take him to the village for the magistrate and the family of the lost boy can decide if he is theirs'. Read the book to find out if Benjamin ever finds out who he really is. I started reading the book because my English teacher recommended it to me. I continued reading it and finished it because Matthee does a wonderful job of keeping the reader interested and throws in some unexpected twists. I would give this book to anyone looking for a easy, descriptive read. I give this book three stars! ***

Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Divergent #2)

Insurgent picks up right where Divergent ends. Tris, Tobias/Four, Caleb, Peter, and Marcus are on the train headed for Amity. Many questions and few answers are to be found. Can Tris deal with the aftermath of the simulation attacks, losing loved ones, and face the truth of her actions? What is the secret that the Abnegation leaders were willing to die for? Will Jeanine and the Erudite find a way to control the Divergent? What role do the Factionless play? Will the factions survive, form alliances, or be destroyed?

Why I picked up the book: I normally don't pick up sequels but I *HAD* to know what happened next.

Why I finished it: Even though there is a lot of fighting and confusing in the middle of the book, it keeps pulling you along. As the reader you want to know what the secret is and if it is revealed or lost. The last page cliffhanger left me wanting to throw the book at the wall. Now to wait until Fall 2013 for an ending.

I'd give the book to: Fans of Divergent, Hunger Games, Maze Runner, and Twilight.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Divergent by Veronica Roth

The world Beatrice Prior lives in vastly different from ours. In the future, society has divided themselves into factions. Each faction believes in and honors a specific core value: Abnegation practices selflessness; Candor are honest; Erudite value intelligence; Dauntless are brave; and Amity are the peaceful. At the age of 16, you take an aptitude test, the results of which help you decide whether to stay a member of the faction you were born into or to choose a different one.

It is supposed to be simple but Beatrice's test results are abnormal, which means she is Divergent. She is told by the test administrator to keep her results a secret, as being Divergent is dangerous. At the Choosing Ceremony, she picks Dauntless and must leave her Abnegation family behind (faction before blood). Tris (the name she has chosen to be called) discovers that her initiation begins even before reaching Dauntless headquarters. Jumping onto a moving train, then onto a rooftop, and finally jumping into a dark unknown. Those Dauntless initiates who made it that far then learn that only half will become members. Those who don't rank in the top during initiation will have to leave and become part of the factionless.

Initiation is not for the weak of heart. Fighting and weapons training are a far cry from the selfless environment Tris was raised in. Not all initiates believe in fighting fair. Will Tris' survive? What does it really mean to be Divergent? What would happen if her secret is discovered?

Why I picked up the book: I've had it recommended to me by both teen and adult readers many times and it is on this year's Soaring Eagle nominee list. The CY staff readers are using it for a discussion so I jumped at the chance to be "forced" to finish it.

Why I finished it: Very fast paced. I'd look down and be 50 pages deeper in no time.

I'd give it to: Fans of the Hunger Games & Maze Runner (teens, adults, guys & girls).

My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

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