Share
-
Category Archives: Children & Teens
Blending Time by Michael Kinch (BuddyHollywood.com)
Turning seventeen isn’t as exciting as it used to be… say, back in 2025. Because in 2069, turning seventeen means that you are ready to be assigned to a permanent work assignment by the Global Alliance.
Do well in school and differentiate yourself and you may get out of digging a canal for the rest of your life. Jaym, a poor child of a single mother is seventeen and running out of job options. Reya, daughter of refugees from the desert formerly known as MexiCal doesn’t have a choice. D’Shay, a young man with a history of mistakes has no shot of getting a good career without bribing a hacker. All three think that they’ve made it by avoiding canal duty. Their job: go to Africa, where the population cannot reproduce because of a terrible solar flare damaging their genes, marry a pre-chosen mate then repopulate the continent. But the Blender program they’ve been chosen for isn’t all it seems.
Once they get to Africa they find a world very different than their training prepared them for. With no support from the Global Alliance, they have to make their way in a land filled with rebels and abject poverty…
The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
One Christmas Eve, Kate is shaken awake by her mother. Kate, the oldest of three children, is implored by her mother to look after the younger two, Michael and Emma. The three children are spirited away in the middle of the night to keep them safe. For the next ten years, these siblings will find themselves shuffled from foster home to foster home, until one disastrous meeting with a potential adoptive parent lands them in the “orphanage” of Dr. Stanislaus Pym. It is a strange sort of orphanage, made so because of the enigmatic owner of the house, Dr. Pym, the old caretaker, Abraham, and the housekeeper who insists on speaking to the children in address of royalty, Miss Sallow. Oh, and the fact that Kate, Michael, and Emma are the only children in the orphanage.
Upon their first investigation of the house, the children find a book bound in green leather. Purely by accident, they stick a picture in the book and are transported back in time. It is here they meet the Countess, an evil witch in search of the book that the children themselves have found. When they try to get back to their time, Michael is left behind. The girls then return to find Michael, sending them on the adventure of a lifetime. The children seems to be on one adventure after another trying to right the wrongs of the past.
When I first started this book, I was not sure if I would finish it. The Emerald Atlas contains characters reminiscent of Harry Potter’s Albus Dumbledore and Rubius Hagrid, a story line about children entering another time (world) in order to save it as in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and a seemingly never-ending abundance of dismal situations a la A Series of Unfortunate Events. I was concerned that John Stephens would not find his own voice.
I am glad I kept reading. While the aforementioned nods to other great children’s literature do exist, Stephens begins to weave his own tale. The characters are ones for whom you can champion. I am a major fan of books that incorporate strong female characters, and Stephens does this twice with both Kate and Emma. He also manages to do so while keeping in consideration the fact that they are still children.
As with any book, I rate it based on its repeat readability (yep, making up words now). Stephens gets a solid yes. Stephens’ novel is great for young readers, rich in folklore and vivid imagery. I am looking forward to the next two books in this trilogy, even knowing I will have to wait quite some time (as Atlas is not slated for release until April 2011).
Robin Gwaro is a founding book review blogger at Bookgateway.com and has generously supplied this review. She describes herself as “a woman just trying to keep it all together. Most days, I have the juggling act down! Others, I have the broom and dustpan handy to clean up the mess. My life is not always easy, it is not always neat, but it is always worth every minute!” Her personal blog is Just Wandering. Not Lost..
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
Support BookGateway.com by purchasing this book through Amazon: The Emerald Atlas (Books of Beginning)
Beyond The Valley of Thorns by Patrick Carman
From the back:Alexa Daley thought her troubles were over when she defeated the man who threatened to bring Bride well down from within. But now that the walls have fallen, a new, unexpected threat has risen from outside. Suddenly, Alexa is involved in a battle much, much bigger than her own life …a battle in which she is destined to play a key role. Sinister forces are gathering in strange and vile forms, all with the goal of bringing darkness to the land. In order to help good defeat evil, Alexa and her friends must venture farther than they’ve gone before- confronting giants, bats, ravenous dogs, and a particularly ghoulish mastermind in order to bring back peace.
The book was easy for me to read, but I would recommend it for grades four through seven. It really depends on the individual. I got into it on probably page one because I was so pumped up from reading the first book, The Dark Hills Divide, (which I have also reviewed.) It was a very fun book! I simply loved it! I recommend it for anybody that still likes a fun, fictional, but also suspenseful book about a twelve year old girl saving the world. Most normal middle schoolers would like the book almost as much as me. (Nobody could like it more or as much as I did!) It was not obviously Christian but I could relate Elyon to God and Alexa to each of us. It really depends on how you look at it. No one in the book reads the bible but I think they pray to Elyon in the third book a couple times but not in this one. There is absolutely nothing bad that parents would have to worry about. No bad words or actions at all. I think this book is a great source of reading for any one that likes suspenseful fantasy. Before you start reading this series make sure you have the next ones in the series close by. If you don’t you might go crazy: the only part I was the a little upset about was the fact that each of these books are cliff-hangers. They all end in “to be continued.”
This series of books is probably up in second place on the list of my favorite book series right behind The Percy Jackson series, but that’s another story (or book.)
Arieltopia is a founding book blogger for BookGateway.com and has generously provided this review. She is an 11 year old avid reader – usually going through a book a day – who gives readers a unique perspective on Young Adult and Teen Fiction; an actual teenager’s perspective. Her blog is http://Arieltopia.blogspot.com.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
Support BookGateway.com by purchasing this book through Amazon: Beyond The Valley Of Thorns (Land of Elyon)
The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman
From the back: Twelve year old Alexa Daley is spending another summer in Bridewell with her father. She looks forward to exploring the old lodge where she stays each year, with its cozy library and maze of passages and rooms. She’s also eager to finally solve the mystery of what lies beyond the immense walls that were built to keep out an unnamed evil that lurks in the forests and The Dark Hills-an evil the towns people are still afraid of. As Alexa begins to unravel the truth about what lies outside the protective barrier she’s lived behind all her life, she discovers a strange and ancient enchantment. Armed with an unexpected new power, Alexa exposes a danger that could destroy everything she holds dear-and change The Land of Elyon forever.
This book was about a young girl named Alexa Daley. Her country was made of three towns that were all inside stone walls. The passages to get to the other towns were also surrounded by walls. All of the buildings were one story high so that no one would be able to get into the towns or out. The walls were made by Warvold (who is now a old man) when he was young to protect his family and everyone in the town from a dark evil outside the walls. Alexa Daley likes going to Bridewell (the town that Warvold stays at.It is in the middle of the other towns,) because it has a three story building in it. Alexa is an adventurous girl who is always getting into trouble with the head guard Pervis. (They don’t exactly get along very well.) Alexa brings her mother’s magnifying glass to Bridewell even though they are forbidden. She has the only room in any of the towns that you can hop up on the window sill and get a peek of the Dark Hills, and the wilderness outside the walls. She is caught by Pervis using the glass to see outside the walls. He breaks the magnifying glass after taking it a few days later. Alexa always is looking for a way outside the wall throughout the story in till she finds out about the Joscastas. They are gems that Renny (Warvold’s now dead wife.) used to make. If you had a strong enough magnifying glass you could see what message was inscribed on the Joscata. Alexa is a very intelligent girl. She studies the gems for several days. Alexa finds a way outside the walls using the Jocastas and finds out that she was chosen by Warvold to continue the mystery of the walls and what lays outside them. She discovers that she has a power and that she must use it to save Bridewell, the Dark Hills, and the Land of Elyon.
Arieltopia is an 11 year old avid reader – usually going through a book a day – who gives readers a unique perspective on Young Adult and Teen Fiction; an actual teenager’s perspective.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
Sir Rowan and the Camerian Conquest by Chuck Black
Sir Rowan and the Camerian Conquest is the sixth book in this series, “The Knights of Arrethtrae” Rowan of Laos was born in utter poverty an orphaned at a young age. Yet, he was born to be a swordsman. Every fiber in him knew it. After meeting a knight of the Prince while working as a stable boy. He was trained at the local haven and was a superior swordsmen like no one has seen. He was passionate about the Prince and Code.
Sir Rowan and the Camerian Conquest
by Chuck Black
Multnomah
October 2010
Four years of training and when his first commissioning was presented to him. Rowan turned his back to compete in the tournaments knights. He was good and became wealthy, had fame and even became one to the most decorated tournament knights in Cameria. On the way to a tournament his group is attacked and Rowan is captured and left for dead. During this time he sees visions of the Prince. After several weeks of being left for dead Rowan has a vision of the Prince and shortly afterwards he is rescued by a woman who serves the Prince. Rowan finds new purpose and rededicates himself to the Prince.
He finds out that all his material possessions are gone and that his beloved Cameria has been held in tyranny. Rowan meets a mysterious knight who want Rowan to join him in another battle elsewhere for the Prince. Rowan must determine where he will fight. He loves his countryman in Cameria but this mysterious knight insist that his purpose lies in an ancient city and is the greater cause for him to fight for the Prince. Rowan must choose which battle he will serve the Prince, but will it be the one the Prince has chosen him to serve in. The wrong choice could have a great impact on the battle of the Cameria region.
I have enjoyed every book in this series. The book is for teens. I have been reading these books to my five and eight year old as a read-out-loud and they love the books and are excited for me to read more to them. Mom is also a big fan and can’t wait to read more in this series.
ReneeK is a sweet tea addicted mamma who loves to cuddle up to a good book. She blogs at Little Homeschool on the Praire and writes about family, homeschooling, having a special needs child, and about whatever else tickles her fancy.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
B is for Bufflehead by Steve Hutchcraft
I read through B is for Bufflehead with my four year old son and was surprised to find that it kept his attention throughout. I expected him to get antsy with only pictures of birds and too many words for him to follow along with me. That is the beauty of this book: the photos are amazing. The birds in this book are so exotic that you can’t help but to stare in wonder and then turn the page in anticipation.
However, it seems to me that the publisher let this author down. The pages look like they were put together with graphics from the early 2000′s; it looks cheap. I know that this is independent, but the package disappoints.
Also, once we’d seen the cool bird pictures, there just wasn’t much incentive to go read the book again. Like curiosities in a circus: one time was enough.
I liked the book and I want to encourage it’s purchase if only to support work like this, but the package was amateur, and the re-read value was low.
Scott Asher is the founder and administrator of BookGateway.com. Along with his contributions to BookGateway, he reviews for the commercial site BuddyHollywood.com. His personal blog is AshertopiA – a land flowing with milk and honey… and a lot of sticky people where he cartoons and writes on anything he finds funny and Christianity, which sometimes overlap.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
Support BookGateway.com by purchasing this book through Amazon: B is for Bufflehead
Spaceheadz: SPHDZ Book #1 by Jon Scieszka and Francesco Sedita
This is a cute children’s book about a fifth grader named Michael K. He is the kid in a new school. (P.S. 858 – Room 501), new town (Brooklyn, New York) and it is the first day. In his class are two other new kids – Bob and Jennifer. and a talking hamster – Major Fluffy. Their teacher is Mrs. Halley. Michael K. thinks the new kids are weird and doesn’t want anything to do with them. Bob tells Michael K. they are spaceheadz from another planet. He tell Michael K. that he must become a SPHDG and save your world. This is really weird and what did he mean “save your world”? They need three point one four million (3.14M) Earth persons to become Spaceheadz or the Earth will be turned off.
Agent Umber is a special agent working for AAA. He receives a call on his AAA Pickle phone from his chief. There is a possible AEW (Alien Energy Wave) in his sector. The coordinates are D-7. – P.S. 858. He tells the chief he won’t let him down. Umber’s motto is to Protect and to Serve and to Always Look Up.
Bob and Jennifer has seen all the major Earth commercials and believes them all. They don’t use spaceships, but change channels – or adjustment of wave forms, They have seen Michel K’s eating Super Crunchies and believes he can do anything.
Recommend the book for children kindergarten through fifth grade, they will find the book funny, and intriguing. Their imagination will run wild as they read to see how Michael K. and Agent Umber will handle the problems associated with Bob and Jennifer. If they fall short of their goal – the Earth will be turned off.
Highly recommended.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
Sydney’s D.C. Discovery by Jean Fischer
Publisher info: Sydney and Elizabeth are on-site in the nation’s capital when odd happenings occur at the Vietnam Memorial. The Camp Club Girls jump into action. They use their special skills to tackle an adventure that leads them not only to Baltimore’s Ft. McHenry, but also to the heart of a terrorist travesty! Can they decipher the clues and save the president before the dawn’s early light?
Sydney’s D.C. Discovery
Camp Club Girls
by Jean Fischer
Barbour Books
January 2010
Sydney’s DC Discovery is number two in the series of the Camp Club Girls. In this book Sydney and Elizabeth find out that strange things are happening at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The other girls keep in touch and help out because they all saved up and bought web cameras. Kate, being a genius and all, made the website they went on to talk to each other and put a secret password that only the girls know. Elizabeth’s uncle came to visit some friends in D.C. so Elizabeth came with him to visit Sydney. They follow men named Moose and Rusty around D.C. and try to find out who their boss, the Professor, is.
When Sydney and the girls think it might be Beth’s (the girls call Elizabeth, Beth) uncle she is very upset and doesn’t talk to Sydney for a while after defending him. They soon realize that it can’t be Beth’s uncle and they save President Meade. Sydney runs as fast as she can and saves the day.
I would tell you what/who she was running with but I do not want to ruin the surprise and the book. I thought that this book was even better than the first book Mystery at Discovery Lake!
Arieltopia is an 11 year old avid reader – usually going through a book a day – who gives readers a unique perspective on Young Adult, Teen Fiction, along with adult fiction: an actual teenager’s perspective.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
The Mystery at Discovery Lake by Renea Brumbaugh
Publisher Info: When six girls from different parts of the country end up as roommates at camp, they also join forces to find out what’s really going on beyond the crafts and Bible quizzing. Where are the strange noises coming from? And what’s the “DanGer” warning all about? “Camp Discovery” indeed! The mysteries seem as thick as the woods surrounding the cabins!
The Mystery at Discovery Lake
Camp Club Girls
by Renea Brumbaugh
Barbour Books
January 2010
This in the first book in the Camp Club Girls series. This book was about a bunch of girls going to camp. They are put into the same cabin room. At first they do not know each other but they are soon friends and team up to compete in contests at camp. The girls know that they can not let a mean girl named Amberlie win. During the story, they play pranks and meet a stray puppy. Kate takes him in and names him Biscuit.
The main story starts when they find Sydney and Bailey running as fast as they can away from the golf course. They had heard some scary noises when Bailey was golfing. The girls team up to solve the mystery. The girls work together for both the contests at camp and solving the mystery. Kate uses her knowledge and amazing gadgets, Elizabeth uses her leadership skills and knowledge of the Bible, Sydney uses her speed and nature knowledge, McKenzie uses her knowledge of horses and other farm animals, Bailey uses her performing abilities, and Alexis uses her humor and Sherlock Holmes knowledge.
The girls work together to save the day. The girls end up calling themselves the camp club girls. This book was definitely one of the best books I have ever read! I am looking forward to reading the others in this series.
Arieltopia is an 12 year old avid reader – usually going through a book a day – who gives readers a unique perspective on Young Adult, Teen Fiction, along with adult fiction: an actual teenager’s perspective.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
Skid & the Too Tiny Tunnel by Jeffery Stoddard
-Reviewed by Scott Asher of AshertopiA
Skid, the smallest tractor on the job, wishes he was as big and mighty as the gigantic bulldozers and diggers. The large tractors dismiss the tiny Skid, telling him that he has a “putt-putt engine.” But when a cave in strikes and the only way to save Pillar, the biggest bulldozer, is to go into a tiny hole filled with darkness, Skid has a chance to prove himself.
Stoddard tells our children the same story that they’ve heard over and again: just because you’re little doesn’t mean you aren’t [special, big hearted, important, fill in the blank.] The only twist that the Skid stories bring is that the characters are all construction vehicles. The impact of that choice can’t be ignored though as every small boy will be immediately enthralled by the also-ran story… but with tractors!
My four year old son loved Skid. From the moment I opened up the brightly colored, whimsical pages he was mesmerized. I was worried that he wouldn’t sit still long enough on each page to get through the dense narrative (there are multiple paragraphs of narrative on each page) but he did. As far as little boys go, Skid is a hit.
As for adults – maybe not so much. The book is billed as a story of Deuteronomy 31:6,
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (NIV)
However, the verses don’t match the story well as not a single time did the concept of God or prayer, in any way, come up during the narrative. Skid faces his fears on his own and overcomes them under his own power. There is no indication that Skid acknowledges or understands or leaned on God going with him or not forsaking him. This isn’t much of a problem if taking the narrative on its own. But with the Bible verse prominently on the cover and the book clearly marketed to Christians the lack of anything about God in the content of the story is disappointing.
Overall, Skid is successful in entertaining young boys, but doesn’t cover any new ground and fails to live up to the promise of a Bible tie in. Tepidly recommended.
This book was supplied by the publisher via netgalley.com as a review copy.
If I Could Ask God Anything: Awesome Bible Answers for Curious Kids by Kathryn Slattery
Summary from Thomas Nelson: If I Could Ask God Anything is a unique kid-friendly book jam-packed with clear, fresh answers to important questions about God, faith, prayer, and Christianity in language that children can understand.
This book was very cool. It answered a lot of good questions that a lot of people even adults would want to know the answer to. It was funny too. It answered funny questions like why people carry certain memory verses to football games. The question I liked the best was was Jesus’s birthday really December 25th (the answer was it may or may not have been. So His birthday could be today, tomorrow, in a week, in a month, or in a year. No one knows when His birthday really was. I wonder why nobody back then wrote it down.)
I personally wouldn’t have picked up this book and read it on my own time for no reason. I think little kids would like to read it but definetly not people my age (10-11). The book was great but not a lot of kids my age are curious about this stuff. I think there are only a few who would pick this book up either. I am not trying to be mean or anything, I am just being honest. The simple thing I am saying here is I thought the book was okay for adults and kids. If you are wanting a pleasure reading book though you need to pick up a different book.
Arieltopia is a founding book blogger for BookGateway.com and has generously provided this review. She is an 11 year old avid reader – usually going through a book a day – who gives readers a unique perspective on Young Adult and Teen Fiction; an actual teenager’s perspective. Her blog is http://Arieltopia.blogspot.com.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
She’s So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott
Home is Where the Hate is…
So begins the quick blurb on the back of She’s So Dead to Us. In this novel, Ally Ryan is returning home after stealing away with her family in the middle of the night. Ally’s father was responsible for a financial downfall that impacted many of the once affluent families in the Ryan’s social circle. Once they left, Ally’s father also abandoned both her and her mother. Ally’s mother has decided to move them back to their home town. What ensues is a story with depth of feeling and one that leaves you wanting more.
Kieran Scott does a magnificent job of capturing the turmoil that is the teenage years. It is easy to relate to each of the characters in the novel. While you might not like some of them, Scott does ensure that you at least understand why each acts as he or she does. While many other authors attempt to lean on youth as justification for poor behavior, Scott does not reduce her characters to simply being too young to know better. Each faces the consequences of his/her decisions with an awareness that belies each person’s age in years. Scott shows that not all teen characters need to be written as vapid or shallow.
As the story progresses, Scott’s characters reveal the motive behind actions. She shows us that not always do the adults act with decorum and tact. There is actually a point where the teenagers surpass the adults in this story in terms of maturity. Scott proves through this novel that it is possible to write a story that actually uplifts teens and shows they can overcome the challenges they face in their lives. She does so without reducing them to whining, self-absorbed individuals that other writers do. There are points in the novel where Scott shows the contradiction of the age at which her characters are. They are in one instance dealing with infidelity and in the next trying to hand on to their youth.
The only con I can list for this novel is that it ended too quickly! Scott has set the novel up for a sequel, which is both good and bad. Good because I want to see where she takes the story. Bad because now I have to wait.
This book was provided free of charge as a review copy. The publisher had no editorial rights or claims over the content or the conclusions made in this review. No payment was provided in return for this review.
