See You at Harry's

See You at Harry's

Author: Jo Knowles

Publisher: Candlewick Press (?)

Word of the wise: Make sure you have tissues nearby when you read this book. I cried for like an hour.

     Fern is the third child in a family of four. Her dad's alway's trying to get more people to come to his diner. Her mom's always off meditating, her older sister Sara is taking a year off before going to college, and can be found kissing the busboy at their dad's diner; her older brother Holden has a secret there's no way he's telling his parents, and then of course there's Charlie. The center of the universe. 

       Frusturated, Fern spends a lot of time with her best friend, Ran. Whenever he says  his motto, 'all will be well', she beleves it. When a terrible event flips Fern's world upside down, will all be well?

    I loved this book soooooo much. I can't really say much without giving anything away, but Jo Knowles spent a small portion of the book building up your relationship with the family, and when the 'event' happens, it feels as if your world gets rocked too. It changed my point of view on life.

Rating (out of five): ****

Suggested age: 11+

Warning: TEAR JERKER!

--D

Sean Griswold's Head

                 Sean Griswold's Head
                Author: Lindsey Leavitt
                 Publisher: Bloomsbury



      After finding out that her father has multiple sclerosis, Payton Gritas is set up by her parents to meet with the school's Guidance Councilor. The councilor suggests having a Focus Object, which is supposed to be inanimate, but Payton chooses the back of Sean Griswold's head. (Which she stares at through-out most of Biology.) After prompting from her best friend, Jac, She plucks up the courage to talk to Sean. Was choosing the back of a head for a focus object the best choice? This answer gets harder to answer as Payton finds herself falling for Sean Griswold.

     I LOVED this book! I read it in four hours. It keeps you guessing until the very end about what will happen between Payton and her family, Jac and Payton, AND Payton and Sean. A page turner and definite re-read!

     Rating: (Out of five) *****

Suggested age: 12+

Caution: Swears

-D

Legend By: Marie Lu

               Legend

Author: Marie Lu

Publisher: The Penguin Group

     In what was once known as California, two very different teens live: Day and June. Day is a famous crimanal and June's a soldier-in-training. Their lives suddenly intertwine when June's brother (and last person in her immediate family), Metias, is killed and Day's the only suspect. June get assigned the job of finding Day, and reporting his whereabouts to the government.

        This book is packed with thrilling events which, by the way, kept me up until two o'clock AM reading... I enjoyed all the surprises Lu put into the book. Legend is a wonderful book, and I recomend it to 7th and 8th graders.

Rateing: (out of five) *****

Suggested age: 12+

Warning: Swears, Violence, Romance

-D

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning

By: James Patterson

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

In the fourth book in the Maximum Ride series, The Final Warning, Max and the flock are sent by her mom and father to Antarctica to help with the "Saving the world" business. When their there, Total, their talking dog, falls for a malamute, Akila. (Who by the way, does NOT talk.) While there, one of the researchers gets attacked by a leopard seal, and it is discovered that she works for the bad guys. Meanwhile, Max and Fang's relationship becomes more and more confusing for Max, as he's spending most of his time with a young scientist.  Angel goes off to find a penguin, and falls into a crevice. Max and Fang go out to rescue her, and the three of them get kidnapped. (Surprise there! Not.) Will they be able to escape while a category 4 hurricane batters there imprisonment?

I liked this book, although it wasn't my favorite. I liked one of the later books best. I'm getting a bit tired of the fact that the plot keeps repeating, but Patterson always finds a way to make it different then the others.

Rating: (out of five) ***

Suggested age: 12+

Warning: Violence and Kissing and Swearing (Use caution!)

-D

Maximum Ride: School's Out- Forever

                              Maximum Ride: School's Out- Forever                        

Author: James Patterson

Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company

   The Second book in the Maximum Ride series, School's Out- Forever, is just as thrilling and action-packed as the first. In this book Max and the flock, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel; are discovered by the FBI. The younger kids take a liking to one of the agents, Anne. She lets them stay at her house with one catch, They go to school. After two months of enduring school, an surprise attack from Erasers, whitecoats, and some crazy staff, the flock leaves Anne behind to escape.

I liked this book a lot. Patterson writes these amazing stories from Max's perspective. I enjoy reading her story, and she tells it hilariously. I end up laughing at the strangest times.

Rating: (out of five) ****(and a half)

Suggested Age: Mature 11, 12+

Warning: Violence, swearing, and kissing

-D

The Hunger Games Series

                                                  The Hunger Games Series
                                                  Author: Suzanne Collins
                                                  Publisher: Scholastic inc.



    The first book in the Hunger Games Series is The Hunger Games. It's about a sixteen year old girl, Katniss Everdeen, and how she goes into the games. My mom thought it would be gory, but the author didn't go into detail. The Hunger Games is my favorite book in the series.








    The second book is Catching Fire, where Katniss is put into the Quarter Quell. (The Quarter Quell is a special Hunger Games that happens every twenty-five years.)  In this book the author introduces past victors that are some zany people, but some are still my favorite characters.







   The third, and final book is Mockingjay. In this book, Katniss is the heart and soul of the Rebellion. I felt this book dragged on and on, unlike the first two, and I got bored pretty quickly. I stuck with it though, and I'm glad I did, because the ending was VERY good. This book, by far!, had some of the saddest deaths in the series.



         Rating: (out of five) four and a half stars
         Suggested age: 11 and up
         Warning: Violence and lots of kissing in the middleish- endish part
-D