For Henry, life is anything but simple. At any moment he could be taken from his home, the library where he works, or even from the side of the street and be thrown into another time and place.  He is forced to break into places to get money, clothes, weapons, or anything he might need to survive in the brutal world until the next time he travels. Henry has a hard time dealing with life in his mid 20’s, with the death of his mother, and the strained relationship with his father.  Henry doesn’t quite know how to handle the time traveling and uses drinking as a way to cope.

Clare has it easy compared to Henry.  She’s from a wealthy family, with a huge house, and basically anything she’s ever wanted, that is, until she meets Henry when she’s around 6 years old. As a child Clare saw Henry as a thing of the unknown that she looked forward to seeing every once in awhile. But the older she got, the more in love with him she fell, and Henry became something she had to have; the one thing that she couldn’t fully have. Once Clare and Henry are married things don’t get any easier.

This romantic mystery will leave you laughing, crying and wanting to read more. It gets you tangled up in the love they have for each other and completely draws you in.  The Time Travelers’ Wife is a compelling must read.

Reviewed by Sarah M. @ Sabino H. S.

edited by sd

image credit: Google Images

Imagine the world after a nuclear holocaust and it is completely taken over by an elite clan. This story is about a group of kids who are forced to enter a sudden death match in an arena with the victor winning fame and fortune and the losers suffering death by their own team mates’ hands. Peeta Melark and Katniss Everdeen, the main characters in this story, experience drama, love, and (for the more blood thirsty reader) violence. Oh, and there are a bunch of other starving kids in the arena who try to kill each other without weapons.
The genre is the greatest part of this book- it’s action, romance, and drama all together. This book is strictly for 10 years old and above because there is some graphic violence. The setting of this book instills fear into the calcium of your bones but at the same time it keeps you entertained and wanting more. What I personally liked was that it’s as “cool” as the cover says it is. What I mean is that this book doesn’t play around when it comes to the story - it’s deadly serious.

This book is such a good book. It is about a girl named Aislinn. She is a girl who can see faeries. The faeries in this book aren’t like regular tooth fairies; they are human sized. They are very powerful and very dangerous. Most of the faeries get very weak when they’re near metal but the more powerful faeries, called court fey, are used to it. The faeries pick on the mortals because they are wicked and mortals can’t see them.

Aislinn hangs out with Seth, her best friend. Most of the time Aislinn is at Seth’s house. She feels safe with him. There is a little bit of romance between them but they both don’t want to admit it.

There are some rules that Aislinn’s grandmother told her she has to follow to stay safe when she is around the faeries. Rule#3: Don’t stare at invisible faeries; Rule#2: Don’t talk to invisible faeries; Rule#1: Don’t ever attract their attention.

What I really liked about this book was that it wasn’t what I expected. I thought that faeries were like Tinker Bell, or something like that. I also liked the romance between Aislinn and Seth. I think that this book really relates to the Twilight series and I think that people who like Twilight will like Wicked Lovely.

Reviewed by: Samantha L. @ Hohokam Middle School
Edited by: cf
Photo Credit: Google Images

I loved this book; it was hysterical! The only problem I have with this book, was that the beginning was a little too dry for me. I think that everyone who reads this book will enjoy it as much as I have. It will leave you laughing

I recommend this book to any high school student really, who loves a good laugh.  Reviewed by Caitlynn

Mark Albright after 30 years has returned to Declare, Oklahoma trying to find Gaylene Harjo his suspected birthmother. When he arrives, he starts to look for Gaylene but Teeve (Gaylene’s sister-in-law) tells him shocking news about himself and Gaylene. She tells him about a murder that happened in 1972. The victim was his mother, Gaylene Harjo and Mark is the missing boy everyone thought was dead, Nicky Jack Harjo. As the story goes on Mark tries to get a feeling of who Gaylene was. He also starts to investigate who was the killer and how he really ended up where he did.

I think this book was remarkable because as much as Mark had been convinced he would never know who killed or took him, he never gave up. In the end he found a real family. I would recommend this book to young adults who enjoy a murder/hope/love story.

Reviewed by:  Cassie P. @ Catalina H.S.

Edited by:  kb

Photo Credit:  Google Images

Set in the Pacific Ocean during a modern day, Piscine Patel a very religious teenager from India, is the son of a Zookeeper. His father is very unsure about the political actions in the Indian country, decides to move to Canada and start a whole new life. On the way the boat sinks, and Piscine (Pi) is stranded on a lifeboat, with a hyena, orangutan, a zebra with a broken leg and a 450 pound Bengal tiger. The tiger ends up eating the rest of the animals, and in the struggle for dominance Pi has to feed himself and the tiger long enough to finally hit land.

In the novel, Pi tells two different stories to detectives searching for the real answer. He tells one with animals, and one with people.  He allows you to pick the story you want, and that will be the one you believe. In my opinion I believe the story with people — it is much more realistic even though it is very upsetting.  I would recommend the book to young adult readers and older because it is a mildly difficult read.

Reviewed by:  Dillon C. @ Catalina H.S.

Edited by:  kb

Photo Credit:  Google Images

This novel is the second in a series called Being Nikki. It’s a story about two teenage girls who both get a different life, literally. Em Watts had an accident at a megastore where Nikki Howard is the main model face for Stark Enterprises.  Em hates the company, but it has the lowest prices ever. She never knew that on that day something was going to happen to her in a split-second that would change everything. The story comes out that Nikki is dead and now Em is living on her body. Em physically dies and gets her brain transplanted to the sensational model of Stark Enterprises — Nikki Howard. Now Em has to get used to living her new life with the modeling, traveling and working for Stark Enterprises.

Reviewed by:  Anonymous @ Catalina H.S.

Edited by:  kb

Picture credit:  Google Images

Photo courtesy of Google

“The Universe was redirecting my path, Zeeta,… Sometimes it has to resort to painful things to put you on the right path.”

Zeeta’s mother teaches English; the catch is that she teaches English in a new country every year. Zeeta would like nothing more than to be settled in a suburb in “normal” America, and Layla, her mother, cautions her with “I should be suspicious of what I want.” Consequently, Zeeta has learned from an early age how to communicate in a variety languages, fit into a variety of cultures, and make new friends in new surroundings easier than your typical teenager. A new job has landed Zeeta and her free spirited mother in Ecuadorwhere Zeeta meets a new American friend, Wendell, who is searching for his birth parents in the small villages of the Ecuadorian Andes. Wendell’s inexperience as a traveler balances Zeeta’s relative ease with transition and brings the two closer in a quest for all things wished for. Resau brings the market Plaza de Ponchos to life with her characterizations of locals like Gaby and the blind beggar Don Celestino. One can smell the bread in Mamita Luz’s oven or the heady perfumed flowers in the tropical mountains. Not surprisingly, Wendell and Zeeta come to discover that all that one wishes for isn’t necessarily all that one really wants or needs. This book just came out in October and would make a fabulous read over the holidays. Cynthia Cruz, Howenstine High Magnet School.

photo courtesy of Google

This is a non-stop ride with thrills around every bend and as a reader, I did not want to get off. Hari, a brown- skinned Burrow’s boy who eats rats to survive, has vowed to help his captured father, Tarl, escape from Deep Salt. Pearl, a blond, blue-eyed privileged beauty, has run away rather than face an arranged marriage to a ruthless man. They couldn’t be more different from each other, but both end up on a path to help save the world from the substance found in Deep Salt. They rediscover their abilities to communicate and control the mind of man and animal from Tealeaf, Pearl’s former maid. The two escape and begin their quest with little hope and loads of hatred towards each other, but through a series of events the two become allies and eventually lovers. The substance found in Deep Salt reminded me of pure and lethal uranium, and the descriptions of the animals in this book were ghastly. I very much enjoyed this fantasy of worlds where privilege and want collide. If you enjoyed The Hunger Games then you’ll enjoy the Salt trilogy. Cynthia Cruz, Howenstine.