Word Out 2011

Blog down your fines posts! See what other teens are reading.

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Ateeqa reviewed Magic Bites – By: Ilona Andrews

If I could name my favourite authors, Ilona Andrews would definitely be in my top five. Magic Bites is the first book in the Kate Daniels series which has a total of five novels (not counting the two anthology stories). Let me just give you a quick background explanation of the world:
Kate Daniels lives in a world flooded by magic. Literally flooded. Imagine living in a shallow part of the sea the tides come and go. In this world, magic waves are common as are tech waves. When there's a magic wave, all the technology stops working, including cars, telephones, and guns. The magic stays for a while, and then the tech wave hits, and everything magical stops working. During these moments, a really powerful sorcerer would be left vulnerable to inexperienced muggers, and etc. The tech stays for a while, until the magic wave hits, and so on.
This is a really basic definition, but it's too complicated to try and explain more. Anyway, Kate, a mercenary with a mysterious background, finds out that her guardian is dead. She goes to the Order (the faction Greg her guardian was working under) to investigate, and gets pulled into a homicide crime that involves dead shapeshifters and dead vamps (who, unlike other books, are grotesque corpses with no mind of their own powered by necromancers). She fights with the Beast Lord (leader of the Atlanta shapeshifters), and parts of her past are revealed, as the murderer decides to go after her in a bid for more power.
What I really like about this series is that Kate isn't your average wimpy female. She has a magical sword and she knows how to use it (having been trained to kill since she was five). She also has some unexplained magical abilities in the form of blood. This series is a bit mature, but, once you get past the gory details, it is a very unique story about how the past can haunt you, and make decisions for you even in the present.
And I made it sound very dark, but it's not. It's pretty lighthearted, and most of it's mystery, not death.

Gail reviewed City of Ashes – By: Cassandra Clare

City of Ashes is the second book in the Mortal Instruments series. If you want to read the review on the first book, City of Bones, i've written one for that too.  In City of Ashes, the "Valentine" plot, as i like to call it, becomes more prominent as well as Clary's relationships and Simon himself.  To sum up what happens in City of Ashes, basically, Clary and Jace are having issues about Jace being her brother and Valentine's son, Valentine starts killing more people (no shocker there), Simon finally gets the guts to tell Clary about his love then he ends up having to dig himself out of a grave, a female wolf named Maia gets introduced, a huge battle happens and more secrets are revealed.  I feel Cassandra Clare does that quite often.  Simon is a major part of the book and he undergoes much, shall we say pain, throughout the book.  Many of the major events revolve around him and I'm glad to see that, Simon needed some limelight.  Alot of questions and answers surface and many foreshadows are apparen't.  Cassandra Clare seems to do that often too.  Put subtle hints.  The second book is sort of the middle book.  It has many explanations on character's history that comes in to play later on in the series.  Although the major focus of the book was on relationships, this book was also different from any other "middle" book that i've read.  The words about a chracter's relationships were so deep that i really felt like i could feel the tension or happiness going on between chracters.  it felt real although it wasn't.  That's pretty amazing in my opinon. Many middle books that i have read are often very dull and although new characters appear, they don't make a big enough impact for me to fully engross myself in the book.  I've often hated that "middle" book but City of Ashes is quite different.  I read this book so quickly and it wasn't because i wanted to get it over with, it was because i loved every single page that i was reading.  The book was truly engrossing for me and that's what i love about the Mortal Instruments.  Every book of the series, no matter my doubts, can always make me just forget about everything and enjoy a great book.    City of Ashes was wonderfully written and I'm sure you'll enjoy this book and the Mortal Instruments series if you haven't already begun reading it or have read it.

Gail reviewed City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

City of Glass is the third book in the Mortal Instruments series. In this book, Clary finds herself on a long journey to the City of Glass itself, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters, to find a cure for her mother.  Jace is being an overprotective, brother-like figure and attempts to reject his feelings for Clary.  Simon ends up being imprisoned because the Shadowhunters are curious as to how he can walk during the day if he is a vampire.  A new character is also introduced, Sebastian, a supposed distant relative to a friend of the Lightwoods.  I say supposed because Sebastian turns out to be a very evil person with a history to match it.  So basically this book was probably the ending of the series before Cassandra Clare decided to do three more.  Like every series ending book, there's a HUGE  battle at the end of it.  Valentine is almost done completing his quest for the three Mortal instruments and the climax is very shocking.  The battle itself against the demons and the downworlders plus shadowhunters isn't that prominent.  It's actually the battle between Sebastian and Jace that is much more intense and answers alot of unanswered questions.   When Valentine completes his quest and summons the angel, the results of it are also very shocking.  this entire book was probably filled with surprise after another.  Jace and Clary can also truly love one another after this because of some interesting facts that are revealed in this book.  Some characters also die and secret relationships are annouced.  Honestly, this book would have been perfectly fine if it was the final book and as a third book.  I think Cassandra Clare wrote the ending so well that she could have just left it or write a sequel.  It was an open yet still a form of an ending.  The setting is always very detailed and every word just jumps out at you.  When i read a book in this series, i really feel like i can see what is happening, the words are that detailed. Definitely read this book if you haven't and read the series if you haven't either!

Gail reviewed City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels is the fourth book in the mortal instruments series.  My first reaction when i finished this book was "OH (insert word for shock or surprise or something you probably wouldn't say in a regular conversation)."  After that i realized i had to wait practically a year for the next book. In this book, Jace becomes possessed by a demon, and not just any demon but the mother of all demons, Lilith, who wants to ressurect his brother, Sebastian (or Jonathan).  Simon is approached by Camille, the past vampire leader of the Manhatten clan and Simon also truly realizes what the Mark of Cain does to those that mean harm to him.  Maia meets his ex-boyfriend and certain events are cleared up. Clary and Jace meanwhile, attempt to deal with this possession.  Well more like for the first half of the book, Jace avoids Clary and no one really knows why, not until Jace tells Clary about his haunting dream does she suggest someone influencing him.  Jocelyn and Luke are busy preparing their wedding. And lastly, former Circle members are being killed as well as babies that seem to be experiments in hopes of creating another demon-angel blooded child similar to Sebastian/Jonathan.  Well that's basically the jist of what happens in the book.  In this book, I feel Cassandra Clare had less descriptions of the settings.   It was mainly the characters themselves who were explained with much depth, mainly their clothes, emotions, and actions.  Cassandra Clare never stops surprising her readers and she also makes every fact fit together so nicely.  You could be reading about something and then 100 pages later, it's revealed what the fact means and then a sudden epiphony moment where you start to realize that that really makes sense and that Cassandra Clare is a genius in weaving all these foreshadows and hidden facts as well as balancing all the relationship drama that always happens in the Mortal instruments series. Maybe that's just my feeling but i really enjoy reading this series and if you haven't read this book or the series, go and read it now.  it's an excellent summer read and pretty soon you'll be waiting impatiently for the fifth book to come out like me!

Gail reviewed Cloaked by Alex Flinn

Cloaked is basically a modern fairy tale story.  Johnny is an aspring shoe designer who works at his family's shoe repair shop at a hotel in South Beach in an attempt to try to make ends meet.  Johnny and his mother are extremely poor and often the bills are left unpaid.  When the princess from Aloria comes to the hotel on a "important, top-secret buisness", Johnny is introduced to a world of magic when she asks him to go on an adventure in an attempt to save her brother, who has been turned in to a frog, from the evil witch.  Throughout the adventure, Johnny meets talking animals, is thrown in to a dumpster, has to kill two giants and almost dies, on more then one occasion.  Alex Flinn mixes together quite a few classic fairy tales in to one story to create a modern twist of them.  The story's plot is the classic, "damsel in distress", but it's still intersting considering it isn't the damsel in distress it's the prince.  The character's aren't described as much rather their personality is shown through the dialogue and their interactions.  The story does go quite quickly.  One moment, he's in one location and then the next in some other location.  Johnny spends about 1-2 chapters in one location at a time.  He's always moving which makes it hard to be completly lost in the book but it was a good read.  Johnny is your typical 17 year old boy and i think Alex Flinn does an excellent job describing him through his actions throughout the book.  If your a fan of classic fairy tales then Cloaked is the book for you.  

Lochlahn reviewed Five Children And It – By E. Nesbit

When Anthea, Robert, Jane, Cyril, and Baby move to a new house, they meet a curious thing called the Sand-fairy (also known as the Psammead), who lives in the gravel pits. It has soft fur all over its body, and has eyes like a snail. And it has the power to grant wishes. The children all think that making wishes is fun at first, but of course, fun can'turn into trouble…

The children all have different opinions on what to wish for. But when it comes to choosing the perfect wish, they are at loss, because the Sand-Fairy always finds some way to twist it around. One of the great things about this book is that you can play along and try to figure out the perfect wish. I personally loved doing this, and it is harder than you may think.  This book is great for readers who like imaginative stories and mystical creatures .

Heather reviewed Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley

Corrinne corcoran lives in a perfect life in Manhattan.When her father gets laid off, she and her brother are sent off the Broken Spoke,Texas to live with her grandparen'ts.All alone in a public school and forced to get a job, Corrinne is determined to get her old life back.But as she makes new friends and finds romance, Corrinne realizes that life in a small town isn't as bad as she thought.

I picked up this book because of the cover.It was bright, pretty and it has a cowboy on the cover,Who doesn't love cowboys?I love how it talks about the butterfly affect, its always been something that amazed me. The most interesting part to me was Corrinne's interactions with her family.At first she's kind of cold towards her paren'ts but as the book goes on Corrinne grows up a lot.I found Corrinne's friend Waverly a little unrealistic.In all I would suggest this book to all my friends.

Shivangi reviewed  The Agency: A Spy in the House – By:  Y.S. Lee
Summary:

The main character in the book is Mary Quinn. She is an orphan and has been living on the streets as long as she can remember. Picking pockets, stealing food from markets and disguising as a boy is want kept her alive. Then, one day she gets caught and is sentenced to death. Luckily, a woman, disguised as a prison warden rescues her and brings her to her new home, Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls, where Mary learns fine manners, receives good education and surprising opportunities. The school is a cover for the Agency- a top-secret corps of female agents assigned to help solve investigations the police are having problem with. Mary is given the opportunity to join their ranks- and she agrees. For her first mission, Mary must work fast under the cover of the lady's companion to sneak into a rich merchant's house to trace his missing cargo ships. But the house is full of dangerous secrets, and someone doesn't want them to be discovered. 

Shivangi reviewed  The Agency: The body at the Tower – By: Y.S. Lee

Mary Quinn is now nearly a full-fledged member of the Agency, an all-women detective unit located in Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls. For her second mission she is assigned to disguise as a poor apprentice builder and a boy. She is sent to monitor a building site on the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament. She faces a lot of difficulties- remembering the childhood memories of fear, starvation, being homeless. And also meeting an unexpected old friend who just might up her cover is jeopardy. Mary soon earns the trust and confidence of the work crew working at the building site and Mary is ever so close to her suspect. But maybe the irresistible urge she has to help the homeless might just distract her before she can uncover the truth behind the building site. Getting ever so close to jeopardizing her cover and identity, Mary rushes to itch closer to the suspect and accomplishing the mission.

Shivangi reviewed Winter's End – By: Jean- Claude Mourlevat, Translated by: Anthea Bell

Helen, Milena, Milos, and Bart have been trapped in their prison- like boarding schools practically their whole lives. They don't remember anything about their paren'ts or previous homes. Then, one day Bart receives a letter from someone. It was written to Bart by his father fifteen years ago, when he was alive. The person who had given it to Bart said his father wanted him to have it. The letter explained a lot. How his father and a lot of other paren'ts had fought against the tyrannical government. But Bart knew that they had lost and that the government had murdered them all. He told his friends and they planned to ran away from their schools. During their journey to the North, Helen and Milos got separated from Milena and Bart. Helen found her way back to her friends, but Milos wasn't that lucky. The government spies kidnapped him and forced him to take part in a deadly, ancient game created for the amusement of his captors. Helen, Milena and Bart come together, joined by people who want to go against the government, and learn what power one voice can have in the fight for freedom. As the battle raged, the three friends are in the race to save Milos.

Sabryna reviewed Insatiable by Meg Cabot

Insatiable by Meg Cabot is a book about vampires. In the very beginning of the book we meet Meena who works as a dialogue writer for the soap opera Insatiable. In a turn of events Meena is informed that Insatiable is looking for a younger viewing audience and therefore is going to bring vampires into the show. Meena is completely against vampires and believes this is the end of the world. But Meena has a special talent that few know about. Meena knows when people are about to die. At any point during the day no matter who the person, she knows when they are going to die. But one day, during a dinner party held by a neighbour Meena falls upon something new. A man with whom his death she can not predict and she instantly becomes intrigued. But has her new love come with some untold secrets of his past? Of course, within a blink of an eye Meena's relationship with another human becomes a relationship with a real life vampire! Insatiable is written in third person, but each chapter is generally about one of these 3 characters: Meena, Lucien the vampire and Alaric the demon hunter. For teens who have read Twilight, Insatiable will seem quite similar but better written. Meg Cabot is also known for writing the Princess Diaries Series and Avalon High.

Suad reviewed Artemis Fowl – By: Eoin Colfer

In the first book of the Artemis Fowl series, Young Artemis Fowl is a criminal mastermind , who is also a genius. His only friend is his loyal and trustworthy bodygaurd, Butler. The Butlers always worked for The Fowl family , but now there are only two Butlers left, Butler and Juliet ( his sister). The reason for this is that Artemis 's fathers ship the fowl star sunk with butlers uncle and Artemis Fowl Sr.  were presumed dead . Although Artemis Fowl Sr.'s body was never  discovered so Artemis never gave up hope. In this book Artemis manipulates a fairy into giving him her book and soon Artemis descovers a whole new underground world full of Pixies, Fairies , elves and even Dwarfs . But don't assume its one of those mythical creatures books, becasue it totally isn't! It is a wondefful story full of action and lots of freaky interventions 😛 . Who knoes this ook might have a little romance in it with a certain elv named Holly Short ? I rate this book 6 out of 5 because you won't be able to put it down! This book is also available as a graphic novel, but read the novel its way better!

John reviewed Bakuman Vol. 1 -By: Tsugumi Ohba

At the beginning of the Bakuman Vol. 1, written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, the story starts with a young Mashiro Moritaka forgetting his notebook in class, he crosses paths with academic student Takagi Akito who believes that they were destined to make their very own Manga! After discovering his talent in drawing through the invasion of his private notebook, Takagi approaches an embarrassed Mashiro with the proposition of creating their very own Manga. Together, with his passion for writing and Mashiro's artistic talents, he believes they would make the perfect duo in the Manga industry and demands his partnership to make it in the big league! Believing he would win the heart of his crush, Azuki Miho, he eventually agress to cooperate with the anxious student and dive into the exhilarating world of Manga! However, will his opinion on the corrupt modern society and the death of his Mangaka uncle become an obstacle to his dream? Find out as you grab this incredible piece of work! The two really show the meaning of true worth ethics and dedication towards their dream, as their dream begins to become reality! I recommend this to not just those who want to create their very own comic, but to those who have their own dream to achieve! Witness these two progress through their mission to making their manga a huge success!

IBRAHIMA reviewed Clementine by Sara Penny Packer

The author of  this  book is Sara Penny Packer,the title of this book  is Clementine,friend of the week.clementine is the one that tell her autobiography,a line leader.Margaret is her friend,it was a  day,when Margaret  saw clementine in  the bus,clementine ,did you save your booklet.she said can i see it.Margaret shrugged,she said,my mother keeps it for me,because it is my  behavior,she loves to read it when her brother Mitchell drives her mom crazy.when  they get home ,clementine said hi mom-bye mom,they got to Margaret home.clementine saw a lot about Mitchell and Margaret booklet when she saw a lot,she envious and nervous.After sometimes,she got herself  a great booklet.when Margaret  saw her ,she said ,it is private,so she was mad at her friend and clementine ran out of  the  apartment.After somedays ago,clementine said to herself i will make my paren't happy.On one morning,it was in the class,clementine was talking about her autobiography,she was born,her little brother Broccoli,how she  got her kitten Moisturizer,they  gave her a round of applause and everybody.when she got home ,their were so many   so thing in basement and she took  some things like bat ,her kitten was afraid,clementine used the bat to the bat with the umbrella.One clementine went to Margaret apartments but she saw her brother eating a bowl of cereal,he told clementine that Margaret is in her room dancing for tomorrow,clementine saw her and Margaret said her rules and regulations.Next day,it was recess time, everybody have agreed for clementine and signed for him, she was happy and a ideas that tattoo is free $4oo.After  the recess ,the teacher sent her to their principal Mrs.Rice,the principal said,if anybody want to write about her biography us.so clementine left.After school,her mom left her at Maria s apartment,they have a lots of fun like riding on bike.it was Thursday morning, everybody came to clementine that the tattoo has washed away but no body could remember,their were talking about how they would decorate their bikes,so clementine called their attention that her dad can do it,so when she got home she explain to her dad that she to decorate 19 bikes .A little later, her mom and radish came in , dad came back,they went to grand central station,the have their ticket while their mother doing something.it was Saturday morning, clementine called her kitten but no answer,she looked everywhere no kitten,clementine started to cry , so they report to Animal Rescue League.One day, they found the kitten at Mr.George home at Boston.clementine  thanks Margaret and they became friends.That s all.   Name

Hareni reviewed "Boost" – By: Kathryn Mackel

"Boost" was about two sisters Savvy and Callie. Savvy is thirteen and six-foot-two.She made into the high school senior girls basketball team, and her sister Callie made the cheer leading squad even though she was a freshmen.They both thought they were going to have a great time in their new home town but they were wrong.  Their troubles were just beginning to start. Savvy was not welcome by the other basketball players she was pushed around and bullied by other stronger older players on the team . As Savvy troubles began so did Callies troubles started .  Her dad fell down from the roof because she startled him, and she became dead silent not a word came from her mouth since then. Callie soon became weak and got out of shape and was depressed. When cheer leading practise began, she became too heavy to be in her usual position as flier. After that Callie was worst then ever.  So her friend Rebecca decided to help.  She took her to the gym and worked out with her and she came back to her usual self. Savvy started to gain some trust from her team.  But before she could gain all of it she was framed for carrying steroids in her bag. She was forced to give up basketball and was not allowed to play until she was proven innocent and the owner of the steroids was found. So her paren'ts took a blood test and it wasn't her drugs.  But they had no clue who the victim was. So will they find out who the owner was and will she ever be able to play basketball?  Read the book to find out.