Courtesy of Teens Read Too
347905
This book reveals history through the eyes of the Native Americans as they lived it. History usually details the settling of Jamestown and the Chesapeake Bay area from the viewpoint of the English colonists, and we can only guess at what the Indians experienced. In WHEN THE GREAT CANOES CAME, Clifford shows us their hardships and emotions through the storytelling of the female chief, Cockacoeske, successor to Powhatan, as she relates the tribal history to the boy, Lost Owl, and his friends. The boys are at the age that their ancestors had their huskenaw, or coming of age ordeals and rituals.

While the native language and names are challenging to pronounce and the tribal relations require some effort and concentration to keep straight, the story about this exciting chapter in our history is thought-provoking and compelling.

Cockacoeske describes the days before and after the arrival of the European settlers. The great chiefs, Powhatan and Opechancanough, deal with the invaders to the best of their ability through the harsh weather and the atrocities committed by the English. The story is told through episodes of the Pamunkey everyday life, interspersed with storytelling sessions.

Mary Louise Clifford's extensive research is evident in this footnoted account of 17th-century America. An epilogue tells of the fate of the tribes after the Jamestown Island settlement in 1607. Ten illustrations, a bibliography, map, genealogical chart, and chronology add to the reading experience. This book would be an outstanding extra accompaniment for early American history studies in elementary school or home school to help put that era in perspective.

Meet Powhatan, Pocahontas, Captain John Smith, John Rolfe, and other historical legends in a whole new perspective.

Reviewed by:  Grandma Bev
2554936
Keeping Secrets promises to be the first in a series of novels told in the first-person by Debbie "Big Mouth" Bass for young to middle-grade readers. Nine-year-old Debbie is growing up in Southern California in the 1960s. Her voice has that honest earnestness that characterizes pre-teen girls, jumping from place to place but somehow always staying--almost--on topic. Her dog is delightful. Big brother's a pain. The gang are all guys--oh, how well I remember that time, trailing around after my big brother's friends. And Mom and Dad are the caring, mistake-making, mistake-mending geniuses that all parents hope to be.

Debbie's not very good at keeping secrets, hence the nickname her brother gave her. But she's working hard on telling them only to God in her diary, in the expectation that He won't let her down. She's finally found a friend who's a girl. She's got a crush on a boy. And she really, really, really wants to be accepted.

With historical references to events of the 60's, a delightful sense of a safer age that was still in its own way fraught with danger, and some well-told timely reminders of secrets good (Mom's surprise gift) and bad (a brother's foolish plans), the story combines laughter and tears into a really endearing read. I hope Mom gets another notebook for Debbie. I'm sure she has much more to tell. And I definitely recommend this book to young readers anywhere, especially girls facing all those problems of trying to be someone in a world that pretends it already knows who they are.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review from Rebecca at the Cadence Group.
702027
Nessa is a junior in high school who loves running and runs cross country for her high school. Running is her ticket to a full scholarship. She needs this scholarship because without it she will never get into a good college. Her mom would help her out but she has her hands full just trying to put three kids through high school and putting food on the table.

Nessa and her sister help her mom out around the house with all the chores while she is working. Nessa also helps out with her little brother by being at home when he comes in from school and she also takes him to the clinic on Saturdays. She grabs every seconds she can to run though.

Nessa loves running in the woods at night sometimes. It is on one of these nights that she sees a wolf with his paw in a trap. Nessa tries to help the wolf but he is not making it easy for her. He keeps growling at her every time she gets near him. The next thing she knows there is another wolf knocking her down getting in her way of helping the wolf or so she thinks. When she turns to run away from the wolf he bites her and needless to say Nessa is now a werewolf. How is she going to keep this a secret from her mom and everyone else? Is it going to interfere with her running in anyway or maybe it will help?

While Nessa is trying to figure out what is happening to her and how to be a werewolf and what all that may entail; maybe she needs a book with a title like The Beginners Guide to Being a Werewolf or maybe Introduction to Becoming a Werewolf; she learns that the company that came in and saved their little town several years ago from becoming a ghost town has a little secret; one that may involve her little brother and other children in the town and Nessa will give it her all to find out what this company is up to and save all the children.

I have read several books about werewolves but I will have to say I don't think I have read anything quite like Weregirl before it is one of a kind. It had me guessing all the way through as to who is the grey wolf? I would think I had it figured out but then realize I was wrong. It had me guessing all the way to the end. I couldn't put it down I just had to know who the grey wolf was. I also kept trying to take some of the other wolves and pair them up with some of the kids at school. I would love to know more about Nessa, Bree, Luc, Chayton, The Grey Wolf and all the other wolves and I would also like to know where the other wolves hang out and live. Who are these wolves?

If you have not read Weregirl then I would like to suggest that you give it a try. I would recommend it for all ages.
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Quick --- if you could wish for anything in the world and know that your wish would be granted, what would it be? No fair asking for impossibly extravagant wishes like world peace or ending hunger or global warming, and definitely no fair wishing for three more wishes. So what will it be?

For Olivia Larsen, her wish would be easy: she would ask for her twin sister, Violet, back. Violet died several months before, and Olivia's whole life has changed since then. Her parents bicker constantly, the family has moved all the way across the country from Boston to San Francisco, and Olivia is left to navigate the corridors and mysterious social hierarchies of her new school (nicknamed "hippie high") without her more self-confident twin at her side.

That is, until, on a whim, Olivia takes an old party dress of Violet's to a local seamstress, "Mariposa of the Mission," in the hopes that she can have the dress repaired for Olivia herself to wear to a party at her mom's law firm. When the seamstress drops off a garment bag in the nick of time, Olivia is surprised to find that the dress she has been given isn't the dress she dropped off --- it's even more beautiful and fits her perfectly. When Olivia's new crush starts noticing her that night, she begins to wonder if maybe the dress has magical powers.

Tired and overwhelmed, Olivia utters a random wish on the way home from the party --- a wish she has thought a million times since Violet's death. But something is different this time, and when she wakes up the next morning, Violet is there, too. No one else can see Violet, but Olivia can finally talk to her beloved sister again, picking up advice on everything from how to dress to how to make friends with Calla, the most beautiful and popular girl in school, to how to talk to her crush --- who just happens to be Calla's boyfriend.

As Olivia --- with Violet's help --- gradually gains self-confidence, she and her sister must decide on the best and wisest use of the two additional wishes they'll be granted. They're given the following advice: "Whatever you wish, wish carefully, and make sure it comes from your heart. Those are the only wishes that count."

Although WISH is largely as frilly, fluffy and delightful as one of Olivia's magical party dresses, the novel also contains deeper messages, particularly as it explores how Olivia and her parents respond to Violet's death. All the Larsens wish that getting over Violet's absence was as easy as moving cross-country and starting over, but they quickly discover that that particular wish isn't likely to come true, at least not without some hard work.

Olivia also struggles with learning how to fit in at a school where the social rules aren't as cut and dried as they were back in Boston and with negotiating the balance between a new boyfriend and a potential new best friend. Although, like most fairy tales, WISH has a predictably happy ending, the road to "happily ever after" contains some unexpected twists and turns, and the happiness itself is tinged with grief and an ongoing wish that things could be different. WISH is a promising first novel, a fresh variation on familiar themes, and a perfect blend of realism and light-hearted fantasy.
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Meghan Chase is a pretty normal teen. She goes to school. She has a crush on the star football player. She's utterly invisible to most of the student population at her high school. Her best friend, Robbie, is pretty much her only friend. Normal. But when Meghan's brother turns mean, Robbie tells her that he's been replaced by a changeling. And with this revelation comes a whole slew of other revelations. Like the fact that faeries are real and that Meghan herself is the daughter of Oberon, king of Summer Country. Oh, and Robbie? Robbie is none other than Robin Goodfellow, aka Puck, tasked with keeping Meghan safe. The only way for Meghan to save her brother is to enter the faerie realm and bring him back herself. With Puck's help, she'll cross over and face a world full of challenges she could never imagine.

So my description doesn't really do it justice. For folks my age, think Labyrinth. In fact, it's very Labyrinth, but with great twists. First, Kagawa introduces creatures I've never heard of. Many (if not all) of them are from classic folktales and mythology (I googled a few), but haven't been used in the books I've been reading. Second, her additional mythology is fantastic. The Iron Fey are super cool and a great modern day addition to the faery realm.
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I was given this book by the author, P. G. Thomas, and asked to write a review.  I was happy to do so.  This book is about a group of teens who get on their school bus one day, and find themselves on another planet.  They have no idea how they got there, or how they are going to get home.  They meet dwarves and elves.  With the assistance of a magic ointment, they are able to understand the languages of the dwarves and elves.  Lauren finds herself designated as "Earth Daughter", and is told she will save the planet.  Her twin brother, Logan, finds himself with a series of tattoos, and the ability to do some interesting things, like freeze water and start fires.  Eric is told that he is the champion and receives the sword, Tranquil Fury.  All are interested in why 4 foot tall dwarves made a 6 foot long sword.  The people discover that there are black-clad men roaming across the planet.  They believe that these soldiers are killing the people in the villages.  Lauren and the elves and dwarves set off on a journey to find any people that they can and warn them about the threat.  If you like fantasy, you will enjoy this book.  It's great for preteens and teens.
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Fourth-grader Mateo loves reading about knights with his best friend Ashwin. In fact, they have even dedicated themselves as knight and trusty squire, but so far the only battles theyve fought are on the playground with the school bully and his cohorts. However, when Mateo wakes up one night and sees two skunks stealing his little sisters trike, an unbelievable adventure awaits the two young knightsand Mateos little sister as well. A fun story with just enough fantasy to thrill and delight, plus plenty of reality to help young middle grade readers connect with the characters.
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High school junior Beka Madison has seen a lot of changes throughout the year. Still adjusting to her mother's recent death, Beka struggles with her grief, finding good friends and becoming a Christian. In addition to the hard life lessons she learns along the way, Beka continues to wrestle with some old habits in this third installment of the Becoming Beka series.

Sarah Anne Sumpolec has a pulse on the heart of teens, and her brief, pithy conversational narratives keep the story moving along. Beka's father continues to spend time with Gabby, the kind-hearted woman who allows Beka's sister, Anna, to ride horses at her farm. While the rest of Beka's family relishes these afternoons together, Beka seethes inside. No one can replace her mom. (Except maybe Julie, Beka's counselor.)

In school, Beka's stress levels rise as her former friend turned enemy, Gretchen, gushes with kindness even though Beka turned her in for burning down the school's Snack Shack. Beka knows better than to believe that Gretchen has forgiven her. And then there's boy trouble. Which one to date? Beka can't decide between fellow student Mark, the one with the questionable past, and Josh, the homeschooled senior heading off to college in the fall.

With a potential romance brewing for her dad, the unresolved tension heightening with Gretchen, and being torn between Mark and Josh, Beka's mind is spinning. Through it all, she tries to trust God and discover His will; thankfully, she has the input of her good friend Lori to help challenge her thinking and actions at every juncture. Beka makes headway and then blunders, losing her dad's trust again. She resorts to lying, only to repent and confess before making even more serious mistakes.

By book's end, Beka realizes that being a Christian isn't at all easy and that developing a daily faith and trust in God is non-negotiable in the grand scheme of life.

  --- Reviewed by Michele Howe
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A fun, quick read that somehow manages to include a diverse, supportive family, a girl who loves spiders, a fun twist on ghosts, and a pair of kids who get to be heroes!
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"Firebird" is a nicely written novel that blends teenage romance with a hefty dose of fantasy. Tough but solvable cryptic crosswords headline each chapter and provide key clues along the way, but the mysteries aren't easily unraveled. Protagonist Lainey is not only struggling with typical teenage worries about dating, kissing, driving, parental tensions, etc., but she also must come to grips with unexpected evidence that otherworldly creatures like fairies and mermaids might actually exist. Another big question is how does her crush Sebastian fit into the puzzle, not to mention Lainey's estranged father and a handful of other supporting characters, a few of whom are fairly intriguing? The dialogue-driven story unfolds at a decent pace, and I found myself trying to keep up with Lainey as she strove to solve the riddles behind what was happening in her life. Although "Firebird" seems to have been written primarily for female teens and tweens, this book's potential appeal extends to older readers and males as well. I've now read and enjoyed both of Shaunna Sanders' two published novels and look forward to reading future works from this captivating author.
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Title: Flipped
Pages: 212
Author: Wendelin Van Draanen
First, Wendelin is a girl (I was surprised too). She lives with her hubby and two sons in sunny California. Her first book was published in 1997 and has since written around 27 books, mostly middle grade.
Agent: Wait for it... Ginger Knowlton of Curtis Brown. She is the same agent for at least Fairest and possibly Oy, Joy! as well. Yes they are accepting queries. Mail your query, synopsis, sample chapter, resume and SASE to:
Curtis Brown Ltd.
Attn:Query Department
Ten Astor Place
New York, NY 10003

I would just like to say that I have nothing bad to say about this book. It was great! Wendelin Van Draanen gave me a new way to read a book and I loved it. She took the two distinctly different points of view from a boy and a girl going through the same moments in life and showed us their very different thoughts on what was happening. It evoked all of the emotions it was supposed to at all of the right times, which in my book is the highest praise possible.

Flipped is being made into a movie as I write this. It will be out in September of 2010.

Juli Baker is a gregarious little girl of seven when she meets her new neighbor Bryce. He is dreamy and she instantly falls for his blue eyes and captivating smile. Fast forward to six years later of her drooling all over him and him trying to ignore her. She has never taken the hint and is certain that her first kiss belongs to him, if only he would take it.
Bryce and Juli do a lot of growing up their eighth grade year. Juli's eyes are opened to see more of Bryce than just his handsome face. She sees him as a weak coward, just as his eyes are opened to see that she is more than just the annoying girl who has always been his shadow. They both have flipped.

Bryce falls for her too late and Juli holds her ground on her Bryce diet... she will not give in. He calms his pounding heart and realizes that he will have to do something big to get her back. I love this part, so many guys would get it wrong and give a girl a bunch of flowers that are going to die, but not Bryce. He gives her a tree. It'll make sense when you read it.
My favorite lines were:

Turn down the chance to feel magic for fear of a little dirt? I couldn't believe it.

and

This weird feeling started taking over in the pit of my stomach, and I didn't like it. Not one bit. To tell the truth it scared the sheetrock out of me.

I give this book a nine out of ten. I recommend that Moms read this and post teens as well as early teens. I recommend it for 12 and up, but seriously if you remember your first crush... read it.
There are a few things that could bother some people. They swear to God once, call people idiots, and have a dog that they nickname the Mystery Pisser, which is an ongoing joke through the book. They also have an older daughter who doesn't eat hardly anything, some cheating on spelling tests go on, and there is a very vague reference to breasts. There is no actual kissing in the book. If it had been written for an older audience there would have been at least one more chapter, but I still liked the way that it ended.
Check out more reviews of clean middle grade, young adult, and adult novels on my blog The Buttoned Up Bodice

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I'm really enjoying the first book in the series, the fact that the main characters are more typical teens who have real world problems and quirks adds to the storyline and I am looking forward to seeing how they grow and develop through the process. Hey,its 4am and I read it straight through so it grabbed my attention and kept me intrigued :) Can't wait to start reading the next in the series.
1143930
This was a pretty good book, I was mesmerized by it like I am by some but I would recommend it to teen readers
1463931
This book was recommended to me by a friend and I am glad that she recommended it.

Eleanor is an awkward teenage girl that lives with her mom and her stepfather who is a drunk and is pretty abusive to Eleanor's mom and sometimes even Eleanor.  Eleanor lives a somewhat sheltered life until she meets Park.

Park is an awkward teenage boy that loves comics and music.  His home life is pretty much the opposite of Eleanor's.

After meeting Eleanor on the school bus, the two strike up awkward conversations and eventually, the two teenagers eventually become more than just friends.

I really enjoyed this book not just because of the main storyline, but because of the various '80s references. I can totally identify with the way these characters  were in this book, because I was also a teenager that didn't really fit into a group or clique just like these two.

I look forward to reading more by this author.
4813134
This is a great young teen book.  Some younger kids may enjoy it as well.  I will be reading it to my 6 year old daughter.  She is bored with books for her age group, and this is a perfect book for us to read together.  This is a great story with an adventure and two sisters trying to get their parents back together.  This story is filled with secrets taht all end up being revealed by the end of the book.

Willa is the book nerd, quiet 11 year old girl.  She is called "Will the weirdo".  She gets bullied a lot by the school bully, Eleanora.  She doesn't get along with her sister, Clementine.  But that all changes one night.

Clementine, or Teeny, is Willa's boy crazy, older sister.  She is the opposite of Willa, that's for sure.  The sisters remind me of my younger sister and myself.  Except I was the book nerd and she was the boy crazy one.

When they find out their mom lied to them and they stumble upon a new store in town called Magic in Me.  This store changes everything.  It changes their lives.  The changes start at the store, but more changes happen because of an old book.

Now the adventure starts.  I am not going to go in detail because I'm not going to give anything away.  You have to read this great story.

Willa is on an adventure getting her parents back together, learning about consequences and, most importantly, about herself.

"I could become so much more than just Willa Hildebrandt.  Willa the weirdo was gone.  Willa the witch was here to stay.  The child of malediction."
1408225
Sixteen-year-old Dani has survived a couple of situations in which she was very close to dying during her younger years, and she also remembers her mother telling her, in a playful way, that she takes after herself. That she is the girl with nine lives. Now, she's older and has to see her fraternal twin, Jana, go through the most horrible treatments for cancer. She can't even help by donating her marrow, because, incredibly enough, they're not compatible.

But Dani is convinced she can help in another way. She has nine lives. Enough lives to spare. So she decides she'll throw a few of them up into the universe, hoping her sister will be able to 'capture' them and get better. But by doing so, she manages to push away the few friends she still has and to convince everyone she's trying to kill herself. But they don't understand. She's just trying to save her sister.

Her parents are trying very hard to act like things are normal, like nothing much has changed, but everything has. Jena specially. Dani can hardly recognize her sister anymore. She's so small, so weak, so sick and defeated. The smallest fever can bring her down, and she has almost daily visits to the hospital. At school, Jana's old friends act like she never even existed, and Dani can't stand that. So she finds comfort in teasing/bullying her classmate Jack when she feels like talking or just hanging out with her only friend, Lauren, (who just can't shut up) when she feels like losing herself in her thoughts.

She also hangs out with bad boy Spencer, who seems to like her quite a bit, but quickly manages to push him away when she decides to crash his Harley for one of her soul 'deliveries'. Even though she still goes to school and random auditions to please her parents, Dani has really given up on studying and acting. Both things she used to be very good at. But now she has other priorities in life. Like trying to lose her lives.

I loved this cover. From the minute I saw it I knew I had to read this book. And it was SO good! I normally try to avoid much drama, but Danielle was such a complex character. She's trying so hard to pretend she's okay, that she's not freaking out on the inside about the possibility of losing her sister any day now. On the outside she tries to look like a very funny, very carefree person, (and she has some really great humorous quotes! Cracked me up quite a bit), but we  can see she's trying too hard. I really, really liked her. And Jana, the poor girl, was so sweet, also trying to hide how pissed and depressed she was about the disease. They broke my heart.

I'm not one for very dramatic and sad books, but once in a while a gem like this attracts me and I can't help but let it take over my life for a couple of hours. Probably because I always forget that after all the suffering, they usually leave me a feeling like having one's soul somewhat... lighter.

Sarah Wylie is a very talented writer. She sucks you into the story, she honestly makes you care about the characters and feel what they're feeling. There's no better way to read a story than to feel like you're part of it. Too bad we can't change it.

If you like your YA with realistic fiction, dramatic family issues and very well-written characters and situations, you'll be blown away by All these Lives.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
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Fifteen-year-old Gala Rhyce is an illustrator for comic books, touched by one ghost, and has this fantastic paranormal power. She sees ghosts and their auras. She also see human auras. All this makes her different, and she wants to be normal as she approaches her first day of a brand new school, in her new hometown of Flagler Beach, FL. But the spirits are determined Gala won't be normal. She has a job to do, and a boyfriend, Cy, to break up with now that he's in college. Her latest adventure doesn't start off great, what with a ghost dog causing her tremendous physical damage, but Gala meets a "Ghost Boy" she names Jaylen. Things really heat up when a prank crazy ghost, Roy, attaches himself to her. Just when she thinks she has things figured out, life throws Gala a curve ball she never saw coming.
Becky Pourchot weaves a paranormal tale of one teen's calling to help clear ghosts from the human plane with ease. To Kiss a Ghost is a fun easy read for any and all teens. The action is believable, and hysterically funny as Gala's ten-year-old brother gets into the act by "enchanting" food for the ghosts. There is heartbreak when Gala must give up a ghost she's come to love, with a sweet, enduring kiss, but there is also hope for the future when she discovers her ghost is actually a teen not much older than her recovering from a fire that destroyed his home. To Kiss a Ghost garners five stars for it's entertainment value, it's realism, and for being good enough to hope the sequel comes out soon.
Note: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.