Being Sixteen by Allyson Braithwaite Condie

When you turn sixteen your life will suddenly be a lot better? Right? Everyone looks forward to driving and for some dating. Well Juliet was no exception. Juliet has been practicing basketball all summer with her friend Megan. She's really looking forward to playing on the varsity team. Her family arranges a wonderful surprise party for her 16th birthday. All her friends are there and her new "boyfriend" Nate.

For awhile Juliet's sixteenth year is turning out exactly how she planned. She makes the team and goes to Homecoming with Nate, but then things start to change. Juliet and her sister Maddie begin to suspect that their younger sister Carly, a cheerleader, may have an eating disorder. Juliet begins to wonder. "I couldn't help but feel like my life had been turned upside down. It seemed like I was trapped in an alternate universe, while somewhere else things were happening the way they were meant to happen."

If you like religious fiction and wonder what happens to Juliet and Carly read Being Sixteen.

If you had a brother in war would you be on his side or against him with your dad?

Tim Meeker lives in Redding with his mom, dad, and older brother Sam. Sam went away for college and came back dressed for war. His dad is against him going to war but Sam does not care. He wants the freedom of his country and is willing to die for it.

Tim does not know what side to be on. If he chooses Sam then he is going against his dad and his dad would not be to happy. Though if he goes on his dad's side then he is practically betraying Sam. Tim can not make up his mind. He goes back and forth not knowing which to pick. Tim looks up to Sam and sees the bravery in Sam and wants to grow up just like him. While Sam is gone to war there are a lot of things going on in Redding. Because of these things Tim has had to grow up very quickily.

When Sam came back for a visit Tim was so excited for Sam to see him all grown up."Tim had to grow up very fast becuase of you Sam" Mrs. Meeker said. Even though it was Sam's fault Tim was so happy to see that Sam had noticed and was proud of him. After his visit Sam got accused of stealing cows... Is that the last time Tim will see Sam? Let's hope not. If you like books that are unpredictable and keep you wanting more then you will deffinatly like this book.

My Brother Sam Is Dead

by,

James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier.

Rangers Apprentice

Rangers Apprentice by John Flannagon is a very fun and intense book. It's about a boy named will who lost his parents and is an orphan wanting to be trained in battle school. But when he finally gets the chance he was chosen for something other then battle school. He was chosen to be Halts Apprentice as a ranger. Will trains with halt to kill the Kalkara of Morgorath that are attacking quickly. I think everyone should read it and all the other many books after it. You will mainly like this book if you like a lot of action and intense fiction stories from a long time ago. One of my favorite quotes from this book is "The villagers believe that the Ranger's practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people." I like this quote because it shows how skillful a ranger is at what he does and what they can learn to do. I think everybody should try reading this book. It is a very good series and I can guarantee you will love it!

Witch Child

Each year Mrs. Lefler's U.S. History classes read historical fiction novels. I decided I needed to read more of these books. One of the more popular selections for 1st term has been Witch Child by Celia Rees.

Mary has been raised by her grandmother in England. The story begins with her watching the witch trial and execution of her grandmother. A mysterious lady appears who whisks her away and provides means for Mary's escape. Mary joins a religious group traveling to America. Luckily Mary finds a friend in Martha who is a widow. There are a lot of problems on their sea journey and whisperings begin about a witch on board.

The group arrives in Salem and eventually journeys into the wilderness. Mary tries to avoid drawing attention to herself, but she befriends an Indian and enjoys going to the forest to gather herbs and plants for Martha and Jonah, both healers. The preacher's wife talks to Mary one day. She explains that her husband saved her from being exectued as a witch. "I changed. [She explains]. You can do the same!" "What if I can't?" [Mary asks.] "Then the Lord have mercy upon you." Later Mary falls under suspicion when strange events and sightings occur. Will Mary's friends be able to save her or will she be branded as a witch?

This is an interesting novel that will help you understand this time period better. I recommend it to anyone who is curious about the early American era of witch trials.

The Series of Unfortunate Events

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are three orphans. Each very talented. Violet is a great inventor. Klaus loves to read. And Sunny the youngest loves to bite things, she also says weird things such as "Yeeka!" Which probably means something along the lines of, "How interesting!" When the Baudelaire's parents died, they left behind a great fortune. A banker named Mr. Poe is in charge of the Baudelaire's troubles, he looks for new guardians for the Baudelaire's. The Baudelaire's find themselves in a dirty, old, smelly, and scary house. Their new guardian was Count Olaf. Count Olaf is an evil man. He made them clean the filthy house, prepare meals. And worst of all, he tried to steal the Baudelaire fortune. The children tried to talk to Mr. Poe about their problems, but who would believe children? Count Olaf is also an actor, he tries to persuade Mr. Poe that he is innocent.

Though the series is long, I think its worth the read. If you are interested in Adventure, Mysteries and struggles, this is the book to read. Does Count Olaf get caught in the end? Do the Baudelaire's hide from Count Olaf forever? Read the book and find out! I hope you like it!

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X

The best superpower you can have isn't to fly or be invisible, even super strength, its the power to create. Daniel X has this power. This book is about a boy who's parents get killed by an alien when he is three years old and he has to live on his own. Daniel knew what he was meant for ever since he was little, to hunt aliens on Earth.

Before his parents died, they showed him the list of numbered aliens that they needed to kill to keep humans and all the other species on earth alive. This is why they call him an alien hunter. Soon into the book Daniel decides that he needs to go after number 6, a notorious alien that is planning to destroy and repopulate Earth with his own species. While Daniel is in the process of capturing no. 6, he gets captured and is taken to his home planet-"Alpar Nok? I thought, staring at the green-tinged planet. My home?"

Daniel finds his home planet is nearly erased from all it inhabitants and learns that no. 6 is responsible for it. Is there still life on his planet? Will he be able to destroy the notorious no. 6? You will find the answer to these questions and more when you read The Dangerous Days of Daniel X. If you like action, super powers, thriller genres, and fast paced books, you should read this book.

This book was written by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge.

Marley & Me

This book is about a dog that everyone thinks is "The worlds worst dog." John Grogan, the author tells about the experiences that he has with Marley. It is about how the worlds worst dog can bring love and excitement into the home.
Marley is a crazy dog. He screws up everything. He tears things apart, goes poo all over the yard, and eats all the fruit trees. As soon as John and Jenny start their family, it gets even harder with Marley in the house. At one point of the book, they were going to get rid of him, but then they realized how lucky they were to have a good dog just like Marley. Marley is a good dog, a loyal, smart dog, and most of all, a loving dog.
As the years past, Marley got older. Marley would never get tired, until he was around 10yrs old. Marley got older and older, and the family would spend there last few years together. Later on, Marley could hardly make it up the hill. Find out what happens to Marley, read the book.
I think that anyone would like this book. Even if you don't like animals or reading, i promise... you will like this book. Check out this #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER book in the library today.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

This summer I read The Red Pyramid. The Red Pyramid is about a brother and a sister their names are Carter and Sadie. Carter travels around the world with his dad while Sadie stays with her grandparents. The adventure in this book is based around the Egyptian gods and pharaohs, as the story goes on they find out they have powers relating to the blood of the pharaohs. These powers are a good thing and a bad thing as Sadie Kane would say, "there bloody hopeless". If you like historical fiction and adventure you will love this book, I could not put it down.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Bree Tanner is a vampire who was created into a vampire by Riley another vampire, who is the leader of this coven. Bree lives in a basement with all the other vampires in her coven. She is only allowed to go outside at night to hunt. although Diego is part of her coven. Bree meets him for the first time out hunting. She and Diego are a lot alike. They both think the same way. They both stay out of trouble when they are in the basement. After just one night, they become best friends.

After not talking for four days, they finally get out to follow Riley. They over hear secrets about why they were created, and that they will be part of a war over who gets seattle as a hunting ground. Will the yellow eyes win? Who will get seattle as hunting ground? To find out what happens read The short second life of Bree Tanner. "I turned off my brain. It was time to hunt. I took a deep breath, drawing inside the humans below."

Pillage

This month I read the book Pillage by Obert Skye. I found this book thrilling and exciting all the way through. In this book, a boy's mother dies and he is forced to move to the town of Kingsplot, a town in the middle of a mountain range. At first he is upset because of the loss of his mother but soon as he gets friends and starts to enjoy himself and his new life. But then he and his friends Kate and Milo find a conservatory where they find eight egg shaped rocks and eight flower pots with soil. They plant the rock in the soil and wait. As the main character Beck Phillips would say "They pay you for this?" To find out the rest of the book, your gonna have to read it. This book will be enjoyable for anyone who likes to read a good fantasy book like me.