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 Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
This series is about a man on an amazing quest to the Dark Tower, but it is not complete yet. Reviewer -- Peter Badalament, 2000/2001 Teen Advisory
Board.
 Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg 
Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man is a great fun loving book. This book is about a girl who has to move away from her hometown Jackson Mississippi at age 11. The
reason she has to move away is because her father (a drunky) wants to move to Shell Beach, Mississippi to have a malt shop and her mother (very proper and
somewhat streaked) says they don't have enough money to do that. Finally someone in their family wins bingo and they decide to move down there. While
owning this malt shop they go through very weird encounters with different things. The father also fights with the mother a bunch in this story; the mom has left before
but always comes back. Finally one day the dad realizes that he can't pay for the malt shop anymore and burns it down. Little did the family know that he did it until
later. Finally the mom leaves for one final time; she doesn't come back. A couple months go by and Daisy's mom decides that Daisy should go to boarding school. She stays there a while and then moves
back to her house after her mother dies. She decided she has to get a job because her father is so drunk he can't do anything. She finally gets a job to do lights at a theater; Daisy has always loved
theater. After doing the lights for them a couple times she gets to be in the show, which gets famous. Finally she gets engaged to a guy she adores, and then he dumps her for his ex-girlfriend. After that
one of her really good stage friend decides he is going to get her into be Miss Mississippi! I thought this
book was pretty easy to read except at the beginning it lost my attention a lot but when it got closer to the
end I was so into it. My Favorite thing to this story would be either the ending or how there is really not 1
big problem but a whole bunch of little ones. I would tell my best friend definitely to read it but I would
not really tell her much about it because if you tell a part it will give another part away. The connection I would make between me and the reader is how the girl has a whole bunch of strange problems just
like me. I don't think me and Daisy really have any of the same type of problems but maybe that we both like theater and at first we could not really do it but then we kept trying and we got somewhere (even
though I didn't get as far as her). I always seem to wonder why didn't Daisy go with her mother when she left because her father was a drunky and would be somewhat dangerous for her to be with him. But
over all I thought it was an amazing book. Reviewer -- Samantha, September 2002.
A
Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
A Day No Pigs Would Die was not the best book I have ever read.
Even though it won the ALA Best Book for Young Adults award, I thought
it was uninteresting. A Day No Pigs Would Die is a story about a
boy named Rob Peck who is a Shaker. When he saves his neighbor's
cow from death, his neighbor gives him a pet pig. Rob names his
pig Pinky. This story is about how Rob relates to Pinky. When
Pinky is still young, they have a lot of fun together. When Pinky
is full grown, Rob goes with his neighbor to the Rutland Fair and
shows Pinky and he wins a prize. Soon, Rob finds out that his father
is dying and that his father must kill Pinky for food. He
was extremely upset and worried for his family when he found out
that his father was very ill. The main significance of this
book is how Rob develops responsibility as a result of getting a
pig. Reviewer -- Susannah Hope, 2001/2002 Teen Advisory Board.
I disagree, I have read stories much
better, but I also liked this one. I think it is too graphic for
some
children, however it is a good book, showing what teens today miss
out on. Robert is a young boy who has to face the world once his
father dies. He has to become a man and I believe kids today don't
get that kind of chance. They just grow up and live in their moms
basement. The story shows how different life was then, rather then
what it is now. I recommend it, and I hope you enjoy it. - Reviewer
- James., February 2006..
 Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther 
review John Gunther writes that this memoir is about death and what his son Johnny courageously went through, in an effort to give hope to others who have to
deal with similar pain. Gunther briefly sketches Johnny's life: he lived in Vienna and London when he was young; attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts; and
died in 1947 at the age of seventeen, after a fifteen-month-long illness. He describes Johnny's adolescent but great appearances. He notes Johnny's varied
interests, his incredible intelligence, and his passion for science. He also mentions his ex-wife, Frances, with whom Johnny is very close. Reviewer -- Whitney, September 2002.
Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther
The book is about a boy named Johnny that is suffering from a massive brain tumor. Through months
of therapy Johnny seems to get better then get worse, and eventually he dies. This book is about that boy who, though he complained at times, never gave up on his life. He made sure that he lived it as well
as he could. His main goal was to graduate high school, and even though he was ill he made it to see
himself graduate. This is a story about a boy who said in his diary that he had been keeping, " To life!" I
happened to like "Death Be Not Proud" a lot. At first it made you think about all the stupid things that
kids worry about, and there are kids who are dying and we don't even stop to think about them. It made me feel so sympathetic to people who actually have to go through this, or had to go through this. But
then I thought about it a little more. The people who are dying from incurable diseases usually don't worry about what things are wrong in their life, they think about the things that are going good in their
lives, because thinking that life is pointless is pointless, you just have to think about what good things that are happening right at that moment. I didn't think this book was going to be as in depth as it was. It
gave you all the little thoughts that were going through Johnny's mind, and you actually felt like you were
going through it with him. Truthfully I don't think there was a lot wrong with this book, although I thought that John Gunther could have talked about the setting more in-depth. But if you think about it, he was
trying to get the reader to go inside Johnny's mind, and think like he was thinking, not what was going on, on the complete outside. Johnny's father wrote this book, and I don't think that it could have been
written in a better way. It makes it so its not fake in the way that since Johnny died he ca'nt be here to tell
his story. In the pages that I have read his father, John Gunther tells the reader what he feels, and later gives you the letters of what Johnny felt. The letters that Johnny wrote were sweet and simple, but while
you read you always know that he's not here to read them to you, and that's what makes the story so powerful. There is only one theme that I can sum up what this book was about, and that is life. You can
say the power to be strong, the will, but it all comes together as life. This is a book about having the will
to be here as long as you can. It showed you how to have the courage and the strength to live. If you only have one day, or one year to live, all you do is try to fight as long as you can. And has Johnny said,
"L'chaim." Reviewer -- Amber May, September 2002.
Dharma Bums, by Jack Kerouac
Kerouac paints the perfect picture of the 1950's "Beat" generation. Kerouac lives his dream (and maybe that of others) as a Zen lunatic and rucksack wanderer on the fabled golden shores of west coast America. Reviewer -- Ravi Sivanandham, 2000/2001 Teen Advisory Board.
A Dog on Barkham Street by Mary Stolz
This story is not just another good vs. evil book. It is special because it relates very well to the younger
crowd and also has many subplots that keep your nose in the pages. The main character, Edward Frost, is a likeable kid with likeable parents but no siblings. He lives on 21 Barkham Street, which
seems like a "regular" street in a "regular" small town. He has a good friend, Rod Graham, and does
things that most regular boys do. One of his biggest problems, though, is his next door neighbor, Martin. Martin's favorite pastime is bullying people half his size. Mostly, Martin bullies Edward. Because
of this, Edward constantly talks to his family about moving to Alaska! One day Edward is listening to his parent's conversation and finds out that his Uncle Josh (who he has never met before) is coming to
visit. A couple of weeks later, Edward is sitting on his front step when a man and dog walk up the street. Edward realizes this man is his Uncle Josh and the dog is Argess, who his Uncle found near the Grand
Canyon. Edward really likes Argess and likes his Uncle, too. Edward dreams of one day being exactly like his Uncle Josh. Actually, all the kids that meet Uncle Josh like him because of his exciting stories,
his easygoing attitude, and the fact that he doesn't have a job (sometimes he has one but not for long.) They also like the way he just roams the world free from rules. As for the parents, they don't share the
kids' view because Uncle Josh is very unreliable. In the end, though, Argess helps Edward with the bully problem and Uncle Josh teaches Edward some things, too. Uncle Josh was a very interesting
character. He was sort of mysterious and seemed like a simple character at first, but actually he was complicated. One example of this was when Edward wanted to travel with his uncle but he said no. At
first, I thought this was mean until I understood that Uncle Josh couldn't take Edward because he couldn't care for another person. I think that Uncle Josh really fits the description of a loner (he just
doesn't get attached to other people.) I really liked the suspense in the book. Would Edward really get beat up or would he get away? Would he fight back? Would Martin and Edward ever be friends? This
book has many interesting twists. For example, one day Edward wakes up and Argess and Uncle Josh are gone. Will he see them again? You should read the book and find out. I would give this book five
stars because it has a very good ending that doesn't leave you hanging. I recommend this book to all boys and girls that occasionally feel left out or 'bullied' at one time or another (which means all kids.) I
also suggest the sequel to this book, The Bully of Barkham Street, which tells the same story but from Martin's view. Reviewer -- Kirstin, March 2002.
Dune by Frank Herbert 
This is one of the best books I've ever read. This book contains all the right elements of a good book: adventure, heroes, romance, sinister enemies and
mile-long sandworms. The book's main character is a young prince named Paul Atreides. Throughout the book, we learn about Paul's transcendence from a young
boy to an adolescent warrior to the eventual ruler of the planet Dune. In this story, Paul learns of hardships and deaths, betrayal and trust. I highly recommend this
book to anybody who likes to read great classic novels. I really liked this book and one of the main reasons I liked it so much was the key portrayal of Paul. In his
adolescence he assumes the role of a man and takes charge. The book paints a vivid picture of the planet Arrikis, otherwise known as Dune, itself. This book left a
strong impression and had different moods in the book that were key to character development. In dark and tough times, Paul realizes he must step up and modify
his path of life. We see the entire book from the third person view following the life of Paul. The desert and sandworms are described so well that you can really see the surroundings. The only thing I
disliked was the glossary in the back of the book. To understand part of the story, you need to learn new words in the glossary. One thing I really liked was the full scale map in the back. That really helped to
understand the setting. Overall, I really thought this was a well written and wonderfully plotted book. Reviewer -- Kyle Stumpf, September 2002.
Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg
review This book is about a girl named Katie. She lives with her dad and sister. This family moves from
place to place. They finally settle into a town. During this story their father is very strict. One night Katie
and Dianne do something very bold, which questions if the family will stay together. I really enjoyed this book. This book was easy to read. The signicance of the title "Durable Goods" is that the main
character Katie, is very durable. I did not think Katie could suvive without her best friend Cherylanne but she changes her mind. The thing that I did not like about the story is that the main character's mother
had died. I would tell my best friend that this book is great and that she should definetly read it! Reviewer -- Lizzie Hafeli, September 2002.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 
I would have to say that I loved Ender's Game. Ender's Game is an award winning science fiction novel with great suspense. The author of the book is Orson Scott
Card. Orson Scott Card has written many other science fiction books, but this is his most famous. Ender's Game has won the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award of
science fiction. I think the part I liked most about it was the storyline, characters, and the surprise ending. Ender's Game is about a young boy who's name is
Andrew Wiggin. Andrew is called Ender and lives on Planet Earth in about the year 2075(I am guessing). He is a special boy because all the families then had only
two children. He was the third child in his family. This fact made him different from everyone else. One day he is playing a game with his brother. His brother plays a
huge role in the book. His brother is older (obviously because he is the third child). Peter beats him up and threatens to kill him. Ender's sister, Valentine, is sad and tells on Peter. The
next morning Colonel Graff shows up at Ender's doorstep and has bad news for Ender's parents. Graff says that he must take him onto another planet to train at a Battle School. Ender's parents don't agree
with this, but it is Ender's decision. Ender decides to go and he goes with Graff into a space shuttle. At the new battle school he meets new kids and is put into an army. At the battle school kids play in
games of battle. You win the battle by "icing" the opponents in the enemy army. When they are iced they
cannot move their limbs until the end of the game. Ender proves to be very good at this and he quickly climbs to the top of the chart. Although his first army commander, Bonzo Madrid, doesn't like Ender
because of his stubbornness. He trades Ender to a different army. Soon enough Ender is a commander of his own army. His own army is the worst army in the entire league. He practices with his
team and he climbs to the top of the charts. Graff brings bad news again. He tells Ender that he has been promoted to Commander School. Normally Children don't go to Commander School until they
turn sixteen. At this time Ender is eleven. Ender is shocked. Ender ends up fighting battle against a secret enemy. If I told you the rest it would ruin the book, so you'll have to read it yourself! Reviewer --
Eric Bowers, March 2002.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card tells the story of a boy name Ender Wiggin. Ender was sent to military school when he
was seven years old. By the time Ender was almost 10 years old, he graduated from military school and was sent home. Once he got home he had to say good bye to his family and go on a mission to kill
the aliens called buggers.I will not tell you the end of the story because you have to read it for yourself. I thought that it was an easy book to read. At times it seemed to get kind of lenghthy. My favorite thing
about the story was when Ender got some friends at military camp. Before this he did not have any friends. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends. Reviewer -- Billy Layman, September
2002.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card does a very nice job using characterization in this book. Each character has their own
emotions and each reacts differently. The main character is named Ender Wiggin and is about 6-8 years old in the beginning of the book. His siblings are named Peter and Valentine; they are both
around the age of 12 at the beginning. There is one other character that is important to the story, Lieutenant Graff. He is the one responsible for bringing Ender to Battle School later in the book. Ender
Wiggin is about 9 years old and is the third child in his family. In the society they live in people make fun of him by calling him "third." His anger towards others is what keeps him focused and motivated
throughout the entire book. He also has a love for Valentine because she was nice to him when he was younger. Peter on the other hand brings out the hatred in Ender. Ender vows never to be like Peter and
although he hates Peter, Ender slowly become like him during the book. Peter Wiggin is about 13 and is the oldest in his family. His parents adore him for his good grades and they only see the good in him.
But this isn't the real Peter. The real Peter is a cold- hearted boy with bad intentions. On several occasions he nearly kills Ender and Valentine. But somehow despite this he can work with Valentine to
gain popularity in politics. They use this to gain influence about a global war on Earth. Peter uses the name Locke to speak on the war. Valentine is about 12 and also gets good grades. She is very
concerned about Ender's well-being and safety constantly, even more so when he goes to Battle School. She is very loving and caring yet also very sensitive. She becomes very depressed when Ender
is becoming like Peter and wishes she could help him. She uses the name Demosthenes as her tool to influence the war. Lieutenant Graff is in charge of the Battle School. He creates many challenges for
all the boys at the school, including Ender. Graff is very cold and has almost no emotions. He plays a somewhat minimal role in the story but has influence on Ender. He basically drives Ender crazy and
Ender begins to break down. I would recommend this book to Science Fiction fans because it is a very well written book. It makes you think because of the use of vocabulary, grammar, and setting. The
ending of the book is very confusing and surprising. The plot of the book is also very good because each person has their own little story to tell and they all are incorporated into the main plot. Reviewer -- Tristan Horvath, September 2002.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Ender's Game is a very good sci fi book about a boy named Ender and his fate. Ender Wiggin, part of a
family of child geniuses, is picked by military command to attend battle school. Ender wasn't a popular kid in his school. He was forced into beating the leader of a gang of bullies in order to protect himself.
While at battle school, Ender distinguishes himself and Colonel Graff begins to isolate him from the rest of the students. Ender does very well in the games, and in turn, is promoted to be the leader of
better and better platoons. Meanwhile, his brother and sister decide to make themselves useful on earth, by manipulating world events. I feel that Ender's Game is a superb book for any sci fi fan. Each
chapter only pulls you further and further into the book. The book was pretty simple to read, although there were some difficult words. Overall, I feel that Ender's Game is an excellent book for any reader of
any age. Reviewer -- Phil Stakich, September 2002.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
This is a science-fiction novel about a young genius boy named Ender. It is the future. About one
hundred years prior to Ender's birth, the Second Invasion of Buggers occurred. The planet Earth decides to attack the Bugger's home planet, to wipe them out. Ender is sent off to battle school. He
learns quickly. He then gets sent to a fleet commander school. He becomes an expert at a simulator,
and beats the final "test". The final test, or simulator scenario turned out to be real, and he was actually commanding a fleet against the Buggers. He wiped them out completely. In the end, he decides to
become a holy man and preach to the human race. He is very well respected. I feel that Ender is pushed too hard, in this book. Everyone is relying on him to win, in battle-school, and in fleet
commander school he also gets pushed hard. It reminds me of having a lot of pressure from a project that is due very soon (teehee). He has to win, or he'll feel like he's failed. It's the same in my case. I
have to finish the project, or I fail (my class). He gets the feeling a lot in the book that he just wants a
vacation, a break from all of his troubles and duties. Also, when he finds out it wasn't really a simulator, he feels bad for wiping out the Buggers. It's a bit like when you accidentally hurt someone, and you feel
bad, and they still are mad at you. He did not know he wiped them out, and he feels bad, and can't fix it. I feel it's a good book to read. It is a relatively easy reading level, and it is not too long. The title is
symbolic of Ender mastering the simulator, making it "his". This is why it is titled Ender's Game. My
favorite thing about this book is the battle room in battle school. I would tell my best friend that it was a very entertaining book, and that he should read it. Reviewer -- Jonathan Lau, September 2002.
The Face On The Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
The Face On The Milk Carton Do you like books that have mysteries and characters that find out what's
happening? If so, then you should read The Face On The Milk Carton. The book is about Jennie Johnson who had a perfect life including nice parents but then also mean parents, like every one else
she knows. But one day, her life changed when she drank from a milk carton in her high school cafeteria. Jennie was allergic to milk, so it was her first time drinking milk. On the milk carton there was
a picture of a kidnapped girl. The girl had two tight pigtails, blue eyes, brown hair, and wore a white polka- dotted blue dress. Jennie was certain that it was a picture of her when she was a small child.
She thought that because she has the same dress just like the one showed in the picture. Jennie tried to tell her best friend but he didn't really believe her. However the milk carton had a small description of
the kidnapping. It said that the girl in the picture had been taken from a shoe store inside a shopping mall in New Jersey. It also said that it had happened eleven years ago. But how could this possibly be
her? Jennie's parents were nice to her. She didn't think her parents were capable of doing such a thing. Her parents were kind, loved her very much, and worried about her all the time. They were wonderful
parents. She loved them. Jennie then started to get really sleepy in her high school, because of trying to figure out what was going on. So she started asking for help from some of her friends to research if
those people that have been taking care of her for the past years were really her parents. As they researched they found something, but what was that something? Jennie Johnson started to think. She
tries to remember things. Nothing makes sense to her. Jennie one day brought her friend and her mother to see what was going on. If her "parents" are not her real parents, then who are they? Who are
her real parents? Who is Jennie Johnson? Was this a joke? Why are these "parents" taking care of her? What really happened? I thought this was a really good book. The author did a good job of
describing Jennie's feelings. I would rate this book on a scale from 1-5, probably a 5. it is a wonderful mystery book. I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy good mysteries. Reviewer -- Tatiana,
March 2002.
Family Tree by Katherine Ayres
What if you never knew who your family was? That's the situation an eleven- year old girl named Tyler
Stoudt has. She lives in Ohio and has the strictest teacher in the sixth grade. Her school work will revolve around a famiy tree. Tyler doesn't know any family, only herself and her Amish father. Her
mother died when she was born. Every time she tries to ask her father about her or her mother's family,
he feels upset, hurt, and angry. He tells Tyler that her family tree was "chopped down and burnt up." She
is afraid she will flunk the sixth grade and never find out who her family is. Luckily, she has a best friend named Casey who can help her. Together, they work hard to find out as much information as possible
about her family, from looking in the telephone book to reading her mom's old books,as she was an author. Will their plan turn out succesful? Read to find out more! Reviewer -- Qaida, March 2002.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbur y
This Book was about a fireman that would get into more trouble than anyone would have thought. They live in a time where books are frowned on and if you had one
you were in deep trouble. The fireman's job was to respond to any alarm but instead of putting out the fires he would have to start the fire because someone in
the house had a book. The fireman meets a strange girl who makes him think of things which was very odd for people to do at that time. The man responds to an
alarm like normal but he wonders what these books are like. He steals one of the books from the house and brings it home to read. Pretty soon he is addicted to the
books and cannot bear to burn them. The captain of the fire station shows up at his door one day and it all goes downhill from there. I thought that this was a
well-written book and I thought that it was a very interesting interpretation of how the future would be like in the eyes of the author. I think the point of view of this story
was very effective because it was through the eyes of one of the firemen at the station and how hard it was to burn these houses and books all the time. Reviewer -- Evan Mace, September 2002.
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