Suck it Up by Brian Meehl

Suck it Up by Brian Meehl is about Morning McCobb, a 16 year old vampire. Morning is what's known as a "Leaguer," meaning a new style of vampires who never dine on human blood. They are formally educated at a special school on ways to blend in with human society and to curb their natural cravings. "Loners" are rogue vampires who still live by the old rules. There aren't many loners left, but they are dangerous. Morning was not at the top of his vampire class. He had a hard time memorizing the rules and a harder time CDing, or changing physical form. As a result, Morning is puzzled when the head of the school asks a special favor from him - to be the first vampire to "come out" to human society. Together, they select a public relations expert (Penny Dredful) to represent him through the experience. Things don't work out as planned, however, when Penny's daughter Portia and Morning fall for each other. Little do they know, a very dangerous loner is not pleased with Morning's decision to "out" himself, and is stalking them in hopes of destroying Morning forever. Things come to an exciting peak when Morning, Penny and Portia attend a festival announcing IVLeague.com at the very vampire school where Morning was educated.

This was an exciting, adventurous and humorous read! The author uses witty and hilarious similes and metaphors throughout to describe the action. This was a nice change of pace from the vampire romances that are so popular right now. I'd recommend it to both boys and girls who need a good read!

Walk Softly, Rachel by Kate Banks

Walk Softly, Rachel by Kate Banks is about fourteen year old Rachel. When she was 7, Rachel's older brother Jake died. Ever since, her family has kept his room exactly the same - complete with all of his track medals and trophies and personal items. Rachel is struggling with the loss of her best friend Adrien, who moved to Africa with his family. As a result, she goes into Jake's room to try to connect with him. She finds his journal and begins reading. The rest of the story goes back and forth between what's happening in Rachel's world and what was happening in Jake's world just before his death. Both share their innermost thoughts, feelings, and struggles. Through reading his journal, Rachel learns a lot about her brother, her family, and herself.

This was an interesting story. It really focused on the inner-struggles of teenaged boys and girls. I especially liked the way the author found ways to connect what was happening in Rachel's life with what had happened in Jake's life, shared through the journal.

Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah is about 16 year old Jamilah, a high school sophomore from Australia who is struggling with her identity. Jamilah is Lebanese and also Muslim and absolutely loves her family's culture, religious traditions and beliefs, and heritage. The only problem is, she's terrified that the students at her school will find out about her background and she'll be bullied. Jamilah attends her Australian high school as Jamie, with dyed blond hair and blue contacts in her eyes. She hates it when the popular "anglo" students in her school tease and bully the "ethnic" kids, but she's so afraid they'll find out about her true self, she doesn't speak up. This becomes especially difficult for her as Peter, the most popular boy in school suddenly becomes interested in her. Jamie/Jamilah finds herself torn between desperately wanting to fit in at school and being comfortable and confident with herself and her background. When her grade's formal nears and her Arabic band is asked to play, she knows she must make a difficult decision about who she is, despite what others might think.

This was a great book! It's interesting how the same types of problems occur in all different cultures and countries around the world. I really felt for Jamilah, trying to fit in at school and feeling like she needed to hide her true self from everyone. I would recommend this book to any girl who has ever felt she needed to be someone different just to be accepted.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins is the third book in the Hunger Games Trilogy. In this last installment, Katniss, after having won the Hunger Games with Peeta and escaped the arena during the Quarter Quell, is living in District 13 with the other rebels. Narrowly escaping the destruction in their home district, 12, Katniss's mother and sister, Prim, and also long-time friend, Gale, have made it to District 13 as well. Coin, the leader of the rebels and her council ask Katniss to agree to be the mockingjay - the "face" of the rebellion. She agrees, but only after making a few demands of her own, including immunity for the other former Hunger Games Tributes. Soon after, Katniss finds out that Peeta, who was captured when she was retrieved from the Quarter Quell, is being held and tortured in the Capitol. Desperate to save Peeta and to kill President Snow to whom she attributes all of the country's suffering, Katniss begins training with the rebel army and taking her role as mockingjay more seriously. Eventually, Peeta is rescued, but has been tortured so much he doesn't know what's real and what isn't. His memories of Katniss were distorted and instead of loving her, he wants to kill her! This just fuels Katniss's fire even more, leading her on a televised raid on the Capitol which ends in more trauma than even Katniss could have imagined. Is the Capitol all bad and the rebels all good? Who can be trusted? Will Katniss ever live a normal life or will being the mockingjay eventually consume her?

This was an awesome end to the trilogy! It took me awhile to get back into the story because it's been nearly a year since I read Catching Fire and even longer since I read The Hunger Games, but once I began remembering the details of the first two books, I really got into Mockingjay. There were twists and turns throughout the entire story, especially where Gale and Peeta were concerned... which will Katniss choose? You'll be surprised!

Meanwhile by Jason Shiga

Meanwhile by Jason Shiga is a really interesting graphic novel. The reader can choose the path of the story using little "tubes" that travel between the illustrations and tabbed pages. Depending on the reader's choices, the story has up to 3,856 different possibilities. It begins with the simple choice - chocolate or vanilla? - and from there can take you literally anywhere! I read this one with my son and we both loved it! As soon as we finished one story, we started over and chose different paths.

The Boy in the Basement by Susan Shaw

The Boy in the Basement by Susan Shaw is about Charlie, a 12 year old boy who has been forced by his father to live in the basement as a punishment. Charlie is certain he is a bad child who has been "ruined" and that his harsh punishments are deserved. This is the only life he's ever known. Even when he's not confined to the basement, his father doesn't allow him to attend school, play outside, or interact with any other people. Late one night as Charlie snuck outside the backdoor to relieve himself (he was not allowed to use the bathroom as a part of his punishment), the wind slams the door closed, locking him out. Sick with fever and not knowing what do to, Charlie runs down his street until he collapses. After being rescued, he is taken to the hospital where he begins to learn that his life was not "normal" and that his father's punishments were wrong. Charlie is scared to death of his father and imagines a giant spider pursuing him every tie he does something that would break his father's rules. After he leaves the hospital, Charlie goes to a foster home to live with Mrs. H and Ambrose, another foster child. Charlie desperately misses his mother, who was always helpless to stop his father's abuse - even taking it herself - but he knows his home is with Mrs. H. Still, the spider plagues him and he is terrified to do the things he knows his father wouldn't approve of. As his parents' trial looms closer, more and more people want to question Charlie about his experiences and Charlie begins to learn what it is like to live like a "normal" child.

This was a heart-wrenching story. I felt so bad for Charlie the entire time I was reading! To think, he didn't even realize that what his parents did to him was wrong - that he somehow deserved to be treated that way. I don't normally read stories about abuse because they upset me, but this one was different. The actual abuse was never described in detail and the ending was very happy. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read (or has already read) A Child Called "It".

Mind Games by Jeanne Marie Grunwell

Mind Games by Jeanne Marie Grunwell is about a group of middle school students who choose to research ESP in their Mad Science Club. As a result of their research, the group wins $500 in the lottery! The story is told through newspaper articles, lab reports, and experiment reports. Each part is written through the eyes of a different character and all add their own personal perspectives and stories. By the end of the novel, the reader not only has a better understanding of paranormal activities, but also of each character, the ways they are completely different, but also how they find their similarities as a result of being part of this group.

This was a quick read. I really liked the format of the story - being told through the voices of each character through lab reports and experiments. It makes me want to study ESP and even try some of the experiments! I loved the ways the author helped me get to know each character personally through what they wrote in their sections. A great story!!

Below are images of Zener Cards used in some tests for ESP:

If you are interested in exploring your own ESP abilities, check out this link to "Test Your ESP"