Teen Comments on Books Eligible for 2007 & 2008Awards

Author	Title	Publisher	My Review	Would you nominate for an award	I would also like to say	Quality	Popularity	Reader	Age
Avi	The Traitor's Gate	Atheneum	'The Traitor's Gate' is an excellent story based on the life of Charles Dickens. The main character is 13-year-old John Huffum. His father is in debt, and needs to come up with 300 pounds in three days, or be sent to debters prison forever. But, John's father swears that he didn't owe anything, especially not the high amount of 300 pounds. So now, John must find the truth behind the debt, the mysterious Mr. Copperfield, and his new found friend, Sary, even to the end of traitor's gate. My favorite thing about the story was that it had both mystery and historical fiction, two of my favorite genres. I also thought that it was an exciting way to learn about Charles Dickens life, without reading a biography. Overall, I thought that 'The Traitor's Gate' was an excellent story.	yes	May I have this book once it's published?	4	4	Elle	12
Bauer, Marion Dane	Killing Miss Kitty and Other Sins	Clarion Books	This book contains 5 different stories, all about a girl named Claire in the 1950 s. In each story, she is a little older and deals with a different problem. The topic s of the stories are segregation, differing religions, animal cruelty, what sin is, and Claire s love for a female teacher. The lengths of the stories vary, but because of the different topics, the book keeps your attention. Claire is rarely the perfect child; always doing what she thinks is right and often stretching the limits. I liked this book a lot. It was slightly shorter then preferred, but a good length. I liked Claire s personality and how she stood out from her family. It was sad though how she didn t have any longtime friends.	yes		4	4	Kara D.	13
Beddor, Frank	The Looking Glass Wars	Dial	I thought that this book had a very interisting style because it was set as the real story of Alyss (or Alice) in Wonderland. In the beginning, I didn't think that it was going to be that good of a book, but as I got farther, the book got faster and I found out about a lot more subtle plots. Also, I liked how the soldiers were cards that folded out and that the land was a Queendom not a Kingdom. This book had lots of great characters and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good read.	yes	On another note, if nobody wants this book, or Skulduggery Pleasant, I would like to have them Thank you!	4	5	Lewis	13
Hathaway, William T.	CD Ring	Lobster Press	This book is very real to life. I was drawn to it by its title. I liked how it showed a young mans ambition to make things right for everyone. I would recommend this book to anyone.	yes		4	4	John H.	16
Johansen, K.V.	Nightwalker	Orca	Nightwalker was a very short, but strangely long book. It had such world and character building, that it made the book seem longer than it really was (196 pages). I liked how the people, although in a strange land, seemed very real. Also, I think that it was great when you read about all of these stereotypes, then, at the end, people are starting to knock down those walls. Everyone should read this book. I mean it. It may look childish to some people, but it is just so real, you feel like you could be there with them. Also, I think that this book should get a lot of awards for its amazing plots (although not very original). Johansen, K.V. Nightwalker. Orca. After his guardian dies, Maury is kicked out of his school to become a servant there. Constantly ridiculed because of his black hair and eyes which makes people believe he is a descendent of the "Nightwalkers" a group of sorcerers that are greatly feared and hated. The humans kicked the sorcerers out for no good reason other than they wanted their land. Now Maury's got to make his way to the small tribe of remaining sorcerers, to find out who he really is.	yes yes		5 4	4 4	Lewis Andrea F	13 14
Marsden, John	A Killing Frost (not eligible)	Scholastic (2006)	This book was a great sequel to the first two books. It was well written and you just want to keep reading. It s a story that could actually take place in real life and has a good twist to it. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys adventure and action.	yes		4	4	Herring	17
Novik, Naomi	Black Powder War (not eligible)	Del Rey	As the third book in the temeraire series, I met this book with high standards, and they were met very early on. Unlike the second (The Throne of Jade), this book had a fast moving plotline, and it hooked me from the beginning. I liked how people were always doing things and things were happening. Also, I liked how Temeraire showed more of his personality and told all of the other dragons how they should be treated as equals to humans. Everyone should read this book, and not only kids. Anybody who likes Patrick O'brien or Anne McCafrey would love to read this book on the French-British war.	yes		5	4	Lewis	12
Selznic, Brian	The Invention of Hugo Cabret	Scholastic Press	Brian Selznic is an amazing author. Not only does his story move along at a quick pace, but it doesn't move to fast that we miss plot. His full size pictures that dominate a good portion of the book are seamlessly sewn together in a manner that makes it more sophisticated than most books with pictures. With the amazing plot and the amazing pictures, this book could win the Caldecott Medal and the Newbery Medal all in one year. Since this book came out very recently, I cannot be sure of the popularity right now. But when it finally comes out of the gate, it will smash right through. I have read a lot of books, but this one, by far, is one of the very best. Selznick, Brian . The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Scholastic. It is a compelling book with a perfectly foreshadowed plot. The book is full of beautiful black and white pencil drawings. The main character Hugo is the runner of the clocks in a train station. He has one really big secret. He keeps a automaton in his workroom that was being repaired but never finished by his father(now passed away).. Nominate? No. The book is good for a suprisingly quick read! The amount of pictures helps move the story on quite nicely!. 4Q. 3P. Susan. 13	yes no	Everyone should read this book.	4 4	4 3	Josh Susan	13 13
Tullson, Diane	Zero	Fitzhenry & Whiteside	'Zero' was definantly not my favorite story. It told the story of Kas, a high school student who has just been accepted to a School for the Arts. Kas has a secret, a very serious secret that you don't find out until near the end. I had to force myself to finish it because it just didn't appeal to me, but I wanted to find out her secret so I finished it. I would probably recommend 'Zero' to an older audience, like high schoolers, because some of the themes were sort of advanced. Overall, 'Zero' wasn't what I was expecting it to be.	no		3	3	Elle	12