Teen Comments on Books Eligible for 2007 & 2008 Awards
| Author | Title | Publisher | My Review | Would you nominate for an award | I would also like to say | Quality | Popularity | Reader | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Brouwer, Sigmund
|
All Star Pride
|
Orca | It is an excellent book. I thought it was going to just be about hockey, but it s more. It s an action packed mystery with an intriguing twist to it. I thing most young adult readers would like this book. | yes | 4 | 4 | Kyle H | 17 | |
|
Brouwer, Sigmund
|
Tiger Threat
|
Orca | This is an exciting book for hockey enthusiasts. It s about a couple of guys that get caught up in a multimillion dollar deal. It s a must read. | yes | 4 | 4 | John H. | 16 | |
|
Castellucci, Cecil
|
Beige
|
This book was awesome because it had the element of punk rock on every page. I also liked that it was about a girl. This is a very different book and I really enjoyed reading it. I only wish it was longer. It almost seemed like the author was trying to make it look longer by double spacing it. I would recommend this book to someone who is looking for a quick enjoyable read. |
yes | 4 | 4 | Joshua W | 16 | ||
| Castellucci, Cecil | Beige | I thought the book Beige was an all right book. I liked the start but thought it would turn out a lot different. I would recommend this book to those who like punk rock music and that culture. | no | 3 | 3 | Matt S. | 16 | ||
|
de Lint, Charles
|
Widdershins (no longer eligible)
|
Tor
|
Having been awed by The Blue Girl, I expected a rich fantasy. I got so much more. de Lint's gift for spinning a plot is nearly unparalleled in the fantasy world. The number of characters featured in this story did not confuse the reader as is often the case, but added the depth of narration, the perspective of a third person, and the intamacy of first person. de Lint, Charles Widdershins Tor 2006 Some might say that fairies have been over done. There are a lot of books out there about the seelie and unseelie courts, the fairy queen etc. This book however is different. Things are presented in a slightly different light, and this light gives power to the whole story. Yes, there are fairies and magic, but there is also animal people called Cousins, as well as violin music and love. The characters have a variety of problems they must solve from start of a war that could hurt a lot of people to the memories of an abusive brother that now has physical power. I was completely enthralled throughout the whole book, but my favorite part is still when Lizzie's car breaks down and her playing a lament for the deer girl. This is a book with great flow to it, where everything is connected in the perfect way to everything else. It is also one of the best modern fairy tales I have read in a long time. D, if i could have this book when everyone is done with it that would be great! yes 5 5 Logan 14 |
Kara L.
|
17
|
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|
Going, K. L.
|
Saint Iggy
|
Harcourt Books | Iggy Corso doesn't have a lot. He lives in the projects, his dad's always stoned, his mom's been gone "visiting" for weeks, Freddie, a drug dealer, is always messing things up, and his only friend Mo is about to become an addict. When he gets kicked out of school, he loses what looks like his last chance. The style really reminded me of a cross between Catcher in the Rye and Go Ask Alice. Where as I had a hard time liking Holden, I couldn't help but love Iggy. The almost poetic writing tells a harshly honest snapshot of Iggy's Christmas. The ending left me stunned. I think I sat for a full five minutes trying to absorb what I had just read. |
Kara L. | 17 | ||||
|
Leitich Smith, Cynthia
|
Tantalize
|
Darkly delicious, TANTALIZE is Cynthia Leitich Smith's first foray into the ever-expanding world of YA horror. Offering a winning blend of werewolves, vampires, romance, betrayal, and Italian food, where can it go wrong? The story is told from the point of view of high-school senior Quincie Morris, whose parents died several years ago and left her with a restaurant, Fat Lorenzo's. Unfortunately, Fat Lorenzo's is not doing so well, so her uncle devises a plan to revamp the restaurant into Sanguini's:A Very Rare Restaurant, complete with vampire chef-of-night. The plot is crafted very carefully and develops slowly. The control exerted over this book by Smith is extraordinary and shows her mastery of the craft. However, there are times when the plot seems disjointed and broken. It works out in the end, though, as Smith weaves a "tantalizing" build to the final breath-catching climax. Interestingly, there is no falling action, but it works fine in this scenario. The characters are devilishly original and they all have motivations hidden from view. Most, if not all, of the characters have a twist associated with them that makes them more integral to the plot. Even characters with little cameos early in the novel come back to play an important part in the story later on. This is smoke and mirrors, book style. Tantalize is written at a higher level than most YA books these days, and as such is a moderately challenging read. However, it adds to the appeal of the book, making it accessible for adult readers and more desirable for older YA who feel the need for "juicier" reads. Summed up, TANTALIZE is sinfully delectable and a great read for fans of TWILIGHT, PEEPS, and other such horror-thrillers. |
yes | You must get a signed copy for me ;) |
3 | 4 | Robbie | 18 | |
|
Lester, Julius
|
Time's Memory (no longer eligible)
|
Farrar, Straus and Giroux | I think that the book Time's Memory was very nicely written. The only part of the book that I feel that could have been better written is the very beginning. It is somewhat hard to understand the beginning and to keep up with what exactly is going on. It is also somewhat hard to understand the beliefs of the Dogon people, but once you start reading it all comes together and is very understandable. I really did enjoy this book. One of the main reason that I enjoyed this book is the fact that it explored a different belief then what I was brought up on and it made my imagination run. What if there were such things that the Dogon people believe in (like an nyama)? I believe that this book helped me be able to imagine something that I wouldn t otherwise imagine. I would recommend this book to a wide variety of people. I do not think that it was just written for a specific age group. | yes | 4 | 5 | Maura F. | 15 | |
|
Matas, Carol
|
Whirlwind
|
Orca | This was a good book. The author made it seem as if it was a real story. It was very interesting because of the historical facts, and I liked the ending. I would recommend this book to most young adults. | yes | 4 | 3 | Kyle H | 17 | |
| Matas, Carol | Whirlwind | Orca | It s an ok book. I thought it would be more interesting because of the time period it was based. Most of the book was pretty good. Other readers might enjoy it, just not me. Joshua W. |
no | 3 | 3 | Joshua W | 16 | |
|
Smith, Roland
|
Peak
|
Harcourt | Peak is the story of a 14-year-old boy who with serious climbing addictions is caught climbing a sky scraper in New York, where he lives. During the trial he learns that the penalty is to serve a long form of detention in a juvenile school or to go live with his biological father ,whom he has rarely met , who runs a mountain climbing business in Thailand. What Peak does not realize is that he was rescued by his father, from certain doom of boredom, so he could take him up to be the youngest person on Mt. Everest. A very good story with a surprising twist ending ,Smith is able to keep the reader interested and hooked with the relationship between father and son and the adventure on the highest mountain in the world. |
Hazel | 15 |