Page 4 Teen Comments on Books Eligible for Awards

Aidinoff, Elsie V. The Garden

I absolutely LOVED The Garden i was the classic and well known story of the garden of Edan retold from a very new and refreshing point of view. Slightly feminest, this tale depicted Eve as the intelligent and philosophical child. Raised by the serpent, she learns that God is a mere child, a being that created the world and the two people in it as a diversion from the boredem of time. Adam is rased by God and is portrayed as one who is good with his hands, strong and fast, yet completely uninterested in the workings of science and the rest of the world.
Well written and engaging to any who know the biblical tellings of the garden, this book will capture the minds of all who read it. -- Hillary, 17
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First let me start by stating I am a religious liberal, and I do not interpret the Bible literally. Secondly I am a big feminist. Those two points are only part of the reason I loved The Garden so much. Aidinoff obviously did her homework. This new take on the Garden of Eden is beautifully written, with wonderful characters, and a new good guy. The Garden is very much like Gregory Maguire's books, a retelling of a story everyone knows, from the "evil-doer's" perspective. But the winner in this book are the human characters, Adam and Eve, who are three dimensional and fully aware of the consequences of their actions.
Best Book: Yes --Cordi, age . Wants book.

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The Garden was a delectable book about what went on in the Garden of Eden. It takes things from a different twist, though, placing God as a terrible visage with a hot temper, and the Serpent as a kind and forgiving mentor. I liked this book because it gave a good portrayal of innocence and human feelings. A must read. --Robb, 15
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First name or initials: Trystan
Age: 18
Book Title: The Garden
Author: Elsie V. Aidinoff
Should this book be on a list of Best Books for Young Adults:yes
Because: This is going to be a book that people either like or really hate. It takes a different spin on the Garden of Eden story, and it actually ends up making the Serpent the good guy and God look like a pompous jerk. If the reader if really religious and strict in their adherence to the version of the creation story in the Bible, they will probably be offended by this version. For someone like me (who understands the questions the author had which caused her to write the book), the book is enjoyable and thought-provoking. I enjoyed the author's approach and the new ideas which she forced me to consider. I think it is a best book.
Quality Rating:5 - One of the best books I ever read
Popularity Rating:3 - Some will and some will not care to read it.
(Optional) I also want you to know...: I would like my name in the drawing for this book, please.

Alvarez, Julia Finding Miracles

The book centers around a 15 year old girl who was adopted from some latin
country. The name of the country is never mentioned other than to call it "The
little country." One day, a foriegn student comes to Ralston High, reminding
Millyof her past or lack there of.
Being a kid in a mixed family, I could kind of relate to Milly and her questions
about blood family. The writing and character development were fantastic! I
particularly enjoyed the story line between Milly and her Grandmother. The story ends
on a nice note, while leaving room for creative speculation on the part of the
reader.
Definitly a good read, and a Best Book to boot. -- Kara, 16
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First name or initials: Trystan
Age: 18
Book Title: Finding Miracles
Author: Julia Alvarez
Should this book be on a list of Best Books for Young Adults:yes
Because: I've read some of Alvarez's adult fiction and think it is beautifully written and covers interesting and important subjects. Though this book similarly deals with one of the same issues as the other novels of hers I have read, the topic of adoption (which is the focus of the book) is not often dealt with in fiction. I enjoyed reading this story from the main character's perspective; Alvarez weaves seamlessly her beautiful rhetoric with a believable narration of a high schooler. I think it should be a best book.
Quality Rating:4 - Pretty good.
Popularity Rating:4 - Lots of people will want to read it.

Brugman, Alyssa Walking Naked

This entire book seemed to build to a climax that never came. This book had the potential to be excellent, but it fell very short. The characters were superficial and failed to bring a sense of reality to the book. The characters were weak and the books plot just dropped completely right after the "climax". The entire section of the book leading up to the climax had nothing to do with the climax. I did, however, find the authors use of poetry refreshing and cleverly interwovwn with the substance of that chapter. This is probably not a Teen Top 10, although it is the sort of book that you either love or you hate. --Rachel, 14

First name or initials: Ellington
Age: 15
Book Title: Walking Naked
Author: Alyssa Brugman
Should this book be on a list of Best Books for Young Adults:yes
Because: When I first started reading this book I thought it was going to be a book similar to the new movie "Mean Girls." What I found was a book that used high school popularity and cliques to convey a deeper meaning. In "Walking Naked," we are introduced to Megan, the co-leader of the school's most popular clique. We are later introduced to Perdita, "The Freak," when Megan and Perdita are thrown together. In this book, the message isn't a typical message. This book offers amazing insight and wonderful message, though the plot was a little weak.
Quality Rating:5 - One of the best books I ever read
Popularity Rating:4 - Lots of people will want to read it.

Harrison, Lisi The Clique

First name or initials: Ellington
Age: 15
Book Title: The Clique
Author: Lisi Harrison
Should this book be on a list of Best Books for Young Adults:yes
Because: Even though this book was written about middle school aged kids, I loved it! It is a story about a girl Massie, whose idea of a reasonable priced shirt is $300, rules her school with her exclusive clique, and who refuses to wear anything last season. When a daughter of Massie's father's best friends moves into Massie's guesthouse, she challenges everything the clique stands for. The musings of their search for identity in their Prada worlds is light, touching, and fun. For some reason, it always seem fun to read about how the millionaires of America live. This book is great if you're looking for a light, Saturday read.
Quality Rating:5 - One of the best books I ever read
Popularity Rating:4 - Lots of people will want to read it.
(Optional) I also want you to know...: *I would love to own a copy of this book!

Myracle, Lauren TTYL

First name or initials: Ellington
Age: 15
Book Title: TTYL
Author: Lauren Myracle
Should this book be on a list of Best Books for Young Adults:no
Because: I have read reviews for this book in several "Teen&" magazines, who have heralded this book as the next great Chicklet, comparable to "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." I assume this is because this is the first book ever to be written completely in Instant Messages. I am usually a sucker for books containing e-mails and IMs, but this book proved they need text to back them up. I felt like I was reading someone's IMs about boy troubles (whoa, original), but didn't know the person, and didn't care. The only reason I finished this book was in hopes it would get better; it never did. The only thing I enjoyed about the book was the quizzes they sent each other, and the results, which I assume was an attempt and character development. I also found myself lost when they used IM terms I had never heard of. I think it would be greater literature, and a better use of your time to sign on, and IM one of your own friends.
Quality Rating:1 - Yecch! Force read only.
Popularity Rating:2 - Only people who are looking for this type will read it

Burnham, Niki Royally Jacked

First name or initials: Katherine
Age: 14
Book Title: Royally Jacked
Author: Niki Burnham
Should this book be on a list of Best Books for Young Adults:yes
Because: It is a break from the usual stuff and relates to teen lives.
Quality Rating:5 - One of the best books I ever read
Popularity Rating:4 - Lots of people will want to read it.
(Optional) I also want you to know...: This is more of a book for girls than boys although some boys may enjoy it, too.

Fun, perky, simple; this was the ultimate poolside chick-flick. The story was easy to follow and written with a voice that you don’t usually find in these types of books. This was a Teen Top 10, but was aimed more at the female audience. --Rachel, 14 years old

First name or initials: Ellington
Age: 15
Book Title: How Not to Spend Your Senior Year
Author: Cameron Dokey
Should this book be on a list of Best Books for Young Adults:yes
Because: I must admit I am a sucker for a good chick-flick book. This story was charming, interesting, and laugh-out-loud funny from the first page. This book simply got better and better as it went on. The book was about a girl who constantly moves, but has finally found a place she belongs, complete with a cute guy. The best thing about this book was that it was great from the first sentence. It was also highly believable high school behavior, and I often found myself seeing parallels between the characters and my friends at school. In short, this is one of the best chick flick books I have ever read.
Quality Rating:5 - One of the best books I ever read
Popularity Rating:5 - Everybody was dying to read this yesterday.
(Optional) I also want you to know...: *I would love to own a copy of this book!

This story had a great theme. I liked the whole idea, but it didn't really do much for me. I believe that someone else could have carried it farther. --Katherine, 15

Ok, when I saw the cover I about freaked out, because
the last time I read horror was Goosebumps. But Cirque
Du Freak #7 was good. It stood alone, too! It had a
good plot with foreshadowing, but not too much. There
were mysteries and questions, as well as the actual
writing itself. The ending was a little disappointing,
but not too bad. Overall, not a best book, but
definetely a good book. -- Robbie, 15

Johnson, Angela A Cool Moonlight
This book was short, the way it was written was OK. . . but it didn't have much to it. This story had a good idea, and the beginning was great, but it could have been longer. --Katherine, 15

First name or initials: Ellington
Age: 15
Book Title: Follow the Blue
Author: Brigid Lowry
Should this book be on a list of Best Books for Young Adults:no
Because: I hate books where an author takes a nice girl, portrays her as boring, gets her involved in guys she should avoid, and gets the girl involved in drugs, alcohol, and other activities teens should avoid. This is the plot of Follow the Blue. Even if this book had a different plot, I still couldn’t see it being a best book. It was poorly written and, I, personally, don’t like books that document the degradation of morals of the main character.
Quality Rating:3 - OK
Popularity Rating:3 - Some will and some will not care to read it.

This was a spectacular piece of work. The characters and their interrelationships were strongly explored. It deals with subjects that occurs far to often, and yet is ignored; child abduction and child pornography. It deals with these subjects in a way that made you uncomfortable enough to make think, but gently enough to leave you with a gentle warning. This book is definitely a Teen Top 10. --Rachel, 14 years old

First name or initials: Ellington
Age: 15
Book Title: Ostrich Eye
Author: Beth Cooley
Should this book be on a list of Best Books for Young Adults:no
Because: I must admit that this book was better than I thought it was going to be. When I read the first chapter I thought that this would be a typical girl-has-a-deadbeat-dad-and-gets-reunited-with-him. This book provided a greater amount of depth than I expected, though a few chapters in, the real plot can be easily guessed. It was well written, but I didn’t really enjoy the subject it was written on. When I finished this book I was no better or worse for it, which is why I think it is not Best Book material
Quality Rating:3 - OK
Popularity Rating:3 - Some will and some will not care to read it.