Young Adult Books


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Young Adult Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Young Adult
The Never War (Pendragon Series #3)
Published in Paperback by Aladdin (2003-05-01)
Author: D. J. MacHale
List price: $8.99
New price: $3.39
Used price: $0.67

Average review score:

The Never War
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-10
The Never War is the third book in the Pendragon series. I thought this book was amazing this book I think was the best of all of the pendragons. This book brings back the characters Mark, Courtney, Spader, and Bobby and a new traveler Gunny. This book brings you back into 1937 on first earth. At the start of world war two and ends with a big ending that may shock you.
I would totally recommend this book because it envolve your own world and it makes you brush up on your history. This book is definitely the greatest sci-fi I have read. The Never War is a book that you never want to stop reading it keeps you on the edge of your seat through out the whole story and this book always has you thinking of what could happen next.

Really interesting historical fiction
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-12
This is a really interesting book for probably one reason: the historical fiction.
This book takes you to First Earth, where life is eternally 40 yeaers behind our Second Earth. The plot of this story is where Saint Dane is trying to alter things that have already happened to cause chaos throughout Halla. This is about the Hindenburg. Saint Dane offers Bobby a chance to save the Hindenburg from crashing but what will happen if he doesn't?
This is book is chalk full of good historical fiction. I liked it, A LOT!

The Never War
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-12
For this book review I read Pendragon: The Never War. The author of this fantasy book is D.J Machale.

This book is mostly about Bobby Pendragon who is a traveler and Gunny and Vo Spader, another two travelers who go through the flume that killed Uncle Press. Vo Spader and Bobby Pendragon come out and see two gangsters who have machine guns pointing right at them. The gangsters take them but they both escape and that's where they meet Gunny. Gunny takes them back to his hotel because he is a hotel bellboy. He lets them stay on the sixth floor. They meet a gangster named Max Rose but Max Rose makes them go see Winn Farrow. Winn Farrow catches them and ties them up and he burns the place down, but they escape. A big blimp called the Hindenburg comes in with Max Rose's money in it, but Winn Farrow fires a rocket at it and blows it up and Max runs into the blimp and he dies. They all go back to Second Earth and see their friends.

I think this book is a really good book because it didn't get boring or anything. It was a really exciting book. This book would be best for people who like good adventure books and exciting books.

The Never War
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-12
The book that I read for my report was called The Never War by D.J. MacHale. The Never War is a fantasy book. It was very, very good.

My book is about a boy named Bobby Pendragon who is called a Traveler. Travelers can go to distant universes to fight off a very evil Traveler named Saint Dane. So, Bobby warps to New York 1937, where he is chased down by gangsters and has to deal with, of course, Saint Dane. As he explores this new, or old (to him), New York, he comes along the First Earth Traveler, Gunny.

Bobby also comes along a man named Max Rose, who was a rich gangster and was working with the Nazis in Germany. He finds out Rose has an enemy, Winn Farrow, a very dangerous gangster. But one thing that really makes Bobby mad is that Winn is planning on destroying a blimp called the Hindenburg. But, this blimp is from Germany and is sending Rose his payments for working with them. Should Bobby stop Winn from blowing it up? Or should he let him destroy it so history can play out the way it was supposed to?

You should really read this book. It is filled with excitement and adventure. I would recommend this book to people who like adventure and action. This was a very, very good book. It was probably one of my favorite books because the book flows and never leaves you hanging. The book is also suitable for people who like history. It is going on in 1937 and that's when World War II started.

The Adventure Continues...YESTERDAY!
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-08
D. J. MacHale wrote for television for years before turning his attention to novels. He created ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?, a long-running series on Nickelodeon in the United States, but it also showed in Canada on YTV and Cinar.

For the last few years, he's been writing the adventures of Bobby Pendragon, a boy who's destined - hopefully - to save the world. Several worlds, actually. Bobby is a Traveler, one of those who have the power to "flume" from world to world. He's brought into the adventure by his Uncle Press. As Bobby was growing up, Uncle Press also took Bobby scuba diving, mountain climbing, to martial arts, driving, and several other things that gave him skills he needs to survive against enemies he encounters. All during that time, Uncle Press was training Bobby to be a Traveler.

Bobby's greatest foe is a villain called Saint Dane. Saint Dane has the ability to change his appearance at will and constantly hides in different worlds while working his nefarious plans.

THE NEVER WAR is the third book in this exciting series. In it, Bobby travels to First Earth, which takes place in the year 1937. The gangster era isn't new by any means, and I was slightly let down when I discovered I wasn't being taken to a new world. I especially loved Cloral, the world Bobby went to in the second book, THE LOST CITY OF FAAR, and I look forward to returning there hopefully in one of the later books.

Still, I'm older than the average Pendragon reader. The 1930s and the Hindenburg are familiar to me through several other books I've read as well as history I've researched.

For all the familiarity with the time period, though, MacHale tells a fascinating and fast-paced tale. Bobby and his new best friend Spader land in the 1930s while pursuing Saint Dane. They're immediately met by machine-gun toting thugs that try to kill them. Bobby figures out how to escape and gets Spader out as well. Spader is way out of his depth because he's never seen anything as "technologically advanced" as the 1930s.

One of the best things about the Pendragon books is that Bobby usually gets to save the day in a down-to-earth manner. He doesn't have any really special skills or powers that help him. At this point, he's fourteen years old and can do what most kids that age can. This makes the series more believable in some ways, and I think it draws the Pendragon audience in a little closer.

MacHale's sense of timing and pacing is excellent. The story moves quickly, and I got a real sense of urgency throughout the book as Bobby tries to figure out what Saint Dane is really doing. Many of the chapters end up on cliffhangers that will draw you rapidly into the next chapter. The dialogue is fantastic and sounds real.

One of the other facets of the series that I really enjoy is Bobby's friendship with Mark Dimond and Courtney Chetwynde. The closeness they share, even through Bobby's journals, feels real.

MacHale also mixes in adult heroes with his young champion. Vincent "Gunny" Van Dyke was an excellent grown Traveler in this novel. He was kind and gentle, and guided Bobby and Spader throughout the adventure.

I did miss the world-building in this novel, but I know MacHale gets back to it in later volumes of the series. But for kids who haven't researched the 1930s much, this should be a fun book and on equal footing with fans of Artemis Fowl and Alex Rider.

Young Adult
The Boys Start The War
Published in School & Library Binding by Tandem Library (2002-01)
Author: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
List price: $14.65
New price: $11.83

Average review score:

A Very Funny War
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-06
Wally Hatford is a 10 year old boy who started a war between the Hatfords and the Malloys. He has three brothers, Peter, Josh, and Jake. The Malloys just moved in from Ohio to the Bensons' (The Hatfords' best friends) old house, and the boys want to want to oust the Malloy girls, Caroline, Beth, and Eddie (Edith) out of Buckman.

Wally is in Mrs. Applebaum's class, right in front of Caroline, the wanna be actress. He is the mastermind for the boys in the war between the Hatfords and the Malloys. Wally wants peace between the boys and girls to see how long it takes for a waffle box to travel down the river, to jump off a tree, and to climb a church steeple.

I could relate to Wally. He is like a kid in my class named Jake. Jake, like Wally, can think up of ideas to win a war against anybody, boy, girl, or parent. Jake also is curious of just things in normal life.

The Boys Start the War is a book just for children seeing that adults aren't interested in wars between boys and girls. It is easy to understand all of the humor and vocabulary in the book. I loved the book and went on to read the whole series.

The War is barly Begining
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-18
The Hatford boys were looking out the window with their binoculars waiting to see three boys moving in their friends house across the river.When they see their girls moving in and not boys.They makea plan to sent the Malloy girls back to Ohio.Throwing dead animals to dead bodies.Playing bad tricks on the girls.Will the girls get back on them?Is the war barly begining?Are the girls going to get even with the boys. This is a really funny book to read.

The Boys Start the War By:Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Reviewed by: D. Kim Period1
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-31
This book is a hilarious book. The Hatford brother's best friends, the Bensons, moved away from Buckman to Georgia. The boys were expecting 3 boys to move into the Benson's house, but they were surprised when they found out that it was actually 3 girls. The Hatford brothers decided that they would try to make that the Malloy sisters so miserable that they would want to move back to Ohio and the Bensons would move back because no one would rent their house. The boys are in for a surprise when they have to go against the Malloy sister's cleverness. The pranks go on from dead fish to dead bodies and from floating heads to washing windows. The boys and the girls keep going at each other. They both can't tell their parents because then they would have to tell about all their other pranks. The war goes on and on to other sequels.

I like book because of all the pranks. The pranks are all thought up cleverly but something always goes wrong. A quote that shows something going wrong is, "`You got the flashlight?' Jake asked Wally breathlessly. `Heck, no. You were carrying it.' `I thought you grabbed it,' Josh said. `Someone did!' But that someone was already inside the house." This shows how the Hatfords lost their flashlight while pretending to be a floating head outside Beth Malloy's window.

Another reason I liked this book is because it's a humor book. I don't read many humor books but this book made me laugh. This book is filled with many hilarious events. Caroline Malloy draws a funny picture of her teacher but Wally manages to steal it and blackmails her. The things that go wrong are also funny. Just when one side thinks they've won, the other side finds a way to get even. There are many other books in the series and this is only the first.

My favorite part of the book is at the end of the book when the final prank is played. When the girls go to get Caroline from the Hatford's tool shed, they think they won because they made Jake say to them, "Your faithful, obedient servant." As they were leaving Wally comes out with Mrs. Hatford saying that the girls were coming over to help peel the bushels of apples the Hatfords had picked. I thought this was hilarious and was a great way to end the book to keep you hooked.

Funny, rambunctious, and just plain silly!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-16
Just when the Hatford boys were expecting three boys to move into the house across the river the Malloy girls arrived instead. Wally and his brothers decide to make Caroline and her sisters so miserable that they'll want to go back to Ohio, but they haven't counted on the ingenuity of the girls.

Cast of Characters:
Malloy's:
George Malloy-father-football coach
Jean Malloy-mother
(Edith Anne) Eddie-11-6th grade
Beth-10-5th grade
Caroline-8-4th grade
Hatford's:
Tom Hatford-father-mail man
Ellen Hatford-mother-hardware store worker
Jake and Josh-11-6th grade
Wally-9-4th grade
Peter-7-2nd grade

Boys start the war
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-11
This is really cool.It can be for 3-??yrs old.Pluse it takes places in my hometown Buckhannon,WV.The school they go to has beem turn into a building for 5-18 year olds,called Stockert Youth Center.The Mallory girls are really cool!!The Boys are trying to get the girls out of their old best friends house by playing tricks and being mean,and the girls try to show the boys the can't tear them away from Buckman wich really is Buckhannon.Read it!!Its cool!!

Young Adult
I Promise (Christy and Todd: The College Years #3)
Published in School & Library Binding by Topeka Bindery (2001-05)
Author: Robin Jones Gunn
List price: $21.40
New price: $21.40

Average review score:

Christy and Todd's dream comes true
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-17
With hearts and eyes focused on God's plan for them, Christy and Todd endured much: separation,decisions to give up plans and dreams and wait for God's plan.Heartbrek, tears, but always trying to seek and abide in God's will. Christy returned Todd's "Forever" bracelet, knew she wouldn't see him again;released Todd to follow what he felt was God's call on his life.
In her beautiful and tender words,Robin Jones Gunn brought the story of God's love and fulfillment to Todd and Christy's hopes and dreams.

A story of friendship, hope, love, trust and fiath. don't miss it!

So sweet!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-28
This one is so sweet! I LOVE the Christy and Sierra series, they're my favorite! I could read until my eyes fall out. I cried over this one, and because it was the last Christy book. Robin Jones MUST write more! There needs to be more, we need to know about the box of letters, the honeymoon, whether they had kids, and whether or not Aunt Marti surrendered her life to Jesus! We need more! Keep on writing Robin Jones! And this one was so sweet, Christy and Todd are so perfect for each other. Their wedding sounded so beautiful. This one especially made me want to hold out for a hero like Todd.

I Promise
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-01
The book I Promise by Robin Jones Gunn was published by the Bethany House Publishers in 2001. There are 285 pages and it is a fiction book. In those 285 pages you'll read through happy moments, sad moments, love, disaster and matrimony.

In I Promise, Christy Miller and Todd Spencer are nearing the point of wanting to permanently dedicate themselves to each other. A wedding proposal leads them on their way to a long road of ups and downs of planning a wedding. Throughout, their differences clash making you wonder, will they make it down the aisle to promise themselves to each other forever? This story is told in 3rd person omniscient and is set in Escondido, California. Many changes will take place with some tragedy, but that's for you to find out.

While reading I Promise I came to find that I really liked this book. There were happy moments that made you feel warm inside, funny moments, and even some that make you want to cry. I loved how it would incorporate every girls' dream of the perfect guy (Todd), and also having the cutest things happen between them that make you want it someday too. The way this story is written with such incredible descriptions makes you want know what they feel. Even though this story doesn't relate to me now, I hope someday it will because this has exactly what I want for me one day.

I thought this was an excellent book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good love story that puts your imagination to work.

Very happy.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-02
I was very happy with the shipping time and condition of the book. It actually arrived before the date given to me, so I was very pleased. I would definitely buy again.

The forever promise
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-18
Ever since I began to read Christy, from where it all began in Newport Beach, from under the trellis, I've become addicted to these series. These books are very special to me. Christy has become a part of me, and I hold the books in my heart. I love these books so much.
In this book, Christy and Todd try to plan their wedding, and they try (and succeed!) to get over their differences in order to become a couple. They go through ups and downs, highs and lows, in order to get to say their promises to each other for the rest of their lives.
Their wedding is beautiful, sweet, and romantic. It paints a stunning picture, and you can just imagine it, and want to be there. I cried quite a bit at the end from the beauty of the wedding, and Christy and Todd's romance, and because this was the last Christy book. I feel as if I lost a friend. And there are so many unanswered questions! Like, does Marti become a Christian? How does Todd react to the box of letters? How does their honeymoon go? What about them having kids? RJB, please write more Christy.
I loved the book and all, but I felt as if the very very last part could be better, and a little more romantic. Everything is all beautiful, but it ends with "It is my privilege to introduce to you for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Todd Spencer" It's sweet and all, but you want it to be a little more romantic.
I'll miss you dearly Christy, but I know you'll always be tucked into a little corner of my heart. Forever and ever.

Young Adult
The New Way Things Work
Published in Hardcover by Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books (1998-10-26)
Author: David Macaulay
List price: $35.00
New price: $20.20
Used price: $12.00
Collectible price: $35.00

Average review score:

The KISS* Principle Illustrated
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-21
*Keep It Short and Simple.

If you doubt that technical information can be short and simple, read this book. It was written for anyone old enough to read well, and especially designed for those who find technology intimidating. It not only provides comprehensive descriptions of the way hundreds of machines and devices work, but also gives explanations of the scientific principles behind each. The book makes liberal, effective use of graphic diagrams, and describes most of the machines and devices in 200 to 300 words on 1 or 2 pages.

A "must have" for any child.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-06
This is a great book. It breaks down complicated concepts into simple principles that a child can understand. A good start for budding engineers.

Great book!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-13
This is a fabulous book! I like all of David Macaulay's books because they have so many details of how things are made. This is my favorite, though, because it answers questions about objects and technology for budding engineers and architects or just anyone who is curious! My son has loved his and I just bought one for my nephew.

Ingenuity. Imagination. Depictions. Diagrams.
Helpful Votes: 14 out of 25 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-05
Put these four things together--ingenuity, imagination, depictions, diagrams-- and you have a double ID toward understanding how things work. David Macaulay and Neil Ardley put together a magnificent volume for children and children at heart containing a way of understanding the laws of physics and mechanics.

The first illustration even shows God busy creating the rotation of the earth. Then they go to the earth where wooly mammoths lived and pick up one to take us through the history of mechanics, machines, and the like. Dozens of movements in five sections: waves, electricity, automation, digital domain, and machines show us just how easy these things are to understand done in drawerings.

Just as in child's play, there is no seeming order to the arrangement of items in the book. For example here are a few pages next to each other: vacuum cleaners, aqualungs or oxygen tanks, the toilet tank, the water meter, dishwasher, spray nozzle, fire extinguisher. Are you seeing an order? Yes, so am I.

Flipping over a hundred pages, I find the jet engine, rocket engines, nuclear power, nuclear weapons, fallout, nuclear reactor. OK, a definite pattern. Another hundred pages show these topics: movie camera, movie projector, printing, paper making, printing plate, printing press, bookbinding. More discernible order and logical arrangement.

One last check: scanner, bits and bytes, flash memory, magnetic storage, microchip, processor, software. We know where we are and recognize the order--a computer and its parts.

This reviewer has a suggestion for the reader. Once you have this book in hand, take it home, take it out every night and read a comfortable number of pages. If you have a child, read one page, discuss it, put this one away and take out a night-night book to read. If this is just your book, read several pages. By the time you have finished the book, you will have added dozens of operating systems to the computer banks in your own brain, making your child and/or yourself an expert in the way things work.

Amazing
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-14
Informative and entertaining. I wonder how many engineers out there first got their interest in the way things work from this book.... In Fall 2008 Macaulay will have a new book out entitled "The Way We Work", which will explain the workings of the human body in similar fashion to this book. Can't wait!

Young Adult
Remember Me (Dear Diary Series #2)
Published in Paperback by Berkley (1996-02-01)
Author: Cheryl Lanham
List price: $4.50
New price: $15.74
Used price: $0.01

Average review score:

the teenage drama
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-03
every teenager will like this book. If anybody has been through this experience. Then you will defintley love it. I know i did.

Remember Me
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-15
Remember Me is my favorite book! I think that all teenage girls will love it ! It's about a teenage girl, Leeanne, who steals a pair of earrings and gets community service at a Hospice. She meets a really great guy, Gabriel, that has a weak heart. This is a very sad love story that almost all girly girls will love. I sure did!!!!!!!
-Gabby-

Remember Me
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-15
Hey my name is Tami, Remeber me is one of my favorite books.
Remeber Me is about a girl named Leeanne who steals a pair of earrings while she is with her friends. She gets caught and has to do 300 hours of community service at what she thinks is a hospital, but it turns out to be a Hospice. A hospice is a place where ill people go to die. While she is working there she meets a guy named Gabriel who has an incurable illness. Gabe and Leeanne become very very close friends. This book is a very sad love story. If you want to find out what happens to Leeanne and Gabe's life the you need to read the book.

Truly Touching
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-13
hi, i just finished reading this book today. It is one of the most touching books i've ever read in my entire life. It is sad, happy, and funny. It made me cry, smile, and laugh. It makes you realise how some people live. Some people, even though they are dying, still have a sense of humour, and they try to live life to the fullest.I would recommend this book for teens, and even adults. It really is truly touching!

A book to remember!
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-06
The first time I read this book I was a sophomore in HS. I'm now a sophomore in college and still re-reading it! This was one of the most unforgettable teen books I've ever read. It made me laugh, cry, and taught me at a young age to not take the simple things in life for granted.

The story is about a girl, Leeanne, who gets caught shoplifting and is sentenced three hundred hours of community service. So of course she believes her life is over, and nothing could be worse. Until she meets Gabriel, who happens to reside in the hospice where Leeanne is placed for her community service. Gabriel has a weak heart and is dying, and at first Leeanne doesn't know how to react to him... especially since he isn't much older then she is. But throughout the story Gabriel begins to teach her how to really live, and what's really important.

The author did such a wonderful job of writing this story, that you're able to grow with the main character. Leeanne goes from being a spoiled brat, to an understanding loyal friend, who learns to love and to let go. A very bittersweet love story, that I will always remember!

Young Adult
Amalia, Diary Two (California Diaries)
Published in Paperback by Scholastic (1998-10)
Author: Ann M. Martin
List price: $4.50
New price: $2.96
Used price: $0.01

Average review score:

a girl from arkansas
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2001-07-23
This is Amalia' second book.....you should realy read the first one before you try yo read this one.They aren't very thick....so you can read them in about an hour.They are realy good books!

Wonderfully Real!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2001-01-08
This is a great book. Maggie is still battling her eating disorder, and Amalia is trying to help her cope with it. The author really brings on strong points about anorexia and things that some may not know about. Amalia & Maggie's friendship reaches it's max. in this book, which is another reason why it is so good. Meanwhile, Amalia is also developing a romance with a certain new guy named Brendan. To find out what happens between the two, read this book and get ready to read it over again about 10 times, just because it's so good!

Love it!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 1999-11-14
Amalia is my favourite CD person. She's cool, and this book wasexcellent. I hope the next books will mention Brendan, who sounds realsweet, and I hope Brendan will actually have a diary, although he porbably wont.

Encouraging!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 1999-10-07
Maggie & Dawn are lucky to have Amalia for a friend! Even though Amalia is recovering from that awful relationship with James, she goes out of her way to help Maggie, who is showing symptoms of anorexia. I liked how she didn't give up until she found help for Maggie. The part where Maggie finally opens up to the therapist about her parents' problems & how they affected her is very moving.

Lost Girl Finds Love
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2000-01-02
This is a wonderful book about Amalia Vargas and all of the problems in her life. Her best friend, Maggie is suffering from anorexia, and Amalia is fighting to help her. Amalia (an 8th grader) is having some problems with a Junior in her school, James, who is stalking her. She finally finds love for a new kid in school, Brendan. This is an excellent book!

Young Adult
Blind Beauty
Published in Hardcover by Dutton Juvenile (2001-03-01)
Author: K. M. Peyton
List price: $18.99
New price: $10.83
Used price: $0.09
Collectible price: $32.95

Average review score:

A Modern Day National Velvet, And Almost As Good!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-15
A wonderful horse story! The plot was a bit far-fetched, but it was still an amazing read. A classic girl-and-her-horse story. I really loved it! I wouldn't reccommend it to readers much under eleven, as they might not fully understand it. However, Peyton's work is so excellant, that I should think adults might love it too! Destined to be a classic, Blind Beauty has earned a spot among such giants as Misty of Chincoteague and Black Beauty.

Blind Beauty Book Review
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-19
This book is called Blind Beauty by K. M. Peyton. This book is about a girl named Tessa who, when she was young went with her mom to live in England. By taking Tessa away, Tessa's mother separated Tessa from her drinking father and horse Shiner. Being separated from Shiner made Tessa so upset that no one could cheer her up and she started smoking and doing terribly in school on purpose. Tessa and her new stepfather hate each other. Her stepfather sends Tessa off to work at Sparrow Wyck after being expelled again from school. There she meets Buffoon, Shiner's baby, that Tessa will do anything to be with. Shiner gave birth to Buffoon in Tessa's Dad's stable, but Buffoon was ugly, so eventually he was sold at an auction and then taken to England where Tessa finds him. Tessa rides Buffoon and shows everyone that he has talent to race long distance races and isn't lazy all the time. Then she meets Tom, another jockey who agrees to ride Buffoon and can get Buffoon to do his best. Tessa really likes Tom and looks up to him. That's when things get worse and Tessa's stepfather ruins Buffoon's chance of winning the Grand National by stealing Buffoon's buddy Lucky. Tessa stabs her stepfather and is sent away to a rehabilitation place. While she is gone Buffoon is sold and Tessa doesn't want to get better. So now Tessa has to somehow shape up and find Buffoon. Read the book to find out what happens!
I thought that this book was good. I liked how there was always something exciting going on in each chapter that made it hard to put the book down. It often felt like I was Tessa, angry at her stepfather or talking to Buffoon. The main conflict kept me interested in finishing the book to see how everything turned out. The main character, Tessa, had a rough beginning which explained some of her behavior for most of the book. By the end she had grown up a little bit more and had figured out who she wanted to be and what she wanted to do. The characters were so realistic that they could just pop out of the book and be in real life. I think that this book could be made into a movie it was a really good story. The beginning was really quick in getting into what was happening and what was going on, so it didn't take too much time explaining stuff. I also liked the ending, it was just the way that I thought that it should turn out.
K. M. Peyton wrote the book like it was in Tessa's mind. The book had what Tessa was thinking most of the time but every now and then it had what one of the other characters was thinking about Tessa or what was going on. K. M. Peyton had a few tough words but otherwise there weren't many difficult vocabulary words. The author would end every chapter with a statement that made you want to read on to the next chapter and made it difficult to put the book down. The author also described every new thing entering the book so that you could picture it clearly. The dialogue in the story went smoothly with what was going on and the mood of the current situation in the book. The tone was upset, angry or cold a lot but there were some happy and a lot of exciting parts. I really liked how the author kept the book moving at a nice pace and didn't slow it down with too many descriptions. I've read a couple of books where the author explains and describes to much that the reader loses interest.
I would rate this book at a seven out of ten compared to other books I have read. The book was good and well written but it wasn't as exciting or page turning as others that I have read. It also didn't have as an exciting plot and climax as other books I have read. I would recommend this book to people who like horses and are over the age of eleven. Younger children might not understand some of the things that happen in the book and people not interested in horses might get bored with the book or not understand some parts.
I thought that this was a good book. Some parts were heartwarming while other parts were disastrous. It was weird how nobody could get through to Tessa except for Tom and how Tessa looked up to him of all people. Also, I think It was weird how Tessa's father didn't try to help or find Tessa after seeing her at one of the races. He did get drunk a lot but he still should have a least visited Tessa. This book was also kind of emotional because of Tessa changing out of her old ways and people getting hurt. I liked how Tessa liked Buffoon and Shiner not because they were pretty (which they weren't) but because of their personalities. Overall I think the book was very well written and exciting to read. If you want to read a book on horses then you should read Blind Beauty.

Better Than Your Average Horse Book
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-13
When I first picked up Blind Beauty, a book by K M Peyton, I wasn't expecting much of it, it was just going to be another silly horse book I'd read to pass the time. I couldn't have been any more wrong. Blind Beauty is a story of a girl and a horse that don't fit in and have troubled lives. They find each other by destiny, and develop an undying bond of love. The girl, Tessa, has always loved horses, and finds peace and serenity in riding her cherished horse, Buffoon, through the rolling green hills of a steeplechase farm called Sparrows Wyck. Through experience, she becomes a skilled rider and begins to dream of riding in the Grand National. Blind Beauty is a story of love, hope, and dreams that stay true through whatever life throws at you, and I highly recommend it.
By Maggie

perfect
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-24
from the glossy, smooth cover and beuatiful illustration, to it's descriptive words, everything about this book is perfect. Now, I know that there is no such thing as a perfect book, but while reading this, i realize, there is. As i am writing, I am holding this wonderful book in my hand. I am in the middle right now, so am not fully done with it yet, but i can already tell that this is going to be one of my favorites. I HIGHLY!!!!!!!!!! reccomend this book to all people, horse lovers or just book luvers!!!

my review as a horse, by I Am A Horse Lover And None Else!!!!!!!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-27
HURRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!You simply MUST read this book! So quickly, gallop over to your favorite bookstore, and don't whinny if it's not in stock, you can order it on amazon! Once you are done reading it, you will simply neigh with happiness!!!!!

Young Adult
Blood
Published in Mass Market Paperback by Simon Pulse (2000-06-01)
Author: Francine Pascal
List price: $5.99
New price: $1.67
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

Blood
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-25
I didn't like Gaia in this book. She thought that just because she lost one friend it meant that she couldn't have any other friends.

I'm getting tired of saying, "Gaia is changing" but that's exactly what happens in each and every book. Gaia changes... things happen, and she responds, and she learns from it.

This wasn't my favorite book. But it was definitely one that builds on Gaia's character a bit more. It built on all the characters, actually... and the ending was really memorable, so you'd better bet I'm going to read the next one right away.

Fearless
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-03
fearless #9 was one of my favorites in the series so far. mary moss is dead and gaia is determined to kill the man who she thinks killed her friend. meanwhile, her wheelchair bound buddy ed is trying to get her to cope with marry's death. but gaia only pushes ed away. sam is planning on breaking up with heather, but she doesn't suspect it because her & ed are becoming close again. this book truly shows what a friend is, and that they will be by your side no matter what. i liked this one because it is filled with a lot of emotion and action. i would only suggest this book if you have read all the other ones in the series first though!

Francine Pascal has done it again!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2002-10-22
Fearless # 9 was a very entertaining book. Francine Pascal completely keeps you going with these books. She is a great Author, .. this book was well worth it!!

Gaia is out for blood....
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2002-11-06
Mary Moss was a funny, wild, and crazy girl who taught Gaia how to have a little fun. She also taught her how to be a friend, and how to let go and love life more. Mary was once a junkie, very much addicted to cocaine until she became friends with Gaia. But now, Mary is dead. Gaia doesn't know this, but it was Loki who murdered her. By helping Gaia "let go", Mary learned some dangerous secrets about Gaia's past, which inevitably put her in danger. Loki decided that "the Mary girl" must be terminated. And Gaia couldn't save her. In this ninth volume of Fearless, Gaia is so full of anger and grief about Mary that she wants to take action. To avenge her friend's murder. Gaia thinks that Skizz, Mary's ex-dealer who was threatening Mary for money before her death, is responsible for what happened to Mary, somehow. So Gaia goes on a little mission to murder Skizz.

Wow. This book is so thrilling. The ending is great, too! It made me cry (you gotta love Ed, the sweetie!) So go out and read this book already!

what do you do when your best friend dies
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2002-08-09
mary moss has been murdered. to top it off it was done right in
front of gaia. so gaia has decided to close herself to the world
in order to hunt down this low life drug dealer who took her friend's life over a measley 500 bucks? will our heroine have
the courage to do this and face the dire consequences after?
this has to be the best fearless book to date. i know i have not
read any of the other ones besides no. 10, but this is such a
climax in gaia's life that all readers of this series should not
miss it. it has more surprises than buffy the vampire slayer's
season 6 finale.(if any of you watch that show.)suffice it to say
that this one cannot be missed.

Young Adult
CHANGEOVER, THE (Changeover Cloth Mkm)
Published in Hardcover by Margaret K. McElderry (1984-09-01)
Author: Margaret Mahy
List price: $16.00
New price: $65.62
Used price: $3.11

Average review score:

A wonderful take on witchcraft
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-01
Laura is a normal girl with a sweet younger brother and a frazzled single mother. Her life is ordinary until the day her brother is stamped with the image of a horrible man. Laura turns to Sorry, an older, intriguing boy who she believes to be a witch. Will he be able to help her?

This story is entrancing to read. I first read it as a 13 year old, and I still find it fascinating. It is a great read, especially for those interested in witchcraft stories.

Yeah, it's the prefects you need to watch out for!
Helpful Votes: 16 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2002-12-05
Margaret Mahy's book is an unusual take on the juvenile magic-user theme. It takes place in New Zealand, in a single-parent home. Laura Chant lives with her divorced mother, and her toddler brother. Nothing is entirely reliable in Laura's world, certainly not her slightly flaky mother, their extremely flaky car, and especially the surrounding landscape, being transformed from forest and farm into a new subdivision.

Chant, perfectly named, can sense things that others can't. She can sense that her brother's rapid descent into illness is supernatural, and that it is linked to the boy's unfortunate contact with the also perfectly named Carmody Braque. She also can sense that the mysterious prefect at her school, an older boy named Sorensen Carlisle, is a "witch" and that he may hold the only key to healing her brother.

Sorry, as he's called, is one of those magnificent characters, the enigmatic boy who shows all the signs of being a proto-romance hero. But here, he's young, sly, and not above using his advantage over Laura. Mahy writes Laura as a strong character, and watching her handle Sorry is a lot of fun.

This novel is full of brooding atmosphere but with a great contemporary setting. Mahy's protagonist carries her weight, but everyone else is equally nuanced and fascinating. The book calls itself a romance, but I've never read an adult romance filled with such menacing ambiguity.

Classic and Favourite
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-05
This book is amazing. The writing is so simple and so beautiful that the images stay in your head for days after you've finished it. The story is about change and transformation, seen through the eyes of the two very different main characters. Both of them is different at the end, and has a different place in their lives and their families. The romance between Laura and Sorry really moves you, because they learn to love themselves as they fall in love with each other. Also, the magic and danger feels so real and not stupid or made up at all. The best thing about this book is that when you finish it, you feel transformed too. I love this book.

Scarred Heroes and Stamping Villains
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-07
GENERAL COMMENTS: "The Changeover" strikes the tone of a precocious adolescent with verve. Fourteen-year-old Laura sometimes communicates with an open frankness that gets ignored, sometimes through sarcasm, which she uses as a screen when she must tell the truth but doesn't necessarily want to be understood. Her sensitivity to the nature of others grants her an awareness of her own growing body even as she delves into her gift to protect her brother. This book does a good job of showing the selfishness of teenagers, AND the selfishness of the parents that love them imperfectly, even as they compare to the sinister greed of Carmody Braque, the villain. The resolution(clue: quasi-spoiler appears in the rest of this sentence) aptly makes use of this comparison, by depending upon Laura's understanding of Carmdoy's needs, and her ability to exploit them as he exploits the children's desires.

MORE SPECIFIC DETAILS: Her sensitivity to others allows fourteen-year-old Laura to recognize danger, but she remains helpless in deflecting it, as when her parents get divorced. At fourteen, she is faced yet again with her gift of sensing the nature of things, and this time, it's her baby brother who will suffer. Mahy intertwines Laura's current dilemma with her family issues. She lives in a single-parent family in which the mother is no angel (although awfully close) and the absent father is no demon (although most noticeably absent). Laura is aware that her parents have needs that don't always include her best interest, but this doesn't mean that she doesn't seethe with resentment. At times, her mature assessment of the situation only frustrates her desire to react as a child.

ABOUT SORENSEN, LAURA'S CO-STAR: The flip side of her family is Sorensen Carlisle's two-parent family in which both parents are women (his mother and grandmother). His guardians, who are both witches, were sorely disappointed in Sorensen when they found a boy instead of the girl who might complete their circle of magic, and deserted him, albeit with a generous allowance, to an adopted family. One day he shows up at their door, with obvious marks of abuse on him, and in spite of his gender, the mark of magic as well. This late in the game, they are forced to repair their mistake as best they can-- only they can't take away his alienation from himself. It is these two teenagers that must fight Carmody, without further estranging themselves from their families in the bargain.

One of my teenage favorites
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-01
I read this book as a teenager when it originally came out in 1984. The greatest compliment that I can give The Changeover is that twenty+ years later, I still reread it sometimes--and I still enjoy it. I can't say that about too many of my childhood books.

The Changeover was a rare bird back in mid-eighties--there weren't too many well-written books about magic and the supernatural with teenage girls as the protagonists in those days. This was a genre that I adored and could never get enough of back then. So this novel was an instant favorite.

There are certain books that you read when you are young that shape the kind of person that you become--not necessarily in a large way, but in subtle way. The Changeover was one of these books for me. I didn't realize it when I read the book at fourteen, but The Changeover is a metaphor for changing from childhood to adulthood--from becoming a girl to becoming a woman. And this book really captures that--all the insecurity and the fear, and even the pleasure that you feel as a girl in your own new-found, womanly power. I guess this book appealed to me so much because it made me feel better about a lot of the things I was going through at fourteen; it gave me a certain confidence in myself: I wasn't just getting older--I was becoming a different being.

I have read other comments about this book and I agree with the reviewers that say they want a sequel. I still think about Laura from time to time--she and I were the same age when the book came out--and I often wonder what became of her and what type of woman she became.

Young Adult
Dark Magick (Sweep)
Published in Library Binding by (2008-04-18)
Author: Cate Tiernan
List price: $15.99
New price: $15.99

Average review score:

Riviting
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-15
Morgan is amazing in this book. I must say this book was my favorite so far. I havent read the fifth yet but this was actioned pack. I finished this book in one day.

This is TOTALLY one of my fav's!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-02-22
Oh, my god. I liked Cal so much and he turns out evil. Such a dissapointment. The book itself wasn't though. I don't want to give too much away. But pretty much what happens is Cal and Selene turn out evil, Hunter turns out good.
I am so confused(sarcastic). Its a real page turner. Anyone who loves to read, read it.

And agian this is one of my Favs!

Exciting!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-17
This book is awesome just like the other ones.
Morgan is just starting to calm down when her she is haunted by a terrible thing that happened in a pervious book. Cal is acting strange and makes Morgan more nervous. Towards the middle of the book Morgans life is shifted when an unexpected visitor shows up.
This book is great and I couldnt put it down. Cate shows in Dark Magick that something is coming. You pracitcally feel it in the words. Its exciting and shifts the plot for the rest of the books.

Plots are revealed
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2003-08-01
The events at the end of the previous book have Morgan very upset. Is Hunter dead? Did she really kill him? Has anyone found his body? Every day and hour brings agony for her.

Cal becomes more mysterious. He is both closer and more secretive, and strange things are going on with his mother. Morgan becomes confused. But then she finds out Hunter is alive. She is relieved to know she was not responsible for someone's death.

In her confusion she must learn to try and trust Hunter and even his cousin Skye. What she learns makes her more confused.

Final confrontations reveal much about the characters and their plans. It is a good and tense story. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Recommended to Parents who canĂ½t get their daughters to read
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-06-15
I purchased the Sweep series for my 13 year old daughter in the hopes that maybe she would read. "She hated to read." Well I was amazed, and could not get her to go to sleep, as she would spend the whole night, with a night-light on reading these books. She enjoyed them so much, and could not stop talking first about Cal and then Hunter, that I had to see what all the fuss was about.
Well after two weeks, a book a day, for a girl who hated to read, it sparked my curiosity, so I started reading, and was surprised to find out how enjoyable a Teen book about Teen Witches could be. I am not really into Wicca, but these books are really enjoyable. I am on my fifth book, and my daughter read each twice, and is know on the Circle of Three Series. I have to highly recommend these books to those parents who can not get their daughters to read. These are excellent stories, full of fantasy, horror, and fun.


Books-Under-Review-->Arts-->Literature-->Authors-->Young Adult-->24
Related Subjects: Stine, R.L. Pike, Christopher Lowry, Lois Paulsen, Gary Cormier, Robert Dessen, Sarah Alexander, Lloyd Hinton, S.E. Nicholson, William
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