Young Adult Books

I really enjoyed this book about a 9 year old girl and her family. Dary Carmichael is a 10 year old girl growin up in Marlboro County, SC, with Evette her black friend, her ma , hre pa, Aunt geer, hr brother Mcall and her friend Beth. it is about when Little Darby desides to be a news-paper girl and publisies a story in the local news-paper about toads, after that great report, she writes about her great Uncle Henry bein' blind, next she writes a story that gets the Ku Klux Klan all active again. Darby writes a story that showed at that time that kids were smarter then the grown-ups, will peace ever restore it's slef in Marlboro County? read this faboulus book and find out. I reccommend this book to people who like hisory and reading about the civil war, for the ages of 9,10, 11,12 ,13 year-olds.

Since I am not a child it is great to read a book from a child's view. Darby Carmichael is a wonderful character in this book. The base of the story is something every child needs to learn about. So as a teacher it could be used as a history lesson. This is a must have, must read book!

When young Darby Carmichael writes a controversial article about race relations (as seen through a child's eyes), the citizens of Marlboro County, South Carolina, reel. It is 1926, and the KKK is very active in the South. A black boy has been killed by a white man, and Darby's innocent voice fuels tensions.

All Darby wanted was to tell the truth, and her best friend, Evette, helped edit the rough draft. Evette lives with her family in a tenant house on the Carmichaels' farm, but Darby isn't bothered by Evette's skin color. They just want to be friends and newspaper girls, but now their families have been threatened by angry Klansmen.

Fuqua eloquently shares Darby's perspective in an inspired story. Aside from the larger issues of race and morality, he addresses friendship and loyalty. Autumnal Marlboro County and the frightening situation are beautifully rendered through Darby's senses and emotions.

The events and views portrayed in this novel are thought provoking for children and adults alike. I highly recommend DARBY for individual or classroom reading.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
12/11/2006

I loved the book it was such a good book to read during black history month. It is about a young girl named Darby and her friend Evert. Darby's friend is an Afican Amercian girl. A young boy is also beaten to death by Mr. Dunns. Darby becomes a newpaper girl and wrires her own story's. She is very hurt when she has her birthday party and Beth her other friend bosses Evert around and tells her to do everything.

I know Darby would not be alive anymore probably. The book is from the 1920s, but I wish she was. I learned more about racism from her than I ever have in my life in Cedar Rapids. I also learned a lot about history. The cool thing about Darby was that she was brave and didn't know it. That seems real to me about being brave and not knowing it. It made me think about the way we treat people and how we need to concentrate on their personalities and not their skin, or accents. The other cool thing was DArby being so funny and real and playing with Evette, her black friend who was really smart. They were funny a lot. Darby did the most funny things and liked funny things. it Was all different. The best part was I never knew what the KKK was until I read the story. I heard people talk about it but didn't know. I don't know what I thought. I especially liked the pictures of the past that are in your head and you can't ever see anymore in pictures that aren't black and white, like the sunday drives and the uncle and the walking mosquito hawks. That's hard to believe but really cool. I'm saying to everyone Darby for president. I'll say if for a long time. I really love dthe book.

The book was really good. At times it can get slightly boring and slow, but Crutcher always brings things back up to pace again.
It's written very, very well, and the ending wraps it up nicely. Few parts are predictable, having many surprises throughout.
I would definitely recommend it.

If you have ever read the book A Walk to Remember, or even watched the movie, then you know the feeling that you get when you find out that your favorite character is dying. Intense sadness; anger; desire for change; hope that it's not true; and then finally, you just give up. You know it's true, but in the end it doesn't make it any more bearable.

In Deadline, you know from the very beginning that Ben Wolf is going to die. It is inevitable... even on the front cover it says it. The evidence is everywhere. But, since it's introduced so early in the story, you don't really think about it as more than a plot point.

So, what would you do if you were going to die? Well, I'm sure there are different answers for different people, but I know Ben's answers. He wants to make a difference. He wants to stick out. He wants to live life to the fullest; and he does. He goes out for football, despite the fact that he weighs less than a hundred and thirty pounds. He befriends the town drunk. He starts arguments in class, trying to get people to think about life and the way things are. And he finally gets the guts to ask out that perfect girl he's had a crush on.

And throughout all of this, he is the only person (besides his doctor and his therapist) who knows that he's dying. But obviously he can't keep it that way.

This book was truly amazing. It's a real page turner, from the very first sentence. Chris Crutcher isn't one to waste words; he doesn't write anything that doesn't mean something to the story, so this book isn't full of pointless banter. It has feeling. It has meaning. I can truly connect to the characters in a deep way. I felt like there was just the right amount of sarcastic humor and life messages to make this a really enjoyable book; you will laugh, you will cry... and you will also fall in love with this book.

Deadline, written by Chris Crutcher, is the story of high school student, Ben Wolf. At the beginning of his senior year, he is diagnosed with a terminal illness, and is told that he has one year left to live. He decides to live his final year to the fullest, by eating right, joining the football team, and going out with the girl of his dreams. Ben forgoes treatment, and keeps is illness a secret from his friends and family. But he soon finds out that he isn't the only one keeping secrets, and that keeping his may be harder than he thought.
I really liked how real this book was, apart from the not getting treatment for a disease part. It shows real situations and how real people react to them. When someone injures themselves, they don't just sit there and say nothing. They might say a few things that you wouldn't say in front of your mom, but that's how it is in everyday life.
I didn't care for how fast the least half of the book went. The majority of the action takes place in the beginning, and once you reach a certain point, the book just flies by. I also wasn't much for the football scenes. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like if you read one, you read them all.

Chris did it again. Other writers may dive into the pool with grace, but nobody makes a definitive splash like Crutcher. It isn't about looking pretty--it is about getting wet. You should be warned--buy some Kleenex before you read this book. You will experience every form of tear your body produces as you slide through several emotions at once with each page you turn. His newest wise-cracking protagonist, Ben Wolf, will break your heart, turn your soul, and tickle your brain!

I am a middle school teacher and read this book over the holiday break. I really enjoyed it but would recommend it for high school-aged readers. There is some cursing and references to sex, which I'm not saying is bad. As a teacher, I just know I'd have some unhappy parents to deal with if I assigned this to my 6th graders (although they would have really enjoyed the story). Great themes of loyalty, friendship, and courage.

This book is one of my favourites out the whole series. Unlike alot of readers, I really like Alisa - I think she adds a strange kind of innocence to the books that instead of being annoying is quite good - it adds some light for a change. Even though the way in which she finds out about being a half witch is very repeative and simliar (and a bit cheesy) to how Morgan found out she was an adopted blood witch, i still liked it because like I said, I like Alisa and the innocence and light she adds to the story. I think it was a very good idea to have Alisa save the day rather than Morgan for a change. I think that it was a good idea of Cate Tiernan's to have the spotlight shared by two characters because she has avoided the irritating predictable problem some books suffer from where there is always one heroic character who saves the day every time. This time, it is alot more varied.

So this book, eclipse, is really good! It shares the point of view with Morgan who is ususally the narrator, and Alisa, who you haven't heard from. Alisa's relationship with Morgan is that she is Morgan's little sister Mary K.'s best friend (getting a little Jerry Springer...) anyhow, Alisa is a blood witch. Mordan's killer father, Ciaran McEwan is trying to destroy Widows Vale with the *ominous music* DARK WAVE! Morgan finds Ciaran and her boyfriend, Hunter, stripps his magick. But the dark Wave is still coming! Will they be able to stop it in time? *FORESHADOWING*

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.

over here in the uk sweep is called WICCA. i am a wiican and 14 and im a beginner and i do like these books. it is fantasy wicca but it is buult over fact.
if u want real wicca after u have read these books check out silver ravenwolf, starhawk, dorothy morisson etc.
These books are great 2 read even if ure not wiccan they are action packed.
this book in particular is probably one of the best and at the time of writing this is the latest one published in the UK but i know the other 2 plus super edition will be even better.

Morgan is back and so is Alisa. For those who don't remember, Alisa is the girl who is scared by Morgan because strange telekinetic things happen when they are together and she feels Morgan is unable to control her power.

One day, at practical magic, Morgan picks up a Book Of Shadows from the seventies. This is actually on we have seen excerpts from in a previous book. But when Alisa is visiting Mary K. (Morgans younger sister), she steals the book.

The book winds up revealing things about Alisa's family and just who Alisa is. As Alisa begins to deal with her situation, she gets caught up with Morgan, Hunter and Hunter's father as a new and serious danger threatens them and much of Widow's Vale.

The story switches back and forth from Morgan's point of view to Alisa's. There are no excerpts starting each chapter, but there are some interesting quotes. A good book that seems to really move the series towards a conclusion.

On a side note, does anyone else thing the town should change its name to Widowers Vale? Morgan, Alisa and Hunter are all missing mothers. Plenty of widowers and no widows.

this book has taught me a lot of things that will keep me away from this drug and how it can effect people life. Its more life learning and shows tough love. I known people that do durgs and reading this book it remindes me that, we need to help people that do this. Living life like that it really hard and this book shows ratltie. there is nothing fake about this book!

I loved this book , a very good sequel to Crank. It keeps you on the edge of your seat.

This book was absolutely amazing. I loved how it completed Crank. I bought Crank and Glass, and I loved them both so much, I bought Burned and Impulse too. Ellen Hopkins is an amazing writer, and I'll recommend her to anyone!

I read this because my best friend told me I should. . . . . . .So I did! It was amazing, following Crank, it really opened my eyes to what my friend went through when he was going through a not so good time in his life. This book is a great read even if you don't know anyone who was involved with drugs. The author has a strange way of writing, but I thought it was unique. I was excited to read along with the main character as she went through her problems at home.

ellen hopkins has done it again. when i picked up crank i couldn't put it down, then i was on a minor milk and eggs pick up and didn't realize that glass has came out, so of course i had to pick it up. since i got it i couldn't put it down and i just recently finished it. im craving for more because the ending just ended like a to be continued situation. so im hoping she comes up with another part of this story.

One of the best books I have ever read, period. The dialogue was update and very thoughtful. The references used were amazing and fit in perfectly well. The coming-out, self-acceptance, and love story were also of high cailbur. Definitely worth a look.

like in previous reviews from alex sanchez's books, I have been struggling with my sexuality for quite some time now but after reading this i felt so much better. i go to a christian school and have christian friends and i am a christian (duh). After reading i felt so much better about myself and truly believed that God made me the way I am and will use me in some way. It's a great book and has unexpected turns. You also get really into the characters and are actually arguing with the book(on what you want your characters to do). Also, it talks about Bible stories from a different point of view and makes you really think about other Bible stories involving homosexuality. All in all, you should read this book; it will make you feel better about yourself and you will become sure on what you believe in and teaches you to stand up for what's right.

I just finished reading the newest book by Alex Sanchez, The God Box. I absolutely love this book. The book tells the story of a high school senior dealing with coming to terms with his sexuality, and then reconsiling that with his faith, and what his church has tought him about homosexuality.

Sanchez does an excellent job of taking many of the passages used by many religious leaders to condemn homoseuality, and find fault with the logic that is used. While it is not as indepth as the books published on the subject, he does an excelent job of telling the gist of it. He also offers the books that he used at the end of the book, so you can look into them further if youa re really interested in looking at a scholarly take on the subject.

Even though the book is written with the intent to help young teens reconslie their sexuality with Christinaty, there is very little demonizing of the religious people in the book. Even those characters, who are homophobic and anti-gay, are not portrayed as a completely evil and vile people. They are treated with dignity. While those characters are charactures of the religious fundamentalists that are seen on television, like Dr. James Dobson, they are not at all portrayed to be like the Rev. Fred Phelps.

This is an extremely well written book, and keeps in line with all of Alex Sanchez's other writing. I highly encourage anyone of any age to read not only this book, but all of his other books as well. They are all definitely well worth the time, and maybe you'll learn a little something as well.

I just finished "The God Box" and I can hardly believe what I just read. I didn't know that books about gay Christian teens existed (except possibly to condemn them or guilt them into trying to change). If I had read this book as a teen, I can't begin to imagine the ways it would have comforted me; made me feel like I wasn't alone. There is no doubt in my mind that this book will save lives and open eyes. Thank you Alex Sanchez!

I have read all previous Alex Sanchez novels. While I enjoyed those, with their vividly drawn characters and believable story lines, I think this new work of his ventured into a new territory. Always a delicate matter, the tension between sexuality and religion is adeptly handled. With sensitivity, Sanchez reveals to the readers a character torn between his faith and what he knows to be his true self. The pain and despondency that he experiences when his prayers are not answered can be felt from the pages. Yet in the end, hope triumphs and one is left with a satisfaction that this young man has finally found love and peace.

Reviewed by Tabytha Joy (age 15) for Reader Views (12/07)

"High Spirits" is about two young girls who end up getting themselves into a rapping business. It all started when Lizzie went to stay with her two young aunts, Maggie and Kate, along with their mum and dad. Neither Maggie nor Kate liked Lizzie. But still, they had no choice but to share their bed with her. One night, Kate and Maggie decided to play a prank on Lizzie in hopes that she would return home. So, one of the girls started making rapping noises which really scared Lizzie enough to wake the adults up. The mum decided to try to talk to whatever was causing these noises. She was getting responses from what she thought were spirits. This caused the whole family to leave their house, except for the father as he did not believe.

After a while, people start believing that their loved ones are communicating with them through Kate and Maggie. At the beginning, the girls were doing it as fun. That was until their sister Leah figured out that it was Kate and Maggie making the noises. So, Leah convinces her mum to split the girls up for a while. Kate was to return with Lizzie and Leah. Well, Leah decides to make a fortune out of the rapping. She started holding rapping sessions and charging one dollar per person to sit through it. This goes on for some time.

When Maggie grows older, she meets the man of her dreams, Elisha Kent Kane. Elisha told Maggie that in order for him to marry her, she had to give up the rapping business and go to school to become someone of a higher level. Will Maggie turn her back on her family's income? Or will she turn away from the man she had always hoped for?

In my opinion, I think "High Spirits" was a well-written book. The flow was good in it. The details were good as well. I liked how the author explained how the girls were making objects move from one spot to another. There were also a few things the author failed to mention. At the end of the book, the author did not tell what happened to Lizzie or the people that Kate and Maggie so dearly loved and looked up to. This book would be best for readers who are twelve-years of age and older.

This debut historical fiction novel has been my surprise favorite work of fiction of 2007. I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about this book at first, based on the tagline "A Tale of Ghostly Rapping and Romance," since romantic novels aren't my thing. I'm glad I didn't let it stop me!

Salerni's fictionalized tale of the Fox sisters is a fun, well-paced, and thoroughly entertaining read that really hooks the reader into joining the sisters' wild ride through the tangled web created by their youthfully innocent deceptions.

Highly recommended!

Some movies bring tears to my eyes; books seldom do.

High Spirits starts with the haunting of Hydesville in 1848. It follows the real life adventures of two sisters, Maggie and Kate Fox. Maggie starts the story by telling us that she began the `deception' when she was too young to know right from wrong. Kate, the younger of the two, regrets her sister's use of that word. To Kate, the dead are real, and the spirits talk to her.

I have well over a hundred books sitting on bookshelves in my study. Some of them I've already started. Since I lost interest in most of them, the bookmarks are still waiting between early pages for me to return. Many of the books I buy end up neglected orphans in need of foster parents.

Books on the best seller lists seldom satisfy me, because they are shallow or seem like a story I've already read. It's almost as if most of them were chosen by those politically correct people we know are out there monitoring what we say and think and learn--people very much like a `few' of the characters in High Spirits.

However, when I find a novel worth reading, it's like walking into an undiscovered country. High Spirits was one of those.

High Spirits is about the lives of the Fox family and two sisters that are devoted to each other. Kate and Maggie are credited with starting the spiritualist movement as a prank. When I first picked up High Spirits, I thought I was going to be reading about ghosts and romance.

To my surprise and satisfaction, I soon discovered that High Spirits offers much more. High Spirits turned out to be a story told on many levels. At times I found myself chuckling. At other times I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat wondering if one of the characters I liked was about to suffer a horrible fate.

High Spirits is also about a dysfunctional but loving and loyal family surviving in a cruel world. On a more personal note, they are like us. It is easy to identify with them. When danger looms from skeptics that threaten Maggie's life, her older sister Leah Fox rescues her in a daring and risky escape that leaves Maggie in heart-pounding terror. Just thinking about myself in the same situation under the same circumstances had me breaking out in a cold sweat, and I'm a combat veteran that served in Vietnam. Maggie was a young girl.

The romance in High Spirits arrives later in the story. Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, the most widely celebrated American adventurer of the day, eventually walks on stage and fall "madly" in love with Maggie. What turns out to be a complex relationship stands equal to Romeo and Juliet; Tristan & Isolde, and Tony and Maria of West Side Story. That's as far as I'll go. My lips are now zipped shut. Hollywood, pay attention. Stories like this are rare, and Maggie and Elisha were real people.

In High Spirits, the harsh lines that separate the privileged and powerful from the working class show that dysfunctional people come from all levels of society. However, those at the top have the power to do more damage. What they are capable of doing to hurt others is more like a tidal wave washing over distant shores and leaving nothing but destruction and misery in its wake. When Elisha's mother interferes with his love for Maggie, horrible consequences are set in motion.

Although High Spirits reveals that most of us are human at heart, a few inhuman monsters populate our world and wreck havoc wherever they can for selfish, egotistical reasons.

If you are looking for adventure, romance, heartbreak, a bit of history, and a story that will touch you, I recommend this novel. Reading High Spirits will be a journey of discovery that might squeeze out a tear or two like it did for me.

High Spirits is the story of Maggie and Kate Fox from Hydesville, New York, early members of the Spiritualist movement. Their first foray into the realm of Spiritualism was accidental--a prank played upon an annoying relation. However, the contrivance was so successful "that they extended the prank to include parents and their neighbors until deception became their way of life." The two young sisters, barely in their teens and guided by their business savvy older sister, succeeded in convincing people that they were able to communicate with spirits who had passed to the other side by rapping noises created by the cracking sounds of their knees, ankles, and toes. The girls, especially Kate, came to see their séances as a way of providing comfort to grieving relatives by reassuring them that their loved ones were at peace in the afterlife.

The story focuses on the middle sister, Maggie, who falls in love with the explorer, Elisha Kent Kane, who is aware that the Fox sisters' claim to communicate with the dead is a hoax. Before leaving on a rescue mission to the Arctic, Kane extracts a pledge from Maggie that she must give up her rapping, dangling the promise of a wedding before her. She agrees and keeps her eyes on the horizon waiting for her explorer to return.

Dianne Salerni is masterful in recreating the environment of the 1840s that allowed Spiritualism to flourish. Her detailed portraits of the Fox sisters allow modern readers to understand how these young women were able to pull the wool over the eyes of so many, including author James Fenimore Cooper, editor Horace Greeley, and the tragic wife of President Franklin Pierce who had seen her only surviving child crushed in a train accident. Her understanding of the time in which the Fox sisters lived as well as in-depth knowledge of this slice of American history enables her to write this engrossing and compelling story.

There is little I can say about Dianne Salerni's High Spirits that has not already been adequately stated by other reviewers on this page. Although this is Ms. Salerni's first novel, this is not her first book. She has previously published three short teaching manuals of an academic nature, and her experience as a schoolteacher and writer shines from the text of High Spirits. As the well-known curmudgeon of the iUniverse, I can unabashedly say that POD books would not suffer a bad reputation if they all read as fluidly and seamlessly as does High Spirits. The typos are few and the editing is tight. You will feel as if you know The Fox Sisters personally as you turn the final page.

hitty....oh what fun we had reading this together as a family. i certainly did not know what i was geting in to when i started reading it aloud. very well written book; descriptive; memorable. after reading each chapter we wanted to rush to the library to find out about the place she had been. we also cooked a few things from different countries. we did not have a plan; it was so spontaneous; i think that is what i loved about it so much....learning at its best. my older children, after five years still remember vividly certain paragraphs. and we all smile thinking about how much fun we had reading this book together. i can hardly wait to read it to the younger ones. recently i purchased it for my shelf. it is certainly a keeper. copywork, narration, cooking, art, geography/history, a little science, etc... a years worth of curriculum in one book. all you need is a math book and your set. honestly, each chapter is like a springboard and it should not be hard to find a topic to learn more about. make some happy memories, read hitty aloud to your children. they will love it! (and you will, too...)

Many may remember Hitty from decades ago; I was introduced to her just a few years ago. Hitty: Her First Hundred Years is a wonderfully written, beautifully illustrated "children's" book that should be on everyone's reading list, regardless of age.

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, as originally written by Rachel Field in 1929, is delightful. The story follows the adventures of a doll, carved by a peddler from a piece of mountain ash, as told in her own words. From being proclaimed a "heathen" goddess on a South Seas Island, traveling with a snake charmer in India, being alternately a fashion plate and a demure Quakeress in the midst of the Civil War, Hitty and her story are truly captivating. Rachel Field has given the world a wonderfully exciting and deeply touching glimpse at history through the eyes of this remarkable doll. The charm of this old fashioned story is enduring, powerful enough to endear itself to each new generation of readers that discovers it.

After reading some of the other reviews, I feel myself fortunate to have read Hitty in the original. I was unaware it had been edited. I can't think of anything offensive, other than one passage of dialogue spoken by a black family, which might sound sterotypical to modern ears. But, similar dialogue occurs in Huckleberry Finn. Has that been "scrubbed"? I don't think so.

Anyhow, what a beautiful story. It's really interesting to see the world from her point of view. She spent years hidden away in a couch, among other places, which was like a time machine for her. I had fun answering this question: Did Hitty know that by the time she was sold at auction in the Preble house, that she had outlived Phoebe? That Phoebe had grown up, married, had children and died? She never says so, but I think she does know. She has the strength and maturity not to have to be explict. I really hope Hitty had warm, fond memories of her first owner, Phoebe.

This book was interesting and fun to read. Ride along with, the doll, as she tells her life story. Watch as she goes from one owner to the next. This book is an adventure to read. Hitty has seen so much you forget she is a doll. This book pulles you in like a vacuum cleaner. You'll love it when she travles to New York. You'll jump out of your seat when she goes whale hunting or when she gets stuck in a tree. There is a couple of settings but it doesn't jump around. The message that i got out of the story is live life to it's fullest I would recomend this book to preteen girls that like history and fiction. This book was fantabouls!!!!!!!!!!

well first of all i absolutlly loved the book!! i am i 13 year old boy(this is my dads account) who knows the author Mr.Batson personally. i am responding to the only review in the 2 star catagorie and saying to the person who published it... You need to get your facts straight!! firstlly it is a TEEN BOOK!!!not a childrens book!!! if you go into any book store it will be in the TEEN section!!to say somthing about the grapic-ness of the book, you cant because you have seen nothing worse in a pg13 movie and agein, this is a TEEN book so there is no diffrence between the 2!!! if anything the book is better because you cant actually see the pictures of the violence.

I loved it. I love the word pictures and Wayne's wonderful ability to make the scenes come to life. It's definitely a page turner and I read it with great anticipation about the next scene. I like the way the book deals with human emotion and draws the reader into a new world. Good surprise ending, too.

I am a librarian in an elementary/middle school. I agree with the other reviewers about the fast-paced exciting story, however the level of graphic violence rules this out as a children's book. It should not be promoted as such. Unless the violence is dramatically toned down in the sequel, it will not be suitable as a children's book, either.

When Isle of Swords came onto the shelves at Christian Supply, I picked it up and bought it based off of the cover alone. Of course I read the back, made sure it sounded like a good story, and took it home and finished the next day. Wayne Thomas Batson had tapped into a story idea that a lot of teens are really interested in: pirates.

The story starts out incredibly: we have a marooned 16-year old, a huge ship battle at sea, a mysterious island of monks who hold the key to the lost treasure of Constantine, and a rather nasty pirate captain, Bartholomew Thorne. Captain Ross and his daughter Anne are looking for an escape from the pirate life -- a way to pay off all their debts and blend back into normal society. Especially since Captain Ross has been feeling more and more uneasy about all the stealing that he has done as a pirate. Pretty soon, he's off on a treasure hunt for one of the biggest treasures ever that will take him through dormant volcanoes, dangerous seas, and something that slithers along the deeps...

I did have some concerns going in to the book -- how would God play into the whole story? Can there be a "Christian pirate"? I was very satisfied with the answers that Batson gives in the end. While his characters do not begin the story as believers, a couple of the main ones do find Jesus in the end of the story. The main message that Batson sends all along the way is faith. Choosing to believe in the Lord rather than in man or what men can do.

It should be noted, however, that parents be cautious in allowing their younger children to read this story. There are some very intense moments in sword and sea battles that could be a little too much for some. There are a couple of violent moments that aren't specifically seen in the story, but we know what happened -- most of these involve someone being eaten by a sea animal (not seen, but implied), a man is tortured (also unseen, but implied), a girl is threatened by the evil pirate captain Thorne, etc. These moments are a bit intense for some readers, and should be considered by parents first.

All said, Isle of Swords is a great read for teen boys especially looking for a good alternative to stories such as The Pirates of the Caribbean. Definitely worth a day to read.

I approached this book with some hesitation, but was pleasantly surprised. It is an excellent teen fantasy. I have to admit that I did not realize when I started it that it was considered a "Christian Fantasy" or I might not have given it a try. It is a comfortable read and can be read strictly as pure fantasy, though those looking for connections will find them. I do hope that the Christian label does not stop people from reading it. And NO I am not anti-christian, just that sometimes labeling does a dis-service.

Back when I was in high school, my bookshelves were filled with the Gothic romances of Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt and Phyllis A. Whitney. In my mind's eye (especially on a dark and stormy night!), I liked to cast myself as one of the the intrepid governesses who finds employment at the manor house of a devastatingly handsome but brooding lord with a plethora of mysterious, murderous relatives and eavesdropping servants. While I always questioned why these young women used to traipse out at midnight into the fog-shrouded moors - wearing only a diaphanous nightgown - to investgate a spooky noise, I was nonetheless captivated by the way all three of these authors could spin such breathtaking ambiance and make a reader feel as if they were right in the scene. I was, thus, delighted when an associate sent me a paperback copy of the newly re-released "The Ivy Tree" by Mary Stewart. Her heroine is a plucky lady of mystery who or may not be who she really says she is, and the scintillating underscore of sexual tension throughout the chapters makes this the kind of read that should be enjoyed with a pot of herbal tea, a fire in the fireplace, a cozy comforter, and a storm outside one's windows. Even with the passage of 40 years since I originally read this title, it's a cleverly orchestrated mystery that still feels timeless.

Christina Hamlett
Author of "Movie Girl" and "Screenwriting for Teens"

First Sentence: I might have been alone in a painted landscape.

Annabel Winslow has been dead for four years. Mary Grey, over from Canada, looks enough like Annabel to be her twin. When Conner, foreman at Whitescar, stumbles upon her, it takes a bit of convincing that she is Mary. Con, and his half-sister, Lisa, work up a plan for Mary to pretend to be the missing Annabel long enough to ensure her grandfather passes the ownership of Whitescar to Con in his will. Annabel Winslow has been dead for four years. Or has she?

This is Mary Stewart at her very best. With lovely nods to Josephine Tey's "Brat Farrar," which I also loved, "The Ivy Tree" is a more complex, layered book, although the clues are there for us to find. Stewart's characters come alive and even have reader questioning just who is Mary? There is that constant threat of danger. Her descriptions and use of imagery make me go back and re-read passages for the pure pleasure of her words. It is a story of love, loss, and hope is wonderfully timeless. Stewart is always such a pleasure to read and this is one of, if not the, best of her works.

As the story opens Mary Grey is enjoying her day off taking in the local tourist sights near her new home. She has recently left her native Canada to return to Northumberland where her greatgrand parents had been born. Suddenly a young man confronts her, calling her Annabel and insisting that she is his cousin who disappeared eight years earlier. Mary manages to convince him of her identity but soon finds herself embroiled in a plot to impersonate the missing Annabel in her family home, Whitescar.

Gradually it becomes apparent that all is not quite as it seems, everyone there seems to have a secret, her Grandfather has not disclosed who will inherit the family farm, 'cousin' Con has not revealed the depths of his ambition, the missing Annabel left behind secrets when she fled, even the estate itself has been keeping things hidden. Eventually all is revealed with the usual Stewart flair for drama and romance.

This 40+ year old book has aged well. There are some references that place it firmly in the early '60's, for example, a cell phone would have eliminated much of the tension, it is still a thoroughly enjoyable story, very reminiscent of BRAT FARAR. As usual with Stewart's work the setting and characters all come to life. The plot is cleverly handled, the clues to the mysteries are all there for the reader to follow but so subtly done that it will be a very rare reader who does not get at least a few surprises along the way including true identities of more than one character.

This book is wordy and descriptive--half of our book club really appreciated her use of words, and half found it tedious. The beginning is a little slow and hard to engage in, but stick with it because the plot thickens enormously in the middle and the twist is so much fun! It has a dramatic conclusion that made for some fun conversation at book club.

All of Mary Stewart's works are good. This is one of her best mysteries.

This book is about a girl who partnered with a shy artist, uses thought to convey messages to him to draw what she sees, They end up going through time in a sorts, back to the time when woman were persecuted for being "witches" This book is a great read and i really enjoyed it. I picked it up when i was in middle school from the library (im going into college now) so my memory of it is a bit warped. But the title of the book and what it was mainly about has stuck with me for so long its in with my favorites, and if i ever come across it again i will be sure to pick it up.

it was an awesome book i read it 4 times then when i moved i lost the book and i cant find it anywhere (...)

I first read this book in 6th grade and instantly fell in love with it. It was one of the very few books I was not only able to get through, but couldn't put down. I woke up early to read it during breakfast before school, I read it during recess, and then hurried to the library after school to read it in privacy. It isn't the kind of book I can go back to now as a college student and enjoy as much, but at the time I was happy to read it over and over. It really is a very imaginative story with many interesting subjects intertwined. I would especially recommend it to girls in 6th - 9th grade who are interested in history and the fantastic.

I picked up this book from this book sale, and from the sound of it, it seemed pretty exciting. But once I started reading, it didn't sit well with me. ESP and medieval 'time travelling' is great and all that, but it didn't have the emotional aspect of it. The 'link' Juniper and Dylan shared weren't exaclty expressed properly. Overall, it wasn't what I was expecting. You may like it, but it wasn't my type of book.

I bought and read this book about eight years ago. I still have it and have read it many times. The mind is a wonderful tool and this book was one of the first pieces I ever read that had anything to do with the ways of the it, and the ignoring of the norms associated with the use of the mind. Spirituality and mind and body energies are essential to many people today. I fell in love with the personality of the characters... I have since reading this book, made a promise to myself to name my first daughter after Juniper.It is a great book for any ages.