Young Adult Books


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

Young Adult
The Waterless Sea (Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy, Book 2)
Published in Hardcover by Arthur A. Levine Books (2005-03-01)
Author: Kate Constable
List price: $16.95
New price: $4.95
Used price: $1.17
Collectible price: $16.95

Average review score:

Daughter Loved It
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-20
This entire trilogy has captived my daughter who has never loved to read due to learning challenges. She has in just a short time read the entire trilogy twice.

excellent for young readers
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-06
Kate Constable has written yet another great book for young adults, as well as older adults. The Chanter of Tremaris is a great series.

Book Two of Kate Constable's Excellent Fantasy Series
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-19
Kate Constable has given us a magical world to explore in three remarkable texts. Through these books, the author joins the company of Lloyd Alexander ("the Prydain Chronicles"), Ursula Le Guin (see "Gifts" and the just published "Voices"), and Joy Chant ("Red Moon and Black Mountain", "The Grey Mane of Morning" and "When Voiha Wakes") in creating stories and characters of depth and beauty.

To some of the other reviewers here, my suggestion is that the way to enter the Chanters of Tremaris trilogy (and, really, any work) is to let go of your expectations (whatever we think it should look and sound like) and to surrender to the magic that lives in these stories. As readers, we can fall into the trap of always scanning the horizon for something new, something that we've never seen before. The downside of this is that we often miss the treasures that are sitting at our feet. Don't miss this outstanding fantasy series.

Awesome!!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-15
This book, The Waterless Sea, was the best book ever! I could never put it down!
Basically Calywn and here group are chanters. They can use their magic by singing. Heben (he's awesome!) searches for them to find his taken chanter siblings. So many adventures and so little time to explain!

Heben is cool
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-31
I loved this book. I literally read it in the space of a few hours, it was such a page-turner I could /not/ put it down.
The characters are wonderfully painted; my favorite is Halassa, with Trout following close behind (I was dissapointed at his dissapearance in this book!).
I hate Darrow. In the first book, at the beginning, when he was all crazy in Ataris and then when he was cheerful on their way to Kalysons, he was fun. But he was simply a mentor then. Now he's all dark and depressed and in love with Calwyn. Their little drama is exciting, but I dislike it and it gets in the way of the action and the suspense (for instance; Halassa's dying and their talking about their feelings. Halassa should of been a more important part of this story; considering he almost died.)
Now, Heben. I loved meeting this character; just liked I loved meeting the other main charries in the first book; it was all part of the adventure. I really hope Heben stays around. The only thing I would changed is his relantionship with Calwyn. I would of liked a tiny bit of romance between the two. So Darrow didn't simply look like a crazy jealous idiot. And so it made sense. I mean, why not Halassa instead of Heben? Calwyn was closer to Halassa then Darrow, she says so herself.
Mica and Tonno. They were slightly annoying, but lovable all the same. I kept wanting to picture them in a lounge drinking Diet Cola and making fun of Calwyn and Darrow.
Overall, the book was good. What I'm waiting for (and hoping for) is that Trout learns to chant (LOL)!

Young Adult
Weather the Storm (American Dreams , No 3)
Published in Paperback by Flare (1996-07)
Author: Jean Ferris
List price: $3.99
Used price: $6.88

Average review score:

Wonderful read!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-11
I originally read this series years ago. They have a great sense of adventure and a fast paced reading style. LOVE THEM!! Get all three in the series!

This is my favorite book in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-22
I love this book, i read this one forst one first not knowing that it was the last one in a trilogy. This is the classic story of misunderstood love. Rosie loves Raider, but thinks he loves someone else. He askes her to marry him on the excuse that he wants to make sure she is safe. Now Raider is Half Mad! will love triumph over all, or will she go back to a quiet life without anyone to love her? Guess you'll have to read to find out! :-)

a great book
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-03-11
I loved this book! It was the best out of the three and when I was done I found myself wanting a relationship (not all the hard times they had) like Rosie and Raider had. it really ties together everything and you can't help but be happy at the end of the book for Rosie and Raider.

the best series
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-12
I loved this series. I had to buy it. I have read them over and over again. I am so hooked on them. The perfect romance and mystery book. The first time reading it, I was taken by
surprise by the cool ending. I LOVE IT!!

i love this book and i'm a 42 year-old mom,
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-20
i bought the 2nd book by chance at a used-book store, i gave it to my daughter, and she loved it, soon we after, we went to the library and requested the 1st and 3rd books, funny we fought over who got to read what first. it was SOOOOO good, since then both me and my daughter have read the entire trilogy more than once. i wish some holywood hot shots would get a wind of this and make a movie, gotta love it :)

Young Adult
Wings (Bromeliad Trilogy)
Published in Audio Cassette by Transworld Publishers (1993-09-01)
Author: Terry Pratchett
List price: $16.99
New price: $15.41
Used price: $10.00

Average review score:

In many ways, nomes are what humans OUGHT to be. . . .
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-20
This is the wrap-up volume of the author's "Bromeliad" trilogy (the title of which has to do with tiny Amazonian frogs living in tree-top flowers, who know nothing about the world at large, or even that it exists) -- though it runs parallel, actually, to the second volume, which followed the exploits of Grimma and the nomes who stayed behind at the quarry while Masklin and a couple of others went to investigate the nearby airport. Now it turns out that, in their quest for the Ship waiting for thousands of years somewhere out in space, the three bickering adventurers have managed to stowaway aboard the Concorde and have gotten to Miami and then to Cape Canaveral. There, they meet other nomes, much more widely traveled than themselves (thanks to migrating geese), get close to a rocket launch, and make use of the Thing to contact the Ship. As always, Pratchett tells a delightful, very humane story with lots of humor (the nomes tend to be VERY literal), while at the same time commenting on subjects like interspecies relations, religious dogma, and the whole point of society. Written for adolescents but enjoyable for any thinking reader.

The Book of Nomes
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-10-26
DON'T READ THIS BOOK INTILL YOU READ THE FIRST TWO BOOKS IN THE BROEIMLEAD TRILOGY. This book is about when Masklin (a nome) trys to find this one ship that while supposedly send the nomes to a different planet. This ship is faster than light. The one thing that leads them their is a thing. This thing is like a box with lots of electric inside, and only if this thing is by something that is powered by electric it works. Now in this book Masklin, Gurder, Angalo, and the thing go out to find the ship. At the beginning they fly on a airplane to Florida. When they get their they find more nomes (which they never knew that there was any other nomes). Now they have get the ship to them somehow. Read this wing of a book to find if they find the ship.

Hilarious WINGS
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-03-26
My Dad has been reading Terry Pratchett books and he thought I'd like this one. He was right! You should read this book , because it is very funny and exciting. The book is about three nomes that got stuck on Earth and need to take a space shuttle home. The nomes get a lot of useful help from Thing, a machine. But too bad when Thing runs out of "pow" (power)!
I don't have the first two books from this trilogy but I am getting them next!

Not only very funny, but very intelligent as well.
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2001-05-10
Wings is the third and final volume of the Bromeliad (following Truckers and Diggers).

Masklin, Gurder and Angalo have just left the quarry and are heading to the airport in hope to go to Florida, where they can put the Thing on a space shuttle so that it can call the Ship. Following Grandson Richard, 39, they board the Concorde.

What somewhat surprised me with Wings is that it's not only the conclusion to a tremendous adventure: the story really gets a level deeper, as the relationship between the nomes and the Thing develops. And don't worry, you still get those hilarious puns such as the one about frogs who have "such a tiny life cycle it still had trainer wheels on it"!

The Bromeliad trilogy is a gripping story, extremely funny and easy to read, but it's also a story about how the world around you can always amaze you if you only look a bit further than just at your direct neighbourhood. I highly recommend it to both children and grown-ups alike!

Solid conclusion
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-12
The Bromeliad trilogy soars to a grand finale with "Wings," the companion volume to "Truckers" and "Diggers." This tale runs parallel to the second book of the series, and brimming over with Terry Pratchett's usual wit and satire... and a mild dose of insanity.

Now that humans are returning to the quarry where the tiny nomes live, the nomes must somehow find a new place to live -- and fast. So Masklin is following the instructions of the Thing (a computer who is smarter than all the other characters put together) and going on a secret mission with Angalo and the Abbot to Florida.

After they sneak aboard the Concorde, freak out the stewardess and hijack the plane, the nomes learn that none other than Richard Arnold (grandson of Arnold Bros, founder of The Store) is on board. Now they must somehow send the Thing into space, so it can contact the spaceship and whisk the nomes away. Easy? No way.

Technically, anybody who has read the end of "Diggers" will know exactly what will happen in "Wings." But like flying on the Concorde, it's the ride that's half the thrill. "Wings" is a little tighter and funnier than its predecessors, partly because it has a much smaller cast -- the small bickering trio, plus the Thing. It doesn't get much better than that.

The nomes are fun protagonists, partly because they're so likably naive about the world in general. If they were left alone, they would probably produce a cute little civilization, and their naivete produces plenty of entertaining humor (Concerning the sound barrier: "All right, own up. Who broke it?"). Pratchett manages to make us laugh with the nomes, not at that.

The long-suffering Masklin has a new slew of problems the moment he leaves, ranging from the Thing refusing to talk to him to Angalo razzing the stewardesses. Atheistic Angalo and the abbot just avoid biting out each other's throat. But it's the Thing's dry, superior guidance that really steals the show.

Pratchett brings his Bromeliad trilogy to a close full of action, suspense, and frogs. A witty and wild ride on the Concorde, and not one to be missed.

Young Adult
Yo, Millard Fillmore!
Published in Paperback by Goodwood Press (1993-02)
Authors: Will Cleveland and Mark Alvarez
List price: $7.95
New price: $49.99
Used price: $0.33
Collectible price: $55.75

Average review score:

Great fun!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-10
Well, I know my Presidents now, that's for sure! I had great fun learning them, too, sitting on the couch with my husband one afternoon. The two of us went through the book, working through it and giggling at the references all the while. It was a lot of fun and we learned every president during the read. I planned to buy it, learn them, and then relist the item. But, I decided to instead hold onto it for when my nieces come over. I am always hunting for new ways to entertain them and this will keep them busy for sure! :) Lots of fun for all ages.
I highly recommend that you buy it and have as much fun as we did, and learn a little something, too! 5 stars!

Yo, Millard Fillmore
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-07
This book was ordered for my son, who is a teacher, for Christmas and it came in plenty of time. Thanks so much.

The best way to learn the American presidents that I have seen
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-23
This book is the best and most fun ways to learn about the American Presidents that I have ever seen. For each president from Washington through Clinton, there is a brief caption regarding his life and accomplishments. There is also a drawing taken from a photo or portrait, a cartoon style drawing and associated play on words to aid in remembering the name and whom they succeeded. For example, the cartoon for Dwight Eisenhower shows the Eiffel Tower with eyes on it being held by a tree with eyes. The caption is "The tree-man is crawling up the side of a huge tower that has eyes on it. It must be the eyes-on-tower!" The cartoon for Harry Truman, who preceded Eisenhower, shows the tree-man.
One of the best books for learning history and social studies, I strongly recommend this book. If my children were of a suitable age, I would buy it for them.

Awesome
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-06
After one night, I knew all 43 presidents of the United States in order without looking. This book is AWESOME!!! :D

Memories Last
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2005-06-28
I had to memorize the presidents in the fourth grade. I'm in college now and I can still remember everything from this book. Not only does it work, but it's fun to look at the pictures and learn the presidents. People of all ages can learn from this book.

Young Adult
Alice In-Between (Alice)
Published in Hardcover by Atheneum (1994-03-01)
Author: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
List price: $16.95
New price: $8.99
Used price: $0.01

Average review score:

Thirteen and in-between
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-23
Alice McKinley's sick and tired of being in-between. At 13, she feels she's not really a woman, but hardly a child, either. One of her best friends, Pamela, suddenly seems too grown up and sexy, while their other friend, Elizabeth, seems to be regressing into childhood. Alice knows things will change over time, but who wants to wait?

Then, as a birthday surprise, Alice's Aunt Sally invites her, Pamela and Elizabeth to visit in Chicago. The trio is thrilled at the idea of traveling all the way from Washington D.C. on an overnight train, exploring a new city and spending time with Alice's cool older cousin Carol.

Of course, as is typical for Alice, nothing ever goes as planned. Pamela, determined to act older than she really is, flirts with trouble when she meets an older man on the train. Then, when the girls return, Alice's happiness is burst with sudden sad news about a favorite teacher.

As always, Naylor's Alice is a true-to-life heroine, funny and self-conscious in equal measure, sure to be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

Great
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-19
Like all my life i have been seaching for a certain series of books about a girl and real life. When i found the alice books my search was done i love the alice books they are books i can read time and time agin.I just wanted you to know how much I LOVE THE ALICE BOOK SERIES
Love always
*~*Shawna clark*~*
p.s. me and my friends read these books togetherthey r that great
p.s.s. my e-mail address is tbird09692@aol.com

It is about growing up....
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-07-25
this book is really great. it's about alice turning 13 and she, Pamela, and Elizabeth going to Chicago over the summer for a week. To visit Aunt Sally because that was her b-day present to Alice.
At the end of the year, a teacher retires and Miss Summers gives everyone an assignment about poetry that is true. I like this book because the author indicates about friendships, going through changes when you're 13, and learning about sad things that had happened back in the past.
Like the fact Alice had accidentally memorized her wrong poem in class. The poem she had said was about her mother. It was sentimental and really sad.
So on the train to Chicago, Pamela meets a guy who is disrepectful. So read it for yourself. It explains about REAL teenage life and friendships. And Pamela gets gum in her hair and getting it cut really short.
Elizabeth tells Alice and Pamela about God. Like refusing to forgive someone is an unforgiveable sin and what God looks like in her opinion.
Alice's dad and Miss Summers go at a music conference together in Michigan when Alice gets back. So for the second time, read this if you're curious with REAL teenage life as 13.

A Fun Mistake
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-24
I must say this is the best mistake I ever read....I mean that as a compliment because this story rox! This is a very funny and fun crazy unique story that will make you laugh when you turn to the first page..IM TELLING YOU, READ THIS, WHETHER YOU BUY IT, BORROW IT FROM THE LIBRARY, STEAL IT, i dont care, this is the best book ever and its about three friends on a 'road trip' on a train. P.S. Something very shocking happens to pamela on the train!

HDGAWVBVNGHFGHFGXXX-NARF-DAF NBBSSGFDSC!!!!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-08-05
Sorry, that was me freaking out at how good this book was! I found it even more realistic and even more popping! I now feel I am one of the characters in this book. I also think that the part of the story where Pamela dressed up to be nineteen, got a date with a guy, flirted with him all night, kissed him, went into her compartment, the guy followed her in and if it hadn't been for Alice and Elizabeth throwing themselves at the door and screaming, she would've been raped very cautionary! Take this story to heart, no grain of salt needed and you may be surprised at how feel when this story is over.

Blessed be!!

Young Adult
Ball Don't Lie
Published in Library Binding by Bt Bound (2007-03-13)
Author: Matt De La Pena
List price: $16.95
New price: $16.95

Average review score:

Ball Don't Lie
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-15
I loved the book. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened to the main character, "Sticky." It's not the kind of book you have to use a dictionary all the time. It's written in plain simple language.
The only draw back was the lines that were repeated. Other than that, it was an excelent story. I even got motivated to dig the old basketball out of the closet. Good show!

Ball Don't Lie
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-16
I liked his book because it was about basketball and I have played basketball for the last nine years. I felt like I understood the book because I know a lot about basketball. It also told of a story about a boy growing up in the foster carte system.
Sticky was the main character of this book. It starts out when he is 16 years old waiting for a chance to play a pick up game at the recreation center. All the guys from the neighborhood like to hang out there. He is the only white player on the court. The other players make fun of his name. It was a nickname his mother gave him so he likes it and gets angry because they wanted him to say his real name or change it.
The book flips back and forth from his rough childhood with his single mother, to his multiple foster parents, to current time. It took him through rough and good experiences with friends and foes.
He meets a girl from high school who he likes and they start dating. They want to go to the same college so Sticky has to try really hard to get a basketball scholarship.
He learned life lessons throughout the book. Most of his lessons were learned on the court at the recreation center. There were lots of fights, laughter, and yelling, homeless people, young and old people.
I give this book a 5 star rating and you should for sure buy Ball don't lie if you don't you'll be missing out.

West Coast Baller Shows Heart
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-09
I'm not usually a big book guy, but I knew I had to read my boy "Cali's" first book. We play ball together at the Prospect YMCA. So I went and bought a copy to show my support. Then I didn;t read it for about six months. Well I just finished it last night. I couldn't believe how good it was. This dude can really write. And I love the story. It's sad, but in the end you feel like the main character is going to be alright. Speaking of the main character. He's from the west coast which usually means he'd be soft, but this kid has got some heart. so get get a copy of this book and support my boy Cali. You'll be happy you did.

This book is the truth!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-08
This book starts out really slow and boring because you are blinded by all of the basketball details. So you think "here's another boring sports book" and by chapter 3 it is already unraveling into a book you just can't put down. Sticky is a ghetto and rough-around-the-edges white guy that has grown up on the streets, moving from foster pad to foster pad, eventually making it to an area where he is daily playing ball with the regular crew down at Lincoln Rec. He knows that he has to have something special to get out of this life he doesn't want to be stuck with forever. It really does suck you in and has you going through every trial with Sticky from past to present making you feel as if it were you telling the story of Sticky's crazy and hectic life.

Venice Don't Lie
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-01
It is a shame that this novel hasn't gotten more recognition in the literary world. True it has appeared on a couple very notable best-of lists, but it deserves more. No reviews in any major newspapers, no evaluation in the major literary journals, and no pub in the pedestrian sports books like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. That's a disgrace. It merits prominent attention from the tastemakers. Sports fans consistently beg for prose and films that are faithful and sincere depictions of the world they revere with unbridled, rampant passion. Literary folks, in turn, constantly, and quietly, whisper on college campuses, at book readings and within intellectual circles about the pathos of modern fiction. Yet, here sits on the shelves of Amazon a debut, which should be considered groundbreaking and ingenuous to these two separate sets that could not be on further ends of the flavor spectrum.

A reader can feel simultaneously honored and stupefied by the prose of de la peña. Honored because a stranger is ushered comfortably into a world of truth and stupefied because this same candid world can feel so foreign to our "normal" emotional barometer. Venice, CA is a magical place to anyone who has stepped off the well-treaded boardwalk and into the tangled vines of class, dreams and race on its narrow, overgrown streets. de la peña not only steps, he stomps into these neighborhoods, pulling no punches as he acts as a literary translator to the hieroglyph of Venice culture on the papyrus of constricted beach walk-thrus, unrecognized sandy ghettos and voiceless orators of working-class ethos. This author is a troublemaker.

Venice has always been an eccentric enclave by the sea that attracts and rears troublemakers. Usually these so-called troublemakers are castaways from the mainstream. Aging hippies, counter-culture punk-rock surfers, gangsters, skaters, and visionary "deadbeats" historically have made Venice their home. These folks had no place in Outback Steakhouse Americana, so they found their way to a milieu where they could safely and loudly challenge the status quo. After all, Venice had the first major pocket of African-American owned land in Los Angeles (Ghost Town) and Dogtown essentially birthed the X-Games lifestyle here. Folks come to Venice to find themselves and then let the world know that they are here in the most unique and idiosyncratic of voices.

Sticky is a hoarse foster kid that needs to be heard. On the surface, he is a typical Venice knucklehead, looking to throw down with society because that is what is expected of a troublemaker who's been dealt a foldable hand. But dig deeper with de la peña and find a wounded soul in need of a venue to squeeze out some kind of meaningful expression. Like most Venice residents, he burns to take on the median with defying, counter-culture articulation. To do something meaningful, this kid with literally nothing needs magic and, luckily for him, he resides on the streets of a magical enclave.

Basketball, and more specifically the sports' necessary skills honed on the streets, has long been a barometer of heart. Many have stepped on asphalt or hardwood with sick talent only to find that their heart shrank to the size of a pea when the crowds unnerved them. Fear pumps through blood streams at half-court and great talents evaporate on this hallowed proving ground when bodies surround it. You see one can't hide from a crowd. Crowds are an exposure of truth: You either got it or you don't. Venice is known for its crowds as much as it is for its magic.

Sticky finds magic in the soft touch of worn synthetic leather. Between the fading lines of a rundown court filled with Venice troublemakers, he waves a wand made of magical fingertips and stands out from a crowd of dreaming hoop players. In a world of fast-paced, kinetic movement, Sticky is able to curb a debilitating obsessive-compulsive disorder because he sees a playground game in refined slow motion. He thrives on court vision and instinct. And instinct is the main artery of navigation, just like Lincoln Blvd, that runs the width of Venice. A kid with instinct can survive out here. A kid with instinct can throw it all back in the face of the proverbial man. Alva did it on his skateboard, Dennis Hopper did it on his camera, and Sticky will do it with a beat-up basketball stolen from a group home. The question is, as it was with Alva and Hopper, can he simultaneously do it with meaning and go unscathed.

de la peña deconstructs race and class in this book with a hand gentler than Morrison or Wright. Racism and classism can be cruel and there is a sense of the tragically absurd in the cruel life that is Sticky. Humor eases him into questionable mentoring and pushes him into painful rites of passage. That's always been the genius of special works. Hit us with humor and twist the knife in the gut of our protagonist. Denis Johnson does it, Spike Lee does it, and Joe Strummer did it.

Sticky is a lonely ship navigating the treacherous Venice canals without supervision or necessary guidance. His advice comes at the bottom of a forty proof guttural throat or from the high-pitched nasal whine of an overbearing liberal do-gooder. But, like all of us in this life, advice is only that, advice, and Sticky must make his own way with just the truthful eloquence of a honed skill set to drive him. In this case, that skill set is on a basketball court.

de la peña has put together a powerful memo that puts the powers-that-be on notice: The voiceless will not sit back without voice any longer. There is something daring to this work. It is tangible and magical. Ball Don't Lie will not leave you apathetic.

de la peña should be considered an innovative auteur. He has exposed the ironies of the daily morality, politics and race in this country with a slight of hand that would make the thief in his lead character proud.

Ball Don't Lie is homage to the power of a writer's observation and recollection of environment. It ranks alongside The Bluest Eye as a genuinely groundbreaking first novel. We should all hope that this extraordinary work is the first installation in a powerful chorus of prose to come. It should be a notable book in the New York Times review. It should be mentioned in Sports Illustrated. People are sleeping on this important piece of fiction, but that should be expected. After all, it is about Venice: The land of counter-culture and in-your-face expression. Ball Don't Lie may be overlooked, but it cannot go ignored.

Young Adult
Bottled Up
Published in Paperback by Puffin (2004-11-18)
Author: Jaye Murray
List price: $6.99
New price: $3.20
Used price: $2.00

Average review score:

Bottled Up
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-25
Pip is a 15 year old boy that drinks and does drugs that you can usually either find at a cemetary or smoking behind a deli. Life at home isn't to great for him, his father is an alcoholic that is usually angry and his mother pops pills. His little brother looks up to him, even though Pip does not want him to, his little brother doesn't understand what really goes on. Pip has to keep good watch of him because he is exposed to alcohol and drugs and doesnt want his brother to get into those kinds of things even though he doesnt get a hold of them. In the book Pip has to death with trying to not get kicked out of school, family issues, forced counseling, drugs and alcohol addictions. This book is excelant because it talks about problems most teen-agers have and are trying to deal with.
-By Kayla

Bottled Up
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-22
All parents of teenage boys should read this book. It is a remarkable porthole into their minds. Although written by a woman, both my son and I agree that it taps into this young man's psychy. Very good story, well written, informative.

Bottled Up - by Jaye Murray
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-28
When you get into High School, there is a lot of pressure. Sometimes people ask you to do things you don't want to do, like drinking and doing drugs, but you go and do them because you think it's cool. If you decide to go along with it, you may regret it when you look back. In Bottled Up, the main character, Pip, is stuck in a place where he thinks everything's okay, doing drugs and drinking underage is fine. When he finally gets hit by reality, his principal finds out and threatens him by saying if he goes to counseling and his classes, he won't tell his father, Pip has to make a huge decision. His father is the kind of dad that likes to drink a lot and hits his children. Pip figures that if his father finds out, it might be the last thing that ever happens to him. He agrees to go to the 'stupid' counseling and tries to find out who he really is. A good reason to read Bottled Up is that it captures you attention, where the reader could get through this book in a matter of hours without putting it down. It makes the person reading the book feel as though they are really there, right with Pip every time something dramatic happens. Another good reason to read Bottled up is that no matter if the reader is a teen or an adult, this book can still be related to their life. If they are an adult, the reader might being seeing things from a different view, being a parent. The best reason to read Bottled Up is whether the reader is a male or female, the book is still fitting. Even though Pip is a guy, girls still go through the things he does. Whatever age and sex the reader is, the book can still be related to. In conclusion, this is a great book for all teenagers in High School and parents. It focuses in on the trouble of being a teen when you start heading the wrong way. This book shows that no matter how far you go down the wrong path, you can always turn back.


-Sarah Burd
Block 3

Bottled Up
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-03
Pip is desperate to leave behind his life, and all of his problems. He does this by getting high, drinking and cutting classes. He feels his family, including an alcoholic dad, a doormat mom, and a needy little brother, dont understand. Hes busted by his principal and is given the choice to either take counciling, or be expelled. Pip must turn his life around for the sake of himself, and his brother.

bottled up.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-15
Bottled Up is a great, relatable book for any average teenager. Pip struggles with his alcoholic father at home and overbearing teachers at school. He is responsible for his little brother as well as keeping his grades up and making sure his drugs and alcohol use under the radar.
It's a good read.

Young Adult
The Burning
Published in Hardcover by Demco Media (1993-10)
Author: R. L. Stine
List price:

Average review score:

Fear Street Rocks
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-03
I am 24 years old and I still love Fear Street. I read this saga over 10 years ago and I started thinking about it a few months ago for some reason. I looked in book stores but it was order only, so I didn't bother. Finally my husband told me to go on Amazon and order it. After all, we would be going to the beach for Labor Day weekend and I don't like going into the water, so reading material is a must.

I'm almost done with the first book, and I love it. I feel like a teen again.

Cursed Forever
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-07-31
The Burning is one of the sagas set in days of old explaining the curse that possesses Fear Street.it is an interesting read but it involves much death and is not a cheery book by any means.So I am wondering if it is really worth it.There isn't really a positive aspect or moral to it.Except, perhaps, that the Fear family's own evil is what eventually destroyed them.

Danny's review
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-12



I was reading The Burning by R.L. Stine. This book was a pretty good book; out of ten I would give this book a high eight. I liked this book because of all mystery and horror combined.

In this book it is told by Nora Goode, who is married to one of the Fears. In this book it is about how this guy Simon Fear goes to this party and falls in love with Angelica Goode. But Angelica has two guys that are really wealthy and smart and handsome. So Simon kills both of them and marries Angelica. Then bad luck comes back to Simon. He kills his own daughter. Now Daniel has to go for Simon's birthday.
and mystery. They would like this because it is all mystery and horror. So read this book
A person who would like this is a person who likes horror

Kristen's review
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-05-13
I didn't like the ending because it could have been a better, but if he did a different ending then there wouldn't be any Fear Street books. I did like it from the beginning up to the end. I only liked the beginning because it had the mystery to it and I didn't want to put it down. I like it when I can't put it down because then it keeps me hooked. When I'm hooked the book doesn't get boring that easily
The story is about a boy named Simon who tried to forget about and stop the family curse. But then, it finally caught up to him. It is about Simon's grandson named Daniel. Daniel didn't know about his family curse until he got to his grandparents. He fell in love with Nora Goode before he knew about the curse and he thought that if they got married it would end the curse. Will the marriage and their true love end the curse? What will happen to them in the end?
If you didn't read The Betrayal and The Secret then you will not understand the book that well. If you like mystery, love, and not wanting to put the book down then you may like this book most of it or all of it. This book will help you understand why bad things happen to people who live on Fear Street in the Fear Street books. There is dying in this book and if you like that in a book then you may just like this book.

Best One Of The Fear Street Saga Series
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2004-10-23
This is the 3rd book in the series. It's about a girl name Nora & a boy name Daniel want to stop the curse of the family. They think that the only way to end it forever is to get married. This book actually need 10 stars because it was better than the other 2.

Young Adult
Cajun Night Before Christmas (Miniature Edition)
Published in Hardcover by Pelican Publishing Company (2000-10)
Author: Trosclair
List price: $8.95
New price: $4.58
Used price: $5.04

Average review score:

Good Cajun Christmas Tale
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-07
Just what I wanted, the only problem I encountered, wasn't with the book but with the delivery of the item. I ordered it on the 7th and it arrived on the 24th. Amazon was very helpful in solving my problem. I will continue to place orders with them. Thanks again , my granddaughter loves her book.

Family tradition
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-28
I grew up in New Orleans and my dad would read this to me every year. After many years and many moves, we lost our original. I was thrilled to find this on Amazon and I purchased it for my dad as a Christmas gift. What a wonderful sight to see him reading it to my two sons this Christmas Eve!

Cajun Night before Christmas
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-05
This book has been a Christmas tradition in my family for many years. We are Cajuns and love this story. The illustrations are well drawn and bring this story to life for people of all ages.

Loved it
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-12
My husband and I saw this book when we toured New Orleans a couple of years ago, but I couldn't justify the price they were asking for it in the stores there in New Orleans. However, when I saw the price through Amazon, I had to have this book. It is definitely a lighthearted story that old and young would enjoy.

Absolutely Delightful!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-22
I purchased this book for my two grandsons, ages 7 and 4. I was born and raised in Louisiana as was my daughter and the Cajun history is part of my grandsons' legacy though they were not born there. The grandsons were reduced to laughter and delight at grandma reading the book to them in the Cajun "accent". The 7 year old has tried his hand at reading as well and thoroughly entertains his younger brother. This will definitely become part of our Christmas traditions here in Illinois. The best part of all, it keeps my grandsons inspired to read!

Young Adult
Camp Creepy Time
Published in Hardcover by Putnam Juvenile (2007-05-10)
Authors: Gina Gershon and Dann Gershon
List price: $16.99
New price: $6.99

Average review score:

I really enjoyed Camp Creepy Time.
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-09
The kids in my son's fifth grade class were all raving about this book, which was a miracle in itself, so I decided to read it for myself. I have to admit, I've been a big fan of Gina Gershon for a long time and it's hard to imagine her writing a kid's book. What a pleasant surprise! The book is well written, the story is clever, and the dialog is hysterical. The main character, Einstein P. Fleet, is a computer geek turned reluctant hero who faces the challenges of a monster theme camp run by aliens with a great sense of purpose and humor. My son has turned me on to a lot of new experiences --- reading Camp Creepy Time was one of them. Looking forward to the sequel.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-14
Einstein P. Fleet has already logged hundreds of hours trying to blow the whistle on baddies. Through his popular blog, The Smoking Peashooter, Einstein manages to spread the word on all sorts of conspiracy theories, and he's even had a lawsuit pending against him since the fourth grade, all thanks to "The Wilson Incident."

Naturally, he questions his parents' motives for sending him to a remote summer camp for eight agonizing weeks, with no Internet access and a limited supply of Twinkies. From the moment he steps on the bus and sees every other camper in a monster costume, Einstein worries that perhaps this particular camp may be much more difficult to deal with than any normal one would be.

Unfortunately for him and his unsuspecting parents, his fears are well-founded...

Chock full of werewolves, vampires, mummies, giant spiders, and greedy mobster aliens, this book provides the same brand of entertainment as a classically cheesy monster film. Highly recommended for reluctant readers.

Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose

A great read for everone!
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-06
I got this book as a present and really had fun reading it. So much so, I ran out and bought 3 books, one for each of my nieces and nephews, ages 8-13. They loved it! We all had fun talking about the adventures of Einstein and his cohort. My 11-year-old niece really loved Roxie and has decided she wants to be an alien spy. I would recommend this book for anyone. We are all looking forward to the movie version to come out.

Camp Creepy Time Will Crack You Up!
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-20

Every once in a while you come across a book that makes you laugh out loud. Camp Creepy Time is one of them. The main character, Einstein P. Fleet, is a lovable thirteen year old computer geek. You know, the kind of kid that rarely sees the light of day. His parents send him packing off to a monster theme camp smack dab in the middle of the Mojave Desert for the summer ---- which turns out to be merely a stop over on the way to being abducted and sold to an intergalactic monster zoo in another galaxy. The story mixes all types of elements from the science fiction genre and somehow manages to glue them into a cohesive, original plot. It's also funny and very well written, especially for a pair of first time authors. The book ends leaving the door open for a sequel, which I can't wait to read. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a sense of humor. You will be pleasantly surprised.

VERY CREEPY (and funny)!!!
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-22
You simply can't go wrong with this wacky zany summer send-up. Einstein P. Fleet, a loner-nerd trapped at a hellish summer camp in the Mojave Desert, leads us through a wild storyline of escape, with monster costumes, vampires, werewolves and aliens all in the mix.

This fast-paced, well-written farce is a quick, irreverent, hilarious read for kids and adult-kids. Highly recommended. It's no surprise that Dreamworks has this story in script development....Can't wait for the movie!


Books-Under-Review-->Arts-->Literature-->Authors-->Young Adult-->48
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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