Young Adult Books

As an English professor and an avid reader, it's been a source of distress that one of my grandchildren doesn't like to read. He is fast-paced and doesn't like to slow down long enough to read; like so many of my students, he'll "wait for the movie." Recently he told me that his class at school had been reading THE SHADOW CLUB and that he had been reading ahead because he loved it. I bought it for him on the spot and purchased THE SHADOW CLUB RISING, the sequel, and two other books by Shusterman as well. He was excited to have them and has told me at length what he likes about the books: the constant action and drama, the characters sympathetic to his age group (11), etc. I thank Neal Shusterman for turning my grandson on to reading at long last!

Book Review
Shadow Club
By: Neal Shusterman

Jared and Cheryl always were second best, always living in someone else's shadow. Jared came in second at the races he was in and Cheryl's cousin would always upstage her. No one likes to lose especially all the time. Always being kicked into the dirt. They were sick of it so they decided to fight back. They gathered all the second-best people and went to their old hide out in the forest and formed a club, the Shadow Club was formed. At first it was just about pulling harmless pranks on their enemies and thinking of ways to hurt them but it went to far. Is someone trying to frame them? What will happen to the Shadow Club?
Shadow Club is a thrilling story that both boys and girls will love an maybe some adults. I wish it didn't have to end. It's filled with action, humor, suspense, and lots of mysteries. I recommend this book to any one who likes to get sucked into their book and forget about the world around them. Its so detailed that it feels like your really there in the story. It will have your eyes glued to it until the last pages have turned.

-Megan C.

Jared, a ninth-grader, is so sick of always being the second-best runner on his team. No matter how hard he pushes himself, he is always beaten by Austin. To make things worse, Austin loves to rub it in when he beats Jared.

Jared's best friend Cheryl knows how he feels. Her cousin Rebecca, who is a year younger than her, is a better singer than Cheryl and she seems to be constantly rubbing Cheryl's face in that fact. Jared and Cheryl are both fed up.

When they feel they can't take it anymore, Jared and Cheryl decide to start a secret club to vent their feelings--The Shadow Club. They invite Cheryl's little brother Randall, who is the number two swimmer on his team. They invite the second best trumpeter, the second prettiest girl in the class, the second best basketball player, and the second best student to join.

All of the members of the club get together and at first aren't sure what to do besides say bad things about those who are beating them all of the time. Then they decide that more needs to be done. Jared comes up with the idea of playing practical jokes on those students they detest. He thinks if no one knows about the club and no one plays a joke on his or her own enemy, all of the club members will escape being suspected of playing the jokes. So it starts.

Green slime shows up in a trumpet before a big solo. The best student's pet tarantula is put in the hood of the best runner's sweatshirt. The best swimmer has his toenails painted bright red while he's asleep.

The members of the Shadow Club are thrilled with their accomplishments. But then things start getting out of control. Jokes are being played that no one seems to know about, and they are getting meaner and more destructive by the day. Could someone be trying to frame the members of the club?

I thought this book captured the attitude of many junior high school students--it highlighted the feelings of competition and the petty nastiness that occurs in students of this age. I thought Jared should have been able to see when things were getting out of control, though, and should have been able to stop the club before anything bad happened.

The Shadow Club
By: Neal Shusterman

Review done by: A Mid-Prairie Teen Student

You would have no idea what you would be expecting if you got a book titled The Shadow Club, I sure didn't. The Shadow Club is a great book having middle school to high schooled aged students making mistakes and seeing the consequences in the end.
Jared, a middle school aged kid, is the main kid in this story. He is the second best runner in his school and hates being second best. He absolutely hates Eric, the best runner in school, and would do absolutely anything he could to be better than Eric. This is where the trouble started.
Jared's friend Cheryl, the second best singer, wanted to start a club called the Shadow Club. This means for people to come to this club if they're second best in something. Like second best singer, second smartest person in school, and even second prettiest girl in school. All these second best kids formed this club and got themselves into trouble without even knowing it.
This is quite a story and it is written by Neal Shusterman a fantastic author. He is an American author of books for young readers, and also a screenwriter. He has won and award called the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for The Schwa Was Here, and he was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He now lives in Orange County, California with his four children. So as you have seen he has a busy life but he has certainly used some of his time to write great books.
This is an amazing book but I'm not going to tell you what happened in the end. Once you read it, it will shock you incredibly as you will see. I will tell you though that it teaches great things like making friends, the trouble you can get yourself into with just starting little things, and how much hate can really hurt someone else's life.
I dare you to read this book even if you think you're the best person in your school. Just go and read this book so that you can see the secrets some second best people may be thinking right now.

I have been reading the Shadow Club to my 7th graders for more than 10 years. The humor, especially in the character of Ralphy Sherman, keeps the class listening. The suspense builds to the point that I have students begging me not to stop reading. Many students tried to buy the book because they just couldn't wait for me to finish reading. I was happy for a few years that it was out of print, so they couldn't find it to read ahead of me.
There are many lessons that apply directly to children of middle school age, and my favorite is looking at how the students laughed at Tyson McGaw at the beginning, but feel for him at the end of the book. Hopefully they will look closer at individuals and not make fun of them because they are different.
I have never had a student who didn't like this book and it is the only one that I have read that when I finish, the students applaud.

You'll love it! What a fun, frightening, captivating, creative, well-written page-turner of a book. Thoroughly refreshing and entertaining. Surprising twists, well-written. Absolutely fabulous what else can I say? I loved it and started TRAVELING WITH THE DEAD immediately following which I'm enjoying just as much. They both gave me scary nightmares and I'm 37 yrs. old!

I really like this book. The vampires are so "real." Much better than the vampires of Ann Rice. The story is good, the ending leaves you wishing there was more. Read Traveling With the Dead also. More about James and Lydia in it.

I picked up Barbara Hambly's vampire novels in a fit of boredom, and was unable to put them down. They are dark and rich as a Black Forest cake. The characters, human and inhuman, are enticingly complex and fascinating. Unassuming professor James Asher, erstwhile spy, makes a dogged if reluctant sleuth. His wafelike bride, Lydia, has guts, heart, and brains. And Don Simon Ysidro, who blackmails Asher into helping him hunt a murderer of vampires, shimmers with compelling menace. And between Asher and Ysidro grows a bond as strong as it is macabre.

Even tangential characters come alive under Hambly's artful pen, especially Don Simon's companions in immortality. And the killer of vampires, and the mad, fragile stranger to whom Asher and Ysidro turn for help, are perhaps the most fascinating characters of all.

All, from the Master Vampire of London to the stevedore on the quay, move against a rich tapestry of historic Europe that invites you to believe.

Try, if you can, to read each novel in one sitting -- alone.

Well, what can I say that hasn't already been said? I absolutely loved this book from the first few pages, and I absoluely deplore its current inavailability. Hambly crafted a thrilling tale, using stunning writing, great logic, and memorable characters.

When I rave to my friends, I always stress Hambly's genuis at writing this fine peice of literature. She weaves a beautiful tapestry of words. She strings her sentences like fantastic jewels on a priceless necklace. The setting was so realistic, the people so intriguing, the story itself so engrossing, that I'll be rereading this book till the day I die.

Hambly dealt with vampirism very intelligently. Few authors actually try to explain that state, and I think Hambly offers the best explaination, a combination of science and fantasy. Her vampires are believable, something I require when dealing with fantasy and science fiction.

Don Simon Ysidro has made his way into my personal hall of fame. He refreshingly offers no apologies for what he is, and doesn't go around biting at every other neck he sees. Forget Dracula...compared to Don Simon, he's a dead corpse. While the rest of the main characters--James and Lydia Asher-- perhapse pale against the magnetism of Don Simon, they are nevertheless well-drawn. James and Lydia both have their own voice and personalities, as do all the minor characters that populate this book.

I enjoyed Those Who Hunt the Night better than its sequel, Travelling With the Dead, but I'd abvise anyone who loves vampires and well-crafted tales to read both. I can only hope that Hambly will eventually return to the characters she created in late eighteenth century London.

Without writing a long winded review, I will keep it short. If you only read 1 book on vampires in your life, this is the one you read, nothing like it except possibly its sequel. Ms. Hambly ruined me from this genre since I have never found anything else that can compare.

This book was great! It's about two twins who were separated, Elizabeth and Isabel when their parents split up. So when Isabel dies, Elizabeth goes to live with her father and pretents to be Isabel since no one knows she's dead and since here father's recently had a heart attack, he doesn't really remember stuff. Then, Elizabeth and Rob, which was Isabel's boyfriend fall in love and he finds out that Elizabeth isn't Isabel and then he tells her that he loves her and they know that Isabel is up to something but...it leaves you on a cliffhanger and you have to buy book 2, which is Twin Terror.

Its about two girls Isabel and Elizabeth. That ELIZABETH
takes over her boyfriend, friends,and her things. But at the end does she find out that her sister was not really dead.
This book is a really great book because it leaves you hanging at the end of the story. You just want to keep reading it.

this book is about twin sisters elizabeth and isabel!iz and liz for short!anyway isabel is murdered or so they think and liz takes her place to see if she can figure out who muredered her sister!!i couldn't put this book down and i am dying to read the sequel!!i hope you like it as much as me!the sequel is called TWIN TERROR!!
krysti

this is a really good exciting and thrilling book!
it makes you want to keep reading and turning the pages from the beginning until the very end!
it's a great horror book, and it was definitely one of the best I've ever read
i hope u enjoy Twin Sisters, and that this review has helped!

Twin Sisters by Janice Harrell is a AWESOME book! It keeps you in suspense throughout the whole thing! It was very well written and I couldn't put it down! Anybody from the ages 10 to about 20 would enjoy this book. It's about 2 twins that were separated when they're parents divorced. One day, one of them died, so the other one, goes 2 live with her dad. Scary and creepy things keep happening @ her sisters house...find out what happens by reading it yourself. I KNOW YOU WILL ENJOY IT!

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.

Kate Constable has written yet another great book for young adults, as well as older adults. The Chanter of Tremaris is a great series.

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.

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!

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)!

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!

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! :-)

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.

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 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 :)

Like many others, I too stumbled across this book almost 30 years ago as an 8 or 9 year old and have never forgotten it. It strikes the perfect mix of imagination and word fun. I'm ordering a copy now in hopes my six year old daughter will enjoy it as much as I did.

The Witch Family is nice, non-scary magical tale with more heft than contemporary "Color Fairies"-type books. It's a sweet, old-fashioned book -- but heavy emphasis on the sweet. It's the sort of book where things get called by kiddie mis-pronounced names like "noo-doos" for noodles, over and over again. When you're reading to yourself, or reading aloud, that can be part of the charm. But when your kids are listening to 5 hours of audio book on a long car trip, you have to hope that the narrator doesn't lay it on too thick.

As it happens, this narrator lays it on triple-thick: syrup on top of honey on top of sugar. Every single sentence, happy or not, is pronounced with a huge, honey-dripping smile...for 5 hours straight. I grudgingly gave it 4 stars because my girls did enjoy it, and they're the target audience in the end. But as an adult, it was flat-out excruciating.

I too stumbled upon this book as a child and was completely enchanted by the story and characters. I hadn't read it for more than 30 years, but recently bought a copy to read to my children (girl 9, boy 7, girl 4) It hasn't lost any of its magic - I'm enjoying it as much as they are. It includes so many of their favorite things, magic, witches, mermaids, babies - and it blends real and imaginary worlds in the same way that they are blended in the minds of children.

One of my favorite childhood books. I bought this for my niece. I'm sure she will love it as much as I did. A perfect book for young girls with big imaginations!

The Witch Family is about two girls who while drawing witches pretend to banish the head witch, also known as Old Witch, to a glass hill because she is very wicked. If you multiply the "Old" with one million, you get some idea of how old she was! The girls also let Old Witch do her abracadabra so that she can have a witch girl named Hannah and a witch baby. Old Witch gets to be wicked only on Halloween. At the end, the two girls take pity on Old Witch and turn the glass hill into a real hill with grass. After that, Old Witch is not wicked anymore except on Halloween. I think this is a good book to read on Halloween.

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!

This book was ordered for my son, who is a teacher, for Christmas and it came in plenty of time. Thanks so much.

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.

After one night, I knew all 43 presidents of the United States in order without looking. This book is AWESOME!!! :D

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.

A twenty something, I was relieved and discover I am not the only one who worries about the future- career, family, love, etc. Hassler's book offers compelling personal stories that not only comfort and reassure, but offer perspective on the many facets of change happening in twenty-something lives. In addition, Hassler combines the twenty something stories with suggestions and work plans for navigating change and guiding the uncertainty! I also really enjoyed reading the guy's perspectives on being a twenty-something. Thank you Christine for such a wonderfully empowering book that motivates me to keep learning and growing!

If you're a twenty something looking for that one book that will cover it all - from expectations to love to money to career - this book is definitely it! Christine covers it all and leaves absolutely nothing to be wanted in 20 Something Manifesto!

And I was particularly impressed with the Manifesto's "Work and Career" chapter which says a lot considering I've worked with hundreds of twenty somethings on work-life issues. In her heartfelt work-career advice, Christine not only addresses how to create job satisfaction in both good and bad situations, but also covers how to overcome the fear of quitting a bad job and even outlines how to start a business for those of you wannabe entrepreneurs! And these issues are definitely something that every twenty something should read. I feel so strongly about this that I'm not only going to make 20 Something Manifesto highly recommended reading for all of my clients, but also make reading the "Work and Career" chapter absolutely mandatory!

Christine does an amazing job of explaining the twenty something experience. It's like hearing advice from a big sister who has been through it all already.

It's advice that I am definitely taking to heart and it's a book that I will continually review as my twenties proceed.

They are many things. The Millennials. The Entitlement Generation. The Boomerang Generation. Whatever label you use, the twenty somethings have entered the work force and are now facing the trial and tribulations of growing up and becoming an adult.

I am a mother with a bunch of twenty somethings. From my perspective, I see a world of possibilities for my children. Given their many talents, interests, and amazing potential, I have troubles understanding why they are so afraid of the future. I can't fathom why they are afraid to leave home, sacrifice, work hard, and build a good life for themselves.

I'm glad that I read 20 Something Manifesto. I think I understand a bit more about this generation now. I remember being young and feeling the pressure of finding the right job, the right relationship, and the right home. For these adults, the choices are wide open which only makes the process that much more difficult. Becoming paralyzed with indecision or finding themselves stuck while they try to catch their bearings is a very real possibility.

I intend to leave this book lying around in hopes that my twenty somethings pick it up. I think this book will give them comfort while presenting them with some important tools.

In 20 Something Manifesto, Hassler takes on the big issues -- self-identity, career, love relationships, money, friends and so forth -- the whole caboodle. These are lifelong issues. You certainly confront them in your twenties decade. If you solve some in your twenties, great. If not, you'll revisit them throughout life until you solve them. And, some need to be addressed more than once because circumstances change -- e.g., considering the divorce rate, some of us will face the issues of dating and finding a spouse more than once. Moreover, some are continuing processes throughout all your decades, such as the task of making relationships work.

The author offers realistic, compelling descriptions and in-depth analyses of the issues as seen in the many forms in which they appear in actual life.

What makes Hasslers book fresh, readable and very useable is the method she employs: she publishes the experiences of scores of 20-somethings, in their own words, from their own perspectives, colored by their own values. Even better, she has them write declarations at the beginning of their stories -- that is, you can see the moral of the story up front.

She also speaks to each of the issues exemplified by the stories from her own experience and her own training. Then she offers some advice and/or techniques for dealing with the issues yourself. All that makes it easy to scan through the book to pick and choose the issues most relevant to you. You can read the book in the order that works best for you.

Note that not all of the contributors have solved their issues. But those that dont have possible solutions to offer you have developed insights that may well lead them, and perhaps you, to those solutions. Or if there is no solution, the insights may lead to a viable way of accepting and living with the circumstances.

The authors use of contributors stories gives an impression of a lively dialog going on in the book. It moves and flows like a live participative seminar, making it easy to read and giving impetus to your using the various techniques and exercises immediately.

The author started the book in her own late twenties, so her experience is with the issues as they relate to current 20-somethings. Nevertheless, since the issues are timeless, many folks in other decade ages can learn to resolve some of the issues that they couldnt handle in their twenties. Parents of 20-somethings can learn much about how their adult children think and feel and what are their concerns. Employers of 20-somethings can gain insight into their employees behavior and motivation. Therapists and coaches will find it a valuable reference. Everyone will find it a good read.

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.

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

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.

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!

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!!

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

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.

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

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 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.