Seven Books

I've read Science Fiction for a long time but haven't encountered much YA SF until recently. This book is now one of my favorites. It does explain some science: gravity, spaceflight, Mars conditions etc. But it mostly deals with how people live, act and react in these different future conditions and locations. I loved how the story showed that our point of view and preferences are largely based on what we've been exposed to so far in our life. Melinda has to deal with new things, ideas, people and places that are different and hard for her. As she comes to understand, accept and even like the alien things and people of Mars we also are taught to be more open minded. Melinda is a great character. It was good to read a Martian novel again - it seems like there has not been many recently.

Melinda should be happy to get to travel to Mars with her dad. Everyone wants to go to space, don't they? But not 18-year-old Melinda. She had her life all planned out with her earthbound boyfriend, and she's not happy when dad springs this graduation trip on her. Still, it's for less than a year, she can start college when she gets back, and her boyfriend will still be waiting.

Once she arrives on Mars, she's surprised at how, well... civilized the colonies are. Of course, she makes a few enemies when she inadvertently insults colonists she meets by calling them the equivalent of savages. Still, she manages to make friends with a second-generation colonist named Alex and is soon torn between new love and old prejudices.

Wow did I love this book. I grew up on old sci-fi young adult books, especially those of Robert A. Heinlein. The moment I first saw this book on the shelf in hardcover, I wanted to read it. The cover just reminded me of Podkayne of Mars (by Heinlein), which was one of my teenage favorites. As it turned out, both books were originally published about seven years apart. I did hesitate to buy Journey Between Worlds, because I had a couple of other books by the author, and neither book had really caught my interest, but I was in love with this one from the first page.

The author, Sylvia Engdahl, writes after the story about how when she re-released this book, all she did was update some facts about Mars, but in essence, this is the same book that she published in 1970. And the book still holds a lot of truth. Journey Between Worlds is about the unknown and shaking your life up. Melinda expects Mars to be cold and dome life to be a sterilized bore. True, there are some differences, meat is synthetic and everyone lives in apartments due to space issues, but she finds that people adapt and can love this life just as much as the one back on Earth. She simply can't comprehend why someone would choose to leave Earth for Mars or if they were born on Mars, not move back to Earth. Alex, her new Mars born friend, especially puzzles her, because he spent a few years in college on Earth and actually wanted to return to Mars to live out his life. His choice to live on Mars makes no sense to Melinda.

While the book has science fiction elements, it's more of the pioneering western sci-fi. A sub-category all of its own, it's one that I personally love. There's something so human about adapting to a new environment, the give and take of living and molding the land into what we want. Humanity has never been happy with where it is, and the stars are simply the next great unknown. I think a lot of 50s, 60s, and 70s era sci-fi really captures that wonderment in a unique way, because at the time, humanity hadn't yet put its footprint on the Moon and there was still so much unknown. (Yes, I know, the first moon landing was 1969 and the book was published in 1970, but you have to allow a year or so for publishing.) And after we did land on the Moon, it was suddenly all possible, and we could begin to imagine that our children's children might really live in colonies on the surfaces of other planets.

Another great aspect of this book is the pioneer spirit. As I touched on before, Melinda can't understand why people would want to live away from Earth, just like others have wondered why someone would want to cross the deadly ocean from England or make the trek to Oregon. For as long as pioneers have made the journey, there have also been those wondering why someone would want to leave. Sure, space might be getting cramped, but why risk the dangers of the unknown? Engdahl does an excellent job of showing the journey of Melinda's thoughts and giving us a very believable conclusion to her story. I really felt like Melinda was growing and changing, that she was a real person telling me a story.

Lessons on growing up are often unpalatable for teens, but this one tastes great! I can still remember the first time I read it upon its original publication. It stresses that sacrifice for the greater good of all humanity is one of the highest qualities a person can strive to have. Great science facts are also included.

Reviewed by Kim Peterson for Reader Views (4/06)

Melinda plans to marry Ross after graduation and someday live at Maple Beach in the house she will inherit from Gran. She fosters no aspirations to pioneer new places like her ancestor Melinda who traveled across the plains to Western Oregon in a covered wagon. She plans to teach and live a quiet life. But her father's graduation gift threatens to change her world-literally. He offers her a ticket to accompany him on a year-long business trip to the colonies on Mars.

Wanting to reconnect with her father and responding impulsively to her fianc?'s negative reaction, Melinda boards the Susan Constant and journeys to Mars. She compares everything about the trip and her time on the planet to Earth. She misses the abundant water, the fresh air, the rhythm of the ocean and "normal" gravity. If it weren't for Alex Preston, a second-generation Martian colonist, she might not have learned many of the positives that life on Mars offered or the thoughtfulness of genuine love.

Engdahl's science fiction romance targets young adult readers well. Melinda tells her story in first person with believability and the indecisiveness and emotion that naturally accompany major life decisions when the ramifications will last forever. The journey between worlds literally spans between Earth and Mars, but it also shows her journey into adulthood as well as the shift in her thinking about what she wants from life.

I enjoyed my return visit into the world of Engdahl's books. She updated this volume to reflect what we now know about Mars, and to reflect our shift in thinking about women. However, the book seems to me as fresh as it did when I read it as a child. The pace moves a bit slower than today's readers might expect, but the story line remains solid and the themes still feel relevant today. What a thrill to see Engdahl's books back in print!

Melinda doesn't want to go to Mars. Why leave Earth when everything humans are meant to enjoy is there? But when her father, whom she's only seen sporadically over the last ten years, asks her to join him on a business trip to one of the Mars colonies after she graduates from high school, she can't bring herself to refuse him. Little does she know her months on Mars will change the way she thinks about life, love, and humanity.

With JOURNEY BETWEEN WORLDS, Sylvia Louise Engdahl has written a science-fiction story that will appeal to a variety of teens. Melinda faces many of the same problems today's young adults do, only in an otherworldly location. The first person narrative puts readers right inside Melinda's head and allows them to see through her eyes. Her struggle to overcome her fear of change and to examine her feelings and beliefs honestly should resonate with anyone uncertain of exactly who they are and want to be.

The story, of course, is not only about Melinda, but also Mars. The descriptions of Mars and its colonies are fascinating in their detail and realism, providing an exciting setting for Melinda's personal conflicts. The colonists, with their pride and passion, will make readers wonder if they, too, would have the pioneer spirit.

I would recommend JOURNEY BETWEEN WORLDS to any teen looking for a thought-provoking read. Unlike many science-fiction novels, this is not a story of action and technology, but rather of wonder. I'll admit, at times I wished there was more excitement, but overall it was a satisfying read. Both Melinda's problems and the issues raised by the colonization of another planet will give readers much to ponder long after they've finished reading.

Reviewed by: Lynn Crow

i read this story lats year i found it in my school libaray! i wasn't much of a reader i had to read this book a reading log for english class and i just fell in love with this book!! it was such a cute and moving story i love it and recommend it to anyone looking for a light easy and good read. if you are this is the book for you!!!

I still remember when I read this book in junior high school, and I'm getting ready to graduate this May from college, yet it still puts a smile on my face when I think about the book. It was one of those stories that you think could never happen to you, but it can, and it did happen to Melanie. I really enjoyed it, I suggest it to anyone looking for a lighthearted, good read. And for a little bit of a sequel, read "Eleven Kids, One Summer," which features Melanie, Justin and their families once again. But first, read "10 Kids No Pets."

This book was awesome. I never thought that Justin was a tv star. I was just as suprised as Melanie when I read the part about him being a star. It has all the things I'm looking for in a book. It has romance, twists, and it keeps you wanting to know more about their new found romance. I just wished it would have gave you a better picture of how their relationship worked out in the future. It needs a sequal.

I just read this book and i thought it was fantastic. I could relate to Melanie in so many ways. Justin is everything a guy should be because he was so sweet and kind and just a gentlemen. I knew something was odd with him going to "work" but i couldn't see it. Ann M. Martain it one of my favorite authors, so i knew this would be good. I hope theres a sequal coming.

I first read this book when i was in Junior High school in the 7th grade. I hated books, but one time i had to do a report in order to pass my class. The teacher gave us a few books and we had to pick one of them. I picked Just A Summer Romance because it looked intresting. I started to read the book, and from the first page i read i liked it. I liked it because it reflected my live. I loved that book so much that i read it in three days, i always read the book during math, spanish, social studies and english class, i use to wake up at three in the morning to read the book because i was wondering what would happen next. Now i'm a senior in High School and i still haven't forgotten about that love story.

I loved the book i could not put it down, the charecters are so envolved and when you read it while you are a beach no matter how hot you are you will get a chill up your spine. i promise you will fall in love with the boys in the book i know i did i felf like you become friends with them and you will have a great ride when you read this book!!!!!!!!!***************

In the beginning I pretty much guessed who it was. The ending was sort of confusing. You really have to pay attention to the ending, or you'll get lost. I also felt, that the author stuck in some things, that have no explanations, just to throw you off. Things that didn't make sense. But all in all, I thought it was pretty good. I couldn't put it down.

The Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick is a great suspenseful thriller. This marvelous novel pulls you in like a fish on a hook.
Kelsey, a young 15-year-old girl, goes with her mother to Beverly Island to visit her mother's fiancée Eric. When they show up at the island, Eric immediately tells Kelsey and her Mom that his daughter, Beth, has been murdered. After Kelsey and her Mom settle in, Kelsey starts getting notes from Beth who is supposed to be dead. Soon, she always feels like someone is watching her. Then, someone starts to follow her but she can't quite guess whom. Does someone know that Beth is trying to communicate with Kelsey? Is Beth really dead? You'll just have to read this powerful must read book in order to find out.
The Lifeguard is an awesome book for 7th graders and up. This is a great fiction novel. So great, that I even finished it in 5 days. Richie Tankersley Cusick also wrote The Mall, and Teacher's Pet.

Richie Tankersley Cusick delivers another great thriller here with "The Lifeguard." The storyline revolves around a girl named Kelsey. Her and her mother go to Beverly Island to visit her new father-figure. When they arrive, they are bombarded with news of his daughter's disappearance. Things also take a turn for the worse when Kelsey discovers a note under her pillow, written by the missing girl! On top of all this, Kelsey finds out about the recent mysterious drownings on the island, and comes face to face with a creepy fisherman. All of this makes for a terrifying visit she'll never forget!

"The Lifeguard" was a good book. Not the very best I've read from Cusick, but close. Along with most thrillers, it gets you hooked immediately, and never lets go. I also took a liking to the ending. Not entirely surprising, but very dark and ominous. Also, it was a relatively long climax, unlike most stories, which was good. Overall, it is completely worth your time.

Also recommended:
a.) "Starstruck" by Richie Tankersley Cusick
b.) "April Fools" by Richie Tankersley Cusick
c.) "The Train" by Diane Hoh
d.) "The Invitation" by Diane Hoh
e.) "Slay Bells" by Jo Gibson
f.) "My Bloody Valentine" by Jo Gibson
g.) "Silent Witness" by Carol Ellis
h.) "Camp Fear" by Carol Ellis
i.) All R. L. Stine young-adult thrillers
j.) All books by Joan Lowery Nixon

Oh, I love this book. OK. Here's the summary.

***Kelsey and her mom went to stay at an island with Kelsey's mom's boyfriend. When they get there, Eric was Kelsey's mom' boyfriend, told them that his daughter Beth was missing. The police can't find any clue about the disappearing. But that's not all weird. There are more disappearing before Kelsey even arrived. Some girls were missing mostly from their dates. Kelsey met Justin and his brother Neale. Both are also Eric's son. Justin is so sweet and incredible nice to Kelsey from the start. He seem to like her a lot. But on the other hand, Neale is so strange and he's mean to her. He dislike her and wouldn't talk at all to her or even to welcome her staying on the island, unlike what Justin like. Then there's Skip, a very handsome guy that Kelsey had attracted on the first place. Donna, who's really nice to Kelsey and befriend with her.
Kelsey found a note from Beth saying the she was in trouble. Kelsey put the note away and when she get back to it, it was gone. Then strange thing happen to her.***

This book is so good. But at the ending is pretty sad. When the culprit was being revealed. But I really do recommend this book along with "The Drifter", another one of my favorite; "April's Fool", "Help Wanted", "Vampire", "Someone at the door" and "Silent stalker". Enjoy!!!

This is an amazing book. The author's imaginative powers are on a
par with those of great Fantasy and Science Fiction writers
like Ursula K. Le Guin. James lets us enter a world that exists
nowhere, is quite alien to us, yet is filled with exquisitely
vibrant details. An especially enjoyable aspect of this book is its
magical and mystical undercurrent.

I was as enthralled by the exquisite prose and poetry of this book as I was by the plot, which asks no less of the reader than to explore the meaning and mystery of life and our contribution to it. The author created rich and diverse cultures and languages, leading this reader to examine the serious issues of tolerance and intolerance, especially in these troubled times. This was not a "peaceful" book and there are no easy answers to difficult questions and dilemmas. There is mayhem galore. Yet music weaves it way throughout the story and will have its way. Ms. James' use of the English language was so rich and varied that I did not see how she could possibly maintain such a high standard throughout an entire book; yet, with each turn of the page, there it was! This book is categorized as an "adolescent novel"; however, I am a mature woman who appreciated the "adultness" of this book about the quests of a young woman.

Ever since Kat was a young girl, she has been considered an outcast because of her forbidden parentage: her father is a Leagueman from Upslope and her mother is a Hill woman from Creek. Leaguemen are supposed to lead religiously simple lives while being wealthy traders, not marry natives. After her mother dies, Kat is sent to live with her strict aunt and uncle to learn the ways of being a Leagueman's wife. Kat is often met with disapproval because of her wild red hair, a reminder of her native mother. When Kat is 10, she returns home to her father Ab Drem, along with her caring, older brother Dai, who prefers living the simple life as a farmer instead of working with sums. It is during this time that Kat becomes curious about the songs of the Rigi, a legendary island tribe rumored once to have been seals.

After a fateful visit to the market in the seaside community of Downshore, Kat hears a song about the Rigi that she secretly sings to herself as she completes her daily chores. A few years later, when Kat is 15, she dares to sing the song out loud --- calling a young man out of the sea. He is an outcast as well; "killed" by his father and his tribe, he has no identity because his sealskin was destroyed as part of his exile. The Rigi is now named Nall. Kat frequently visits Nall after he is taken by Dai to live with Mailin, an elderly healer in Downshore. As Kat falls in love with Nall, her happiness is cut short when she discovers that her father has agreed to have his daughter be married off to the chief Leagueman's youngest son. Furious, Kat decides to run away from Upslope and live with her mother's family in the mountains.

Kat is considered an outcast there as well, but in comparison has a better life than in Upslope. A year later, she decides it's time to return to Upslope, Dai, her Downshore friends, and Nall. However, many things have changed, and Downshore and Upslope are now at war. Then Dai is taken prisoner and Kat decides that the only way to save him is to travel with Nall to the Gate. Kat soon begins to realize just how very different she is from Nall and yet how much they have in common. They are led on a fantastic, unimaginable adventure that will have far-reaching consequences for each of their contrasting worlds.

LISTENING AT THE GATE is a powerful saga about family, love and knowledge, and how --- like a tumultuous ocean --- each be changed in a single moment. Throughout the novel there are songs and folklore that reflect each of Kat's and Nall's changing worlds, which I found to be a creative idea and a great part of the story. While LISTENING AT THE GATE is a sequel to Betsy James's previous books, LONG NIGHT DANCE and DARK HEART, I found it to be just as memorable and well written as a stand-alone novel.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle (SdarksideG@aol.com)

Betsy James is a heck of a writer. This is an unputdownable book with great depth, a young adult book that reverberates on an adult level, and more - down to your toenails, as far as you want to take it. Each book in the series is kicked up a big notch. I had read the two previous books several years ago and read them again before the third came out, and I was still unprepared for "Listening at the Gate". It's a BIG BOOK - big in scope, big in ambition, big in imagination, big in emotional presence. No light snack - you better have an appetite!

I ran across a quote from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes recently that came to mind as I read the book: "A mind stretched by a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions." Nominally written for the young adult woman as a coming of age novel, it challenged me as a 58-year-old man and made me nervously, and excitedly, wonder how far I fall short of what I could possibly be. It is a potentially life-changing book, for an adolescent girl or young woman, or for an adult man or woman. I can't help but think that some adolescent girls and young women who have the courage to take it in will be bigger people as adults, more alive, more courageous, more aware. Some may be transformed for life, in their hearts and souls, not just their minds. The bar's a little higher even for me, and I'll reach a little farther.

One of the fascinating things about the book and the trilogy as a whole is that it creates a whole world of the imagination, peopled not just by a wide range of personalities, but by several whole and separate cultures in conflict with each other, thereby establishing the creative tension that makes the book so enthralling. The only thing I can think of to compare it with is William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County. The range of creative imagination in the book is amazing. Each culture comes full-blown with its own mythology, songs, and prejudices.

Weaving the book together throughout are dozens of poems, chants and songs that would stand alone as a wonderful book of poetry.
The book is a literary achievement, and a damn fun read, exciting as "The Da Vinci Code" but emotionally deeper and more real!

It's been a long wait for the third in the Seekers Chronicles, but worth the waiting and wondering. Listening at the Gate is a dense, chewy, odd-tasting at times experience of Kat's coming of age through a journey that tightropes over several cultures.
The sounds and scents of the warrenhouses, living and abandoned; the different ways of talking to and looking at each other that each distinct village allows its tribemembers; the bringing into present day a land and people of myth and misunderstanding, all caught and wrapped me up in a story whose end I couldn't guess. I loved the richness of this book, it has an honored place on my bookshelf.
And the Roadsouls made me wish that such a life was still possible.

This book was really good. It's a true diary from a girl, named Katie, who has to move to Paris with her family leaving her 4 best friends at home in Canada. The book starts by telling you that the girl that wrote this diary died suddenly in Paris, from a fast moving cancer. So, her mom was reading her diary and letters, while on the plane flying back to Canada, and decided it would be neat to make a book of her writings. The book really shows you through the life of a teenage girl. She loves to hang out with her older sister Christelle. And she loves her friends all SO much.

This is a very good book I would recommend it to anyone looking for a interesting book to read!

This was the best book I have ever read!!! LITERALLY I love this book and although it's sad, I'm so glad that Katie's mother let Julie publish it. This is truely an insperation to me and some of the friends that I have! I read this story to a friedns and a cousin and although my cousin is young she really enjoyed it. This book should a a Nobel Prize because it helped me to realize that friendship is really important to have with you and to help you through the rough and hard times. So I honestly know tat you will like this story because if I did then I know other people of my age and the backround I come from will really relate to some of the things that Katie was going through.

AFter I read this book I relized how much you need to savor your life and what friendship really means!Its really touching and will keep you reading until you finish this book!

From page one I became enthralled with the charactors of this book. Amazingly enough is the fact that these are not charactors but real people. It is the true story of a girl's last moments dialogued in her emails and letters to her friends. It reminded me alot of myself and my friends. I feel that many will identify with Katie. This book is a reminder to all that life can change in an instant and we must cherish those that are placed in our lives!

This is a wonderful book about friendship. A girl named Katie goes with her family to live in Paris for a year, but was going to return to Canada to graduate grade 12 with her friends. Katie and her friends; Ashley(who was her best friend), Maude and Heather kept in touch often through letters, e-mail or sometimes the phone. Katie always ended her letters with Ilove you, or Love you like a sister.(LYLAS) Ashley and Katie had just arranged for Ashley to visit w/ Katie, but then ... THIS BOOK ROCKED!!!

Making the Run is the best fiction book you could ever read. The characters are really memorable. They are their own person. They don't try to be someone they're not. They do their own thing and they don't care what other pepole think.
While living in Rainey, Lu has it rough. She lives with a single parent who's hardly home and never there for her when she needs them. She has had a dream of doing something she loves doing and then one night that all changes. Then she falls for someone that she has known since she was little.
This book just sounds so real. Once you start reading it, you won't be able to put it down. The more you keep reading on, the more it keeps you guessing and wanting to know what happens next. I think it's one of those books that would keep you guessing and wanting to know what happens next.
I would suggest this book to anyone who is having a hard time in their life. I loved this book so much. Out of most of the books that I have read, I wouls have to say this one was one of the best. This book reminds me of someone I'm really close to. My friend is pretty much going through things that Lu is going through.

In the book Making the Run author and first time novelist Henson shows a dramtic very different girl Lu. Lu lost her mother when she was little and witnessed the whole thing. Since then shes hated her father.Lu although somewhat messed up keeps her self busy with the help of her best friend Ginny and having her first real love,Jay, her older brothers band member. Lu has to deal with Ginny getting pregnant and her dad dating.Emotions start to going crazy and Lu always seems to be floating (from the drugs) a horrible tradgey tends to change Lu's life forever. Henson was writing this book to show that drugs may not always be the way to go. I recommend this book to teens mostly because it teachs you the way life is.

In this book there is a girl, Lu that doesn't exactly know how how to deal with life. With drinking,drugs,and sex she becomes caught up in a crazy world where she's constantly floating not really knowing anything except for one thing she wants to get out of Rainey, the small town shes stuck in, but when she find news about her best friend Ginny things start to change. After a horrible tradgedy, will she stay or leave....

Lulu or " Crazy Lu" is desperate to get out of a small town in Kentucky but is weeks away from graduation. She drowns out her sorrow through drugs, sex, and pictures. She has a keen eye for photography and is constantly wearing her camera around her neck, even when it's dark. When her stepbrother's old friend comes back, she falls in love. When her relationship becomes steamy, her brother and father disagree it results into abuse. At first she experiments with drugs with her best friend Ginny, then it becomes a daily ritual. Smoke. School. Smoke. Grams. Smoke. Jay's. Smoke. Drink. Bed. Making the run was a clever, enlightening, and truthful story.

I've read this book multiple times. It not sounds just like the typical life of a teenager, but it's kind of scary how close in personality the main character is to me. I've even gotten to the point where i'm underlining thing's she's said in awe that they are some of the same things i've said to other or even just myself at times. If you're my age, which is 16, soon to be 17, you'll love this book. If you're 20, you'll love this book, anyone will love this book because it's about a young girl who discovers herself, and we all have either gone through that, or are still going through that and because of that, everyone can relate.

Iloved this'MANDIE'book.I started off with MANDIE and Joe fighting with each other.But while MANDIE is at the sea-side;odd thing's start to happen and a PHANTOM like thing jump's off the pier with an eerie noise,this happen about3 or 4 time's then MANDIE'S horse run's away and a few other thing's happen then the TRUTH come's out with a very TAME answer to all the mystie's and then your READY to go to your next book;I just WISH I had them all.A MUST FOR ALL MANDIE FAN'S!!!

This is a wonderful story that teaches some lessons that everybody needs to know.

I REALLY LOVED MANDIE AND THE CHARLESTON PHANTOM.IT IS REALLY COOL.HONESLY THE ONLY BOOKS WORTH READING ARE THE MANDIE ONE'S. AS SOON AS I READ THE MANDIE BOOKS I FELL IN LOVE WITH HER. LOIS KEEP IT UP DONT STOP WRITING YOUR BOOKS ARE SUPER!!!

Hi,Im called Anna-may Martin.Im a home-schooler and live in Australia.Im 12 years old.I read Mandie and the "Charleston Phantom" not to long ago.And I really enjoyed the book.It starts off with Mandie and her friend fighting.Whilst her stay at Charleston strange things start to happen.And Tommy's odd sister is spoiling her time with storie's and the strange way She is acting.Also,the fight with Joe at the start of the book nag's her.The truth comes out at the end of the book and the fight that Mandie has with Joe end's up fine.I reccomand this super book to any Mandie fan,keep it up Lois!!!

In book #7,Mandie Shaw is going to Charleston to visit her friend Tommy Patton from school along wth her mother and stepfather.At the begining of the book her friend Joe is jealous and they get into a huge fight.Even though Mandie is still mad at Joe,she still goes to Charleston.When Mandie goes to Charleston,her and Tommy see a 'phantom'on the beach.Mandie is determined to find out who the'phantom'really is.
I really enjoyed this book alot.I think that everyone should read the Maandie books!

I don't think I can describe what this book did for me twenty years ago. At an age when I didn't have any clue who I was in this world, let alone what drove me to be passionate, I was given this book in the library by a wonderful teacher and was immediately hooked. Not only did I realize my love to read (and be involved in what I was reading), this amazing love for books, but I realized my love of words. I had never known, to that point, that just mere words put together in sentences could bring about the same emotion as everyday life. I remember crying when Colin was abandoned! I remember running in to my mother and telling her all about it - sobbing! I knew then, at twelve, that I wanted to be a writer. I, too, wanted to really invoke in someone the love of books. Today I am an up and coming childrens book author, something I've worked hard for over the last twenty years and I attribute my realized and fulfilled dream to this book.

After reading this, I had my son read it, and my friend's daughter read it. I think all teenagers should read this book.

I first read this book when I was ten years old. It was my introduction to the fastasy genre, as up until then, I'd read primarily The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High.

At the time, I thought Colin was whiny and annoying, but I fell in love with the world he was in. When I read it again a year later as a pre-teen, I related to his heartbreak. Again a year after that, I saw how important it was to keep trying, even when everyone else has given up and try to discourage you so that you can join in their misery.

Colin starts out as a self-centered whiny boy, learns to keep going when others say it's impossible, help those in need, when to fight back and when to run, how to love another, mend a broken heart, and keep sight of a goal. Each group of people that Colin runs into faces a different challenge emotionally... and he grows up as a result.

I loved this book as a child, teen, adult, and now as a parent who recently introduced it to my own nine year old. He loved it for the same reasons I did and insisted that we buy a copy for his school library.

"Everybody should read this one Mom, not just the kids who are already readers."

When I first read this at age sixteen it instantly became one of my favorite books of all time. Being young and dumb I didn't realize the incredible depth of the book and even thought the plot was poorly structured, yet I felt there were hidden meanings in it and it facinated me more than any other book I owned. As I age I find greater and deeper meaning in it any read it at least twice a year. I hope it goes back into print someday so other people can enjoy it :)

Like other reviewers, I also read this book for the first time at the age of about ten or eleven, and since then have read it six or seven times. I'm not sure if it's the adventure story aspect of the book or the allegory that keeps me coming back to re-read it year after year. Now 26, I still find something new in the book every time I read it (significance of the color of the fruit?). I doubt that any book that I've read (and I've read many) has stayed with me and given me as much insight as this simple children's book.

Very, very highly recommended for all ages, especially pre-teens and teens. If the prices being asked here are too high, check public libraries in your area.

Meru Puri Vol. 2 is a great shojo manga. If you like romantic comedies then this manga is worth owning. Hino Matsuri did a great job. Buy it, seriously. You don't know what you are missing.

Take a school and a magical world, a fifteen-years-old girl who searches for true love, a bratty but cute little prince, connect them with a star-shaped mirror, add some idiot brother, a lot of misteries and - above all - love... and you'll have a very fresh and funny manga, definitely worth reading!
Plus, Matsuri-sensei's style is gorgeous, rich and sensual at the same time, so you won't be disappointed.
The icing on the cake is Viz's edition: best image editing, lettering, paper quality, image-printing.
I'm very happy with this item <3

Let me start off by saying that "MeruPuri" is one of the best manga I have ever read. I read the first volume at Borders several months ago and loved it, but I did not want to start buying a new series. Recently though, I found out that it was only four volumes long, so I immediately went out and bought it. And I'm really glad I did.

"MeruPuri" is a story about a girl named Airi who dreams of finding her soul mate and living a simple life with him, raising a family and appreciating the simple things in life. Things are going well, and Airi has found a boy named Nakaoji whom she thinks would be a perfect match for her. But things are about to change. One day, much to her chagrin, Airi's plans are disrupted when a little boy named Aram, who claims to be from the magical kingdom of Astale, appears from her heirloom mirror. He is rude and a little annoying, but cute, and he and Airi quickly become friends. The next day, Airi is shocked to find that a spell has transformed Aram into a handsome young man, and worse, he says that she is his "favorite", and only her kiss can return him to his original self. And it just gets better from there.

I absolutely fell in love with this series, mostly because of the characters and their relationships. Airi is a well-balanced heroine. She is not too whiny or perfect or unbelievably strong like the girls in a lot of the manga I read. I can easily relate to her. And you can't help but love Aram. He's a prince in every way, courageous and fair, but he's still acts childish. The romance between Airi and Aram is really sweet, it really has me hooked. The supporting characters all have personalities of their own and contribute to the story well.

This is also a pretty funny manga, especially when Aram looks like a teenager but acts like a child. Airi too, is humorous in her obsessive quest to find the perfect man.

The art is beautiful, and the story is very interesting and creative. I love all the fantasy elements. It's a bit of a cliched subject, but Matsuri uses original and fresh concepts.

I cannot reccommend "MeruPuri" strongly enough. Everything about it is absolutely wonderful. But don't take my word for it, read it for yourself! You won't be disappointed!

Tired of manga where guys are surrounded by hot girls who are all in love with him, a la Tenchi Muyo, Love Hina or Ranma 1/2? Try a manga where a girl is surrounded by a bunch of hot guys who love her. Toss in some magic, mirrors, and mayhem, and you have something of an idea of what MeruPuri is like.

Airi Hoshina searches tirelessly for the perfect man. She wants a family life just like the ones in her favorite soap operas. One day, whlie checking her appearance in her antique mirror, a boy climbs out of it. A cute little boy, too. He tells her his name is Aram and that he is a prince. Airi decides to take care of him because he has no place to go, but imagine her surprise when she finds out that he turns into a gorgeous teenager in the darkness, an appearance which can only be reverted by her kiss. This bizarre change is a side effect of a spell placed on Aram by his older brother, Jeile. After meeting Aram, Airi is constantly surrounded by...er...very NICE looking boys, like Aram, Jeile (Aram's goofy older half brother, caster of the spell), Nakaouji ( her prime suitor, the only non-magical one in the bunch), Raz (who doesn't love her but wants revenge on her over something that happened in the past), and Lei(also doesn't love her, just surrounds her because he is Aram's servant), but are any of them the perfect man she's always dreamed of?

Hino-sama's often funny, sometimes touching love/comedy/drama story is made even more appealing by her gorgeous, flowing artwork. The characters are, as a bonus, fleshed out and believeable, even though the story sometimes isn't. And, of course, the guys are all totally gorgeous.

If you like MeruPuri, try Hino-sama's other stateside published manga, Vampire Knight, which, though an entirely horse of a different color when compared to MeruPuri, is still very, very good.

I was given this 4 volume set by a 15 yro friend, I am 31. She said I would like it. AND I DO! - to the point that I wish there was an after story or even a movie. A movie off this book would be good.
Story is good; makes one want to turn the page.
Characters are good.
Illustrations are good.

I've read all of Mitali's books, and I love this portrait of Jasmine Gardner . This is a beautiful story of a wonderful change in Jazz's life, brought about by a summer trip to India.

Mitali Perkins is a wonderful writer who weaves a great story!

Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins is a mediocre teen novel. A young California girl, Jazz Gardner, leaves with her family on a summer vacation to India, during the magic monsoon season, for volunteer work. Throughout this book Jazz realizes how strong, generous, and desired she really is. This novel was not the best I've ever read. The author did not do a very good job of explaining the characters. I felt the characters made me bored and they rarely expressed, or showed any emotions. In Monsoon Summer there was not an exhilirating climax, nor a great ending. The plot of this teen novel did not capture my interests. I felt the need to stop reading the book after several chapters, but I don't like to abandon a book halfway through it. Monsoon Summer did not meet my expectations of a wonderful book.

I thought this book was great! It was fresh and fun and had a good message to it. It wasn't overly " I'm going to be a sanit.' feel to it. I have read it 3 times and it never gets old. It has enough emtion in it to make it a non-shallow book. I would reccomend this to anyone!

I absolutely loved this book. Monsoon Summer is the story of 15-year-old Jasmine Carol Gardner, known as Jazz. Jazz is the product of her bulky, introverted white father and her petite, activist Indian-born mother. Genetically, and by her choices, Jazz takes mostly after her father, while her younger brother, Eric, resembles their mother. Their family is very close, however, with a strong sense of mutual loyalty. Thus when Jazz's mother wins a grant to go set up a clinic for pregnant women at the orphanage in India where she lived as a child, the whole family leaves California to go along for the summer.

Jazz is quite reluctant to go to India, however, mostly because of her newly-discovered, and undisclosed, love for her best friend, Steve. Jazz and Steve run a thriving business giving Berkeley tourists postcards of themselves in front of local landmarks and nostalgic activist signs. Jazz is worried about leaving Steve to run the business by himself, and even more worried about leaving him to the mercies of other girls from school. She can't imagine actually telling Steve how she feels, because she considers him so much more attractive and popular than herself, and she is sure that he would never be interested in her in that way. Still, she hates to leave him.

Most of the story takes place in the city of Pune, India, during the monsoon season, which many believe is a magical time. Jazz is at first quite resistant to the pull of India, and to the needs of the people around her. This is mostly due to her own self-doubt (and a little bit because of her obsession with Steve). The memory of a failed experiment in helping someone else, one in which her trust was betrayed, keeps her from wanting to get involved. But gradually, the monsoons work their magic on her, and she finds her over-protected heart expanding, as she becomes more brave and confident.

I think that Jazz's self-doubt and complete inability to think of herself as beautiful will resonate with anyone who is, or ever has been, a teenager. This authenticity makes Jazz's gradual transformation an inspiration. I think that this book could help teens to see themselves in a new light.

Jazz and her father both also evolve through the book from being fairly hands-off to being people who take an active part in helping others. Without being preachy about it, Monsoon Summer makes the reader want to get more involved, too. I'm not quite sure how Mitali Perkins manages that feat. I'm personally quite resistant to books that feel like they're promoting some larger agenda. I think that it works in this case because Perkins shows us how Jazz and her father react to a specific situation, rather than simply telling us that we should act in some particular way. All I know is that I cried at the end (in a good way).

I also liked the long-distance relationship between Jazz and Steve, sweet at times, realistically snippy at others. The descriptions of India, as seen through the eyes of someone raised in America, are eye-opening, without being overwhelming. And I liked the way that the author resists the temptation to wrap up every detail, leaving at least one issue unresolved. All in all, I enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it for teen readers. I also think that adults, especially those who are feeling a bit jaded about life, will find it a refreshing treat.

This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on September 2, 2006.