Falling For Romeo by Jennifer Laurens


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Nice chic lit. John and Jennifer have been next door neighbors since they were young. Despite being inseperable when they were younger, they've grown apart during junior high. It has always been somewhat of a race to the top, or a "whose better" competition for them. Everybody thinks John's perfect and when he decides to go out for the school play, which has always been Jennifer's forte, and gets the lead which makes Jennifer furious. Not only that, but they have to play Romeo and Juliet and actually kiss in the play! Jennifer and John deal with pride, jealousy and the tension between each other. Not to give too much away, I will stop there. How do they survive the drama production? Read on... yourself.


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Blue Ice and Other Stories from the Rink by Frank Ewert


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is a slim collection of 6 short stories based on ice hockey. Great for middle school readers or higher and for the English student interested in writing (you can see the structure of story writing). You don't have to know much about hockey to enjoy the stories.

I'm not a huge hockey fan hence the low rating.


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Hate List by Jennifer Brown


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a must read! A cautionary tale of mis- and non- communications. Do we really know others completely, or can they surprise us? Partially for fun as well as out of anger, Val creates a hate list of things and people she hates at school. Her boyfriend, Nick, joins in and it becomes their working manuscript...... until Nick starts shooting those on the list.

How does Val react? How do the students and community deal with the trauma?

For those popular students and those on the periphery this novel indicates what can happen through bullying, ignorance, superiority etc. A thought provoking story. Val survives; the story is rooted in her inner strength and willingness to search for answers within herself - others are not so lucky. The one 'far-fetched' aspect is the introduction of Bea - just a little too fairy taleish in an otherwise realistic haunting novel.


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The Hunter's Moon by O.R. Melling

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I am overdosed on fairy - vampire - magic books. If I had read this 6 -12 months earlier I may have given it more stars. Now, being Irish I genuinely enjoyed the banter and collquialisms throughout the novel and pictured the geographical sites as they were expertly described. The story was interesting and woven with finesse. A good read for those of you who delight in faerie stories and like to escape from reality. I'm just ready for a bit of realism now.


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Is It Still Cheating if I don't Get Caught? by Bruce Weinstein

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Weinstein offers some guidance on ethics in this easy to read and practical guide. At the start of the book, he outlines five "life principles," then gives senarios, which many teens will be able to relate to, "what would you do" options and then an explanation of how you should behaveand how the principles will lead to ethical decisions. The hypothetical situations cover school issues, sports, friends, and dating to Internet use and drugs. His advice repeatedly refers back to the life principles,Do No Harm, Make Things Better, Respect Others, Be Fair, Be Loving.

I think I will use some of these with my 7th graders with regard to cheating, plagiarism, and bullying.


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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place. Thrown into a harsh landscape with little resources, each contestant fights to stay alive as the cameras track their every move for the entertainment of the crowds back home. No one expects the scrawny girl from the poorest District to last very long. I can't wait for the next installment.


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Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Told in alternating narratives, Perfect Chemistry portrays a romance between two unlikely lab partners. Brittany is her Chicago high school's "golden girl" but few of her friends know that her parents are totally dysfunctional and that she is highly invested in caring for her physically and mentally disabled older sister. Alex is a member of the Latino Blood, but he wishes he could leave gang life and pursue a college career. The plot thickens as Alex accepts a bet from a friend that he cannot hook up with Brittany by Thanksgiving. Smoldering doesn't quite do justice to the romantic banter that sparks between them.


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