Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It all started with a lawn mower, and thus was born an economic empire.
When his birthday rolls around, our unsuspecting entrepreneur’s grandma shows up with his present. Instead of money for his birthday, which would've come in handy, she gives him this old lawn mower that used to belong to his grandfather.
So he starts mowing neighbors' lawns to solve his money problems.
This short and hilarious tale pitches an ordinary kid with an old riding lawn mower into a dizzying ascent up the financial ladder.

As his business becomes more complex, the reader is entertained with quick lessons in, to quote some of the chapter heads, Capital Growth Coupled with the Principles of Product Expansion and Force of Arms and Its Application to Business, the young tycoon ends up smarter than when he started out, and worth half a million dollars.

When it comes to telling funny stories, no one surpasses Paulsen, and here he is in top form; plus you get a primer on economic policies.




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Divergent by Veronica Roth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


If you liked Hunger Games, you will like this trilogy.



In this world there are 5 factions each of which believes the opposite of their lifestyle is the root of evil.  Life within each faction is rules by its beliefs and loyalties. You have Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless, Amity and Erudite.

When Tris leaves her Abnegation family to become one of the wild, fearless Dauntless, she must learn a new lifestyle.  But she begins to see truths in each factions’ beliefs. She also discovers that she is actually a Divergent, with the strengths of multiple factions, and is therefore a target of dangerously controlling leaders and see by these leaders as a threat.

This is a very fast-paced novel and not for the faint-hearted.  There are so many twists and turns that you are kept on the edge of your seat waiting for the next jolt.





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Flip by Martyn Bedford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Have you ever woken up in the morning and not known where you were – you have to take a couple of seconds to figure out where you are? Well what if you woke up and you didn’t recognize the body you were in?

Alex Gray opens his eyes to a bedroom he’s never seen before in his life. It’s not his room and he is wearing strange pajamas; Alex walks through a house he’s never seen, into a kitchen that’s filled with the smell of croissants (which Alex really dislikes), a girl dressed all in black with purple hair, named Teri, and a tall, lean Mom who looks like a ‘cross between a human and a giraffe.’

And thus begins Alex’s discovery of his new life, what has happened to his old life, and his battle to get home.

This novel offers as many thrills and chills as it does humor, love, and an in-depth look at the psychological toll change brings and the deep seated desire to survive.


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D.Gray-Man: Opening, Vol. 1 by Katsura Hoshino
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A student recommended this series. I found it quite enjoyable. Easy enough to understand (sometimes manga story lines escape me - perhaps I'm getting too old. The concept leaves plenty of room and opportunity for plenty of episodes. I did not waste my time reading this :)

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The Big Book of How to Say It by Rosalie Maggio

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Every house should have this, it is a huge resource. Even in this age of emails and twitters, you still have to be able to write a note, a letter, a complaint, advice and references. This book tells you how. Whether you are at school and as student council secretary have to write letters, or you are working and have to deal with customers or suppliers, if you are a teacher and have to write a reference - this book tells you how.



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Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Samuel knew the forest, he loved it; he was at home in it. His skill at hunting meant that he was responsible for providing meat for nearly the whole Pennsylvania frontier settlement where he and his parents lived. That day he was hunting, deep in the forest, when it happened.

Smoke across the tops of the trees.

It couldn't be a forest fire. It hadn't been dry enough. Could it be coming from the settlement? No, he rejected the idea. For that would mean only one thing, an attack. Samuel turned and started running. He caught the smell of blood before he could see the settlement.

There had been an attack on his settlement, an attack on his home, and he hadn't been there to help. All the cabins had been burnt to the ground. Most of the settlers were dead, killed by tomahawks and arrows, and many had been scalped. It was clear from their tracks that the Indians had been lead by men on horses – soldiers, Red Coats.

But Samuel didn’t find his parents' bodies. For some reason, they had been taken captive.

Samuel swore he would get them back, but how much can a 13-year-old do?





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The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Do you ever look at the missing children pictured on your milk cartons or in the newspapers? Janie did – and she saw herself.
Janie Johnson is a normal fifteen year old, red-headed girl. She is an only child and comes from an ideal family with a respected mom and dad. She is learning to drive, has a best friend, and she even has a crush. Janie and her friends always look at the missing people on the back of their milk cartons at lunch for entertainment, but one day it was Janie's picture. Was this a joke; was it really her? She knows her face and is shocked by the picture, only, the name is not hers. Jennie Spring, three years old, is what the milk carton said. Could it be true, did her parents really kidnap her? Was her family out there still wondering what happened to their little girl? Maybe she’s not an only child; were there other awkward looking red-heads like her? Is this why her parents don't have any baby pictures of her up on the walls? What’s real and what’s not?




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