Moon Over Tokyo

By: Siri L. Mitchell

Far from home, Allie prays for a friend who speaks English.
She didn't expect to fall in love too...

291 pages

Summary: Allie O'Connor went to Japan to find herself. And, possibly, write a book along the way. 

     Now, two years later, her best friend is moving away. Allie still feels like a foreigner. Discouraged, she prays for a friend. Just someone who would understand what she's going through. She certainly didn't expect Erik Larsen! 

      Erik and Allie went to high school together. They were opposites then, Erik being popular and Allie being a more behind-the-scenes good girl. Of course, Allie is sure they are still opposites. After several chance meetings between them, however, a friendship forms, possibly something more. Can Allie open her heart to something unexpected?

Reaction: This was a good book. It had a combination of themes, but it was still fairly easy to read. I also liked the fact that she talked lots about the culture in Japan, including a reference in the back for some words. However, it was a little generic in the story line, not anything huge to make it stand out from other books like it. I still enjoyed it though. 

Rating: 8/10


                      Check back soon!
                            ~Marie 

Schooled

by: Gordon Korman
224 pages
Summary: Capricorn (Cap) Anderson, has been home schooled by his hippie grandmother at Garland Farms. He's never watched television, eaten a pizza, or heard of a wedgie. But when is grandmother, Rain, falls out of a tree, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor, Mrs. Donelly and her daughter Sophie-who hates Cap. Cap now has to attend middle school where she works. 
      Now that he's attending "Claverage" Middle School, Cap finds out that he stands out-a lot. Maybe it's because he's never cut his hair, or that he's completely honest. Just as Cap is trying to adjust to going to a regular school, he finds himself elected for president, even though he didn't want to be, or even put himself up to run. But now Cap's got another problem, the kids at school now want Cap to do all these things he doesn't know how to do. And eventually Rain has to get out of rehab...


My Reaction: I liked this book, it's good for kids that have-or had-transferred schools. I liked how Cap always stayed true himself, even though he's tormented by the other kids at school. I also liked how Korman told the story in other characters perspectives, too. One thing I didn't like was how everyone seemed to be changing their minds a lot. But all in all, it was a good book. 


My Rating: 8/10


  
                                        Read On, 


                                                       ~Chantel*

What A Girl Wants

By Kristin Billerbeck
352 pages

Summary: Ashley Stockingdale is a patent lawyer in Silicon Valley. While she has great taste in things like designer bags and shoes, she seems to have hit a new low on the dating scene. Ashley's been single for a while now and struggles to get through to the nerdy engineer types Silicon Valley was made up of. 
              After several very awkward outings with her church's singles group, Ashley is convinced that while some are only 'single for a season', she was 'single for a reason', and maybe there was no hope for her at all. 
             Then she meets and starts dating Kevin, the ex of a girl she works with. Things are going great....then she finds out that Kevin isn't a Christian, and discovers that maybe they weren't so alike after all. And, just maybe, what she'd been looking for had been right in front of her the whole time?


Reaction: I think Kristin Billerbeck is a great author. Her books aren't trashy, and she has a good sense of humor. You can't help but feel sorry for Ashley, and possibly laugh at some of her experiences along the way. It can be a little slow at some parts, but overall a great book.


Rating: 9/10


                                             Love Always!
                                                ~Marie (:

Finally

by: Wendy Mass (11 birthdays #2)
304 (hardback) pages

Summary: Rory Swenson is finally about to be 12. Which means her over-protective will let her get a phone, drink coffee, shave her legs, and a whole bunch of other things she's been dying to do-she even has a list. Rory decides that she wants to stand out a little more, and get rid of her "baby" image. When she finds out that uber-cute star Jake Harrison is going to be filming a movie at her school, she and her friends decide to try out as extras. 
   
                   As Rory flips and flops through one wish to another, she also tries to make a new image. But when some of her wishes go wrong, Rory's new image doesn't do so well. Maybe being old Rory wasn't so bad after all...


My Reaction: This book was pretty good. I hate to say this, but I liked the first one better. I mean what are the possibilities of a movie being filmed at your school. Also Rory's parents were seriously strict, and Rory's list was a little to greedy. Another thing I wished Mass did was focus on Amanda and Leo more, but I was glad they were in the book.   This book will definitely appeal to 11 year olds and people who feel they deserve more freedom. If you feel like that, Finally is definitely the book for you. 


My Rating: 7/10


                                                Reading As Usual,


                                                                           ~Chantel<3

11 Birthdays

by: Wendy Mass (11 birthdays book #1)
276 pages

Summary: On the day Amanda and Leo were born, a mysterious woman with a birthmark shaped like a duck told their parents that the two newborns would grow up and be best friends and always celebrate their birthdays together. Coincidentally both of their parents booked the same location for their kid's first birthday, there Amanda and Leo took to each other so much that celebrating their birthday together became a tradition. 

                   Now ten years later, Amanda is dreading her eleventh birthday party, it'll be the first she will spend without her ex-friend, Leo. She hasn't spoken to him in a year-exactly. Ever since she heard him say all those bad things about her at their last birthday party. What's worse is that she's hearing rumors about Leo's incredible party and all the things that he's going to have there-a hypnotist, a band, and a real live football player-while Amanda's stuck with a costume party that her mom came up with.

            
        Then the day arrives, and it's not how Amanda wanted it to go. After a horrible day at school, her party is a total bomb. Now that her party's over, she feels relief that her birthday is finally over. Except that isn't it. The next day is her birthday again, and again, and again. But Amanda's main question is she the only one stuck in this terrible loop?

My Reaction: This book is more geared towards tweens, but the characters in this book seem mature enough to be 13ish.  It's a book that tells people to make their own decisions, not what makes them popular. It's a great book about friendship. Some characters in here were very annoying, but I think that's good, because people in real life tend to be annoying. 

My Rating: 8/10

                                       Keep on Reading,

                                                              ~Chantel!

The Clique Summer Collection: Dylan

by: Lisi Harrison
144 pages
Summary: Dylan is ready for the summer of her life, as she and her mother, Merri-Lee Marvil (TV host of The Daily Grind) pack up their bags and head off to Honolulu, Hawaii in time for the Aloha Tennis Open. While her mom spends the trip interviewing the famous teen  tennis player, Svetlana Slootskyia, Dylan works on becoming the "new her": fabulous, thin, and crush-worthy.
            

           Lucky for her, Dylan manages to find a hot tennis-crazy, cutie. There's only two problems. One, Svetlana seems to be after him as well. And two Dylan has to get off the massage table, and actually learn how to play tennis. Then Dylan realizes the the grouchy-moody Svetlana holds the key to Dylan's summer fling. If only Dylan can get Svetlana to teach her how ti play tennis like a pro. Thank goodness she has a few tricks that even Massie would be surprised to see, but will Svetlana keep her promise? And more important, will Dylan get her summer romance? 


My Reaction: One thing I liked about this book was that you actually get to find out about Dylan, you never actually get to know her very well in the regular series. Another thing was that in most summer romances the girl and guy like each other from the start, and eventually get together. In this there's a twist for Dylan to get her summer romance, and she might get him. Also this book is light, short, and absolutely a summer-read. I definitely liked this one better than the first one, even though it wasn't my favorite and it wasn't perfect. There were some attitude issues, that were a little high maintenance for me.


My Rating: 7/10




                                    Find Summer Books and Read,


                                                                                  ~Chantel :)(:

Trading Faces

By: Julia DeVillers & Jennifer Roy
304 pages

Summary: This book is about two sisters, Payton and Emma. They're twins, just starting out at a new middle school. They've been pretty sheltered all along, so this is an exciting new start for both of them... until they find out: they are separated! Neither of them have any classes together.


          This especially scares super-smart but shy Emma. Up until that point, she had always had fashion-forward, popular Payton to back her up and give her advice. But, when a hilarious incident causes Payton to have a mini-meltdown, Emma rushes in and offers to take Payton's place, just for a day, since she was always the calm one. Because no one can tell them apart, it just may work. 


           Many unusual and awkward events follow, and Emma and Payton learn from literally, spending a day in the other person's shoes. (Unfortunately for Emma, that means Payton's high heels!!)


Reaction: I know, I know... twins trading places sounds so generic. But this book had me laughing the entire time. It was told from both girls' points of view. Trading Faces was definitely a worthwhile book, even just because it was so funny. It also gave a good look into the everyday life of a teenager. 


Rating: 10/10


                                Always Reading,
                                 ~Marie (:

PS- Check out these sites about the authors!
         http://www.jenniferroy.com/kidsteens.html
               http://web.mac.com/juliagirlwise/Site/Welcome.html

Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies

 by: Erin Dionne
256 pages
Summary: Celeste Harris has enough problems in the seventh grade, with being a little chubby and having a friends stealing bully, but now that THIS: her aunt entered her in a plus-size modeling pageant(the miss HuskyPeach.)
                       Celeste is determined to get out of it, and thinks up a plan so she can get out of it. She'll get rid of her chocolate cookie obsession, shed off the weight, and slink right out of the competition, little does she know what's coming next. In a book about dealing with friends, being who you are, and most importantly accepting the yourself, Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies is a real page turner. 

My Reaction: I loved this book, it's funny,sad, and has a lot of heartfelt character. By the end of the book, I feel better about myself, and didn't really care what people think of me-as much. You think you can predict what's coming next, but sometimes your wrong...

Rating: 9/10

                                               Reading as Usual,                                                                               ~Chantel <3