TeenLit Book Reviews

Garden Of Angels is a touching and inspiring story about the Quinlin family. The story is set in 1974 in the small town of Conners, Georgia. It is a time when the United States was engaged in the Vietnam War and when few people knew and talked openly about breast cancer. The story is told from the point of view of Darcy, a straight A high school freshman who is not as popular or as pretty as her older sister, but is a very endearing character due to her strength, wisdom and courage. As the story unfolds, Darcy’s mom is diagnosed with breast cancer. While the Quinlin family struggles to accept this sad news, Darcy also struggles with the powerful feelings she has for Jason, the new boy in school. Amidst all the conflict in her life, she finds solace in her mother’s beautiful garden. Garden Of Angels has touched me so deeply that I was literally teary-eyed while reading the book. It has brought back memories from my own life, back to the time when my sister-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and I was one of the people who helped care for her. The story affirms the fact that regardless of time, setting or race, the emotional effects of cancer to the person diagnosed with it, as well as to the people who surrounds her, is basically the same. The pain of witnessing the one you love suffer, the emotional struggle, the hardship of letting go and finding the courage to move on is so skillfully and realistically portrayed in the story. If you like to read a story about the strength of a family, the beautiful relationship between mother and daughter, the ravages of war, falling in love for the first time and an unwavering faith in God, then Garden Of Angels is the book for you. Author Lurlene McDaniel really is a profound writer. I look forward to reading more of her work. I would rate this book a 4. I recommend it for any young adults or older.

I read the fiction novel Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Danica Shardae is the heir to the avian throne, the Tuuli Thea is the title she will inherit soon. Her guards tell her that she must be careful, as the only remaining heir, and that the serpiente, the culture her people have been at war with for longer than anyone can remember, are evil. No one can remember why they are fighting, how the war was started, or even what peace is, besides what is in songs. The only reason they are still at war, is because both cultures wont stop until someone has won, or they are just fighting to avenge all of those who were killed in the innumerable battles. After the loss of too many family members, friends, and people, Danica will do anything to stop this war, and maybe create a peace with the enemy she has never known anything other than lies an fear. Zane Cobriana is the heir to the serpiente throne, Diente is the title he will inherit when he chooses his mate. He has been raised in this bloody war fare, and is just as determined as Danica to end the war, if not more so. When they are both proposed with a plan that could end this war, but what they need is for them to be able to trust each other, and therefore have their people trust each other, but is trust more than they can give? I recommend this book to both boys and girls ages eleven and up. I would rate it a 4, on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best. This book is a wonderful book that embraces what teenagers feel like, and what war can cause. All in all a wonderful book full of descriptions and emotion.

I would recommend this book to teenagers in grades 6-8, regardless of gender. Anyone who has taken an American history class will know a lot of the information that is written in this book. American Patriots is a quick read (219 pages) and is very easy to understand. I would rate it a 3 (1-4, 4 being best). This book covers the following wars: The Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, The Civil War, Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, World War I, Spanish Civil War, World War II, The Korean Conflict, Vietnam, and Operation Desert Storm. More information is written about modern wars (past 70 years), then is written for older wars. Eighty-four pages are written on Wars within the past 70 years. This is compared to 118 pages covering 150 years. One of the strong points of this book is that the author makes many personal connections involving her ancestors. Another positive aspect is that Gail Buckley tells the story of the war, and then goes back and says how the Blacks contributed to the American cause in that war. A third part of this book that I liked was that it was historically accurate. I did research on information I thought was questionable, but everything I checked was correct. The only major weakness of this book was that I knew a lot of the information on the wars from American History, and I could predict was going to happen next. In that respect this book was somewhat boring. Overall, I would suggest this book to a friend.

Demon In My View is a stereotypical science fiction novel, but it does the cliche well. This book is a 4 on a 1-4 scale, 4 being the best, and is aimed at girls aged 14 to 17. The story chronicles a week (or so) in the life of Jessica Allodola, the highly intelligent loner who also happens to be an acclaimed author, writing under the psuedonym Ash Night. Things start getting a little weird when the characters in her book show up in her town and at her school. They're vampires to boot. Jessica forages into the nightmare world of her books to discover horrifying and sometimes darkly cool things about herself and the demon world she thought was only in her head. The author, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, writes superbly and creates a story that if simple in deliverance lacks nothing in plot and suspense. This book comes highly recommended especially since the author is a teenager.

Goddess Of Yesterday, written by Caroline B. Cooney is a historical fiction book written about a young girl named Anaxandra, who, at the age of six, is taken as a hostage, and raised by her captor, King Nicander and his wife Petra. Raised as if she was their daughter, she is a happy, thriving young woman until the day the pirates came and burned her home. Orphaned, and left alone, she builds herself a shelter until king Menelaus comes and takes her with him. Assuming the identity of a princess, she is safe, until she meets Helen of Sparta who knows she is not a princess. When Paris of Troy robs the city, Anaxandra poses as Helen's daughter while the real princess escapes. Now what can she do? Should she assume the identity of another in order to survive? I recommend this to all girls about the ages of twelve to sixteen, although older girls might enjoy it also. On a scale of 1-4, with 4 being the best, I would rate this book a 3. It will help to know a bit about Greek mythology when reading this to help you understand how early Greeks based their behavior on their belief in the gods. This is a wonderful story that can take you right into the life of this struggling teenaged girl, who is caught in the middle of a war. Cooney puts so much description, and character building into this book you get caught up in it and forget you are not really aboard a ship during a storm, or watching Queen Helen at a feast.

The new series, Trickster's Choice, by Tamora Pierce follows Aly, the daughter of the much loved Alanna from the Song of the Lioness series. The book follows after she is swept up by a race of people she has never known before, on an island she has only heard of in stories. When Aly goes sailing and is captured by pirates, she is sold as a slave on the Copper Isles. Bought by no one, she is given away with another slave to the Balitang family. But soon she learns that there is a reason behind her adventure. Kyprioth, the god of the sea around the Copper Isles, and a trickster, has chosen her to create the destiny of the Isles. He makes a wager with her. If she can keep the Balitang children safe for the entire summer, then he will send her home. It will be a long road, with many dangers ahead. But some times even things like friendship and love come out of the worst situations. Trickster's Choice, by Tamora Pierce, is a great story for anyone ages 13 to 17 who loves a good fantasy. I think that most readers will give it two thumbs up and won't be able to wait for the rest of the series to hit the bookstore.

Mondays Are Red by Nicola Morgan, is a fictional novel about Luke Patterson, a fourteen-year-old victim of synesthesia. After almost dying from meningitis, Luke wakes up from a coma with shifted senses- he begins associating colors with days and smells to music. He also encounters a terrifying yet intriguing monster in his head named Dreeg. Dreeg promises Luke unlimited power and a perfect girlfriend; Luke must resist these temptations in order to save his soul from complete deterioration. I found Mondays Are Red to be a captivating and slightly dark novel that highlights the versatility and endless possibilities of the English language. I rate this book a 3 (1-4, with 4 being the best). Nicola Morgan uses endless adjectives and descriptions to accurately depict the mind of someone with synesthesia and describe how the disease's curious powers affect somebody's creativity. Her writing is strongly related to poetry and the imagery she uses is wonderfully detailed. The only criticism I have is that the plot tends to be somewhat far-fetched and unrealistic. I recommend this book for middle-school students because it is not challenging to read and sparks creativity.