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here's what teens THINK about books they've read,
movies they've seen or CDs they've listened to

I want to do this too!

Do these books sound good? Check the Library Catalog, place a hold, and see for yourself!

Reviews are published in your own words but some spelling may be corrected. Reviews may be edited for length.

See more: Page 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
Reviews of the Harry Potter books

 

Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
By: Ann Brashares
YA Fic

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants graduates from high school and spends their last summer before college learning about life and themselves.

 

Thumbs upOnce again, every sister has their problems. Lena tries to get into art school, but her family doesn't support her. Tibby wants just to be friends with Brian but doesn't know how to handle it. Carmen watches Lena's cranky grandma, meets Win, along with her mom going to have a baby! Finally, Bridget goes off to coach a soccer camp and meets someone who once again flips her life around. It's a great and wonderful book. You should read the whole series!
Annie R., age 11

 

Thumbs upIt continues the story better, the same girls, same personalities. But at the same time getting older, more mature. Heartbreaks, boyfriends, love - the whole package and all the girls are strong friends. I love this series.
Rebekah F., age 13

 

Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood
By: Ann Brashares
YA Fic

As their lives take them in different directions, Lena, Tibby, Carmen, and Bridget discover many more things about themselves and the importance of their relationship with each other.

 

Thumbs upThis book is the last of the series. They are all at different colleges and they have only the pants to stay together. This is a wonderful book because it really shows strong friendship. Read the book to see what else happens!
Annie R., age 11

 

 

The Secret of the Old Clock  (Nancy Drew mystery stories, #1)
By: Carolyn Keene
Juv Fic M

Nancy, unaided, seeks to find a missing will, and the search not only tests her keen mind but also leads her into a thrilling adventure.


Thumbs up
This is the first Nancy Drew book. It is very cheesy but equally charming. The story is about Nancy Drew solving the mystery of a missing will and trying to get the money to more deserving relatives. I would recommend this book to people who love cheesy mysteries with '30s charm.
Emma V., age: 12

 

 

Down the Rabbit Hole
By: Peter Abrahams
Juv Fic M

Like her idol Sherlock Holmes, eighth grader Ingrid Levin-Hill uses her intellect to solve a murder case in her home town of Echo Falls.


Thumbs up
It talks about a girl by the name of Ingrid who went walking to the soccer field but got lost and met Cracked-Up-Katie and she helped solve her death killer.
Shelby S., age 12

 

 

 

Stormbreaker  (An Alex Rider adventure, #1)
By: Anthony Horowitz
YA Fic

After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.


Thumbs up
This book keeps you on the edge of your seat this whole book. It is about a 14-year-old boy named Alex who is asked to complete his uncle's mission for the MI6. There is so much action and adventure in it!
Mya P., age 12

 

 

The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie
By: Jaclyn Moriarty
YA Fic

Class brain Bindy Mackenzie has alienated her entire high school but when she realizes someone is trying to kill her, she has to make friends in order to get help.


I think any teenager can relate to it, because it is about how stress affects teenagers' lives. It is about a teenager named Bindy, who is very smart, that slowly starts slacking off on her work. The ending is so surprising!
Mya P., age: 12

 

 

The Wanderer
By: Sharon Creech
Juv Fic

Thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody record their transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer, a forty-five foot sailboat, which, along with uncles and another cousin, is en route to visit their grandfather in England.


Thumbs up
This is a great book. I could hardly put it down. Very captivating. You always want to know what will happen next. Sophie goes out on a sailboat and who knows what will happen?
Annie R., age: 11

 

 

 

Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog
By: John Grogan
636.752 G893m    

John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy. Life would never be the same. Marley grew into a barreling, ninety-seven-pound streamroller of a Labrador retriever. He crashed through screen doors, gouged through drywall, and stole women's undergarments.


Thumbs up
A wonderfully funny book about a man and his dog. Read it many times, it was so good. It will be one of the best books I've ever read.
Annie R., age: 11

 

 

 

Looking for Alaska
By: John Green
YA Fic    

Sixteen-year-old Miles' first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama includes good friends and great pranks, but is defined by the search for answers about life and death after a fatal car crash.


Thumbs up
This book started out bad (I thought), but don't give up if you decide to read it because it becomes really good in the middle and the end. The only real criticism I would have would be that there is no definite plot for this book. It is not really my kind of book, but if you like books about weird boarding school students in Alabama, this is the book for you.
Katie A., age: 14

 

 

Throwing Stones
By: Kristi Collier
YA Fic

In 1923, in Pierre, Indiana, fourteen-year-old Andy realizes a dream when he makes the high school basketball team, but when an accident keeps him from playing, he ventures into journalism and begins to understand the meaning of sportsmanship.


Thumbs up
It is a really good book for any teenager even if you don't like basketball. But it is just as good if you do like basketball. And Andy really works hard for what he wants.
Ariel T., age: 16

 

 

The Land of Elyon trilogy (#1: The Dark Hills Divide; #2: Beyond the Valley of Thorns; #3 The Tenth City)
By: Patrick Carman
Juv Fic SF

Book 1: When she finds the key to a secret passageway leading out of the walled city of Bridewell, twelve-year-old Alexa realizes her lifelong wish to explore the mysterious forests and mountains that lie beyond the wall.


Thumbs up
The first is filled with many twists and turns of a girl trying to save a city she loves. Trying to figure out who betrayed her. The second and third traveling across the lord of Elyon to help save everyone from an ancient evil.
Tiffani T., age 13

 

 

The Giver
By: Lois Lowry
Juv Fic SF

Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.


Thumbs up
It was weird how everything in the town had no color and everyone was the same. But it was cool that they had medicine for everything, even a cut. And I really liked the detailed description of how the town was run and how it looked.
Rachel O., age: 12

 

 

 

 Ruby Holler
By: Sharon Creech
Juv Fic

Thirteen-year-old fraternal twins Dallas and Florida have grown up in a terrible orphanage but their lives change forever when an eccentric but sweet older couple invites them each on an adventure, beginning in an almost magical place called Ruby Holler.


Thumbs up
I liked the part when the twins set traps so that the mean orphanage "staff" couldn't find their money. And I thought that it was cool that the twins go to live in an awesome house with a huge amount of land. I thought that it was a funny book.
Rachel O., age: 12

 

 

Holes
By: Louis Sachar
YA Fic

As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.


Thumbs up
This is a good book if you want a laugh. It has a good story plot, with a bit of Stanley Yelnats IV's history. Stanley is "cursed" and when he is convicted of a crime (he's innocent!), he's sent to odd Camp Green Lake, where he digs holes. What else can he do with his odd roommates but try to figure out why he's really digging holes!
Annie R., age: 11

 

 

The Vanishings  (Left Behind: The Kids, #1)
By: Christine Harris
YA Fic  

After the Rapture, Judd Thompson, Vicki Byrne, Lionel Washington, and Ryan Daley find their way to the New Hope Community Church, where they meet Bruce Barnes, who enlightens them as to the significance of the event.


Thumbs up
I liked that it was a good Christian book. It was sad but full of surprises and excitement. I recommend this book to all teens, because it's scary!
Rebekah T., age: 12

See more: Page 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
Reviews of the Harry Potter books

Reviews are published in your own words but some spelling may be corrected. Reviews may be edited for length.

8/13/07
Duluth Public Library, 520 W. Superior St., Duluth, MN 55802

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