Evernight by Claudia Gray

Evernight Academy is a peculiar place, but the longer Bianca is there the more peculiar it becomes. Everyone at Evernight seems entirely too perfect, including Bianca's new room mate, Patrice and her circle of friends. The only bright spot in Bianca's day is Lucas

he doesn't seem the Evernight type at all. The romantic tension between the two is not the only thing Bianca needs to be concerned with the secrets that both she and Lucas are keeping could cause some serious problems. I'm really not a Vampire-y type of girl, not really into the super natural, but I really enjoyed Evernight. I hooked me right from the beginning. The whole scene of how Bianca and Lucas meet made me giggle with school-girl-crush-excitment! I would recommend this to most of my middle school aged students, it has issues they deal with on a daily basis (in addition to the vampires and such), like being the "new kid", social cliques, and fitting in. Good book and a very easy read.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Books about family relationships always seem to get to me, and this one was no different. Calpurnia Tate is the only girl in a family of seven children. With a mother who desperately wants Callie Vee to be a proper young lady, but Calpurnia has other interests...science. Callie's granddaddy is a "naturalist" who keeps mostly to himself, until Calpurnia goes to him with questions about Darwin's book The Origin of Species. From that moment on they were two peas in a pod, each teaching the other a little something everyday. The relationship between the two so reminds me of me and my gradfather. Everyone thought he was a cranky old man, but to me he hung the moon. This book left me feeling a little undecided. As I read The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate I enjoyed it, but it wasn't a book that once I put it down I was eager to pick it back up again. To me it was a little bit slow, but again, while I was reading it I did enjoy it. I could imagine suggesting this book to a very select few students, kids who maybe don't read the trendy things. If I were giving books stars, I'd give Callie Vee 3 out of 5.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Eating disorders are a huge concern in this day and age, and Laurie Halse Anderson took us deep inside the mental workings of Lia, a teen girl suffering from Anorexia. Not only is Lia dealing the her eating disorder, but she is also dealing with the typical split family, and even worse the suicide of her former best friend, Cassie, who also suffered from an eating disorder. The mental games Lia plays with herself to keep from eating, to fool her family into beleiving she has eaten, to fool everyone that she is "just fine" in dealing with Cassie's death is so mind blowing, it's unreal. I loved and hated this book all at the same time. Anderson does a fabulous job of getting us right there inside of Lia brain, so much so that I would get a headache when I read because of the disjointed thoughts. And at the exact same time there was no way I could stop reading. The point where Lia truly sees her body in the mirror...the discriptions that Anderson uses...physically made me ill. With all that being said, I would absolutely recommend this book, to a more mature 8th grader or high school student.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I firmly believe the only good reason for not reading this book is that you have honestly been living under a huge rock! This is probably the best book I've read in a really, really long time! I mean really? who comes up with this stuff? The whole idea of The Hunger Games is just preposterous, and at the same time so completely intriguing!

Imagine that every year from the ages of 12-18 you had the possiblity of being chosen to participate in a game for your life. This is the reality of life for all teens in the Panem. Each year the hunger games are played out on tv as viewers watch to see who will win, and who will never return home. What i really loved about the book was I felt like I was Katniss. I felt terrifed with every sound she heard, I was tense and nervous as she slept in the tree, I was panting and out of breathe as she ran from the fire, but I wanted to be her, I wanted to participate in the games. What an amazing adventure and a great story. I'm so glad it's not over yet.

Pirates by David L. Harrison

Pirates is a creatively written selection of poems that tells the tale of a pirate's life. From poems titles such as "Signing on a Crew", "Sail in Sight" and Blackbeard" Pirates really is an entertaining book. However, the part that really interested me was the "Here's how it was..." section at the end of the book. This is the part of the book where the author takes on the persona of a pirate and tells us all the things we think we know...but are wrong. It'd be like taking the history of pirates from Professor Blackbeard. It's really a cute touch and caught my attention right away, which means most kids will love it!

Almost Astronauts by Tanya Lee Stone

In an age when women were little more than nurses and teachers, 13 women fought to become pilots and austronauts. These women were often referred to as "astrodolls" and "astronettes". These women were given test after test and passed every single one of them, but still struggled to be accepted. Almost Astronauts is the story of these 13 women how they fought to live their dream. The way Tanya Stone weaves these women's stories together makes for an remarkable journey through a part of history we are growing farther and farther away from. This book would be great as a reference resource, but also as a good read for those science and history buffs.

Bad News for Outlaws by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves was truly bad news for outlaws. Bass escaped from slavery to the Indian territory where he worked hard and was accepted by the natives. When Judge Isaac Parker came to the territory looking for marshalls to help with control crime Bass was quickly selected and continued to serve as a Deptury U.S. Marshal for the next thirty five years. Mr. Reeves apprehended more than three thousand men and women and only killed fourteen outlaws. In a time when black men were considered property, Bass Reeves was a respected and honored man. I really enjoyed reading this biography, it could have been really long and drawn out, but Nelson hit on the important parts and told an inspiring story. I felt myself drawn into the story and wishing I had actually known Bass Reeves. If you ask me, that's what a great book is all about.