REVIEW: Freedom Writers reviewed by Kaylyn P.

I love reading stories that make me want to cry and the book Freedom Writers did that for me. Reading journal entries about true events and about what some teenagers go through is interesting to me. I first saw the movie and that got me interested in the book. As soon as I started reading the book, I couldn't put it down. I felt so bad for the teenagers that had to go through all the gang fightingand seeing their friends die for their own culture. I loved this book because it shows how real teenagers go through their daily life and how it's a struggle and that one teacher didn't care what culture they came from, she just wanted to help the students. I recommend this book to everyone beacuse as soon as you start reading, you'll be hooked.

This book tugs on every emotion because of the accurate information it holds. Everyone should read this book because it relates to everyone in this world about not judging others and know that every culture and race are equal.

REVIEW: Heart of a Champion reviewed by Corey A.

This book is a very exciting, but yet depressing at some points. It is about a boy named Seth Barham who lost his father at the age of eight years old. He meets a boy named Jimmy Winter who is a baseball fanatic. They go through many days of practicing baseball at Redwood Park and eventually make it to high school. Throughout high school they face many obstacles dealing with family, alcohol, and choices.

REVIEW: Graceling

Gracelings are people who are born with two different colored eyes and have some sort of special talent that is above and beyond everyone else. Talents can range from being an expert swimmer to being an expert chef. Those that have useful talents, such as being a swordsman, typically become members of their king's court and are used by the king.

Katsa is a Graceling and niece to King Randa of the Middluns. Her grace is that she is a deadly killer - she can kill anyone or any group of people single handedly. King Randa has made her his thug, sending her out to collect debts and punish those who have wronged him. Katsa is ashamed of her grace, her job, and the fact that people are visibly afraid of her. In order to right some of her wrongs, Katsa, with her cousin Raffin, form a Council to secretly help people.

While on a mission, Katsa has a run in with another Graceling who appears to have her same grace, although her grace seems to be stronger than his. Eventually this mystery Graceling finds his way into her life, and they embark on quest to find out what happened to his grandfather, and what's going on with his aunt.

I LOVED this book. Not something that I would've chosen to read on my own, but all of the reviews were so great that I decided to give it a try. I couldn't put it down. There's a prequel/companion book called Fire that I haven't read, and there's going to be a sequel focusing on another character too. I'm excited about both. I recommend this book to anyone interested in romance, fantasy, and/or adventure books.

REVIEW: Shiver

Shiver is a book I loved... until the end. I won't tell you what happens, but let's just say there are some unanswered questions. There is going to be a sequel, which I hope and pray clarifies the ending, but we shall see.

Grace is a normal, high school girl who happens to be fascinated by the wolves that occupy the woods behind her house. There is one wolf in particular that she is drawn to, and he is the wolf that saved her when she was attacked by the other wolves when she was young.

Sam is a normal, high school aged guy who happens to be part human, part wolf. When the weather turns cold, Sam turns into a wolf... Grace's wolf.

Once Sam and Grace meet in person, they find they have mutual feelings for each other, but those feelings are compromised by the fact that the next time Sam changes into a wolf, he won't ever change back.

This complicated love story is very intriguing. Once again, I find that I'm not doing the story justice, and once again, I'll say that this isn't typically a book that I would pick up and be interested in, accept that a student recommended it. However, once I started reading it, I was completely captivated until the very end. I can only hope that the sequel is equally as good and will answer the remaining questions that I have. This is definitely a book I'd recommend.