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“Kyle Kingsbury, you are beastly.”

That’s what Kendra said. Beastly. But Kyle had it all, popularity, good looks, money, and any girl he wanted. Kyle never missed an opportunity to let the inferior people know just how far beneath him they were, including his best friend, who’s dad was merely a doctor. Kyle’s dad was the nightly New York City news anchor. At Tuttle, an elite school for the richest of the rich, Kyle was a somebody.

Until the school dance. Until his stupid maid bought his girlfriend a rose instead of an orchid for her corsage, which Kyle tossed to a scholarship student. Until he deliberately set up Kendra to be embarrassed and humiliated when she realized that he, Prince of the dance, already had a date and never intended to be her escort.

Until Kendra appeared in his bedroom and he received his “comeuppance.”

“You will know what it is like not to be beautiful, to be as ugly on the outside as on the inside…”

The clock struck midnight and Kyle was left a beast, with only a magic mirror for company.

Kyle’s famous dad vows to spend whatever it takes to cure his son’s affliction. When he realizes even his money isn’t enough to find a cure, he banishes his son, with their maid and a tutor, to a New York brownstone.

Will Kyle ever be able to break the curse? Will he find true love’s kiss or be forever doomed to roam the New York City streets in the dark of night, hidden as the beast?

BEASTLY by Alex Flinn, is a modern retelling of the Beauty and the Beast. This novel is just plain fun . Ms. Flinn creates the perfect romantic tension when Kyle finds his true love and then has to let her go. Like the fragrance of the perfect rose, BEASTLY will linger with the reader, leaving the feeling that life is indeed good long after the pages of the book have been pressed closed.

This review is cross-posted here at Teens Read Too.

Rhythm is the pulse of life. Everything has rhythm. The waves in the ocean, cars buzzing down the highway, the drip of the rain after a spring shower, the pencil scraping across our paper, even our own pulse in our ears, late at night when all should be quiet.

Fin doesn’t know quiet. For her, the rhythm has become more than a beat, it’s an obsession. It’s good luck to turn a light on three times, the wrong number could be deadly. The roar of numbers in her head blocks the outside chaos. They offer comfort. Stability. She taps her seat three times. Someone touches her shoulder. She touches the opposite one. It’s about keeping life in balance.

Control is something Fin lost when her parents uttered those devastating words, “…this doesn’t mean we’re abandoning you or that we don’t love you anymore.” The D-word. Moving from a place she loves, to a place she doesn’t. Her mother copes by excessive cleaning. Fin copes by counting.

Soon, Fin’s mother has her visiting Dr. Calaban. Fin meets Thayer who is also being treated by Dr. Calaban, but for ADD. Fin discovers there’s a name for what she’s feeling, OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. She wonders if it’s hereditary as her mother rewashes the jeep Fin’s just finished washing. With the help of Thayer and Dr. Calaban, Fin rediscovers her love of something she’d lost along the way, something that will help calm the need for total constant order.

TOTAL CONSTANT ORDER is a riveting first novel by debut author Crissa-Jean Chappell (crissachappell). I was sad to end the book because I wanted to spend more time with the characters. I kept trying to slow down as I read, to linger and enjoy, but it was impossible. Each chapter drove me forward to the next and the next until the final page. The characters were fresh and real. I know you’ll enjoy them as much as I did!

This review is posted here at Teens Read Too.

The Italian Renaissance brings to mind beautiful images, paintings and sculptures, glorious and expensive brocades, string quartets in the garden, a rich texture of life indeed. But it was also a time of great strife and cruelty the likes of which we could never imagine in this day and age. Sprinkled throughout with Italian words and phrases, PRIMAVERA dips the reader into the renaissance period.

Flora, the youngest daughter of the Pazzi, strives to find beauty and normalcy in a life that is anything but. Scorned by her own mother, she lives as little more than a servant while her older sister, Domenicia, is primped, plucked, painted by the famed Botticelli, and otherwise prepared for the wedding that will join the Pazzi to the Medici.

As Flora contemplates her mother’s plan for her future, life in a convent, a member of her father’s guard arrives with a missive from the Pope himself. The guard, Emilio, hangs around and becomes the friend and companion that Flora has never had. When Emilio and Nonna, the grandmother who’s raised and protected her, convince her to train with the guard, Flora finds strength that carries her through the difficult months to come.

PRIMAVERA is a captivating read. I found myself rooting for Flora and Emilio. Ms. Beaufrand painted her characters so realistically that I felt their pain, their fear, their guilt, and yes, even their joy. True to great historical fiction, the author did not flinch when she described some of the tragedies that befell her characters. Be warned that some of the scenes are quite graphic and not for the faint of heart. Yet I hesitate to limit this book to those only 9th grade and up. If you know nothing about this time period, yet enjoy historical fiction; you will love this well-written novel. If you are a fan of the renaissance you will revel in all of the historical details Ms. Beaufrand has so expertly shown.

This review is cross-posted here at Teens Read Too. * Release date: March 1, 2008.

Cyber hop on over to Teens Read Too and check out their February contest! Teens Read Too and Simon & Schuster are teaming up to give away 30 books from S&S's Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies line!

Did you know that models practice smiling with their tongue behind their teeth to hide the dreaded black space? It’s something that Allee Rosen would never have thought of as she stuffed rolls of toilet paper into her backpack for her art project.

Allee’s headed to Yale to be an English Literature major. Yale! Or so she thought. She finds out her rocket scientist dad failed to save enough money for the prestigious school. So, for now, she’s finishing her senior year of high school, working at Wal-Mart, and trying to decide whether or not to give in to her dad and go the University of Florida to major in something sensible, like science or business. Yuck.

Her life changes the day she takes her sister, Sabrina, to the mall for a modeling agency’s talent search. Instead of signing Sabrina, aka “The Fluff”, they want Allee! The brainiac. The feminist. The total opposite of a girly-girl. Allee knows this is crazy. She doubts it’s even legit. But it’s an offer she can’t refuse. It could mean earning the extra money to get to Yale.

Following a dream-like trip to Miami to meet the owner of what turns out to be a highly respectable and sought-after agency, Allee moves into an apartment for the models. Allee finds herself struggling to believe that she’s actually pretty. Serious by nature, she fears she’ll never be able to let loose and have fun with the camera. Will she ever get a booking? How can she compete with the beautiful, intimidating, and fiercely competitive girls she’s rooming with? What the heck are chicken cutlets? And what if she makes it big? Will she choose to leave Wonderland behind and go to Yale in the fall?

BRALESS IN WONDERLAND thrusts the reader into the world of modeling. Debbie Reed Fischer zooms in to focus on the often cut throat competition between models, the necessary obsession with weight and the risks some models will take to lose just a few more pounds, the glamour, the parties, and the clothes. Oh, the clothes! If you are even the tiniest bit interested in a modeling career, I’d suggest you pick up a copy of this book. And for those of you who think you’d never consider being a model? Just remember, neither did Allee.

This review will be posted at Teens Read Too closer to the April release date.

You think Junior High is tough? Ha! It’s nothing compared to Sara Thurman’s eighth grade year! It all starts when Sara finally “becomes a woman” and – get this – her mother sends her – PERIOD flowers! On Valentine’s Day! Yeah. You heard right. Ever try to keep a secret in Junior High? Only one person knows who sent those flowers besides Sara, and that’s her best friend Arlene. You can imagine Sara’s hurt and confusion when she realizes everyone knows why she got the flowers. And it’s only lunchtime!

You’ve heard of Murphy’s Law? You know. If something can go wrong, it probably will. And it does for Sara. Things go from bad to worse. To top it off, she and Arlene have their first ever fight in front of everyone. How can she trust her best friend when Arlene’s the only one who could have betrayed her?

Luckily for Sara, she’s made a new friend. She met her that same fateful day that she received her red-tipped, white roses. Together, they vow to turn Sara’s embarrassment into a nomination for class favorite. They watch the popular girls. The read magazines and clip out pictures and articles. Soon, they have a list of things Sara must do to become popular, which Sara follows faithfully. Will the popular kids notice her? Talk to her? Will her crush, Jason, like her new look? And will she and Arlene ever be friends again?

Taylor Morris has captured the heart of an eighth grader in CLASS FAVORITE. The characters were believable, although, at times, I felt they just as easily could have been sixth or seventh graders. I feel certain that any girl who has ever wished to be part of the popular crowd will totally relate to this book. And because it made me laugh out loud more than once, I give it five stars!

This review can also be found here at Teens Read Too.

Even the title gives the reader a glimpse of the ostentatious nature of this incredible book. THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING is presented as a young adult title, which should in no way limit it only to the teen audience. Indeed, this book will be a challenge for many high school students, a challenge well worth the effort.

M. T. Anderson immediately immerses his reader in the flowery, pretentious, language spoken in the revolutionary war period, a language that requires thought and concentration for today’s reader. Once the reader is acclimated to the writing style, they are already hooked by Octavian’s story. Octavian, an African prince, was sold while yet unborn, to one Mr. Gitney, referred to as 03-01, of the Novanglian College of Lucidity. He was dressed in fine silks and fed the finest of fares. His mother was treated as the African princess she was, entertaining gentlemen, playing her harpsichord.

It was not until Octavian turned eight that he realized his life was not normal, that he was indeed one of the College’s experiments. No other human being had their intake, as well as their body’s waste, measured and recorded. Every word spoken, every situation, was a challenge to excel, an experiment to determine if the African race was capable advanced thought and skill. Not all children, especially black children, were given the opportunity for a classical education. Octavian was already an accomplished violinist. He read all the great literature, in several languages, including Greek and Latin. He understood figures, physics, and sciences of the earth. No discipline was left untouched in the quest to determine the potential of a slave to learn.

THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING is written from Octavian’s point of view. Some passages are as though written by his own hand, then scribbled through, as if Octavian, with his vast education, still could not find the proper words to convey the horrors he had lived. His life of seeming luxury changes when the college’s benefactor dies. Mr. Gitney entertains Lord Cheldethorpe in hopes that he will see fit to continue to finance the college as his uncle before him. For a time it seems that he is the solution to the College’s financial distress. Especially since he has taken an acute interest in Octavian’s mother. It is when she violently opposes his offer of her purchase, rather than a royal marriage, that Octavian and his mother experience the outrage and beatings more typical in the life of a slave. To Octavian’s great relief, Lord Cheldethorpe returns to England and a new financial supporter, Mr. Sharpe, is found.

But Mr. Sharpe changes the experiment. Now the lessons seem more designed to prove failure rather than success. When not engaged in his “lessons”, Octavian is treated as a simple slave, along with his mother. Add to this the mounting unrest of the American nation, and fear is paramount. The entire household flees Boston to Canaan, Massachusetts. It is there that the most horrific experiment takes place. Mr. Gitney throws a pox party, whereby all, white and black alike, are “inoculated” against the small pox virus in hopes that they will be immune. Instead, Octavian witnesses pain and loss at the most personal level.

At this point the reader will identify with Octavian on a primal level, and feel enormous relief when, finally, Octavian makes his escape. We read about his life as a soldier in the Patriot’s army through the letters of one of his co-patriots, one Private Evidence Goring. But it’s not until his capture, and subsequent total isolation, that the reader truly understands the complete desolation and hopelessness in the life of a slave. When M.T. Anderson places the iron mask, which he so artfully described to the reader in an earlier chapter, on Octavian, the reader feels complete revulsion and aches for Octavian to be released from this abject misery.

THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING is masterfully written and researched. It is one of the most difficult books I’ve ever read, both in vocabulary and realism. That I made it through to the end makes me feel smart, educated, humble and indeed amazed, nay fortunate, to have been given glimpse into the mind of a genius, M.T. Anderson. I’m quite confident that the readers’ desire to find out the fate of Octavian Nothing will still pulse within by the time Mr. Anderson shares Volume II with the world.

This review will be posted at Teens Read Too.

In Ms. Nimmo’s sixth book in the Charlie Bone series, a kettle of trouble is brewing. Charlie Bone and his friends once again lead the reader on a breath-taking adventure through the world of Bloor’s academy.

Charlie is appointed official monitor to a new student who can control water. Charlie is not thrilled to have Dagbert following him everywhere. It soon becomes clear that Dagbert is doing everything he can to split up Charlie and his friends. Especially when strange things begin happening on Piminy Street.

A strange beast, part human, part something else, howls in the night. Stone statues begin to move. Rivers overflow their banks without warning. Trolls come alive, and a blacksmith forges steel late into the night. Even Cook is afraid. Who are these strangers from the sea? Will Charlie and his friends be able to save Asa from the Bloors?

There is a similarity between Ms. Nimmo’s books and the famous Harry Potter series; the students go to a special school. But the similarity ends there. The books are written on an easier reading level for the younger reader. Ms. Nimmo is exceedingly imaginative in creating her characters and their endowments. I would love to see these characters on the big screen. She artfully doles out just enough morsels of the Red King’s history to satisfy, while leaving a few crumbs behind to eagerly lead the reader to her next book.

Ms. Nimmo has created another terrific page turner. I recommend that if you have read none of the Charlie Bone series, that you read them in order. But mostly…I recommend you read them.

This review will be posted at Teens Read Too.

Troy knows everyone is watching him. And laughing at him. Of course they are. At seventeen years old and almost 300 pounds, wearing what appears to be the same pair of tan pants daily, every move he makes is laughable. Will he be able to get out of the car? How many burgers will he eat? Even his effort to breathe is laughable as he huffs and puffs his way along.

He worries that he smells. You don’t understand. It’s not that he’s a pig or anything, he just has a hard time fitting in the shower.

Poised over the subway tracks, Troy contemplates whether he can find a form of suicide that will be so serious, so severe, that no one will laugh. Enter Curt. Semi-homeless, teen school dropout, legend at his high school, and uber amazing guitar player, Curt attaches himself to Tony after saving him from the tracks. He’s an itch that can’t be scratched, a tick burrowing under the skin. Before Tony realizes it, he’s agreed to buy Curt dinner and join his band as a drummer, even though he hasn’t played since seventh grade.

Who is he kidding? He can’t do this. He sees it in the eyes of his perfect kid brother, Dayle, as well as his military dad, the “disappointed dysfunctional parent”,

But with Curt’s help, Tony learns to look past himself. He finds support in unexpected places. But it’s not until Curt is hospitalized that Tony finally has the guts to really take a risk.

This is a fast-paced book. K.L.Going immerses the reader in the world of punk rock through the eyes of the fat kid who yearns to have people really look at him. She has a great sense of humor that shines with lines of comparison, like when Troy compares himself to Dayle before the big gig. Troy thinks Dayle looks like he’s “ready to win the Super Bowl, while I’m ready to heave into one”. Ms. Going does an amazing job of getting into the psyche of the fat kid. There is a fair amount of rough language, but even so, this book rocks!

This review can also be found here at Teens Read Too.

Keir is a good guy. He’s about to graduate high school and follow his older sisters to college. The reader will admire the closeness of his family; the father, a widower who has raised his three children alone; the son who adores his older sisters. Yes, Keir is a good guy.

When an opposing football player is gravely injured as a result of Keir’s perfect tackle, we believe Keir. It’s not his fault. He’s a good guy. Right?

The reader will wonder, along with Keir, if it was really possible that he’s been a part of the vandalism of a local monument. And surely Keir, a spring soccer player himself, would never have contributed to the football teams’ severe hazing of his teammates after the soccer banquet.

When his sisters aren’t able to attend his graduation, the reader empathizes with his feelings of betrayal. We understand his need to let loose on the night of his graduation and feel concern as he faces troubling choices. We feel hopeful when Gigi, the girl of his dreams leans on him when her boyfriend stands her up. Just like Keir’s sisters.

The evening becomes a kaleidoscope of emotions, which result in risky behavior, a three-hour limo ride across the state line, a visit to his college, and a night with Gigi. Keir’s a good boy. He would never commit the inexcusable…would he?

I read this book through in one sitting. It was riveting. INEXCUSABLE by Chris Lynch is a glimpse into a boy walking a blurred line into manhood. This is a must read for any young man who have ever been, or ever expects to be in love.

This review can also be found here at Teens Read Too.

THE BOOK THIEF is one of the most memorable books I’ve read in a long time. It takes place during World War II in Molching, Germany. It’s the writing, the unusual narrator (death), and the characters sketched in vivid colors that make this novel so difficult to put down.

Meet Leisel, the book thief, who’s first encounter with death occurs on a train with her mama and brother – on their way to meet her foster parents.

Meet Rosa Hubermann, Leisel’s new mama, whose rough crude exterior can’t hide the heart inside.

Meet Hans Hubermann, Leisel’s firm foundation. The man who stays up with her after her nightmares, who teaches her to read her first stolen book, who finds empathy in a slice of stale bread.

Meet Max, a Jew, the shadow in the basement, a skeleton later seen marching, or more aptly, stumbling down the road.

Meet Rudy, the lemon-haired Jesse Owens, Leisel’s partner in crime and best friend, the one who yearns for Leisel’s kiss.

Meet the Führer, the invisible, potent master of words.

Meet death, in a metal cockpit, on a snow-covered field mottled in red, hanging from a rafter at the end of a rope, sitting at a simple kitchen table, under a pile of rubble that used to be a home.

Markus Zusak fills the reader with vivid images of humans at war, humans led to the unthinkable by a force they cannot control. Some go willingly, others have no choice. Those left behind are merely attempting to survive each day as life crumbles around them. Leisel survives by stealing books.

As I read the final chapters of THE BOOK THIEF, I literally had to close the book to get my emotions under control before reading on to meet death. It was inevitable, he would meet me at the end of the book. As I emerged from the story at the turning of the back cover, my reality felt so jarringly wrong. It was as though I went from a black and white silent movie to a new world, bright, free, and colorful. You cannot read this novel without feeling a resounding resolve that this should never-ever happen again.

The writing is incredible. Mr. Zusak gave death such an unusual perspective. His descriptive phrases are nothing short of brilliant. THE BOOK THIEF is a powerful read that should not be missed by anyone, teen or adult!

This review can also be found here at Teens Read Too.

CUT is an amazing first novel by Patricia McCormick that offers a glimpse inside the mind of a 15-year-old girl who cuts. For Callie, life just became too complicated. The solution lay right in front of her. One tiny cut. A bubble of red. And yes, pain. Then, escape.

Callie now resides at Sea Pines with several other girls seeking treatment for a myriad of other disorders. She goes to group share time, hooks her sleeves over her thumbs, and hides behind her hair. She sees her counselor twice a day and counts the stripes on the wallpaper. But Callie doesn’t share. With anyone. Not even when her mother and little brother visit.

Callie can’t bring herself to speak. Instead she watches, and listens. She knows everything about her group mates. But they know nothing about this girl who won’t talk. Then, when Amanda joins the group and brazenly flaunts her own scars, it becomes more difficult for Callie to remain silent. And as she begins to speak, she slowly finds she doesn’t want to keep it inside. She wants to get better.

Callie is a bright girl that the reader will easily identify with. You’ll care for her the same way she cares about the others at Sea Pines. And you’ll be amazed when you find out what started it all, that it’s an entire family in pain, not just Callie. She’ll make you cry, and make you laugh some, and in the end you’ll feel so proud of her progress.

Cutting is a very real issue for teens. Many, like Callie, don’t even know themselves why they do it. CUT is an honest look at how cutting can consume a young person. If you know someone who cuts, share this book with them. Let them know they can find help. They can stop. This is a gusty novel that you won’t want to put down until you’re sure Callie is safe.

This review can also be seen here at Teens Read Too.

THE LINE is a novel for all those band geeks out there. If you are a percussionist, you’ll feel right at home as the
Forrest Hills High School drum line prepares for a new season of football games and competitions.

Lucy has spent weeks preparing for her audition to be a member of The Battery. Once she makes it, she finds out that
being the only girl on the line has special challenges. Especially when the hot cymbal player she’s been crushing on
leaves no doubt that he’s interested in a relationship. Lucy will have a boyfriend to take her to the homecoming dance!

But, of course, it’s not that simple. Lucy has also met another guy and can’t stop thinking about him. That fact that he’s
the Captain of the rival drum line makes the situation even more complicated. Is it possible to date two guys from
different schools? Should she tell them about each other? What if they find out that they are competitors, not only for
Lucy, but on the drum line competition field as well?

Once Lucy opts for truth, she realizes it’s not fair to the boys who both want to date her exclusively. Who will she
choose? Nevada, the flashy cymbal player from her own line? Or Sam, from the rival line, who liked her even after
finding out who she was? Will Lucy find out the secret that has fueled the rivalry between the two drum lines? And who
is that mysterious cyber-buddy that’s always on-line for her?

The beginning of this book is a little slow starting, with a fair amount of telling. But don’t let that discourage you. Lucy
will draw you in. The fun tension between the drum lines and the boys will make you want to read on. You will
inevitably pick who you want Lucy to choose and you won’t be disappointed. It took me back to my band days, those
bus trips, the pranks in the band room, and the rush you feel when you compete with high honors. My 12-year-old
daughter took this book away from me and read it in a day. She and I agree that this book was a fun read with a highly
satisfying ending.

This review can also be found here at Teens Read Too.

Have you ever had the urge to eat M&M’s in multiples of five? Maybe you try to walk out to the car in an even number of steps? Brush your teen the same number of times on each side? Top and bottom? If so, this book is a perfect square for you!

Jackson loves even numbers, especially the number 8. He always does one extra repetition to avoid an odd count. When he moves across the street from Esmerelda, he finds his love of numbers is a perfect match to her need to make some sense out of math. Not only is she okay with his numbers fetish, but her fascination with his mother’s love of singing the blues, encourages Esmerelda to frequently pop by for a visit. At school, he meets Asim, who not only understands Jackson’s love of numbers, but who might actually be better at math that he is.

Jackson and his mother were forced to move to the suburbs to avoid unpleasantness from his mother’s old casino boss. Now Jackson has a new best friend, and a potential girlfriend. His luck is running hot. Until he gets in a fight with Badman, the school bully. And a blue mustang, license plate numbers 777, the ugliest and most ominous number of them all, starts trolling his neighborhood. And finally, Esmerelda disappears.

Number 8, told in the alternate voices of Jackson and Esmerelda, is a fascinating read. I found Esmerelda’s passages more engaging in the beginning. But as Jackson begins to live outside his inner world of numbers, his passages become more active and pull you along as you feel his fear and sense of purpose. The way Anna Fienberg ties up all the plot lines leaves the reader feeling like they’ve just sat through a perfectly executed guitar riff while drinking a warm cup of cocoa. Well done.

This review can also be found here at Teens Read Too.

Remember your first serious relationship? The breathless excitement, nervousness, and giddiness that comes when you realize that he likes you? Caitlyn can’t believe how lucky she is.

She first meets Tyler at an amusement park, in the splash pool. The attraction is immediate and mutual, and the timing couldn’t be better. Her best friend, Ashley, is totally engrossed in Brandon, her boyfriend of eight months. And at home, she feels less than invisible. The latest insult is moving to the basement so her room can be turned into a nursery. Her mother and stepfather are finally going to have their perfect baby, a baby they’ve been trying for for years. It seems they’ve forgotten that Caitlyn even exists.

At first, Caitlyn convinces herself that she’s not changing. She’s doing what every other girl does who wants to be with her boyfriend. If she really loves him, she should try to please him, right? She ignores the inner voices that wonder why she’s not talking to Ashley about her relationship with Tyler. She lets Tyler talk her into doing things that she would never have considered before. When she realizes that she can’t paint a smiling self-portrait she begins to look beyond the euphoria of new love and finds support and forgiveness from her family and friends.

Teen feelings of being alive and loved, truly loved, for the first time, mixed with the uncertainty, stubbornness, and incredibly strong desire to please, are vividly portrayed in this debut novel. Kimberly Joy Peters does a beautiful job of immersing the reader in the heady feeling of young love. PAINTING CAITLYN was a very enjoyable read.

This review can also be viewed here at Teens Read Too.

Imagine having a mother who doesn’t seem to know you exist. Unless she needs money or someone to take her frustrations out on. Imagine having a father who hasn’t had contact with you in two years, even though he lives only a couple of hours away. A father who kept taking you back to an abusive mother until he became too busy to even come see you at all.

Sean just plain doesn’t care anymore. So he’s been suspended yet again for fighting – big deal. I’ll be just another vacation. That is, until he’s assigned community service at a local ranch. Starting immediately.

Mr. Hassler, the old geezer ranch owner, puts Sean to work cleaning out stalls, spreading manure, and unloading feed. Things change when he helps deliver a colt that imprints Sean, instead of its mother. Their bond helps him explore his tangle of emotions about his parents and Mr. Hassler.

HERO, by S. L. Rottman, is a heartwarming story about a young man in search of someone to love and respect, including himself. Rottman leaves the reader wanting more as Sean faces a new future with his dad and the ranch.

This review can also be seen here at Teens Read Too.

THE CONFESSIONAL is a book about murder, racism, anger, bullies, drugs, and fitting in, which takes place in an all male Catholic private school located on the Mexican-American border.

After a random bomber blows up the international bridge that connects Mexico and the United States in El Paso, Texas, tensions escalate at the school. Nearing the one-year anniversary of the Mexican terrorist bombing, a fight breaks out between two boys at the school. One boy ends up in the hospital. The other boy ends up dead by the end of the day.

Mayhem follows. A racial riot erupts on the cathedral steps after a special mass for the dead teen. Mexicans and Americans point fingers at one another. No one feels safe. Everyone is ready to fight. Will the boys be able to find out who killed their fellow student before someone else disappears? Before someone else is murdered? And at what cost? How many will go to jail before it’s all over?

This is a gripping read and difficult to put down. It’s an honest look at how quickly tempers can flare and get out of hand. Be warned, the language is also brutally authentic. In the beginning, the reader may struggle to keep all the boys straight in their head as I did. Don’t worry about that. This book is told from multiple points of view. As each boy has his say, it becomes very clear who they are and you will have no trouble at all keeping them straight. This novel is incredible in it’s glaring realism.

This review can also be found here at Teens Read Too.

I have been a fan of Sharon M. Draper for some time. She is a master at writing realistic fiction. COPPER SUN is her first historical fiction and it is amazing -- as well as frighteningly authentic.

This book follows the trials and tribulations of Amari, a fifteen-year-old African maiden. After witnessing the slaughter of both the old and young in her African village, including her parents and her young brother, she is chained, by feet, hands, and neck, lined up, and herded miles on foot to the ocean by pale skinned visitors with fire sticks. She watches her fellow Africans suffer incomprehensible humiliation and death at the hands of their captors as they are shipped like animal cargo across the ocean. The life that awaits her is nothing like she could have ever imagined.

Amari must adapt to life as a purchased slave on a rice plantation, a life that includes atrocities committed upon her by her white owners. She meets Polly, an indentured servant who has dreams of making it to the big house and being a fine lady of standing. Instead, Polly lives in the slave quarters and finds she’s given the chore of civilizing Amari, now called Myna, and teaching her enough English to work. After witnessing murder, the two girls find themselves thrown together in a desperate run for freedom.

This is not just another book about slavery. This is a book about something real and tangible. Ms. Draper’s writing is so vivid that you can smell the rank odors beneath ship. You can feel the pain of being lashed with a whip. Your throat will constrict at the heart-wrenching pain of a mother and child being forced apart. You will also celebrate the strength and spirit of Amari and those she inspires.

COPPER SUN won the Coretta Scott King Award. This is a book I will make sure goes on my classroom shelves.

This review can also be read here at Teens Read Too.

I'm excited to announce that I'm now a reviewer for Teens Read Too! They only post one review per book, so any books that have already been reviewed there, I will still post here. Books that I have reviewed for TRT, will be posted on their site.

My review for Best Foot Forward, by Joan Bauer can be read here at Teens Read Too.