Cinder  by:Marissa Meyers    B+

Basic View

Cinder is a great story about a cyborg named Cinder. It also is a great take on Cinderella, yet it is fresh and new.  I felt personal connections in this book. For example, I liked every time she observes a situation and makes a quick decision because I find myself doing that in everyday life.. 

summary
Cinder is a cyborg mechanic. She always tries to sell her things at the market. In future Beijing, her stepmother and two stepsisters don't let her feel welcomed into the world. Also, they are tying to stop Lunars (moon people who have evil powers) from taking over.  Another thing is, there is a terrible plague going around and the emperor has it. Since the emperor has the plague, his son Kai has to take over the kingdom. He has to also become the knew emperor because they have no cure for the plague. It could be an A review but it is a complicated plot line. So complicated that it feels like reading three books at the same time and trying to keep them straight.

I recommend this book for older 4th grade - high school age kids. It is a unique story of love and violence but not violence for love but for something a lot different.........

Read Cinder now, read Scarlett tomorrow and then wait for the 3rd Lunar chronicle book to come out.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine   A 



Mockingbird is a story about a young girl who has Aspergers, a type of autism.  Her brother just died in a school shooting that devastated the small town. The story is about her having to fight through these two challenges. I felt like this book goes deep into everyone who reads it's emotions because it makes you realize how lucky you are. I recommend this book to people 3rd grade and up. This book will blow you away because it comes from a point of view you would never expect .

Max  by James Patterson     A-

Max is an action-packed adventure about kids who have . . . wings!  Maximum Ride (also known as Max) is the leader, followed by Fang, Angel, Total (a flying dog) and the rest of the flock.  Of course this seems straight-forward, but would you believe me if I said there was chaos in every chapter, enemies on each page and romance throughout the book?  I think Max is a little bit of everything.  It's like a never-ending ride of adventure: a star in the morning.  I recommend this book for fifth-grade through high school aged kids.  But remember to read the four books that begin the flock's adventures:  The Angel Experiment, Schools's Out Forever, Saving the World, and The Final Warning.

Witch and Wizard. By James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet.  B


          Basic Summary

Witch and Wizard is a story about a brother and sister who get kidnapped and jailed illegally. Eventually they realize the reason is they are a witch and a wizard. Whit and Wisty are very cunning and always have a trick, but the authors take this normal story to a different level.