Claim to Fame, by Margaret Peterson Haddix

age group: 14 and up

rating: 7

What would it be like, to be able to hear what everyone anywhere said about you? A blessing, or a curse? Lindsay Scott, or Curran, is faced with this ... talent? She's "different," and not just because she's a 16 year-old retired child actress. Lindsay hears voices-- people talking about her from Chicago, California, Japan, everywhere. She can even hear the slightest whisper about her in a house three blocks away.

This book was intensely interesting. The story is written in first person, to enable the reader to see, hear, and know what Lindsay really feels behind her role-playing. As she meets new people, she is forced to protect her gift with not-exactly-true stories.

Though the end of every chapter was a cliffhanger, compared to most of Haddix's books, this one was not quite as suspenseful. I also expected one of her trademark "gotcha!" endings. Although the ending was a little more predictable than I had suspected, I was still surprised by it. There are a few elements in Claim to Fame more suitable for mid-teens, but there is nothing that the young readers of Twilight cannot handle. Nevertheless, I did like this book, and recommend it to readers aching for a taste of intrigue.

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning, by James Patterson

age group: 13 and up

rating: 8 until I finished the series and marked it 5

For those of you who don't know, this is the fourth book in the Maximum Ride series. I loved the series the whole way through until I finished this book today. :( The series is about 14-year-old Maximum Ride and her human-avian "flock." Basically, Max and her mis-matched family were born in a secret evil scientist's lab that mutated wings onto their backs. To make a long story short, they've been on the run and doing whatever they can to survive and get back at the company of mad scientists.

The books are mostly written from Max's point of view, which I absolutely love. She is clever, brave, and hilarious. Her flock are all keepers. Each of the characters have unique personalities, and sometimes it's a bit hard to believe they're not really flying around out there somewhere. But their life is no picnic -- every scene was either filled with action or suspense. There were so many twists and turns; I truly could not put the book down.

But in the end (SPOILER ALERT!), none of the questions have been answered, and the story takes a sharp turn into an unwanted direction. A mysterious "Voice" in Max's head appears in the first book, telling her that she was "created to save the world." So Max and the flock eventually find a huge corporation filled with evil scientists planning to destroy half the earth. They fight, good triumphs over evil, and then they forget about shutting down the company and not making sure the "Director" of the company is behind bars somewhere. Instead, they fly off to stop global warming. WHAT?! Turns out, Max's mission to "save the world" was really to give a huge speech to everyone, persuading them to help stop global warming, which is why I give this last book a rating of 5 out of 10. Nothing was explained, and it wasn't really Max's character to simply give a speech and be done with it. Everything was wonderful, but the plot needed work.

Conclusion? Forget this book and enjoy the first three. This series had so much potential, but Patterson has squandered it.

Falling In, by Frances O'Roark Dowell

age group: 9 and up

rating:6

In Falling In, Isabelle Bean, well, falls into a magical world through a closet in the nurses office. I loved the character Isabelle. Her personality is unique and well developed. The writing style is witty and fun.

I rated it 6 out of 10 because the plot could have been more thought out. (SPOILER ALERT!) I expected Isabelle to fall in and have a remarkable magical adventure. In an article on the website "Book talk," Gaye @ Foster writes: "Isabelle's adventures are not overly magical, just fun to read." This rings true. She fell in, but into a world not much more magical than our own. It seems to me that she fell in and that was it. Her falling in was the climax of the story. Frankly, I prefer fantasy stories with a larger supply of magic and adventure.

But if you're searching for a book for a small taste of fantasy, try it out. If not, try looking into the Fablehaven series or The Revenge of the Shadow King.

Rapunzel's Revenge, by Shannon and Dean Hale

(graphic novel)

age group: 11 and up

rating: 10!

I love this one. Rapunzel's Revenge gives a fun twist to the original story. In the original tale, Rapunzel is taken by a witch when her father steals rapunzel lettuce from her garden. She is then trapped inside an impossibly tall tower until she meets a handsome prince. The witch discovers her secret and sends her into the wilderness. This is only the beginning! In this version, Rapunzel rescues herself and finds a way to get back at the "Mother" that put her there. Rapunzel is daring, quick-witted, and charismatic. She develops so much after she leaves the tower. It was also fun to see characters from other fairy tales meet up with her while she went through adventure after adventure. The illustrations are beautiful and the script is well written and funny.

Sideways Stories from Wayside School, by Louis Sachar

age group: 8 and up

rating: 9

This book is perfect for elementary readers. My third grade teacher read this to our class and I loved it. I read it again before rating it, but I still love it. Sideways Stories from Wayside School is fun, creative, clever, and silly.

It's about an elementary school that is mistakingly built 30 stories upward rather than a one story school with 30 classrooms. The students and teachers are different from you and me. Mrs. Gorf can turn children into apples by wiggling her ears and sticking out her tongue. Sharie learns when sleeping, and John reads best when he is upside down.

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead

age group: 13 & up

rating: 8

genre: mystery, suspense, time travel!

Most time travel books are really confusing, but this one was really good at explaining things. Like Harry Potter, everything fits together in the end; the reader has an epiphany. The story begins when Miranda finds a note addressed to her saying "I am coming to save your friend's life and my own." I especially liked it because I'm always trying to find the balance between too much "pretend" in the story or too much school drama. In When You Reach Me, it had the right mix of school, friends, and mystery.

Like all time travel stories, this one had a slight glitch. In the movie, Somewhere in Time (which I loved), the origination of the watch is a mystery. (SPOILER ALERT!) The note to Miranda was written to her by a person traveling trough time. The only way this person knew what to do and what to write on the note was the fact that Miranda gave it to him years before. The question is: who wrote the original note?

The Princess of the Midnight Ball, by Jessica Day George

age group: 12 and up, although I'm sure 11-yr-olds will enjoy it.

rating: 7 out of 10

Yay! Another fantasy! This one, too, is based on an old fairy-tale: The 12 Dancing Princesses. It's about twelve princesses cursed to dance for the evil King Understone due to a deal their mother made to give birth to them. There's also a handsome and clever solider involved. I give it a seven because the writing is good, but the ending is rather predictable (especially if you've read the picture book). I wasn't jumping up and down at the end, but I was satisfied.

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

age group: about 14 & up

rating: 8

I just read this recently. I really liked it. It's very suspenseful- I really couldn't put it down. The most I will tell you is that the main character, Thomas, wakes up inside a gigantic maze without any memory of his life before. There is a group of boys there who cannot remember their previous life either and live inside a walled in area they call "the Glade." Every night the huge doors leading to the maze close, shutting them in.

I wrote that The Maze Runner is more suitable for older kids because there is violence and it can be a bit intense. I admit I'm a little afraid to read the sequel because the reality the "Gladers" live in a world that often requires grisly violence.

East, by Edith Pattou

age group: 12 and up

rating (out of 10): 8.5

I loved this one. It's a fantasy book, based on an old fairy-tale about a girl named Rose who joins an enchanted talking bear in exchange for her sister's health and means for her poverty-stricken family. The writing is easy to understand and the format is unique. Each chapter is titled with the name of the character narrating it. The main character, Rose, is intrepid and charismatic.

I rated it 8.5 because it is a rather thick book (which is by no means a bad thing, but not all people prefer them), and the story can sometimes get a bit slow.