Life As We Knew It

Hello,

I just finished reading Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer.
Miranda is the protagonist in this wonderful book that is made to look like a diary.
The book describes what it would theoretically be like if the moon was thrown off orbit. This story told about tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes and more.
Pfeffer did a great job involving the reader in this story. On Valentine's Day, I was asked to bake a cake, and I almost said "Miranda told us that we need to ration our food and fuel, and making cake is a waste of both"
Of course, I didn't, and in the end, the cake was delicious, but still, it goes to show you how immersed in the book I was.

4.8/5
Amazing

Ages 8 and up, although there are some semi-scary parts

Little Brother

Book Critic 101 calling bibliophiles, (if you don't know what this means, LOOK IT UP)

I just finished reading Little Brother, a fantastic novel by Cory Doctorow.

In this thrilling, yet potentially politically accurate novel, the protagonist, Marcus, is sent to jail by the US Department of Homeland Security. Tortured using waterboarding, spied on by the DHS who are using the alibi of the PATRIOT Act, and with his favorite teacher being fired because she disagreed with the government, Marcus wants to get back at the government somehow.

His inspiration comes in the form of Xnet, a network of people that want to fight the government.
Marcus, the founder, under the disguise of M1K3Y, pronounced Mikey, uses this site to create a multi-player game site, complete with facebook like profiles, and public blogs.

Doctorov clearly did his research as preperation for this bone-chilling book.

4.8/5
EXCELLENT

Ages 11 and up
Language and events may not be suitable for younger children, and some words will be difficult to understand.

Jellicoe Road

G'day mate!

I just got back from a trip to Australia - figuratively.
In my "trip" to the land down under, I learned about a girl named Taylor and her problems.
Well, to tell you the truth, I've been sitting and reading Jellicoe Road, a book by Maria Marchetta. This excellently written book, also the winner of the Printz Award for Teen Literature, was a gripping story about Taylor, the protagonist, and her past.
Taylor is in charge of her house at the boarding school that she goes to. After being elected leader, she goes on to become the leader of the school, and is forced to take charge of the territory wars, a game that their school plays against some other schools. But when people start to go missing, her caretaker disappears, the territory wars become more hostile than ever, and life keeps on getting in her way, can Taylor succeed. This is the question answered in Marchetta's new novel.

3.5/5
Very well written

Ages 14 and up for colorful language and other elements

Check out Stephanie Ford's review here!