Goliath

I am currently reading Goliath, it is the third and final book of the Leviathan trilogy.  The whole series is about the first world war, if the first world war was fought with giant fabricated hybrid animals and huge pieces of machinery.  The two sides are the darwinists, they support the fabricated animals, and the clankers, who prefer machines.  In the middle of all this there is the Leviathan, the biggest darwinist airship in the British army.  The Leviathan picks up an unexpected guest, the clanker prince, Aleksander, who happens to be the heir to the Austrian throne.  Together they must try to stop the war that threatens to destroy the world.  Now skip ahead a few books, to Goliath, the Leviathan stops to pick up a mysterious guest, the clanker turned darwinist, Dr. Tesla.  He claims he knows how to stop the war by using his machine, the Goliath.  But the head scientists aboard the ship finds him suspicious, so she sends out two spies to investigate.  Of course there are many other parts to this story, like the addition of Deryn, the girl who is pretending to be a boy so she can be a soldier on the Leviathan.  She and Alek (who just recently found out her secret) end up in the middle of every battle, they are also the spies that were sent to search Dr. Tesla.  This book is full of cliff hangers and surprises, making it a very thrilling read.  I recommend this book to anyone, because it has, history, fiction and both a girl and a boy as main characters.  Anyone who is looking for an amazing book should really give this one a try.
-Lauren

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

I just started this book yesterday, and I'm already halfway through it!  I never really thought of reading it because I saw the movie four times at camp.  So I was really surprised to realize, that the book was: a.) way better than the movie, and b.) something that I should have read a while ago.  It is about four best friends that are about to go their separate ways for the first time during summer.  Beatrice is going to soccer camp in Baja, California, Carmen is going to South Carolina to visit her dad, Lena is going to Greece to visit her grandparents and Tibby is staying home with a job at the local Wallmans.  While at soccer camp Beatrice develops a crush on the completely off-limits coach, Eric.  Carmen's dad breaks the news that he is getting remarried in three months, to a woman she has never met.  Lena's grandma sets her up with a family friends son, who she doesn't want to like.  Tibby meets a girl with leukemia while at work and they set out to make a documentary.  Before everyone departed they went shopping at the little thrift store on the corner.  Libby found a pair of jeans that she tried on and they fit.  Then Lena decided she would try, and they fit her too.  Beatrice pulled them on and they looked great.  Finally Carmen tried them and they surprisingly fit her.  And thus the sisterhod of the traveling pants was born.  I think a lot of people would enjoy this book.  I can't wait to find out what happens in the end!
-Lauren

The Name of This Book is Secret

I meant to write this a little earlier this week but I wanted to finish it first!  I have already read it but I barely remembered it, the one thing I did remember was that it was really good, so of course that made me want to read it again.  It is about two kids, Max-Ernest and Cass, who find themselves as collaborators in a rescue mission to save a kid in their grade, Ben, who every one thinks of as crazy.  He was kidnapped by two people, Dr. L and Mrs. Mauvis, who were planning on killing him because his death was the key to the "secret", something Max-Ernest and Cass have only heard of in conversations they've eavesdropped in on.  Then they find a magicians notebook, telling them to not get involved in the secret because it ensures their death.  Max-Ernest and Cass must decide whether they forget about Ben and live, or risk their lives to save him.  It is a fast paced adventure-mystery in which there is never a dull spot.  I think anyone will like this book.
-Lauren

Gimme a Call

I just finished reading one of the best books ever!  It was written by Sarah Mlykowski, who is also the author of Bras and Broomsticks.  A lot of people have recommend this book to me, so I figured I would give it a try.  I read it in two hours, it is one of those books you can't put down.  In the beginning of the story the senior in high school Devi, the main character, drops her phone in the fountain at the mall.  When she retrieves it she realizes that the only person she can call is her freshman self.  She finally has one chance to fix all of her problems, especially going out with Bryan.  She tells her younger self to not go out with him and to spend more time studying.  When younger Devi does that older Devi suddenly has no friends because for the past four years she has been blowing them off to study.  Then the two Devis are stuck calling each other to find the perfect balance for their life, until the phone dies demolishing the link between them.  I really liked this book because it was funny and surprisingly not that confusing with all the back and forth through time.  I think anyone will love this book, especially if they liked Sarah Mlynowski's other series, Magic in Manhattan.

Bras and Broomsticks

Bras and Broomsticks is about a fourteen year old girl named Rachel who lives in Manhattan.  This is a hilarious comedy, I know a little redundant.  When Rachel walked into her apartment after school, she found her mom and little sister, Miri, who is twelve, lying in her mom's bed talking.  They then preceded to tell her the disturbing news, they were both witches, and even worse she wasn't.  Rachel was mad at first but then realized just how easy it was to take advantage of Miri and her power.  Rachel soon realizes she can have whatever she wants with only a little begging and pleading.  Rachel thought she had everything until she figured out every spell takes thing from something, like of a clothes rack at the Gap.  She has a fix, but it of course involves more magic.  I like Rachel because she is absent minded, which makes for a very funny story.  I also like Miri because she is down to earth and really wants to make her sister happy, even though it may mean doing the wrong thing.  Both of these characteristics make for a very funny story.  I think anyone who reads this will love it.
-Lauren

Gone

Gone is a book that I read over the summer. It is about a small town in California, one day all the adults, and kids 15 and over, just disappear, and the town is encased in a giant bubble that is completely impenetrable. They must fend for themselves, and try to keep the town alive. Some people want to take over and rule the kids but, at responsibility is given to Sam, one of the oldest kids, also the main character. I love this book, and the rest of the series, because of the mystery. You never knew what was going to happen, and when it does you can look back in the book and see what things led up to it. This book is so straightforward that it is almost confusing. Once you think about it everything falls in to place. That is another reason I love this book, it makes you think. If you didn't think and just read it, it wouldn't make any sense. I think this is a great read for any one in the 7th grade and I know it is one of my favorites!

Uglies

I find that the characters, mostly the main character, were all really interesting.  Every character was different, and they all contributed to the story.  I couldn't stop reading because every time I went to put it down there was another cliff hanger.  Something big would happen and you had to know what it was.  It didn't seem like it was work reading it because it never got boring, there was to much happening for it to be boring.  I think anybody who read the Hunger Games would love this book.  It has the same action and the same purpose, to overthrow an evil government with to much control.  I really like this author, Scott Westerfeld, he wrote the Leviathan, and it's sequels, which are nothing like this book, although equally good.  I picked this book because my friend at camp knew that I liked the Hunger Games, and told me I had to read it.  Once I started I didn't put it down.  I normally look for fantasy and adventure, so this book was perfect for me, and anyone else who likes the same thing.  It was so good that I didn't stop reading it for a good two days or so.  Once I was done with the first, I had to get the rest, and ended up finishing those in a week and a half.  I really couldn't put it down, it had to many cliff hangers to stop.  I think anyone who tries this book will like it.