Reviews (1)

Richie's Picks: KNIGHTS OF THE HILL COUNTRY
What is this world coming to?Two football stories worth my talking about in the same year?What is next -- me out there barbecuing tofu at a tailgate party?
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Coming of age    5. Fiction    6. Football    7. Identity    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Social Issues - Friendship    10. Social Issues - General    11. Social Issues - Values    12. Sports & Recreation - Football    13. Juvenile Fiction / Sports & Recreation / Football   

Reviews (4)

Richie's Picks: BLACK AND WHITE
I know plenty of present and former middle school kids who are so totally over that racial division stuff that they study about in American history and in my wife's English classes, and that people of my generation witnessed and are always telling them about.
Black and White
My Book is Black and White.I give this book 5 stars.This book is about 2 seventeen year olds Eddie and Marcus. They are the stars of the Long island High school.So Eddie and Marcus for graduation have to come up with $150.00 dollars to go to their field trip to Bear Mountain and to six flags, so they save the money and find out that Nike had come out with new b-ball shoes so they buy the shoes.They have no money left so they start to rob people and one night something bad happens. Eddie accidentally pulled the trigger on the gun and shot a man.I think that people that like basketball and how people's lives are changed in an instant.Plus I think that the author captured me because it starts a lot faster than most books.

A Reality Check For Two Young Stars
This is a magnificent story, it begin with Eddie Russo (White) and Marcus Brown (Black) running back to their house after they shot Sidney Parker a person they were trying to mug.They were mugging people with White's grandfather .38 caliber and they had robbed two people and accidentally shot the third guy.Then as the story progresses we find out that they had to pay their high school dues and they had their money saved up.However some new Nikes came out and everyone on the team was getting them, the two best stars couldn't be seen without them, could they?They weren't out of style, but they were out of money and desperately needed some money.So then White said "We could rob a few people to get the money and what we get we probably deserved."In the end Black is taking the heat for the chime and white seems like he's going to get off scot-free.
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Subjects:  1. African Americans    2. Basketball    3. Children's Books - Young Adult    4. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    6. Fiction    7. General    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Law & Crime    10. Race relations    11. Social Issues - Friendship    12. Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism    13. Social Issues - Violence    14. Sports & Recreation - Basketball    15. Juvenile Fiction / Ethnic / African American   

Reviews (2)

The Biggest Enemy of Best is Good.
The Nearmont High School football season looks promising. The entire town expects great things from them --- Division, even State Championships --- and the team is on track for just such a season when they take off for preseason camp: two-a-day practices, morning wakeup calls, and Raider Pride Night, the traditional freshman initiation. Unfortunately, the ritual goes places it never should in ways that might compromise their entire season and ruin any chances they might have in college football and the pros.
Richie's Picks: RAIDERS NIGHT
(Since writing this review, I have now read the book a second and a third time.This is definitely one of the best YA books of 2006 and unquestionably one of the best YA books relating to high school sports that I have ever read.)
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Drug abuse    4. Fiction    5. Football    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Social Issues - General    8. Social Issues - Peer Pressure    9. Social Issues - Sexual Abuse    10. Social Situations - Peer Pressure    11. Social Situations - Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance    12. Sports & Recreation - Football    13. Sports & Recreation - General    14. Steroids    15. Juvenile Fiction / Sports & Recreation / General   

Editorial Review

Sharon Draper has indeed forged a fiery name for herself in the field of young adult literature--that of a courageous writer, willing to tackle tough, real-life problems while developing honorable, streetwise role models for troubled teens. Her previous novel, Read more

Reviews (116)

Why this book inspired me
Forged by Fire influenced me in may different ways.The more I read the book themore it became violent.It made me think what if I wa sin this situation.Would I have the courage to stand up to my step-father and get help.I learned to perserver and not give up.That is what I learned from this book.

Review by Aaron
I think that Forged by Fired is a good book for teenagers to read. I think it is a good book to read because it tells what to do if you are getting abused by your parents. This is a book that could happen in real life. I think both girls and boys would enjoy this book. I listened to this book on audio tape and I like how the guy could talk in many types of voices. The suspense of the story made me wanting to keep on listening to it. This book is the second book in a set of three. I would recommend reading the other two.

Stop fast forwarding, please press "slow"
I want to stress that the actual plot of the story and the characters were interesting and I enjoyed their purpose, action, dialogue. But I read a review about this book somewhere that said that too much happened at once in the beginning. I don't take peoples' reviews too seriously until I read the book, but this time around, I wish I would have listened.The author tried to cram FAR too much into one small book of 156 pages.The boy was 3 years old at the beginning and by the time it ended, he was 17.People were on drugs, in jail, out of jail, court cases complete, basketball tryouts, friends made, learned to cook, car accidents, dying, all within a few pages.The whole time I read this story, I felt like the author had written an outline of what should happen in each chapter and instead of fleshing it out and letting it grow progressively, she just rammed it altogether and then threw in stuff that happened in a previous book.I read one book by her and bought them all...and now I'm starting to regret it.I hope the fourth one is better, because I loved the first one about Andy, couldn't get into the "Romiette and Julio" book at all, and now this one is crammed.I'm confused over whether I like this author or not--in the book about Andy, the dialogue was on point and the plot was organized and easy-to-understand.In the "Romiette and Julio" book, the dialogue was out of wack and the story was slow. This book had great dialogue and an interesting plot like the Andy book, but it went entirely too fast.I feel like I'm reading books from several different people instead of one. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. African Americans    2. Brothers and sisters    3. Child abuse    4. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    6. Family - Siblings    7. Family - Stepfamilies    8. Fiction    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. People & Places - United States - African-American    11. Social Issues - Drugs, Alcohol, & Substance Abuse    12. Social Issues - Sexual Abuse    13. Sports & Recreation - Basketball    14. Stepfamilies    15. Juvenile Fiction / Ethnic / African American   

Reviews (26)

Hometown Connection
Once I picked up this book I just couldn't put it down until I was finished! Having grown up in the same town as the author and particpating on the same track team, this book just formed an intriguing connection with my past. Jeremy did an excellent job developing his character and a story that appeals to just about anyone who participates in this occupation called life.
Life at These Speeds
I loved the book. It seemed though that it caught attention to most track team members. Im not in track but i enjoyed the book but through some parts of the book I had trouble getting through it. It seemed to go slow for me like it was too drawn out. The author did an exellent Job connecting Kevin with teens around the states.

Running From Tragedy
Kevin Schuler, the high school running star in "Life at These Speeds," has to be one of the most aloof first-person narrators I've ever experienced.While frustrating at times, this narrative technique forced me to experience the same nearly-maddening difficulty establishing an emotional connection with Kevin as do his friends and family in the novel.The result is a powerful depiction of a psychologically fractured adolescent's struggle to overcome a tragic experience and reawaken his dormant emotional core.
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Subjects:  1. American First Novelists    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. General    5. High school athletes    6. Life change events    7. Runners (Sports)    8. Teenage boys    9. Fiction / General   

Reviews (4)

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Going For the Record
Very, very touching
This journal type book is written by a young girl who sees her whole life change before her eyes when her father gets sick with cancer.
A gift to all youth grappling with life's biggest questions
Going for the Record takes you straight to the core of Leah Weiczynkowski's heart as she struggles to reconcile her love for her dying father with her dreams for her own future. Her gritty, courageous questions about life, death and what really matters will resonate with anyone who has lost a loved one at a tender age. Leah is so real, so true that you can't help but laugh when she laughs, cry when she cries and cheer when she finds the answers she's been searching for. This poignant and moving story is a gift to all young people who have grappled with big questions about the meaning of living. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cancer    2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Family - Parents    5. Family life    6. Fathers and daughters    7. Fiction    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Soccer    10. Social Issues - Adolescence    11. Social Issues - Death & Dying    12. Social Situations - Adolescence    13. Social Situations - Death & Dying    14. Sports & Recreation - Miscellaneous    15. Children's and Educational    16. Sporting stories   

Reviews (1)

Characters jump off the page
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (9/06)
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Fiction    5. Guilt    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Murder    8. School & Education    9. Skateboarding    10. Social Issues - Adolescence    11. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    12. Social Issues - Values    13. Social Issues - Violence    14. Sports & Recreation - Skateboarding    15. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Violence   

Editorial Review

Ruby Tuesday Sweet, 13, was named for the Rolling Stones tune by her rock-and-roll mother and lives happily with her nice dad Hollis. Her brother Jack has just been married in a spectacularly laid-back Laguna wedding on the beach, with the bride in a white lace bikini. In attendance were Ruby’s tottering but tough-talking grandmother Nana Sue and her mostly absent, glamorous, cigar-smoking mom Darlene. Ruby and Hollis are content with their passion for the Dodgers and their ongoing monopoly game, although she does wonder occasionally just what he does for a living with all those TV screens and number charts in his office. Events take a sinister turn when Hollis is accused of the murder of his bookie and Ruby and Darlene must flee to Las Vegas to escape a pair of mobsters. There they are taken in by Nana Sue, who lives permanently at the old Fremont Hotel and is a legend on the casino floor; playing shrewd blackjack, limping between the tables trailed by her pet iguana, and wreaking havoc with her cane when she is displeased. She and Darlene set out with Ruby to get to the bottom of the murder, and with the two hard-boozing, chain-smoking women, the teenager gets an insider tour of the backstage world of rock and the seamy inner workings of high-stakes gambling in Sin City. While the Laguna setting is a bit overblown, the Las Vegas milieu is spot on, and the characters are deliciously bizarre but loveable in this unusual first novel by a young new author. (Ages 12 and up) Read more

Reviews (12)

Ruby Tuesday
A very entertaining book.

If only there were a Ruby for every day of the week....
Ruby Tuesday is one of those rare books that successfully voices the weirdnesses, funninesses, sadnesses, and revelations of moving from a kid world to an adult one, while managing to throw an iguana-filled Vegas adventure into the bargain. Like Roald Dahl, Jennifer Anne Kogler infuses an alternatively dark and touching humor into her novel that catches hold of both adults and kids- although Kogler's protagonist, being a bit older, speaks more to adolescent confusion than childhood rebellion.
Loved it
Insightful, hilarious, creative... Ruby Tuesday is impossible to place into a single genre.Its also impossible to put down.Though its hero is a 13 year old girl, her context is decidely unique.A bookie father, a rock-and-roll mother, an iguana-toting grandmother, and an adventure in Las Vegas a normal adolescence does not make.With Janet Evanovich-esque humor, its hard to believe that Miss Kogler pulls off a drama amidst her comedy.I was particularly impressed by how real her characters were even in an atmosphere few of us can relate to.A great adventure, its like Finding Nemo - appeals to all ages, with smart humor and lots of heart. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Family    5. Family - General    6. Fiction    7. Gambling    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. People & Places - United States    10. Self-perception    11. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    12. Sports & Recreation - Baseball    13. Juvenile Fiction / General   

Reviews (33)

Beyond The Chocolate Sales
Wow! If you liked the book "The Chocolate War" you will love this book!Ray Bannister, new to Trinity High School is spending long boring hours building a guillotine. Obie, Archie Costello's friend is deeply in love and. Archie, of the secret school organization called the Vigils is appalled and feels that Obie is moving away from him. Finally it's the end of the school year!"The Chocolate War" is past history, but not forgotten. What will Archie come up with for a final assignment before he graduates? There's Fair Day and Skit Night that apply with. One of his ideas will involve Ray Bannister and his guillotine. Who will win Archie as the Assignor of the Vigils, or will it be Emile Janza, Bunting, Obie? Will Ray Bannister's guillotine actually work? If you would like to know read this great book and take the problems they faced and great things that came! This book I think was better then "The Chocolate War" beca'use the first book left me in a spot where I wanted to know more so much more! It made me want to read the second book "Beyond The Chocolate War".Trust me, this book will take you on a ride through the minds of these wonderful characters that Robert created! Hope you like the book!
For youngand old adults, this is honest and provoking
I was a huge fan of The Chocolate war when I read it so many years ago, and a friend passed this to me when I was looking for something to read over the weekend.It was a great weekend read, because it isn't to long and it has a good paced plot.
Danny B. book summary
I was reading Beyond The Chocolate war by Robert Cormier.Beyond The Chocolate war is a sequel to The Chocolate War. So it would be better to read The Chocolate War first, so you under stand the book a whole lot better. I liked this book because it was very interesting with all the stuff that happens in the book.
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Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Fiction    5. High schools    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. School & Education    8. Schools    9. Social Issues - Violence    10. Social Situations - Violence    11. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / General   

Reviews (2)

Learn the watered down basics from a reluctant fan
First, a disclaimer: I may have liked this book more if I had read it before "Get your own damn beer, I'm watching the game" by Holly Robinson Peete. The latter is the far superior of the two books.
Incredibly useful and full of trivia
I can't recommend this book enough. Much like the Girlfriend's guide to pregnancy, this book is written with a good deal of humor but is packed full of useful information. Spencer explains what each position is and what they do in an easy to understand manner. She explains scoring quickly and efficiently. Spencer answers all those questions that we've always wanted to ask "Like why is that guy touching the other guys [...]?" and gives great tidbits of trivia such as did you know that Teddy Roosevelt tried to outlaw the game in the early 1900's when no less than 18 players died in one year? A great book to have if you want to know the basics and a little more to impress the guys. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Football - General    2. Sports    3. Sports & Recreation    4. Football    5. Sports & Recreation / Football   

Reviews (40)

Parco's Review
I enjoyed reading this book because I have interested in basketball too.This story is very exciting because things that happen in this story is very realistic.It keeps me interested all the time by having unexpected changes in the plot.
Brandon's review
I liked this book because it was a quick read and it really captured my interest. I love basketball and it was an awesome basketball story. Also, it had a fantastic ending.
Hoop Star
The book Night Hoops is about a boy named Nick who loves to play basketball. When his brother Scott, a gifted athlete, chooses music over basketball Nick gains his fathers attention for basketball. Nick is only one of the three sophomores to make the varsity team. Nick struggles with becoming a team player when he finds out that he has to share the ball with Trent Dawson, the talented but troubled boy from across the street. When Nick and Trent begin to shoot hoops in Nick's backyard they begin to form an unusual friendship.
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Subjects:  1. Basketball    2. Behavior    3. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    5. Divorce    6. Family - Marriage & Divorce    7. Fiction    8. Interpersonal relations    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. Social Issues - Friendship    11. Sports & Recreation - Basketball    12. Juvenile Fiction / Sports & Recreation / Basketball   

Reviews (5)

Another Great Baseball Tale
John H. Ritter returns with another great baseball fable, this time adding the elements of jazz music and a little more romance. Just as in THE BOY WHO SAVED BASEBALL, there is still a bit of possible magic and some very quirky and entertaining characters, including a protagonist on a mission, Andy Ramos.According to Andy's heartthrob, Glory Martinez, when the moon looms large during a daytime baseball game, it is what fans call "a baseball moon."
An instant baseball classic
The finest contemporary author of baseball books for teens has written not just another baseball - or, in this case, softball - book; rather, a multilayered and thoroughly engrossing love story starring two 15-year-olds determined that this will be their "breakout summer."
Another Hit
Thank you John Ritter again, for another great book.I highly recommend "Under the Baseball Moon." to everyone, whether they are a musician, softball player, lawyer, mom, dad, student...and everyone else too, mainly because it is just plain fun to read a good book.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Fiction    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Musicians    7. People & Places - United States - Hispanic/Latino    8. Softball    9. Sports & Recreation - Baseball    10. Trumpet    11. Juvenile Fiction / Sports & Recreation / Baseball   

Reviews (1)

A good book for kids about the old times in baseball
I really liked this book about the old times in baseball.It had all the details but it was a good story too.I used it for a book report and I said Thomas Gilbertwrites like a hulking yet nimble-footed whiffle ball player because we were doing similies and metaphors too and it moved fastbut gave all the information about the old black players.It wasinteresting to learn about Jacky Robinson and all them. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. African American baseball players    3. Baseball    4. Baseball - History    5. Children's 12-Up - Sports / Recreation    6. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    7. History    8. History - Other    9. Juvenile literature    10. Sports & Recreation    11. Sports & Recreation - Baseball    12. United States    13. World War, 1939-1945   

Reviews (88)

Old fashioned coming of age story
This book is so well written and has such good character development that the reader can forgive the melodramatic, predictable story line.The novel takes place in Switzerland and centers on Rudi a sixteen year old boy whose father,a famous mountain guide, died during Rudi's babyhood while trying to reach the top of "The Citadel" ( a fictionalized Matterhorn).Rudi's mother wants a safe life for her only child and sees a career for him in the hotel business.Rudi of course dreams of conquering "The Citadel"and fulfilling his father's interrupted destiny.This book is a good choice for fifth graders and up looking for an adventure story with an interesting setting and memorable characters.

We loved this book!
This was a read-aloud for our homeschool and it was wonderful!We really loved it.I would highly recommend it!

No Way!!!!!
I am a 12 year old girl named Jamie Laliberte. We have been reading "Banner In The Sky" as a class and I think this is a very boring book. Most of my friends and classmates agree with me. This is the most boring book I have ever read!!!!!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Fiction    5. Matterhorn    6. Mountaineering    7. People & Places - Europe    8. Sports & Recreation - Winter Sports    9. Switzerland    10. Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure   

Reviews (20)

Great Book
I loved this book. It is about two girls, one Afrika is running away from the plantation she works at in Virginia, and the other girl, Lucy is a wealthy girl in Boston who` s best friend is her grandfather.In the story Lucy finds out that her grandfather halps with the Underground Railroud. After her grandfather dies she finds Afrika in the grandfather clock in her grandfathers office. She helps Afrika the rest of the way to freedom even though it is hard and they run into some road blocks. I liked this book because it helps you to understand how it was like for people back then. I loved this book and I would deffinetely suggest it to someone else to read.

True North
This was a great book about a girl's journey on the Underground Railroad and also is about a girl that is trying to find what she is in life. This book is suspenseful and keeps you reading.

Truly A Horrid Book
True North, by Kathryn Lasky, is probably the worst book I have ever read, and I am a voracious reader and writer. This story has weak characters who expirence absolutely no feeling or emotion. Lucy, one of the main characters, is a rebellious, annoying character who absolutely fails at capturing the readers interest. She has all kinds of plights that the reader must put up with the get to the slightly more interesting parts about Afrika. Afrika's story, in turn, possessed some good ideas, but the writing was appalling.
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Subjects:  1. Abolitionists    2. Action & Adventure    3. Action & Adventure - General    4. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - Historical    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    6. Fiction    7. Fugitive slaves    8. Grandparent and child    9. Historical - United States - 19th Century    10. Juvenile Fiction / Historical / United States / 19th Century    11. Sport, Travel and Leisure Interests    12. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY   

Reviews (37)

Great for targeting young , especially male readers
This is one book you may actually get some tough, too cool, high school kids to read.It's quite well-written and realistic, dealing with some hard-hitting issues in an engaging manner.Highly recommended.

Timeless insights about friendship and life
I bought this book when I was still in high school, read it, then forgot all about it. I liked the story well enough, because it was about swimming. But years later while I was at university, I pulled this book out again and realized that there was much more to this story than swimming -- that, in fact, if there ever was a course on friendship, this book could be a primer. This is a Young Adults book, but even now that I'm out of university, I still like to read Stotan! once in a while to remind myself of what really matters in life.

Love, Friendship, and Perseverance
Stotan by the magnificent Chris Crutcher is a story about a group of friends who are aiming to win state in the 4 X 100 meter relay. Yet on the way they must concure their minds and bodies in order to succeed.Walker Dupree the captain of the swim team must decide between the beautiful Devnee and the girl next door Elaine, while Nortie must deal with his problem at home.Lion is forced to cope with loneliness after the loss of his family and Jeff needs to overtake life's greatest terror.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Fiction    4. High schools    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Schools    7. Social Issues - Friendship    8. Social Issues - Physical & Emotional Abuse    9. Sports & Recreation - Water Sports    10. Swimming    11. Training    12. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Friendship