Punkzilla by Adam Rapp

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Brandon!

Jamie, a.k.a. “Punkzilla,” is on a mission. His mission: to visit his brother Peter before he dies of cancer in Memphis, Tennessee; not an easy trek for a fourteen-year old boy who has gone AWOL from his military boarding school. As he journeys to Tennessee, he writes his deepest thoughts in the form of letters to his friends and family: his brother, his mom, his dad, and his best friends Branson and Buck Tooth Jenny. Punkzilla chronicles important events in his life, as well as the events of the bus trip from Portland, Oregon to Memphis. He tells his brother of his times working for Fat Larkin stealing iPods and iPhones to make a quick buck. In turn, Peter tells Jamie about his cancer and how it feels to near the end. Intermingled between the main letters of Jamie and Peter are Jamie’s letters to and from his other family and friends.

Punkzilla was interesting content-wise, but the writing style really turned me off from this book, so much that I couldn’t even finish it. It is written primarily in the style that a fourteen-year old writing on a Greyhound would write. This means the book has many run-on sentences and is written more so as if it was spoken word. This makes reading the book a little bit troublesome at times.

--Brandon

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Pendragon Book Eight: The Pilgrims of Rayne by J.D. MacHale

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Jeremy!

In the eighth installment of the Pendragon series, Bobby finds himself on an island paradise territory called Ibara. He quickly finds himself arrested by the locals and accused of being an outsider, which means certain death. After convincing the ruling council of Ibara that he has amnesia, he quickly goes about trying to find the turning point of Ibara, with the unwilling help of Ibara’s new traveler, Siry. Bobby’s involvement with Siry eventually leads to him joining Siry’s gang of outlaws, the Jakills, whose main purpose is to prove the council of Ibara has been lying to the people and there are more things in the world than their little island.
While Bobby is adventuring in Ibara, Courtney, who Bobby dumped on First Earth in the previous novel, is intent on her hunt for Mark, along with her new “partner”, Dodger, who is later revealed to be Gunny’s acolyte. The unlikely duo eventually locate Mark, who, unfortunately, is already on the ship where, according to Patrick on Third Earth, he will be murdered.

In this eighth book, the fact that Bobby and Courtney share the same amount of pages throughout the book is a little confusing at first, but hardly takes away from the epic ness of this novel. The incredible imagery that is becoming very typical of D.J Machale will keep readers captivated, and the surprise ending will leave readers demanding more.

--Jeremy

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Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Brandon!

Carter is a hot-shot freshman, determined to conquer his new high school. Like many freshman, he has slight delusions of grandeur that high school is all about sex, parties, and rock and roll. Carter wants to be accepted most of all. To achieve acceptance, he joins the football team, goes to upper class parties, and just generally tries to fit in. Of course, his attention deficit disorder doesn’t help very much.

Carter is a traditional lazy freshman, so naturally he aspires to be the kicker, the laziest position on the team. Hilarity ensues on Carter’s journey to eventually become the varsity kicker. During his debut, he manages to shank his very first kick so much that the football flies into the pep band and knocks out a trombone player.

Carter is also searching for love and sex, and unfortunately for him, he’s searching for both at the same time, which is often a search which ends in disaster. His main love interest of the book is Abby, a drill teamer, (one of the girls deemed “not-good-enough” for the ever-popular dance team.) Unfortunately for Carter, he doesn’t realize that he has fallen for Abby until she has moved on from him.

Carter’s journey through freshman year is a good tale of the quest for love, acceptance, and most importantly, a sense of direction in life. Although my review may not give a very well detailed view of the book, it was an enjoyable read and one I would highly recommend.

--Brandon

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Death Note Volume 1 by Tsugumi Ōba

Death Note volume 1 is the story of a very bright Japanese student, Light, who finds the Death Note, a notebook belonging to a death god. Possessing the notebook gives Light the power to kill anyone, and he decides to use that power to rid the earth of dangerous criminals. The deaths of the criminals doesn’t go unnoticed, and Light finds himself trying to stay hidden from the government who seeks to find him.

At first I had trouble getting used to the manga style of reading, but the story was so intriguing that I soon got the hang of it. The graphics were done in black and white and were very detailed. I had trouble with some of the images in that they were so detailed, but printed so small that they were hard to see. I wondered if I was missing important details, or was not getting all the information I should have from the images.

I think Death Note would create a lot of discussion in an adult or teen book group about human rights and the death penalty. It is also a great mystery story--who is Light and will he be caught? And who is the mysterious "L" character? I would recommend it.

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I Luv Halloween Vol. 1 by Keith Giffen and Benjamin Roman

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Brandon!

I Luv Halloween is not a normal persons’ manga. It is read left to right in the traditional American comic style, but I must warn any potential readers, the content is quite a bit gruesome.

With that disclaimer out of the way, I have to say that I Luv Halloween was a fun book to read. It takes place in a little neighborhood where the local children are trick or treating on Halloween. The entire book takes place on the night of Halloween, but follows several different story arcs within that time period.

The main story revolves around Finch, and his group of friends, Pig Pig, Mr. Kitty, and Devil Lad. Soon after the opening, Finch loses his sister, and falls victim to the dreaded “Apple Jack Curse.” (If you receive an apple or other non-candy item at the first house, it’s bad luck for the rest of the night.)

Another story focuses on Finch’s lost sister, Moochie, who is dressed up as the tooth fairy. She traipses around town in search of molars, which she usually pulls from live people after knocking them unconscious. A local boy, Spike joins Moochie later on in the story.

Yet another story focuses on the neighborhood bullies, and their conquest of the neighborhood kids, and their candy supply. Unfortunately for them, they cross paths with Moochie, who decides she wants their molars. She proceeds to knock them out, and they swear revenge when they wake up.

The final story is very minor, but it is the saga of two local high school kids, Biff and his girlfriend. They first encounter Moochie, who steals a certain undergarment of Biff’s girlfriend to use as a slingshot while they are engaging in some promiscuous business in the bushes. Biff and his girlfriend then enlist Finch to find his sister, and retrieve the undergarment.

I Luv Halloween is a very interesting tale of an alternate version of Halloween. The kids pile up quite a body count, between their quest for candy, and Moochie’s search for molars, in some very disturbing scenes. I Luv Halloween is certainly not for the faint of heart, but if you can stomach it, provides some laughs as well.

--Brandon

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Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

Fifteen-year-old Jane Arrowood, a talented artist, survives a shark attack, but loses her right arm. Jane struggles with the overwhelming outpouring of sympathy from friends, family, and complete strangers. She once craved attention for her art, but now scorns the extra attention. A small boy she befriends at the hospital helps her realize that losing an arm doesn’t mean that she must only define herself by the event.

The book is written in an alternative format, relying on letters, phone conversations, poems, and newspaper clippings instead of traditional prose, and I think this is what really makes the book work. The starkness of the text illustrates the fear, hopelessness, hope, and growth of the character without being overly wordy, flowery, or sentimental. I really think this book was well written.

I loved this book. I would recommend it, no question.

If you want to read a nonfiction story about a girl who survives a shark attack, check out Soul surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board by Bethany Hamilton.

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Lightning Thief Movie!

Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief is being made into a movie! Check out the website here, and look for the movie in theaters next February!!

Here's the trailer!!



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Busted: Confessions of an Accidental Player by Antony John

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Brandon!

We all know the popular kids in school. The ones with the perfect hair, ridiculously expensive cars, gorgeous boyfriends and girlfriends. Well, Kevin Mopsely is not one of those privileged few. Kevin is a flute-playing, antisocial nerd; the epitome of uncool. He has somehow made it to his senior year without attracting the attention of…well…anybody. Then the most popular kid in school, Brandon Trent appoints Kevin the keeper of the Book of Busts, a compilation of all the senior girls’ bust, waist, and hip measurements, he feels a bit overwhelmed. Kevin accepts Brandon’s challenge, though, and immediately his social status soars, much to the dismay of his old, band-geek friends.

Of course, his task would be simple, if his mom wasn’t a feminist college professor who would immediately condemn any interaction with The Book on Kevin’s part. Also, Kevin’s best friend and love interest, Abby, tells him flat out that she will basically hate him forever if he’s involved with the jocks and their ridiculous book.

How can poor Kevin keep his real friends from finding out about his project for the jocks, and at the same time, keep his jock friends from finding out about his flute-playing, love of music personality, all the while keeping the whole thing under wraps from his mom? Busted tells an interesting tale of Kevin’s journey through senior year, loving and losing Abby, getting her back, and his ongoing battle with the jocks and the biggest decision: does he want to be popular or not?

--Brandon

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Star Wars: Jedi Academy 1: Jedi Search by Kevin J. Anderson

A guest review by Teen Room Staff Jeremy!

In this first installment of Kevin J. Anderson’s Star Wars trilogy, Luke is beginning his search across the galaxy for Jedi pupils to re-create the Jedi order, Han and Chewie crash on Kessel and become slaves, and Leia gets re-united with her children, all in the first fifty pages. Luke eventually locates two students and proceeds to go with Lando to find Han and Chewie, Meanwhile, Han and Chewie escape the spice mines along with Kyp, a fellow miner, and enter the enormous cluster of black holes near Kessel with Kyp using his fledgling force abilities to guide them. . . right into a remnant fleet of star destroyers. While imprisoned, again, Han manages to convince one of the scientists in the research facility to check the true uses of the world devastators she designed. With her new knowledge in hand, she helps the three escape in her newly built Sun Crusher, which Han proceeds to use to ram through a Star Destroyer, sending it into a black hole. Eventually, Han and Luke re-unite with Han being chased by Imperials and Luke being chased by angry spice miners. The group eventually escapes back to Courescant, and to relative safety. While this whole event was taking place, Leia and Mon Mothma decided that Yavin 4, the previous Rebel base, would be the perfect location for Luke’s Jedi Temple.

--Jeremy

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Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Lydia!!

Junior was born with water on the brain, causing him to have a huge head, terrible eyesight (and hideous old man glasses), 10 extra teeth, a stutter and at least two seizures a week. Growing up on the Spokane Indian reservation, what Junior describes as his “epic” appearance, made him the bullies’ favorite target and left him with only one friend, Rowdy, ironically, the biggest bully of them all.

Stuck in a world of poverty and alcoholism he’s afraid he’ll never escape, Junior snaps when he opens his textbook to find his mothers name. That afternoon, the teacher he hit in the face with a book shows up at this house with a broken nose. Rather than beat or yell at Junior, however, the teacher tells him he’s forgiven and that he has to leave the reservation before he gives up like everybody else.

Thus begins Junior’s life as a part-time Indian, living on the reservation with the Indians, but going to school off the reservation with the white kids. The story follows Junior through his freshmen year of high school and all the year entails, including sports, prom and dating, but also confronts the larger issues of racism, poverty, alcoholism and loyalty. The pages are decorated with Junior’s doodles which add depth to his character and lighten the often heavy mood of the text.

Sherman Alexie created a must-read with this book, raising important issues and simultaneously leaving readers laughing out loud.

--Lydia

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Priest by Min-Woo Hyung

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Brandon!

Priest is a no-holds barred, shoot first; ask questions later kind of graphic novel. The protagonist, Ivan Isaacs, is a former priest who has sold half his soul to the devil, Belial, to attempt to save his love, Gena. Priest opens with Ivan riding on a train through the west with a criminal accompanied by four marshals (law enforcement). The criminal turns out to be the boss of the local gang, Rebel Angels. Being the boss of the local gang has its perks, and Lizzie (the boss) is the target of a rescue by her gang. The gang takes over the train, kills the crew and marshals, and robs the passengers, and loot the rest of the train; but when they attempt to rob Ivan, they find a little bit more resistance than they bargained for. While demanding that Ivan comply, the gang’s second in command, Kacho, hears his scouts scream from the rear of the train, where they have discovered a chained car, in which they assume are treasures.

Unluckily for the scouts, there is no treasure present, but a horde of undead zombies, who have been awakened by the bloodshed of the train’s inhabitants. These undead serve the fallen archangel, Temozarela, who Ivan knows as Jarbilong. He knew the contents of the final car, and prophesized the gang’s demise if they did not leave the train. Of course, they didn’t listen to him, and attempted to fight the undead horde they unleashed. Their struggle was in vain as they fought the immortal soldiers of Temozarela. Ivan finally steps in after the zombies have killed all but Lizzie, and defends her because she reminds him of Gena. Ivan takes a mortal wound while protecting Lizzie, and she realizes he is immortal. The wound triggers him to call upon his demonic power, driving him into a frenzy in which he kills all the zombies, and nearly kills Lizzie. His memories of Gena are the only thing that saves her. He tells her to flee the train because more undead soldiers are approaching, and subsequently blows it up.

Priest presents a fast paced novel with many action-packed gunfights. As I stated before, it is a graphic novel, but rather than Japanese style, it is read from left to right. I enjoyed Priest for its main storyline featuring Ivan’s quest to regain his soul and join Gena in the afterlife, but I think many people would enjoy it for its shoot-em-up nature.

--Brandon


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Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Lydia!

Growing up in modern day India, Koly is forced into an arranged marriage by her family’s poverty and her parents’ subsequent inability support her any longer. However, within weeks of the marriage, her husband dies, leaving her a widow at thirteen.

In a society where there is neither room nor status for widows, Koly finds herself in a home where she is now unwanted by her cruel mother-in-law. Circumstances worsen before Koly finally falls into the kind hands who will help her grow into an independent and industrious woman, despite the norms of society.

An interesting read which examines the Hindu culture, Homeless Bird brings forth the contradictions of an age old society mixed with the world of computers and air conditioned cars. The book has a particularly satisfactory ending and despite the depressing beginning, the opens into a happy story of inspiration and hope, and even finds room for love.

--Lydia

P.S. from Melissa--if you like Homeless Bird, you should try Keeping Corner by Kashmirea Sheth.

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Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Brandon!

Marcus Yallow is a senior at Cesar Chavez High School in the Mission district of San Francisco. The teachers may all know him as Marcus, but to his closest friends, he is known as “w1n5t0n,” (pronounced Winston, not “double-you-one-en-five-tee-zero-en.”) He uses this moniker because he is a prominent figure in the tech community. See, his school has a ridiculous security code, from the use of tracking software in the school-supplied laptops, to gait-recognizing technology to track any rogue students. Marcus, being the techie that he is fools the cameras by putting rocks in his shoes, and skips school with some of his friends to play Harajuku Fun Madness, an ARG. ARG, or alternate reality game, is where teams must find clues, decipher them, and eventually reach a final prize, resulting in a trip to Tokyo.

While on the search for the next clue, Marcus and his friends are caught up in a terrorist attack on the Golden Gate Bridge. As they attempt to go the opposite way from the mad, stampeding crowds, they are taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security as suspects in the attack. Marcus is separated from his friends and released back home several days later, but his best friend Darryl is still missing. Marcus suspects foul play on the part of the DHS, and begins a search for his friend using his better than average technical abilities. His search only ends with the DHS telling him to stop looking and that they will be monitoring any of his online activities.

Now with every aspect of his life being monitored, Marcus sets out on a crusade to stick it to the DHS and save his best friend. He begins his quest anew and searches for Darryl. During his journey, Marcus avoids the government, hacks his Xbox to transmit a type of internet, and organizes one of the largest ARG meetings in history; all underneath the careful radar of the DHS. In the end, Marcus is able to clear his, and Darryl’s name, sort of. The government drops all charges against Darryl, and reduces Marcus’ from “electronic terrorism” and “inciting a riot” to “petty theft.” Marcus spends three months in a halfway house as a sentence, but for half the day he is allowed to go out to his “job.” He and his friends started a nonprofit organization to retain peoples’ rights and abate the government’s ridiculous amount of power.

Little Brother was a phenomenal book, from beginning to end. Although it is fiction, it really caused me to stop and examine my own rights. Hopefully you’ll read this book and do the same.

--Brandon