The Mailbox by Audry Shafer

Gable Pace was in the foster system since his mother died, but two and half years ago, he found himself living with his mother’s half-brother, Vernon Culligan. Uncle Vernon is a war veteran from Vietnam, where he lost the lower half of his left leg.

One day after school, Gabe comes home to find that Uncle Vernon has died. Shocked and frightened, Gabe doesn’t tell anyone. He realizes that if he tells anyone, he'll have to return to the foster system. The next day, he finds a mysterious note in the mailbox that reads “I have a secret. Do not be afraid.” He then discovers that Uncle Vernon’s body has disappeared!

Gabe begins a correspondence with the note writer, and doesn’t feel so alone. The note writer even gives Gabe a dog to keep him company. But he and the note writer are not prepared for what happens when the authorities find out about Uncle Vernon. Who will be his guardian now, or will he have to return to the foster system? Who is the mysterious note writer?

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The Hound of Rowan: The Tapestry Book One by Henry H. Neff

On a trip to the art museum with his dad, Max McDaniels discovers a magical Celtic tapestry showing the mythic Cattle Raid of Cooley, in a secret room at the museum. His discovery doesn’t go unnoticed, as he is soon after contacted by the Rowan Academy, a secret school for Potentials. A Potential is a student who displays special aptitude or skills in aspects of magic. After being invited to attend Rowan and surviving the perilous journey there, Max discovers that there’s more to being a Potential than just learning some fancy tricks. He soon learns that Rowan Academy trains the Potentials to become Agents who work against the Enemy. Finding himself firmly embroiled in a centuries old battle between good and evil, Max must learn to use his skills much sooner than a Potential normally would. His life depends on it.

I felt this book was a combination of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, and the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. There’s Celtic mythology, a boy with special magical powers, only one parent is present, there are magical creatures, and a magical school building. The disappointing factor is that the writing didn’t measure up to the quality of Rowling or Riordan. Max is a fantastic character, well developed and complex, but the supporting cast wasn’t given compelling histories of their own. They seem to purely exist to move the story along. In many ways they are interchangeable. I wonder if this is fixed in the second book of the series, The Second Siege. And maybe it is unfair to make the comparisons between Riordan, Rowling, and Neff, but with so many similarities, it’s hard not to do so.

Overall it was a good book to read, and I liked it a lot. I would recommend it.

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Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Catherine Gilbert Murdock will be visiting Waupaca on Monday, September 28, 2009. She will be visiting the High School and the Middle School!

Sixteen-year-old DJ Schwenk spends her summer vacation taking care of her family’s dairy farm. DJ is responsible for the farm because there’s no one else to do it. Her two older brothers had a fight with her father and won’t communicate with the family. Her younger brother is in the middle of his little league season. Brian Nelson, the quarterback of her high school’s rival football team is forced by his coach be help out at the farm, and worse yet, he’s supposed to have DJ train him for the upcoming season. Although they can’t stand each other at the beginning of the summer, DJ and Brian become friends. During the training, DJ decides that she will try out for her high school’s football team, but she also decides not to tell Brian. DJ realizes that not only does she love football, but she might also love Brian. She becomes torn between the two, until realizing that she must choose one. Which will she choose? Can she and Brian be friends, rivals, and possibly somethimg more--all at the same time?




Check out what happens next for DJ in The Off Season, and the stunning conclusion to her story in Front and Center--which will be published in October 2009!!!!

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New Percy Jackson Trailer!

A new trailer for the Lightning Thief Movie coming in 2010!!

The Abs Diet: The Six Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life by David Zinczenko

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Brandon!

The Abs Diet is a diet which is highly popularized by Mens’ Health magazine, a magazine with a target age group ranging from older teens to old men. I, being a member of that target group as well as a reader, have certainly heard of the Abs Diet.

The Abs Diet is merely mentioned in Mens’ Health magazine, but brought to the spotlight in Zinczenko’s book. The founder, and success story himself, Zinczenko helps to reiterate the points of the diet. Of course, the main reason many men go on diets is to lose weight, but the Abs Diet has several other added benefits. In addition to losing weight, the Abs Diet can help you gain muscle, eliminate back pain and injuries, as well as gain a longer life.

The main way that the Abs Diet differs from every other weight loss plans is that it doesn’t require you to count carbs, calories, fat grams or points; in fact, it encourages you to eat more, in the form of six healthy meals and snacks spaced evenly throughout the day and centered around twelve main power foods. It also encourages a workout plan involving lifting weights and cardiovascular activity.

I found the book to be very extensive and, although not a very weighty tome, completely thorough. Zinczenko includes many examples of success stories as well as delicious recipes incorporating the power foods, and a well balanced training program for just about everyone. I find the book to be a helpful and enjoyable aid on my way to a leaner, fitter me.

--Brandon

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The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

Before the birth of his daughter, sixteen-year-old Bobby enjoyed getting into a little trouble, loved his girlfriend, and had parents who took care of him. After Feather is born, Bobby must become the parent and take care of her by himself. He struggles with his new role, tries to maintain his friendships from before his daughter’s birth, and can’t understand why his mom is being so tough on him. He decides to rebel one day, and gets caught. He realizes that his actions and the consequences no longer affect just him.

The topic of teenage parenthood can be controversial and it is excellently handled in this book. It’s not an easy topic or plot, and Johnson makes no excuses for not being easy. As a reader, you just have to accept that Bobby's life is harder for him now that he is a parent. I think the strongest element of the book is the internal monologue from Bobby. He is so brutally honest with the reader and himself and I was able to believe Bobby; that’s what makes this book special. The dialogue between Bobby and his friends feels forced and fake in comparison.

I really enjoyed this book a lot, with the exception of the dialogue. I would recommend this book in a heartbeat.

Hacking Harvard by Robin Wasserman

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Brandon!

The prize: $25,000. The hack: Take one “deadbeat” senior and turn him into Harvard-acceptable material. This is the bet that Eric, Max, and Schwarz have taken with the notorious hackers, the Bongo Bums. Max, the risk-taker of the group, immediately agrees without the consent of his group-mates, and the bet is on. Eric, the voice of reason, immediately reprimands Max for his foolishness, but eventually decides he is in for the “hack.” Schwarz, a 16 year-old genius and freshman at Harvard, is easily persuaded, and goes along with both of them. The term “hack” takes on a different meaning in this book, one more akin to prank, but much more sophisticated.

The Bongo Bums choose, Clay Porter, school terror, as their candidate for Harvard. Max approaches him and offers a cut of the prize money if they pull the hack off. He agrees, and the hacking begins. The book follows the standard application process timeline of Harvard, from the application to the interview, to finally, acceptance. The story digresses nicely with several different storylines for each character, which of course are woven into one book.

The book is told from a third person point of view for the first portion, but then switches to first person when the crew meets Alexandra Talese, also a Harvard hopeful, who unfortunately happens to be working for the Bums, in exchange for them hacking the Harvard network and guaranteeing her acceptance. Several people who have read the book have found this to be confusing, but it wasn’t a problem for me at all. I believe Hacking Harvard was a very good novel that displays the corrupt system known as college admissions. But it is purely fiction, and must be taken with a very large grain of salt.

--Brandon

P.S. Do not attempt any of the hacking described in this book. You will probably end up in jail.

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