Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

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Nick is a street wise teen, who goes to a a fancy private school his single mom can't afford.  When he gets involved in a mugging, and a mysterious stranger rescues him, Nick is caught up i a strange adventure.  He has to save himself, friends, his future, his mom, and all this while battling an angry swarm of zombies.

This is the first in a series called the Chronicles of Nick.  We find out about who he is and a little about his future.  I liked the story and the idea that future Nick is trying to help past Nick.  Percy Jackson fans will like the story because it features a greek goddess, and because it is a multilayered story featuring a regular kid forced into a series of unusual and dangerous events.  I would recommend this to teen guys who enjoy adventure and zombie stories.

Peak by Roland Smith

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Peak is a fourteen old climber.  Both of his parents are famous mountain climbers.  He lives with his remarried mom is New York city, but when he runs into some legal troubles he soon finds himself out of the city and at the base camp of mount Everest.

This is the thrilling adventure of Peak's climb to the top of Everest. I loved the book and I wasn't expecting to.  I'm not a fan of realistic fiction but this story is so well told and exciting.  The story is told from Peak's perspective and his voice reads true as a teen boy.  All of the supporting characters are fully formed and add something to the story.  It's a clean read and I recommend this book to guys and girls who like adventure.  If you know of someone who doesn't want to read, this would be a good book to give to them.  The action starts on the first page and doesn't let up.  My Teen Book Club loved this book.

Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

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Rene is a typical California girl. Her long hair is wild, she loves the beach, and she wears cut offs and flip flops every day. Her parents are amazing, and her life is a happy one. On her sixteenth birthday everything she knows changes. After a tragedy befalls her parents she is sent to live with her grandfather in Maine, then later to a boarding school. When strange things start happening to the students in the school Rene tries to understand what is happening and help.


The story is a romance. She meets a boy on her first day at school, and they have a kind of love/hate relationship that soon turns to just love. It is a little reminiscent of Twilight with the boy who likes her so much he needs to stay away. Rene is a strong character who tries to solve a mystery and be kind to everyone. I liked the story and would recommend it to girls who like supernatural romances. It’s an interesting take on the genre. Romance is kept PG13, no cursing.

Alien Invasion & Other Inconveniences by Brian Yansky

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Jesse is a regular teen living in the U.S. He is at school when everyone around him just stops moving. It looks like everyone has fallen asleep, but they are all dead. That's how the Earth is conquered by aliens; not with a bang and lights and battle, but with silence. What follows next is the real invasion. The humans, or product, that is left are rounded up and taken to houses to work as slaves. Jesse is taken to the house of Lord Vert and is assigned various mundane tasks. If the product is good they will do as their told and live a painless but hardworking life. Jesse and the others are not good product, so Lord Vert has his hands full.


I loved the story. It's funny and heartfelt. The aliens are not all good or all bad, the same way that the human product is not all good or bad. The story moves quickly and does not leave the reader time to wonder what's going on, but when the story ends it leaves you thinking. I recommend this for teen guys who like survival stories, aliens, and humor.

Beastly by Alex Flinn

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Kyle is the perfect person. He is beautiful, smart, athletic, and goes to the most prestigious school in New York. His father is rich and famous so he has all of the material possessions a person could ever want. His life is perfect until the curse. Doomed by his own hurtful prank he is transformed into a beast. Now he has two years to find true love or remain a beast forever.

This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Set in modern times, and featuring a computer chat room for transformed people the story is fun and exciting. It gives new life to an old tale, while featuring some of the more classical elements of the story. I recommend this for people who like romance, and fairy tales. I can’t wait to see the movie that will be coming out in March 2011. From the movie previews I can see that Kyle is not a beast (with hair and fangs) but he is all scared up and pretty gross looking. I hope the movie is half as good as the book.

Totally Joe by James Howe

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Joe is 12 years old and attending Paintbrush Falls Middle School. He has a great group of friends and a really awesome family. He’s funny, artistic, a great cook, and gay. He’s is doing an English homework assignment to write about his life using the alphabet to tell the story. (A is for apple, B is for bananas, etc.…) He has the whole year to write the story so the reader gets to find out about a year of Joe’s life. He faces bullies, his favorite aunt moving away, and his first real boyfriend all with an amazing sense of humor and style.


This is a truly sweet book. The characters are much more realistic and believable than a lot of other teen novels. Many novels with gay main characters are dark and leave you wondering if there are any normal teenagers with awesome families and friends, who just happen to be gay. This book is suitable for a younger reader (Joe thinks kissing is gross and really wants to hug the boy he likes). It’s a good read for any kids who have been bullied or ignored someone who has been bullied. It deals with tough subject matters in a kind and caring way. There is only verbal violence, hand holding, and no bad language. I recommend it to everyone. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what the experts have to say about the book:

" . . . Hilarious and poignant . . . An upbeat and reassuring novel that encourages preteens and teens to celebrate their individuality." —Publishers Weekly



"Howe tells the truth about the pain and anger caused by jeers and name-calling in a fast, funny, tender story that will touch readers." —Booklist, starred review



This book is a companion to The Misfits and there will be another companion novel coming out very soon called Addie on the Inside. All of these books are about being happy with who you are, and dealing with bullies. He is also the author of the utterly amazing and hysterically funny Bunnicula series.

You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin

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Dalton is a private dick. He's a teenaged detective for hire. The case; find out who in Salt River High killed Wesley Payne. Dalton works for the Wesley's sister to try and find out who killed her brother. Also at stake is a missing hundred thousand dollars. To solve the crime, and get paid, he has to outsmart an evil principal, dirty cops, and try not to get killed by one of the power hungry cliques trying to find the money.


Dalton is a funny and slick Sam Spade character. The book is great and really pulls you in. It reads like an old fashioned pulp fiction novel. Dalton tries to be a hardboiled detective and take care of his family while solving the crime. He faces bad guys, cliques, and slang that makes me thank god and the author for the glossary in the back. There are some mild curse words, most of them made up, some violence, and a little romance. Nothing that made me blush. I would recommend this for older readers who like a lot of action, and a good mystery.

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

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Kit and Fancy are sisters living in a strange town.  They are outcasts because their father is the Bonesaw Killer.  He is a serial killer who is on death row, while the girls and their mother live in the same small town they have always been in.  The sisters are their father's daughter, and soon they give into the same dark desires that their father indulged in.  Are they bad people because they love blood?  As the sisters discover who they are, they face dangers like bad guys, good boys, and the truth about what they do.

This book is Dexter meets Sweet Valley High.  Sisters ,who on top of dealing with being teenagers and discovering what boys are all about, are also facing a father on death row and their own dark desires for revenge and blood.  What's a burgeoning serial killer to do?  The town that they live in, although in the regular world, is strange and filled with mysterious monsters.  The blood and guts are a little overwhelming, especially in the beginning of the book.  After a while I got used to the gore and really started to enjoy the story.  It feels wrong to cheer for the killers, but in this crazy town they are the lesser of the evils.   I love the book cover and I would recommend the book to more mature teen readers who don't mind a little cursing, romance, blood and guts.

Hero by Mike Lupica

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Zach is a regular 8th grader living in New York City. He has to face pop quizzes, basketball practice, and the school bully. His dad is a save the day, work for the government, secret assignment, real life hero. Together with his mom and dad, Zach is happy. But when his dad is on a special assignment for the president, his plane crashes and changes Zach’s world forever. Now that his father is gone, Zach starts to develop certain special skills, and people all around him want to use those skills. Will Zach be able to tell the good guys from the bad? Who should he trust when everything is changing and it seems that everyone wants something from him?


This book is well written; Lupica puts the reader in the mind of a fourteen year old guy. He includes sports references that many male readers will enjoy. There are also strong and intelligent female characters for the girls who read the book. I liked the way the ending answers some, but not all of the questions and it leaves the story open for sequels without making the reader feel cheated of an ending. I would recommend this book to teen guys and girls. It’s a clean read with no bad language, romance, and only limited violence. It’s a look at the making of a hero (superhero maybe even). Most superheroes start out as adults. We read about their adult lives, with just bare glimpses of how they became who they are. This is the story of a hero from the ground up. A must read!

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

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Nine Lorien children and their care givers escape a planetary massacre.  They flee to Earth, the nearest planet that can sustain life.  They will grow up on Earth, come into their powers, and get ready to fight the evil aliens who destroyed their world.  Once they are of age, they will go home and rebuild their planet.  The book starts with the death of the third Lorien.  This is the story of the forth Lorien.  He moves from town to town, staying under the radar and trying to survive until his powers, or Legacies, are fully developed and he is able to defeat the murderous Modagorians.  This book is about Four's life, his fight, romance,and the friends that he makes while growing up.

This is the first book in a series.  There has to be more because the story does not end.  I can't wait for the next book and to see the movie.  It was a fast and exciting read, with lots of action, PG13 romance, and very little cursing.  I would recommend this to guys and girls and anyone who likes action.  Check out the link below to see more information on the book and play some cool games.  (I didn't include this picture just because Alex Pettyfer looks awesome.  It's just a bonus.)

Click here for the Book Webpage.