Fallen Angels
Walter Dean Myers

What if you were a 17-year-old that had just graduated high school and enlisted in the army? Then you were sent to Vietnam to fight even though you had a medical profile that said you couldn’t. Richard Perry had to go through this when he was sent oversea to fight in the Vietnam War in Walter Dean Myer’s Fallen Angels.
     When he gets to Vietnam he meets another teenager. The kid’s name is Peewee and Richard becomes very good friends with him. He meets his commanding officer Lieutenant Carroll, and other men Monaco, Jenkins, Johnson, Brunner, and Sergeant Simpson. During his time there he goes on patrol on a number of occasions. One of the times he goes on patrol another squad goes with him. When they hear gunfire Richard and the other men start firing at an area where they think the enemy is. Richard is shaken about the fact that it could have been his squad that was being shot at. Another time he is patrolling a village and when he enters a house he hears a clicking noise. He turns around to see that a Vietnamese soldier is trying to shoot him and his gun is jammed. Richard is horrified that the gun was jammed and he thinks he should be dead. He has nightmares later that night about the gun actually working and him dying.
 Later during a fight against Vietnamese soldiers, he is wounded, but the wound isn’t serious enough to send him home. He is greatly depressed at this. He learns that he will rejoin his squad a few weeks later. He finds that his squad has gone to a city in Vietnam. A few weeks later he enters a huge battle against the North Vietnamese army. There he took a bullet to the knee and it seemed to be a very serious wound and he was sent to a hospital.    
This book was very descriptive especially in the battle scenes. For example “There was no face. Just an angry mass of red flesh where the face had been. Part of an eyeball dangled from one side of the head. At the top there were masses of different-colored flesh.” The mood of the characters in the book is that they are either bored or terrified. In war Richard described it as “Hours of boredom, seconds of terror.” So I would give this story a 10 out of 10.   By Eric

Book Review: Scorpia                           
Anthony Horowitz

What if the future world relations of the entire world, plus the lives of hundreds of middle-school students depended on you? Alex Rider, a teenage James Bond, knows what its like. When a dying assassin reveals to Alex that he worked with his father, Alex sets out to Venice to discover the truth about his deceased parents. In Venice he infiltrates Scorpia, a terrorist organization. That’s when he discovers their horrifying plot. Alex gets recruited by Scorpia and throughout the book switches to MI-6 and back multiple times. “Scorpia” is very enjoyable and entertaining to read. Horowitz wrote the book without any long boring sections where nothing significant or uninteresting happens, so you never want to stop reading. The book is not overly predictable, as action plots tend to be, and there are parts with much foreshadowing, but Horowitz never reveals too much. Another great thing about this book is that if you truly enjoy it you can always read the rest of the Alex Rider series. For a great thrill and to reveal the surprising ending, read the novel, “Scorpia”.  By Petr

Shooter
Walter Dean Myers

What if you were involved with, but not directly related to, the death of an innocent teenager and your best friend?  How would you deal with all of that drama and the sorrow of the teenagers’ parents?  Well that is the spot that Cameron Porter is in in Shooter by Walter Dean Myers.  Cameron and his friend Carla are questioned about the shooting that occurred.  The shooting took place at Madison High School in Harrison County.  Cameron and his best friend Len got in trouble occasionally but they decided one day to do something big.  They wanted to write “Stop The Violence” on the walls in blood, but it all went wrong and innocent Brad Williams died along with Len.  Myers keeps you wondering about why things happened and sometimes, what did happen.  He leaves it up to your imagination to decide the answers, and just as you think you know, he throws in a twist and you are completely shocked.  The dialogue can get confusing at times because it has three main characters (Carla, Len, and Cameron) that were all involved in the shooting.  This would be very out of the ordinary if this happened at Liberty High School, but in some places this is somewhat routine.  It makes me feel very fortunate to be in a great community like Eldersburg where shootings and violence almost never occur.  Shooter has some language and includes a lot of violence, so I would not recommend it to younger audiences. If you are a teenager or a young adult though, you will enjoy this book.  By Connor

Shooter
Walter Dean Myers

How would you feel if your closest friend committed a school shooting, leaving two people dead and several others wounded in the incident? In Walter Dean Myers’ Shooter, Cameron Porter and Len Gray live in a suburb in Harrison County. They become best friends. They both were outcasts because they were loners without friends until they found each other. Carla Evans works her way into the story as Len and Cameron’s friend. Len and Cameron basically do everything together; they even go to the shooting range Len’s father goes to. Len becomes increasingly depressed and he has more reason to release his anger at the school and on day his temper flares. But what led to the April 22 shootings at Madison High School?
    Shooter, by Walter Dean Myers was split up into three parts. Cameron gives his point-of view of the story, then Carla, and lastly you hear Len’s point-of-view from his journal. These point-of views give you a glimpse into each on of their sides. The language and vocabulary is informative and descriptive. The way this book was put together is poorly constructed. Out of five stars, this book deserves two stars because there was no climax to the book.  By Seth

 The Last Song Review
By Nicholas Sparks

What if for the whole summer your mother forced you to get to know the father who left you? Well, in The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, Ronnie Miller, a rebellious, city-girl teenager goes to North Carolina to visit her dad, and goes from not seeing him for three years, to seeing him everyday of her summer. While she is there, she meets Will, an attractive, athletic guy, who she falls in love with. When they first meet on the beach there may not have been an obvious connection, but they grow closer and closer during the days that they spend together. Unfortunately the summer comes to an end and she has to go back home while he has to go to school. Though the summer is ending, does that mean their relationship ends too? Read it to find out for yourself.
    I thought this story was a heartfelt, gripping, story of true love. Every event seemed to bring out an emotion inside of me. This book was well written, and usually when I read a book I don‘t feel like I am witnessing the events, but in this book I did. Also, this story was suspenseful in a different kind of way because I just could not put the book down. So for those of you looking for a beautiful love story, this is the book for you.  By Megan

 
Where the Hear Is
Billie Letts

What if the place you lay your head at night and call home is also the home of “roll back prices?” Can you imagine having to call Wal-Mart home? That’s exactly what Novalee Nation must call home in Where the Heart Is, by Billie Letts. 
The main character, Novalee Nation, and her boyfriend, Willy Jack Perkins, are heading for` California searching for a better life. Willy Jack, annoyed with Novalee’s frequent bathroom breaks, abandons her at the Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma. Novalee finds herself stranded with only $7.77. Novalee has always had superstitions about the number 7. She is seventeen years old, 7 months pregnant, and twenty-seven pounds overweight. Talk about your unlucky sevens. Novalee is now pregnant, homeless, jobless, and secretly living in Wal-Mart. When everything seems to be heading in the wrong direction for Novalee, she meets some of the townspeople in Sequoyah. These down-to-earth people let Novalee into their lives and into their hearts. Through her interactions with them, she discovers the hidden meaning of what a home truly is.
 Billie Letts’ heartwarming description of this small American town leaves you with a sense of hopefulness and makes you believe in the goodness of everyday people. Moses Whitecotton, a kind hearted black photographer, gives Novalee the greatest advice and asks for nothing in return. Sister Husband, a kind, religious fanatic, takes Novalee into her own home when she discovers that she has been living in the Wal-Mart. When Novalee faces a crisis and feels like there is no one to turn to, Forney Hull, a peculiar librarian, helps her though this difficult time. Billie Letts makes the reader feel like they are experiencing Novalee’s struggles and the love she feels from these strangers who have come to her rescue.
The seriousness of the situation of an unwed, homeless, teenage mother is offset by the humorous tone conveyed in the story. At times, you find yourself laughing even at the most heartbreaking moments. It makes you get that “warm and fuzzy” feeling. And then at other times, you empathize with Novalee, bringing a slight tear to your eye. It makes you feel like you are on a rollercoaster of emotions.
Where the Heart Is is funny, sad, unforgettable, and is the kind of book that once you start reading, you don’t want to put it down.   By Amanda