Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Do you have a one pager due or do you just need spaces in your reading log filled up? Well, I have the book for you! Cinder, by Marissa Meyer, is a fantastic sci-fi novel about a cyborg girl named Cinder, living in post World War 4 Beijing. Here, a deadly plague rages through the city and is killing off citizens--and the emperor--fast. When Cinder's stepsister is diagnosed with the disease, Cinder's stepmom volunteers her for antidote testing--which nobody comes back from alive. But Cinder shows a special resistance to the plague and is taken to the royal palace to find an antidote for the emperor. Earthen problems aren't Cinder's only trouble in this thrilling novel--along with discovering her past and trying to defeat the plague, above Earth, Lunar Queen Levana is bent on controlling Earth as well as the moon. She has a special weapon--mind control. Can Cinder defeat two deadly adversaries? Find out in this amazing book. Once again, this is Cinder, by Marissa Meyer. Seriously. Read it!
--M.M., grade 8

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz

This book is wonderful, and the fact that Ruth and Jack Gruener survived and willing to tell their story through someone else makes it very special.  I loved the book.  I think it would be good for 7^th or 8^th graders.

--A.B., grade 7

Book thief by Markus Suzak

…shows the lives of children from the side of the Nazis as just a normal (although scary) existence.   This book does a really good job making characters real and meaningful and understandable.  I loved it and all of its simple yet deeply touching moments.

--A.F., grade 8

Lightning dreamer: Cuba's greatest abolitionist by Margarita Engle

I really enjoy books that are in poetry form because you get more details and feelings to what they say.  And you understand it more.   This shows a good way to stand up for yourself.  It’s about an abolitionist who tries to get women to be equal to men.  It’s based on a historical event that happened in Cuba.

--H.H., grade 7

Better Nate than ever by Tim Federle

A 13-year-old boy goes to NYC by himself and meets his long-lost aunt and tries to audition for E.T., the musical.

--C., grade 6

Nightmare affair by Mindee Arnett--5 stars

It was an AMAZING book. I never wanted to put it down.  It has a wonderful start and an awesome ending.  I loved this book.

--A.W., grade 6

The book was suspenseful and hard to figure out the who-did-it part.  That made me want to read quickly to the end.  It has a lot of descriptive details to help you picture all the things in the book

--A.B., grade 6

I could hardly put it down.  I really liked how some of the characters changed from good to evil and vice versa, and you could sometimes predict it, but it wasn’t really obvious.  I also liked how it made the characters actually sound their age.

--M.M., grade 6

Loved the mystery, thrill, deception.  You never knew what was coming.

--E.C., grade 6

Tapir scientist: saving South America’s largest mammal by Sy Montgomery--3 ¾ stars

It is very informative and is about an animal that keeps an entire biome healthy.

--E.C., grade 6