Shelf Life

Book 1 of the Gatekeeper Series

Horowitz’s Alex Rider series, beginning with Stormbreaker, is extremely popular, especially with boys. In Raven’s Gate he takes a break from the spy/thriller genre and delves into fantasy/horror. The result is a new series that will be just as popular as the Alex Rider books. It may also serve as a segue into another genre for his dedicated readers, leading them to meatier fare like Terry Brooks’ Shannara series and authors like David Almond and Kevin Brooks.

Raven’s Gate has everything a reluctant reader could want: a troubled hero with checkered past facing overwhelming odds, good vs. evil, and lots of heart-stopping action. The protagonist, Matt, is an orphan who is in trouble with the law. As an alternative to jail Matt is sent to a foster home in an isolated village, far from the temptations of the city. Matt lands in the home of Mrs. Deverill, a harsh, unsmiling woman with a bleak, run-down farm in the middle of nowhere. Matt soon discovers that something bizarre is going on. When he tries to get help people begin to die. Matt must either defeat the evil forces about him or become a tool in their sinister plot. The fast-paced action and the dark, foreboding atmosphere make this a real page turner and a fun read.

Highly recommended for grades 7-12.

By Mr. Doyle

I found this gem at Barnes and Noble in the teen section. I admit that I picked it because the author is Irish and for some reason I was feeling my Irish roots that day. What a great story! I was hooked right away and plowed through the 448 pages in just a few days. I hope the author is planning a sequel because I want to see how Stopmouth and his world evolve.

Stopmouth is a human boy living in a brutal world where humans and other sentient creatures (”beasts”) hunt each other for survival. All of the plant life in their world is poisonous so eating flesh is the only way to survive. The humans and the beasts hunt each other for food. Stopmouth, who has a severe speech impediment, is thought to be dimwitted by his tribe. If he cannot contribute to the tribe then he may become a “volunteer”. The old, the sick, the injured, and other non-contributors “volunteer” to be traded to beast tribes– flesh for flesh. So, to live, Stopmouth must show he can help provide for the tribe.

Events conspire to shake Stopmouth’s world to its very core. First he is betrayed by the brother who has always protected him. Then a beautiful woman falls from the sky into his village. And suddenly several beast tribes, who have never been able to communicate well, begin to cooperate and to hunt other species to extinction. It is only a matter of time before they turn their attention to the humans. Stopmouth learns that things are not what they seem and he embarks on a most unusual hero’s journey.

Because of it’s size the book will intimidate some readers. But it is filled with riveting action and there is enough depth to make the reader think about big ideas (loyalty, duty, honor, morality, etc.). Highly recommended for grades 7 and up.

By Mr. Doyle

The story is about a vampire named Renz; he is looking for his lost love Laura. Renz is one of the hottest looking guy in camp cause the two main girls which are called Livvy and Destiny. Them two go to camp and that’s when they meet Renz.
Livvy is one of the popular girls in camp and school. Destiny is one of those sisters that are really jealous of there older sister. Livvy was the first one to get to talk to Renz, he flirt around with everyone except with Destiny. It was the last of camp summer camp when Renz stopped her when she was on her way to sleep. Renz took her to the ocean for a walk that’s when Renz maid his move he started to kiss Destiny. When they were kissing Renz called Destiny, Laura that’s when he got there and put her under his spell and bit her since that day she’s been drinking blood from animals. Something weird was going on in her town there were people dieing, and they found them without a drop of blood that’s when Destiny new there was someone else like her. That person was Livvy her sister, the day of camp for seniors Livvy and Destiny where not suppose to go but as always Livvy wasn’t staying home till they found the restorer to be back to normal. When they were in camp the full moon was up that’s when Renz was going to bit Destiny. Renz came that day and when he did Destiny was waiting for him. He came in and grabbed her she got a stick and put it in his chest he died. Then Destiny’s dad came and that’s when he told her that he was the restorer. When they where talking then Destiny remembered about Livvy but it was to late she was a fool Vampire there was no turning down. She was the one killing everyone from the town, after that Livvy became a vampire and left the house the family stayed sad.
There family is still looking for her but is do impossible she is hard to find and she makes it hard. This is one of the good books I read. I do recommend it cause its exciding and there are lots of action parts.

By Saray Mendoza

Pilot Rayford Steele suddenly gets the news that dozens of people are missing on his flight. They are nowhere to be found and they sure didn’t jump out of the plane at 3,000 feet in the air. They just simply vanished. As he lands in Chicago he realizes that thousands of people have disappeared all over the world. Rayford can only hope that his family is safe as he scurries out of the airport trying to get home, not knowing that the prophesies in the bible, have just began.

Rayford is in shock as he lunges himself into his bedroom. His wife isn’t in bed. His devastated as he pulls back the covers only to find his wife’s nightgown laying their along with her wedding ring. He runs to his son Ramie’s room already knowing what his going to find.

Overall the book is fascinating as the people left behind, non true believers in Jesus Christ, struggle to understand what‘s going on. Only to come to the conclusion that the hardest point in their life’s is yet to come, the Tribulation Years. You will be intrigued by this book with all its twists and turns, not being able to take your eyes off the pages

By Perla Magallanes

Turning the class goat into class favorite was Rob Hayes goal. Simon Glass was an outcast always on the outside. At B’ Vale High there where different cliques; the Goths, rockers, preps, band kids, the popular kids, and the jocks; Then there’s the nobody’s. Simon Glass was a nobody. Rob Hayes transferred to B’Vale from “out of state”. Rob takes over as the most popular guy among other things in school. Lance who used to be very cool lost everything so he retaliates by picking on the class goat. Rob disapproves and has to do something. Rob formulates a well formed plan to get his friends involved in it. Simon becomes a science project that goes wrong. Simon takes a stand for outcasts everywhere.

This novel is amazingly shocking, reveling and dramatic. It has twists and turns that will have you in a daze, I sure was. I would recommend this to all high school students. Especially those of you who are outcast there’s one in everybody.

By Maricela McKean

The Trials of Death

This book is about a kid name Darren; he lived a happy life with him and his family. Till one day something strange happened to him he and his friend named Steve where in school when they found a paper that said “Cirque Du Freak” .They saw that they had a show of unbelievable animals that were inhuman. They went to buy the tickets they went to see the show but after a while when the show was over they stayed for a little while and they caught that a guy that was a vampire.
They never thought they were going to get into to this big deal just because they went to a show of weird things. Darren and Steve were nothing alike they been friends since they were small but Steve always have been different from Darren. Steve has the more troublemaker type of guy, the one who punks on the other kids. When they got home Darren had the spider that they had in the show, he had practically stole the spider. Days passed Steve and Darren were playing with the poisonous spider they never thought the risk they were taking when they were playing with the spider. The spider almost killed Steve, Steve went to the hospital and nobody knew how to cure the poisonous bite. Darren went to find the owner of the spider witch was the Vampire he was called Crepsley. He went looking for him telling him hell do everything he can to save his friend, if and only he gives him a cure for the poisonous bite. Months passed and he became the vampire’s assistant he worked in the “Cirque Du freak” then he and the vampire went to the vampire mountain where there he had to pass some trial to become a respected half-vampire.
Darren passed all of the trails that the other vampires but him threw. The were amazed because only the vampire generals could pass the trails and they took them years to pass it or failed it. But Darren was a brave kid because he had passed the trials. But he never expected that one of the vampires was going to betray them for the vampaneeze the vampaneeze were like vampires but they were the ones who killed. Darren was going for another journey he wanted to get revenge because, it wasn’t going to stay like this. I really liked this book or the whole section of Cirque Du Freak. I really recommend you to read this book it’s going to live you for more you’re going to want to read more and more.

By Betsy Peralta

Cirque Du Freak: Son of Destiny by Darren Shan a book review

Killing Steve Leopard is a difficulty challenge for Darren Shan, because the relation ship they had in the past. Since he went to the Cirque Du Freak and met a vampire which turn Darren in to a half –vampire. Then all of his sacrifices he had to do for the vampires to accept him. Darren then had to go to were vampire live.

Later his quest that he has to do is kill Steve Leopard. Steve the one that use to be his friend and even a brother is now his greatest enemy. The fait of the world depend of Darren if he win’s or die’s, which it is because of the second clan of vampaneze. The vampaneze are meant to bring evil to the world.

The story of Darren Shan is some thing that people think could happen to them. Even though the book is fiction, the book keeps wondering about it. The story has twist and turns, and when you think you have salve the question 100 more comes out which keep you thinking on you’re feet the hole time. Also it is full of avouched to different parts of the world. This book is better then the rest of the novels. The story has twist which keeps the reader hungry for more.

By Emmanuel Pulido

Cirque Du Freak Lord of the Shadows, by Darren Shan
A book review

Darren Shan was an ordinary school boy when he got blooded by a vampire to save his best friends life. Later on he becomes the assistant of a vampire called Mr. Crepsley. Then they both and some other friend go 2 some town to hunt down a vampaneze, a mutated vampire. Years passed and they went to vampire mountain where he had to pass five trials to be part of the clan, then becomes a prince, started hunting for the vampaneze lord, got arrested along with his friends for killing innocent people but they escaped. Darren then goes to a weird dimension world with his pal Harkat to discover who he really was. Two years pass and Darren was at the Cirque Du Freak where he is going to meet up with the vampaneze lord named Steve leopard and Darren must kill him to save the clan.

Darren is along with the Cirque Du Freak going to different places and he ends up being at his own town when he was a normal child. There he discovers that his parents had leaved the town and his sister stayed and that she had a child. Darren then meets his old friend Tommy and he invites him to a game to see Tommy play. While Tommy was playing a vampaneze comes and kills him. Later on he finds out that the child that his sister has is also Steve’s son.

What I think about this story is that Darren should be very careful and should always take some weapon with him so that he could protect himself. I recommend this book to other people because it’s very interesting and they leave you wanting to read the other books that he has in the Cirque Du Freak series.

By Alberto Calderon

In the novel Fake Id some of the main characters are the protagonist Chass, and her mother. Chass and her mother travel from place to place with multiple names and identifications to hide from followers that want a mysterious tape that they have access to. One day something very weird happens to Chass’s mother on the day of her birthday. Everyone says that her mom is dead but she knows that her mom is not around to save her life and to protect her from the enemies.

There are many problems in the book. First, music is bad luck to Chass’s mother because it brings too many problems that can sometimes cause death. One of the struggles that Chass’s mother has is trying to hide the tape. They run away but somebody constantly tracks their phone.

I would recommend reading this book because it makes you feel tense. The book keeps you so focused that you create your own images and it feels real.

by Adriana Banales

I have recently read a novel by Joan Lowery Nixon called A Deadly Game of Magic. It is a really good book about a freaky situation of four teenagers. On the way back from a competition, four teenagers get stranded in a house of the wife of an exmagician(ex-husband) that’s seeking revenge on her. Throughout the whole night they find that they have to get through dealdy situations working together to survive. And some don’t make it out alive. It’s your job to figure out who.

By Denise Pulido

The book Let Me Call You Sweetheart by Mary Higgins Clark is a very thrilling novel. It is not a very hard book to get into but you have to really concentrate on whats going onbecause there are many characters to follow. the plot line is very exciting and takes many twists and turns before the final conclusion. who killed suzanne reardon???? the answer is shocking.

By Michelle Benziger

Mr.. Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu are two of the main characters in The Da Vinci Code written by Dan Brown. This interesting and captivating mystery is based on the death of a world reknown artist, Jacques Sauniere. Mr. Langdon was to meet with Mr. Sauniere on the night Sauniere was murdered, thus making Mr. Langdon the prime suspect. Ms. Neveu believes Mr. Langdon is not her granfather’s murderer and so decides to help Mr. Langdon escape the french police. This leads the reader into a mind-puzzling mystery, with surprises at the turn of every page. I highly recomend!

by Yajira Martinez

The novel Cirque Du Freak, by Darren Shan, is about the life of a vampire and how he became one, mostly of how he became one. It is an excellent combination of suspense, action, and a little horror and comedy. Most definately a novel for those of you who love vampires. So, if you want to read something interesting, suspensful, and humourous, this should definately be on your ‘to-read’ list.

By Amardeep Cheema

May 18th, 2006
In the novel Nancy Drew: The E-Mail Mystery by Carolyn Keene Nancy is a young girl who has been waiting for summer vacation anxiously and now that it has come she will not waste another day. Nancy is finally ready to enjoy herself. Nancy feels good that it is already summer and wakes up to the sun shining upon her face. Her blue eyes reflect in the sun and her skin glows along with her reddish hair. Nancy just loves summer, it makes her happy. As soon as she is awake she jumps out of bed and puts on her gym shorts and her favorite blue T-shirt. Now she can wear her shorts and not hesitate to take them off for school. Nancy decides that she is going to go running that special morning, but as she is getting out of the house the phone rings and she doesn’t hesitate to answer it. Her dad just walked out of the house to go to his law office so he cannot answer his client on the other end of the line. Impatiently the client hangs-up and Nancy is left confused. Will her summer turn into winter? Will her smile turn into a frown? Nancy is left with a big mystery to solve as her summer has just began.

By Evelyn Hernandez

This novel begins with the main character, Robert Langdon, being awoken by a strange phone call during the middle of the night. On the other line is a particle physicist by the name of Maximilian Kohler who is requesting for Robert to fly to Switzerland and meet him at his research center. One of the scientists at CERN, the research center, had been murdered that night and Robert has been summoned not only to help solve this mystery. Reluctantly, Robert agrees and from that moment on he is swept into a whirlwind of thrilling adventure.

As the novel progresses, the clues lead Robert to Vatican City with Vittoria Vetra, the murdered scientist’s daughter. At this time Il Conclave is occurring and a new pope will soon be elected, only there is one problem; the four preferiti (chosen cardinals up for election) have gone missing. Robert and Vittoria gain the help of Olivetti, a member of the Swiss guard and Carlo Vantresca, the Pope’s chamberlain, to find the cardinals. Officers are sent out all over the city in search of the four men, and something else, something far more threatening.
Not long after, a mysterious phone call is made to the Vatican from a caller who claims to be working for the Illuminati and says that he has the preferiti. He goes on to say that one will be killed every hour starting at eight in a public place and there is nothing they can do to stop him. The caller says that these murders will be the Illuminati’s way of getting even with the Catholic church and for murders that they had committed. He will brand each cardinal with a symbol of an element; earth, water, air, and fire all in the name of science.Robert and Vittoria now must race through the city in order to decipher the clues left behind by the ancient Illuminati cult in order to find the locations of the murders and save the cardinals before time runs out.

I really enjoyed this book and found it to be very exciting. I couldn’t put it down, it was an amazing page turner that pulls you into the story. Dan Brown does an extremely good job of keeping the reader intrigues and never knowing what lies on the next page. I was left guessing until the very end of this novel. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys suspense, mysteries, and thrillers.

By Katelyn Turner

This novel is full of fun, adventure, and passion. Its great to read and youll want to read on to see what happens next.

Carine Winters is the main character of the novel. She is a nature photographer who has lived in New Hampshire all her life. Her brother is a U.S. Marshall and her sister is a Doctor. All three siblings grew up living with their Uncle due to their parents death one cold day hicking up a moutain. Next door to them lived Tyler North who later grew up to be a P.J. and falls in love with Carine. When he is afraid that he will be killed doing his jod which is very dangerous he breaks it off with Carine. One evening while walking through the woods taking pictures Carine turns out to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. She had taken pictures of illegeal trading. When her life is put in danger Tyler North is sent by a friend, caught in the mess, to protect Carine. The book remains thrilling until the end with lies and decit.Noone would ever guess who is causing all the trouble.

Personally I thought the book was amazing.I never thought I would read this type of novel and like it but I did.

By Star Bird

Jodi Picoult’s novel The Pact is a very captive and heart felt novel. The Pact is about a teenager named Christopher Hartes who is accused of killing the love of his life, Emily Gold. Christopher had everything going for him. He was an excellent swimmer, intelligent, athletic, and everyone adored him. Emily was intelligent, an amazing artist, and everyone agreed that she was a sweetheart. Chris and Emily knew each other since they were babies, since their parents became really good friends due to the fact that they were neighbors. Emily and Chris grew up together, everyone anticipating for them to become an item. They become and item eventually in high school. Then, one night the Hartes get a phone call saying that their son is in the hospital. There, every one finds out that Emily Gold has died. Emily was apparently shot in the head. Everything and everyone points at Chris. This novel is such a heart felt novel, Chris’s agonizing pain could be felt. How could one kill the love of their life, knowing that they were one and that they could not ever live with out one another. The Pact is a great novel, I recommend it to everyone, now get ready to not be able to put the book down.

By Neiva Moreno

In Dan Brown’s novel, Deception Point, Rachel Sexton is to her misfortune the daughter of Senator Sexton. A mischievous politician that uses deception and lies to get what he wants. Currently he is running for President of the United States, and Rachel is stuck deciding whether to help her father win the election or become an assistant in the White House to the current President. Rachel wants to get the job as an assistant because her current job is an intelligence analysts, deciphering messages sent to her from the White Hose for national security purposes. Suddenly NASA says to have discovered an old meteor in the Artic Circle and Rachel is called up by the President to go and collect facts to help him win the election. In the process Rachel falls in love with a scholar by the name of Michael Tolland and together they face the danger of losing their lives in order to inform the president about the fake NASA discovery.

By Mayra Guillen

The novel, The Da Vinci Code, written by Dan Brown, is about a professor of religious symbology named Robert Langdon. In Paris, four men have been murdered in the pursiut of finding a secret buried long ago. The Judicial Police believe Robert Langdon is the murderer. Now its up to Robert Langdon, with the help of Sophie Neveu to clear his name and solve the age old mystery.

By Mani Gill

A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks is a wonderful novel. Miles Ryan thought his life was over when he lost his wife, Missy, in a terrible hit-and-run accident. Miles is a deputy sherriff in New Bern, North Carolina. After nearly two years he thinks he is ready to love again when he meets his son, Jonah’s, second-grade teacher Sarah. After spending a lot of time together Miles and Sarah fall deeply in love but they have no idea how they are secretly connected. Miles still loves Missy with all his heart and he misses her dearly but he can’t seem to let her go until he solves her death. When the secret is reveiled about Missy’s death, Miles and Sarah are forced to look deep inside their hearts and figure out how or if they can move on from this terrible tragedy. The secret is who killed Missy and how it is secretly connected with both Miles and Sarah.This book was one of the best i have ever read. It was very realistic and suspensful. Its full of love, passion, hope, and faith. This is the kind of book that you just can’t put down. I definitly reccomend this book to everyone.

By Victoria Plagenza