An imaginative, intelligent adventure where compassion and individualism triumph over evil and conformity

An interesting bio of Steve Jobs for pre-teens/teens

Chaos comes to Myrridia's immediate neighbors when the King of Esterlyn passes away after a long illness and the 2-year-old King of Wyckendom is murdered in his cradle, on the same day. The heir to Esterlyn, 12-year-old Frederich DiStephane, is abducted as his uncle prepares to usurp the throne, while an unexpected heir to Wyckendom, Kathaine Severinson, appears at that royal castle. In the midst of these events, Frederich's young friends mount a search party, uncaring of the potential dangers to themselves, and traverse the length of Myrridia in pursuit. In "Kingdom in the Balance," by author Debra Killeen, shadows of past events continue to threaten teh present and new Magical talents arise as those with power in Myrridia work to rescue Frederich and aid him in claiming his inheritance.

"Finding Faith" by C.E. Edmonson is set during the Great Depression which is causing business problems for Faith Covington's father. She is forced to leave her comfortable life in New York City and go live with her mother in the Pennsylvania wilderness on her Aunt Eva’s farm. Faith’s previous education at a private girls’ school never could have prepared her for roughing it this way, or for the revelations she will soon discover about her family. Faith is stunned when she learns Aunt Eva is part Ojibwa and part Lenape—and so is Faith. As Faith adapts to her new environment and her aunt’s determination to follow “the way of the People,” she begins to discover new things about herself and her abilities. Faith soon befriends her aunt’s Lenape neighbor, twelve-year old Paul Crow. When the properties of Paul and Faith’s families are thought to be worth fortunes, Faith and Paul uncover a dangerous plot to force the Lenape people from their land.

Darkness and Light is about an artist who dreams of a beautiful. However he has no idea that she is very real. There are a lot of twists in this book and you never know what is going to happen.

Sun fairies both good and evil, monstrous creatures, adventure, magic, a talking strawberry bush, ant royalty, and an epic battle for the freedom of an entire world are in store in the wonderful young adult fantasy Victor and the Sun Orb by Amy Nielsen.

My Take: I really enjoyed this book. I was curious about it when I first read the summary because I homeschool my daughter and homeschooled my two older children all the way through school. Beside a few spots where the author made Matthew a little naive ( seemed that he was that way because of his being homeschooled, Most homeschooled children that I know are more away of the entire world than the average child their age) I thought that the author portrayed a homeschooled child very well. I was touched my how willing that Matthew was to watch after Dinah and how he tried to come up with solutions to her problems. They made a fine team. I was disappointed that he felt he needed to hide Dinah from his parents because I am sure that something could have been worked out that she wouldn't of had to go into child welfare. Over all I thought this was a very enjoyable books and I am going to give it to my daughter to read next.

"Golden's Rule" by author C.E. Edmonson centers around fourteen-year-old Maddie Bergamo who seems to have it all— looks, brains, mad moves on the basketball court, a cute crush, and true friends. Her life right on track to make her eventual goals of the Olympics and a sports scholarship to her Ivy League dream school. But then life topples her neatly stacked plans, and Maddie finds herself in a fight for survival. As events spiral out of her control, Maddie receives an unexpected gift: an ancestor’s extraordinary diary of life as a slave girl. And what Maddie discovers within those pages changes her world forever.

I received this book from the author through Reviewthebook.com. See disclamer. Tanisha Carlson is a typical 14 year old girl. Well really not so typical as she is in Honors classes in middle school and is a good athelete. Tanisha lives with her mother and three brothers in a suburb of Chicago but not in one of the fancier parts of town. She is very much aware of her position in life and is constantly trying to make herself seem to have more than she actually does. Tanisha seems to have a good relationship with her brothers (as much as a teenage girl can have with brothers) as there seem to be an us against them mentality fo the children against the mom. Tanisha even goes as far as calling her mother by her first name behind her back. Tanisha has a secret at the beginning of the book that she doesn't want her friends to find out about. This situation is later resolved in the book and her friends don't find out. Her mother also is hiding a secret that she doesn't want anyone especially Tanisha to find out about but seems to come to a good conclusion later in the story. Tanisha and her friends are constantly worried about what others are thinking of them, what the boys are thinking of them, how their clothes makes them look. While I read this it made me remember those days in middle shcool and high school when I thought I would die because I didn't have the right clothes or I wasn't wearing the right makeup or that I wasn't popluar enough. I thought that the author captures the whole teenage angst thing very well. I read this book with the intention of handing it over to my 14 year old daughter to read . There is some mild language and some mild sexual innuendo so I will discuss that with her before I let her read it but I am sure that she will enjoy it. Tanisha does tell quite a few white lies and I will discuss that with my daughter as well.

Nate looses his parents and brother and must move in with his aunt and uncle. However, that is when the adventure starts. And for this 14 year old, it doesn't involve abuse guardians like so many others seen recently.