To Kill a Mockingbird

Author: Harper Lee

In the little town of Maycomb, Alabama, a court case changes it from quiet, sleepy to full of energy and hatred. Scout Finch's father has been given the case of a black man raping a white women. Scout and her brother Jem start hearing about it and they start getting nasty looks and words because their father is representing an African American. Will Atticus convince the jury that Tom Robinson is innocent? Or will he be killed like everyone else was in this time period? This is such a fantastic book. It is so well written and it really keeps you interested. I could not put it down. I had to read it for class and I finished it something like three weeks before we had to. It really shows you what went on during this time period. If I had to rate this on a  scale of 1-10 I would give it an 11.

For Parents: It talks about some pretty touchy subjects and it has some violence so I would not recommend it for anyone under the age of 13 or 14. It really depends on the child.

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Twenty Gold Falcons

Author: Amy Gordon

Aiden is forced to move away from their family farm with her mother after her father dies. She still greatly misses her father, misses the farm, and she doesn't fit into her new private school. Then, she is told the story of treasure hidden in in the Ingle Building. She starts to search for the gold falcons and she meets several surprising people, and has one of the most amazing treasure hunts of all time. I loved this book. I really didn't know where the treasure was until they told us at the end. Some of the characters that she meets surprised me greatly. I really would suggest this to anyone who likes a good treasure hunt.

For Parents: 10+

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Seeing Red

Author: Frank Beddor

This is the second book The Looking Glass Wars series. Alyss Heart the ruler of Wonderland has just begun to rule and already there are people that are trying to destroy all the things that are worth imagining. Still even with all of these things going on she trys to dodge away from her new bodyguard, Homburg Molly, so that she can spend some time with Dodge. Now everyone is seeing Alyss' Aunt Her Imperial Viciousness Redd. What should Alyss believe? That Redd has gotten out of the Heart Crystal and resurrected her former army? Because if she hasn't...who has? I didn't like this one as much as the first. It was ok, but if I had to rate it between 1 and 10 I would give it a 7.

For Parents: 11+

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In the Hand of the Goddess

Author: Tamora Pierce

This is the second book in The Song of the Lioness series. Alanna is now a squire and still no one at the palace but Prince Jonathan knows that she is a girl. When Jonathan's life is threatened by a strange sorcerer it will take everything that Alanna has to protect him, even though she might reveal who she is.I did like this book. It was as good as the first one which is rare.

For Parents: 10+

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Reality Check

Author: Peter Abrahams

Cody is the QB of his high school's football team, is dating the smartest, richest, and hottest girl in town, Clea, and might get recruited by Penn State for football. Everything was going great until Cody tore his ACL that ended his high school football career and his ex girlfriend, Clea, is reported missing from the boarding school that she was going to. All he has is the letter the letter that she sent him the day she went missing. With that and a couple of other things, he heads out to find out what happened. While he searches, he uncovers the town's dark secrets, but will he ever find Clea? Or is she gone forever? I thought that this was a very good book. I really could not figure out what was going on till the end.

For Parents: There is one little bit of violence so I would say 11+.

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Runaway

Author: Meg Cabot

Because of Brandon Stark, Em Watts had to leave everything she loved behind. Her parents, Christopher, and the real Nikki Howard are angry at her. Then she escapes and finds something out that shocks her immensely. The only problem is that if she tells he world then she might be killed. So she turns to the only person that could help, but will he be able to put aside his feelings and help Em even though he might be eliminated also? Or is it better for Em to keep on running?

For Parents: 12+

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Heist Society

Author: Ally Carter

Katrina Bishop is from a family of con artists. She doesn't want to be part of the family tradition anymore she gets herself into the best boarding school in the country. She finds out, however, that leaving is harder than expected. Kat's friend Hale appears out of nowhere and drags her back into her old life. The reason is that a powerful mobster's private at collection was stolen and her dad is the the number one suspect. There is only one solution, she has to find out who did it and steal the art back. This mission, however, is impossible and she has only two weeks to do it. With her teenage crew and a little bit of talent will she be able to pull of the biggest heist in her family's history?

For Parents: 10+

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