Dreamland

By Zoe Jacobson, Age 15, Literary Editor of TweenTribune

Sarah Dessen tells the story of two sisters, Cass and Caitlin, in Dreamland. Cass runs away weeks before she is to attend Yale. Her sister, Caitlin, is left to try and out step her older sister’s “perfect” shadow.

Caitlin spends her junior year in Dreamland, where nothing can go wrong, but the reality is far from it. She continues to fail school and she alienates her only friend to spend more time in Dreamland, hoping to catch glimpses of Cass in her dreams. Caitlin tries to fill the gap of Cass’s absence so she tries out for cheerleading, convincing herself that things will begin to look up.

She meets Rogerson, a dark mysterious brilliant boy who allows Caitlin to be anyone when she is around him. Things start to get better when she has someone to talk to who understands, so she begins spending her every waking moments with him, until he becomes too dangerous and she is forced to consider her inner strength and what to do when someone you love hurts you.

I can’t say that I’m surprised when it comes to the quality and excellence of this novel. Sarah Dessen has and continues to perform to high standards in both her writing and creation of realistic, but still likable characters. I have to say though, that I did find the plot a bit unbelievable because no one stepped in, not her neighbor, her distant father, or her emotion rot mother. I also felt that this book was written to teach a lesson to young woman, but what book doesn’t have a moral component? Dessen did a great job with this book, and I rate it a 4 on a scale of 1 to 5.

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

By Sophie Jacobson, Age 12, Executive Editor of TweenTribune

Sometimes it feels like you have the whole world on your shoulders. But what if you actually did? What if you discovered that the fate of the entire human race rested on you defeating an army of evil, horrible creatures that only exist in your worst nightmares? Dr. John Dee is commanding this army, and they want something you have, something that if they succeed in taking, will end the world as we know it. Author Michael Scott begins this action-packed story with two teens, Josh and Sophie. Only yesterday, they had never heard of a man named Nicholas Flamel, the man who supposedly discovered the secret of eternal life. But now, he is their ally in protecting the book in which the eternal elixir’s recipe is hidden, along with information that, in the possession of Dr. Dee could mean the enslavement of the human race.

Although the all-action chase across the universe may have been exciting for the twins Josh and Sophie, it simply drags on from the reader’s perspective. Exciting events happen one after the other, becoming dull. The plot line lacked suspense and surprise. The characters’ thoughts as the plot unfolds seem unnatural and silly. In the beginning, the twins run off with a man who they do not know at all and they are forced to stay with him, as if kidnapped. Yet they continue to trust him completely. He tells them that the world is going to end unless they do something that puts them at great risk and they will most likely not succeed, and they stay and take their chances? That does not seem like the safest choice. With that said, Scott’s writing was not a complete bore.

Throughout the fantasy adventure, the twins come across terrifying animals and people. Some of the places they are forced to say are not very welcoming either. The descriptions are wonderful, and would be very interesting to readers loving the fantasy genre. But I think author Michael Scott should stick to descriptions.

While on their mission, the dialogue between the twins and Flamel seems odd and forced. Sophie is poorly drawn and one-dimensional as the brave and independent sister, while Josh is even more predictable as the jealous but loving brother. Although over all I found this book disappointing, the next books in the series may surprise and interest readers who enjoyed the first.

The Remains of the Day

By Zoe Jacobson, Age 15, Literary Editor of TweenTribune

Kazuo Ishiguro's historical fictional novel, The Remains of the Day, is set in England in the days leading up to the Second World War. The cast of characters is small, with only two bearing much significance: Mr. Stevens and Mrs. Kenton. Mr. Stevens, an unreliable narrator, receives a letter from Mrs. Kenton from whom he has been estranged. He realizes his feelings for her and travels to see her.

At the time of his father's death, Stevens rejects the comfort of Mrs. Kenton, which makes her feel unimportant and alone. Instead, he grieves alone and does not burden her, in his very old-fashioned and professional way. Of this stoic behavior, Stevens says, "For all its sad associations, whenever I recall that evening today, I find I do so with a large sense of triumph."

Stevens reassures himself that he does not made a mistake when he rejects Mrs. Kenton. He chooses to pursue a level of dignity worthy of his father, thus displaying his talent as a butler.

Upon seeing her again, Stevens is pleased to find that Mrs. Kenton is much the same woman he had been in love with for most of his life. She had aged most “gracefully,” though there are now wrinkles on her face. But to his great disappointment, her marriage is not as bad as he had assume from her letter. She had moved back in with her husband saying, “It’s just as well one of us is sensible about these things.” When their conversation turns to the future, he realizes that now it is too late. He does not tell her of his feelings for her and instead wishes her well, both of them knowing she married the wrong man.

Regret is the overriding theme of the novel. Mr. Stevens regrets much in his life, though it is not until the final pages does he admit this to himself. The way that Ishiguro portrays the theme is unfortunate because his telling makes it impossible for the reader to relate to the theme. The reader's only regret is having read this book.

Turtle in Paradise

By Zoe Jacobson, Age 15, Literary Editor of TweenTribune

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm is an adorable tale of a "spunky" eleven year old named Turtle who goes to live with her wild cousins and stressed aunt in Key West.

It is 1935 and Turtle's world is about to change. She gets a job working at the marina and helps take care of an old woman she bonds with. Things change a lot for Turtle, but then they change even more when she finds a pirate map. She enlists the help of her cousins and together they find over twenty thousand gold coins buried off the coast.

I did enjoy this novel, even though plot and characterization were atrocious. The voice made it seem as though this writer had difficulty throughout the novel.

The main character, Turtle, is eleven. But I have never met an eleven year old who thinks, speaks or behaves like Turtle. Turtle acts like she is five. It was said that she is a "tough tomboy" but in fact she is just stupid and immature just like the plot.

The idea that they find the pirate treasure map inside a water-damaged- and termite-infestested piano doesn't make any sense. Any ink on the paper would have disintigrated and been unreadable after decades. Turtle would not have been able to find jack – let alone $20,000 in gold. I don't mind suspending disbelief for baby stories, but to have to do that for a preteen novel is inexcusable.

1 thumb down.

Anna Maria’s Gift

By Zoe Jacobson, Age 15, Literary Editor of TweenTribune

Anna Maria’s Gift by Janice Shefelman is a wonderful story of a young girl who is passionate about her violin. Anna Maria is sent off to an orphanage,after her father dies and continues her study of her violin there. She misses her father greatly, but believes she can hear his voice through the instrument and plays often.

Conflicts ensue when a jealous classmate throws Anna Maria’s violin out of the orphanage window and into Venice’s canals. For weeks everyone searches the canals for the violin that her father made for her before he died, but it can't be found. Finally, when it seems as though Anna Maria will never have her violin back she hears music floating down the streets. She must track down her violin and prove herself worthy of this great violin before it is too late.

I really liked this book, it was so sweet and innocent. But that was one of the problems with the book – everyone was happy in the end and even though her dad died she wasn’t really all that upset by it. But I imagine that all children’s books are that way, I just haven’t read one in a while. Still, wonderfully done.

Ages: 7-10

Pollen and the Ring of Harmony

By Zoe Jacobson, Age 14, Literary Editor of TweenTribune

Pollen and the Ring of Harmony is a wonderful book for tweens. It begins when some lumberjacks try to cut down a tree. Reb, an old man who has lived in isolation near this tree, tells them to stop because the tree is under government protection.

The men scoff, saying his government broke its promise, and that the tree is theirs. Then a young boy emerges from the trees and tells the men to stop. Before they know it, the trees are magically "fighting back." This was made possible by this boy’s ring.

The boy tells Reb he is on a mission. His name is Pollen and he was sent from another planet to save human kind from a meteor that is going to smash the Earth. Pollen and Reb begin a 3,000-mile journey to Washington, D.C. to warn the president that everyone must start working in harmony, or there won’t be a next week.

Along the way, Pollen stops to help anyone in need. He puts out fires, stops a tornado and saves people from a snowstorm. As Pollen’s ‘miracles’ become more and more famous, so does his ring. And everyone wants the power that comes with it, including the vice president. As the story unfolds, it becomes more and more apparent how corrupt the system really is.

This book is a great inspiration for tweens who feel strongly about global warming and the environment, but there were some problems with the literature. For instance, the author introduced too many characters at once — many with similar names — so I got confused easily. Neither the plot nor the characters held my attention, so I was forced to re-read entire pages after my mind drifted.

And the author told the story instead of showing it. For instance, here's a "telling": sentence: The boy is nervous. And here's a "showing" sentence: With sweaty palms and creased forehead, the boy waited for his turn before the audience.

Despite these problems, after reading about 100 pages, I did get into the book. I loved the great message, and that the book included a couple of pictures — that’s rare in a chapter book.

The book was extreme and used a "Rubber Band Strategy" to persuade the reader to act more green and environmentally sound. Think of it this way: If you want to move someone from "A" to "B," make a case something even further away, such as "C," and they will "snap back" to "B," which is the outcome you wanted.

I also liked Reb's amazing dream. It was brilliant and creative and really made you think about the future of our planet. I wish the author had put as much thought into the entire book as he had into those few pages.

One a scale of one to five, I give it a one. Reading level, 10-14.

Pompeii

By Zoe Jacobson, Age 14, Literary Editor of TweenTribune

Pompeii is a novel by Robert Harris about Marcus Attilius Primus, the engineer of the main aqueduct along the Mediterranean coast, which brings water to a quarter-million people. Attilius is called to Pompeii to restore the flow of water to the towns north of Pompeii, where he falls in love with Cornelia, the daughter of Ampliatus. Cornelia runs away from her father to be with Attilius at Mt. Vesuvius, but Attilius sends her back to Pompeii, where he believes she will be safer. However, Attilius was mistaken, and when he realizes his mistake, he returns to Pompeii to save her.

It took me a long time to get into the book, but as the plot thickened, I became interested in the characters. However the book has two weaknesses: The story was too complicated — I had to take notes on every chapter just to keep track of the plot. And the novel was very predictable — a kindergartner could foresee that Attilius and Cornelia would end up safe at the end while the ‘bad guys’ would all die. But would I recommend it? I don’t think so. If it weren’t a summer reading requirement, I would have abandoned it within the first 20 pages.

Food, Girls and Other Things I Can’t Have

By Zoe Jacobson, Age 14, Literary Editor of TweenTribune

Andrew Zansky is the second fattest kid in the class. Weighing in at 307 lbs,, he is constantly worried about what others think of him. He doesn’t really understand much about popularity and how the connections work but he sure does understand that there are winners and losers.

At first, this is the classic fat-boy-meets- beautiful-new-girl story, but it twists when they both want the same thing: to be "in." Andrew tries out for football. At first no one will even acknowledge him but that quickly turns as he starts to learn the game. He is suddenly thrust into the world of football jerseys and partying. But is this what he really wanted?

I was really surprised by this story – a kid who’s fat and everyone picks on him? That isn’t very original. But as I continued I realized that this was an amazing book with many dynamic characters and a humorous plot. I also really liked the short chapters even though this wasn’t a particularly short book. It went by fast and let me take a break between events.

I have to say I really didn’t like the ending. I've found that the last paragraph of a book is one of the most important parts because it is what you walk away remembering most. Those last few lines have the power to make the book.

This book was really wonderful but the last chapter left me feeling annoyed. It left no strings left untied. No one’s life is like that – it was just too unrealistic to enjoy. Don’t get me wrong though, I loved this book and really encourage everyone to read it. A great use of my time, just skip the last chapter.

2 thumbs up!

Reading level: Middle school& up - Posted on August 16, 2009

Twisted

By Zoe Jacobson, Age 14, Literary Editor of TweenTribune

In Twisted, Tyler Miller is the typical high schooler who sits unnoticed in the back of the class — until he gets arrested for graffiti on school property. After working with the janitors to pay for it, he got the muscles most teens could only dream about.

And those muscles earn the notice of the queen bee, Bethany Milbury. Bethany is the sister of Tyler’s worst enemy, Chip. As Tyler falls more and more for Bethany, Chip tries to get Tyler away from his sister. This chain of events takes everyone by surprise.

I really liked this book. Even though the story was very shallow and without much of a theme, I still found it interesting. This book surprised me because the author, Laurie Halse Anderson, wrote Speak, which was very deep.

In Twisted, the writing is excellent. The voice was one of a defiant, high-school boy. For a quick and simple read I give this book one thumb up. Even though everything was above average, this book was very shallow and without symbols or themes.

HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ONLY!

Undercover

By Zoe Jacobson, Age 14, Literary Editor of TweenTribune

In Undercover, Elisa writes love poems for her fellow students who are in relationships. But she finds herself falling for Theo, one of her clients, who she tries to woo with her writing. At first it seems as though Theo likes her back, even though he has a girlfriend who is both beautiful and popular.

Elisa is that weird girl who no one really gets, and who is all about nature and finding one self in nature. All of her poems are metaphors for nature or emotions found in nature. The only person who really understands Elisa is her father. While her mother and sister will be off shopping, her father will take Elisa into the forest to explore a new world.

As the story continues, it begins to reveal that the family isn’t what it appears. Her father spends more and more time away from home. Her mother spends more time working and crying over the phone. As Elisa tries to get out of that environment she spends more and more time at the pond trying to ice skate. She says she feels the music within her bones, allowing her passion for the sport show through.

But as Theo’s girlfriend becomes more jealous of Elisa’s friendship with Theo she gets in the way of Elisa’s ice skating dream and trying to bring her family back together.

I thought this book was really weird. The poems sounded like a third grader's poor attempt at college level poetry. (No offense to any third grader.) The synopsis of the novel sounded amazing but I wish I hadn’t ever read it. It dragged on in an annoying manner that seemed as though it would never end. The writing was poor and I found the voice to be of a much younger girl. This was a sad attempt of a plot that was supposed to "speak to teens."

Two thumbs down

Grades 5-7