Archenemy by Frank Beddor

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 370 pages
Publisher: Dial (October 15, 2009)
Buy the Book:  Amazon

Title and Author

Archenemy Frank Beddor

Plot Summary

So in this book Alyss is fighting with her duty and her love to Dodge. She also has suspicions of the suite family the Diamonds, and the Arch, the king of Borderland, has a weapon that will destroy Wonderland AND a bit of Borderland. And to top it all off Redd is back from earth.

Plot High Point

To me it is in the end!!!!!!!!!!!AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE THE END!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Setting

There is a LOT let's just leave it at that.

Personal Opinion

I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Favorite character: Dodge Anders 2nd favorite character: Alyss Heart Favorite Creature: Jaborwoky Favorite place: Heart Place Main character: Alyss Heart Main place: Um not sure I know I am just 10 but....I LOVED IT!!! I loved how Alyss is getting over Leopold and is with Dodge again!!!! I was SO freaked when she was about to marry Leopold. I REALLY didn't want Alyss to marry him! If she had i would have contacted Frank and told him to redo that and Dodge save her WAY before Leopold asked her! So thats why I was hanging on every word when Dodge and Alyss's romance came into the page and when that happens my heart is normally going SO fast!! So I love when this book has romance and action! But it is sad sometimes....BUT I STILL LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Winners of Darke: Septimus Heap Book 6

Sorry for the delay in announcing winners!  We've been on vacation!

And the winners are......

• Dori
• Shay-la
• Olivia
• Tiffany Falik

Congrats!!
We will email you!

~The Reading Tween Gang

Balto And The Great Race By Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (December 21, 1999)

• Balto has a quiet life as a sled dog—until tragedy strikes. Dozens of children in Nome become sick with diphtheria. Without antitoxin serum, they will perish—and the closest supply is 650 miles away! The only way to get the serum to Nome is by sled, but can the dogs deliver it in time? Heading bravely into a brutal blizzard, Balto leads the race for life.

This book is about a dog named Balto but that's a bit obvious. I forget a LOT of the people's names!!! In this book tons of people get sick in Nome, Alaska with diphtheria and so it spreads really quickly! The only cure is called antitoxin and the only supply is 650 miles away!! So the people who delivered the mail had a idea to get as many musher's that would come forth to go and it the med's and they'd all go in different places to get the med's and bring it back to Nome.

I didn't like this book very much because it didn't have any detail and it was like someone looking down from above what they saw. Balto is my favorite because the book only has like two people. I also liked him because he had REALLY good senses and because in the middle of a storm when no other dog could find the way he could.  If you like books about history, or dogs, you might like it.

BRANSEN

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment By James Patterson

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (April 1, 2007)
Audio CD

Publisher: Hachette Audio; Abridged edition (April 11, 2005)

Buy the book:  Audio, Paperback

In James Patterson's blockbuster series, fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride, better known as Max, knows what it's like to soar above the world. She and all the members of the "flock"--Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel--are just like ordinary kids--only they have wings and can fly. It may seem like a dream come true to some, but their lives can morph into a living nightmare at any time...like when Angel, the youngest member of the flock, is kidnapped and taken back to the "School" where she and the others were experimented on by a crew of wack jobs. Her friends brave a journey to blazing hot Death Valley, CA, to save Angel, but soon enough, they find themselves in yet another nightmare--this one involving fighting off the half-human, half-wolf "Erasers" in New York City. Whether in the treetops of Central Park or in the bowels of the Manhattan subway system, Max and her adopted family take the ride of their lives. Along the way Max discovers from her old friend and father-figure Jeb--now her betrayed and greatest enemy--that her purpose is save the world--but can she?

In this book Max and the flock, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel, are living in peace until one day Erasers, people who can change from human to a wolf, attach their home and force them to leave and go on the run.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!!!!! I LOVED IT cause it's so adventurous!  My favorite people are Max, Angel, and Fang! I like Max because she was strong and cool! Then I like Fang because he is so like emo and stuff! I like Angel because she is cute and she can read minds! I LOVE this book it's so violent and stuff!!!!!!!

The reader was REALLY good. She had like awesome voices for everyone!  The audio that we listened to also had music and some sound effects.  Not too much, but it was different than others I've listened to.

Book Review: Captain Awesome... To the Rescue by Stan Kirby

Reading level: Ages 9-12 
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Little Simon; Original edition (April 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1442435615
ISBN-13: 978-1442435612
Buy the Book: Amazon

Eugene is an imaginative eight-year-old boy who loves comic books and superheroes. Eugene also has his very own supersecret, superhero alter ego named Captain Awesome. MI-TEE!
When the McGillicudy family relocates to a new town called Sunnyview, silly second grader Eugene starts a new school, finds a best friend AND even finds time to defend his toys from his two-year-old little sister, Molly! Luckily Eugene's secret superhero alter ego Captain Awesome is there to protect Sunnyview...and the universe... from a hilarious cast of creative, comical "bad guys."

My Review

The writing was very good and I liked how the author would tell you exactly what was happening
and I read the book in just two days. I really enjoyed the book and it was very easy to read. I think I liked Eugene most because he had such good imagination and he would play in his room and pretend he was saving people from lava. The book was set either at Eugene's home or school. I didn't like how Eugene was only at his school or at his house, sometimes it became boring. And the author didn't really explain Eugene's life or his friends and sister. My favorite part would have to be the pictures, they where really cool and I liked them very much, George O'Conner did a very good job. If you like Super-hero books, this was a good one!

This is funny ......

About the Author

When Stan Kirby was 6-years-old, he tied a beach towel around his neck and became Super Commander Beach Boy. He tried his best to protect sand castles from the waves, keep seagulls away from his French fries and keep the beach clean.

When Stan's not creating the awesome adventures of Captain Awesome, he loves reading comic books, eating okra and hang-gliding (but not at the same time).


About the Illustrator

George O'Connor's cover -- as a mild-mannered clerk in one of Gotham's most beloved children's bookstores -- was completely blown when his first picture book, KAPOW!, exploded onto the scene. Forced to leave the bookselling world behind, he now spends even more time in his secret Brooklyn, New York, hideout -- where he uses his amazing artistic powers to strike fear in the hearts of bad guys everywhere!

Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 4)

Today we have a guest reviewer with us! Pacey is nine years old and this is his first review for Reading Tween. We hope they'll be many more to come. If you or your son or daughter would like to see your Elementar/Middle Grade Review on Reading Tween, email us at ReadingTween(at)ReadingTeen.net

Version: paper back
Publisher: Amulet books
Pages: 224
Reading level: 8 upwards

Plot summary:

Dog Days is the 4th book in a series, about school student Greg Heffley and his life’s problems, which he brings mostly upon himself. Again, Jeff Kinney has created, in words and pictures, a highly laughable cartoon novel/diary. As in the other books in the series, the emphasis is on the general goofiness that comes with being a self-centered adolescent and the often unexpected results, at least to Greg.

Well, it all starts of with Greg playing video games during the school holidays, but his mum wants to do something a whole lot different, so she decides she wants to go to the beach for a day. Instead his friend Rowley takes Greg to the beach first and they stay in an old house, with no electricity or video games. Greg gets bored quickly and scares his friend so bad, Greg’s father has to leave work early to pick them up. Greg and Rowley end up falling out.

His mum takes him to the pool and Greg tries to impress a girl called Heather Hills, but it doesn’t work out too well. Rowley’s mum invites Greg to come along to the fair and both boys make up, so Greg’s summer gets better.

Plot high point:

When Greg and Rowley sleep in the old beach house and get scared.

Low point:

Unfortunately it’s the summer and no time is spent at school, where it may have been funnier.

Main characters:

Greg-main, Rowley-friend, Fregly-creepydude, Heather Hills-Greg’s friend, Manny-his little brother and Rodrick-his big brother.

Setting:

Old creepy beach house, in the street, car, at the fair, swimming pool and beach.

Personal opinion:

This is the first wimpy kid diary I’ve read, I thought it was funny enough and I like the way it’s set out like a sort of ‘comic’ type diary.

 PACEY

Hachette Audio Giveaway! Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson

Have you heard?  June is Audiobook Month!

We listen to TONS of audiobooks!  

We love them!

And today we have an awesome giveaway for you!

Hachette Audio has offered us TWO copies of 

Middle School:  The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson Audiobook

Mark it on Goodreads

Rafe Khatchadorian has enough problems at home without throwing his first year of middle school into the mix. Luckily, he's got an ace plan for the best year ever, if only he can pull it off: With his best friend Leonardo the Silent awarding him points, Rafe tries to break every rule in his school's oppressive Code of Conduct. Chewing gum in class-5,000 points! Running in the hallway-10,000 points! Pulling the fire alarm-50,000 points! But when Rafe's game starts to catch up with him, he'll have to decide if winning is all that matters, or if he's finally ready to face the rules, bullies, and truths he's been avoiding.

James Patterson is the best selling author of books like Maximum Ride and Witch and Wizard, both of which we loved!  So we're really excited to get a chance to listen to this book as well!

If you'd like a chance to win this audiobook, here's what you need to do:

• US/Canada only, no PO boxes.
• Must be 13 years or older, or have a parent's permission.
• Fill out the form.
• Leave a comment telling us if you've ever listened to an audiobook before, and what your favorite one was if you'd like!
• Ends 6/30
• Make sure to check out Hachette Audio's other giveaway on ReadingTeen.net

Thanks so much to Hachette Audio!!

Good Luck!

The Ghost Next Door By R.L Stien

Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Scholastic (September 1, 2003)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Buy the Book:  Amazon

When an odd new boy moves in next door, Hannah's neighborhood starts to get more and more eerie, and she suspects that the pale boy must be a ghost. 

I thought it was good but mostly sad. It was sad because I felt like what was happening to her was actually happening to me. At least that is how it made me feel. It was good in the writing and how much she seems like a real person! 

My favorite character is the main character Hanna. My second favorite person is Danny, the boy Hanna suspects is a ghost. I liked this book so I recommend it to people who like fiction and kind of scary stories, and people who like real-life stories, because this one seemed real. Thanks have a great day bye!

Plain Girl By Virginia Sorensen

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 168 pages
Publisher: Sandpiper; 1-Simul edition (August 1, 2003)

An Amish girl, Esther feels like "one black bird against the sky" in her plain clothes. So when she's forced to attend public school she's terrified. She fears the new world she must enter, fears the way she sticks out next to other kids, and--most of all--fears she may do what her brother did: run away and join the sinful but great wide world she's only just discovering.

Esther is Amish, and she is forced to go to school for the first time ever.  She didn't know how she felt about that, but her dad got really angry and stopped talking to everybody.  Once she got there, she didn't know how to feel.  The other kids in the class laughed at her, until one day the popular girl in the class talked to her nicely, then everyone stopped laughing at her.

This is my history book so I needed to read it but it was pretty good. My favorite character is Esther because she is strong and willing to help anyone! Then it is Mary, Esther's new friend from school!  I wouldn't want to live in this time period because there are no computers(how would I blog???). But, I think the story was good because everyone always has hope so that is cool!  If you're looking for a good book, that also might teach you something, you should check this one out!

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw By Jeff Kinny

Listening Length: 2 hour(s) and 16 min.
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Recorded Books (July 9, 2009)
Buy the book:  Audio, Hardcover

Greg's dad, Frank, is on a mission - a mission to make this wimpy kid, well, less wimpy. All manner of 'manly' physical activities are planned, but Greg just about manages to find a way out of them. That is until military academy is mentioned and Greg realizes that he's going to have to come up with something very special to get out of this one... --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Plot Summary

So in this book Greg is trying to be helpful but NO ONE listens to him. Even when he tells his mom it would be better if she would chew her potato chips a little more quietly that would be great! And he also has to impress the 4th cutest girl in his class, Holly Hills.

Plot High Point

I don't really know....Thats REALLY hard....I'll think on that one.

Main Characters

Greg- Main carrie Rowley- Friend Fregly- creepy dude Holly Hills- Cute girl that Greg likes Mom- Greg's mom Dad- Greg's dad Manny- Greg's little brother Rodrick- Greg's big brother

Setting

School, House, street, car, movie. THIS IS IN THE PRESENT

Personal Opinion

It was kind of good. I thought it was funny, but maybe I'm getting too old for this type of book.  It's not exactly my type, but I liked some one else's life to listen to for once. It was a nice break from the fantasy I normally read.  The audiobook reader was kinda good.  Sometimes he made Greg sound a little bit snotty.  He did different voices, but since it was a journal, it was mostly Greg.  I'm going to give this audiobook to my little brother, he will probably love it!!

 

The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers (Super Diaper Baby 2) By Dav Pilkey

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (July 12, 2011)
Buy the book:  Amazon

George and Harold (the co-stars of the enormously popular Captain Underpants series) are in big trouble again! Their mean principal, Mr. Krupp, has had it with their comic books. But the boys aren't giving up, and they decide to create an all-new epic novel about a subject they've never tackled before!

 The Story:

Every chapter switches between Billy and his dog, and Dr. Dilbert Dinkle and his cat.  The book is about how Dr. Dilbert Dinkle was robbing a bank, and he had a liquidator 2000 that turns anything into water.  He accidentally turns himself into water, which he thinks is a good thing, until his cat drinks him....and then does what cat's do......turning Dr. Dinkle into animated pee.  (haha, awesome)  Then he decides he will destroy every toilet in town.  Super diaper baby has to save the town....and the toilets.....from the giant Dr. Dinkle pee monster.

My favorite character:

I really liked Super Diaper baby and the cat, Petey.  I liked Super Diaper Baby because he's really funny.  I liked Petey because he was a villian, a he got really out of control sometimes and told some hilarious (and gross) jokes.

Did I like the book?

I liked this book a lot.  It was a lot of fun.  It was "THE BEST BOOK IN THE WORLD" but it was really funny, and I am glad I read it.  One thing I really love about the book is something called Flip-o-rama.  You hold down one page, hold the corner of the other, and flip the page back and forth and it looks like a live action cartoon.  It's awesome!!  I haven't read the first Super Diaper Baby book, but this one still made sense.  I definitely want to read the first one now.

BRANSEN

 

Septimus Heap, Book Six: Darke Review and Giveaway

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 656 pages
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (June 7, 2011)
Website:  Darke
Buy the Book:  Amazon
First Book:  Magyk

If you haven't read any of the Septimus Heap books, check out our review of the first book, Magyk, here.

In the sixth book of the Magykal series, Alther Mella has been Banished, a Darke Domaine engulfs the Castle, and a Darke dragon is on the loose. Septimus Heap must use all of his skills to save the Castle and the Wizard Tower from destruction: He must enter the Darke. But he cannot do this alone. With the help of Jenna, Alther Mella, Marcellus Pye, and Septimus's estranged brother, Simon Heap, Septimus and Marcia Overstrand battle the spreading Darkenesse. Will Septimus succeed in protecting his Magykal world?

Septimus and Jenna are back in another captivating novel by Angie Sage.  What will happen now that DomDaniel is gone. What will happen to the two-faced ring. Will Septimus and Jenna forgive Simon for what he did. What will happen during Septimus’s Darke Week? Find out soon!

Darke captures your attention for hours on end and you will not want to put it down. I can guarantee it.

Olivia

_______________________

GIVEAWAY!

Thanks to HarperCollins Childrens, we have FOUR copies of Darke to give away to followers of this blog!!

Rules:

• International.
• Ends 6/21.
• Must be 13 years or older, or have a parent's permission.
• Fill out the form.
• Leave a comment if you want!

WINNERS: http://readingtween.blogspot.com/2011/06/winners-of-darke-septimus-heap-book-6.html

Heidi Heckelbeck Has A Secret by Wanda Coven

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Little Simon; Original edition (January 3, 2012)
Buy the book:  Amazon

Meet Heidi Heckelbeck. Heidi is just like any other 8 year-old. She eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. She hates all vegetables. She picks on her younger brother, Henry. She begrudgingly does her homework. She’s a witch. A witch? Yup. That’s right. Heidi is a witch in disguise.

My Review

I really liked it because it was funny and I think my favorite characters were Heidi and her little Brother! They were really funny.  I liked her brother because he was really funny, like when he dressed in his mom's high-heels and his dad's glasses!! That was hilarious! I think that it was not bad at all, and I would really recommend this book! I think this is good for little kids and stuff, because it was a really easy read!!! I LOVED IT!! I would definitely read more in this series!

Hey, I LUV Y'ALL!!!
-Anna <3

In My Mailbox

So our moms went to BookExpo America in New York City, and they brought us home a bunch of new books to review!!  Here's what we got!




In my mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

The Looking Glass Wars By Frank Beddor

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Speak (August 21, 2007)

Plot Summary

This book is about a girl named Alyss (Alice) who is princess of Wonderland. But it is not the Wonderland we are familiar with. It is a place where imagination is everything and Alyss has the most powerful imagination in Wonderland. And the Jabberwockies are huge and deadly and there are more than one. The caterpillars are better and stronger in these books. There is So much difference. So when her father leaves for their neighbor country, Borderland, on Alyss's Birthday, everything goes wrong. 7 year old Alyss finds out the King Noland (her dad) was murdered by her aunt Redd and her aunt comes and attacks the queendom and kills Genevieve and takes over. Alyss and The Queens bodyguard, Hatter Maddigan, are forced to flee into the pool of tears, a portal that puts you on earth, leaving all the knew and loved behind in Wonderland.

Plot High Point

When Dodge bring Alyss back to Wonderland from earth.

Main Characters

Alyss Heart- Black hair one time 7 the rest 20. Princess of Wonderland and Alice Liddell Dodge Anders- unknown looks 10 then 23. head palace guards men, Alyssian Hatter Maddigan- Brown hair and many scars. Genevieve's bodyguard. Queen Genevieve Heart- brown hair. queen of wonderland Redd Heart- Red hair. Princess of wonderland, Out cast queen, Queen of wonderland King Nolan- unknown looks. King of wonderland General Dopplegänger/Generals Dopple and Gänger- unknown looks, Can split into 2. General of the royal Millinery Bibwit Harte- albino colored his huge ears and can hear 3 streets away Blue- a blue caterpillar. Head Oracle Green- a green caterpillar. conceal of oracles Yellow- a yellow caterpillar. conceal of oracles orange- orange caterpillar. conceal of oracles Red- a red caterpillar. conceal of oracles Purple- a purple caterpillar. conceal of oracles

Setting

this happened in the past. This story was in places, ball rooms, at weddings, in houses, at battle, streets, kitchens, pools, in small rooms.

Personal Opinion

I <3 it!!!! I <3 it cause it had my hanging at every word and leaving me breathless at amazing parts. It had VERY good stuff in it and lots of action and fighting.