Aphrodite the Diva (Goddess Girls) by Suzanne Williams and Joan Holub

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 220 pages
Publisher: Aladdin; Original edition (August 9, 2011)
Buy the Book:  Amazon

In book 6, after a teeny misunderstanding in class, Aphrodite is failing Hero-ology. To raise her grade, she concocts a brilliant plan--an extra-credit project for matchmaking mortals. This brings her face-to-face with fierce competition--an Egyptian goddessgirl named Isis. Now the race is on to see which of them can matchmake Pygmalion--the most annoying boy ever! Will Aphrodite wind up making a passing grade after all? Or will she end up proving she's a diva with more beauty than brains?

These classic myths from the Greek pantheon are given a modern twist that contemporary tweens can relate to, from dealing with bullies like Medusa to a first crush on an unlikely boy. Goddess Girls follows four goddesses-in-training - Athena, Persephone, Aphrodite, and Artemis - as they navigate the ins and outs of divine social life at Mount Olympus Academy, where the most priviledged gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon hone their mythical skills.

Book Review: The Midnight Tunnel: A Suzanna Snow Mystery by Angie Frazier

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Reading level: grades 4-8
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press (March 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545208629
ISBN-13: 978-0545208628
Buy the book:Amazon 

A mysterious adventure of self-discovery that reveals shocking secrets!

It is 1905 and young Suzanna works at her family's inn in Loch Harbor, New Brunswick, where she is trained to be a well-mannered hostess and a charming lady. Suzanna has other ideas for her future--she wants to be a detective. When a young guest goes missing on a stormy summer night, Suzanna's famous detective uncle, and idol, comes to solve the case. But Suzanna learns that not everything is as it seems. With a little help from her friends, can she solve the mystery of the missing girl before her uncle gives up?

In this scene, Suzanna stumbles upon a mystery inside the underground tunnel running between her parents’ hotel and the servants’ house. It’s dark in the tunnel, thunder rumbles overhead, and Suzanna soon realizes she’s not alone in the tunnel…

My hands searched for the knob, a glass nub barely visible even in full light. My fingers found it and gave it a twist. A musty odor hit my nostrils and I wrinkled my nose. I descended the short flight of curving steps into the dark tunnel. The darkness was palpable, eerie. I could hear the muffled storm through the cement ceiling and few feet of earth, and when I came off the last step, my shoe landed in a puddle. The rain had seeped through thin cracks in the walls, pooling in spots along the uneven floor.
I walked briskly, running my hand along the damp wall to ground myself. It was raw and cold, and within a few moments the teeny hairs on the back of my neck perked. I slowed my pace, all my senses instantly alert.
I wasn’t alone.
The tunnel made me blind, but I still felt the presence of another person. Was that possible? Trust your intuition. One of Lucy’s tarot cards had said something along those lines. But those cards…tarot readings. They were for amusement and nothing to be taken seriously. I hadn’t even bothered to write in my notebook about the four cards she’d flipped. I pushed down my shoulders and went forward a few more steps until the oppressive weight of some invisible warning slowed me down.
I held my breath and listened to thunder, the drip of water as it trickled through a crack somewhere. A splashing of feet through puddles came from up ahead, close to the exit door leading into the servants’ house. Someone truly was in front of me in the tunnel and, like me, without a lamp or candle to light the way. I opened my mouth to call out to whoever was there.
The rattling of the wooden steps leading to the servants’ house interrupted me, and then the door swung wide. A flash of lightning flooded the tunnel, blinding me. Tears filled my eyes and I blinked away a school of white halos to regain my vision. As it started to return, I saw in the doorway the silhouette of two skinny legs and a scallop-trimmed nightdress, blacked out against another dazzling burst of lightning. Whoever it was, was jerked to the side, pulled hard by someone I couldn’t see, and then the door slammed.
Blackness soothed my eyes once more but did nothing to calm my nerves. The skinny legs…they’d belonged to a child.

Checkout this great mystery book!!!

Blog Tour: The Samantha Granger Experiment: Fused by Kari Lee Townsend

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The Samantha Granger Experiment: Fused by Kari Lee Townsend
fused (verb): to combine, unite, or blend into a whole, as if by melting together.

There are some things that just don't go together...  

When you make a face or cross your eyes, do your parents tease that if you're not careful, your face might stay that way forever?

Well, my parents said that if I'm not careful, I'll turn into one of my gadgets.

I thought they were joking, people!

But-somehow, someway-I have become a living, breathing, walking piece of technology. Apparently my head now has a built-in GPS and my palm is equipped with talking and texting capabilities-just like my cell phone!

Now I'm a techno-superhero with powers that seem to have a mind of their own. And, in my case, keeping a secret identity is harder than it sounds. I short-circuit every time Trevor Hamilton looks my way. Like being a girl isn't stressful enough.

My review

Well, let me just start out by saying that Fused was a witty, fun, cute and quick read.  Samantha Granger is such a smart, bubbly, fashionable character. I just fell in love with her at once. Of course, this book has the classic best friend Melody Stuart and the cute guy to crush on Trevor Hamilton.

I really loved the part, of the book, where Samantha gets Zapped, and basically becomes a cell phone. It happens pretty fast in the book, Townsend doesn't waste anytime getting into the action.

This book was so funny, especially when Samantha was asked a question in class and couldn't control herself not to answer. She sounded like a robot, giving a perfect encyclopedia answer. When everyone would gape at her afterward, she would always come up with some funny excuse as to why.

Samantha the main character, is in the eighth grade, she definitely had thoughts in her head about Trevor, that were a little more mature than your average 14 yr. old. However, she also had her freak out moments where she totally acted her age. That's what I liked about her, she had many layers to her character.

This book has a great action packed storyline.  Imagine some Angelina Jolie character (only younger)working as a spy for the Government. Well, not that exact same thing but, close enough. Trust me, it will keep you glued until the very end. Trust me, I can't tell you what happens *spoilers* but, it's a great ride! 

Fused also has a sequel to follow called Fearless. Buy Fused or get it at the library and there will be a sneak peek of the sequel at the end of the book. Enjoy!

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; 1 edition (November 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402240422
ISBN-13: 978-1402240423

Profanity: none
Sexual: none
violence: mild

Blog Tour: Interview of Kari Lee Towsend author of Fused

Hello and welcome to the Fused Blog Tour

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It was very kind for Kari Lee Townsend to answer some questions for Reading Teen...

RT:  How did you get this very creative idea of a storyline?

Kari T:  Hi Amy, thanks so much for having me here! I got this idea because I have four children ranging from preteen to full-blown teenagers, and they are ALL obsessed with technology. They use every kind of gadget imaginable, but they especially love their cell phones. They love to drive me crazy with their non-stop texting, so one day I said, “Be careful, one day you might turn into one of your gadgets!” and viola, Samantha Granger was born! Of course now I drive them crazy with my constant questions about technology, and my following their every move as I observe them. But hey, turnabout is fair play in my book...at least I put them in the dedication.

RT: What was your inspiration for the main character Samantha Granger?

Kari T: Good question. I’m not really sure. I was trying to create characters I thought kids of many ages could relate to and would enjoy reading about. My daughter loves iCarly, so I wanted someone who was like Carly and her friend Sam. They crack me up together and make such a great team. Also I had a Hollywood director sign on to adapt the book to a screenplay before the book was even finished, so early on I tried to picture who would be perfect to play to my lead characters, and again, iCarly came to mind. That’s how Sam and Mel were born.

RT: Do you feel like this book will relate to the middle grade age group, since it is about cell phones, which is so very popular in today's society?

Kari Lee Townsend

Kari T:  Absolutely! When I first started writing book one, FUSED, two of my children were 11 and 12 ½ and they were by far the worst addicts of all when it came to their gadgets. They must have horrible neck cramps from constantly looking down, and I swear their thumbs must be about ready to fall off for how fast they text. I’ve never seen anything like it. And if you ask them a question, they can literally look up, answer you, and then look back down while never once missing a letter on their cell phone keyboards! If only they put that much energy into their homework! And I have to say they helped me brainstorm a lot of the cool action adventure scenes, so I guess I can’t complain too much.

RT: Do you support the idea of so many young kids today having a cell phone? Do you feel like it can get in the way of their studies at school?

Kari T:  As a parent, I love the idea of being able to check in with my children whenever I want. And with my children involved in so many activities, it’s convenient for them to have phones to call me when they are done. I also think a kid’s social life is very important to him or her. I don’t see an issue with them having cell phones, but I do think parents need to set limits. Kids need to learn there are legitimate times and a places for texting. Places like the dinner table, church, restaurants and movie theatres are not some of those. Although, I have to admit, adults can be just as guilty of breaking social etiquette when using their cell phones. And finally, you’d be surprised at how many children sneak their phones in bed with them at night and text all night long, then fall asleep in school the next day. Other than that, I say text away.

RT: I'm excited to read this book, it sounds like a very fun read. Who was your favorite author as a middle grade student and why?

Kari T:  Oh my, I’m going to show my age here, big-time! I used to love the Nancy Drew books by Mildred Benson. Action and adventure scenes are so exciting and trying to figure out a puzzle has always been so much fun for me. I loved mysteries both then and now. In fact I also write an adult cozy mystery series called The Fortune Teller Mysteries, but book one in the new series called Tempest in the Tea Leaves doesn’t come out until August.

RT: What was your favorite snack, while writing this book?

Kari T:   LOL….I have to say I’ve never been asked that question before. Hmmm, well, I started writing many years ago during naptime when my children were little. I’m so used to writing during that time slot that to this day, even with them all in school now, I still enjoy writing in the afternoon the most. Sooo, I always have a diet cola (I switch between Diet Pepsi and Diet Coke to keep from getting bored). When I’m trying to be really “good,” I have a mini-bag of smart popcorn. But when I’m being really bad, I go for both salty and sweet. Some kind of yummy chips and ANY kind of chocolate. Although, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and Peanut M&M’s are my favorites! Shhh….don’t tell! 

RT: How long did it take you to write Fused?

Kari T:  Writing two series at the same time can be challenging. Thank goodness I write fast! My average goal is 10 pages a day, five days a week, which is 50 pages per week. That means for a 200 page book, it only takes me one month to write the first draft. But I always take a second month to polish. However, if I get behind and it’s getting close to my deadline, I have been known to finish a book in two weeks, but that’s so not pretty! Procrastination is a bad thing…always remember that ;-)

RT: How did you celebrate, when you finished writing 'Fused' ?

Kari T:  I had a glass of champagne, did a happy dance around my house, and then took a couple of weeks off. I always recharge my mental battery after a book, so I don’t risk burning out. I also love to brainstorm and think my plots through during that time without any actual physical writing. And it helps that I alternate books in both of my series so that I’m writing something new and fresh and won’t get bored. By the time I come back to write another Samantha Granger book, it seems new and exciting once more. But right now my break time is over, so I guess I’d better get back to work on book three, FREEDOM! Thanks so much for having me. It’s been fun J To find out more about me and all my books including my mystery series that debuts in August called TEMPEST IN THE TEA LEAVES: A FORTUNE TELLER MYSTERY go to http://www.karileetownsend.com/