Catching Fire is the second book to Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.  Just like the first book, this book will have you begging  to know how it  all ends.

If you’ve read the first book, then you are pretty familiar with the sick and twisted ways of the capitol. But still, I couldn’t imagine the Capitol taking it this far. It’s a wonder how Suzanne Collins comes up with the things she does.

Catching Fire continues where The Hunger Games left off. Katniss and Peeta have survived the Hunger Games and have begun their new lives as heros in the twelfth district. But things don’t turn out as Katniss had planned. Her relationship with Peeta is strained after Peeta discovers that Katniss was using their “love” as a ploy to win over sponsors for the games and that she did in fact, not love him. All Katniss wants to do is enjoy a quiet life with her family and friends but her clever stunt involving the berries during the games has deeply offended the capitol. The Capitol, taking this as a sign of rebellion, goes after Katniss and will use whatever means to ensure that all twelve districts stay under their control. Even going after the ones she loves.  But the people are restless and pretty soon Katniss finds herself as the symbol of an uprising, whether she wants to be or not.

In Catching Fire, we still get to see all the amazing qualities we got from The Hunger Games. We have action, suspense, romance, politics… the list goes on. I’m sure it would be hard for to find someone who didn’t enjoy the series. I myself devoured this book as fast as I could as I was dieing to know how things where going to work out.

Believe me, this book was as hard to put down as the first book and I felt myself feeling the same concern and interest in the characters as I did in the first book. Suzanne Collins KNOWS how to tell a story.

Lily grade 10

Silksinger   By:  Laini Taylor

     Whisper Silksinger is the last of her clan; the Silksingers.  When Whisper’s grandparents sacrifice themselves so Whisper can protect the Azazel – a Djihn – she must scamper her way through the fairy world and onto the Djihn’s resting spot to restore him to his throne.  With her eyes set on her mission, Whisper must team up with Hirik and get to the Azazel’s throne before the devel army of the Dawn.  Days overtakes the fairy world.

     I normally don’t like fairy stories, but this one blew my mind.  Not only did I enjoy the first book of the series, the second one was even better!  Teh fairies are so fierce and can defend themselves with legendary weapons; unlike some other fairy tales where the fairy has no power whatsoever and gets caught in a bottle.  My final comments for the book are:  Read It!  You will never look at a fairy the same way again!

Suun, Grade 12

Beyond the Reflection’s Edge   by:  Bryan Davis

After the murder of his parents, 16 year old Nathan Shepherd is left with an unusual mirror from one of his father’s cases.  With his parent’s murderers after, Nathan goes into hiding in the countr with Tony, of of his father’s college friends.  Wehn the mirror starts to show Nathan people that are not there, he realizes that the story behind the mirror goes deeper.  It’s up to him and Kelly, Toni’s daughter, to keep the mirror out of the killer’s hands.

     When I first read the overview on the back of the book, it sounded interesting, but when I started reading it, itwas like starting at the highest part of a roller coaster and then stopping at the lowest point. I was dissapointed – the back of the book was more interesting thatn the pages within it. 

Sunn, Grade 12

      The novel Wings by Aprilynne Pike is a surprising tale that mixes magic and science.  Laurel Sewelll has always considered herself to be a little odd.  When a bump on her back sprouts into a flower, she has to rethink who and what she is.  With the help of her best friend, David Lawson, Laurel discovers her true nature and reunites with her long lost friend Tamani, who solves the mystery of  her blossom.             

     I enjoyed experiencing the surprises with Laurel and I recommend this book to anyone who likes reading about magic with fast paced action.

Olivia, Grade 12

The book Looking for Alaska by John Green is an interesting tale of a boy named Miles Halter who is intrigued by last words. When he decides to leave for boarding school, he never imagines the experiences that will await him there. Looking For Alaska has been compared to A Seperate Peace by John Knowls, and while the books have commonalities between them, there are more things that make Looking For Alaska unique and like the modern times of today. Teenagers will be able to relate to Miles Halter as he is faced with peer pressure, and difficult situations.

Schools have tried to ban this book, and while I understand that some of the language and events in the book are not morally accepted by society, the meaning behind this book is of much greater importance.

When I finished reading this book it made me think about my life and what I could do to inspire people around me. Being a deep thinker, I thought about this book a lot after I read it. I do not want to spoil the ending for you, but I’ll just say this; after reading this book I learned not to take things for granted anymore.

Carissa Pringles, 10

Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult

A young boy named Peter enters his high school and starts shooting classmates.  The story is about the trial that starts up against him and why he decided to kill his peers.

I enjoyed reading this book because the author makes you think something and  then adds a twist to make it something different.  I also liked the way she writes, Picoult makes it easy to know what is going on. 

Tessa, grade 11

Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause is a fascinating novel involing a girl trying to discover the world to which she belongs.  Vivian wanted a normal life after her father was killed in a fire, nothing had been the same.  All her life she has been different; she is tall for a girl and she has a natural beauty others only dream of having.  What really sets her apart is that she is part of a wolf pack.  She is at times a wolf. 

When Aiden pops into Vivian’s life, she believes she has found someone who will finally understand her.  He revels in magic and dreams of things no one else would ever think possible.  She hopes he is someone she can reveal herself to, and he will accept it.  Surely he will not be afraid of her. 

Some of the wolf pack finds out about Vivian’s new ”meat-boy,” someone who is not one of the pack, or like the members of the pack; and are divided. They become even more divided when a viscious murder threatens to expose,  the whole pack.  Having grown up with the pack, Vivian feels she owes them, but she desperately wants a normal life .  She doesn’t seem to belong to her pack life, or her “normal” life.  She has to decide on her own who and what she is.  Which she prefers – blood or chocolate.

I really enjoyed this novel.  It is entertaining and the adventures never stop.  A girl tries to find out who she is, and to which world she belongs.  I strongly recommend this novel.

Calynn, grade 11

Go Figure, by Jo Edwards is a great story about love, loss, and coming of age. For Ryan Burke its difficult being one of the four fat girls at her school. She has been in love once and is trying to find it again.   When her and her friend Kimberlee go to a Halloween Party,  Ryan meets a guy named Jared and then he uses her and he leaves her on the porch to the house that the party was at.  Ryan is giving up all hope that she had of having a relationship with her neighbor, the guy she later develops a crush for. But as time goes on Ryan and Josh get closer during the photography class that is being taught by a brilliant photographer named Benjamin McGann.  Later Josh and his girlfriend Megan break up because he had developed feelings for Ryan.

 I loved this book!!!

I could relate to Ryan. Going to a school where there are very few big people such as hersef can be tough.  I also think that she is a good person who is just trying to find herself in the world and with the help of a friend and her psychologist she turns her life up side down to try to make herself a better person and knowing that she can do so much more. I recommend this book to other people that just want to sit and read a good book!

Kayla, Grade 12

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer, is a story of dangerous forbidden love.  A simple girl named Bella moves to Forks to live with her father for a time.  Bella does not want ot leave her mother because she hardly knows her father.  The town of Forks is very small and very uninteresting.

While Bella is in Forks she never expects to fall deeply in love with a breath taking eighty year old vampire.  He still has the youthful appearance of a seventeen year old and charm that knocks Bella off her feet.  She can’t stand to spend a minute apart from him.  But can this all be too good to be true?  Can a human be in love with a vampire without facing a life and death choice?

I would recomend this book to anyone who likes a book that keeps your attention. The begining of the book is quite boring but after a while it starts to get really good. I wouldn’t have chosen this book for myself. It didn’t seem like something I would enjoy but it surprised me by being one of the greatest books I’ve ever read. After I started reading the book, I couldn’t put it down. I would totally suggest reading this book to anyone that would like to read an amazing book.

Stephany, Grade 11