Ratings Explanation

Language: Hell is mentioned as a place and used as an expletive a few of times. The “A” word was used twice and the “S” word was used once. Other words used were crap (a couple of times), slut (once), and damned (once).

Violence: A dagger goes into Nikki’s shoulder. Cole and Jack fight. They are involved in a chase and Jack crashes his car and is injured.

Sexual Content: There are several kisses throughout the story between Jack and Nikki. Cole kisses Nikki. Nikki’s friend Jules asks her if, “tonights…the night?” Nikki does worry that Jack will expect more from her because he has “been with” other girls. Nikki and Jack have spent time together in each other’s rooms.

Adult Themes: Assumptions are made that Nikki did drugs and was in rehab. Nikki’s mother was killed by a drunk driver. Some of the characters drink, and one of them is an alcoholic. It is assumed that a couple of the characters smoke. Will was injured while serving in the war. Everneath is part of the underworld related to Hell.

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Nikki Beckett has just returned from the underworld, having spent the last six months in a place called Everneath. No one knows where she went while she was away, and she doesn’t offer an explanation. Nikki has been given only six months to spend with her family, friends, and her boyfriend Jack before she has to return to Everneath forever. Jack was the only person she could even remember during her time there. Her heart aches for Jack, and now that she is back, she longs to spend as much time with him as possible. However, Cole, the one responsible for taking her to Everneath, has other plans. He is certain she is the one who can help him take over the throne and has followed her back home. Using all of his power he tries to convince her to come back with him to Everneath and become his queen.

I was drawn to Everneath because the story line is based on the myth of Hades and Persephone, along with Orpheus and Eurydice, which I find fascinating. The story is told with flashbacks to the time before Nikki was taken to Everneath, which explains how she got there in the first place. The deeper I got into the book, the more my heart began to ache for her and for Jack. Mistakes and sad misunderstandings caused so much heartache and loss for Nikki’s family and friends. In the end, the willingness to sacrifice and to love someone so deeply and fully made me cry. My favorite part of the story is when Nikki dreams each night…so sweet! This story is the first of a trilogy, and I look forward to the next book. There are several subject matters such as drinking and its consequences that would be worth discussing with your teenager. I would recommend this book for ages fourteen and up.

Ratings Explanation

Violence: A boy is prepped for an Egyptian-style partial brain removal through his nose. (It doesn’t actually happen.)

Adult Themes: Cass doesn’t know who her father is. Max-Ernest’s parents are divorced but live in two halves of the same house. This provides for some strangeness in Max-Ernest’s home life.

Synopsis

The mysterious narrator of The Name of This Book is Secret is reluctant to tell his story and urges his audience to forget everything they read as soon as they are done reading it. What could be so secret and dangerous that simply reading it could put your very life in jeopardy? That is the question that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

Survivalist Cass and Logician Max-Ernest are extremely different, but when a super-secret mystery falls into their laps, they are forced to become collaborators. Searching for the resolution to a very old story and keeping one step ahead of the really evil guys keeps them constantly on their toes and in and out of sticky situations. As Cass and Max-Ernest learn more of the mystery, they realize they are on the ancient trail to the fountain of youth. Can they stop the madness before one of their classmates is lost forever? It  may be more than two 11-year-olds can handle, but don’t count them out too soon, they are quite capable.

Delightful! Pseudonymous Bosch is a quirky and fun narrator, lightening the tension at just the right moments. One of my favorite quotes came from Cass, “Funny how easy it is to get used to having a servant. Even for a survivalist.” I think I could get used to one as well! I love a good mystery and this is a great one for the little guys. It would be a really fun read aloud too. Recommended for ages 8 and up.

Language: Zulaikha is verbally attacked because of her appearance.  Many call her “donkey face”.  American soldiers verbally attack an Afghan man for what they feel is neglect and abuse toward his new wife.

Violence:  Men are allowed to beat their wives as a form of discipline.  A women is punched in the face leaving her unconscious with a broken nose.  Another woman is severly burned from an ‘accident’.  Rumors are spread of the Americans bombing women and children.  The Taliban severly beat a woman in front of her family for having a book.  They eventually drag her from her home and shoot her dead.

Sexual Content: The bride is told to save her energy for the wedding night. The author mentions that the women share vulgar jokes.  During the dancing, the women pinch and slap each other in private areas.  The wedding cloth is given back to the bride’s family after the wedding night with blood on it to prove the virginity of the bride and the consumation of the marriage.  The husband ‘teaches’ the new wife every night so that she will have a son.

Adult Situations:  The country is recovering from the brutal reign of the Taliban.  Women have very little power outside of their duties in the home.  They are subserviant to the men in their life and have little rights to protect themselves.  Once a woman is married, she becomes the property of her husband’s family.  After a woman is severly burned, her husband casually sits outside of the hospital smoking and refuses to allow her to be taken to an American hospital for better treatment.  The woman dies within a day.  The husband casually leaves the hospital after her death.

Synopsis

Zulaikha is a young Afghan girl growing up in the time just after the Taliban regime was put down.  American troops are now in the area to help build and restore the country.  One day while walking to the market, an American soldier notices Zulaikha’s disfugured split lip.  He returns with a female captain who tries to convince her father to let the Americans operate to fix her mouth.  Zulaikha is overjoyed until she learns that the helicopter cannot make it to transport her to the hospital.  She must remain disfugured and return to her dreary life of endless housework and childcare. Her one consolation is that she has her sister to share her dreams and her chores with.  But, when her father comes into some money for helping the Americans construct a building, her sister is suddenly betrothed to be married.  Zulaikah has mixed feelings as she rejoices for her sister and mourns for herself and the lonliness she will live with.  Her step-mother gives her no comfort.  Instead, she is constantly giving her more chores or sending her for something at the market.  On one of Zulaikah’s trips, she meets an old woman who invites her into her shop for tea.  After they talk for a while, Zulaikha discovers that the women knew her mother who was killed a few years earlier by the Taliban for reading books.  The old woman offers to teach Zulaikha how to read and write and recite the poetry of the old days.  She begins to find the words tugging at her and tries to find time to study with her more often.  Zulaikha wonders if this is where she will find peace. Life quickly changes when she is suddenly given another opportunity for corrective surgery and her hope of becoming normal overtakes her desire to learn.  Little does she know that greater challenges are just around the corner and the peace she seeks is quickly slipping away.

This book was written by a soldier who actually served in Afghanistan.  He was inspired by the real story of a young girl receiving reconstructive surgery from the Americans for a split lip.  His experience with the Afghan people and his research into their religion and customs brings this book to life.   I really enjoyed the insight on the daily life of women in Afghanistan.   Their joys, their heartache, their dedication to their religion and their love for family are as real for them as they are for us.  I recommend this book for sixth grade and up because of the  insight it gives into the people of a country that we have been so politically involved in over the past few years.  It will help us all remember that we are all human beings looking for peace and happiness in the middle of life’s heartaches.

Ratings Explanation

Language: A steady stream of swear words and profanity including 13 F-words and another 3 F-words in Spanish.

Violence: Brief description of drug cartels and their torturing and killing tactics. It is related that a Tarahumara teenage boy is beaten to death, probably by members of a drug cartel.

Sexual Content: Jenn runs down the beach completely naked to win a bet.

Adult Themes: Jenn and Billy party, alot. They drink like fish, pass out, throw up and make complete fools of themselves. One night while drunk, Jenn loses most of  her clothing with no recollection of how it happened.  It is stated that in Juarez, Mexico hundreds of young women have been raped, murdered and dumped in the desert. Brief mention of a well-known lesbian and her affairs with Madonna and Angelina Jolie. A Tarahumara party is described including heavy drinking, wives in the bushes with other men, and grown women wrestling naked.

Synopsis

Christopher McDougall is a full-time writer and part-time runner. Frustrated with his injury prone body, he goes in search of a method to run without pain, focusing on the Tarahumara, a tribe of incredible distance runners who live in one of the most secluded parts of Mexico. The Tarahumara are famous for their ultra-endurance and their ability to run and remain injury free. Anxious to learn their secrets, McDougall travels to the deadly Copper Canyons, an area of the borderlands fraught with sheer cliffs, soaring temperatures, deadly snakes and to top it off, gun toting drug lords protecting their illegal grows.

McDougall hopes to gain insight into the Tarahumara through Caballo Blanco, an American known to live in proximity to the elusive tribe, but, like them, really hard to track down. When they finally do come face-to-face, Caballo enlists McDougall’s help to pull off a race that will pit North America’s elite ultramarathoners against the fabled Tarahumara.

Born to Run tells the inspiring and exciting stories of some of the world’s most (and least) famous ultra runners and the history behind their success, but much of the book focuses on what we think we know about running and why everything we think we know is wrong. From shoes to form to nutrition to evolution, this book explores our running history and what we should be doing differently in order to become the runner that is in each of us.

Inspiring! I am not much of a runner, but Born to Run has made me want to love running. I was fascinated with the different stories, failures and successes of past and present runners. Scott Jurek’s story is particularly interesting. He is a current ultra runner who almost always wins, but who also waits at the finish line cheering until the last runner crosses the finish line. Another favorite was Emil Zatopek, a Czech soldier who ran in the 1952 Olympics. The Czech team was so small that he could pick his events, so he picked all of them. Because he had never run a marathon, and because he was at the Olympics anyway, he competed in the marathon as well, asked advice from an English runner along the way, and won the gold medal! Emil was known for his compassion and genuine love for running and people. When the Soviets invaded Prague in 1968, he was given the choice to be a sports ambassador for them or to spend the rest of his life “cleaning toilets in a uranium mine. Zatopek chose the toilets. And just like that, one of the most beloved athletes in the world disappeared.” The Tarahumara and their history and culture was also interesting. Searching for their secrets and methods led McDougall to state, “That is the real secret of the Tarahumara: they’d never forgotten what it felt like to love running.”

Aside from the language I recommend this book wholeheartedly. It is not written for young adults, but I think anyone, runner or not, would benefit from reading Born to Run. Recommended for 18+ because of language, but you have to be the judge of that, of course.

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  There are many instance of fighting with muskets, knives or fists.  Many people die and there is some description of the various ways.  There are many chase scenes.  Brusenna is frequently treated roughly.  She is shot, hit, bound and gagged.  There is a type of war between soldiers and the witches and many people die.  Brusenna almost drowns.

Sexual Content:  A boy taunts a girl and then grabs her breast.  Senna strips naked and applies a potion to her body.  When a girl changes from a seal to a human, she is naked.  A boy jumps on top of her to cover her up.  Someone asks, “oh, you’re ashamed of being naked?”  There are some kisses throughout.

Adult Themes:  There is some severe prejudice against the witches.  They are treated unfairly and ostracized for who they are, even though they do not harm anyone.  Brusenna experiences this in her village as people will not sell to her and she is forced to pay exorbitant prices for everything.  Her mother leaves her to seek out the other witches and Bresenna feels abandoned.

Synopsis

Once upon a time the witch song controlled the world and it’s elements, keeping everything in balance.  Then things started to change and the witches began to disappear.  When Brusenna’s mother, one of the last remaining witches, is also taken captive by an evil traitor witch, Brusenna realizes that she is the last hope for a dying world.  Unfortunately, she is also very young and inexperienced in the ways of the witch.  Her journey is frightening and dangerous but she is not alone.  Her quest brings many loyal and true friends to her cause.  But will that be enough to stop the evil before it grows to strong?  Will Brusenna’s song be enough to save them?

This book was filled with adventure and action.  I enjoyed the interesting take on witches and the beautiful world that was created in my mind.  Brusenna’s own personal journey is heart warming.  She has spent most of her life being treated poorly by everyone around her.  Her self esteem is low.  She feels weak and uneducated.  But through trials and experiences her confidence grows and she begins to realize the extraordinary power that lies within her.  There were many things to like about this book.  This book is labeled for 11 years old and up and while I’m not sure I’d let my 11 year old read it, I’ll be passing this one on to my 14 year old.  She will love this book.

Ratings Explanation

Language:  The language is not offensive, but it is mentioned that the word “chicken butt” is used in place of the “A” word.

Sexual Content:  There are a few kisses included in the story.

Adult Themes:  A boy’s mother died from breast cancer. A character in the story struggled with drugs, drinking, stealing, and taking advantage of a teenage girl; although no details of this behavior were described.

Synopsis

High School student Chloe Hart has no interest in the popular crowd, especially one boy by the name of Taylor Anderson! He is the guy every girl dreams of dating. Even though he pays attention to Chloe and seems to enjoy teasing her, she refuses to fall for him, no matter how charming and attractive he may be. For some reason at the beginning of senior year he decides to be everywhere she is…how annoying! Chloe is determined to avoid him at all costs, but it just might be too late to resist him any longer…

Author Jenni James has created a modern version of the timeless classic Pride and Prejudice and has placed it in a high school setting in Farmington, New Mexico. This story was funny and endearing as well as clean! In fact, Chloe hosts a Halloween party and informs Taylor that there will be no drinking. I loved the way names from the original novel were woven into the story. Chloe’s middle name is Elizabeth and Taylor’s middle name is Darcy. The story also deals with the subject of being careful whom we date. One of the characters preys on teenage girls with the intention of taking advantage of them. This would be a very good discussion to have with your daughter on personal safety! The story is part of a series entitled, The Jane Austen Diaries with Pride & Popularity being the first in the series. The rest will include modern day versions of five additional Jane Austen novels. I would recommend this book for ages twelve and up.

Ratings Explanation

Language: There is frequent use of “damn”. God, hell and ass are used a couple of times.

Violence: This is a murder mystery and ten people are murdered using a variety of methods (shot with a pistol, poisoning, hanging, bludgeoning, drowning). The deaths are not graphically described. Each of the victims had previously been responsible (but never punished) for causing the death of one or more persons. These deaths are mentioned, but again, are not graphically described.

Sexual Content: General McArthur’s wife had a lover. McArthur was jealous of this affair and had the lover sent to the front of a battle so that he would be killed. Emily Brent’s maid became pregnant and was ostracized. The maid then commited suicide.

Adult Themes: The whole premise of this book revolves around murder. Each of the main characters dies. The characters experience stress and mental anguish as their peers are murdered one by one. They have intense suspicions which ultimately become aimed at each other. Some of the characters feel guilty over the deaths they have previously caused. There is smoking and drinking mentioned. One brief racial criticism aimed at Jews.

Synopsis

Nine strangers are lured onto an island (off the coast of England) by an unknown madman, Mr. U. N. Owen. Mr. Owen is seemingly not present on the first evening, but a gramophone recording by Mr. Owen is played, which accuses all present of a previously committed murder. No one knows what to make of this recording and the uneasy feelings grow as one by one the characters begin to die. At first, the deaths are assumed to be suicide or accidents, but a more sinister motive becomes evident. The deaths curiously follow the words of a childish poem. After a search of the island, it is discovered that they are alone. Therefore, the murderer must be amongst the group. Unable to leave the island, suspicion towards each other begins. After a storm, the police arrive on the island to find dead bodies and an unsolved mystery. Only after a fishing trawler finds a confession in a bottle, is the mystery solved. The killer was a fanatic for justice and felt that each person deserved to die for the offenses they committed, but that the law could not touch.

This novel is hailed as one of the greatest mystery masterpieces ever written. It is listed as even being the author’s favorite. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I re-read the novel a second time after knowing “who done it”, just so that I could catch the clues Christie employed. If you love a good mystery, I’d recommend this one. (This book was also published as Ten Little Indians years ago.)

Ratings Explanation

Language:  There are some exclamations involving Deity.  A girl calls her father a jackass.  Pisser is used as a name and mentioned several times.

Violence:  A father hits his daughter across the face.  Two girls get into a fight at school.

Sexual Content:  A girl thinks about her first kiss.  There is an “almost” kiss.

Adult Themes:  Mental disabilities, prejudice, social classes and family issues are all touched upon lightly.

Synopsis

The first time Juli saw Bryce she flipped.  Even at 6 years old those baby blue eyes had her convinced that Bryce was the only boy for her.  The first time Bryce saw Juli he ran away.  Juli was an annoying pest that just wouldn’t go away.  Bryce has been dodging Juli since 1st grade, but now that they are in eighth grade, something is changing.  Bryce is beginning to see Juli in a new light, but now Juli has decided that Bryce and his baby blues are not all she thought them to be.

This story is told from the two different points of view of Juli and Bryce.  Through them we get a glimpse of the events and thoughts that shape who they are becoming.  Riddled with misunderstandings and comic errors, this book will leave you smiling.  It is a light, easy read that young teens and pre-teens will enjoy.  This book was recommended to me by a friend and I’m glad I picked it up.  I believe Flipped has even been made into a movie (although I haven’t seen it).  Recommended reading level of 10 years and up, 5th grade and up.

Ratings Explanation

Language:  A handful of common swear words and a few casual uses of the name of Deity.

Violence:  Mary and a fellow townsman are buried in a landslide.  Mary was rescued while the townsman was not so lucky and smothered to death in the mud next to her.

Sexual Content:  A young Mary innocently explains that a particular fossil is shaped similarly to her brothers male parts.  Mary and a female companion avoid looking at a man relieving himself in the sea.  They briefly discuss the male anatomy and ask whether or not the other had actually seen it.   The town of Lyme spread rumors about Mary as she helps two different gentlemen look for specimens, unchaperoned on the nearby beaches.

Adult Content:  Poverty and illness take the lives of many of the Anning babies as well as their father.  Mary and her brother Joseph are left to help pay their father’s debts and provide for themselves and their mother.  Women are not considered equals, which makes life more difficult for those without a man in their life.  The social class system prevents the lower class from obtaining the privileges of the upper class in the areas of jobs, recognition, marriageability, etc.

Synopsis

After the passing of Elizabeth Philpot’s parents,  she and her two sisters are sent to live in a cottage in Lyme.  As they learn to adjust to their new lifestyle, they each find a hobby to pass their days away.  Elizabeth discovers that the surrounding beaches are covered with the remains of fossilized creatures.  She is mesmerized by these animals buried in the earth and long forgotten, finding solace in hunting the beaches for them. As the sisters become more familiar with their new surroundings, Elizabeth meets a young girl named Mary Anning, the daughter of a local cabinet maker.  Mary helps her family earn money by hunting for “curries” or fossils to sell to visitors passing through. She has a knack for finding fossils of all kinds, including  some large “monsters” the world has never seen before, like the ichthyosaur and plesiosaur.  In spite of their age difference, Mary and Elizabeth form a unique friendship which will eventually influence the great scientific minds of their time and open the doors for women to contribute to the advancement of geological sciences.

I love the time period of the 1800′s in England and am admittedly a huge Jane Austen fan.  So, when I saw this book and read the synopsis I had to give it a try.  Although not written in the romantic Austen style with a happy ending, this story gave a unique perspective of an upper class spinster and a lower class working girl influencing the world of geological research.  In fact, the characters were based on their real life counter parts.  Much of the story is woven together with the author’s own interpretation of  actual historical events.   I found this to be an informative and relaxing read.  I had no idea that these women even existed or had such an influence on our understanding of ancient life.  And the Austen fan will be happy to know that Jane visited Lyme in 1804 where she saw Mary Anning’s father to get a quote on fixing a broken chest lid.  According to a letter she wrote her sister, he charged far too much and she took her business elsewhere.

Ratings Explanation

Adult Themes:  Ben and Rose are both deaf. Ben’s mother died in a car accident. Some characters smoked. Ben’s mother never told him the name of his father. Ben and Rose each had their own experiences in running away from home. Ben was robbed of his money. Rose’s parents have marital troubles. Ben’s parents were never married to each other.

Synopsis

The world is silent for young Ben Wilson having been born deaf in one ear, then later losing his hearing in the other ear due to a lightning strike. While in the care of his Aunt after having lost his mother in a car accident, Ben decides to risk it all and go in search of the identity of the father he never knew. He finds himself on a bus to New York City as he follows some possible clues to his father’s location. His quest leads him to the Natural History Museum where he discovers something about his father.

Fifty years beforehand, a young girl named Rose, who is also deaf, seeks out her mother in the same city. Ben’s and Rose’s stories become entwined in an unusual way. Will they be able to find the peace and happiness they both seek?

Author Brian Selznick tells his story through both word and picture in a captivating way. The book is big and beautiful! Ben’s story is told in words, while Rose’s story is told in picture with the two converging at the end. In this book a picture really is worth a thousand words! The sense of knowing who you are and where you belong were driving forces for Ben and Rose. They both longed to have their parents in their lives. I liked these quotes, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Also, “Ben wished the world was organized by the Dewey decimal system. That way you’d be able to find whatever you were looking for, like the meaning of your dream, or your dad.” This second quote tugged at my heart! I would recommend this book for children 4^th grade and up.