Icecore by Matt Whyman (2007)

This book is about a 16 year old British hacker who broke through the security at Fort Knox for a laugh. But, unexpectedly, when this happened many gold bars were stolen by an unknown person, and since then they have ended up funding terrorists across the world. He is taken from his home and flown to a top secret military prison deep in the Arctic, where is to be interrogated so that such a mistake can never happen again. And if he ever wants to see home again, he has to escape.

Andrew: I thought this was a great book, well written and well thought out. The characters seemed individual, and they had a decent amount of realism to them. 9 out of 10

Partly Cloudy - Gary Soto

I picked up Partly Cloudy by Gary Soto for a few reasons. One, it was short. Two, it was poetry. Three, it was about love. Certainly, the book delivered all of these things. It didn't rise far above them, but it delivered them.

The book, which is exactly 100 pages long, is divided into two equal sections; one written from girls' points of view and one from boys' points of view. It seemed to me as if all of the poems, none of which exceeded three pages in length, were written from a 13-year old's point of view. This, however, guaranteed that the poems were clean, lacking any references at all to sex. I enjoyed this; it gave me a sugary rush. I actually enjoyed the girls' section more because the characters were more diverse and developed in their voices (even though, of course, they were all written by Mr. Soto). The boys' section lacked depth and the characters either seemed stereotypical or stereotyped. Still, it wasn't bad by any means. One detail that was irksome to me, however, was the solely heterosexual point of view. All of the girls loved boys and all of the boys loved girls, as they lamented in their poems.

Regardless of these things, I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read, and an enjoyable one. If you're bored, pick it up. If you're lovestruck, pick it up. If not, maybe skip it.

Posted by Collin Knopp-Schwyn

Sonia Levitin- The Goodness Gene

In the year 2305, a boy named Will has been raised from birth to believe in something that they call The Goodness and to follow in his father Hayli's footsteps as the Compassionate Director of the Dominion of the Americas. He takes a trip out into the less sanitary, primitive outposts of the Dominion, and discovers that his father is actually a malevolent despot. A girl known as Leora accompanies him on his trip and, as she exposes him to things she takes for granted, he starts to question his upbringing. He also finds out something extremely disturbing about himself, and things begin to change.

Andrew: I thought that this book was extremely, not scary exactly, but disturbing. It also expresses some interesting ideas about clones, both for and against.

Skim -- Mariko Tamaki

Mariko Tamaki's Skim was the poignant coming-of-age tale about a teenage girl attending an all-girls high school in Toronto. Known as Skim (ironically, of course, because she's mildly overweight), she battles internally with conflicting desires and externally with the seeming naivete and glossiness of friends and classmates. The story is illustrated in a traditional Japanese ink-painting style by Jillian Tamaki and is presented in black and white.

I appreciated the artistic style of the illustrations, and the realistic skin it lent the story, as Skim was Asian in descent. The characters, especially Skim's English teacher with whom Skim develops a romance, are presented in a strong, articulate style while remaining tender, weak and human. The climax of this story brought good closure to the story of Skim's classmate who suffers the loss of her boyfriend, although also was forced thru the suffering of her bubbly friends swarming around her. It was a moving story, and I recommend it to people who enjoy "this is life" tales.

Posted by Collin Knopp-Schwyn

Planet Pregnancy

This book was as dry and as dull as three day old fish. There was no pizzazz in the writing structure and the author seems to try too hard to rhyme the poetry. Only, that didn't work because there was no basic structure like stanzas, and all the main character did was complain from the very first sentence. Consequently it may remind readers of people who are constant downers, and have no joy in living.

Posted by Lauranadella

Deeper

This sequel picks up where its predecessor Tunnels left off. A boy set out to find his missing father, and in the process discovers a strange world underground. As he tries to put together pieces of the plot of an apparently evil man named Styx, he has to save the world above ground.

Andrew: Yeah, I'm not sure if i should be reviewing this, because I didn't read the whole thing, but I read the first chapter and just couldn't get into the book. I hope someone else can, and that they can write a better review.

Origins

Origins is a book about two groups of differently interested people living in a bleak world. The Dogs are fond of Agriculture, and Cats hunting. At the same time, interspersed with chapters about a Cat named Nessa, a boy relates a strange tale in his journal about an alien creature. As Nessa sets off on a journey to find out more about the ancestry of Cats and Dogs, these two stories come together in an intriguing way.

Andrew here. I thought this book was extremely imaginative, and was certainly entertaining. Apparently it is the third book in a series, but from what I have heard, the other two weren't too interesting. From the bits and pieces I picked up about the other books, I got more than enough about how this book was begun. You don't even really need to read the first two. I give it a 10 out of 10.