Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

It's a great book about a girl named Melinda and she is just about to start high school and something happens to her. She wasn't kidnapped or killed, but she was hurt emotionally and physically. It started at a party and ended with all of her friends and almost everyone at her school hating her guts, even if she didn't know them. She was an outcast and a total loser. She was cutting herself and not talking to her parents. Then almost to the end of freshman year she told one of her old friends who hated her for what happened at the party. Rachel didn't believe her at first, but after awhile everyone knew what had happened to her. So she was feeling better and she was finally going to class and making friends, she started to be happy again.

I loved the book and think it's one of the best books I have ever read. I don't know if you will like it, but it's really good. I was thinking something totally different, but, closer to the end of the book, she told us what happened at the party. I wonder why they waited so long to tell us what happened? Or why was Melinda afraid to tell her ex-bestfriend Rachel, the girl who took her to the party, what happened or even warn her about something? This is more of a girl book, but some guys may like it. Hopefully anyone who reads it will like the book.

-reviewed by Amy Windschitl

“An uncannily funny book even as it plumbs the darkness, SPEAK will hold readers from first word to last." -The Horn Book, starred review

“A stunning first novel. . . . Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers' empathy. . . . Melinda's hard-won metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired." - Publishers Weekly, starred review

Helen Keller by Lorena A. Hickok

Helen Keller at a very young age was blind, deaf, and dumb. She had temper tantrums daily and her parents let her get away with it because they thought that she was a poor little girl. One day her father got her a teacher. She was simply called Teacher. Her job was to help little Helen to be able to understand what they all were saying. Teacher was once blind, but an operation gave her some of her vision back. Helen Keller was a real person and her story is amazing. What will happen when she moves away from home?

This is an amazing story of what disabled people can really do. It really gets you to thank that you are really lucky and you should think of those people as an equal to you.

-reviewed by Alex T.

"This book is very well-written and has many details. It is truly phenomenal. Helen is a very determined child, she wants to learn new things. Helen and Anne are almost always happy. I recommend this book for younger people." -a reader

Like Gold Refined by Janette Oak

Virginia now has four children and Mindy is in school. Her marriage with Jonathan is going well, but her grandparents are not. Clark and Marty are not as young as they were when the series started. Will they move out of their long lived in home when Belinda asks? While Belinda is struggling with her parent, Virginia is having problems of her own. After several years, Jenny has come back for a visit. She has disturbing news of her conditions, and the night before she leaves, she says that she will be bringing Mindy with her. Will Jonathan and Virginia let Jenny take Mindy without a fight? After years of battling, will Jenny let herself be opened to God's word?

I really enjoyed this book. I am sad that it is the last one in the series, but I will be reading the others that she had written.

-reviewed by Alex T.

"I lvoe these books that I started with Marty and Clark long ago." -a reader

"I love my history and I love my love stories. I also have a very strong faith. It i a very good book. I never want to put it down. I read it over and over again." -a reader

A Quiet Strength by Janette Oak

When Virginia's new love Jonathan comes home, Virginia is asked to marry him. They have a small wedding and they live with Jonathan's grandmother for a little bit while Jonathan builds their new house. Once they move into their almost completed house, Jenny comes back for a visit. Her husband has asked for a divorce and she decided that she was going to put her three year old daughter Mindy up for adoption. Jonathan and Virginia decide to take the child. Jenny agrees then leaves. Mindy is now brought out of her shyness, almost, and has a little sister named Martha. With their new helper, Slate, who is related to Jonathan, Virginia sees that Jonathan has more time to spend with his family. But what will they do when almost all of their horse feed goes up in flames?

This is a great book. The writer really gets you to want to read the books. The stories just flow the way that they are written. The way that she follows the story and keeps updating the time period is great.

-reviewed by Alex T.

"Good book. I like anything she writes." -a reader

A Searching Heart by Janette Oak

In the sequel to The Tender Years, Virginia finds her life changing. Her beloved Jamison is in college and Virginia and Jenny are getting ready to graduate from high school. Virginia's older sister Clara falls ill in her pregnancy and Virginia decides to stay at home instead of going to college her first trimester. Meanwhile, her friend Jenny is off to college and she is not off to a good start. Unlike Virginia, Jenny likes to go to parties. When she is coming home one evening, she gets in a car accident. Her father and Virginia go to visit, that is where Jenny's father makes a life changing choice, but will Jenny follow suit? But when Virginia's beloved Jamison comes back and tells her an important decision, will Virginia ever be able to regain happiness?

I really enjoyed reading this book. I have read the whole seres and I really like how the author follows the family. I would recommend this book to anyone who like to read, or not.

-reviewed by Alex T.

"I like reading about Virginia's struggles. We all go through things of this nature. She finds strength in Christ and supports her family." -Brandi, Alex's mom

"This book is so good, there is never a dull moment. In other words, there is never a dull moment in Virginia's life (the main character in this book). The author, Janette Oak, is an amazing writer. I love her." -a reader

Joann's Review of Pictures of Hollis Woods

I always love a good story about a person struggling to find their place in the world. It's hard for me to resist an underdog. Hollis Woods is a twelve-year old-girl that was abandoned by her mother at birth and has been bounced around from foster home to foster home. As can be expected, Hollis is hurt and angry and doesn't always make the best choices. While Hollis certainly contributes to her own problems, she is misunderstood. She really just wants a place to call home and people to call her family. In Pictures of Hollis Woods, Patricia Reilly Giff gives us some insight into what it must be like to be a young person in the system. Hollis, who is gifted artistically, says through her drawings what she is afraid to say out loud. Will Hollis find the family she has always longed for? Will she ever have a place to call home? Read this heartwarming story to find out.

"Hollis Woods is a touching story that you never want to stop reading. I loved Hollis would and I think Patricia Reilly Giff has done it again with this Newberry Award winner." - buildingrainbows.com

Joann's Review of Taking Liberty

When I was four, my daddy left, I cried, but I understood. He had become part of the Gone.

Taking Liberty by Ann Rinaldi is a historical fiction novel set in the time during the Revolutionary War and George Washington's presidency. While it is considered historical fiction, most of the story is based on real people in history and the facts historians know to be true about George Washington and his plantation. The story is told from the point of view of a young slave girl. Oney Judge has grown up on George Washington's plantation in Mount Vernon and her mother has groomed her to be chosen as a household servant in order to have some of the privileges most slaves only dream about. Oney soon becomes Martha Washington's personal servant and considers herself to be a member of Washington's family, but her place in the household jeopardizes her relationship with her the person who fought so hard to get her there. As good as Oney has it, she begins to realize that she is and will always be a slave. She is torn between her loyalty to the Washingtons and her own desire to be free. Will she choose to run as her mama has told her to do when she gets a chance or will she stay knowing now that she is only someone's property? This is a great story that gives us a different picture of America during the Revolutionary War and gives us some insight into the system of slavery that was a way of life here, even for our first President.

"This memorable heroine and novel offer a thought-provoking exploration of the courage needed to grasp freedom." - Publishers Weekly