MPhelps17@aol.com
A CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger, 2 stars

I finally read this classic because I had nothing else to read. And I wasn't impressed at all.  The story seemed to rattle on, never going anywhere. What little plot there is weak and ineffective. I truly don't understand why everyone loves this book.  The only reason I give it 2 stars is because of the plain and real writing style, which, applied to another more engaging plot with a point, would definitely be worth praise.

THE WIND IN THE WHEAT by Reed Arvin, 5 stars

This book is the chronicle of a man seeking to do great things for God through his gift of music. From being discovered in a small Kansas church to touring the country on his debut album, this book keeps the pages turning. It has incredible insight into the Christian music industry, and I learned what a struggle it is for artists. The book is defiantly powerful, and will make you think twice about convictions, compromise, and what is great in God's eyes.

Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, 5 stars

Yes, I know, Harry Potter. But give these books a chance. They are really inventive and captivating. You don't have to where the shirts and hang the posters to enjoy them. J.K. Rowling spins a plot that has a million possibilities and leaves you satisfied. Oh yeah, it isn't a kid's book, like I first thought. Forget all the junk you have already heard about Harry Potter, and enjoy these imaginative books this summer.

Bubbles36589@aol.com

I have just finished the book A WALK TO REMEMBER by Nicholas Sparks. It was
one of the best books I have ever read. I give it 5 stars. It takes place about an hour away from where I live in South Port NC. The book is really good -- it's a bitter sweet love story. I read it in my Contemporary Literature class and it was by far the best book I had read in that class.

Sweetiepiebq11@aol.com

I am reading THE WORST SPELLER IN JUNIOR HIGH it is really good. It is about
a 7 grade girl with dyslexia. The most popular boy in the 7 grade seems to like her, but so does Brian, the mysterious rich kid. Her goal for the 7 grade is to become a P.K., a popular kid. Her mother always wants her to baby-sit her two younger brothers and she begins to think she can never become a P.K. at this rate. Then her mother might have cancer, what would she do if this were to happen? One of her teachers would like for her to write for the school's newspaper, but she thinks that that is impossible with dyslexia and she is the worst speller in the 7 grade! 4 stars.

Bkworm12@aol.com
I think that Piers Anthony's series Magic of Xanth books are the absolute best books. I give his books a 5 star rating

Winky11886@aol.com
I have recently read 3 of the many "Prey" books by John Sandford. The Prey books are all murder mysteries that become Lucas Davenport's cases. These books are wonderful because they have everything in them: murder, violence, mystery, suspense, romance, hot sex, and best of all, cops that, at times, have no clue what they are doing. They are great books, and I would give them all five stars.
Some titles in "series":
             -Rules of Prey
             -Shadow Prey
             -Eyes of Prey
             -Silent Prey
             -Winter Prey
             -Night Prey
             -Mind Prey
             -Sudden Prey
             -Secret Prey
             -Certain Prey
             -Easy Prey

Mitigade@aol.com   
PHILOSOPHY OF THE BUDDHA by A. J. Bahm, 4.5 stars.

Each of the 12 chapters in this book are written in the same form as a research paper, and as such this book has a ton of in-depth research in it. It was hard for me to put this down because it had so much information that is normally lost in the translation of the different text dealing with and about Buddhist thought. It is well written and very interesting, if you would like to learn about the Buddhist religion this is a great place to start.

PEACE IS EVERY STEP THE PATH OF MINDFULNESS IN EVERYDAY LIFE by Thich Nhat Hanh, 5 stars

This explains how to live as a follower of the Buddhist thought in our modern day life.  It explains and also shows how the only way to achieve world peace is to first become peace, by becoming peace, peace will flow from you to the people that you are close to and then, slowly, to the world. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Buddhist monk so this book is written as if the reader and Thich Nhat Hanh was in the same room walking hand in hand.

Merimack05@aol.com   
LEFT BEHIND, The Kids by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye is a great series.
It is about the wrath of God, and when He comes to take all the Christians away, and they suddenly disappear, while leaving all of the non believers behind, and four teens, Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan realize that it's time to believe, and live for God. I believe that someone without strong beliefs in God could also enjoy reading this book -- all the main characters in LEFT BEHIND are non believing troublemakers that all somehow relate to all of us teenagers. I personally give this book a rating of 5 stars.

Simonsez88@aol.com
I give LIREAL by Garth Nix 5 stars.

Dncr4Eva26@aol.com   
Hi! I think that SISTERS by Gary Paulsen was an excellent book. It is about
two girls from two different lives. You will love it. The ending is confusing as all heck, but it is good. 5 stars.

I also think that A DOOR NEAR HERE by Heather Quarles is an excellent book. It is about 4 siblings that take care of each other and face life while their alcoholic mother is wallowing in her own sorrows. Boys and girls alike will love it! 5 stars.

Sunshine7868@aol.com   
My all-time favorite book is called ELLA ENCHANTED, by Gale Carson Levine. It is the perfect mix of comedy, romance, and fantasy all rolled up in one really good version of Cinderella. I think it has won a Newberry Honor award, and I give it 5 stars, recommending to every teenage girl who loves reading books which are impossible to forget!

OldSpice0980@aol.com   
I have just finished reading SMACK by Melvin Burgess. It justly receives a five star rating. Two teens residing in the UK are fed up with the crap they were handed by life and genetics, so they escape their parents and everything else to a big city. There they find sanctuary in drugs and become strangled by their addictions. The way in which the book was written professes a lot of truth to it. It sounds so honest and is very easy to relate to. You know a good book when you lose count of the page number. A speedbump is the only way to describe the end, (of which you just flew off of  the freeway) and leaves you depressed that the book ended.  

TrayceyAnne@hotmail.com
I just started reading Boone's Lick by Larry McMurtry and let me tell you its the best book ever! Total 5 stars! The story is set on the Great Plains in the 1800s and full of adventure and really funny. I like all the characters but especially Neva who is a strong willed teenage girl.

HoneyDewDream@aol.com   
THE GINGER TREE by Oswald Wynd

I read this book a while back but its still fresh in my memory. The book consists of entries of a 19 year old girl's diary as she travels to China to marry a British officer. She describes the China at the age of Imperialism. With her husband constantly absent and homesickness, she soon scandalizes the British by having an affair with a Japanese nobleman. Taken away from her child, she becomes an outcast to the British community. The book follows the character through 50 years of twist and turns and her struggles in the Far East. Its a really good book full of surprises. It showcases how hard it was to be a woman and a foreigner in China and Japan. You see how the character changes, adapting to her surroundings. Really good ending! 5 Stars!

Roxy5352@aol.com   
4 BLONDES, by Candace Bushnell,  4 1/2 stars

The book was pretty good, had to deal with 4 blondes who were pretty much fed up with their social life, 1 is a model who just wants someone to love her, the 2nd one is married and annoyed by her husband, the 3rd is a type of princess who hates being in the eyes of a camera, while the 4th one goes off to England to do a story. The book is good, and funny.  

Pagethru@aol.com
WHEN WE FIRST MET by Norma Fox Mazer, 5 stars.

WHEN WE FIRST MET is the absolute best book I have ever read. Two 17 year olds, Rob and Jenny, meet and fall madly in love at first sight. Theirs is the type of love that they thought only existed in fairy tales, and everything is perfect..until they discover the dreadful truth. Rob's mother is the drunken driver that killed Jenny's sister and tore her and her unforgiving family's world apart only two years before. Jenny's family won't have anything to do with Rob, and refuse to even speak to Jenny. To make matters worse, Jenny meets Rob's mother and instantly takes a liking to her. In this wonderful story, Jenny is caught between loyalty to her family and the boy she loves. It is a must read for everyone.

Prpl496@aol.com
I recommend SEA OF GLASS because of its unique view on the rapid growth of
global population. Childbearing becomes a strictly regimented privilege, and those who violate the law are punished severely. Thus children are born illegally, their parents are forced to hide them away in attics and cellars. As one of these illegal children, seven-year-old Thomas Windom is placed in a heavily guarded labor camp after getting hid first glimpse of sun through an attic window. There he joins a secret society against the brutality of the camps guards. He is persuaded he must kill to enforce a warped sense of justice. Windom finally escapes and becomes what is called a non-person, someone with no name, no origin, no purpose. Windom finds that he must avoid all personal relationships as he begins his journey toward the center of a giant government conspiracy headed by a super-computer and the man who built it. It's a terrifying story of one man's quest to find the order in a civilization gone mad. What he finds is worse than he could have ever possibly imagined.

Britneyfan06810@prodigy.net
Everybody must read WITCH CHILD. 5 stars and beyond! I got so totally into the main character and her sad plight. The book is scary and fascinating.

Chelsbelles@aol.com
If you don't read THE PRINCESS DIARIES then you are a moron. Sure, it looks cheesy, but its a 5 star book. Really funny, Mia is really believable and cool and I love her best friend Lilly. I'm just waiting for the day I become a princess.