Ryan's Last Review!- Reckless by Cornelia Funke

Synopsis written by Ryan:
Jacob Reckless, that's his name when he's everything but reckless. But one reckless journey with his brother , Will, has Will changing into the very creature that cursed him. The creature, a Goyl, are ruthless, short tempered, and have skins of stone that wreak havoc when it comes to doing battle. For years, these creatures were unorganized and hunted by humans, but with the first king, Kami'en, the humans are now the hunted! No cure has been found to reverse the single swipe of a Goyl's claw that makes your skin turn to stone and puts hatred in your eyes. But Jacob is stubborn and will not quit trying to find a way to save his brother. Also, to further complicate things, a prophecy told by the Goyl king's lover, the Dark Fairy, speaks that a Goyl in jade skin will make him invisible. So guess what color Will's skin is changing? Jade! This makes him a huge target. Will Jacob find a cure and save his brother in time?

Recommend? As great as the story line sounds, it has its faults. First is that you are rushed into the story with little detail or knowing of how or what happened to Will. Second, when you are reading through the book it feels as though the author has little planned and it just going with it. This brings up situations that wind up being dead ends! For example, Jacob finds information about his father's disappearance and that's the end of it, nothing more ever said about his father. If the author would fill in the gaps of information and make new roads for the dead ends, this book would have amazed me.

Rating: 6/10

Source: Middle School Library

Read and reviewed by Ryan B. Ryan is currently in the eighth grade and loves to read just about anything I throw at him! He stops into the library almost on a daily basis always  eager to find the next great book to read!
** I just want to give a big shout out to Ryan for all of his fantastic reviews this year and to put it in stone how much I'm going to miss him when he heads over to the high school!!! 
  ~ Mrs. Taylor

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@Barrie Summy

Ryan's Review- Phantoms in the Snow

Phantoms in the Snow by Kathleen Benner Duble

In this gripping journey, a fifteen-year-old pacifist must decide what he believes as he faces the reality of World War II.

The year is 1944, and fifteen-year-old Noah Garrett's parents have died from smallpox. Without any other family nearby, Noah is sent to live with his uncle, whom he has never met, in Camp Hale, Colorado. There is one small problem with this decision: Noah has been raised a pacifist, and Camp Hale is a U.S. military base for a little-known division of winter warfare soldiers called Phantoms. Can a boy who's never seen snow and doesn't believe in war survive among these soldiers?

Phantoms were soldiers that would wear white as camouflage and to also help them evade the enemy as they ski. Yes, soldiers that ski!! They were called Phantoms because they looked like ghosts.

In this book, fifteen-year-old Noah, a pacifist, lives a normal life until his mother dies of smallpox and a week later his father is also claimed by death. Noah is then left with no one because he has no other family or anyplace to live. So instead of being sent to an orphanage he is sent from a small town in Texas to Camp Hale, Colorado where he lives with his Uncle Shelley, a man he never knew existed. That's when his life went upside down and he became a phantom.

The year is 1944 and WWII is going on ferociously and the phantoms are needed on the front lines. Noah is scared and is just trying to survive. This is a great book about a boy that doesn't want to fight and can't legally fight, but finds himself at home in his new cold, dangerous, and completely foreign place.

Recommend? Ya, definitely! This book isn't really about WWII , but rather centered around the people and their feelings. Noah's gonna make it through to the next day, but it's not going to be easy to get there. It's a great book....believe me.

Rating: 8/10


Source: Middle School Library

Read and reviewed by Ryan B. Ryan is currently in the eighth grade and loves to read just about anything I throw at him! He stops into the library almost on a daily basis always  eager to find the next great book to read! Look for more reviews from Ryan in April, May and June!

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@Barrie Summy

Ryan's Review: The Light (Morpheus Road #1) by D.J. MacHale

The Light (Morpheus Road #1) by D.J. MacHale
Marshall Seaver is being haunted. In the first installment of this chillingly compelling trilogy, sixteen-year-old Marshall discovers that something beyond our world is after him. The eerie clues pile up quickly, and when people start dying, it’s clear whatever this is it’s huge. Marshall has no idea what’s happening to him, but he’s soon convinced that it has something to do with his best friend Cooper, who’s been missing for over a week. Together with Coop’s sister, Marsh searches for the truth about what happened to his friend, ultimately uncovering something bigger than he could ever have imagined


Morpheus Road is about a teen named Marshall Seaver and the amazing events that happen to him in one week. Ya, you heard me...one week. It all started with him and his dad getting into an argument and he breaks one of his mother's gifts. Then it begins, he gets haunted by a drawing that he drew himself which he named Gravedigger.  All Marshall wanted was a happy summer, but his best friend Cooper gets into some trouble with the police and soon ends up missing. So Marshall goes looking for him and tries to figure out why he is being haunted. Altogether this makes a fantastic adventure with tense excitement and creates a strong curiosity within me to find out what comes next in the book!

Recommend? Yes, I would definitely recommend this book. Many people would like this story, but people who like mystery and horror will LOVE this book. This was my first mystery/horror combination read and I thought it was amazing! I am extremely happy to have chosen this book because it was a real kicker for me to delve into reading a new genre!

Rating: 9/10
Source: Middle School Library

Read and reviewed by Ryan B. 
Ryan is currently in the eighth grade and loves to read just about anything I throw at him! He stops into the library almost on a daily basis always  eager to find the next great book to read! Look for more reviews from Ryan in May and June!

Ryan's Review - The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner #1) by James Dashner 

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. 

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind

I would very easily describe the Maze Runner as A-mazing!  There is so much to like about this book that I don't know where to start. This book was recommended to me by my library teacher (Mrs. T). She said it was recommended by others so that made me think that it would have to be good.  But when I read it, and journeyed with Thomas, I realized that this book IS the BEST book I've ever read!


The book comes together so good, everything fits and the writing is strong like a chain making me crave the next chapter! One thing that the author, James Dashner, did was he never let the story become boring. I would try many times to think of something that would be cool in the book and he would top my expectations each time! Like when he brought Gally into the story and when I believed that he died, TWICE! And the ending was PERFECT! 


I could go on with descriptions of the book but I won't because you'll have to read it for yourself!!

Recommend? Yes, I would recommend this book, especially to those who like stories about epidemics or end of the world events with some action. I really want to read the next one!

Rating: 10/10


Source: Middle School Library

Read and reviewed by Ryan B. Ryan is currently in the eighth grade and loves to read just about anything I throw at him! He stops into the library almost on a daily basis always  eager to find the next great book to read! Look for more reviews from Ryan in April, May and June!

Ryan's Review - The Shifter by Janice Hardy

The Shifter (Healing Wars #1)Synopsis: 
Nya is an orphan struggling for survival in a city crippled by war. She is also a Taker—with her touch, she can heal injuries, pulling pain from another person into her own body. But unlike her sister, Tali, and the other Takers who become Healers' League apprentices, Nya's skill is flawed: She can't push that pain into pynvium, the enchanted metal used to store it. All she can do is shift it into another person, a dangerous skill that she must keep hidden from forces occupying her city. If discovered, she'd be used as a human weapon against her own people. 

The Shifter by Janice Hardy was an almost flawless book! It was completely original and I loved how Nya makes decisions. She tries to remember things from her past and through the book it is heart pounding. I often stayed up too long reading it.

I have never thought about the dark power of a healer. Everything Janice wrote I could keep up with. I remember before I would fall asleep wondering what's going to happen next? I am very glad I grabbed this book off the shelf. I can't wait to get the next book, Blue Fire, in this trilogy.

I'm going to give this book an A+ and a round of applause! No book is a perfect book, but this was pretty close!

Recommend? YES, YES, YES a million times! I'm going to be as persuasive as I can to get others to read this book because was just spot on!

Rating: 9.5/10


Source: Middle School Library

Read and reviewed by Ryan B. Ryan is currently in the eighth grade and loves to read just about anything I throw at him! He stops into the library almost on a daily basis always  eager to find the next great book to read! Look for more reviews from Ryan in February, March, and April!

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