Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

"Illuminati," he stammered, his heart pounding . It can't be..."

In the book Angels in Demons by Dan Brown, the main character, Robert Langdon tries to uncover the mystery of a underground anti-religous brotherhood, the Illuminati. For centuries this group has remained underground plotting their revenge against the catholic church. When a man is murdered and branded with the Illuminati lettering on his chest, Robert senses they are up to something big and is sent to investigate. Clue after clue, Robert chases for an answer to the case. When he discovers the Illuminati's deadly plot he becomes desperate to save the Vactican from a weapon of mass destruction. I really enjoyed reading this book because it kept me on edge, I always had to find out what happens next. And Since the book also follows a ruthless member of the brotherhood I never got bored throughout the story. The setting of the book takes place mostly in Rome and Vatican City sometime in the near future. If you enjoy action, mystery and suspense this is without a doubt a great book for you.

-Chris

Girl, 16, Pants on fire by Sue Limb

"We could avoid being seen together, except in disguise." Jess Jordan is finally dating her longtime friend and crush, Fred, but when he casually mentions he wants to break up, is it all downhill from there on for Jess? Find out in this hilarious ending to the Jess Jordan story, Girl, 16, Pants On Fire, by Sue Limb. Jess has gotten together with the comic Fred Parsons, a dream come true. But even after a fantastic summer in St. Ives, he has second thoughts about their relationship, devastating news for Jess. In a whirlwind of crazy events, like a day without underwear and a big Christmas show to put on, Pants On Fire is never a dull read. In my personal opinion, I thought it was a well-written, hilarious, classically British story, perfect for teens. Wether you're looking for a quick read or a good laugh, this book is sure to deliver.

Wicked by Sara Shepard

"He had to go. -A" In the book Wicked by Sara Shepard, things get even more intense and interesting as A begins giving threats and information that no one would expect. Spencer believes shes adopted, Aria is still dealing with her parents divorce, Emily is back from her aunt and uncles and wants to make changes in her life but is still confused, and Hanna is having trouble with her stepsister. Worst of all, Ian comes back and starts drama and trouble. What will the girls do when they find out who killed Ali and the consequences? This book is for girls that are interested in drama and mystery. Especially if you are into the series, you won't want to miss out.

Allison

Next by Michael Crichton

“Mr. Bellarmino, sir, this is bigger than us…”

In the light of the new genetic engineering boom in the US and worldwide, many people are reaping the benefits of taking risks, but many are also in serious trouble. In the novel, Next by Michael Crichton, you see the fine line between right and wrong when it comes to toying with the human nature. This fast paced book follows many different stories of people’s experiences with the new world, where you can own 1/5 of someone’s genes, creating transgenic animals, and the corporate industry trying to compete in the business of life itself (Umbrella Corp). All of these side stories eventually link to a central storyline, in which a woman and her son who have inherited a cytokine gene from their father (who sold the rights to the gene) are chased cross country for “the company’s” cells by a notorious fugitive recovery agent.

This is definitely a great book. It has a multi-layered, dynamic, fast-paced plot that makes you have time for one more chapter. Also, it is a very complex book (which, for me, required a few trips to wikipedia), for if you’re looking for an easy, quick read, this isn’t for you. This book also contains a great amount of course language and sexual themes so it is definitely a better book for Freshmen and up.

-Guyar

Stormbreaker: Anthony Horowitz

Alex Rider a 14 year old by who loses his uncle, Ian Rider who was in a “car crash.” Alex was suspicious, “He always wore his seat belt,” he thought about his uncle. Alex goes on adventures to see what actually happened to his uncle. He then finds out his uncle was a spy and is asked to take Ian’s mission. After he accepts, he has to train for this dangerous mission in much less time than is needed. On the mission, he follows his uncle’s footsteps to try and stop Sayle Enterprises from making a new and advanced computer called a Stormbreaker. He finds out what is wrong and how he is going to stop this dangerous computer from being given to people all over the world. He knows he has to do this for his uncle, but he gets himself into many tough situations… This book is very suspenseful and a will keep you reading all night. If you are into thrillers you will love this story.

-Zack

Charlie St. Cloud, By: Ben Sherwood

In Ben Sherwoods' page-turning book Charlie St. Cloud, Charlie faces many hard challenges after a traumatic incident. Living on his own, Charlie does the same thing every day, Dig holes for caskets, make floral arrangements, and lowers the deceased into the ground. Charlie worked at the Waterside Cemetery in Essex County. All Charlie wanted in life was to be happy and make sure he kept his promise to his little brother Sam. "- I promised Sam I wouldn't leave him." After Charlie had made that promise, Charlie could never leave his side. He stayed with him, until Tess Carroll wandered into his life. Charlie knew that Tess was special. Their love bonding relationship leads them into a race against time and fate. Ben Sherwood made this book intriguing and exciting. This book had me on the edge. You never know what is going to happen next. Teens and adults will fall in love with this book because it has many types of genres, such as, love, happiness, finding oneself, tragedy, and motivational speaking. Definitely a book worth reading.
Lauren

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

In the book, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, the main character Todd Hewitt goes on a long and suspenseful journey with his dog Manchee and a girl named Viola, who he found in the swamp next to his house. He lives on the planet called New World, where there is a natural occurring phenomenon that allows you to hear the thoughts of any man or animal around you, but women have a distinct silence to their thoughts. There are no women in his village, except for Viola, but no one else she knows that she is there. Todd is forced to run a way from his village with his dog and the mysterious girl Viola, after the town officials come to talk to him and his guardians Ben and Cillian, and they tell him to run. His journey lasts very long and he visits many towns that he did not even know existed. But he was always on the run because his entire village was following him and pillaging all of the other small towns that they passed. Todd and Viola’s goal is to get to a city called Haven, but they need to follow many twists and turns in order to get there. This was a fairly good book, the whole idea of noise, which is the idea that you can hear everything that men and animals are saying, is very strange, yet clever. “Flesh and feast and tooth and I swear it’s getting closer,” (59) says the crocodile that is approaching them. Every time Todd thinks in his head Viola can hear him so it’s impossible to keep a secret. The setting moves around a lot since they are always town to town. The pace is good, but it gets fairly slow at times. I would recommend this book to someone who has a lot of time on their hands. People that like action and fantasy would love this book.