The four March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy live through many ups and downs during this story set in 1860's Massachusetts. Their father is away at the Civil War, but Marmee keeps everything afloat in the March household. Will Jo be able to tame her headstrong nature? Will Beth survive a critical illness? And how do each of the girls change as they reach adulthood? Read this classic book to find out.

Reviewed by: msp

Date read: 1/20/2011

ISBN-10: 0448060191

ISBN-13: 9780448060194

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Every hundred years a human is born to vampires. Kevin Vlad is that one human child. Will Kevin deal with the embarrassment of his parents at a school dance for a chance with Miranda? Why does everyone end up screaming?

Reviewed by: rn

Date read: 10/30/2009

ISBN-10: 1902260678

ISBN-13: 9781902260679

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Eleven-year-old Lonnie Collins Motion finds a way to express his feelings when his teacher asks his class to keep a poetry journal. The poems are about the things going on in his life, including his foster mom, his little sister, and the parents he lost in a terrible fire. Life in the inner city is not always easy, but through his writing Lonnie develops a new way of looking at things. The mostly free-form poetry beautifully conveys Lonnie's growth and development.

Awards won: Coretta Scott King Honor Book 2004

Reviewed by: msp

Date read: 7/15/2011

ISBN-10: 0399231153

ISBN-13: 9780399231155

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After spending a happy summer with his new beagle, Lucy, Bobby is not looking forward to the start of school. He wonders if third grade will be a better year, or will he continue to feel shy and out of place? To his relief, he's put in the same class as his two new friends. Bobby discovers that even giving an oral report to the class is not so bad when he talks about Lucy and how she did at the Spokespet contest. Lucy won the first round of the contest sponsored by the Pet-O-Rama petstores. Will she win the final? If she does win, will Bobby want to be in TV commercials? If you enjoy this book, be sure to read the first two books about Lucy: Absolute Lucy and Lucy on the Loose.

Reviewed by: msp

Date read: 2/4/2010

ISBN-10: 0375955585

ISBN-13: 9780375955587

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With his parents in India, sixteen-year-old Ben Jepson is in charge of Los Coyotes Preserve, a refuge for big cats near Los Angeles, when two powerful groups try to shut it down by intimidation, murder, and kidnapping the largest tiger in captivity. Sequel to Sniper.

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 4/13/2009

ISBN-10: 0439559561

ISBN-13: 9780439559560

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