Galley Review: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

This book imagines a different World War I waged between the German's Clankers (steam driven iron machines) and the British Darwinist's fabricated animals. The Leviathan is a whale airship, the most masterful beast in the British fleet. Aleksandar Ferdinand is the prince of the Austro-Hungarian empire on the run from his own people. All he has are a Stormwalker and a crew of loyal men. Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She is constantly afraid of being discovered. Their paths cross in the most unexpected way taking them aboard the Leviathan for a fantastical, around-the-world journey that will change their lives forever.

What SL teens are saying about the book...

"Extremely well written with an interesting plot. The Darwinist creations and the struggles between the characters are compelling."--Kathleen K.

"It makes you feel you are in another world. The most compelling aspects of the book are the machinery and the war."--Andre H.

Galley Review: Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

The world is changing; the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now children are starting to disappear. For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend. The New Order is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare. Wisty and Whit discover that they have incredible powers. Can this newly minted witch and wizard master themselves in time to save themselves, their parents, and even the world?

What SL teens are saying about the book...

"I liked the book, honestly. James Patterson is one of my favorite authors. But while I did enjoy the book, I feel the Maximum Ride series was better and this book could use a bit more work. The question of why they got captured is never fully answered. Is it supposed to be in the next book?"--Hanah K.

"The spells in this book surpass those in Harry Potter. It was like having all the super powers in the world stuck into two people."--Jenny L.

"I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but the powers that Wisty has like fire and shapeshifting are more offensive powers. Most of the time I find these powers in male characters. Whit had more passive powers like telekinesis, which are painfully common in female characters."--Claudia N.

Galley Review: Metamorphosis: Notebook, Junior Year by Betsy Franco

Ovid's got a lot on his mind, and he pours it all--as confessions, narrative poems, drawings, and observations--into the pages of a notebook. Inspired by his namesake, he wryly records his classmates' dramas as modern day Roman mythology. There's Sophie and Caleb, the Psyche and Cupid of cyber-couples, and poetic Paula who pursues Franny like Apollo chasing Daphne. Meanwhile Ovid hides his own struggles: his meth addict sister Thena has run off, leaving him with a suffocating home life and a disturbing secret.

What SL teens are saying about the book...

"I liked the idea of the book and the different forms of writing. I also thought it was very short and the ending was left hanging. I still had questions."--Joanna Q.

"I was disappointed because I expected more from the book, and I thought I would get more out of the story."--Richie H.

I really like how Franco twisted Roman mythology into a modern day high school drama. But I thought the ending needed more work. Everything just ended all of a sudden. It left a lot of questions unanswered, like what happened to the other characters."--Jenny L.