Student Saturday- Sister's Grimm: Unusual Suspects - Michael Buckley

Student Saturday is a day I post reviews written by other students.  The review that follows is written by  Aaliyah

I love the Sister Grimm series.  It has everything I love about books in it. The book I just finished is the Sister’s Grimm the Unusual Suspects by Michael Buckley. I would so recommend this book to my mom because she loves to read and I think she’ll like this because it’s fairy tales stories into one book. The book takes place at Ferryport landing where Sabrina and her sister just moved. They just started school and Sabrina got into a fight already. It’s strange because at her new school there has been a murder investigation and the Grimms are on the case. But, the more they come close to the truth the more their life is in danger. So read to find out how they will solve the case. “I think those books are the best books in the world because it combined adventures, laughs and surprises and kept me eagerly turning the pages” quote by R.L. Stine.

I can connect to Sabrina because if I lost my parents by Everafters I would blam them all. So read to find out how Sabrina deals with her problems.

The Secret of Lies – Barbara Forte Abate

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Publisher: Halcyon Moon Books

Pages: 330

Source: Review Copy in Exchange for my honest review

Genre:  Adult, Realistic Fiction

I think one thing that  made this such a great book was the ending came first. The story begins with Stevie, the main character leaving her husband.

We are taken back in time to the events that led up to Stevie running away.

Stevie and her sister Eleanor grew up on a farm.  They spent their summers with their aunt and uncle on Long Island.  They lived for this.  This was the first place I could identify with the characters.  It wasn’t Long Island for me but the weekends in town with my cousin was time away from the farm for me to enjoy.  The camping, etc.

Like all young people Eleanor and Stevie grew up and began to get interested in boys. Stevie meets a young deaf boy who gives her even more reason to look forward to going back to her aunt and uncle’s house each summer.  The year Stevie is 17 something terrible happens.  Stevie’s aunt convinces her that it would be best if she didn’t tell her parents the truth.  She needed to just forget about what happened.  Years go by and she has withdrawn within herself.  She doesn’t trust people anymore. The lie eats away at her. 

Finally she meets Ash Waterman.  He works on her family’s farm.  He knows how to reach her and she opens her heart to him.  But, sometimes the lies we keep inside become to much to handle and the only way out is to run away from the very people who could probably help us.  This is exactly what Stevie does.  This is a book I would recommend to everyone.  We’ve all gone through something in our life where we felt no one understood us or the situation.  This is a great emotional read.

About The Author

Barbara Forte Abate grew up in Millbrook New York, and currently lives in a creaky old house in Pennsylvania, where she makes up lies, doses them with truth, and titles it fiction. She is long time married to a very fine man, and is the mother of four fabulous children.

She is the award winning author of The Secret of Lies, and the newly released, Asleep Without Dreaming.

Barbara invites you to stop over and visit her website: http://www.barbaraforteabate.com

blog: http://www.barbaraforteabate.wordpress.com

The Chest of Visions: Secrets of Caperston – Tim Ferguson

Publisher: Xulon Press

Pages: 126

Genre: Christian, Fantasy

Source: Review copy in exchange for my honest review.

From Amazon:

What secrets of Caperston does the Chest of Visions hold? What hope is offered? Secrets that are more than mysteries; they are lessons in life! • What if Jesus did not come to Earth 2,000 years ago but arrived today? How would we react? • How do Christian youth react to adversity, for example, the death of a friend? • Is saying "yes' to the Word of God, an effective definition of faith? Questions like these are answered in "The Chest of Visions, a story of a world similar, yet clearly different, to our own. The story begins fourteen million years ago when a gravity-defying force appeared and several identical universes were formed. Just as human twins mature differently so did these universes. For our story we consider two: our universe and a universe of a youth named Mattpaul. These two worlds evolved simultaneously and each is more advanced in certain ways. However, one thing is clear. Mattpaul's world of Caperston was the more orderly until emerging ideas began to challenge age old traditions. Come visit Mattpaul's world. Meet his teenage friends and their teacher, Chihaysu, in a story of faith, hope, courage and intrigue.

My Thoughts:

I think every youth group should read this book.  This makes us take a look at why bad things like death happen.  It makes us look deeply at our own faith.  Have we pulled away from God?  Are we doing enough to reach others for the Lord?  This book is the one you need to read with your teen to open those conversations.  One thing I kept thinking about when we looked at the world where they had no religion was how many nations in our own world have never heard of our God.  How do they react when we introduce them to him.  I am surprised each year when I give my autobiography to my students and I discuss my religious beliefs, the number of students who have never seen and some of them never heard of the Bible or Jesus.  This is a book that I have on my shelves at school.  It has wonderful pictures in it which will reach that kid who really enjoys the more graphic type novel.  It is a way to plant the seeds of Christianity. I definitely recommend this book to all grandparents, parents, teens and youth groups.

About the Author (from Amazon)

Tim Ferguson has been working with Christian youth since 1969. For the past eighteen years he and his wife, Linda, have led a Junior/Senior High youth program in New York. Tim is the creator of the website Christianyouthgroup.org., through which he met the illustrator, Jose Carlos Gutierrez of Mexico City. He encourages the reader to use the lessons in Appendix Two to teach young people the outcome of applying the gospel message to one's life. Tim has worked for the Department of Social Services for 38 years, primarily in Children's Services. He is currently the Director of Adult Protective Services.