Side Effects is the story of Isabella (Izzy) and her experience with cancer. One morning when she woke up, she discovered that her glands on her neck were swollen. After a few phone calls, they figured out it was cancer. Immediately Izzy is taken to the hospital to begin treatments and medication. Izzy just being a teenage girl is oblivious to what is going on. When her chemo treatments don't work as well as planned and her cancer gets worse, Izzy begins to lose hope on surviving. But that changes when she gets some tests back saying that the chemo actually did work and she is cancer free. This story is told by Izzy's point of view. It's interesting to read her opinions as to what is going on with her. I recommend this book to all teens.

Bridge To Terabithia, based on the book by Katherine Paterson, is about a boy named Jess and his encounter with a strange girl. This girl, Leslie, shows Jess a new way of using his imagination and together they discover a whole new world, in which are giant trolls, dragon fly warriors, and many other made up creatures. But after Leslie dies a tragic death, Jess starts to realize that she showed him how to use his imagination, and that he should pass that on to his 6-year old sister May-Belle. This truly is a heart warming movie, and is certain to make you cry. Although it is not very true to the book, I still rate it 3 stars.

Blind Faith by Ellen Wittlinger


Liz Scattergood, a teenaged girl has just lost her grandmother, Bunny. Bunny's death has effected her mother more than her. Liz's mother becomes depressed, rarely getting out of bed and doing the things she usually does. This changes when her mother goes to a special place called Singing Creek. It is here that people come to talk to their lost loved ones. She insists on taking Liz there with her, ignoring the fact that Liz's father is adamantly against everything religious. Thinking that going with her mother will be a bonding experience, she goes. Throughout the story, Liz is realizing that dealing with a death is a lot more complicated than she thought. This novel tells how grief and the death of ohers affects people and how they handle it. I really liked this book and I reccommend it to people who are interested in reading different kinds of books that explore new topics.

Kim is a young boy who would rather read science fiction novels than worry about school and other things. When his parents tell thim that his little sister has fallen into a coma due to a surgery, Kim is mad and fustrated. Not that she's in a coma, but that he can't do anything to help her. Or can he? Kim finds himself in the realm of Magic Moon. In order to save his little sister, he has to solve the intriguing secret that is keeping her in the mysterious coma she is in. I recommend this book to teens who are interested in adventure and magical places.

Carrie, a superstitious, immature 15-year old, lost her favorite T-shirt, the one her divorced father had given her. Convinced that the T-shirt gives her good luck and that without it her life would be a wreck, Carrie traced the shirt to India, where it had been donated to a woman's shelter. She tagged along with her enemy Darlene and Darlene's mother to volunteer in India and try to find the shirt. There, she meets an older student, who unaccountably falls for her. Along the way, she begins to lose some of her selfishness. I reccomend this book to anyone who likes a great adventure story, especially one where they travel half-way around the world!

March 4th to March 10th

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Tally is finally pretty. She has everything she's dreamed of. A perfect face, perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect evrything. Every day of her new life is loaded up with fun. When Tally finds a note she wrote before she became a Pretty, she suddenly realizes that being a Pretty isn't as great as she thought it was, and all the fun suddenly stops. Tally needs to fight for what is right, and it won't be easy. This is the second book in the Uglies trilogy. I recommend it to everyone who read and enjoyed Uglies.