(E) Ages 12-15
The Glass Sentence by S. E. Grove
By Janie Cheaney |
The Glass Sentence (The Mapmakers Trilogy #1) by S. E. Grove. Viking, 2014, 489 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 12-14 Maturity Level: 6 (ages ...
Read More *Somebody on This Bus is Going to Be Famous by (our very own) J. B. Cheaney
By Betsy Farquhar |
*Somebody on This Bus Is Going to Be Famous by J. B. Cheaney. Sourcebooks, 2014. 304 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades (8-12)Recommended For: Ages 10-12 Bottom ...
Read More The Night Gardener
By Janie Cheaney |
The Night Gardener, by Jonathan Auxier. Amulet, 2014, 350 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (age 10 and up) Teenage Mollie ...
Read More I Kill the Mockingbird
By Janie Cheaney |
I Kill the Mockingbird, by Paul Acampora. Roaring Brook Press, 2014, 177 pages. Reading level: Middle grades, ages 11-12 Maturity level: 4 (ages 11-12) and ...
Read More Grandmaster
By Janie Cheaney |
Grandmaster, by David Klass. Farrar Strauss and Giroux, 2014, 226 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, Ages 15-18 Maturity Level: 6 (15-18) What if you discovered ...
Read More What is War Good For?
By Janie Cheaney |
How do you use the label “anti-war?” As in, “Saving Private Ryan is the best anti-war movie ever made, or “All Quiet on the Western ...
Read More *The Warden and the Wolf King
By Janie Cheaney |
An epic finale to an epic fantasy series. *The Warden and the Wolf King,by Andrew Peterson. Rabbit Room Press, 2014, 519 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages ...
Read More Through Middle-Eastern Eyes: I Am Malala and Hidden Girl
By Janie Cheaney |
Two real-life memoirs of girls living in a turbulent time and place: Hidden Girl: the True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave, by Shyima Hall, ...
Read More On the Blue Comet
By Janie Cheaney |
On the Blue Comet, by Rosemary Wells. Candlewick, 2010, 329 pages. I looked out the diner car window. We were just careening past a station ...
Read More SRC Week 2, Teen List: Dragon’s Tooth Discussion
By emily |
Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...
Read More Cress and The Lunar Chronicles
By Hayley Morell |
When you came to my jail cell and dropped this whole princess thing on me . . . how was I supposed to react? All ...
Read More Boys of Blur and Beowulf: Like Father, Like Son
By Betsy Farquhar |
It's not often that we are privileged to read literary gems from both father AND son. But that is indeed the case here; to make ...
Read More Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge
By Janie Cheaney |
Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge. Candlewick, 2003, 116 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Maturity Level: 5 (Ages 12-15) One-line Summary: Kevin, age 15, ...
Read More *The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
By Janie Cheaney |
*The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. Harcourt Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. 237 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grade, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages 10-12) and up Bottom ...
Read More Bible Review: The Story Teen Edition
By Janie Cheaney |
The Story: Teen Edition. Zondervan, 2011, 498 pages (paperback). Reading Level: Middle Grades ages 10-13 Recommended for: ages 12-15 Bottom Line: This teen edition of ...
Read More Bible Review: NKJV Ignite
By Janie Cheaney |
NKJV Ignite: the Bible for Teens. Thomas Nelson, 2013, 1600 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12-15 Bottom Line: Ignite offers ...
Read More Bible Review: NKJV Extreme Teen Study Bible
By Janie Cheaney |
NKJV Extreme Teen Study Bible, Thomas Nelson, 2012, 1792 pages, for ages 13-18 Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12-15 Bottom Line: ...
Read More Adventuring with Wilder Good, Gannon & Wyatt, and a Giveaway!
By Janie Cheaney |
The Adventures of Wilder Good: Elk Hunt, by S. J. Dahlstron. Paul Dry Books, 2013, 101 pages. Age/interest level: 9-13. The title says it all: ...
Read More America, the Future: Divided We Fall and Sylo
By Janie Cheaney |
This month we're looking at some YA and middle-grade titles that could be described as "high-interest": stories that grab you and don't let go. But ...
Read More The Lunar Chronicles, continued
By Hayley Morell |
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. Feiwel and Friends, 2013. 452 pages. Age/interest level: 14-up. As a sequel, Scarlet picks up right where Cinder ended. Linh Cinder, now ...
Read More Ukraine: Lessons in Liberty and Compassion, Pt. 2
By Hayley Morell |
Last week, we began our Ukrainian series with a personal reflection from our executive assistant, Hayley. Having recently visited orphans in Ukraine, Hayley gave us insight ...
Read More Retro Reads: The Sword in the Stone
By Janie Cheaney |
This week we begin a series of occasional posts called Retro Reads: those modern-day classics you may have missed in your teen years or before ...
Read More Cyborg Cinderella
By Hayley Morell |
Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Square Fish, 2012. 387 pages. Age/interest level: 14-up. Linh Cinder is a teenage mechanic, the best mechanic in New Beijing. ...
Read More Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy
By Betsy Farquhar |
This book is a "Best of the Best" pick from our Winter Book Fair. CLICK HERE to see more gift ideas! Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by ...
Read More On the Court and in the Woods: Books for Teen Boys
By Janie Cheaney |
Will in Scarlet, by Matthew Cody. Knopf, 20134, 272 pages. Age/interest level: 12-up. We’re introduced to William Shackley as a callow, nervous 14-year-old on his ...
Read More Eyes of Lightning
By Hayley Morell |
I have issues . . . more than I can count. I’m stubborn, prideful, a so-called religious fanatic, and a tomboy with freakish eyes. My family and upbringing ...
Read More The Doctrines of Grace by Shane Lems
By Janie Cheaney |
The Doctrines of Grace, Student Edition, by Shane Lems. P&R Publishing, 2013, 143 pages, included appendices. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages ...
Read More Who Do Men Say That I Am?
By Janie Cheaney |
Christmas brings into focus the mystery of the incarnation, when God, in the person of Jesus Christ, took on human flesh in order to meet ...
Read More C. S. Lewis at War: Radio Theatre for Teens and Adults
By emily |
C. S. Lewis at War: The Dramatic Story Behind Mere Christianity (Radio Theatre) by C.S. Lewis and Paul McCusker. Tyndale Entertainment, 2013. Ages 12 and ...
Read More Rounding Up Some Good YA Reads
By Janie Cheaney |
As Hayley noted earlier this week, the much-heralded final volume of Veronica Roth's Divergent trilogy was a disappointment. Much-heralded final volumes often disappoint, but what's ...
Read More Far as the Curse is Found: Two Novels Dealing with Death
By Janie Cheaney |
This seems like an odd time of year to talk about death, but the joy of the Christmas season wouldn’t be joyful at all if ...
Read More Pilgrim’s Progress adapted by Anna Trimiew
By Janie Cheaney |
Pilgrim’s Progress: John Bunyan’s Classic Story Adapted for Children, by Anna Trimiew, illustrated by Drew Rose. Great Commissions Press, 2013, 109 pages, including glossary and ...
Read More *Pilgrim’s Progress: a Retelling by Gary Schmidt
By Janie Cheaney |
Pilgrim’s Progress: a Retelling, by Gary Schmidt, illustrated by Barry Moser. Eerdmans, 1994, 96 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, Ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12 ...
Read More *Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed
By Janie Cheaney |
Twelve Kinds of Ice, by Ellen Bryan Obed, illustrated by Barbara McClintock. Houghton Mifflin, 2012, 64 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, Ages 10-12 Maturity Level: ...
Read More Call of the Klondike: a True Gold Rush Adventure by David Meissner
By Janie Cheaney |
This middle grade history uses original letters and contemporary news accounts to recreate the drama of the Alaska Gold Rush. Call of the Klondike: a ...
Read More Classics in Comics
By Janie Cheaney |
We round out Picture-book month at Redeemed Reader with a look at some recent comic-book adaptations of enduring literary works--even though graphic novels, technically speaking, ...
Read More November 22, 1963
By Janie Cheaney |
Fifty years ago a president was violently assassinated. John F. Kennedy’s place in history is mostly emblematic: baby-boomers remember his ease and charm and clever ...
Read More *Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt
By Janie Cheaney |
Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt and Isobelle Arsenault (translated from the original French). Groundwood, 2014, 101 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ...
Read More Veterans Day: The Warrior’s Heart
By Janie Cheaney |
The Warrior’s heart: Becoming a Man of Compassion and Courage, by Eric Greitens. Houghton Mifflin, 2012, 263 pages. Age/interest level: 15-up. You stand in freezing ...
Read More History in Graphic Format
By Betsy Farquhar |
As we conclude our History Month here at RedeemedReader, I hope you've enjoyed learning about historical fiction, church history, picture book biographies, general history, and ...
Read More Ghost Stories
By Janie Cheaney |
Do you believe in ghosts? I discount many of the ghost stories I hear, but can’t quit discount the whole phenomenon. That is, there is ...
Read More Empire of Bones (Ashtown Burials, #3)
By Betsy Farquhar |
Empire of Bones (Ashtown Burials #3) by N. D. Wilson. Random House, 2013. 448 pages. Reading Level: Middle gradesRecommended For: age 10 and up. We've ...
Read More Lara’s Gift by Annemarie O’Brien
By Janie Cheaney |
Lara’s Gift, by Annemarie O’Brien. Knopf, 2013, 193pages, including appendix Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12, Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 10-15 Bottom ...
Read More How God Used a Thunderstorm by Joel R. Beeke and Diana Kleyn
By Megan Saben |
*How God Used a Thunderstorm and Other Devotional Stories by Joel R. Beeke and Diana Kleyn, illustrated by Jeff Anderson (Building on the Rock Series). ...
Read More God in Dystopia: Captives and Aquifer
By Janie Cheaney |
Two weeks ago Hayley, Joseph, and Abby discussed two inaugural titles from Blink, Zondervan’s new YA title. Today they’re back with two more. Both these ...
Read More Scientific Fiction or Fictional Science? Three Genre-Busting Reads
By Betsy Farquhar |
Janie and Betsy team up once again to bring you reviews of three recent scientific fiction works! Janie does the first and Betsy the second ...
Read More The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer
By Janie Cheaney |
The Reluctant Assassin (W.A.R.P., #1), by Eoin Colfer. Hyperion, 2013, 352 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Appropriate for: ages 15-up Bottom Line: ...
Read More The Enemy Stone: An Interview with Robert Treskillard
By Janie Cheaney |
Last Friday we had a fascinating discussion with our interns about some of the first titles of a brand new YA imprint from Zondervan. One ...
Read More Taking a Look at “Blink”–with Our Own YA Readers
By Janie Cheaney |
This fall, Zondervan Publishers is introducing a new imprint called “Blink.” According to Zondervan marketing v-p Chrisynethia Floyd, “They are for anyone, regardless of faith ...
Read More The Rithmatist, Bubble World, and A Corner of White: Science Fiction or Fantasy?
By Janie Cheaney |
As Emily informed us yesterday, September is science and science-fiction month, featuring our read-along of Orson Scott Card's classic novel, Ender's Game. To celebrate, we're ...
Read More City of Bones: Movie Review
By Hayley Morell |
As the cinematic version of City of Bones hits theaters this week,
Read More Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
By Janie Cheaney |
There's a big movie release this week, based on a best-selling series of young-adult fantasy novels. Young-adult fantasy novels have proved enormously profitable for the ...
Read More Beowulf: Legend, Worldview, and Contemporary Narratives
By Betsy Farquhar |
When I used to teach high school British Literature back in the day, Beowulf was always our first big study. It's first chronologically, and it's ...
Read More How to Skim a Book: The Lost Medallion by Bill Muir and Alex Kendrick
By emily |
To Skim or Not to Skim It's seven o'clock, and you remember you have a book review due in the morning. But alas, you haven't ...
Read More Lemonade and Lit, Week 7: Klavan Discussion
By emily |
Other Lemonade and Lit posts: Introduction, Week One: Booked, Week Two: Booked Discussion, Week Three: Beauty, Week Four: Sexuality in Booked, Week Five: Beauty Discussion, ...
Read More Two Books about China
By emily |
Little White Duck: A Childhood in China by Na Liu, Illustrated by Andres Vera Martinez. Graphic Universe TM, 2013. 96 pgs. Grades 4-7. When I ...
Read More Summer Reading Challenge, Week 6: The Lightning Thief
By Hayley Morell |
Welcome to Week 6 of our Summer Reading Challenge! If you’d like to see other posts in this series,
Read More Boy + Dog = Good Read
By Betsy Farquhar |
Boy + dog is a solid formula that's been in play in the literary world for decades. How many of you read Old Yeller in ...
Read More Three Days in July
By Janie Cheaney |
One hundred and fifty years ago, two great armies collided in a small Pennsylvania town. The actual site of the battle was not planned, but ...
Read More Lemonade and Lit, Week 3: Beauty by Robin McKinley
By emily |
Other Lemonade and Lit posts: Introduction, Week One: Booked, Week Two: Booked Discussion, Week Three: Beauty, Week Four: Sexuality in Booked, Week Five: Beauty Discussion, ...
Read More Lemonade and Lit Read Along, Week 2: Booked Discussion
By emily |
Other Lemonade and Lit posts: Introduction, Week One: Booked, Week Two: Booked Discussion, Week Three: Beauty, Week Four: Sexuality in Booked, Week Five: Beauty Discussion, ...
Read More Lemonade and Lit Read Along, Week 1: Booked by Karen Swallow Prior
By emily |
Other Lemonade and Lit posts: Introduction, Week One: Booked, Week Two: Booked Discussion, Week Three: Beauty, Week Four: Sexuality in Booked, Week Five: Beauty Discussion, ...
Read More Whalesong: A Review by Nathan Huffstutler
By emily |
Earlier this year, when I first heard the name Robert Siegel doing research for these book reviews last April at World Magazine, I learned Siegel ...
Read More Throwing Strikes with R. A. Dickey
By Janie Cheaney |
Throwing Strikes: My Quest for Truth and the Perfect Knuckleball, by R. A. Dickey. Dial, 2013, 296 pages. Age/interest level: 12-16. Last year Dickey’s autobiography, ...
Read More Hattie Ever After: A Review
By emily |
Today, I'm happy to welcome our current intern,Hayley Schoeppler, again. You guys may recall that she did a review of Mara, Daughter of the Nile ...
Read More Words for Life: Bibles for Teens and Graduates
By Janie Cheaney |
In an earlier post I wrote about beginners “Bibles” and Bible storybooks. That was followed up by a post on the methods and merits of ...
Read More No Battlefield Like Home
By Janie Cheaney |
Chasing Jupiter, by Rachel Coker. Zondervan, 2012, 221 pages. Age/interest level: 12-up. Our story begins in small-town Georgia, 1969—but 16-year-old Scarlett’s world seems even smaller ...
Read More Interview with Judah Ben: Kai’Ro, Christian Rap and the Progress of Urban Pilgrims
By emily |
Introduction There are very few modern books that I see as really significant. But I see the Kai' Ro series--an urban interpretation of Pilgrim's Progress--by ...
Read More Bible Review: NIV Rock Solid Faith Study Bible for Teens
By Janie Cheaney |
Rock Solid Faith introduces teens to the principles and characters of the Bible in a generally helpful way. Rock Solid Faith Study Bible for Teens. ...
Read More Shark Girl: Drama in Real Life (and in fiction)
By Betsy Farquhar |
This post has been planned for a couple of weeks, but I wanted to acknowledge a potentially sensitive connection with the victims of the recent ...
Read More Good Old Fashioned Adventure
By Janie Cheaney |
The False Prince (2012) and The Runaway King (2013), by Jennifer A. Nielson. Scholastic, about 350 pages each. Age/interest level: 10-up. When we first encounter ...
Read More A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff
By Janie Cheaney |
A Tangle of Knots, by Lisa Graff. Philomel, 2013, 233 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-12 and up Bottom Line: ...
Read More Poetry Anthologies
By Megan Saben |
A good poetry anthology is like going to a friend's house with a basket, and being told, "Oh, you must read this one, and this one, and ...
Read More The Real Sherlock Holmes
By Janie Cheaney |
Arthur Conan Doyle published the first Sherlock Holmes story in a British periodical in 1887, to moderate interest. Three novels and fifty-odd short stories later, ...
Read More *Bible Review: The HCSB Illustrated Study Bible
By Janie Cheaney |
*The HCSB Illustrated Study Bible for Kids. Boardman and Holman, 2007, 1104 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Bottom Line: ...
Read More New Nonfiction: Titanic, Moonbird, and Bodyguards
By Janie Cheaney |
These three books have nothing in common except their general category and the fact that the first two won honors in the ALA Youth Media ...
Read More The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus 3) by Rick Riordan
By Janie Cheaney |
The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus #3), by Rick Riordan. Hyperion, 2012, 608 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages ...
Read More Zeus, King of the Gods by George O’Connor
By Janie Cheaney |
Zeus, King of the Gods, (#1 in The Olympians graphic-novel series) by George O’Connor. First Second, 2012, 80 pages. Reading Level: Picture books (graphic novel), ...
Read More The Hard Work of Growing Up
By Janie Cheaney |
It’s what every child has to do, and they accomplish it with varying degrees of success. In a sense, "growing up" is the theme of ...
Read More Ancient History: Mara, Daughter of the Nile
By emily |
This week, we'll be looking at several books that deal with ancient history--including Greek and Roman culture. Toward that end, I asked our intern, Hayley ...
Read More The Real George Washington
By Janie Cheaney |
When did history get so complicated? Not too long ago, “The father of his country” was a monumental figure deserving nothing but praise. Now, depending ...
Read More Looking for Love . . . in All the Weird Places
By Janie Cheaney |
Since I first wrote about teen paranormal romance--the spark that became a blaze with the Twilight series and all its imitators--we’ve seen the entire Bella-Edward ...
Read More Love in the Age of Roe
By Janie Cheaney |
In our posts over the last two weeks, Emily and I have suggested that Roe v. Wade has changed America profoundly in the ways we ...
Read More Unstoppable by Tim Green
By Janie Cheaney |
A middle-grade boy's football ambitions crash against a cancer diagnosis in this frank tale by NFL star Tim Green. Unstoppable, by Tim Green. HarperCollins, 2012, ...
Read More Identity and Revolution, part 1
By Janie Cheaney |
“We will triumph with our tongues. We own our lips—who is our master?” Psalm 12:4 We live in an age where reality can be easily ...
Read More Gabrielle Douglas: Grace, Gold, and (God’s) Glory
By emily |
Into the Spotlight Sixteen-year-old Gabrielle Douglas's jaw-dropping performance in the women's all-around gymnastics competition, just edging out her closest Russian competitor to win gold, was ...
Read More On All Fronts: New Nonfiction of World War II
By Janie Cheaney |
My sister, who serves at a docent at a prisoner-of-war museum in Texas, says that her most eager listeners are pre-teen and teenage boys. When ...
Read More Kids–Try This at Home
By Janie Cheaney |
Got a novel idea? It’s easier than ever to get published, but if the imprint on the spine of your masterwork is Xlibris or iUniverse, ...
Read More 16th Century Travels: Jepp and Will Sparrow
By Janie Cheaney |
Jepp, Who Defied the Stars, by Katharine Marsh. Hyperion, 2012, 369 pages plus author note. Age/interest level: 12-up. Jepp’s diminutive size has always been a ...
Read More O Come, Emmanuel
By Janie Cheaney |
Every year advent takes me by surprise--otherwise I would have posted this last week! Family advent readers come down from the shelves this time of ...
Read More The Giver Concludes
By Janie Cheaney |
Son, by Lois Lowry. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012, 393 pages. Age/interest level: 12-up. Lois Lowry’s The Giver, published in 1993, has become an iconic title ...
Read More Dragon Tale: Seraphina
By Janie Cheaney |
There’s a grand slam (plus one) among children’s book reviewers: Booklist, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, ...
Read More The Drowned Vault by N. D. Wilson
By Janie Cheaney |
The Drowned Vault (Ashtown Burials #2) by N. D. Wilson. Random House, 2012, 447 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12 and ...
Read More Origin by Jessica Khoury
By Janie Cheaney |
Origin, by Jessica Khoury. Penguin, 2012, 393 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 16-up (please note: the recommended age is not ...
Read More Hand of Vengeance
By Janie Cheaney |
Tomorrow we have a real treat for you: two Christian dads, one a pastor and one a teacher, who both happen to write books for ...
Read More Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl
By Janie Cheaney |
Keeping the Castle: a Tale of Romance, Riches, and Real Estate, by Patrice Kindl. Viking, 2012, 261 pages. Age/interest level: 13-up. Althea Crawley, age 17, ...
Read More Survival and Rescue
By Janie Cheaney |
Rescue from certain destruction is the great theme of the Bible. When it happens in real life, it should remind us of how blessed we ...
Read More The Invasion of Fairyland
By Janie Cheaney |
Tuesday’s post about “Twisting Mother Goose” was headed down an alley I didn’t have room to address. So today’s post springs off YA lit-blogger Georgia ...
Read More Running for My Life & Other Hopeful Sports Books
By emily |
A Few Recommendations Last year Janie and I put together a post on football books for kids and young adults, Tim Tebow to Justin Tuck: ...
Read More Facts of Life
By Janie Cheaney |
Our 50 Shades of Gray discussion this week demonstrates how our sin nature turns God's gifts into perversions. But sex is still a gift, and ...
Read More