Ages 12-15
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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Swash and Buckle: the Chronicles of Egg
By Janie Cheaney |
Deadweather and Sunrise, by Geoff Rodkey. Putnam, 2012, 296 pages. Age/interest level: 10-up. Thirteen-year-old Egbert Masterson, or Egg as he will soon be called, is ...
Read More Insurgent: A Summer Review
By emily |
Hayley Schoeppler is a 20 year old college student, the oldest in a family of seven kids, and an astute Christian book reviewer at her ...
Read More Catching Up with YA Fantasy
By Janie Cheaney |
Readers of this blog may not believe me when I say I’m not a big fantasy fan. Then why so many fantasy reviews? Because that’s ...
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Hoping Against Hope: Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt
By Janie Cheaney |
Doug Swietek finds a new life in his new town, despite his boorish father. Perfect for fans of The Wednesday Wars. Okay for Now, by ...
Read More The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
By Janie Cheaney |
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy (drawings by Todd Harris). HarperCollins, 2012, 436 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended ...
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Hard Science
By Janie Cheaney |
God particle, Higgs boson—it's been news since Independence Day (no relation to said holiday) and most of us scratch our heads. It’s too hot to ...
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The Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin
By Janie Cheaney |
The Glorious Fourth, as they used to call it, celebrates the birth of a nation whose independence was only declared with the signing of a ...
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Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan
By Janie Cheaney |
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Coming up on Friday, an interview with Andrew Klavan himself! And we have a copy of Crazy Dangerous to give away!! Read on ...
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Bad Trips
By Janie Cheaney |
Summer is the traditional time for road trips, and road-trip novels traditionally roll out in the spring. A title from this year and one from ...
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Graduation Gifts for Teens
By emily |
We're fast approaching graduation day at many schools, so I thought it might be worth tossing out a few books to brighten your celebrations. 1. ...
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May B by Caroline Starr Rose
By Janie Cheaney |
May B., by Caroline Starr Rose, Schwartz & Wade, 2012, 225 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 and up Bottom Line: ...
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Wonder
By Janie Cheaney |
Wonder, by R. J. Palacio. Knopf, 2012, 320 pages. Ages 8-up August (Augie) Pullman obviously doesn’t remember the day he was born, but in the ...
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Kingstone Part 2: Interview and Babylon
By emily |
By Redeemed Reader intern Jack Mertens Today I continue my series on Kingstone Comics, begun on Monday with reviews of two of Marvin Olasky's graphic ...
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Kingstone Part 1: 2048 and Echoes of Eden
By emily |
Today's reviewer, Jack Mertens, is a 17 year old high school student living in Louisiana where he is, among other things, an avid reader and ...
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Real or Not Real? The Hunger Games Movie is Good For Teens….
By emily |
***SPOILER ALERT: SOME PARTS OF THE END OF THE STORY REVEALED BELOW To read Janie's review of the book, see Hungry. Today, the much anticipated ...
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Talking Over the Hunger Games, Part One
By Janie Cheaney |
Since Susanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy (reviewed here) has sparked so much discussion in school cafeterias and dorm rooms (not to mention break rooms and ...
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Hungry
By Janie Cheaney |
Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games, Scholastic, 2008, 374 pages. Catching Fire, Scholastic, 2009, 391 pages. Mockingjay, 2010, 387 pages. Age/interest level: 14-up. READER ADVISORY: This ...
Read More Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
By Janie Cheaney |
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. Harper Collins, 1972 (paperback reissue 2003). 208 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Recommended for: Young adult, ...
Read More Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
By Janie Cheaney |
Gary Paulsen's classic survival novel Hatchet offers a realistic--as opposed to romantic-- view of nature and what it takes to survive in the wild. Hatchet ...
Read More Countdown by Deborah Wiles
By Janie Cheaney |
Countdown (the Sixties Trilogy) by Deborah wiles. Scholastic, 2010, 377 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages 10-12) and up Bottom ...
Read More The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
By Janie Cheaney |
The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy. Putnam/Penguin, 2011, 353 pages. Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Maturity Level: 5 (ages 12-14) Bottom Line: The Apothecary is ...
Read More Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
By Janie Cheaney |
Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys. Penguin/Philomel, 2011, 338 pages. Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Maturity Level: 6 (ages 15-18) and up June ...
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Africa: A Literary Adventure and Podcast!
By emily |
This month my local public library is offering a marionette show of African folktales starring Anansi the spider. It's a unique way to celebrate Black ...
Read More A Roundup of Dickens Resources: Books
By Janie Cheaney |
My first exposure to Charles Dickens was the original Classics Illustrated edition of A Tale of Two Cities. The last panel of Sidney Carton climbing ...
Read More My Dragon Tattoo: A Book and Movie Review
By emily |
Last Wednesday, I sat down with a friend at the Regal Cinema nearby to watch "the feel bad movie of Christmas." For the uninitiated, that's ...
Read More What’s Lefse?
By Janie Cheaney |
The Invention of Lefse: a Christmas Story, by Larry Woiwode. Crossway, 2011, 63 pages. Age/interest level: 8 and up. “Lefse? What’s lefse?” is the epigraph ...
Read More War Horse
By Janie Cheaney |
War Horse, by Michael Morpurgo. Scholastic, 2011 (originally published 1982), 192 pages. Age/interest level: 8 and up. Michael Morpurgo was already established in the UK ...
Read More POW! The Comic-Book Surge
By Janie Cheaney |
The December 21 opening of The Adventures of Tintin: the Secret of the Unicorn, should focus attention not only on the boy from Belgium ...
Read More Recommendations for Teens
By Janie Cheaney |
As reported by the L.A. Times only a week ago, “Young adult continues to be the literary world’s fastest-growing genre.” There are a lot of ...
Read More Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica
By Janie Cheaney |
Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica. Penguin, 2009, 244 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Bottom Line: Mike Lupika's young hero ...
Read More Hall of Heroes
By Janie Cheaney |
Reformation Heroes, by Diana Kleyn with Joel R. Beeke. Reformation Heritage Books, 2009, 250 pages. Age/interest level: 11-up. October 31, 2017 (only six years from ...
Read More Columbus and the Founding of our Nation
By emily |
COLUMBUS The first time I browsed through Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire's biography, Columbus, I purchased it for my kids on the spot based largely ...
Read More Autism: Fiction and Fact
By Janie Cheaney |
Marcelo in the Real World, by Francisco X Stork. Scholastic, 2009, 312 pages. Age/interest level: 14-up. Dancing With Max, by Emily Colson. Zondervan, 2010, 200 ...
Read More Homelanders Series by Andrew Klavan
By Janie Cheaney |
Homelanders, by Andrew Klavan. Published by Thomas Nelson in four parts: The Last Thing I Remember (2009), The Long Way Home (2010), The Truth of ...
Read More That Hideous Strength 3: Climax
By Janie Cheaney |
Previous posts: Introduction, Part One: Setup, Part Two: Development. Climax? Isn’t it a little early for that? Most of us have the idea that the ...
Read More Close to Famous by Joan Bauer
By Janie Cheaney |
Close to Famous, by Joan Bauer. Viking, 2011, 250 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Recommended for: ages 11-13 Bottom Line: In this feel-good middle ...
Read More Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer
By Janie Cheaney |
Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer. Speak, 2005. 208 pages Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12-16 Bottom Line: Good-hearted Jenna ...
Read More That Hideous Strength 2: Development
By Janie Cheaney |
Previous Posts: Introduction Part One: Setup Almost all the main characters have been introduced and the potential conflicts are in place. Now development: that phase ...
Read More *The Dragon’s Tooth by N. D. Wilson
By Janie Cheaney |
*The Dragon’s Tooth (Ashtown Burials, Book One), by N. D. Wilson. Random House, 2011, 482 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages ...
Read More That Hideous Strength 1: the Setup
By Janie Cheaney |
Beginning our first-ever Readalong: here's the Introduction. The action takes place at three fictional locations: Edgetow, a university town similar to Cambridge, but smaller; St. ...
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On Eagle’s Wings
By Janie Cheaney |
Book 2 of the epic adventures of the three children who are heirs to a kingdom, sought by the Fangs of Dang, and as normal ...
Read More One More For the Road
By Janie Cheaney |
Around the World in 100 Days, by Gary Blackwood. Dutton, 2010, 358 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Bottom Line: ...
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Covenanters: Then and Now
By Janie Cheaney |
Duncan's War, by Douglas Bond (Crown and Covenant #1). P&R Publishing, 2002. 270 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-12 and up ...
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The Betrayal of Maggie Blair by Elizabeth Laird
By Janie Cheaney |
The Betrayal of Maggie Blair, by Elizabeth Laird. Houghton Mifflin, 2011, 420 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, Ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages 14 and up ...
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*Entwined by Heather Dixon
By Janie Cheaney |
*Entwined, by Heather Dixon. Greenwillow, 2011, 472 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages 12-15 Bottom Line: Entwined is a fairy-tale romance ...
Read More Enchanted: Three new fairy tales
By Janie Cheaney |
Heartless, by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. Bethany House, 2010. Age/interest level: 14-up (first in a series) Princess Una is a romantic sort, indulged by her father and ...
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Rebel by R. J. Anderson
By Janie Cheaney |
Rebel by R. J. Anderson. Enclave Publishing, Reprint edition, 2015. 308 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, 12-15. Recommended for: Ages 12-15 Bottom Line: Rebel, a story ...
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Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg
By Janie Cheaney |
Prom and Prejudice, by Elizabeth Eulberg. Point (Scholastic), 2011, 227 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages 12-14 and up Bottom Line: ...
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Enthusiasm by Polly Schulman
By Janie Cheaney |
Enthusiasm, by Polly Schulman. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2006, 198 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages 12-14 Bottom Line: Enthusiasm, a ...
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*The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg
By Janie Cheaney |
*The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg. Clarion, 2011, 241 pages with author note. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages ...
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Divergent by Veronica Roth
By Janie Cheaney |
Divergent, by Veronica Roth. Katherine Tegan Books (HarperCollins), 2011, 487 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages 15-18 and up Bottom Line: ...
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Beautiful by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma
By Janie Cheaney |
Beautiful: Truth's Found When Beauty's Lost, by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma. Thomas Nelson, 2009, 272 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages 12-14 and ...
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Love Will Keep Us Together by Anne Dayton
By Janie Cheaney |
Love Will Keep Us Together, by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt. Hatchett: 2010, 287 pages. (Miracle Girls series #4) Reading Level: Young adult, ages 12-15 ...
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Becoming Me by Melody Carlson
By Janie Cheaney |
Becoming Me, by Melody Carlson. Multnomah, 2010. (Diary of a Teenage Girl series #1.) Reading Level: Young Adults, Ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages 12-14 and up ...
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Motorcycles, Sushi, and One Strange Book by Nancy Rue
By Janie Cheaney |
Motorcycles, Sushi, and One Strange Book, by Nancy Rue. Zondervan, 2010, 211 pages. (Real Life series #1) Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ...
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The Airborn trilogy by Kenneth Oppel
By Janie Cheaney |
Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel. HarperCollins, 2004, 355 pp. Skybreaker (2007); Starclimber (2009). Reading Level: Middle grade, ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 and up One-line ...
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The Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld
By Janie Cheaney |
Leviathan, by Scott Westerfield, illustrations by Keith Thompson. Simon Pulse, 2009, 434 pages plus historical note. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: Ages ...
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Peak by Roland Smith
By Janie Cheaney |
Peak by Roland Smith. Harcourt: 2007, 246 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 and up One-line summary: Fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello's ...
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90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Flores-Galbis
By Janie Cheaney |
An 11-year-old boy flees revolutionary Cuba with his brothers and learns American enterprise in this vivid, fast-paced middle-grade historical novel. 90 Miles to Havana, by ...
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Escaping the Tiger by Laura Manivong
By Janie Cheaney |
Escaping the Tiger by Laura Manivong. HarperCollins, 2010. 210 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 12-14 Recommended for: Ages 15-18 Bottom line: The experience of ...
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*The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
By Janie Cheaney |
The Perilous Gard, by Elizabeth Marie Pope. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001, 288. Age/interest level 12-up. Reading Level: Teens/Young Adults Recommended for: Ages 15-18 Bottom line: ...
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The Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud
By Janie Cheaney |
The Bartimaeus Trilogy, by Jonathan Stroud: The Amulet of Samarkand (Hyperion/Miramax, 2003), The Golem's Eye (2004), Ptolemy's Gate (2005). Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-14 ...
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The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud
By Janie Cheaney |
The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud. Hyperion/Disney, 2010, 398 pages. Reading level: Middle grades, 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 12-14 One-line Summary: The witty narrator ...
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*The Year Money Grew on Trees by Aaron Hawkins
By Janie Cheaney |
The Year Money Grew on Trees by Aaron Hawkins. HMH, 2010. 301 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 Bottom Line: Middle-grade ...
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Annexed by Sharon Dogar
By Janie Cheaney |
Annexed is the fictionalized story of Peter van Pels, Anne Frank's fellow inmate, who offers a moving account of the Holocaust for teens, but no ...
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