The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

SUMMARY:  When the royal family dies, the race is on to provide the next ruler.  A nobleman named Conner discovers Sage, an orphan boy, and tries to turn him, along with two other orphans, into the missing prince.  However, Sage has plans and secrets of his own.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  After an unlucky streak with books, I was happy to find a book that I actually enjoyed.  This was one of those classic stories that keeps you coming back for more.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Aside from some violence, the content was very mild.  I would definitely recommend this book.

RATING:  PG with some Violence

AUDIENCE:  Teens and Young Adults

STARS:  4

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  Beauty, Dave at Night

The Odyssey by Homer

SUMMARY:  The story follows Odysseus, returning from the Trojan war, and his son Telemachus, who is eager to discover his father's fate, while unwelcome suitors court his mother and eat his food.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of this book.  I listened to the audiobook, mostly because it was a classic I had never experienced.  However, I didn't enjoy it too much.  The viewpoints, although typical and standard of the time, were misogynistic, and the violence was grotesque.  I could definitely see teenage boys enjoying the gore and fights, but personally, I didn't like it.

RATING:  PG13 for Violence and Sexual Reference

AUDIENCE:  Adults

STARS:  2

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  The Illiad, Nobody's Princess

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

SUMMARY:  Evie is the girl with everything.  The only bad part of her life is that she sees horrifying visions. After spending two years in a mental institution, she is determined to act like a normal teenager.  However, when her visions start coming true, she realizes she should have paid more attention.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  The content in this book was very mature.  There was some bad language, overt sexual references, and grotesque imagery and violence.  In my opinion, it is not appropriate for the intended teen audience.  Although the writing style is polished, and the characters are memorable, I personally couldn't stomach it, and probably wouldn't recommend it.

RATING:  PG13 for Violence, Sensuality, and Language

AUDIENCE:  Adult

STARS:  1 1/2

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  Wither, 13 Days to Midnight

Born at Midnight by C. C. Hunter

SUMMARY:  Kylie gets labeled as a "troubled teen" and sent to a camp away from home.  She discovers that everyone at the camp has supernatural traits, and struggles to come to terms with the fact that she isn't normal, either.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  Honestly, I would recommend skipping this book.  It is clearly written for teens, with lots of teenage drama and lust and angst, but I felt that it wasn't content-appropriate for teens.  I didn't even enjoy the story or the writing all that much.  I could tell that the series was very popular, but I was glad to put this book down, and not recommend it to others.

RATING:  PG13 for Violence, Language, and Sensuality/Sexual Reference

AUDIENCE:  Young Adults

STARS:  0

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  Fallen, Shiver

Top Ten Picture Books

I don't review picture books on this blog, but I still thought I'd include my very favorite picture books.

1. No, David! by David Shannon
2.  Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
3.  Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems.
4.  Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
5.  Corduroy by Don Freeman
6.  Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
7.  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
8.  Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
9.  Curious George Learns the Alphabet by H.A. Rey
10.  Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Top Ten Books for Pre-Teens and Children

1.  The Invention of Hugo Cabret
2.  Holes
3.  Eight Cousins
4.  Charlotte's Web
5.  Matilda
6.  The City of Ember
7.  Little House Series
8.  Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
9.  Wonderstruck
10.  Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Top Ten Books for Adults

1.  Wives and Daughters
2.  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
3.  Pride and Prejudice
4.  Little Women
5.  Jane Eyre
6.  Short Stories by O.Henry
7.  And Then There Were None
8.  Howl's Moving Castle
9.  The Complete Sherlock Holmes
10.  Austenland

Top Ten Books for Teens

Again, I would recommend clicking on books you are interested in before making an informed decision.  Also, I realize that my list has several books which may appeal more to girls than boys.  I apologize to anyone who is looking for books for boys.  However, I think these books are great regardless of audience gender.

1.  Harry Potter Series
2.  Beauty
3.  Princess Academy
4.  An Old-Fashioned Girl
5.  Anne of Green Gables Series
6.  Goose Girl Series
7.  Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
8.  Uglies by Scott Westerfield
9.  Maximum Ride Series (1-3)
10.  Percy Jackson Series

My Favorite Books for Young Adults

In honor of having critiqued over 100 books, I decided to do some lists.  In reviewing all the books I've written about, I noticed I really kept with my theme.  There really are some good, bad, and ugly books on here.  Hopefully I've helped someone out.  In the meantime, I thought I would list my top ten favorite books for each age.  Most of the books have been reviewed on the website.  I would recommend clicking on the link to make yourself aware of the content of each book, because there are some issues in some of the books.  Also, I know that some books may be better literature than others, but I am simply listing my personal favorites.

1.  Matched Trilogy
2.  The Selection
3.  The Host
4.  The Immortals Series
5.  The Hunger Games Trilogy
6.  Virals
7.  Heroes of Olympus Series
8.  The Book Thief
9.  Divergent
10.  Wolves, Boys, & Other Things That Might Kill Me

Seizure by Kathy Reichs

SYNOPSIS:  Tory Brennan and her "pack" are back, this time in search of buried pirate treasure.  They are not the only ones searching, though, and they are competing with others who will stop at nothing to claim it.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  Just like the first book in the series, Seizure is a fast-paced adventure that will keep teens coming back for more.  There is some moderate language in the book, as well as some sensuality in the form of references to a historic character's sexuality.  Also, it is an adventure story, with action film-type violence.  However, it was a fun story, with lovable characters and a smart, inventive protagonist.  I enjoyed it, and I'm sure adventure-loving teens and young adults would also.

RATING:  PG13 for language, violence, and sexual references

AUDIENCE:  Teens and Young Adults

STARS:  3 1/2

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  Maximum Ride, Divergent

Victoria and he Rogue by Meg Cabot

SYNOPSIS:  Victoria is interested in projects.  She feels it is her life's work to help people rearrange their lives for them.  So when is proposed to by a handsome but poor gentleman, she thinks it is the perfect opportunity to fix his life while securing a husband at the same time.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  I was a little uneasy about trying out another of Meg Cabot's books, since I knew from experience that she often has a lot of sensuality and sexual references in her books.  However, I was pleasantly surprised with this book.  I guess because it takes place in a time of perfect propriety, it is very mild in the content department.  Although I wouldn't say the book is hard-core literature, it is a fun and sweet story, with plenty of romance.

RATING:  PG (very mild sensuality)

AUDIENCE:  Teens

STARS:  3

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  Emma, Fancy Pants