Blank Confession by Pete Hautman

Blank Confession

Pete Hautman

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

2010

This book is about a boy named Shayne Blank. He walked into the police station and confessed to the murder of a high school boy. Why did he kill him? How could he kill him? Detective Rawls asks himself, but as Shayne tell his story and as the truth is comes out Detective Rawls is forced to see that Shayne might be more than the shy new kid in town. But how much more?  I would rank this book a 7 of 10 because the ending was not very good, it seemed like he wanted to add too much to the book.

Reviewed by Anna 8th Grade

The Back Door of Midnight by Elizabeth Chandler

The Back Door of Midnight
Elizabeth Chandler
Simon Pulse
2010

Sixteen-year-old Anna is going to visit her uncle Will to discuss family matters over the summer. When she arrives she is shocked to find out that her uncle died in a murder, and her physic aunt is living alone with her and all of the little voices inside her head. When Anna tries to solve the murder she is distracted by love that might be fatal to her. Anna finds out about the murder and what has happened, for the most part, and is on a thin line of death. Anna will be lucky if she survives.

When I was reading the book I could visualize almost everything that happened. “When I glanced up at her, her eyes were darting around the room as if insects were popping out of the kitchen walls and she was trying to count them.” (page 18).I love the figurative language that she used to make the book more interesting, and I felt as if I was a character in the book. I would highly recommend this book for ages 10 and up.  It is an amazing, fun, adventurous book.

Reviewed by Kaylin 7th Grade

Zach’s Lie by Roland Smith

Zach's Lie
Roland Smith
Hyperion Paperbacks 2003

Roland’s book “Zach’s Lie” just mesmerized me with its mystery and crimes, Zach (aka) Zack and his family are in a particular situation where they have to hide from the FBI and the other people who think they are trying to help them but the lives of the Granger (aka) the Robinsons aren’t falling for it they know that there dad is in a Mexican detention center. Zach, Wanda and their mom Neil are being watched, and Zach and Wanda (aka) Joanna hope to be able to rescue their dad. Zach might be going back to school, but he is really wondering if he might be able to get his dad out of jail for drug dealing.

“Zach’s Lie” has a very unique style, it’s like a secret within a secret and a mystery at the same time. The type of person I would recommend this book to would be 13 or older because it has a lot of suspense and disappearing.  I want to read it again when I’m a little older because then I could get to understand it a little better.

Reviewed by Samantha 7th Grade

Choker by Elizabeth Woods

Choker
Elizabeth Woods

This book is about 16-year old Cara who is really kind of the loser at her high school. Cara dreams about her best friend, Zoe, whom she moved away from when they were in 5^th grade. But suddenly, Zoe shows up at Cara’s front door saying she ran away from home and she needed a place to stay. So while Zoe is hiding out in Cara’s bedroom, mysterious murders and disappearances are occurring to girls at Cara’s school. Is Zoe responsible? This book is fantastic; I read it on one night. My rating is 9/10. 

Review by: Marissa 7th Grade