Boys Books

The author changed a lot of what were supposed to be direct quotes and 'Briti-cised' them. I don't have examples off the top of my head, but I remember one quote being attributed to Brian that included very British phrasing. That's not a direct quote, that's paraphrased.

I don't even think I finished the book. I'd have expected the 'Official' Bio to be put together more like a lot of the UNofficial ones.

Also, a LOT of American fans are not going to understand British terms. Honestly, you're better off collecting the unauthorised bios...

I've read about 18 or so books on this group. And of all of them, if you're going to get one, get this one. It has good details of the boys' life before the group, and area which other books tend to lack in. It has pictures of them when they were kids that I haven't been able to find anywhere else. And it has info on the person who started the group, another thing I find hard to get good info on. This is definately one to buy if you're a major fan.

I think this is the best backstreet boy book ever written. I loved all of the stories. It was so much fun to read about how the backstreet boys first got together. If you have not read this book yet and you are a fan you must have it! Even if you just like to listen to their music you should read it. I think that anyone who wants to be a popstar should read this too. Well I could write 20 pages of this book. I'll leave now but before I do I'd like to thank AMAZON.COM and their customers. Because with out them I wouldn't of known about this book. THANKYOU EVERYONE!!

As a former BSB fan, whom owns the book, I still take a look at it from time to time, because it are honest and true facts of the boys their life before they became the Backstreet Boys and the beginning of it all. It has good pictures, but you can find them on almost every website and the biography must have been copied loads of times as well, so it's up to you!

Great Book!!!
It contains pics when they where baby's SOOO CUTE!!!
If your a true BSB fan you gotta have it!!!

I was happy witht he condition that this book was sent in. THough I was displeased to find makings on the inside cover of the book.

Jackie and Me is a book about a kid named Joe Stashack. He has the power to touch baseball cards and go back in time to when that card was printed. Joe is supposed to write an essay on African-American Heroes. He loves baseball so much he does his report on Jackie Robinson. There is also a contest where the best essay wins a trip to Kentucky Kingdom. Joe really wants to win. Joe goes to his favorite baseball card shop but they don't have a Jackie Robinson 1947 card. Jackie will break the color barrier which is not an actual barrier but it is the law, yet in 1947 he hasn't broken it yet. So they don't have the card, but they do have a Jackie Robinson 1947 signature. Joe is able to travel back through time and he learns something from Jackie. You must stay cool and do not use violence. This is a great book. -Andromeda Grade 5

The book I am reading is Jackie and Me. It is written by Dan Gutman. I think this book deserves five stars because it has real events but at the same time its fiction. It's about a kid who travels back in time to meet Jackie Robinson. But the next thing he knows he gets stuck back in time. So the next thing he tricked ant a bat boy to give his Ken Griffin Jr. Card back the key to get back to his time. He also wrote Babe and Me Honus and Me.

Jackie andme is the best baseball book ive ever read but the thing i hate about it isthere is a kid namedant whosi very negative and hecalls african americans bad names thatwe cant speak of but i would recomend the book if you like baseball.

This book was very powerful in climaxs and the segregation.As I read this I was mad at the terms and the abuse the african american people had to stand up to and in doing so were at risk of being killed.But at the same time I enjoyed hearing about the early 1900's ball players so i rate this book a 4 star book.

This book follows Tomorrow when the war began. It is Full of Adventure and romance, sharing real feeling, and the violence inside us all. it will be hard to let go of this book.

Ellie and company continue their fight to save their families and their homeland from foreign invaders. This part of the story shows just how creative, tough, and competent young people can be and that they are capable of doing well without adults. The encounter with Harvey's Heroes made me root even more for the teens hiding out in Hell. This book is as well written as the first one and makes the reader pine for the next volume in the series.

This book is great for readers that are interested in action and tons of excitement. Elie and her friends are some of the only people not captured in the small town they live in. There is a war that has become very fierce and deadly which makes it hard for them. They try to fight back whenever they can so that the enemies are weakened.

In the first book Elie and her friends were surprised that there was a war going on and hid a lot. In the second book, though, they were more familiar with how to handle things in the war and they moved into action by doing things like blowing up a bridge so it would be harder for the enemies to transport their supplies. This caught me of guard because I didn't know that Elie and her friends would be able to do that.

If you like the Alex Rider series then you should like this series, too. It's one of my favorites because there is action and suspense that makes me want to keep reading on. Also the characters all have their special pros and cons which makes them seem more realistic. For instance, Elie is brave and a leader who can make decisions and Kevin depends on others to make decisions for him. The characters also change from the first book by taking different roles which makes it fun and exciting to read because new things happen. There is one major twist in the book which really surprised me but I don't want to give it away so you'll have to read the book to find out what it is!

The author ended the book by including the start of the third book in the series. This is an example of why you should read the first book in the series before this one because all the books tie together and you need to know the story lines to understand and enjoy the books better so be sure to read the entire series!

This book is great for readers that are interested in action and tons of excitment. Elie and her friends are some of the only people not captured in the small town they live in. The war has become very fierce and deadly which makes it har for them. They try to fight back when ever they can so that the enemies are weakened a little bit.

Elie and her friends are now familar with what they do and what they need to do so they don't hesitate any more; they just move into action. They make big advancements in this book which caught me off guard because I didn't know it could happen.

This is so far one of my favorite series because I like the action and thriller it has just like I think it has in the Alex Rider series. I would consider this a great follow up book to the first one because it starts off with what it ends with in the previous book. I like that because it reminds you of what happened last. The characters all have thier special prons and cons which makes the book more realistic. There is one major twist that suprised me deeply. I never thought of it happening which made the book take a different turn. The characters also change and take different roles which is fun and exciting because you get to learn more and have new things happen. The author does this in a way so that they change by doing different actions, leaderships, and bravery.

This is just the second book of the series so don't forget to check out the rest of the books!

I loved this series when I was younger and I love it now that I'm an adult. I re-read the entire series probably once a year. It is absolutely fantastic writing - Marsden deals with issues realistically and completely and somehow manages to make this scenario seem entirely real.

Every book in this series is on my favorite books list. If you are an avid reader, you MUST read this series.

i was leery at first about this manga being so complex with so many character, i had to read each book two times slowly to get all the details. but this is so worth it, it has depth and even the secondary characters are great and filled out. i love kira and kato and set.it takes some concentration and effort but what a great story. i'm a vampire kind of a girl, i never knew heaven could be so evil.ha!if you only read one manga in your life, this should be it. it's totally TASTY!

I'm assuming that if you are reading a review for volume 13 of this series, you've already read volumes 1-12 and so a) know how great the series is and b) don't need any particularly good reason to read the next volume rather than skip straight on to volume 14. That said, I'll stick to an important and helpful matter: this is the North American English edition from Viz. Despite the cover art shown on the product page, which is from the Japanese edition, this is actually the English translation. Enjoy.

The series is still strong. If you have gotten this far you'll buy this manga.

This was actually an amazon suggestion based on some other manga that I had searched for and some that I bought, and I picked up volume 1 to see if it was any good. I found the story and characters to be interesting and the artwork to be superb as well. I am interested to see where the story progresses at least enough to buy volume 2 and see where it goes from there. This is more than I can say for the "Loveless" series which is also a five-star rated item on amazon. The author/artist breeches some interesting topics and you can tell while reading that the imagination behind this story is vast and there will be much more creativity poured into the rest of the series as well. I give this one a high reccomendation, 4.5 stars if I could. The 1/2 point deduction is only because i had a bit of trouble following some of the characters, but i think this is a fault of my own for being a newbie manga reader.

I was turned onto this series just by it's beautiful artwork. The syle is truely unique and angelic...no wounder it's about angels.

The story starts off as a young teenage boy soon finds out that he is in love with is sister! As if that could be strange wait till you here this. The boy, Setsuna, is the re-incarnation of one of the most powerful angel's in history; and now people all over heaven and hell want him.

What will it take to convince Setsuna, that he is greatly needed by humanity...

I hope you thought this useful...

Hypnotic~

u know this is by far the most exciting bookk i've read till now in the nacy drew and hardy boys super myteries. but i do think that nancy should leave ned and frank shuld leave calie cuz nancy and frank r so much alike and they r truly made 4 each other so caroline keene plz if u get upon this review do consider this cuz most of us wanty nancy/frank relationship and they shuld just 4get callie and ned.

I think that Nancy and Frank should dump their boyfriends and girlfriends and stay together. I mean they are obviosly perfect for each other. The best parts are when they almost kiss. But when they kiss, that was good too!!! This is the best book ever!!!

I think Nacy and Frank should get together, they would make the perfect couple. I loved the part where they kissed, but the best parts are where they almost kiss. I hope someone will sell me there copy, because I love this book!!!!!!

I think that Nacy & Frank should get together, They would make the perfect couple. The best part is when they almost kiss. even though I love it when they kiss!!!!!!

i loved this book a lot. BEsides the nancy and frank aspect, there was a lot of action, bombs, knives, terrorsits etc..of course the nancy frank thing convinced me to buy the book, but i enjoyed the mystery a lot too. I also likes how nancy is portrayed in this book, not like in Operation titanic or royal revenge, she is very clever. also Unlke all other super mysteries, Frank's thoughts and feelings are portrayed deeper than all other characthers. And there are some funnny things and comments going on between the brothers.

This is perhaps my favorite book of all from my childhood. Periodically I reread it as an adult and my appreciation grows every time. It is so unassuming, like the character of Martha, but the themes are big: the meaning of friendship, the art of finding beauty in life, the winding paths of growing up. The characters could step out of the page, the emotions are deep and true, and the end is so simple and quietly heartbreaking, but at the same time the kind of sorrow that is full of life and joy and passion. ZKS was truly inspired when she wrote this. In my opinion it is perfect.

Those that are positive that this book is a fantasy and therefore will not be read by them really needs to think straight. No, this is not a fantasy, which did surprise me considering Ms. Snyder's passion for the weird. Instead, it is a book about those oh-so-classic themes of family, friendship, and growing up.

Snyder makes a wondrous world between two small-town friends who are as different as different can be. One becomes enchanted by the passion and creativity of the other, and this is a friendship that leads them through the changes of life.

It's touching and inspiring. A great girl book.

There are some typical "teen novel" elements but overall this is a great story of friendship. Shy, awkward, overweight and sensitive Martha Abbott is a misfit in her own shallow and constrained upper-middle-class family, who take her for granted. Martha befriends the vibrant, imaginative, and outgoing Ivy Carson, herself a misfit in her own poor, wrong-side-of-the-tracks, criminal fringe family. Their sometimes-misunderstood friendship nurtures and sustains them over the years, and their imaginary games help inspire their own inner talents. Even through separation and quarrels, their bond remains strong, and the reader can see how much each owes the other as they grow. A touching tribute to both the power and joys of friendship and the imagination. A blessing to see it's back in print.

This book gave me new ways of looking at the world, at myself and at my neighbors when I was 11 years old and read it for the first time. And the second. And the third... I don't think there are many American girls who could not identify both with Martha and with Ivy, in turns, as these tender characters vividly represent the dichotomy of female adolescence.

I have sought out, purchased and given away a number of copies of this book in recent years, and now that it is in print again I have just ordered two copies. One is for my friend's 14 year old daughter who lives overseas and has few options for books in English, and the other I will save for my granddaughter, who was just born. Her mother will re-read the book in the meantime (after I do) and we will both relive a wonderful experience which helped us cope with a most difficult time of life.

Recently, was at the book store helping my 10y son look for a book to read, I ran across a copy of "The Headless Cupid" I bought it and asked to order "The changeling" but they couldn't get it for me, So I turn to the internet (Got to love eBay) and found it. I read it as soon as I received it. I've ordered several more of Snyder's books as well. Maybe my kids will enjoy them as much as I have.

I was 12y. at the time I first read it. I wasn't a "reader" this was one of the first I had ever read that I didn't force myself to finish. I lost myself in the pages. I felt a huge connection to Ivy our life's were so similar, she had a better outlook on life one I longed to have. Since then I have read a fair amount of books but none ever touched me the same way.

The space race of the 1960's was a crossroads in time that will never be repeated.

Walt Cunningham had a crow's nest view of that period. As a member of Apollo 7, the first Apollo mission and the first successful flight after the catastrophic Apollo 1 fire that almost disbanded the space program, he was able to see the inner workings of the American space program. He has recorded this unique perspective in "The All-American Boys."

"The All-American Boys" is a rare document of what really happened in the early days of the space program. In my opinion, most other astronaut memoirs are cleaned up versions of the truth--all "flag waving" and "ballyhoo." One gets a sense in the All-American Boys that the space race is being presented warts and all, including the social and political quirks of being an astronaut.

This version is an unabridged audiobook of Walt's book, which was first published in 1977 but thoroughly updated for this version. It covers Mercury/Gemini/Apollo but also shuttle/MIR/ISS. Walt himself narrates the audiobook, which is a great bonus. His pleasant narration makes the 22 discs go by very quickly

Unlike most other astronaut memoirs, you get your money's worth with this book. Highly recommended.

Col. Cunninghams's audio CD version of The All American Boys is, simply put a great listen! Having read the hardback, I thought that there would be little to gain in buying the CD version, but I was wrong. His carefully spoken rendition has laugh-out-loud moments, and his tough but thorough thought provoking commentary on the space race, NASA, the Russian's, the International Space Station, and the future of man's involvement in space is a must have. I don't know why, but hearing it 'first person' and in the spoken words of someone who was there, and who made this history, is a remarkable thing. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Absolutely Fantastic!
Walt's voice resonates through you as he recounts his life experiences before, during and after his NASA years. This is a wonderful way to learn about Americas Space Program from the ground up.
Whether you have read the AABoys or not, nothing matches hearing this incredible story with the true life passion only the author and main character, Walter Cunningham, can convey.
A great joy, and true and exciting find! A must have for anyone interested in space history and space exploration. What fun it was to replay parts to hear the subtle inflections in Walt's voice just to gain a greater insight into how this space hero must have felt during the space race years, through to the changes that are on the horizon today.
A most favorite addition to my space collection!

This guy is one opinionated s.o.b. - but this book is all the better for it. Because Walt Cunningham is aware of his limitations, and has the virtue of being right in his strongly-held opinions.

I'd recommend this book even for those not interested in space flight. To see the cut-throat office politics behind a smooth veneer... it's something that relates so much to many walks of life. The fact that it is told here in the golden age of space flight makes it all the better. Wow! A great book.

I got the title of this review from Apollo 11 astronaut Mike Collins who described fellow astronaut Walt Cunningham this way. Only a few people have flown in space, and so we would expect astronaut auto-biographies to talk about this, but unfortunately, only Mike Collins book "Carrying the Fire" does it. After reading a few other autobiographies I finally came to the conclusion that it is not really worth the time and money to get their books, with them spending most of the pages discussing petty jealousies, practical jokes, celebrity golf tournaments, and their success or failure in the world of business.. Thus, I was somewhat reluctant to purchase Cunningham's, but the reviews convinced me to give it a try. Fortunately, it was worth it. Cunningham does share the flaw of the others in that he also doesn't describe his Apollo 7 flight in any detail, but the uniquness of his book is that he does give an interesting perspective on the American space program, and his fellow astronauts, not seen in the other autobiographies.
Part of the reason is, as Collins pointed out, that Cunningham received a rigorous scientific education and was involved in scientific research before going to work for NASA. This gave him a greater ability to objectively judge the qualities of his fellow astronauts.
The original Mercury astronauts were good pilots, but one of the most important qualitites that they were chosen for was ability to stand immense stress, because at that time, it was not known how spaceflight
would affect the astronauts, physically or mentally. After Project Mercury proved the stresses were not as bad a feared, new generations of astronauts were chosen who had better education, better ability to understand the increasingly complex Gemini and Apollo spacecraft and a greater appreciation of the importance of the exploration of space in a scientific sense, something the Mercury astronauts did not have so much.
Cunningham also shows that the grind of training took a toll on the Mercury astronauts, and he says frankly that the commander of his Apollo 7 mission, Wally Schirra, who flew outstanding missions in both Mercury and Gemini (piloting the first rendezvous mission with another vehicle) didn't really have his heart in his Apollo mission and it negatively influenced his performance. Schirra repeatedly lost his temper during the mission which gave his whole crew a bad reputation leading to both Donn Eisele and Cunningham being banned from further flights (everyone admits Cunningham got an unfair rap in this). Cunningham also frankly points out that although the crew indeed proved that Apollo spacecraft was flight worthy, they didn't really accomplish nearly as much as they could have during their relatively long-duration flight in a scientific sense.
Other interesting things I learned from this book was that, starting with the two-man Gemini flights, the Mission Commander was the astronaut who controlled the abort initiation sequence, so he had to be significantly better, and management required more confidence in him than in the other astronauts who flew along, and in borderline situations, he had to have the best "feel" for how the flight was going and the spacecraft was performing.
One surprising thing Cunningham reveals was the most astronauts felt that
in the Gemini 8 mission (first docking of a manned spacecraft), astronauts Neil Armstrong and Dave Scott made a serious mistake leading to their spacecraft to spin out of control. Fortunately, they got it back under control and made an emergency reentry. Most histories of the space program say it was a mechanical glitch and that Armstrong's cool response gave Deke Slayton the confidence in him to assign him to be the commander of the first landing on the Moon.
Cunningham feels that ultimately, although all the astronauts were talented and qualified, the flight crews were chose based on Slayton's
feelings of friendship
for the fellow (although it should be pointed out that the great success of the space program shows that Slayton did generally pick the best to fly) and this was more important than ability, physical fitness or other objective considerations. Famous examples was Slayton giving Alan Shepard the Apollo 14 mission without him having served as a back-up crewmember on a previous mission. Although Shepard did an excellent job landing the Lunar Module very close to the desired target, his subsequent performance during the lunar EVA left a lot to be desired and much possible scientific gain was lost. Another example was Gene Cernan crashing his helicopter while he was ogling sunbathing girls. Many people
thought this would wash him out of his Apollo 17 command position, but Slayton covered up for him (it should be pointed out that Cernan did an outstanding job both piloting and carrying out his scientific duties on that flight).

Finally, although he wrote the book before the Space Shuttle first flew,
he points out that many of the astronauts felt too many compromises were made in designing it and that it wasn't safe. Cunningham points out that fighter pilots and astronauts find taking life-endangering risks to be exhilirating IF THE RISK IS NOT TOO GREAT. However, they oppose taking foolhardy risks, and not a few astronauts felt the Shuttle fit into that
category. Subsequent history has unfortunately shows that was the case, and the new Orion spacecraft is going back to an Apollo-like design and getting away from the "space-plane" concept.
All-in-all, I found the book a good read and a pleasant reminder of the
glory days of the manned space program that led to man walking on the moon.

To anyone who has a dog, read this book, share with your family and friends. The story of loyalty in this book explains the love a boy and his dog share.

If you have a young reader in mind, give it to him or her. You will be glad you did.

This is a wonderful and touching story. It is a good read, and I recommend it to anyone who has ever had a pet. I especially like that it has a jack russell in the story.

This book is the story of Willie Morris' childhood companion, a dog named Skip. Willie recounts his adolescent years and all the fond memories of his dog and friends as they grew up together in small town Mississippi. The story is heartwarming and the author paints a very clear picture of all the shenanigans, good times and bad that he and his dog had together over the years. I liked this book; but I think a male reader would appreciate the bond between a boy and his dog more than I can.

This was a great book! It was so touching and heartfelt. I love dogs and this book is an example of someone who loves dogs like me so I can connect! Greatly recomended!

Willie Morris was a truly great author! This story of his childhood with his dog was really heartwarming. It is so simple and warm and humorous, you will just love it. Warning: you will cry your eyes out at the end, but it's worth the pain. One of the best animal stories ever, I hope many kids read this in school. If you loved the movie "A Christmas Story" you will love this book. The movie version of "My Dog Skip" is also quite good, though it is kind of upsetting that in order to create drama the wonderful father of the book is kind of nasty in the movie. Willie Morris was a great author who also wrote a cat book entitled "My Cat Spit McGee" and several books about his life that remind me a little of Russel Baker's memoirs. One is entitled "North Toward Home", another "Good Old Boy" and one is about life in New York City.

Wally Hatford is a 10 year old boy who started a war between the Hatfords and the Malloys. He has three brothers, Peter, Josh, and Jake. The Malloys just moved in from Ohio to the Bensons' (The Hatfords' best friends) old house, and the boys want to want to oust the Malloy girls, Caroline, Beth, and Eddie (Edith) out of Buckman.

Wally is in Mrs. Applebaum's class, right in front of Caroline, the wanna be actress. He is the mastermind for the boys in the war between the Hatfords and the Malloys. Wally wants peace between the boys and girls to see how long it takes for a waffle box to travel down the river, to jump off a tree, and to climb a church steeple.

I could relate to Wally. He is like a kid in my class named Jake. Jake, like Wally, can think up of ideas to win a war against anybody, boy, girl, or parent. Jake also is curious of just things in normal life.

The Boys Start the War is a book just for children seeing that adults aren't interested in wars between boys and girls. It is easy to understand all of the humor and vocabulary in the book. I loved the book and went on to read the whole series.

The Hatford boys were looking out the window with their binoculars waiting to see three boys moving in their friends house across the river.When they see their girls moving in and not boys.They makea plan to sent the Malloy girls back to Ohio.Throwing dead animals to dead bodies.Playing bad tricks on the girls.Will the girls get back on them?Is the war barly begining?Are the girls going to get even with the boys. This is a really funny book to read.

This book is a hilarious book. The Hatford brother's best friends, the Bensons, moved away from Buckman to Georgia. The boys were expecting 3 boys to move into the Benson's house, but they were surprised when they found out that it was actually 3 girls. The Hatford brothers decided that they would try to make that the Malloy sisters so miserable that they would want to move back to Ohio and the Bensons would move back because no one would rent their house. The boys are in for a surprise when they have to go against the Malloy sister's cleverness. The pranks go on from dead fish to dead bodies and from floating heads to washing windows. The boys and the girls keep going at each other. They both can't tell their parents because then they would have to tell about all their other pranks. The war goes on and on to other sequels.

I like book because of all the pranks. The pranks are all thought up cleverly but something always goes wrong. A quote that shows something going wrong is, "`You got the flashlight?' Jake asked Wally breathlessly. `Heck, no. You were carrying it.' `I thought you grabbed it,' Josh said. `Someone did!' But that someone was already inside the house." This shows how the Hatfords lost their flashlight while pretending to be a floating head outside Beth Malloy's window.

Another reason I liked this book is because it's a humor book. I don't read many humor books but this book made me laugh. This book is filled with many hilarious events. Caroline Malloy draws a funny picture of her teacher but Wally manages to steal it and blackmails her. The things that go wrong are also funny. Just when one side thinks they've won, the other side finds a way to get even. There are many other books in the series and this is only the first.

My favorite part of the book is at the end of the book when the final prank is played. When the girls go to get Caroline from the Hatford's tool shed, they think they won because they made Jake say to them, "Your faithful, obedient servant." As they were leaving Wally comes out with Mrs. Hatford saying that the girls were coming over to help peel the bushels of apples the Hatfords had picked. I thought this was hilarious and was a great way to end the book to keep you hooked.

Just when the Hatford boys were expecting three boys to move into the house across the river the Malloy girls arrived instead. Wally and his brothers decide to make Caroline and her sisters so miserable that they'll want to go back to Ohio, but they haven't counted on the ingenuity of the girls.

Cast of Characters:
Malloy's:
George Malloy-father-football coach
Jean Malloy-mother
(Edith Anne) Eddie-11-6th grade
Beth-10-5th grade
Caroline-8-4th grade
Hatford's:
Tom Hatford-father-mail man
Ellen Hatford-mother-hardware store worker
Jake and Josh-11-6th grade
Wally-9-4th grade
Peter-7-2nd grade

"The Boys Start the War" is a hit in my small Catholic library. After the first girl returned the book, she asked for Book 2, "The Girls Get Even." I had acquired only the first one, waiting to see the reaction. She was so delighted that I bought the entire set. The rest has been popular history!
As with this series, let one student read and spread the word, then a reading frenzy follows!

In historical lore the Hatfields and the McCoys lived in West Virginia across a retaining wall on the river from each other. Bitter feuds ensued. One reason this story is so notorious is that the origin of the feud is buried in time. No one remembers, yet the war continued for generations. See Wikipedia for more information.

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor chose intriguing family names for the "war" in the book: The Hatfords and the Malloys. The setting for the book is West Virginia. The two families live across a loop in the river from each other. The two families are connected by a swinging bridge across the river. For a much shorter route to school, the Malloys must cross the bridge, going alongside Hatford property.

This is how the war starts: The former neighbors, the Bensons with five boys moved, leaving their house up for rent. The Malloys take it. The Hatford boys are overjoyed because they think a family with three boys are moving in. Perched on top of their house and carrying binoculars, the four boys eagerly await moving day. Instead of three boys, three girls get out of the new family's car.

The boys decide to leave dead animals on the Malloy side of the river to make them think the river is polluted and leave to go back where they came from. This is not the day of wimpy, prissy girls. The three Malloys have gumption. They create their own form of retaliation. The war has begun!

What Wally, the middle son and brains of the boy feuders, later concludes is that this will be a war of wit. The skirmishes are often humiliating to one or another of the two clans, even though humorous to the reader. I will say that pranks go into the school, each family house, the neighborhood, wherever they can plot a new embarrassment.

That's as much as I'm telling. One prank after the other. One-up-manship. Match queen. However, by novel's end, the reader grasps the tiniest gleam that the reason for the feud will be forgotten. Origin: To drive the girls back from whence they came.

Note: Except for the historical allusion, this series is simple entertainment, yet anything that gets reluctant readers to engage in a book is a winner. This series should appeal equally to girls and boys.

Book 2: The Girls Get Even (Boy/Girl Battle)

N.D. Wilson's LEEPIKE RIDGE tells of a preteen who has always lived next to Leepike Ridge - but who finds himself lost beneath it when he escapes the man set to marry his mother and finds his escape raft has left him underground. His discoveries under the ridge - of a body, a dog and more - will answer questions and challenge his survival skills in a riveting adventure kids will relish.

There are an awful lot of dead bodies per capita in this book, and quite a bit of fairly mindless violence, but that said, it's a page-turner that is extremely well written. Unlike other reviewers I found nothing confusing about the elements of the plot, just found some of them unlikely in the extreme (both the ostensible pre-historic Chinese settlers of the Americas and the ostensible pre-historic Phoenician settlers just happen to have come upon and used the same underground and under-river storage caverns? Wouldn't proof of Phoenician settlers of North America alone have been enough??) This is clearly a read oriented more towards boys, but girls who like adventure stories will enjoy it too.

I read a review that made comparisons between this book and Louis Sachar's Holes. This kind of comparison always makes me skeptical. "We'll just see about that," I thought. I read it. I saw. And I get it now. This one is worthy of that comparison -- and then some. And this book will definitely appeal to fans of Holes.

Leepike Ridge is a book for every kid (and every grown kid) who played in refrigerator boxes, caught critters in the woods, and floated down creeks on homemade rafts. It's a fantastic story with a grand adventure, a heroic boy, bad guys that you love to hate, a loyal dog, and a hidden treasure. The fact that it's beautifully written with magical, transporting descriptions is gravy.

If you know and like a boy between the ages of, let's say 9 and 13, Leepike Ridge would make a fantastic gift!

I really enjoyed this book, with it's mix of Homer's Illiad, Mark Twain and something else that was completely Nathan Wilson. If you have a young reluctant reader in your family, give them a copy of this & watch the magic happen. I can't wait to see what else Wilson comes up with!

I have to agree with another review the cover of this book just hooked me. This came into the library where I work (5/6 grade) and I immediately snagged it. Read it in one night and have not seen the book on our shelves since!!! It has been out constantly since we put it in the collection. Our kids like it (mainly the boys and our teachers love it!!). There's action and creepiness. The scene in the cave was so vivid I could feel the cold damp and the spongy feel of the body as our hero, Tom, groped his way around in the pitch black. Excellent!!