The Silmarillion tells the story of Middle-Earth, from the creation of the world to the end of the Third Age, where The Lord of the Rings ends. The main part of the book contains four stories which consist of a short tale about the creation of the earth and the fall of Melkor, the main story, a tale about the downfall of the Numenorean men, and the stroy of the rings of power and the Third Age. The book begins with Eru (he is like God) creating the Valar, the Elves, and the Men. The Valar help create and shape the world; they are also the guardians of the world. However, one of the Valar, Melkor, wants to become like Eru and turns against the other Valar. The main story, also called the Quenta Silmarillion, deals mostly with the Silmarils and the evil that Melkor causes.

How will the Valar deal with Melkor? What are the Silmarils? What is so important about them? Where do the Elves and Men come into the story? How does this set the stage for The Lord of the Rings? The answers to all these questions and many more are in the Silmarillion.

I would recommend this book, but with a warning. It can become difficult to read since some of the book is written more like a history book than a fiction book.  During these times the book seemed more like it was telling the reader what was happening than actually showing the events. It was hard for me to stay interested at these times, since the book became so impersonal. If the reader makes it through these parts of the book, the remainder of it is much better. There is a good story to be told, and the book helps the reader to understand the background of The Lord of the Rings. Review by Jacob Hudlow

When Eddi Boswick, a young lawyer, gets the part of Elizabeth Bennett in a town play all changes. Seeing that her opposite, Dave Davidson, is rude and blunt and even insults her, she considers not taking the part. But he did save her life from a tragic tornado, and she did see a look of absorption in his eyes. Working with him was awful until she discovers some striking things about him.

What will happen with Eddi and Dave? Will she tolerate him throughout the play? What are the secrets of Dave’s life?

First Impressions was an exhilarating and captivating book that was hard to put down. It snatched my attention, and I never knew what was going to happen. If you don’t like intriguing romantic stories, then this is not the book for you. First Impressions exemplifies life lessons that can be applicable to everyone. Review by Laura Swafford.

Check to make sure your seat belt is fastened for this roller coaster novel. A detective freshout of school, named Mac, is on his first homocide case ever and it’s a vicious murder. A young woman named Megan is brutally killed and disposed of by a stream. Max is on the case with his new partner Kevin and must find his way through a maze of lies to find the killer before he kills again.

In a seemingly endless list of suspects, Mac must find the true killer. but the case is pulling him away from his finace and life. His partner, Kevin, mentors him on the case and life; and tries to help Mac come back to God as well. However, Mac must first confront his past and his future if he can be saved.

Ponder on these questions and see if you can solve the mystery. Will Mac come to terms with his faith? Can an engagement last the hardships of being a detective? Will Megan be the last one to die? Will the murderer be caught or will the murderer catch you?

This book is highly suspenseful with a whirlwind of conflict. It is a great book and I highly recommend it to any reader. However, I would not recommend this book to children under the age of thirteen as tehre are violent scenes and adult situations. If you pick up this book, there’s no way you’ll be able to set it down until you finish. I highly suggest you pick it up. Review by Trevor McCoy

Laura Duffy has everything she could want: good friends, a part in the school musical, and a car. Then she gets in a fender bender and damages the car of the most popular boy in school. Instead of grounding her or taking away her car, Laura’s dad makes her get a job. She and her friends, Celeste and Joy Beth, apply for jobs at The Gap; but instead of the trouble ending, it just gets worse. On top of everything, she starts receiving notes from a “secret admirer.”

Will Laura and her friends get the jobs they need? Will she be able to fit in her other activities? Will she have to drop out of the musical? Who is sending her the notes; and how do they get in her locker?

This book is a very good book. It is easy to read, and I can relate to some of the situations. The characters are realistic and believable. Although it can get confusing because it is the second book in the series; it is possible to understand. By the end of the book, I had forgotten that it was not the first book. Review by Erin Wiese

Merry Kramer is a reporter for her local newspaper in Amhearst, Pennsylvania. She soon finds out she’s in for a story she was not expecting. She comes home to find a dead body in the trunk of her car soon after another murder in town is discovered. Merry is constantly worried; she thinks she may be the next victim. Through all of it she still tries to finish writing her story, she just hopes she can make it through. After all she does meet some really great people along the way.

Will Merry find out who the body in her trunk is? Will she be the third victim? Will she live to turn in her story? Will she find love? Will she stay in Amhearst?

In my opinion, this was a very good book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries. Usually I’m the kind of person who gets bored reading, but this book kept my attention; there was always something happening. Some of the chapters leave you on a cliff hanger, but I personally like that; it encouraged me to read more. It’s certainly not a boring book, and I thought it was a very good story line as well. Review by Morgan Thomas

The setting of this book is Sunita’s high school. Around this time, her grandparents move from India to live with her. Then the next day at school, she ends up being late for her classes because she has been thinking about her boyfriend Michael too much. He wants to come over to her house, but she is afraid her family is too weird for him to see them. Her mother changes because her grandparents have moved in. Sunita’s mom has quit being a very laid back, down-to-earth mother and she starts wearing high-class, expensive clothing.

Sunita’s mother is trying to be something that she is not. She wants to be a perfect Indian woman in her parents eyes. Sunita’s mother is a good influence on her until her grandparents move in. Sunita was known for her outgoingness and her cleverness. However, now that things around her home are not the same, Sunita grows farther and farther away from her mother.

At the end of the book, Sunita doesn’t have a good connection with her mother. There is only one place where she is able to go to feel the way she used to, and that is in her grandfather’s garden where she makes many good memories with him. The book did not really tell how things went with Sunita and her mother from then on.

How does Sunita truly feel deep inside about her mother’s actions? What emotions does she have towards her mother’s obscene behavior? What is the reason Sunita feels the way she does in her grandfather’s garden?

I would not recommend this book to guys or anyone looking for a short book. The book is a very BIG chick book. Since I am a guy, it’s probably natural of me to not recommend this book to anyone. However, the book does have its interesting parts and it is an okay on my list of books to read. Review by Dane Mason

In this book Yanyan has many decisions to make leading to what will happen in her future. Yanyan wants to be a doctor, but pursuing this career will force her to leave her home in China and travel across the world to the United States. At the same time Baoshu, a man that Yanyan thinks she might be in love with, wants her to forget her plans about becoming a doctor and go live with him. Yanyan’s mind is going in so many different directions on what choice she should make. She does not want her final choice to be one she regrets.

Will Yanyan ever grow up? Will she go to school to become a doctor? Will Yanyan’s love for Baoshu grow stronger? Will she go to America and leave her family? Will Yanyan regret the choice she makes?

This book was a really good book to read. I really enjoyed this book because it was a book that you just could not put down. I also liked this book because it did not have any parts that were boring to read, the book always had something exciting going on all the way through. The end of the book was the only disappointment to me, although it was not too terribly bad. It was only disappointing to me because it ended totally different than what I suspected. I would recommend reading this book. Review by Shanna Vineyard.

The conflict in Stones in Water is the struggle the teenage boys encounter as they try to return back home. Roberto, Sergio, Memo, and Samuel come face to face with life-threatening situations that separate them. Sergio is Roberto’s older sibling, and Memo and Samuel are Roberto’s friends. Sergio is the older one but wants others to take care of him. Roberto takes care of himself. Samuel just gives things to people.

The book, Stones in Water is an intense, gripping story that will have the reader on the edge of their seat. This book will catch the reader’s attention from cover to cover. I will most definitely recommend this book because it gives an exciting and dangerous journey about a teenage boy snatched from his family by the Nazis. Fighting to survive and return home, this teenage boy Roberto might not make it. Roberto has to hide his friend Samuel’s  secret, because if discovered they both could be killed.

Where were the boys when captured? What is Samuel’s secret? Will the Nazis find out Samuel’s secret and kill him and Roberto? Did Roberto, Sergio, Memo and Samuel make it home? Review by Tracy Thompson

The book Blood of Heaven begins with Michael Coleman in the cafeteria of a jail. While Coleman is eating his Thanksgiving meal, this real brood dude, “Sweeny,” comes in and fights him over Coleman’s meal. Coleman is sent to the hospital due to the brutal beating of Sweeny. Dr, Phillip O’Brien is the CEO of the fastest growing bio tech in the Pacific Northwest. Dr. O’Brien’s coworker is Murkoski, who was the brightest eighteen year old of the Pacific Northwest. The tow of them together do lab work on blood in the human body and animals. Coleman’s hospital bed is located in the north end of the Nebraska State Penitentiary Administration Building. He has two cracked ribs, a broken nose, and a mild concussion. After Coleman is released from the hospital, his history reveals that he is a convicted murderer of numerous people. His lawyer is Mr. Steiner. Although Mr. Steiner is Coleman’s lawyer, the judge would not allow him in the court because Coleman will win the case.

A couple of months pass before Coleman confesses to Dr. O’Brien that he has the blood of Christ in his body. At this point O’Brien immediately orders scans on Coleman’s body. Dr. O’Brien finds something very interesting in Coleman’s body and wants to do lab work on Coleman. They compare Coleman’s blood samples to a monkey. After O’Brien does this lab work, he gives Coleman a type of medicine to see how his body will react to it. O’Brien does this investigation because he finds something very interesting about Coleman’s blood. From here on out, teh action really begins to happen, but you will have to read the book to experience the action.

What kind of blood does Coleman have? Who is after Coleman to kill him for his supposed Christ-like blood? Does this person catch Coleman or does he escape with multiple injuries? Who injured their newly hired client with a plastic trashcan? What two people become blood brothers by giving each other their own blood? What effect does this have on one of the blood brothers? Does this help to solve a major crime on the street? To find out all of this exciting information you will have to read the book for yourself.

I personally feel that this book is a really good book. I liked it because when the action picked up, it really begins to happen. In addition, the author didn’t stay on the same scene for a long period of time. Bill Myers keeps the book moving along with more and more action taking place. There were two things I didn’t particularly like about the book. I felt it skipped around frequently and went from one scene to another and then to another different scene and then back to the very first scene all in the smae chapter.  One has to pay close atention to comprehend what is taking place. I also didn’t like the fact tha the book had three parts.  Review by Tyler Sanders.

The Face of God is a story of twelve precious stones, all from the twelve tribes of Israel. Once these stones are brought together and placed into the sacred breast piece of the high priest, they enable those around them to hear the voice of God; or so legend says.

Two men, Daniel Lawson and Ibrahim el-Magd, are intent on finding these stones and hearings God’s voice. Their mysterious dreams have made that purpose clear to them. That is the only thing they have in common. Daniel Lawson, a United States citizen and pastor, is a normal Christian man with a wife and son. But when tragedy strikes, he must obey the last wish of his wife – to renew hi faith, passion, and love for God and His people. Ibrahim el-Magd on the other hand, is an Islamic terrorist set on the destruction of millions of non-believers. He craves to hear the voice of Allah, who will give Ibrahim the final instructions to carry out his wrath.

Religion is what it all comes down to; rules, regulations, and business run the church. Is truth really black and white, or shades of gray? Did religion really kill Daniel’s wife, Ibrahim’s son and many more innocent people? More importantly, can one really hear the voice of God through the twelve stones; or will they only cause trouble and destruction? One must read the book to find out.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I could rarely put it down. The intense scenes that Bill Myers sets for the reader are exciting, to say the least. Adventure, romance, and religion are the main points of the book. I would recommend this book to mature readers who love a good adventure story. Review by Melanie Hutcheson.