White Cat by Holly Black

Have you ever been an outcast? Have you ever done something that you don't remember? Have you ever murdered anyone?
Cassel Sharpe is from a family of curse workers. The thing is that he's the only one that doesn't have any magic powers and killed his childhood friend. Outside his family and all their secrets, people are afraid of him because they think that at any moment, he will explode of magic. Suddenly, he started to sleep walk, which hasn't been a problem for him since he was child. All the dreams he has been sleep walking to have one commonality, a white cat.
From here, Cassel goes on an adventure to figure out about this cat and the dreams and see what is going on with the rest of his family.

White Cat by Holly Black is a fantasy novel where it's the normal everyday world, just with magic. If you like fantasy, you will love this book. If you prefer to not to read fantasy, this book is a good start because there isn't a brand new world. This story is the first installment of a trilogy called the Curse Workers. There were a couple parts where I had to reread because it was so shocking and had to think it over. There were also a couple more parts that were confusing at one point but were later explained and it all cleared up.
Overall, this is a type of book for anyone to read, especially if you want to get into reading fantasy, for there is a good plot line and you get to see the relationships between characters grow and change over the time in this book. I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars or a 93%.

Connie Liederbach

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

It's summer of the year 1793 in Philadelphia. Rumors are that people of dying of a fever that hasn't been seen for 30 years. It starts by the river so everyone thinks it's just the sailors, but then it starts moving inland. Now, no one is safe.

Matilda "Mattie" Cook and her mother and grandfather run a coffeehouse far from the river. One day, a serving girl doesn't show up to work. The mother goes to check on the server's family and finds out that the girl had passed away due to a fever. People start realizing that this fever isn't like any other fever.

Fever 1793 novel is a historical fiction novel that isn't part of a series. I personally use this book as a nice pick-me-up and get me into reading again. There aren't many slow parts and it always keeps your attention. There are some parts where the writing is a little different, as it is based over 200 years ago, but reading further on, you start to understand what people are saying. This book may be considered as a middle-grade book to some, but don't be scared of the grade level. There are many themes in here that can teach a lot that you may not have seen at a younger age. I would give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars or an 85%.

Connie Liederbach

Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

In New York City, everything is moving around, including the lives of teenagers. S has just returned from boarding school and B, her old time best friend, hates her guts. N, B's boyfriend of nearly two years and S's best friend, confesses a secret while D out with S having a good time. At a party, C sees J, D's little sister, and thinks of her as an easy target. J calls D on his date with S and go to the party that B is hosting. B sees S and N talking after D saves J from C and gets extremely jealous. B makes N to never talk to S again and D threatens C if he ever messes with J again.

Will B and S be friends again?
Will N go behind B's back and talk to S?
Will C still go after J and her freshmen friends?
Will S and D go out ever again?
Will B and N last?

All these questions will be answered in the forthcoming books in the Gossip Girl series by Cecily von  Ziegesar.

Gossip Girl is a hit series with a total of 11 books plus one prequel that was published after the series was finished. There several conflicts going on at the same time, all someway somehow connecting to each other. Though this book was fantastic, it isn't for everyone. I love the aspect of seeing the struggles of upper class teens versus the struggles of those of a lower class. I rate this book a 4.5 out of 5.

Reviewed by Connie Liederbach