Venom by Fiona Paul

Venom by Fiona Paul

Published by Philomel Books (Penguin Young Readers)
Published in October 2012

Venom was a fantastic book from beginning to end. Venom takes place in the city of Venice, Italy. The book contains a murder mystery in historical Venice, romance, danger, historical background, and awesome characters. I really enjoyed reading the book, because the story always completely took different paths from what I thought, and the ending was completely unexpected. This book was a really good page turner, and although the book is long, it will keep you intrigued from beginning to end. I really recommend this book to everyone who enjoys mysteries with historical background. I can't wait for the next book in the series.     

Review by Karen G. 

Best Foot Forward by Joan Bauer

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons
Published on June 7, 2005

Best Foot Forward by Joan Bauer is about a teenage girl, Jenna Boller, who is attempting to recover from the death of a friend and find closure regarding her father's imprisonment. Jenna is a member of Al-Anon, which helps people who have alcoholics in their lives. She also works at a shoe store, Gladstone  Shoes. Jenna's father is in prison after she turned him in for driving while drunk. Work keeps her busy and also keeps her mind off her father. Her life becomes even more complicated when she meets Tanner Cobb, who was caught stealing. He gets a job at Gladstone Shoes in order to make up for what he has done. This 181 page novel is a quick read and exposes the challenges many young people face. I would recommend this coming of age book to young adults ages 12 to 15 who enjoy inspirational stories about characters their own age.

Ellen M., age 16