Runaway by:Dandi Daley Mackall

I've runaway seven times - never once to anything, just away from. Maybe that's why they call me a "runaway" and not a "run-to."

Meet Dakota Brown, a 16-year-old girl who is full of bitterness and anger. Dakota has spent most of her life in foster homes, but has never stayed in the same foster home for long. With the help of a friend Dakota has managed to escape every foster home she's ever lived in, and this new home is no different. The moment she sets foot on her new foster parents farm - Starlight Animal Rescue - she begins to plan her escape.

But then something happens. She feels love. She feels God's love. Dakota has never felt love before, until now.
The family has two adopted children and one biological child, and the whole family is animal crazy. Well, not just animal crazy, they are just crazy in general. The family is perfect for Dakota. Dakota can spend time in the barn with the horses, learn about God, and, for the first time, be a part of a family. But will Dakota realize this before it's too late and she runs away with Neil and his friend?

This book is awesome!
I especially like this book because it is about horses. One thing I learned from this book is that God's love can change anyone's heart, even when they seem impossible.

My favourite characters are Dakota and Kat.
Kat (one of the other kids living there) is very sweet and helps Dakota feel God's love, something Dakota had never ever felt and needed to feel. Dakota finds a home and can be around her very favourite thing, horses!

I think this book would be enjoyed by all people who love animals and reading!
Dandi Daley Mackall also wrote the popular "Winnie the Horse Gentler" series.


Definition of Starlight Animal Rescue: A place where problem horses are trained and loved, where abandoned dogs and stray cats find a home, and where people who don't fit in find a place to belong.

The Battle of The Labyrinth by: Rick Riordan

"The Battle of The Labyrinth," by Rick Riordan, is the fourth book in his popular series Percy Jackson and The Olympians.

Percy Jackson is a regular boy who one day discovers something fascinating about himself. He has always just accepted the fact that his father was gone, until he discovers that his father is Poseidon, god of the sea.

From here on it's danger for Percy. He is attacked by monsters and has to be taken to a secret camp called Camp Half Blood, for boys and girls who are half human half god. Here at Camp Half Blood they are safe because a barrier keeps out all the evil things that try to get in. But it can't last forever.

In "The Battle of The Labyrinth" a war breaks out between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos. Camp Half Blood must prepare for battle. But so many things happen to get in the way. Before the fight, Percy must first find a way to get through the labyrinth, a maze that is known for how many people go in that never come out.
I found this book very interesting to read. But I would advise being careful when reading this book because of a few things that happen in it.

This book is full of Greek mythology and it would be best before you read this book to know a little about Greek mythology (if I hadn't known some Greek mythology when I read this book I would have found it very confusing).
These books can be a bit dark and there are several bad words in them.

Some people find these books to be really funny but I didn't find them to be that way (they are kind of funny). They are quite interesting to read though and I think that you would like reading them too if you like Greek mythology and magic.

Peppermints in the Parlor by: Barbara Brooks Wallace

Eleven year-old Emily Luccock is looking forward to living with her aunt and uncle at Sugar Hill Hall. Vivid in her memory is its vast, beautiful parlor, marble fire place, and the white china cups of steaming hot chocolate.

But time changes things, and Sugar Hill Hall is no exception. Sugar Hill Hall is no longer the warm, cheerful mansion Emily once knew. Evil lurks in every corner. A cruel lady named Mrs.Meeching has taken over the place and enslaved Emily's aunt. How can Emily's aunt be a slave in her own home?

And where has Emily's uncle disappeared to?


Mrs.Meeching has turned Sugar Hill Hall into a home for unwanted elderly people. The elderly people are fed moldy bread lumps and fish head stew, while Mrs.Meeching feasts on tarts, fruit, eggs, and anything else she wants. Everyone is under her command. She makes the people unhappy and punishes them for every little thing, like taking a peppermint from the bowl in the parlor. If that isn't bad enough, Mrs.Meeching also has a special room set aside specifically for punishment, called the "Remembrance Room" which is a plain, dark room with a cot and stone walls. Or is there more to that room then meets the eye? Emily, with the help of the delivery boy, Kipper, must discover the secret of Sugar Hill Hall.

Emily is weak and small for her age, but is still forced to do dish washing, floor scrubbing, and room cleaning. Emily is determined that Mrs.Meeching shall not see her cry, but everyone has to cry sometimes, don't they? This is a story filled with courage, true friendship, and suspense.

I could barely put this book down and hope you'll feel that way about this book too. If you enjoy this book you'll probably like the sequel,"The Perils of Peppermints."

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by:Elizabeth George Speare

It was a mid-April morning in 1687, and Kit Tyler knew as she gazed at the bleak shores of Connecticut Colony that her new home was never going to be like the beautiful, shining Caribbean Islands that she had left behind.

Kit is a free-spirited sixteen year old girl from Barbados who comes to live with relatives in the hard-working, serious town of Wethersfield, Connecticut.
Kit feels caged in under the stern, watchful eye of her puritan Uncle Matthew.

One day, Kit flees to a meadow where she meets an old Quaker woman named Hannah, known as "The Witch Of Blackbird Pond." Hannah is mistrusted because she is a Quaker.
Kit and Hannah became fast friends and began seeing each other often. Then Kit's uncle found out. He forbid Kit from seeing Hannah. But Kit kept on seeing Hannah and even helped a mistreated girl named Prudence find peace at Hannah's house.

But when an epidemic occurs, Hannah is accused of causing it and the townspeople go after her. Kit helps Hannah escape and discovers the consequences when she is charged with witchcraft herself!

I loved this book!
Kit learns many new things in her aunt and uncles house, from making soap to carding wool. She also learns about making choices. Deciding her feelings towards two young men and choosing whether or not to give way to her temper are just some of the choices Kit must make.
Everything she does seems wrong, and the villagers are scandalized at some of the things Kit says and does.
This is a romantic, historical book and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

Rowboat in a Hurricane by:Julie Angus

In this book you will read the fascinating autobiography about Julie Angus, a lady who attempted to do something that no one else would dream of doing: row 10,000 kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean.

Imagine, living on a 21-foot-long rowboat, with barely enough space to lie down and sleep, for five months. Or as one man put it, "Climb under your kitchen table and don't come out for five months."

Julie Angus did this and more with her now husband, Colin Angus, as part of his quest to circumnavigate the world by human power alone. Together they went through three hurricanes, had a scary visit from a Great White Shark, encountered a lovestruck turtle, and experienced many more adventures.

Julie Angus did something most people would look at and say,"That's impossible! I could never do that." And when preparations for the trip started going wrong, she didn't quit, she kept on going and was rewarded by becoming the first woman to do so.

One of the things that really captivated me about this book was that someone could actually row across the Atlantic Ocean and spend 5 months in that small rowboat and live to tell about it. I also liked that they met all those whales, dolphins, and fish. One thing that I thought was really neat was that they met some pilot fish and made friends with them. The pilot fish followed them from the time they met them to the time that they had to get off the boat and leave them.


This book is one adventure after another and I really enjoyed reading it!
9 out of 10 stars.

White Boots by: Noel Streatfeild

"White Boots," published in 1951, is the story of Harriet Johnson, a girl who must take up ice skating to improve her health.

Harriet was all eyes and legs and hair, so much so that her brothers often told her she had turned into a daddy-long-leg. Her doctor decided that skating would improve her muscles and help her grow strong.

At first Harriet is terrible at skating. She can barely make it onto the ice. That is until she meets Lalla Moore, a young skating star.

Lalla started skating when she was three and soon discovered a talent for it. Of course, this was only expected of her because her father was a professional skater before he died. Lalla decided to help Harriet with her skating and soon the two became fast friends.

It wasn't long before Harriet began to unearth a hidden talent for skating and Lalla became jealous. She was the skating star, not Harriet!

Will Lalla be willing to lose their friendship just because she is jealous of Harriet's new found talent?

I especially enjoyed this book because it's about figure skating. I love figure skating!

This book is best for ages nine and up.
I would give this book 8.5 out of 10.

Little Women by: Louisa May Alcott

You will thoroughly enjoy this captivating tale about the four March sisters.


Meet Meg, a pretty, practical girl, the eldest of the four March girls.
Next in line is tomboy Josephine, or "Jo" as she prefers to be known. Jo dreams of being an author and leaves no space for marriage in her plans.
The third sister, Beth, is a shy, quiet girl who stays at home a great deal and enjoys playing her piano and helping the March's faithful housekeeper, Hannah, with the chores.
Last in line is Amy, an artistic blond beauty who wants to go to Europe and become a famous artist.


Mrs.March has her hands full while the girls' father is away helping with the war. Beth contracts scarlet fever, Jo meets their mischievous neighbor and befriends him, Amy pursues her dream of becoming a great artist, and Meg learns to be content despite her family's poverty. Each girl must choose her life and what her future will be.

The Marches live a hard life after helping a friend and losing all their wealth, but they are still a generous, happy family.

I love this book! It is one of my favourites. My mom used to have to tell me to stop reading it because I read it over and over. The "Little Women" book I have is a two parter, the second book is called "Good Wives."
"Little Women" is a classic and definitely deserves to be. I would give it nine or ten stars out of ten!