Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Gordon Jack

Plot Summary
Nimona shows up one night at the secret lair of the evil Lord Ballister Blackheart begging to be his new sidekick. She has shape shifting powers, which makes her a valuable ally in his campaign against Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics.

As their campaign against the government proceeds, Blackheart begins to realize his minion is harder to control than he realized.  Her destructive powers puts him in the difficult position of having to protect the society he was so determined to bring down.

Critical Evaluation
I give Nimona an unqualified 10 out of 10.  It's one of the most entertaining graphic novels I have read in a long time.  Nimona is a great character, really funny in her desire to cause chaos and destruction.  Her relationship with Blackheart is the best part of the story.  At first she is a great asset to him, then she's a real pain, then she becomes a loyal friend who Blackheart will do anything he can to protect.  The artwork is imaginative and beautiful and captures the characters shifting alliances really well.

Predator by Richard Whittle

Owen Winkler

Plot Summary

Predator is the story of how the first military drone was created. The cast of characters includes Kareem, who is the best inventor in the Israeli Air Force.  He leaves his research firm to come to the United States to start developing his drone in a garage. Pretty soon, he’s being backed by DARPA. Along with Kareem, the Blues, two brothers educated in Ivy League schools, go down to South America to work on their own drone on a banana plantation in Nicaragua.  

Both groups have different ideas for a drones and different approaches to create, test, and fly the machines.  The two groups offer different aspects of our modern day drone vehicles. 

Critical Evaluation

The book has a lot of interesting stories, like when the Blues Brothers are going to Nicaragua and are forced to land in Cuba or they will be shot down. As soon as they land, they are taken into custody by guys in machine guns.  This is an exciting story that also informs the reader about drones, their history and their current use.

Goal II: Living the Dream by Robert Rigby

Alexis Torres Aguilar

Plot Summary

In the book Goal II Living the Dream the main character, Santiago Munez, who was born in the barrios of Los Angeles, begins his professional soccer career with Newcastle United after leaving his local soccer team Los Americanitos. In his last season, he has a conference with the manager and president of Real Madrid. He then keeps this conference a secret so he can surprise his wife, Roz, with the news that they will go to Spain for a year. Once he tells her she does not like the fact that she is going to leave England. Santiago then signs a contract for Real Madrid and becomes a “super sub”. After becoming the “super sub” Santiago also becomes a celebrity. As Santiago starts exploring Madrid, he runs into his younger brother Enrique. Santiago starts asking Enrique questions about his mother so that he can find her in Madrid.

Critical Evaluation

On a scale of 1-10, I would this rate this book an 8 because it’s about my favorite soccer club, Real Madrid. The story provides an inside look into what it’s like to be a professional soccer player. The main character is from California and he’s complicated. He starts out doing good for his family and then becomes more selfish as the story progresses. Even though he’s more arrogant, he’s still interesting to read about because he’s living a life that no one really gets.

Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Debora Solares


Plot Summary

Kirsty is a 16 year old girl who knows how to read minds. Her parents are divorced and Kirsty doesn't get along with her mom. Gusty, the guy Kirsty likes, thinks she's werid. When a new guy named Mallory comes to school, Kirsty thinks he's cute. A teacher has Kirsty and Gusty work on a project together. When Gusty comes over to Kirsty's house, he tells her that she is beautiful.The question that the author poses is: Will these two end up together?

Critical Analysis
On a scale 1-10, I would rate this book an 8 because I normally don't read books and this caught my attention.

Back byNorah McClintock

Andrew Cervantes

Plot Summary

Jojo has just been let out of jail for putting someone in a coma. Now he must take care of his very sick mother and face the whole neighborhood hating him for what he did. Everyone on his street wonders if he's still as bad as he was before he went to jail. The question that the author poses is, “Did Jojo change, or is he still the bad person he was before he left?”

Critical Evaluation

I rate this book a 8 out of 10. I give it this rating because the writing is good and it has some suspense. There is a death in the story which makes it a little sad but the story is still very exciting.

Al Capone And The Roaring Twenties By David C. King

Vito Virrueta

Plot Summary

The roaring twenties! Where history was being made whether it be in politics, music, economy, or crime. The twenties were filled with gangsters. One such was Al Capone. This man could and did get away with any crime committed. He was always careful with everything and anything he did until he got caught up with the fame and attention resulting in him getting distracted ending his career with the conviction of tax evasion. Al Capone has been getting away with murder (and prostitution) so he should have a trick up his sleeve to get out of this seemingly easy conviction.

Critical Evaluation

I rate this book a 9 out of ten because it talks about all the happened during the twenties while also giving us insight on Capone's life. Also, because it gives us a picture to make us feel as if we are there living life with him in the roaring twenties. It almost seems as if you are right there living the life in Capone's generation and bumping in with Capone once in a while.