As I said I spent the summer gaming and I want to share an interesting game for everyone planning to take the SAT and PSAT. The site is called FREE RICE.

FreeRice has two goals: Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free and Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free. It is made possible by the generosity of the sponsors who advertise on this site.

How do you play? 1.Click on the answer that best defines the word. 2.If you get it right, you get a harder word. If wrong, you get an easier word. For each word you get right, they donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.

There it is. You practice vocabulary words, and some one in the world get something to eat. The site is called FREE RICE.

A NOTE ON GAMING REVIEWS: Young Adult Services is expanding the types of reviews you can find here, so whenever we find a new game, whether online or for a platform, we will try to review it on the YA Book Log. To check out these reviews click the category, Gaming. We will welcome reviews from teens from the East Meadow School District community to list on the Book Log and as always, we will send you a certificate for one hour of community service. To submit a review of a game send it to fjackson@eastmeadow.info or pcea@eastmeadow.info. You must include your name, your grade and your school. Within the review please include your recommendation on who would love to play the game.

Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services

If you want a more traditional way to study for the PSAT/SAT, KAPLAN TEST PREP is offering a Practice Test on Saturday September 13, 2008 at 10:00 AM at the East Meadow Public Library. There will be a follow-up SAT Test Secrets Seminar at the Library on Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 7:00PM and the test results will be given back.. We recommend this for sophomores, juniors and seniors. Parents are welcome to attend SAT Test Secrets Seminar on the 25th. Registration is required. Contact Young Adult Services at 516 794-2570 extension 237.

Anna Percy is a rich girl who lives in New York City with the perfect grades and a reputation of “working well with others”. She gets sick of being the “good girl”, so she goes to live with her father in Los Angeles. He is part of the rich Beverly Hills lifestyle. On the plane she meets a guy she could possibly be in love with; she goes to an Oscar winner’s wedding; and she lives in the neighborhood of the rich and snobby. She thought her life was perfect until Dad surprises her with a little someone. Things are going great until she finds out who the A-Listers are and what they want, because no one steals their spotlight.

I RECOMMEND THE A-LIST FOR GIRLS IN GRADE 7 AND UP.

Pari Patel
7th Grade
Woodland Middle School

Ever have troubleS Judy Blume might have the answers to your problems in HERE'S TO YOU, RACHEL ROBINSON.

7th grader Rachel Robinson has much to deal with. Her troubling brother, Charles has been kicked out of boarding school and must return home. Rachel feels like her friends, Stephanie and Alison are hanging out more often without her. Her friends do not think that she is normal. Overall, she is facing what most teenagers her age must deal with, but it is still much more...

Rachel, unlike Charles, is a straight-A student who becomes a Natural Helper at her school to help students with dilemmas. She, on the other hand feels like she has enough problems of her own. She has liked Jeremy Dragon, an older boy in her school, and now she secretly likes her brother's tutor, Paul. Plus, one of Rachel's friends has a crush on Charles. Tarren, Rachel's cousin with several problems, looks up to Rachel's mother for help.

Will Rachel's brother stir up a commotion? Will she have a boyfriend? What will happen to Tarren? Read this wonderful book to find out. I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO STUDENTS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL.

Japbani Nanda
Grade 9
W.T. Clarke Middle School

Three girls with very different personalities arrive in Hollywood for different reasons, but they become really good friends anyway. They all get jobs as nannies for the children of very famous people! Esme, a beautiful but reserved-about-herself Latina comes to Hollywood to live a better life than her dangerous neighborhood. Kiley, or also known as Krazy with a "K" is definitely the opposite of her nickname. Being 17 years old, she goes to Hollywood to participate in a competition broadcasted on T.V. where she could be a nanny for Platinum! But, to win, she has to succeed in many challenges. The only reason she's doing all this is to get into a pricey school. Spending 8 years in the Amazon is not fun to Lydia. When she gets a chance to stay with her aunt in Hollywood, California, there's no way she's going to miss the opportunity.

THE NANNIES, is a great book. IT IS RECOMMENDED FOR KIDS WHO LOVE HOLLYWOOD IN 7TH GRADE AND UP!
Christina Johnson
Grade 8
W.T. Clarke Middle School

KJ Miller is smart, pretty, nice, and a total Geek Magnet. No matter what she does, she can’t escape the notice of every geek in school. It’s too bad she can’t attract the attention of Cameron Richardson, the star of the basketball team instead. When she gets the opportunity to stage manage the school’s production of Grease, she meets Tama, Queen of the popular crowd and the answer to all her problems. Tama wants to help KJ shed her too nice image and lose the geeks in the process. As KJ learns to stand up for herself, she starts to wonder if Tama is really her friend and if geeks are really so bad afterall.

I recommend this fun book to girls in grades 8 and up.

Paula Cea
Young Adult Librarian

Lena, Carmen, Bridget, and Tibby set off for new adventures this summer, and the Pants are with them. But, this summer is a little different from the last one. Lena is falling in love with Kostos all over again when he comes to America, but might get her heart broken when she finds out a secret about him. Carmen is holding a grudge against her mother, Christina, when she gets a new boyfriend. She thinks that Christina is making a complete fool of herself. Bridget leaves last year's summer romance behind and sets off to Alabama to find out about the past of her late mother, and Tibby goes to a college film program and figures out from Brian if people are real or phony.

I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO GIRLS AGES 13 AND UP, BECAUSE THIS NOVEL IS VERY REALISTIC (THESE CAN BE REAL TEENAGERS), AND TEENAGERS CAN RELATE THIS BOOK TO THEIR OWN LIVES VERY EASILY.
>
> Christina Johnson entering grade 8 in Sept. 2008
> Clarke Middle School

Twilight fans who are anxiously awaiting Breaking Dawn (as I am), will want to check out Evernight by Claudia Gray.

When Bianca’s parents take teaching positions at the exclusive boarding school Evernight Academy, she decides she would rather run away than enroll in the creepy school where everything, including the students, is a little strange. Before she can run away, she meets Lucas, another new student and the two instantly form a strong connection. With Lucas by her side, Bianca is able to settle into her new life at school, but it is only a matter of time before the secrets of Evernight come out and Bianca and Lucas discover the secrets they are hiding from one another.

Evernight is full of plot twists and surprises that will keep you up all night reading. I recommend this book to teens in grades 8 and up.

Paula Cea
Young Adult Librarian

Thirteen years ago, an unauthorized plane mysteriously appeared on an airport runway. There was no pilot in the cockpit; there were no flight attendants on board; there were no adults at all. The only people on board were 36 babies, all strapped into their seats and left unaccompanied. The few people who witnessed the planes appearance were silenced by the FBI and the public never knew of the incident.

In the present day, Jonah Walsh is 13 years old and has always known that he was adopted. He leads a normal life until he starts receiving strange letters in the mail, the first of which reads “You are one of the missing.” Jonah soon learns that his best friend Chip, who is also adopted, has been receiving the same messages. After doing some research, they find out that they are two of the babies who were on that mysterious plane 13 years ago. Now, the two boys and the others who were on the plane must find out where they came from and who they really are.

Found is the first book in a new series by the author of Among the Hidden and it will keep you on the edge of your seat with every twist and turn.

I highly recommend this book for middle school students.

Full of unforgettable and extremely likeable characters, this book is a very entertaining read especially for fans of Broadway or baseball.

I recommend this book to teens in grades 9-12.

Paula Cea
Young Adult Librarian

I RECOMMEND MAXIMUM RIDE: THE FINAL WARNING FOR EVERYONE.

Monisha Gera
Grade 10
East Meadow High School

(NOTE: This is the fourth book in the series, MAXIMUM RIDE. To see a review of the first three books, check out Bobby Mazziotti's review on April 18, 2007.)

Growing up with hippie parents has not been easy for Maggie Dempsey. Every year she is forced to leave behind her friends when her parents decide to move the family to a new city.

When her parents uproot her in her senior year, Maggie decides she can’t handle any more sad goodbyes. She vows not to make a single friend at her new school so that when her parents decide they are ready to move again, she won’t have to go through the painful process of saying goodbye to people she cares about.

In her attempt to turn herself into a social outcast, she borrows the most ridiculous clothing she can find from the thrift store her father runs and she shuns all attempts at friendship. Her rule book on How Not to be Popular includes things like “You must worship all that is totally and tragically unhip” so she begins carrying a star wars lunchbox to school. While at first she is laughed at, it isn’t long before her classmates start to admire Maggie’s unique style and she becomes much more popular than she bargained for.

I recommend this very funny book for girls in grades 8-12.

Paula Cea
Young Adult Librarian

A CHILD CALLED IT chronicles one of the most severe child abuse cases in the state of California. David Pelzer was brutally beaten and starved by his alcoholic mother. He played his mother's sadistic games and dreamed of the day when someone would love him. He was saved by an alert school teacher and lived to write this book.

This is a particularly brutal and savage tale. IT IS RECOMMENDED FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.

Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services

In Thom Creed’s world, the existence of superheroes is no secret. Both of his parents were part of the respected League of Superheroes until his mother disappeared and his father was cast out after a national incident. One day while playing basketball, Thom discovers he has superpowers of his own when he is able to heal a rival basketball player. Because of his father’s history with the league, Thom feels the need to keep his growing super powers a secret, but his powers are not the only thing he keeps hidden, he also hides the fact that he is gay from his father and everyone else he knows.

When super villains take over the bus Thom is on, he acts without thinking and helps save several passengers by using his powers to heal. His heroic actions impress the league and he is invited to try out for an apprentice position. He's teamed up with a ragtag bunch of people who can see the future, shoot fire and inflict disease on their victims. But when Thom publicly admits that he is gay in order to protect an innocent man, he is ousted from the league and shunned by everyone. The reappearance of his mother at the same time that chaos breaks out in the city inspires Thom and his gang of wannabe superheroes to team up and try to save the world.

HERO is a must read for comic book lovers and anyone who has ever felt like they don’t fit in.

I RECOMMEND THIS TITLE FOR GUYS IN HIGH SCHOOL.