The Name of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

Cassandra and Max-Ernest meet each other unexpectedly one day. Who would have thought that they would become friends? Soon they find themselves caught in mystery surrounding  Pietro Bergamo, a magician, his brother and The Symphony of Smells. But with Dr. L and Ms. Mauvais after them, Cass and Max-Ernest are desperate to help their friends, save themselves and protect a secret that they don't even know.

This book is meant for children from about ten to twelve but I think that it can appeal to people slightly older than that as well. The beginning portion of this book is one of the best and most attention-grabbing. This novel is pretty similar to Lemony Snicket's "Series of Unfortunate Events" so if you enjoy books like that then this is definitely a good book to read. I would have liked to see more of a suspenseful build up toward the climax. Sometimes all the secrets and mysteries in the book were annoying and seemed unnecessary but make the series suspenseful.

Cassandra, a survivalist, and her friend Max-Ernest, a talkative eleven-year-old are not necessarily the classic protagonists. They were not at all annoying (even though Max-Ernest is supposed to be) and absolutely hilarious. Pseudonymous Bosch is not only the author of the novel but also the narrator of the series and the mystery surrounding him helps making this book hard to put down. 

Monster High by Lisi Harrison

 Melody Carver and Frankie Stein are very different girls but they do have one thing in common. They're both new to Merston High School. Frankie loves who she is even the fact that she's a monster. Frankie wants to embrace her green skin and not be forced to hide it and with the help of her new friend Melody maybe Frankie has a chance. Melody meets Frankie and is determined to help her and show everyone at school that everyone is equal. Can two girls convince an entire school of monsters and humans that they can get along?

I picked up this book because of Lisi Harrison's other great books and I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was very interesting and I liked it a lot but it was kind of different from her other novels. The best part to this book were the unique characters. The overall concept of getting people to accept monsters was well thought out but the individual plot's climax for the first book was unclear. The pacing of this book was perfect. Great book to read anytime.

I recommend paying close to the characters as they were the most interesting part of the novel. Both Melody and Frankie were incredible main characters. Melody was smart and relatable while Frankie was outgoing and hilarious. I did like the concept of the some students in Merston High being monsters as it made the story more suspenseful. Some secondary characters that you should look out for are Lala, Jackson, DJ, and Cleo.

Here is my review of Lisi Harrison's Alphas.

The Allegra Biscotti Collection by Olivia Bennett

Allegra Biscotti and Emma Rose two completely different girls. So the fact that they are the same person is a little shocking. Emma Rose is a simple and quiet girl with a talent for designing while Allegra Biscotti is outgoing and confidant. Emma unexpectedly runs into someone who might just be able to help her gain fame. But can reserved Emma really stand in the spotlight? To solve the problem, Allegra Biscotti is born. Sure her life designing glamorous dresses is fun but with the pressures of her other life when will Emma ever be able to relax?
The little sketches in the margins of the book are cute and help you visualize the story. The double life concept seemed very overused and typical but eventually both the girls started to become more interesting and original. The difficulty that Emma went through to keep her identity a secret was very believable and added suspense to the story. The beginning of the book seemed to rely very heavily on coincidences but all the hard work that Emma put into her work make up for it. Overall, it was a nice novel and makes you want to continue reading the series.
Both Allegra and Emma are very interesting characters to read about. Its hard to believe that they are the same person. Emma is simple and easy to relate to while Allegra's the definition of fabulous. The secondary characters aren't given much importance and I don't understand the point of many of them but I'm sure that will clear up in the future books.