Jessica and Elizabeth are going on vacation. Along the way they pick up a handsome hitchhiker named Scott. Jessica, being Jessica, immediately falls for his handsome and charming exterior
Elizabeth born four(?) minutes earlier and obviously having gotten a larger percent of smarts is not so easily disarmed. Eventually though the girls completely come to trust this smooth talking snake.
And that's when they find themselves running from the law in Thelma and Louise like style, accused of a crime they didn't commit. The moral of the story: Maybe not to pick up strangers? Or maybe not to so easily trust someone just because they have a handsome face? Or maybe that Elizabeth should stop letting her emotion driven sister make rash decisions??!!
Good story.

I have not expected that this book would be so good. The spin chilling tales really hooked me in seconds. Jessica and Elizabeth picked a hitchhiker named Scott during a car trip.The unexpected keep coming and the twins were eventually framed for murder. Definitely worth your money for avid readers and loyal fans of Sweet Valley.

this is SUCH a good book!! liz and jes are going on a car trip together, and jess convinces liz to pick up a good-looking hitchhiker, scott. meanwhile, there has been a series of robberies all over the country, and people have been killed. then, at a stop at a gas station, scott is going inside. jessica, being jessica, insists on going with him. inside, a gun is put to her back, and scott holds up the store. the only problem with the hold-up is, the store has a surveance camera there!! and, on the clip of the robbery, it seems scott has been cut out into shadows, so it looks like jessica held up the store. what follows is jessica and elizabeth being wanted for murder, nearly killed, and a heck of a lot more. it's unrealistic, but still very exciting, and definetly worth a read.

In the Empire's Service is one of those parts in the Rogue Squadron series that has healthy doses of action, camaraderie, suspense and a "feel" to it.

The stand alone stories have ended. It's time for Ms Isard to claim the Imperial throne, time for Rogue Squadron to show their flying skills, time for the performance to really kick in. Unlike other issues, this one has a genuine feel to it, where power and politics have some major characters decide the day.

The art is similar to Battleground:Tatooine, which I didn't think much of in that issue's review. Here, where you don't have Tatooine and Ryloth deserts to inhibit your artistry, the lush vista of Brentaal saves the day. Character faces just aren't rendered in enough detail, and at times the features in the frames just look a bit small in size.

That notwithstanding, Fel makes up in dialogue what his rendered art misses. A brilliant but loyal pilot straddled with a fool for a superior that's too-often semi-attired and looks quite like a roman emperor, you feel for him. The Rogue pilots don't miss out on their lines too, and a range of emotions are showed which help to convey the seriousness and delicacy of the mission.

Action is hot and intense, and even though Imperial politics is what allows the Alliance to take more and more of Brentaal, you can bet Fel's going to make them fight for it. This is war, and it reflects well in how the captions were chosen. A level in the N64 Rogue Squadron game was based on the last mission here, so it's fun to view it differently. The Telsij lady you briefly meet---and gasp at---from her sight in Mandatory Retirement is explained here.

Dendo is back, armed with his flashy cape and quick-finger trigger. New Rogues are featured to make up for attrition, and you'll like Koyi Komad's interaction with them. Her character, short as her appearances are, just shines out from the page.

Overall, the sketchy feel of the art had me rating this a star less, but In the Empire's Service is just too good to give any less. It has it all, what you could want, and certainly worthy lightening your purse a few Imperial credits less indeed.

Stackpole takes over writing the series and immediately kicks it into high gear by throwing the Rogues right into the midst of the war. The Republic is beginning its campaign for Coruscant and starts by heading for the Core Worlds. In this case, the first step is Brentaal, the rich and influential Core world.

This arc is unique in that it gives both the Rebels and Imperials almost equal time. The faces of the Empire are many, and this arc shows a depth to it not acheived in anything else thus far. The scheming by Ysanne Isard is great, while you also see the varying faces of the Empire on Brentaal itself. Admiral Lon Isoto and Baron Soontir Fel are both Imperials, yet completely opposite characters. Isoto is an incompetant, vain, corrupt, lazy, and perhaps even slightly insane man, while Fel is a very smart, strong, moral, yet somewhat flawed figure. He is the greatest pilot in the Empire, and serves that Empire not because of who leads it, but because of simple loyalty to its people. As time goes on, it becomes more and more apparent to him that perhaps his view on things was flawed, and perhaps he need to rectify it. Along with Grand Admiral Thrawn, he is perhaps the best Imperial character to come out of the comics and novels.

The Rebels are interesting as well, and the Rogues are for the only time in the series at full strength. Balancing the stories of 12 pilots is not easy, but as events transpire some paths are split and some interconnect. Some, like Wedge, Tycho, Janson, Ibtisam, and Nrin, get more time, wheras ones like Dar Keyis and Standro are forced into the backdrop. But that's alright, for reason I won't get into lest I spoil things.

The art by Nadeau perfectly fits the whole 'war movie'-type feel of 'In the Empire's Service.' His technology and cityscapes are, as always, superb, and although his faces may be a little choppy at times, each person has his or her own face, which is very important with such a large cast. And David Nestelle's coloring prowess is once again demonstrated. Never slips, always consistent, always fitting the scene perfectly.

And who can forget the cliff-hanger last line of the series?

Bravo to the creators of 'In the Empire's Service'. They've produced one of the most insightful, well-written examples of 'Star Wars' ever published, and the series' lack of sales is truly shameful. Highly, highly reccomended work.

In The Empire's Service is the sixth Rogue Squadron comic series, and it happens to be one of the, if not the, best. Taking place not long after the comic "Mara Jade: By The Emperor's Hand," this is the first title in the "Rise of Isard" story arc which will link all of the remaining comics in this series, and lead into the novel series. And it is just a great and classic story. No more of those stories where the Empire is thrown in only as a convoluted plot twist, where various rogues and scoundrels uncover secret caches of Imperial ships and weaponry. This is a straight up Alliance vs. Empire story. It's full of good art, good dialogue, a plethora of dogfights, and lots of humor.

In this story, Sate Pestage has basically assumed Palpatine's role at the head of the Empire, and is struggling to hold it while an alliance of various other high ranking Imperials (the "Cabal") is also seeking to gain control of the Empire. Enter Ysanne "Iceheart" Isard, who, while presumably advising both sides as to the best way to defeat the Rebels is actually expertly playing them off against each other. Taking her advice, Pestage vows to hold a wealthy Imperial world, which the rebels promptly start planning to liberate. Thus begins the power struggle between Pestage, the Cabal, and the Rebel Alliance on Brentaal.

As I've said, this comic has an awesome number of dogfights, and it introduces several new Rogues to make up for attrition in the last comic. In addition, it introduces Salm and his wing of Y-wings, as well as Imperial fighter legend Baron Fel and his feared 181st Fighter Group, which is basically the Imperial equivalent of Rogue Squadron. Also, Kapp Dendo and his SpecOps squad show up again. The art is nice and easy to follow, and the pilot chatter is good as always. Unfortunately, Baron Fel is somewhat stiff, starting as just a perfect superpilot, but he does evolve into a more human character by the end of the series. Also, why is Plourr still with the Rogues? Wasn't her return at the end of the previous comic just a very temporary reprieve from her duties on Eiattu?

Just as a note of interest, you'll notice that the main battle in this comic was adapted as one of the levels in the Rogue Squadron 3D game for PC and N64.

Overall, this is an excellent comic, one of the best Rogue Squadron stories out there. Definitely and highly recommended.

This is a must for anybody's personal library. No matter where you are in life, Sir John has done us all a great favour by writing this book. He uses a range of philosiphies and theologies to explain everyday events in our lives.
Are you overwhemled or caught up in day to day events? Mr. Templeton's collections of various authors and his own works will explain sometimes difficult situations into easy to understand english. For example, lesson "No one knows the weight of another's burden" on page 20 is about the young man in a male therapy group.
The men were in a group session and the person in the story is a new participant. The mediator explained that each person would have a few minutes to explain his problem and what they plan to do about it. Natually, the new person thought with his marital break down, near bankruptcy and poor health, his would be one of the saddest cases.
Before it was his turn to speak, a handsome young man in his 20's revealed that he was terminally ill and had 6 months to live. Rather than dwell on it, he decided to take up flying lessons and live! Naturally, everybody else was taken off guard and rediscovered the gifts they have.
Templeton's 200 lessons in this book address almost every situation around. You don't have to be struggling with life to enjoy this. Everybody needs a bit of down to earth insiration and you'll have it with this!

John Marks Templeton's most important discovery is that our lives are shaped by certain eternal laws. He has established several foundations to advance spiritual developments and offers free literature plus newsletter to all who ask. Enjoy a visit to the Templeton Foundation . He rose from humble beginnings to lead a 30-billion dollar group of investment companies and established the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, which exceeds the Nobel Prize in financial value. This beloved book includes two hundred "laws of life" and appeals to all on the spiritual path. Contributors to "Laws" include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Jesus, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Gerald G. Jampolsky , and Eric Butterworth . Endorsements include Dr. Robert Schuller, Billy Graham, and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.

Great therapy. It is an easy read. Something you can open a few minutes a day to lift your spirits, and it doesn't hurt to read over and over again. It may not dazzle your senses (nonfiction), but it should make you feel good.

John Richard Young is one of the finest minds and spirits dedicated to training our companions on the planet( he trained dogs as well as horses). The revised edition of his Training of the (Western) Horse is the single book needed by the neophyte who comes to horsemanship and equitation with an intelligent desire to make the horse a partner in pleasure and comeptitive sports alike. I wish the University of Oklahoma Press would bring out a new edition, and also gather his articles written for various horse publications into a third volume for the compleat JRY. His death was a loss to the equestrian community, but this book with its broad understanding of history and the varied styles of riding and uses of horses over the centuries is without a peer in the specialized literature of the Horse World, and remains as his monument.
Olivia Tsosie

I have read the book by Mr. Young and I have tried his theories and I have found them very helpful on not just my horse but on many other horses as well. I own a very spirited Arabian and were it not for this book I would have given up on him. I am always quoting from this book when I try to teach others why they are having problems with their horse. It is an excellent book to have as a reference guide and highly recommend that novice horsepeople, judges in horse competitions and even experienced riders read this book. I have read horse magazines as well as other books by different authors and JRY's book is the standard by which I measure them by. I come from a place where the methods are somewhat harsh and crude but I always thought there was a better way. Thank God the local Library had a copy and that there was a man named John Richard Young. I now own a copy of my own.

Truly one of the great written works on interdisciplinary horsemanship-- Jaime Jackson Author, The Natural Horse: Foundations For Natural Horsemanship

A simply outstanding historical novel set in the age of ancient Rome's legendary conflict with the city of Carthage, The Young Carthaginian by G.A. Henty is a totally thrilling historical action/adventure tale that will rivet the listener's attention from beginning to end. Superbly and dramatically narrated by William Sutherland, The Young Carthaginian is written with detailed attention to historical accuracy and truly brings to life a long-lost time of Hannibal, the legions of Rome, and the absolute destruction of a great maritime empire. A confidently recommended addition to any personal, school, or community library audiobook collection, The Young Carthaginian is complete and unabridged on eleven compact discs, offering 12 hours, 30 minutes of an impressive, "theater of the mind" quality entertainment experience.

Who would have thought that a book written in the 1800s could be so appealing today? Doing a little internet research, I have found that G.A. Henty lived from 1832-1902, and the books he wrote were historical fiction "for boys". He was called "The Prince of Story-Tellers" and "The Boy's Own Historian", which certainly may have been true, but I'm an adult female who loved this tale! The style of writing sounds a little formal and old-fashioned, but it actually helps create a feeling of antiquity, appropriate for its ancient setting during the Punic Wars.

The fictional and lovable hero, Marchus, a relative of the famous Hannibal, accompanies him on the Carthaginian campaign against Rome. I learned so much about Hannibal through this book, yet the majority of the plot involves other adventures that Marchus gets into. He has near escapes from bears, wolves, lions, treacherous tribesmen. In two instances, he escapes with the help of an elephant, and a raft in the subterranean reservoir of Carthage. This was fun stuff, and I am so impressed that this book I found, that is so old it doesn't even have a publication date in it, could be so delightful. Someone could make a great movie out of this!

Everyone, it seems, has heard of Hannibal bringing his army,including the elephants,through the Alps, right to the doorstep of Rome. However, a readable account of Carthage vs. Rome is not easy to find. I've been very happy to find this fascinating historical novel as the best way to teach my two sons, ages 11 and 14, about this time in history. There are some valuable lessons for us all in the book--valor, honor, and how corruption destroys great nations.

This book is so exciting. Each storyline is extremely exciting. Jessica is depressed after all her heartbreaks. Then she meets Louis Miles, a guy unlike any guy she's ever met before. She's shocked to find out he's her professor, but she can't stop thinking about him. Louis feels the same. While on the beach, he starts thinking about her, and there she comes like she could read his mind. But, Louis's wife is out for murder. Tom Watts gives Elizabeth an assignment while he's awat in L.A. He immeadietly gets jealous whenever Elizabeth mentions Todd Wilkins. I love Todd Wilkins. I think Elizabeth and Todd Wilkins made such a cute couple. I think Todd Wilkins and Elizabeth are such a cute couple. Elizabeth adn Todd forever! I really wish that Elizabeth and Todd get back together. Elizabeth and Todd made the cutest couple. Elizabeth and Todd forever! When Elizabeth and Todd start on the case, it ends up being one of the biggest cases in SVU history! Lila Fowler and Bruce Patman are moving in with eachother, and Winston has the oppurtunity to cheat on a test. This book is exciting and great!

This book is excellent. Each storyline is exciting, and everything is intense. Jessica Wakefeeld is depressed after her losses. SHe has loved many men, but afetr many relationships goen wron, she decides to cry to dodge love, but fails. She, who usually parties all day and night, decides to go to a bookstore. She feels out of place, but meets an interesting guy there. Louis Miles is unlike any guy she's ever met, but totally not her type. But, he manages to get her itnerested in Midevil history. But, when she fidns out that he is her professor, she is shocked. She soon falls in love with him. They share nice talks, and one day, at the beach, she sees Louis walkign around on the rocks. It turns out Louis was thinking of her at the exact same moment, and there she comes. They talk and have romantic thoughts about eachother. Louis, meanwhile is trying to escape his wife, wo has been giving him death threats. Jessica is his only pride and joy. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Wakfield is sad that Tom Watts, her boyfriend, is leaving for a few eeks in L.A. Suddenly, whenever she mentions Todd WIlkins, her ex-boyfriend and Tom's worst enemy, he begins to grow cold toward her. He gives ehr a supposedly boring assignment. She is furious that Tom won't let her work on helping Todd get back on the team. But she agrees. Little does she know that this boring assignment is the most exciting story ever! Slowly she finds out more and more. SHe works on it with Todd, which infuriates Tom. Tom tells her to stop, but Elizabeth doesn't give up. As Elizabeth and Todd come closer and closer to exposing the story, it keeps on getting more and more dangerous. It's really interesting. Meanwhile, Lila Fowler and Bruce Patman are moving in together. Also, Winston Egbert is working hard on a test, but he's worried that if he doesn't pass it, him and Denise Waters will be separated. This book is exciting, engrossing, and a real page turner. This book is great!

I absolutely loved BEHIND CLOSED DOORS...it was such a romantic book! In this one, Jessica is mistakenly signed up to take a course in Medevil History when she asked for Film History. But then she learns that her Medevil History professor, the new, young, hot, sexy, mysterious, and popular, Louis Miles, feels attraction toward her...and she begins to feel attraction AND confusion when she knows he likes her but keeps trying to push her away because of some dark secret from his past.

And all this while, Elizabeth and Todd are trying to track down who attacked Todd. And Winston cheats on his pyhsics exam because he is failing pyhsics and if he does not pass, then his parents will send him to a different school and he won't be able to see Denise, his girlfriend, anymore. Tom goes off to Las Vages for a reporting job.

Great, well-written novel! I congradaulate Laurie John for an excellent novel and a terrific addition to the SWEET VALLEY UNIVERSITY series. If you're an SVU fan, this is definitely for you! The romance and affection between Jessica and Professor Louis Miles will have you engrossed 'til the end and be begging for more! I totally recommend this book.

For once, there is something wrong with rich, popular Lila Fowler. I think that more people should have had more faith in Lila, and not gone against her. It had a lot of suspence, and irony. You don't expect this to happen to Lila, maybe one of the other characters, but not Lila. This book is a little different than the othes, and its a nice change.

I thought that everyone's reaction to Lila's story wasparticularly truthful. Especially since some of her closest friendsrefused to believe that it really happened. It seems such a shame that Lila had to get another girl as evidence. I mean, if these so-called friends of hers had believed her in the first place, then she wouldn't have had to suffer. I definitely recommend this book to others. It also questions the notion of friendship as well as date rape.

One of a rush of SVH books dealing with adolescent issues. Snobbish flirt Lila's romance with wholesome John turns nasty when he tries to force himself on her. Shattered, Lila falls into deep depression, made far worse when she finds the courage to speak up about the attack, only to find her peers turn against her. The lightweight series deals surprisingly well with the difficult issue of date rape, depicting it in ways that should move and affect its audience of young girls without distressing them too much. The surprising choice of having manipulative bad-girl Lila attacked by long-time "good guy" John, hero of a volume or two of SVH himself, works very well.

If Michael Stackpole has written the storyline, you are virtually guaranteed a great Star Wars Tale. He, like Timothy Zahn, and maybe one or two other writers always deliver material that is faithful to the saga, and well written as well. These collections of illustrated stories bound between a single cover are not as widely visible as the more traditional books. However they can be fun, and when they are good, they are extremely good. And just as the other forms of written material that bring the Star Wars Saga to fans, bits and pieces of information are here for the learning as well.

Another fan, Mastage, has already written a good summary of the contents, however there was one other aspect that I enjoyed. At the end of these books the cover art from the installments are generally included. This time they took several pages to document the creation of the cover art for this final volume from start to finish. Not unlike the movies these books that are a branch of the movies and other books, traditional attention and praise is rarely given, as it is deserved. The movies consistently are the biggest box office events of the year when they are introduced, yet other than technical achievement they are ignored.

Ysanne Isard is one of the better female villains that have been created, and if the Emperor even becomes an Empress, she will head the list of candidates. This is not the best of these I have read, as I continue to feel earlier books were more complete. The storylines were more developed, and many of the books were a full 50% longer than the more recent releases.

For fans of Star Wars all the written material are fun, so if you have yet to try one of these, do so, you will enjoy the experience.

Mandatory Retirement concludes the Rogue Squadron comic series, and does so with slick action, camaraderie and polish. For those who have the X-wing: Isard's Revenge book, you'll find the backstories of Admiral Krennel and Ms Isard here.

The art is worthy of The Phantom Affair in quality, and just as fantastic, certainly above other issues of this series. The background detail in frames are not fuzzy or lacking, and some scenes are actually rendered from creative camera-points.

Plenty of characters here, and their interaction is fun and not left to idle. Though the Imperial scenes are short they are adequate. The dialogue is vintage Stackpole; readers of his X-wing books will recognise his style of speech sentence structure. Wedge's face has changed so often per issue you wonder what his cosmetic secret is. It was nice to see all the Rogues having R&R in the beginning, though beware---Wedge and Tycho have bulging muscles without their shirts!

The plot is great and never a dull moment. Baron Fel's lines stand out, but it is Pestage that stands out here. He goes from being a pest to a pestilence on everyone's nerves, particularly when you have to protect someone who's your enemy. There are many links to the X-wing books; Krennel's cryptic comment scoffing at studying an enemy's art when a tactical hologram will tell all you need to know is better explained in Isard's Revenge, where Thrawn booted him out of his forces, is one.

Other nice touches was Wedge's long eulogy, some sharp lines from General Carvin, and more Dendo scenes; the man likes his cape, doesn't he? Though Salm and Dendo have similar faces, apart from the latter's head horns.

Overall, Mandatory Retirement is a great issue and a fitting finale to this series. If you're looking for a comic with good action, dialogue and an actual story, not just a tale, this is the one for you.

Stackpole ends his series with a bang. 'Mandatory Retirement' is indeed second only to 'In the Empire's Service' in the series in my opinion (as I prefer the larger-scale arcs) and is indeed uniquely Star Wars.
The story begin with light scenes of the various Rogues intermixing, socializing, and so forth, building the characters enhanced over the course of the series. Intermixed with these, however, are grim scenes of the events on Coruscant and Cituric. Pestage, intermin Emperor, goes into hiding, and the hunt for him begins. Dinner, dancing, and enjoyment ends for the Rogues and they are suddenly thrown into the mix of things.
One of the high points in this story are the many philosophical conversations about the Empire and the Repulbic and the differences between them. The conversations between Fel and Pestage and the clash between Nrin, Fel, Pestage, and Wedge after one of the Rogues is lost are both some of the best SW I've ever read. One must also take note of the dire contrast between the first and second halves. The Rogues begin by relaxing and enjoying themselves (except for to lonely, rejected Fel) and events transpire that put these same people in a dire, morbid situation where their hope for survival looks bleak. superb writing by Stackpole.
Onto the art. The Nadeau-Crespo team is a success, with and very good mix of people and technology. X-wings, Y-wing, Bantha-class shuttles, and Star Destroyers all look superb, in particular a jaw-dropping two-page battle shot towards the end. Crespo does very good faces and their expressions. One of my favorite parts of the whole arc is the full-page shot of the Rogues and Kapp Dendo's commandoes standing over the cloth-covered body of a fallen Rogue. (Who will remain nameless, of course.) The expressions on each and every face is a virtual window into what each one must be thinking. And once again the coloring by Dave Nestelle is superb, perfectly conveying the feelings of bleakness and hopelessness in some scenes while conveying one of tranquility and enjoyment in others.
In a series like Rogue Squadron, when you have dozen of characters, its hard to balance it out. But Stackpole does it just as well as he has throughout the series. Fel once again is a superb character, while others like Nrin show both their good points and their flaws very well. Pestage starts out as an almost sympathetic character, but as time goes on he becomes more and more loatheful.
Not perfect, but still highly reccomended. It's also one of the few examples in Star Wars where an actualy deep, philosphical reason against the Empire is established. Bravo to Stackpole and crew for a great ending to a great series.

John Dennis Fitzgerald intended to chronicle his youth in Utah for adults, not children. His publisher thought otherwise and the result are these gems. I don't even call them children's lit gems because I find them just as enjoyable as an adult. Before I go on, you should know that Fitzgerald wrote one book about his youth that is for adults, called "Papa Married a Mormon". It is one of the most amazing books on the American west that I have ever read. Sadly, it is out of print, and you may, like me, have to pay an exorbitant sum to get a copy. Trust me, save up and do it. Now back to this book. Every single Great Brain book in the series is pure gold, and the entire set can be had cheaply, so I say buy them all at once. I "put my money where my mouth is" as Tom the Great Brain would say, and bought the lot.

Growing up, this series was my absolute favorite. The western themes, the sibling plots and the historical aspect of it kept me interested and kept me reading. The books stood on their own, but the characters developed from novel to novel. I read them in fourth grade, vigorously, and can not recommend them strongly enough.

It was the first real page-turned I ever came across.

This book was an adventurous, and exciting book. It always kept me off my seat, and always kept me wondering.

A great read about family life in the south; mystery,love,adventure,abandonment; a typical southern family. I am a southerner. Altho written for young adults all ages will enjoy Kezi Matthews word pictures that bring Memphis to living color.

John Riley's Daughter is one of those edgy, suspenseful novels that keep you reading once you start. The Southern atmosphere is right on the mark, and the characters get up and walk off the page. I loved it from the beginning, and have already read it again!

Recipient of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association's Best Children's Book by a Northwest author 2001 award. Also named to School Library Journal's Best Books 2000 list.