|
Teen Book ReviewsClick on title for availability
|
|
|
|
|
Between shades of gray by Ruta SepetysThe year is 1941. The Soviet Union has annexed Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In their hometown of Kaunas, Lithuania, Lina, who is the main character, Jonas, her younger brother, and Elena, their mother. One night, they are forced by the soviets onto a cattle train headed directly to Siberia. After six weeks, they are loaded into a valley, where hundreds of other deportees are also being loaded. They are sold in groups. Lina's group is the only one that remains. They are than brought to a beet farm, where they are forced to do hard labor 12 hours a day, and are living in a small hut. After a few weeks working in the camp, Lina and her family are put onto a list with a few of their friends who they traveled with from Lithuania. I would recommend this book because it tells of a historical event not known to many. It is also very well written.
|
|
|
The book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert MurdockThe Book of Boy takes place in 1300s Europe and follows the unnamed hunchback servant, “Boy,” with an unnatural connection to animals, working on the land of “Sir Jacquez.” During this time, Secundus, a stranger going on a pilgrimage, meets Boy in the fields and leads him to the manor. Secundus convinces the manor’s cook to let Boy accompany him during his voyage to the nearest large town. During the first night after they leave for the journey, Secundus tells Boy what exactly his mission is. In the end, Boy returns to the manor; nothing has changed on the outside. Inside, he has become different. As simple as it gets, “The Book of Boy” is an emotional rollercoaster fitted with a more than interesting story and world-building. The book is heavily descriptive, and Boy’s interaction with animals and how it’s mixed into the book doesn’t seem out of place. Instead, Boy’s animal interactions add more flavor and zest to the story. How Secundus interacts with Boy is well done as it adds a layer to his mysteriousness and how he knows something that we don’t know. So, why should you or practically anyone at all, the reader, buy this book? The book isn’t precisely the bible of all books like other stories. However, the book has an extremely interesting plot and memorable ending, and there are subtle details in the book that if you catch them, will complement the scenario happening. Overall, the book is an amazing story.
|
|
|
The eye of minds by James DashnerThis book is a Sci-Fi book with a bit of horror involved in my opinion. In the world of this book, there is a virtual reality where you can feel and experience everything, so it seems like you are experiencing it for real. This is called the VirtNet. The people who spend more time in this world rather than in the real world are called the gamers. Michael is a gamer with really good hacking skills which can get him places in the VirtNet that almost nobody else can. Then, there appears a gamer by the name of Kaine who turns out to be trapping people in this realm, and kidnappping them. He experiences this first hand when an experienced hacker he knows commits suicide in the VirtNet by removing the Core, which is what let's you get in and out of this realm. The VirtNet security team threatens him into joining the investigation where he and his best friends, Bryson and Sarah, try to find out how to stop Kaine, who seems to have unworldly powers in the VIrtNet. I would recommend this book to people who like Sci-Fi that is a bit scary, and also people who enjoyed the series, "The Maze Runner" since it is written by the same author. This book is also a series so you can read the second and third book if you like this book. You should read this book if you either like scary-ish books, or Sci-Fi adventure novels.
|
|
|
The grapes of wrath by John Steinbeck“The Grapes of Wrath” takes place in the 1930s during the Dust Bowl Migration. It follows the family of an Oklahoma farm family, the Joads. They’re booted from home and need to travel west to the promises of California and the many jobs offered there. The story is immaculate, and although the book is old, it doesn’t degrade the story. The characters are also memorable, whether they’re naturally good characters or bad ones. The book also uses an older style of speech, or at least the characters do. The characters have a lot of personalities, and they slowly change as they go through the rough experiences of moving across a country. The author often paints the characters as in a desperate situation, and their personalities change for the better, eventually becoming victorious even in their troubling situation. The book is heavily detailed and descriptive, often not taking much or any liberties in leaving out minor details. Even though the characters use a less intuitive way of speaking, they are expressive. It helps to illustrate most common farming-based families during this period, as they wouldn’t be as educated as more affluent families who could support themselves. So, why should anybody read this novel? The novel is much more immersive for its time period than other novels. With the incorporation of its different way of speech than our current time period, it prints a well-made image into your mind of the period and is nicely completed by its story.
|
|
|
I survived the battle of D-Day, 1944 by Lauren TarshisI Survived The Battle of D-Day, 1944, is a book about the Normandy landings, or D-Day. And even though this book is a historical fiction novel, I believe that this book shows the perspective of the people really well. I believe this because most war stories are focused on the perspectives of the soldiers in D-Day, and most people recounting are focusing on the soldiers. The book focuses on eleven-year-old Paul, whos village was under Nazi occupation during this time period. His Jewish friend had gone missing and food is very scarce for everybody. Everything was trending downhill for them until, one day they met an American Paratrooper. This paratrooper introduces himself as Victor, and enlists the help of Paul to help drive back the Nazis. Paul throughout this story matures a lot, and in the end he is the one leading others, instead of the one being led. I believe that this story is worth reading because of the wonderful characters and great for anybody who likes a war book.
|
|
|
I'm glad my mom died by Jennette McCurdyThe book I'm Glad My Mom Died is a novel summarizing the author, Jennette McCurdy's life. Jennette was a child actor, most known for her role as Sam in iCarly and Sam and Cat. The book is in chronological order, beginning in her early years of childhood from her point of view. We get to learn how she began her career in acting, which we notice how toxic it was. Between the abusive behavior from her mother, pressure from the media, and serious self image issues, readers are brought with her on a roller coaster of emotions, and a journey to acceptance. I feel like making the book completely from her point of view at the time of what she was describing was an extremely smart choice. We can fully understand how she was manipulated by the people around her, and why her journey of healing was so difficult. Jennette was part of most of our childhoods, but after reading this book, you start to view her as a sort of role model. What she went through is unimaginable, and I think we could all learn determination and strength from her. I strongly believe that you should read this book. It is motivational, intriguing, and the plot twists of her life are so unexpected and interesting to follow along. -this book is an adult book for mature older teen readers-
|
|
|
The Infinity courts by Akemi Dawn BowmanAfter reading the Infinity Courts, it did not leave much of an impression on me. Although the idea of the fantasy world in which the setting takes place is very well done and very creative (definitely one of the coolest ideas I have ever read about), I think the plot of the book wasn’t as well done. It felt kind of rushed throughout the book, and wasn’t very well done. Overall, I would rate this book a 6.5/10. I liked everything about the book, except for the underdeveloped plot. Would I suggest this book to other people? Well, this book leans heavily on the sci-fi/fantasy genre. Even then, I can name some better books in those genres. I would recommend this book mostly for its plot twist, and the creative settings it takes place in.
|
|
|
Project Hail Mary : a novel by Andy WeirProject Hail Mary is definitely one of the best sci-fi books I’ve read. It is about a person going on a space mission to try and save earth from some amoebas that are slowly covering the sun, which eventually will lead to huge temperature drops and crop failure and extreme cold. On the mission, he meets an alien spaceship. He decides to make contact and the alien and him figure out through the language barrier that they both have the same issue with the amoebas. Thus, both him and the alien decide to team up to find a cure. This story one with suspense, danger, peril, excitement, and teamwork. I loved how the author portrayed the alien. Smart and crafty, but not super smart. The alien race didn’t know about radiation, which is why the whole alien crew died, leaving the sole alien. The human did, and a habitat was created on the human ship to protect the alien from radiation. This leads to some very comical moments in the story, like two brothers arguing about who gets more room in the bedroom. Overall, I would rate this book a 8/10, and I would recommend it to people who enjoy reading sci-fi or fantasy books. -this book is an adult book for mature older teen readers-
|
|
|
The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo : a novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" shares the story of the world-renowned movie star Evelyn Hugo as she tells her life to Monique Grant. Monique, a magazine reporter in New York City, is called to write her biography without reason by Evelyn directly, presenting Monique with a life-changing opportunity to launch her career as a writer. As Evelyn reveals her complicated yet calculative life story, Monique draws parallels to the troubles in her life- the past death of her father and her unfolding divorce, both in need of clarity. The story of Evelyn's life is purely captivating. Divided by each of her seven husbands, the novel grows with Evelyn's rise to stardom, romantic endeavors, and advantageous connections in Hollywood. The author, Taylor Jenkins Reid, has an art for creating characters with depth and soul. Evelyn's ambition, greed, passion, and trauma seem so real, especially in relation to fame today. But as the narrative progresses and chapters with present-day Evelyn appear, I love how Reid was able to subtly age Evelyn and develop her with a greater sense of reality and purpose. Evelyn always keeps you on your toes, her puzzling character drawing you to continue reading. "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" is raw and presents many of the conflicts of today through an entertaining narrative of what it is like to live in stardom and a remarking character development that highlights human nature. -this book is an adult book for mature older teen readers-
|
|
|
Walk two moons by Sharon CreechThis story follows a 13 year-old girl named Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle. She goes on a trip with her grandparents from Ohio to Idaho, to visit her mother who had left her and her father about a year before to heal with trauma that had happened. While they are on the trip, Sal tells her grandparents a story about her adventures in the new town in which Sal and her father had moved to after her mother left. This includes her friend, Phoebe Winterbottom and her own mother’s disappearance, the “lunatic”, and her creepy neighbor. Over the course of the story, Sal gets to know Phoebe and her family better by retelling the story, and even her grandparents and her own parents. This kind of ties into the theme, “Never judge a man until you walk two moons in his moccasins.” As you read this story, you will see what I mean by this, because Sal and Phoebe were very quick to jump to conclusions without knowing all the answers first. Finally, I think readers should try this book because it is was very eye-opening about many different topics, and some readers may be able to relate to some of the things that have happened.
|
|
|
|
|
|