Monthly Archives: July 2016

Country Bride by Debbie Macomber and RaeAnne Thayne

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countrybride_debbiemacomberThese novels were published together in a single volume by the title Country Bride.

Country Bride by Debbie Macomber:
As summer approaches its midway point, I find myself scouring some previously unvisited nooks of the library for lighthearted and quick, but meaningful reads. Country Bride by Debbie Macomber met all of these expectations and more.

This book begins when Kate Logan decides to attend her ex’s wedding. Struggling to try to get over her heartbreak on the night of the wedding, she welcomes the emotional support of her longtime best friend, Luke Rivers. However, that night, after one too many glasses of champagne, Kate proposes to him; the next day, Luke refuses to revoke his promise to marry her. Guarded and broken-hearted, Kate must decide whether or not love is worth the feeling of vulnerability.

I recommend this books to fans of Nicholas Sparks, Sarah Dessen, and John Green for its lighthearted, truthful, and cleverly written love story.

Woodrose Mountain by RaeAnne Thayne:
As soon as I read Chapter One, I knew I’d absolutely adore this novel. Centered around the life of former rehab physical therapist Evie Blanchard when she is asked by wealthy businessman Brodie Thorne to work with his severely injured daughter, Taryn. Evie is extremely reluctant to return to her practice, but Brodie is persistent. Determined to get Taryn the rehab she requires, he eventually succeeds in convinces Evie to oversee Taryn’s treatment.

With heartfelt and meaningful underlying themes and captivating characters, I highly recommend this story to fans of House Rules by Judi Picoult, It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini, or to anyone looking for a good quick read.

-Danielle K.

This two-book edition of Country Bride by Debbie Macomber and RaeAnne Thayne is available for download from Overdrive. 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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greatgatsby_fscottfitzgeraldPublished in 1925, Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is one of the staples of American literature, and a favorite for high school English teachers. The novel takes place during the  early 1920s, called The Jazz Age by Fitzgerald. The narrator, Nick Carraway, just moved into the area, and is invited to his cousin Daisy’s home, who is married to Tom Buchanan. What follows is a drama-filled narrative revolving around a peculiar, mysterious man named Jay Gatsby.

I’ll admit at first I wasn’t the biggest fan of this book, especially due to, in my opinion, a slow first act that doesn’t engage me till a few chapters in. Despite the poor pacing of the opening chapters, I find the rest of the events of the book to be spread out well. The first person perspective of Nick is also used well, as it upholds the mysterious tone and uncertainty surrounding many of the characters. The characters themselves are also all well developed throughout the book and fairly different from each other, providing a unique story that blended many themes together.

Fitzgerald is known for his excellent symbolism and imagery, as many seemingly small events contain messages that foreshadow future events or provide commentary on society. I appreciated these as I went back and noticed them, or as my teacher explained them to me. Another element I enjoyed was the humor, as Fitzgerald poked fun at society and at the ignorance of characters, parodying the Roaring 20s’ American lifestyle.

Overall, I was very impressed with The Great Gatsby’s storytelling, characterization, symbolism, and social commentary, while somewhat disappointed by its less than thrilling first act. I would recommend The Great Gatsby to readers who like grounded dramas.

-Ahmed H., grade 12

The Great Gatsby is available, in all its versions and adaptations, for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available for download from Overdrive.

The Conjuring

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the_conjuringThe Conjuring, supposedly a true story, is about a family in the 1960’s that move into a new house and start to experience supernatural occurrences. The plot of the movie focuses on the strange and frightening things happening to the family and the couple who tries to help them because they “hunt” ghosts and demons. The movie starts off with a peek into another horror film, Annabelle, which led me to believe I was watching the wrong movie at first. After the clip ends, the scene shifts to a classroom where the couple teach people about the beings they hunt to stop them from haunting and killing people. Here, they meet the mother of the family and learn about the things living in her house. It’s interesting because there isn’t just one ghost but many spirits haunting the land. After the team of hunters settle into the house, more supernatural action happens which is scary to see at first just because this movie isn’t very predictable, which is one of the things I like about it.

An interesting addition to the characters is that the wife in the couple has a sort of sixth sense which allows her to sense the entities around her, only making her more fun to watch. With most scary movies, you can tell when the scary thing will pop out and what it’s going to be, but this story made it more exciting and thrilling for me. I liked the element of surprise, especially because only certain members of the family seemed able to see the entities at first so you never knew when they would show a scary ghost or not. Lastly, with the ending of the movie, I thought it wrapped up well and left me, not only satisfied with the story, but able to go to bed and not worry about what could be hiding in my closet. I would recommend this movie to anyone who can handle scary scenes in the dark. It’s one of the best horror movies I have seen so far, not too scary but good enough so you’re not bored or expecting what’s to come.

-Sabrina C., 10th Grade

Paper Towns by John Green

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papertowns_johngreenWhen I first saw this book, I thought it was kind of weird. I didn’t suspect that the title actually meant something. But after reading other well-known John Green books, I decided to read it. I had heard a lot about the novel—it’s one of my friend’s all-time favorite books—but it was only recently that I gave it a chance.

To be technical, paper towns are “created to protect against copyright infringement” (307). Essentially, they are just made-up towns put on a map by cartographers who wanted to make sure no one plagiarized their design. An interesting idea, but it sounded fake to me. How wrong I was. In “Fun With Copyright Traps: 10 Hoax Definitions, Paper Towns, and Other Things that Don’t Exist,” Crezo pointed out that on the border between Ohio and Michigan, two cities were inserted: Beatosu (Beat OSU) and Goblu (Go Blue), both of which were made up to support the University of Michigan teams and later found out and forcibly removed!

Margo, and in turn Quentin and his friends, develop a fascination with these towns which leads them to leave their high school graduation for a wild adventure in search of Margo. Through all this, the reader learns subtle lessons about life–even if that sounds cliché, that is exactly what someone is left with after reading the book.

This book was fantastic. It’s one of those books that requires your attention. You can’t just read it and forget about it after. Compared to John Green’s other novels, this book certainly dealt with larger issues, but it was still touching in the way all good novels should be. This is the type of book I would love to read again in 10 years, just to see how I have changed and if I can find new meaning in the book. Overall, though, this is a 9 out of 10!

-Leila S., 10th grade

Paper Towns and its feature film adaptation is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded from Overdrive. 

Death Of A Salesman

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deathsalesman_arthurmillerDeath of a Salesman is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1949. This play is about a man named Willy and his sons Biff and Happy struggling to find work. Willy recently was fired from his traveling salesman job and tried many ways to kill himself, such as crashing his car multiple times and clogging the tailpipe.

Biff is trapped in his father’s work. Ever since he failed math in school, he couldn’t play football and receive a scholarship. He was the quarterback of the football team, but his grades in school messed him up, and now he lives like a slump. While trying to figure out a way to make money in his current state, his brother Happy wants Biff to join him on an adventure and become successful, but that takes huge risks. They want to travel the world and become successful businessmen. Will this happen? If you like this so far, I would advise you to pick up this play and read it, because it will entertain you.

I would rate this play a 10/10 because it never ceases to amaze me how well it was written. It leaves you speechless and so much to think about. I would recommend everyone to read this play. It’s one of a kind!

-Kayla H. 11th Grader

Death of a Salesman, and critical analysis of the play, care available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

Gone by Michael Grant

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gone_michaelgrantThe book Gone, by Michael Grant incorporates drama, suspense and overall excitement. I recommend Gone to younger teens of both genders.

In an instant, all people age fifteen and above disappear from Perdido Beach. This leaves infants, toddlers, tweens and teens to fend for themselves. At first the kids are excited. No adults means no school, no bedtimes and anything they want to eat and drink. That excitement ends after a few hours when they realize that there are no authority figures around and begin to miss their parents. Then, when things seem unable to get worse, the kids discover that all electronic devices including television and phones do not work anymore. Certain kids also start to develop unthinkable powers that put others in danger if used for evil intent.

It is up to fourteen year olds Sam, Quinn, Astrid and Edilio to figure out what caused this strange “poof” that erased everyone over fifteen years old from existence. They must hurry, however, because Sam’s fifteenth birthday is approaching and if they do not figure out how to stop him from poofing away, they may never see him again.

However, complications arise when students from Coates Academy, the school where Sam’s mom was a nurse, come to Perdido Beach and demand to be leaders. These kids include Caine and Diane, both of whom have powers. They appear to be nice, but as the book progresses, their evilness begins to show as they try to kill Sam, Astrid, and all the other kids who have powers and they are threatened by.

Overall, this book was well written but it was not what I would call a page turner. However, I would still recommend this book to anyone looking for an interesting read because it has a unique plot.

-Matthew R.

Gone by Michael Grant is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download from Overdrive.

The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan

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apollo1_riordanApollo Haikus
Uncle Rick can do no wrong
Camp Half-Blood Part 3

After the battle with Gaea, Zeus put all the blame on Apollo. Why, you might ask? Because Gaea duped Octavian, a half-blood son of Apollo, and Zeus’ logic dictates Apollo should be punished by casting him out of Olympus and turning him into a teenage boy with acne. For the sun god, there is no worse punishment.

One of the primary characteristics of Apollo is his constant need to complain. Which, in the first few chapters in understandable. He has lost everything that defined him. His godly powers are pretty nonexistent. He is entirely mortal, even weaker than his demigod descendants. Eating ambrosia or drinking nectar won’t help him ease his pain. It’s rough for the sun god to no longer be the center of attention. It does get annoying at times, but I think it will work in showcasing Apollo’s growth over the series.

Just like Magnus Chase had cameos from his cousin Annabeth Chase, the Apollo Trials has cameos from Percy Jackson. Plus, learn about what all the rest of the half-blood gang through dialogue! Most of them are in college or preparing to do so. Even the storyline with a certain boy-who-lights-himself-on-fire’s storyline gets continued. It lets other characters like Will and Nico and other new friends get a chance to shine.

The best new face brought to this story is Meg. Don’t even think about calling her Margaret. She lives off the streets of New York and is one of the first demigods Apollo encounters. She’s a tough twelve-year-old but still is pretty naive. She’s unaware of what happened in the previous books, as would readers who haven’t finished The Blood of Olympus. There are some pretty major spoilers in this book about that one. As for her godly parent … I always find it fun to try to figure that part. But as a hint, it’s a god or goddess we haven’t heard much about. Meg has claimed Apollo to her service, the person he has to serve to prove to Zeus he’s learned his lesson. But Zeus has turned Apollo mortal twice before. Hopefully, his third strike doesn’t mean Apollo has struck out.

Filled with the great humor we have come to expect from Rick Riordan as well as hilarious haikus to open each chapter. Back at camp, everything isn’t going great. The oracle isn’t giving prophecies which makes it impossible to go on a quest to figure out why the oracle isn’t giving out prophecies. Communication isn’t working, campers are going missing, and no one knows what to do. It’s up to Apollo, Meg, and their friends to uncover and stop a conspiracy to rid the world of Olympians once and for all.

-Nicole G., 12th Grade

The Hidden Oracle, the first book in the new Trials of Apollo series, is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Library.