Category Archives: Book Reviews

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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This month, I read To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee. The story follows Jean Louise (Scout), a young girl who loves to explore the world and her town, Maycomb. She also has an older brother named Jem Finch and a father, Atticus Finch, who is an attorney. The story follows Jean Louise’s daily life, leading up to a big case her father is working on defending Tom Robinson, who was accused of a crime he did not do.

This story takes place in the 1930 during the Great Depression. Racial tensions also ran high in the South during this time, which added to the story. During Atticus’ closing statement to the courtroom, the story becomes very intense. Atticus is by far the most convincing lawyer in Maycomb but he is defending an African American against a white person. Back then, colored people were thought of as property, not people, and they did not command any respect. Atticus’ client loses the battle, and the reader really feels how biased the court, and the South, was during that time

This part of the book was my favorite, because even though Atticus knew his chances of winning were slim, he still gave it his best effort. I also liked the segment just before the defense was presented, when a group of men were about to kill Tom. Before they have a chance to do it, Scout stops them. As the fight is about to start, Scout recognizes one of the men. She introduces herself and tells the man to say “Hi” to his son, Scout’s friend. After that, the man calls off his friends and they leave. This scene really moved me. It represents how everyone is human and shares common ground. When Scout asks the man to say “Hi” to his son, the man realizes that he has a family, just like Atticus or Tom. If he killed Tom, he would never be the same, and his family would always look at him differently.

Overall, I thought this book was very moving. It had a great mix of comedy, suspense, and dramatic impact. I would definitely recommend this to eighth graders and up.

-Daniel C.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

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The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is a very great first book to a very interesting book series. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is about a bunch of 6th grade middle school kids who make case file trying to decode the mysterious origami Yoda and the kids who makes Yoda, Dwight. Tom Angleberger’s book is a masterpiece of humor, storytelling, and funny drawings. The book even contains a little middle school romance.

Two things that make this book unique is the way it tells the story and drawings. The way this book story is told is through many different peoples perspective. This book is case file, so a lot of different people tell different funny stories in the book. The drawings all over the book really makes the book stand out. You got give Tom Angleberger and Jason Rosenstock, the two people who drew all over the books. The drawings inside the book make the book more teen-friendly. And, an added bonus to this epic case file, there are instructions on the last page on how to fold a legit origami Yoda! This book is a book I would recommend to all ages. Make sure to get it!

-Brandon D.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

Favorite Fictional Parents

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I thought it would be fun to compile a list of some of my favorite fictional parents, as some of them play such a big role in raising their children to be the heroes we love to read about.

Martin Penderwick (The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall): One thing I love about Mr. Penderwick, who is a botanist, is that he always seems to have a phrase of Latin to toss to his daughters, most of the time leaving them to puzzle it out. It is not easy to raise four daughters on your own, and by looking at his daughters, you can see he did quite a nice job.

Arthur Weasley (Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling): Always intrigued by the various creations of Muggles, Arthur Weasley is not your typical wizard. He seems a supportive dad, with his son Ron looking to him for answers to questions, and though he can get a bit carried away with tinkering with Muggle objects and his fascination with “escapators”, his wife Molly tends to keep him in check.

Molly Weasley (Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling): Loving and warm–though sharp at times– Mrs. Weasley treats Harry as one of her own children despite her already large family of seven kids. The wondrous food produced in her kitchen is one of Harry’s most favorite parts of staying at the Burrow. Though she is motherly and kind, it’s also best not to get on the wrong side of her wand; even her sons shrink from her anger although they are taller than she.

Sally Jackson (Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan): Sally Jackson shows true strength by raising a child on her own (a demigod, at that). Her love for her son, Percy, is evident in her willingness to live with a putrid-smelling man in order for the stench to cover up Percy’s demigod smell from creatures of Greek myths. Sally’s affection for her son is amazing, just like her seven-layer dip.

– Mia T.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

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If you wish to read The Maze Runner, you’re in for a long adventure, totaling in four books and two behind the scenes books. Once you start, you cannot stop. Prepare to be thrown headfirst into a whirlwind of life, death, happiness, sadness, love, and hatred.

We begin in the Box. We watch as Thomas, the main character, is thrown into a community of 40-50 boys, who live in a place they’ve come to call ‘the Glade’. We learn that the place these boys live I see actually a maze, surrounding the Glade on all sides. The boys have been trying to figure out the maze for two years, and a new boy, or Glader, is sent up in the Box every month. Just like clockwork, one boy every month, none of which have any memories, except their names.

The boys in the Glade have developed a system, to keep them from going crazy. A boy named Alby is the leader, with a boy named Newt as his second in command. There are 9 jobs in the Glade: Builer, Slicer, Cooks, Track-Hoes, Med-Jacks, Baggers, Sloppers’ Brick-Nicks, and Runners. Being a Runner is the most dangerous job, because it is your job to run through the Maze and memorize the corridors. Then, you must return to the Glade, and write down what you’ve memorized.

You may ask, ‘well, why is this job so dangerous?’ This is because in the Maze, monsters come out at night. They are called ‘Grievers’ by the Gladers, and are disgusting, fleshy creatures that roam the Maze at night. If you are stung by one of these creatures, you go through something called the Changing, which gives you back your memories in a painful process.

Thomas, of course, wishes to become a Runner. We all assume that he will lead a happy life in the Glade, and that perhaps he and the boys will be able to escape. But, as usual in adventure books, something happens.

A girl comes up in the Box, only a day afterward Thomas. She is delivered with a note explaining that she is the last one. She is in a coma, only speaking a few words, such as ‘I’ve triggered the Ending.’

The Maze Runner is a fast paced, exciting book. Many will enjoy to twists and turns of the thrilling adventure novel created by James Dashner. I highly suggest this book!

-Sophia D.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library

Keeper of the Lost Cities: Nightfall by Shannon Messenger

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Sophie Foster is an elf, a powerful girl who lives in a glittering world full mythical creatures, fantastical places, and elves with every superpower-like ability under the sun.  

But with so much going on, Sophie can never seem to figure out what the Neverseen, the evil group of rebels, will hit them with next.  After Sophie’s human parents are kidnapped by the Neverseen, Sophie finds her sister Amy in her human home and takes her to the Lost Cities to keep her safe.  Keefe and Sophie travel to Ravagog, the home of the ogres, to try to form an alliance with the ruler of the ogres, King Dimitar. Through it all, Sophie and her friends are trying to figure out what Keefe’s mom means when she talks about his legacy and how it is connected to Nightfall, a mysterious place where they must go to discover the elves’ true past with humans.

I love this book and this series so much. Next to Harry Potter it’s definitely one of my favorite series of books. I recommend reading this book and the rest in this awesome series!

-Kaitlyn S.

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

Siren Song by Anne Ursu

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The “Siren Song” in the Cronus Chronicles Series is a very enticing book. It does have an unusual main character that still worries about things like popularity and looks and friends still has a legal of uniqueness to herself. The supporting character has a bit of a smaller part in this book than in the first book. The difference in the “development” of the main character is that she has a crush in this new book.

The book is mostly based on the Greek mythology but puts the gods in a negative light of being indifferent to the human race, and are the main obstacle standing in the way of the main character. In relation to the book before it I would say they hold the same weight in being entertaining but perhaps the first one has a stronger plot. Some books might want if you enjoy this book is Percy Jackson, The Oracles Of The Delphi Keep and Keeper of the Lost Cities. The book also had some very funny instances or scenes, so this made the book funny and gave it a comical ring to it all. Through every page that you turn this book becomes more enjoyable and excited, I for sure recommend the Sirens Song.

-Tonantzin L.

Serafina and the Splintered Heart by Robert Beatty

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Serafina and the Splintered Heart is the exciting third installment of the Serafina series, with Serafina and the Black Cloak and Serafina and the Twisted Staff being the first two. 

Serafina wakes up to a drastically different world from the one she remembers. An old enemy becomes a new ally, while other foes become more deadly.   If Serafina doesn’t expel the evil force that is seething with rage from past battles, all of Biltmore, (the enormous estate within the Blue Ridge Mountains) and its inhabitants, will be destroyed.  Serafina must band together with her friends, old and new, to put an end to the enemy who cannot be killed before he puts an end to everything they love.

I loved this book and I wish it wasn’t the last in this series. All the books are so unique compared to the typical books you see today. The way the author describes the setting of majestic Asheville, North Carolina, makes you feel like you’re really there. This is an amazing book topping off a great trilogy and I definitely recommend it!

-Kaitlyn S.

Serafina and the Splintered Heart by Robert Beatty is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

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The Glass Castle is a memoir by Jeanette Walls describing her turbulent childhood years, and how she and her siblings survived poverty and neglect against all odds. Her father was an alcoholic who she longed to trust, but who let her down time and time again. Her mother was an artist with her head in the clouds, with little grip on the realities of hunger and child safety. The Walls family lived a “nomadic” lifestyle, often voluntarily living without a roof over their heads. Despite the many struggles of their childhood, the Walls children became successful in life. They succeed in spite of their parents.

The tone of the novel is set when within the first chapter, Jeannette burns herself cooking food over an open flame (at age three) and her father subsequently breaks her out of a hospital. What follows are the many, some humorous, several depressing, exploits of Jeanette’s father Rex Walls. One of the main focuses of the memoir is Jeannette’s relationship with Rex, who cares for her deeply, but who can’t give up alcohol for his children. An ongoing question that the reader must ask is whether this love is genuine, and whether his stated care for Jeanette justifies his many flaws. Rex always promised his children that he would build them a house made entirely of glass- a glass castle. It is up to the reader to interpret whether this castle was ever intended to be built.

This book truly is a must-read. It is not simply a novel; it is a recording of real life. It is full of danger and emotion, and brimming with moments that will make you laugh, and (quite often) cry. If you are looking for a page turner of a success story, look no further.

-Mirabella S.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Wells is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive. 

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

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Image result for the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxyThe Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy starts off on a normal Thursday – until, of course, a repulsive alien race arrives with the intention of destroying the entire Earth in order to construct a new galactic bypass.

Seconds before Arthur Dent is vaporized along with the entirety of his planet, he is lucky (or unlucky) enough to be saved by his friend Ford Prefect, who is actually a researcher for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (which is exactly what it sounds like), and who has been stranded on Earth for the past fifteen years.

As Arthur and Ford travel throughout the galaxy, they team up with Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed, slightly insane president of the galaxy; Trillian (Zaphod’s girlfriend), the only other human being left in the galaxy; and Marvin the Paranoid Android, an extremely intelligent but extremely depressed robot.

Together, this unorthodox crew will travel across the galaxy in search of the universal question of life as well as the answer to the question no one cares about. They will face indescribable horrors in the form of Vogon poetry and two white mice; they will almost die, then improbably survive, then almost die again; but above all, they will remember the mantra of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: DON’T PANIC!

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is an extremely entertaining novel that truly combines humor and science-fiction into one unforgettable book. Adams makes up for a lack of plot with an overabundance of satire and hilarity that will leave the reader racing from cover to cover faster than they can say ‘Magrathea.’ Fans of science fiction, humor, or reading in general will immediately fall in love with this prime example of imaginative fiction.  

-Mahak M.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is available for checkout at the Mission Viejo Library. It is also free to download from Overdrive. 

Generation One by Patticus Lore

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Generation One by Pittacus Lore is the first thrilling book of a new series that takes place in the same world as the best-selling Lorien Legacies series. It can be read without reading the previous series, and it starts a year after the end of it. To win the war that occurred in the Lorien Legacies series, humans allied with the alien called Garde, who used a special energy called the Loric energy in order to defeat the occupation of earth. Now, this energy has caused human teenagers across the globe to develop special powers called Legacies.

In order to control and develop these powers, and to protect ordinary people, the United Nations has set up a special academy to train them in the hopes that they can help all the people of the Earth. The book follows six teenagers from all corners of the globe and their journey to the Academy. Some of them had been there for a good amount of time, but some were late bloomers when it came to developing their powers, so they arrived later.

Taylor Cook is peacefully living her life in South Dakota on her farm with her Father, only hearing about rumors of teenagers suddenly developing powers. She does not think it could ever happen to her, but that all changes when she is able to heal her Father in a tractor accident. Sent to the academy, she meets others like her who are being trained to save the world one day. Her Legacy of healing is very rare, and it is something that makes her a target to other groups.

I have read a wide variety of science-fiction novels, and this one is definitely one of the best ones. It was a non-stop, thriller ride with the right mix of teenage lightheartedness. Generation One was able to develop and trace each character throughout the story. By doing this, the reader can see the significance of each character and how they contributed to the storyline. The end is satisfying in relation to what occurred in the book, but there is definitely room for more with the sequel, Fugitive Six.

-Anmol K.

Generation One by Patticus Lore is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.