Category Archives: Book Reviews

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

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daybefore_lisaschroederToday is different
For Amber,
Running away
To be alone.

She needs a day
For herself
That isn’t filled
With tears.
This is her last day

Of her before.

The day before it all changes.

Amber expected
To be alone
With her drumsticks,
Just because;
Her camera,
Just for fun;
And a box jelly beans,
Just like always.

She takes a limo
To the beach.
Today is not
About holding back.

She goes to the
Aquarium where
She meets
A boy
By the jellyfish tank.

They connect
Instantly
“Did you see that movie?” he asks,
And Amber knows
What he’s talking about.

They see the sharks
And the sea stars,
Not exchanging many words,
Not at first.

Cade, the boy,
Thought he
Was alone today, too,
But they decide to spend
Today together.

He has a condition for today,
Not to ask
Why the other is
At the beach, by themselves.

The have fun
Building sandcastle,
Climbing lighthouses,
Enjoying the day.

Both Amber and Cade
Are hiding a secret.

Tomorrow will
Never
Be the same again.

Cade.
Loves the ocean so much.
Writes songs everywhere he goes.
Lives today like its his last.

What secret is he hiding?

Cade told her
Not to ask.

Yet she wants
To know.

Written in verse
Amber’s day
Is told.

Th secrets
The style
The story.

It’s beautiful.

-Nicole G., 11th Grade

The Day Before is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Public Library.

Dreamdark: Silksinger by Laini Taylor

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silksinger_lainitaylorWarning: Contains spoilers if you haven’t read the first book.

In this sequel to Dreamdark: Blackbringer, Magpie, Talon, and the crows return. Magpie, now champion of the Magruwen, who is the Djinn King, sets out on a quest to find and wake the remaining five Djinn so that the Tapestry, which weaves the world and keeps it together, will not be lost forever. It also introduces the mysterious Hirik, and Whisper Silksinger, guardian of the Azazel, one of the very Djinn that Magpie is searching for. Together they must bring the Azazel to his temple before the demons catch them and destroy them all.

This sequel is just as good and maybe better than the first. It contains more action and many plot twists as well. To any who have read the first book, I would recommend this one. To those who have not, read the first book before considering this one, as much of the plot and characters contain elements from the first book and would confuse someone who did not have that information. This book contains slight violence, so I would not recommend this to anyone who is under the age of ten. I would rate this book a 10 out of 10, as it is just as good as the first. The only downside is that, for some reason the author left the series to start another and so even though this book leaves off at a point that implies that there will be other books, there aren’t any other books in the series. Dreamdark: Silksinger is a thrilling, enjoyable book that I would recommend to anyone in middle school or who likes fantasy.

Dreamdark: Silkbringer is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Public Library.

-Linna C.

Winterling by Sarah Prineas

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winterling_sarahprineasWinterling was written by the same author of The Magic Thief, and it really lived up to my expectations. Winterling centers around a girl named Jennifer, “Fer” for short. She discovers the Way between her world and another after saving a boy named Rook from a pack of wolves. When she crosses the Way to return Rook to where he belongs, she discovers a strange power corrupting the land. She then sets out to find the cause and heal the land, before the evil Mor, the one corrupting the land, can finally achieve her goal: to rule a land that is hers and hers alone.

Winterling is fantastic. Prineas did just as good of a job on this book as The Magic Thief. It is of the fantasy genre, also similar to The Magic Thief. However, there are no spells in Winterling, only charms and oaths that bind two people by a promise. And, thankfully, Winterling is not the only book in its series. There are two others, Summerkin and Moonkind, each as thrilling as the first. These books are suitable for those in 4th grade and up. It contains slight violence, but laughs and magic as well. I would give this book 10 out of 10 stars, because it is a wonderful book that I really enjoyed.

-Linna C.

Winterling is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library.

Every Last Word, by Tamara Ireland Stone

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everylastword_tamarastoneSamantha has friends that she’s known forever. She’s also one of the popular girls in her junior year of high school. She wears make-up with all the right clothes and pretends that everything is all right inside. It’s not.

Samantha thinks. A lot. She can’t turn off her mind that fills with paranoia and second guesses. It keeps her up at night and distracted during the day. Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD (though she isn’t a neat freak, common misconception). She has a thing for the number three. She always swims in lane three. When she pushes a button, she likes to do it three times. The odometer has to end in three before she can park. And when she listens to music she likes to remember the best three words to describe the song.

Even though Sam has had the same clique of friends since kindergarten, they sometimes seem more of a hassle than they are worth. There is girl drama and the need to conform on how they expect Samantha to act. That’s another thing. They will only call her Samantha. Sam is just a person in the summer who is free to swim. Sam is just temporary. That is until she meets Caroline.

With Caroline as her new friend, Sam’s life is different but better. Sam discovers the Poet’s Corner and finds a place with supportive people who make her feel almost normal. With her newfound love of poetry, it almost seems too good to be true. Maybe it is as Sam makes a discovery that puts her sanity into question on an entirely new level.

I love when a book has plot twists that you don’t see coming, but looking back there were clues that add up to something odd. The poetry in the Poet’s Corner ranges from deep to glorifying fast food. It’s a beautifully written book that deal with the Sam’s disorder, friendship, romance, poetry, and whatever clever saying is on Caroline’s t-shirts (They are pretty awesome). The only annoying parts were with Sam’s friends since childhood. Deal with them a few chapters, just like Sam has been doing her whole life and move on to better friendships and poetry readings.

-Nicole G., 12th Grade

Every Last Word is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library. 

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

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aseparatepeace_johnknowlesHave you ever been jealous of your best friend? Wished you could be better than him/her?

Though I say this with regret, I have experienced such jealousy. And so has Gene Forrester. His best friend, Phineas, had everything. He was the best athlete at school, and he appeared perfect in every way. All Gene seemed to have going for him was his smarts. During the summer school session Phineas started a new club with new activities he became involved with. Phineas’ life seemed carefree while Gene struggled to study and became distracted. He believed that Phineas was intentionally leading him astray to appear better than Gene.

The boys had a fascination with climbing a certain tree and jumping into the river. One day, when climbing the tree, Gene shook the branch, causing Phineas to lose his balance and fall, shattering the bones in his leg, which forced Phineas to give up sports. Gene visited Phineas on one occasion to try to explain and apologize, but he never exactly got to the point.

When Phineas became strong enough to return to school, he decided to be Gene’s trainer. Phineas even came up with an idea that World War II was just made up by the politicians. Gene, though a part of him knew that this philosophy is not true, accepted this. The two of them were able to live together, in a sort of peace separated from the troubles of the world.

But this peace eventually shattered, as the life in front of Gene became more complicated and full of burdens. The carefree days of the summer session disappeared, and Gene was forced to wake up to the life of an adult, fraught with responsibilities and loss.

As a book required for English, I found the storyline lacking. Perhaps because the narrator was reflecting on childhood and presenting the coming-of-age themes through the lens of a much older person, I struggled a bit with connecting to the lessons. This may be a book that offers more meaning once you have more life experiences. However, from a simpler standpoint, I recognized the dangers of being too jealous.

– Leila S., 10th grade

A Separate Peace is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library. 

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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chronicleofdeath_gabrielmarquezChronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a unique novel created with magical realism setting. Magical realism is a literary style that generally describes works that combine fantasy with reality to create a mythical occurrence. Chronicle of a Death Foretold has many symbolic characters; their names have unique meanings that form the novel’s story.

In this novel, instead of there being characters we can relate to personally and in real life, the characters are non-relatable due to their fantasy-like characteristics. In magical realism, things happen without a reason, similar to Santiago Nasar’s murder in this novel. This entire novel revolves around the murder of Santiago Nasar: why, who, what, where, and how it happened. The narrator tells the story from his point of view, talking to other people who were witnesses and are able to feed him extra valuable information about Santiago Nasar’s mysteriousness. Santiago Nasar was a confident man, until his death day arrived. Everyone in the town knew about his murder with an exception of him. A warning was sent too, but it was almost as if his karma did not let him see the signs. Santiago Nasar was oblivious to his own premeditated murder.

I really recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in fantasy and fiction, but not necessarily the princess kind. This novel is not really dystopic, nor is it fantasy-containing princesses. However, it is a type of magical realism that will blow your mind with quizzical and thrilling mystery.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library. 

Animal Farm by George Orwell

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animalfarm_georgeorwellHave you ever hated animals so much that you wanted to eliminate all of them from the face of the earth? I, for sure, haven’t. I can’t imagine what life would be like without any pets or farm animals or zoos. We probably wouldn’t be able to live for long, so it is a ridiculous idea, right?

The animals of Animal Farm don’t seem to agree one bit. They see humans as a threat, who take the fruit of all the animal’s labor and give them hardly anything in return. After being rallied by Old Major, his fellow pigs, Snowball, Squealer and Napoleon run the farmer off the farm. With him gone, they eliminate any human influences, such as the saddles for the horses and the whips the farmers used to show their authority. For a while, the pigs ran the farm peacefully with everyone following the same set of simple rules:

The Seven Commandments (p 24)

  1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
  2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
  3. No animal shall wear clothes.
  4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
  5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
  6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
  7. All animals are equal.

Life seems straightforward, until the pigs, the supposed role models, begin to act more like humans, living in the house, drinking alcohol, learning to walk on their hind legs, and killing other animals, thus breaking five out of the seven rules.

Oddly enough, a story about a group of pigs overthrowing their human farmer and becoming the owners of a farm is captivating. It seems so outrageous that this could even happen, but there was a strong comparison to Stalinist Russia’s own problems. To young readers in this century, the story might have lost some of its meaning, as it was written during the Cold War, where relations between the United States and Russia were strained. Therefore, because  Snowball represents Trotsky, and Napoleon represents Stalin, the younger generation of readers may not fully understand the deeper satirical object of the text. As a result, some research the Russian Revolution beforehand may aid in understanding.

I truly thought this novel was wonderful! It is one of my favorite required reading books. Most memorable for me was the song, Beasts of England. I also loved the reactions of the other farms when they heard that Animal Farm was run by animals. I would have liked to see their faces in real life!

– Leila S., 10th grade

Animal Farm is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library, Overdrive, and Axis360.

Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan

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rangersapprentice_johnflanaganAre you ready to hear about my favorite book series? Australian author John Flanagan brings us the Ranger’s Apprentice series, which has captivated me for several years. Each of the twelve books is exciting to read the first time through, and just as exciting a second time.

It tells the tale of a boy named Will, an orphan raised in a medieval castle’s ward. Come Choosing Day, when the orphans are selected for apprenticeships, not a single craftmaster chooses Will. Tears well up as his fellow wards are selected to become warriors, scribes, and diplomats, while he will become merely a farmhand. Then, Will receives the biggest shock of his life: he is selected to be trained as a Ranger’s apprentice (hence the title). The King’s Rangers are an elite and mysterious force of master archers, serving directly under the king. Their skill set includes tracking, wielding knives and bows, and vanishing into the forest with their mottled cloaks. The Rangers silently monitor the fiefdoms and watch over the citizens. Just like Batman. Though Will is apprehensive at first, he soon realizes that this life is infinitely more exciting than being a farmer. And so, for the rest of the twelve books I won’t summarize, Will and his master Halt go on all sorts of adventures spanning a variety of countries, from deserts to snowy mountains.

There are many reasons why this series has stuck with me so long. Every single book is a well crafted mix of adventure, humor, and well placed sarcasm. What’s more, all of their adventures are unique storylines, deviating from a lot of cookie cutter books out there. The language is wonderfully detailed; I can recognize Flanagan’s style from other authors by the telltale ways he writes his stories. Of course, the characters all have distinct personalities, likes and dislikes, so that everyone has multiple dimensions. We readers can better understand and sympathize with their decisions. In fact, some of the best scenes in these books come from byplay between friends, and outright clashes of different personalities.

Another aspect that I love about this book is how well Flanagan envisions the Ranger Corps. The common people regard them as an arcane group shrouded in mystery, a group dealing with matters more important than the peasant’s daily lives. When we follow the life and adventures of Will, it almost feels like we have become a part of the tight knit group, and we familiarize ourselves with each person. This is the reason I keep rereading these books— I’ve become emotionally attached to fictional characters!

So, when you’re ready to dive into this fantastical world of knights and villains, read through the Ranger’s Apprentice series. Become a part of the King’s Rangers.

The Ranger’s Apprentice series can be checked out from the Mission Viejo Public Library.

And There Were None Review by Agatha Christie

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andthentherewerenone_agathachristieAnd Then There Were None is a mystery novel written by acclaimed author Agatha Christie. It is widely considered the greatest mystery novel of all time and was published in 1939. The setting takes place on Soldier Island, a mysterious place off the coast of Devon. Ten people are invited to the island, which has only one building, a mansion, and they soon realize that one of them is the killer.

I know what you’re thinking, that this kind of story has been done a million times before and is nothing special, but this is the original. Christie was the first to come up with this concept, and all others were inspired by her work.

The characters are all very different and are easy to distinguish, so you won’t be forgetting who’s who. I noticed how complex and flawed each character is, which is a really good thing for a mystery because anybody can be the killer. They’re all crazy in their own ways, yet are all sane. For a while, Christie uses the method of jumping back and forth between characters’ perspectives, and at first this seemed like an issue, especially since we could hear their thoughts. It’s not. We get an understanding of each character’s psyche, yet we don’t really get any hints as to who’s the killer. Each character is suspicious at some point in the story, some more than others, but you can never be too sure. A small twist at the beginning heightens the tension even more.

The pacing is phenomenal as well. It starts out slow and calm as each character is being introduced, and as secrets begin to unravel and characters begin to die off, the tension rises. The suspense makes this a real page-turner, and by the second half your eyes will be glued to the pages trying to figure out who it is. And as hard as you try to find out, once it is revealed you’ll be in a state of absolute shock.

All in all, And Then There Were None is the epitome of what a great mystery should be. It’s got compelling and suspicious characters, a fantastic atmosphere, and is very suspenseful. Anybody who is looking for a tense, suspenseful mystery should look no further than And Then There Were None.

-Ahmed H., Grade 11

And Then There Were None is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library and Overdrive. 

Nanatsu no Taizai (The Seven Deadly Sins) by Nakaba Suzuki

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7deadlysins_nabakaIn a far off land modeled after early England, humans coexist with fairies and giants. One of the kingdoms of this land is called Lioness where really powerful humans called holy knights protect the land and everyone in it.
Elizabeth is the third princess of this kingdom. She has run away because the holy knights secretly rebelled and took over the kingdom, putting the king and the rest of the royal family in prison. Her only hope are the Seven Deadly Sins: a group of seven very powerful people rumored to defeat holy knights. Problem is, they’re supposedly wanted criminals who haven’t been seen in public for ten years.
That’s when Elizabeth runs into a bartender who looks like a kid and a talking pig named Hawk. It turns out that the bartender is Meliodas, the dragon’s sin of wrath and the captain of the Seven Deadly Sins, who is also looking for the other Sins after they got split up ten years ago. He offers to help her, and the journey starts a change in the country. But the biggest mystery is why Meliodas or any of the Seven Deadly Sins haven’t aged for the past ten years.
I really liked this series! It’s a still continuing manga of about 120 chapters and still has a long way to go, but I’m sure anyone would stay for the ride since it’s very good. Seven Deadly Sins is very comical with its humorous cast of characters and funny behavior. For example, there is a fairy who smells like flowers, a guy whose food looks good but tastes absolutely horrible, and a talking pig who is the chief of leftovers.
This series also has a very good plot. Plots twists and cliffhangers are always guaranteed and they put you on the edge of your seat and wanting more. For those who like romance, there are many heartfelt/comical couples in the series that many would totally support for. And finally, there is the understanding and compassion for the Sins when they are put down by others through the misunderstandings that are dramatic irony to us.
I encourage you to read this series!
-Megan V.