Tag Archives: book review

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.

Looking For Alaska by John Green

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lookingforalaska_johngreenI was so excited to get my hands on this book! I had heard such great things about it for a couple of years now, so I couldn’t wait to start reading. However, I was not as thrilled with this book as I had hoped to be. I know this will be controversial because many people loved this book, but I really did not connect with the characters or the story in the way I thought I would.

So here’s a quick summary of the book: *WARNING THIS DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS* Miles, a high school junior, leaves Florida to attend a boarding school in Alabama. There he meets and befriends his roommate “The Colonel” and his friends Takumi and Alaska. As time goes on, Miles falls in love with the spontaneous, rebellious Alaska despite the fact that she has a boyfriend and that people tell him crazy stories about her. Miles becomes caught up in the Colonel’s pranks, games, drinking, and drugs and he realizes that this is the “Great Perhaps” he was searching for. One night towards the end of the book, Miles and Alaska kiss and fall asleep in her room. But a phone call in the middle of the night wakes Alaska and she goes hysterical screaming that she has to leave. So Miles (nicknamed Pudge by the Colonel) help her escape unnoticed by the deacon of the school. The next day they find out that Alaska was killed in a car accident on her way to wherever she was going the night before. Pudge and the Colonel are miserable blaming themselves for her death. Pudge decides to investigate the reason behind her leaving and whether or not her death was an accident or a suicide. The book ends with Pudge forgiving Alaska for dying-suicide or not- and writing a school paper about the “way out of the labyrinth” as Alaska had asked her classmates before her death.

I liked how Green portrayed raw qualities of teenagers rather than the perfect good students in most books. The main character falls in love with an emotionally unstable girl-that’s not something every book does. I still thought it was a good book; there were just some things that bothered me. For instance, I did not like the actual plot of the story because it felt like there was no purpose to the events. Prank after prank you feel, as the reader, that something big is going to happen, but when it happens it doesn’t bring closure, instead it brought disappointment. I also really did not like how the entire second half of the book is Pudge’s depression over losing Alaska and his inability to do anything about it. Only the very end of the book brings closure to the story. And yet still, after finishing the book I felt as though Pudge’s story was insignificant. And maybe that was the point, I can see how Green might have had a greater point that I missed. Regardless I wasn’t the biggest fan of this book. There could have been more to it-more characters, major events, something pleasing to the reader.

I still praise John Green as an author because I loved Paper Towns and The Fault in Our Stars but this is not on my top ten books list unfortunately. Feel free to leave a comment about what you thought of this book!

-Kelsey H

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

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

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lookingglasswars_frankbeddorHave you ever wondered if Wonderland in Lewis Carroll’s book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass was real? In Frank Beddor’s book, The Looking Glass Wars, it is. Alyss Heart is the princess of Wonderland with her mother, Queen Genevieve, and her father, King Nolan. Queen Genevieve is the supporter of White Imagination and has a bodyguard by the name of Hatter Madigan. This story begins with the royal family and the Wonderlanders celebrating Alyss’ seventh birthday. The Queen foretells that Alyss will be the strongest queen of Wonderland because of her powerful imagination. During the party Alyss’ friend, Dodge Anders, takes her out of the palace and takes her to a lake called “The Pool of Tears.” Dodge says that if a person jumps into the pool, he will go into another world, which is our world, but no one has ever returned.

After arriving back to the party, Alyss sees a cat running into the main hall where everyone was. It suddenly turns into a ferocious Cat and heralds the arrival of Redd Hearts, Queen Genevieve’s sister and Alyss’ aunt. An army of her card soldiers destroys Alyss’ home and the Queen’s general Doppelgänger and Hatter jump into action to fight against the enemy. In all the fighting Alyss sees her mother imagining weapons to battle the card soldiers around her. Her mother gives an order to Hatter to get Alyss away from the horrid battle. Hatter takes Alyss to the Pool of Tears and jump into the lake before Redd’s assassins can reach them. In the water Alyss loses Hatter’s hand before arriving to our world, leaving him to search for the princess and find a way back to Wonderland. Will she be able to ever get back? Also, will Hatter be able to find Alyss? To find out, read this wonderful story.

I truly loved this book. It was a page turner and I couldn’t stop reading. Everything about the book was amazing, the plot, the characters, ans the suspense. This is a trilogy and the next book is Seeing Redd. I really hope you will read this book!

-Samantha S.

The Looking Glass Wars is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library and Overdrive. 

I am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak

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iamthemessenger_markuszusakHave any of you read The Book Thief? Marcus Zusak’s novel about World War II? I recently found that Zusak had written another novel, by the name of I am the Messenger. Having enjoyed The Book Thief, I decided to try this new book out.

I was not disappointed.

This novel follows Ed Kennedy and the mysterious cards he receives in the mail. Sent all over town to help various people, Ed must help each person with whatever is ailing them, whether it be loneliness, preaching to an empty church, sibling rivalries, etc. The list goes on and on.

What I liked best about this book was the end, of course. On the surface, this is a very simple novel, with each new card like its own short story. Readers get to know Ed and his town in more detail. But not until the end does there really seem to be a point to the whole story. I was not even reading this book for an English class, but for once, the theme of a novel was staring me in the face.

I think this novel would make a great movie. There are so many scenes that I would just love to see in a movie. I do not normally like the movies better than their novels, but I feel that in this case I just might.

I would recommend this book for anyone over 13. However, I would caution that some scenes in the book are not ‘G’ rated because of their mature content. I feel that The Book Thief was a better novel, but I am the Messenger gives the reader a lot of food for thought about the type of life one chooses to lead.

– Leila S., 9th Grade

I Am the Messenger is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library. 

All Fall Down by Ally Carter

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allfalldown_allycarterThe mystery novel, All Fall Down by Ally Carter, tells the story of sixteen-year-old Grace Blakely. Unfortunately, Grace’s mother died three years ago in an disastrous accident when her antique shop caught on fire. Grace was with her mother that night and she believes that a man with a scar shot her mother. Nobody wants to believe Grace, which makes Grace even more determined to find him.

Grace doesn’t see much of her older brother or father because they both are in the military and move around a lot. Before her mother’s death, Grace would spend her summers with her grandfather. Her grandfather is the American ambassador and he lives in Adria with other ambassadors from all over the world in Embassy Row.

Back at Embassy Row, Grace is haunted by the recurring nightmare of her Mother being murdered. Her grandfather and her brother’s friend, Alexei, try to convince her, but she refuses to believe them. Haunted and determined, she befriends Noah, Megan and Rosie, who are all children of ambassadors, in hopes to track down the man with the scar. Join Grace to see what actually happened that night.

Although Grace was emotionally troubled, she was a great character. Liking her determination and refusal to believe other people that her mother died in a fire, I also I found the concept of the different embassies very intriguing. The idea of having characters from all over the world made it very interesting. Personally, I would recommend it to anybody who is a fan of a good mystery novel. With a cliff-hanger ending, I am sure to read the sequel coming next year!

-Anmol K.

All Fall Down is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library and Overdrive.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

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daughtersmokebone_lainitaylorKarou seems to be an ordinary girl who goes to an art school and lives a normal life. Except for the fact that she draws monsters in her sketchbook. And aquamarine hair that grows straight out of her head. The thing is, those monsters in her sketchbook are real. Sweet Issa, the “snake goddess”, and Brimstone, the wishmonger, are only a few of these monsters, called chimaera, that she knows. And speaking of wishes, she gets them every year for her birthday, or when she runs errands for Brimstone, and uses them on things like her unnatural hair and the many languages she has in her collection. And her true life remains a secret to all, and everything goes fine for her. That is, until black, scorched handprints begin to appear on the doorways between Brimstone’s wish shop and the human world, and Karou knows she has to do something about them. But is it just too late?

I loved Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I originally was going to read it at the recommendation of a friend, but when I found out that it was written by the same author who wrote Dreamdark: Blackbringer and Dreamdark: Silksinger, I wanted to read it even more. I admit I had my doubts because the author left her previous series mid-story to start this one, but once I started reading, it completely sucked me in. It didn’t let me down once, and I continued on to read the other two books in the trilogy, Days of Blood and Starlight and Dreams of Gods and Monsters. I would recommend this book to any teen, like my friend did for me, as although it has a little bit of violence, it is well worth your time. If you happen to see this book in a library or bookstore, pick it up, as it has a great read in store.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library.

Blackout by Robin Wells

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blackout_robinwellsImagine you are having a nice day in a peaceful, secluded town when suddenly the government is hauls you and your friends away to test for a biological virus that could give you, or any other teens in the whole world, super powers. This is what it is like for Aubrey Parsons, a normal girl in high school, is suddenly thrown headfirst into a battle between the U.S. government and a terrorist organization using super-teens to destroy national monuments across the country.

With this information, the U.S. government uses their teens to stop these terrorists. Aubrey is highly suited for the situation having some of those powers herself. She has the ability to become unnoticed by anyone around her. Aubrey, along with some friends, eventually joins a special task force in the army that specializes in the destruction of terrorist groups and will help bring the war to an end.

The author, Robin Wells, tells the story from the point of view of a few teens with special powers caused by the virus that go on adventures to stop, or join forces with, the terrorists. Having families back home and being abducted by the government, these kids don’t know who to trust; but they do know one thing: they will not let these terrorists continue to destroy their country and the people in it.

-Kyle H.

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

Spy Camp by Stuart Gibbs

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spycamp_stuartgibbsStuart Gibbs wrote Spy Camp as a sequel to his first espionage novel, Spy School.  Ben Ripley, a.k.a. Agent Smokescreen, is no “regular” kid for his age. He is a spy in training for the CIA and spent the last year learning and preparing to be a spy while his friends back home think he is at a dumb science school.  That’s how secretive the CIA is.  Even his parents think that he has a scholarship to this school. However, the school year is over now.  Ben is getting ready to come home for the summer when the principal notifies him that he and all of his other classmates are going to a spy camp.  Ben has never been to camp before.  He is a little nervous, but then he receives a contract from the enemy group, SPYDER, with a death threat.  This reminded me of the song, Camp Granada, by Allan Sherman.  In the song, the young camper details all the horrible circumstances he has to endure.

Ben is put under “extra extra protection” from SPYDER.  Despite these precautions, when his special training starts in the woods, his group is ambushed.  Ben only has his friend Erica, an amazing spy, to help him.  It is very unlikely he will come out of this situation alive.  For he is wanted DEAD OR ALIVE! It was at this point when I remembered the song “Double Agent” by Rush because both Ben and the song lyrics desire to be “anywhere but here”. Ben is scared and feels as though he is useless to solving the problem at hand. To make matters worse, nobody from his family and none of his friends know how dire the state he is in.

I would recommend this book to any young spies out there or anyone who read the first book. A big thumbs up to Stuart Gibbs for Spy Camp.

-Maya S.

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

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

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shade_jerismithreadyFrom The Encyclopedia of Shade:

Shift – a remarkable period of time that scientists can’t explain. Every baby, called “post-shifters”, born after this time has been able to see ghosts as a strange, purple hue. It happened almost seventeen years ago.

Red – the color that ghosts can’t take very well. If anyone, including a post-shifter, wears red, the ghost will stay away from them.

BlackBoxed – a new and remarkable invention that allows an entire room to be either free from ghosts or keep ghosts in. This means that if a room is BlackBoxed, ghosts can’t get in or out.

Aura– a young girl of sixteen (almost seventeen) years. There is a huge possibility that she is the first post-shifter, but it is not in solid facts yet. Her mother died from cancer and father is unknown, so her guardian is her mother’s sister, Aunt Gina. With her Aunt Gina, she helps ghosts move on to the Afterlife. After her boyfriend Logan died and she was able to see him as a ghost, she decided to also help him move on and prove to others that he didn’t know what he was doing when he died.

Logan- a ghost who died on his seventeenth birthday. He died because he was drinking, and then took drugs to stay awake and alert, not knowing that a combination of alcohol and drugs could kill him. While he was alive, he was in a band with some of his friends. However, he could become a Shade because of all the hatred he has as a ghost. He is still in love with Aura after he dies.

Zachary– a young Pre-shifter from Scotland. There is a possibility that he is the last Pre-shifter, but it is not certain. He has transferred to Aura’s school after his dad had his work transferred to America. Coincidentally, he is also Aura’s astrology partner, and has the same birth date as her.

Shade– what ghosts can become if they get too angry. They appear as all black hues, and make post-shifters sick. Unlike ghosts, they can go anywhere they want. However, they are always angry, and it is a bitter hell for them. If a ghost turns into a Shade, they cannot turn back, ever. Aura is afraid Logan would turn into one of these.

Overall view- very well written. This book will have readers off the edges of their seats as they solve spectacular mysteries, such as Aura’s father and why the Shift happened. Additionally, the characters were just like one would meet in everyday life and seem to be as real as the person who sits next to them. There is also the idea of suspense, with the readers wondering what will happen next and if the story will be a happily ever after. And when the story does reach its end, the readers will be sad that there isn’t more.

Warning- There is mature content such as drugs, alcohol, etc. Additionally, this book is the first of a trilogy, meaning that readers will be craving for the next book.

-Megan V., 10th grade

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

I’m Glad I Did by Cynthia Weil

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imgladididit_cynthiaweilThe Big Apple.  Summer.  1963.  JJ Green. The Music Business.  Room for adventure.

JJ Green, a 16 year old girl, is one to speak her mind.  It has always been her dream to write songs, but there is a slight problem. There are three unbreakable rules in the Green family:

1. The Greens always eat breakfast together.
2. The Greens always negotiate instead of arguing.
3. The Greens always become lawyers.

As I read these first few pages, a song automatically popped into my head: “We are Family” by Sister Sledge.  The Greens were happy family, and especially in the 1960s, families stuck together. This song portrayed the scene of family life perfectly. But JJ shies away from these rules, for her wish is to become a songwriter.  Behind her parents’ back she applies for a job at the music business where her ‘disowned’ uncle works.  He calls it the place where songs are born.  Her parents call it the place where dreams are lost. On the contrary, Bobby, the producer, loves JJ’s talent and hires her as an intern for the summer.  When JJ finally shares her exciting news to her unenthusiastic parents, they are furious. Reluctantly, after tireless debates, they sign the paperwork, but they still are not approving of JJ’s decision. Her parents, then, make a deal: If JJ doesn’t get a song recorded by the time school starts in the fall, she will work as a lawyer. JJ doesn’t feel threatened by this arrangement at all.  At this point I thought of the song, “One Way or Another” by Blondie.  Somehow, somewhere, sometime she will get a record.

However, when the time comes to actually write the song, JJ’s fingers stop.  Her creative juices halt.  Her mind goes blank.  This may be a lot tougher than she set out for it to be.  Until she meets Dulcie Brown, her life flashes before her eyes, of thoughts of the deal with her parents. She cannot live the rest of her life as a lawyer; it just won’t do.  Dulcie, a negro jazz singer with an amazing voice, now a custodian at for the producer, can help her through this rough spot in her career. But things take a wild turn. Although a beautiful song is written, JJ’s heart is broken.

I would rate this book 5/5 stars for its originality and incredible authencity because it was written by an actual songwriter, Cynthia Weil.  I loved the historical fiction aspect as well as her unique style of creative writing.

-Maya S., 7th Grade

I’m Glad I Did is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library.