Book Review: Black City, by Elizabeth Richards

Posted on October 11, 2013 by The Kungfu cook

I absolutely love this book! Richards portrays two teens who have hated each other at first sight. Natalie Buchanan is the daughter of the Emissary and a human. Ash Fisher is a half-blood darkling who just about thinks only of himself and is a complete jerk to everyone. In the United States Sentry, huge tension is present between the two races as well as a huge wall that separates the two communities.

All Ash has ever known is the cold stillness of his never-beating heart, when one day his heart starts to boom in his chest. Natalie then finds herself swept off her feet and in love with last person she wanted to be with, and the two find an amazing discovery: they are soul mates and have fallen in love. The struggle to pretend their hate for each other becomes difficult each day because all they want to do is be together.

War soon starts to break out among the two races as they struggle to survive. A disease called the Wrath has fallen upon the darklings who are spreading it to the humans through haze dealing. As the two put aside their differences and fight to unite the races Ash and Natalie soon realize that they have just put their lives on the line. Will they be able to save their people or not?

You are just going to have to read it to find out. When I started reading, it was as if my eyes were glued to the pages. I just couldn’t put the book down and I hope it does the same for you. Enjoy reading Black City everyone!

-Christina B., 7th grade

Book Review: Nory Ryan’s Song, by Patricia Reilly Giff

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Kelsey H.

Nory Ryan, the heart of her family with her songs and carefree spirit, spends her days frolicking on the coasts and country fields in Ireland. With her Dad gone fishing for half a year, and her mom passed away from childbirth, Nory Ryan does everything she can to hold her family together. The one thing her family could live on was their harvested potatoes. Every Irish man could rest assured that his family would be well fed, as long as they had fields of potatoes. That was, at least, until disaster struck.

The English government takes control over their land, and a terrible famine sweeps through the little town where Nory and her family live. Patricia Reilly Giff describes the smell of rotting potatoes as Nory wraps her nose and mouth in her shawl, and her sister bends over gagging as they work to save their crop.

Toward the end of the story, Nory is left all alone on their family’s farm in Ireland after she insists for her family to migrate to New York, America without her. Nory is very brave to be left all alone, and she is selfless to give the tickets to the rest of her family instead of herself.

I chose to read this book in preparation for a family trip to Ireland and England. I wanted to get a deeper appreciation for my grandpa’s Irish ancestors and a greater image in my head of Irish countryside, where so much hardship was endured. I also thought it was interesting that the author added some old Irish words such as madra, meaning dog. This book was very depressing because it was on the Great Potato Famine; however, Giff brought a great power to the Irish spirit in Nory, and I loved to read about her. This book is so important for all of us fortunate OC teens to read because it brings to light the fact that we are so very blessed to have a safe and happy neighborhood to call home.

I recommend this book to teen girls because Nory Ryan is a teen girl, just in a very different world. It was fascinating to see Nory’s story, and to imagine what life was like for her. Patricia Reilly Giff did an amazing job painting the picture, and if you like Nory Ryan’s Song, then you’ll love the sequel, At Maggie’s Door. Please feel free to comment on any one of the topics I touched on!

-Kelsey H., 10th grade

Book Review: The Raft, by S.A. Bodeen

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Sabrina C.

Sixteen-year-old Robie just wants to grow up. When she finds out she could stay with her Aunt Jillian, AJ, for a few weeks, she is so excited. AJ lets Robie do anything, so there areno rules. But when her aunt has to leave in the middle of her stay, Robie is all alone. She thinks she is mature enough and responsible enough to take care of herself. The day after her aunt leaves, Robie starts to question her ability to handle difficult situations when bad things start to happen. She knows she isn’t ready, so she decides to go home the next day.

She boards a cargo plane, with a family-friend as the pilot, Larry. She knows him and trusts him, so even though she is the only passenger, she isn’t worried. There is also a new co-pilot, Max. She thinks this is just another ordinary flight, but it’s not. When they are flying, there is a storm ahead. They try going straight through it, but the engine fails. Next thing they know, they are falling to the sea below.

When Robie comes to, she finds herself in the middle of the ocean, in a raft, with Max. They have no food, no water, and no help. She starts to think about everyone she will never see again – her family, her friends. She knows they are doomed.

Will they make it? There is only one way to find out.

This story is fantastic! I couldn’t put it down. This is a real page-turner. It has so many twists and unexpected events. It’s a thriller, so I would recommend this book for people who love suspense. There are some intense scenes, but not too scary. I think there should be a movie, so people can really see how the action brings the story to life. This book is definitely in my top ten favorites.

-Sabrina C., 8th grade

Book Review: If I Had One Wish…, by Jackie French Koller

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Anmol K.

If I Had One Wish…, by Jackie French Koller, is a heart-warming tale about two brothers named Alec and Stevie. Alec, who is the older one, despises Stevie, who is five. One day at the mall, Alec helped an elderly “bag” lady. After helping her, the lady gave him a coin and claimed that it would grant him one wish.

Alec thought that she was crazy, but he accepted it, not wanting to hurt her feelings. The next day he was in trouble with his parents because he left Stevie alone in the arcade in the mall. Alone in his room he found the coin and said, “If I really had one wish it would be that precious little Stevie had never been born“ (58). Later in the day he was called for lunch, he realized…OH NO… Stevie was not there. Had his wish come true? Is his brother really gone? If he is really gone, will Alec be able to find his little brother? Read the rest of the book to find out the answer to these puzzling questions.

I loved this book and I thought it perfectly showed the strong bond between siblings, no matter how much they fight. I would recommend it to anybody with a younger brother or sister.

-Anmol K., 7th grade

Book Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever, by Jeff Kinney

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Satej B.

Let me start off by saying I absolutely love how Jeff Kinney writes his stories! He is funny and always makes me want to read his book again and again. Cabin Fever, another of Jeff’s novels, is riveting and hilarious.

Greg Heffley is a boy who goes to Westmore Middle School. Greg is always looking for shortcuts in his life. Whether it’s money or school, he is always looking for the easy way out. Greg is always looking for ways to earn money and one day while it snows he strikes an idea. But the problem is, can he strike the customers?

He opens up a snow shoveling business. Greg goes around his neighborhood looking for jobs. He finally gets one when a guy agrees with is job. He starts to shovel the driveway doing his best job but it just seems that more and more snow is coming down. After a “short” break he finds an idea that will make him a millionaire- the only thing left is to test it out. A snow mower! He goes to his grandma’s and quickly uses her mower to find out it works great… until it freezes out! Will he ever get rid of the snow and get paid?

I would recommend this book to anyone who is 9 and up. It is really, really, really funny!

-Satej B., 7th grade

Book Review: Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Danielle T.

Esperanza Rising is a great novel about a young Mexican girl’s adventure of riches to rags– quite the opposite of most stories.

Esperanza lives on a big ranch called El Rancho de Las Rosas. There she has servants, huge acres of land, her best friends and a mother, father and grandmother who love her dearly. Esperanza lives the life of a princess, she has everything. That all changes on the day that Esperanza pricked her finger on a rose thorn, bad luck was coming. And she was right.

Esperanza’s father promises to meet her in the garden that day, but he never arrives, having been killed by bandits still bent on the Mexican Revolution. From that point on, Esperanza suffers through her uncles taking advantage of her father’s recent death and proposing to Mama, the burning of El Rancho de Las Rosas, the separation from Abuelita (grandmother), the step by step process to becoming poor and the escape from the only home she had ever known. Moving to California to work (although work was never in Esperanza’s vocabulary) is a big step for Esperanza.

A revolution boiling in the background of this new life and Mama’s sudden illness all come as a surprise to Esperanza. Will she be able to save Mama’s life and her own? Is the strength of love and perseverance truly the strongest medicine of all? Esperanza learns to “never be afraid to start over” because our lives are lives of “mountains and valleys.” After all, “he who falls today may rise tomorrow.”

-Danielle T., 7th grade

Book Review: Perfect Escape

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Kaylie W.

“We all knew what Grayson’s ‘difficulties’ were. Grayson’s difficulties dominated his life. And Mom’s and Dad’s. And mine” (4). Written by Jennifer Brown, Perfect Escape is a realistic-fiction novel that explores OCD, the pressure for perfection, and the ups-and-downs of a sibling relationship.

Her whole life, Kendra has felt restricted by her older brother, Grayson, whose OCD forces him and his family to live a very controlled life. Kendra has always been expected to be perfect, but when a cheating incident threatens her reputation, the pressure of perfection becomes too much. In her car, with Grayson asleep next to her, Kendra unexpectedly decides to run away from it all.

Kendra seems like a very likeable, intelligent, and strong-willed character, although she has some problems that become more noticeable as the plot develops. We see how hard she is on herself, as well as how OCD can affect one’s family. Grayson is a genius, but he has a severe mental illness, and I actually felt bad for him at some points. On their little road trip, Kendra and Grayson get a chance to bond together and see each other’s perspectives.

When I first started reading Perfect Escape, I was a little doubtful and didn’t know what to expect. However, it turned out to be a very intriguing book. It was different from most YA books because it really didn’t have a love story. In addition, the book was deep, with many underlying plots and themes.

Overall, I found this book to be very enjoyable, emotional, and humorous. I loved how it made me connect and sympathize with the characters right away. I thought this book was the perfect blend of happy and sad, and its heartfelt tone made me almost cry at the end. Perfect Escape was definitely a great read, and I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone over the age of thirteen!

-Kaylie W., 9th grade

Book Review: Wonder, by R.J. Palacio

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Becka O.

The book Wonder was truly beautiful, wonderous, and inspiring. It is a realistic fiction about a 5th grade boy going into real school for the first time. This boy has really severe facial deformities and he has had to have tons of surgery. He feels like a normal kid, but to everyone else he has the “Plague,” he looks like a zombie, and other cruel things. When the popular kids gang up on him and he hears his best friend talking about him behind his back, he just deals with it, because “the universe was not kind to [him]. He knows that he is “cool beans.”

Even if you think this book will be, as my friend put it, “another one of those depressing books about kids dealing with bullies in school,” or have something against 5th graders– read it. Everyone must read it. I swear, if you read this book, you will never, ever in your life, look at someone with a facial deformity, wince, and look away. Another good book to read that is more depressing is called Out Of My Mind. I would check Wonder out of the library immediately (I have it checked out right now at my school library). Wonder will change your whole life.

-Becka O., 9th grade

Book Review: Monster High, by Lisi Harrison

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Kate B.

Frankie Stein is not a average teenager. Aside from the fact that she’s only 15 days old and that she has bolts in her neck and a green tinge to her skin. Life does not seem hard for her,does it?

While she tries to be herself, Frankie’s parents send her off to `normie’ school (for regular, normal teenagers) to be like a normal human being. But Salem, Oregon is a monster-free zone, and Frankie soon finds other monster classmates, or RADs (Regular Attribute Disorder). There’s Lagoona Blue, Draculaura, Deuce Gorgon, D.J./Jackson Hyde, Cleo(patra) and Claudine (CLAWdeen, get it?).

Lisi Harrison’s book series is definitely aimed at the younger end of the teen market. `Monster High’ is a bit of unabashed pop-culture fun for tweens.

The monster kids rock out to Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas. They have freaky fabulous wardrobes and say things like `that’s VOLTAGE!’ But if you read beyond the cool, unique stuff that they have, they have to face the fear of there group getting shown.

I really liked the character of Frankie Stein. She looks different, she loves to be her self and wants to show her greenness and she desperately wants to fit in. But she never sacrifices who she is for how other’s will see her. It’s a hard lesson she has to learn, but Frankie has a great sense of self, bolts, green skin and all! I recommend this book to about twelve and up because it is a little bit on the mature side but it is a fun book to read!

-Kate B., 7th grade

Book Review: The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Melika R.

In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, you learn about friendship, courage, and much more.

This whole book is about a young girl named Katniss. Her country is divided into 12 districts, and then the capital. Each year, one girl and one boy are sent to the annual Hunger Games from each district. She has to go to her country’s annual Hunger Games. The Gunger Games is an event where 24 kids are put into an arena and are forced to fight to the death.

She makes many new friends along the way, but she also makes many new enemies. She has many tragedies along the way. For example, one of her closest friends in the games gets killed. Katniss helps unite the districts slowly throughout the story.

Her story consists of betrayal, love, hate, and friendship. Her journey has many ups and downs and it ends with an unforgettable event. I would recommend this book to anyone from the ages 12 and up. I believe that even adults will enjoy this book. Although you may not like the science fiction genre, I’m sure you will enjoy this book. This book will just make you want to pick up the next one!

-Melika R., 8th grade

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