Tag Archives: book review

Rivals By Tommy Greenwald

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Rivals, by Tommy Greenwald, is a great novel for teens for love sports. Two star basketball middle school boys feel the pressure to perform: a pressure many playing at an elite level feel. It is totally relatable, and as an AAU basketball player, I can really sympathize with what each boy is experiencing.

For Austin Chambers, basketball is starting to feel like a job. He must deal with his father’s legacy and worries that he’s not good enough to live up to it.

Carter Haswell, across town, is brilliantly talented and stressed to stay on his school’s basketball team to help them win and get a scholarship for college to ease his family’s financial situation.

Carter and Austin’s schools are traditionally rivals, and competition between those two middle schools is fierce. Neither school wants to lose, and Carter and Austin each do whatever it takes to win. However, the competitive spirits go way too far, and a few players get seriously injured. Through this, Tommy Greenwald shows how it’s good to compete in sports, but not to let it escalate to the point where people get hurt. Winning shouldn’t be a priority over health.

By the end of the novel, Carter, Austin, and the rest of their teams realize the same thing: at the end of the day, these sports are supposed to be for fun. This is something important to keep in mind because whatever sport you play should be to have fun and be competitive. Austin’s dad also sees that his son just wants to play for enjoyment, and that he shouldn’t force his legacy on him. He lets Austin have fun at the park simply playing ball, and Austin feels like basketball is his friend once again.

This book was totally enjoyable and relatable. The reader can really connect with the characters and learn an important message: sports should be competitive, but never forget that they are supposed to be fun.

Rivals by Tommy Greenwald is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Review for Matched by Ally Condie

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It was good, not great, but good. It is a solid book that leads into a good series. I am going to talk a little bit about the book’s plot, high points, and characters.

Plot: Cassia, a smart teenage girl, finds out that her best friend is her Match (which is basically a mix of a soulmate and an arranged marriage). However, she sees that she is also matched with a boy named Ky. All the while, her grandfather gives her real poems, which are banned in the Society, where they live. She shows these poems to Ky and they fall in love when he teaches her how to create. Then, the Society takes Ky away and Cassia’s parents let her go find them.

Best Part: I liked when Cassia hung out with her grandfather. I think he was a really strong character and even after finishing this series, he was still my favorite character. I loved how he was mysterious and wise, basically Cassia’s version of Dumbledore or Yoda.

Character: In this book, we meet the three main characters: Cassia, Ky, and Xavier. Cassia is, like I said before, a teenage girl. She is determined, curious, and highly intelligent. Although she was raised in the Society and doesn’t understand certain things, she wants to learn and love. She ends up dating Ky. Ky is a calculating teenage boy who has seen way too much. He definitely did not fit in, but he tried to for the people he loved. He ends up loving Cassia and enjoys writing. Finally, we have Xavier, Cassia’s original match and childhood best friend. He is a dependent and caring guy who follows the rules and just wants to help.

Overall, it’s a good book. I like how it’s a dystopian novel, but it doesn’t really feel like Hunger Games or Maze Runner. It’s unique. I also like how the love triangle between Cassia, Ky, and Xavier doesn’t feel forced but instead seems, I guess honest is the best word. Both Ky and Xavier are amazing and well rounded characters who are good for Cassia. I’d recommend this to people who like dystopian novels such as the ones I previously mentioned.

Matched by Ally Condie is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Secret History – Donna Tartt (SPOILER FREE)

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For fans of the aesthetic of upper-class academic settings or those drawn to the darker, more morose themes of literature (or both), Donna Tartt’s The Secret History offers a captivating and chilling experience.

Set at Hampden College in Vermont, the novel follows 20-year-old Richard Papen, who joins an elite, selective Ancient Greek class taught by a brilliant but detached professor. Richard finds himself having to assimilate with the foreign ways of his intellectually and socially superior classmates, who harbor secrets that lead to a series of tragic, life-altering events.

What I found to be most interesting in The Secret History was its exploration of themes like the corrupting impact of economic privilege, the conflict between morality and loyalty, and the weight that guilt carries on one’s consciousness. The novel is full of introspective, philosophical reflections and literary references, which may appeal to readers who enjoy deep character studies, thoughtful commentary on day-to-day life, and stories that stick with you long after the final page.

If you are unsure whether or not you’d enjoy the book, here are a few similar ones that you could compare it to:

–Dead Poets Society, N.H. Kleinbaum: Academic settings that are a breeding ground for free intellectual thought that take a turn towards darker themes

–The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde: Captures the psychological and moral downfall of a member of the intellectually and economically privileged class

–Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh: Shows the nostalgia, beauty, and eventual downward spiral of a set of elites through the eyes of an outsider.

Happy reading!

The Secret History by Donna Tartt is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

To Kill A Mockingbird

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It’s that wonderful time of year again… the end of first semester freshman year and the beginning of the enduring English 1 ritual: To Kill a Mockingbird.

I’ve heard a lot of complaints about TKaM, usually about how boring it is and how no one can understand what the heck is going on. But I beg to digress, because though it’s one of the most commonly read books in the high school curriculum, ever, I really enjoyed reading this book.

Obviously, the story of TKaM is pretty famous already, and I think it’s important that high schoolers are forced to read a book that confronts issues still relevant in our society today. Especially in a time when books are being banned and voices are being silenced, it’s important to have this classic in our schools and education system.

There have been concerns about the prevalence of the n-word, about ideas of white saviorhood in the book, and also opposition from others who want to suppress this unsavory part of American history. But the tragic story of Tom Robinson is an important lesson, and despite some valid concerns, I think To Kill a Mockingbird fittingly and engagingly introduces an idea and a time period that shouldn’t be erased from our school books.

Moreover, I think it’s just a well-written story and an enjoyable read. Maybe it’s time we stop complaining about the “weird” wording and appreciate it for what it truly is.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Of Mice and Men Book Review!!

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“A guy needs somebody—to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody…”(Steinbeck 108).

Out of the many books I read in class my freshman year, I enjoyed reading Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck the most! 

What I love most about this book is the bond between the two main characters: George and Lennie. I love their relationship. George cares about Lennie, but finds him tiresome and a lot of work to take care of, but would never abandon him. Lennie, in turn, sticks with George and looks up to him.

In my opinion, Steinbeck did an amazing job at designing the side characters! My favorite characters would be Slim and Candy, because I feel that those characters were developed the most. Another detail I liked was how Steinbeck constantly dropped hints in the text that most readers would overlook. For example, when we first met Candy as a character, he was described as an old handyman who is missing his hand, and has an old dog that he raised since it was a pup. When I read this in class, my mind immediately drifted off to “Why did he lose his hand?” or “How did he lose his hand?”. 

The ending completely tore me apart, however. I know what George did wasn’t the best idea at the moment, but he did it out of his love for Lennie, believing that if the gang caught him, they would torture him before killing him. I wondered however, if there were more possibilities? For example, couldn’t he have helped him escape? There was a cave at the beginning of the story…couldn’t he have gone there instead? However, I do understand. With the gang approaching rapidly, there probably wasn’t enough time. Out of 5 stars, I’d give this book a 4.7. I recommend this book to adults who need a reminder of the good in life.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded from Libby.

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

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The Egypt Game, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, is the story of a young girl named April Hall. April’s mother is an actress in Hollywood, but she sends April away to live with her grandmother in Berkeley, California. April makes friends with a girl named Melanie and her younger brother Marshall. Together, they come up a game that they play behind an old antique store run by a strange man known as the Professor. They call it the “Egypt Game.” As the days go on, the game grows to six members as they make new friends. They wear Egyptian costumes and pretend to have ancient Egyptian ceremonies. It all seems like a fun and imaginary game about Ancient Egypt. However, strange and mysterious things begin to happen to the children, causing them to feel that they are in serious danger.

This book received a Newbery Honor award. I think that it deserves this honor because it is very well-written and engaging. The characters are realistic and the story moves along at a good pace. The story is also very suspenseful, which made it difficult for me to stop reading once I started. Overall, this book definitely exceeded my expectations. I expected it to be a typical book targeted to young people, but it had more depth and originality than I expected. I enjoyed the way this book blended imaginary game playing with real-life action. These imaginative children are very lifelike characters, and their adventures are exciting with many unexpected twists. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this book as much as I did and I would highly recommend it to everyone.

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

The White Stag by Kate Seredy

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The White Stag is a short novel written and illustrated by Kate Seredy. This book is a mythical retelling of the journeys of the Huns and Magyars as they migrated across Asia and into Europe. The story begins after the fall of the Tower of Babel. The great hunter Nimrod is waiting for his sons, Hunor and Magyar, to return from chasing after a mysterious white stag. Nimrod had been leading his people to a bountiful land promised to them by their god, Hadur. Now stricken with old age, Nimrod is unsure about who will lead his people. He believes that he must sacrifice his war horse, Taltos, to gain further direction from Hadur. After the performance of this sacrifice, Hadur communicates to Nimrod through symbols. These symbols are interpreted to mean that Nimrod will soon die, and that his sons will become the new leaders of his people. Hadur’s message concludes with a prophecy that a strong and mighty man named Attila would ultimately take Nimrod’s people to their promised land.

I found this book to be very compelling because I had expected it to be totally fictional, but as I read it I realized that it includes actual historical and religious elements. Nimrod and the Tower of Babel are ancient biblical references, and Attila the Hun is a major historical figure. The story of Attila was my favorite part of this book, because I enjoyed reading about his incredible strength and rise to power. I also enjoyed reading about the adventures of these people as they followed the white stag toward the promised land. Even though this is a relatively short book, it feels like an epic legend. This book is like an origin story of the modern-day nation of Hungary. The author is Hungarian, so I can understand why she would choose to write this. I appreciated the religious themes throughout the book, and I enjoyed imagining that this was the story of Nimrod from the Bible. This book deservedly won the Newbery Medal in 1938, and I would recommend it to anyone.

The White Stag by Kate Seredy is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

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Julia Armfield’s Our Wives Under the Sea explores a dream-like meditation of the grief and loss brought on by loving someone so much. Though this was a lot to swallow, Armfield’s use of an overarching metaphor and loose threads within the plot captures the yearning for the person one loves while they slowly, and inevitably, slip from one’s grasp.

Miri, one of the novels’ main narrator, struggles to see her wife, Leah, drift further and further away from reality, as she paces their apartment and deteriorates physically and mentally. Leah, a marine biologist, had undergone a month’s-long deep sea expedition that ultimately left her and her team stranded thousands of feet under the sea with no communication. The novel takes place after Leah resurfaces and gradually unfolds her experience in a submarine encapsulated by darkness.

Miri watches as Leah submerges herself day after day in the bathtub, filled with salty water. Her skin begins to resemble that of a fish, iridescent and nearly transparent. She bleeds from her pores and drowns in the water that excretes from her skin. These elements of eeriness and unsettling imagery that Armfield embeds in Leah’s physical appearance express the intimate nature of loss and Miri’s uncertainty about what is happening to her partner, creating significant mental distress in her.

While unfolding Leah’s progression into the embodiment of the sea, Armfield also captures Miri’s unraveling grief of not knowing whether her marriage will stay alive. Finding no comfort in talking to her friends or the relatives of Leah’s old team, Miri begins to seek comfort in online chats amongst women, but finds that to be a failure as well.

Ultimately, Miri finds the strength to let go of Leah. She embraces her grief and accepts that her marriage with Leah is over, as Leah’s spongy and slippery skin, sinks from Miri’s arms and into the ocean’s depths. This bittersweet ending, though heartbreaking, was greatly nuanced as it embraced what love looks like when the reality that surrounds it is painful and unfulfilling. Though Leah had lost her sense of humanity, she never lost her peace.

This novel was definitely a hard read, but I appreciated this very different perspective on what grief and loss can look like and the horror of the unknown. I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who is looking to steer away from predictable literature or a fan of slow-burn novels.

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield is available to download for free from Libby.

Lessons in Chemistry By: Bonnie Garmus

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Lessons in Chemistry is set in the early 1960s and follows Elizabeth Zott, a female chemist who fought against great odds to obtain her degree and position. Zott works at the Hastings Research Institute, where she meets Calvin Evans, a Nobel Prize-nominated chemist. Their relationship cultivates quickly, and their rivalry with the rest of the staff continues to grow.

Years later, Zott is a single mother after a tragic accident. After meeting a parent of one of her daughter’s friends, Zott receives an offer to be the host of a nationally broadcasted cooking show called “Supper at Six.” Although hesitant at first, Zott in need of a job accepts, hoping that this could give her the credibility she needs to reenter the chemistry world. Her approach to cooking regarding her chemistry background intrigues viewers, and the show quickly becomes a hit. Zott soon becomes a national icon, inspiring women to do more than be housewives, breaking stereotypes for women on TV often fighting against her producer and even the head of the studio.

I enjoyed this book because it displays a unique perspective on women in STEM-based fields in the 1960s. This tale of feminism during this period is almost an untouched topic, so this book feels like something very new and exciting for those who enjoy tales of feminism. It also greatly addresses the risks to women and the adversity they had to overcome to become successful or even respected in their field. It being a historical fiction novel was ultimately one of the reasons I picked it up. If you’re not interested in reading all 390 pages, there is also a new series on Apple TV that is based on this book. That I feel was a decent interpretation of the book, as many typically fail in this realm.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Hunter X Hunter: Character Analysis

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Hunter X Hunter is an iconic manga published in 1998 by its author, Yoshihiro Togashi. Following Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio’s adventures, it includes a variety of arcs, including the first Hunter Exam arc, but its well-written characters make up the most compelling part of the series. 

Gon Freecs, the more outgoing of the dual protagonists, is 12 years old at the start of the series. Highly tuned to nature due to his upbringing on an island, he also appears to have learned most of his morals by observing nature, though also taught by his dear Aunt Mito. Though often seen as a “ball of sunshine” by readers, he has been said to have dubious morality by others within the book, merely following a “good” path because that’s where life led him. This may also be the reason why he can be so “selfish” but is still fine with how his dad left him as a baby. Overall, he is a good-plot driver with a strong will as well as an interesting personality.

No less important is “Gon’s best friend,” another 12 year old known as Killua Zoldyck. Abused and trained to become an assassin by his family since childhood, he beat up his mom and one of his older brothers to escape before taking the Hunter Exam on a whim. Unlike Gon, Killua was raised by a strict structure and saw following someone he cares about instead of obeying his family as an act of defiance. However, Killua’s close friendship with Gon made them sometimes unhealthily co-dependent. The manga explores his friendship with Gon, growth from his initial self-deprecation, and how he learns to feel things through his own heart.

Kurapika of the Kurta clan, a 17 year old in the first volume, had his entire clan killed by the Phantom Troupe while a child. To avenge his clan, he became a Hunter to seek out and kill all the members, or Spiders, of the Phantom Troupe. Though he first appears in the series as someone with a noble goal, this quest also leads him to venture into the shadier parts of society. His development centers around the reasons for his choice to suffer.

The final of the main 4, Leorio Paladiknight, age 19, is unfortunately played off as comedic relief for most of the story. He aspires to become a doctor to save those who would otherwise die of diseases akin to the one his childhood friend suffered from. Differing from Gon and Killua, who end up different mostly because of their upbringings,  Kurapika and Leorio both were deeply affected by how loved ones died during their childhood. I found it interesting how Kurapika had the motto of “they made my kin suffer, so I will make them suffer,” while Leorio stood by “it hurt my friend, so I’ll make sure no one else hurts in such a way ever again.” In conclusion, Hunter X Hunter contains amazing protagonists with inspiring character arcs and unique backstories.

Hunter X Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.