Avalon by Mindee Arnett

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Anmol K.

Avalon by Mindee Arnett is a science fiction novel telling the tale of Jeth Seagrave and his group of teenage mercenaries. Set in the future where space travel is possible, the Interstellar Transportation Authority (ITA) is responsible for this technology called metatech. With metatech, one is able to travel to other places in the universe faster than the speed of light.

Unfortunately, Jeth’s parents are dead and he and his sister Lizzie are stuck working for the crime lord, Hammer. Hammer gives Jeth and his crew different types of jobs that they complete to earn money. Jeth wants to save up enough money to buy his ship, Avalon, back from Hammer. This ship is very close to Jeth’s heart because it used to belong to his parents, but his uncle lost it while gambling.

Receiving a new job from Hammer, Jeth realizes that they pay-off would be enough to get Avalon back. With more enthusiasm than usual, Jeth commits to the job: go to the Belgrave quadrant, an area known to be haunted and those who go there rarely come back. Despite the danger, Jeth continues with the mission of getting an abandoned ship for Hammer. Jeth was ordered to stay off the ship Hammer wants, but he disobeys those orders and finds a group of humans. As he learns more about the stories of the survivors, Jeth realizes there is something very important on the ship. Acquiring very important information on the ship, Jeth realizes that the government and crime lords would be willing to kill to acquire this pivotal information.

I have been waiting for some time to read this book, and the wait was worth it. I enjoy the genre of sci-fi, and unfortunately there aren’t many good books in that genre. This book was great with its non-stop actions and the twists and turns. Headstrong and brave, Jeth was a great main character, but he fell flat in a couple of places. I also enjoyed how the story had many plot-twists. Some of them were predictable, but the rest were surprises. If you like Avalon, then make sure to check out the sequel, Polaris.

-Anmol K.

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

And There Were None Review by Agatha Christie

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Ahmed H.

And 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.

All Fall Down by Ally Carter

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Anmol K.

The 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.

The Cemetery Boys by Heather Brewer

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Sabrina C.

Stephen’s life is already bad enough, with his mom in the hospital and his dad going broke from paying the bills. It gets worse when his dad tells Stephen that the two of them are moving to the small town his dad grew up in. No one wants to live in Spencer, let alone move there, so to Stephen is very bad news. They are forced to live with Stephen’s grandmother who despises the very idea of them both. As much as they hate to live there, his dad promises it is just temporary, saying that he just needs enough time to get a job and get back on his feet. Then, they can leave Spencer for good. But as weeks drag into months, it’s clear the two won’t be going anywhere for a while.

However, things begin to get better when Stephen meets punk girl, Cara, who he may or may not have a huge crush on and her interesting and protective twin brother, Devon. As nights hanging out in the harmless “Playground”, also known as the town’s cemetery, Stephen starts to realize there is much more going on here than just a few drinks with some friends and he begins to suspect Devon may not just be a regular friend but a leader, leading them all to a fatal end. Stephen wants more than anything to get his life back to normal, or as normal as it will ever be. But what he doesn’t know is that nothing normal can come out of his move to Spencer, Michigan and that he may never know normal again….

I could not put this book down no matter how hard I tried. This amazing thriller will have you on the edge of your seats with every word. And the ending was something I never expected! Everything in this book was just so fascinating, that I couldn’t wait to find out what happens. Because of some mature content, I would recommend this to readers 13 and up. Be sure to look out for this book at the library. The town legends and beliefs will make you wonder that if you were there, would you believe them too?

– Sabrina C., 9th Grade

The Cemetery Boys is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library.

The Remedy by Suzanne Young

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Nicole G.

“I can’t remember who I am,” I say. “I’m not sure what’s real anymore.”

Actress. Imposter. Closer. Quinlan’s job is to step in and pretend to be whoever died to help families through the grieving process. She changes her hair, her clothes, and mimics them to the best of her abilities. She gives families the closure they need to keep going on with their lives despite the death of their loved one, but it is always only temporary.

Quinn is very good at her job. So good, in fact, that she can’t always tell her own past from the past of assignments. Quinn immerses herself so fully into her job that it’s hard to pull herself out. Especially on this new case. It’s the longest assignment to date, almost immediately after her last assignment. It might be too soon, but Quinn has no choice. She can’t say no to her boss when it’s her father.

“This isn’t my house. Isn’t my life. I let mine go and now I can’t find it. There’s nothing familiar to pull me back. I don’t know who I am.”

The only person who really gets Quinn is her mostly-ex-boyfriend Deacon. He was a Closer but quit a few months ago, around the time he quit on their relationship. Quinn still loves Deacon, but the last time she tried to let him back into her heart he shattered it. That makes twice where Quinn has felt him pull away. She isn’t sure if Deacon is worth risking her heart again.

Especially when her new assignment consists of consoling the decease’s boyfriend, Isaac. He’s cute, which may be part of the problem. The longer the assignment goes, the harder it is for Quinn to separate her own life from the assignment. It would be so easy to just forget about her life as Quinn and live happily in the dead girl’s world where she is treasured as a daughter and girlfriend. But throughout the assignment, Quinn can tell there’s something different about it.

Maybe it’s the secret about how her assignment died. Maybe it’s the mysteriously missing pages from the diary. Maybe it’s the dead girl’s friend who disappeared from existence. Whatever it is, Quinn is on the case. But the more she learns, the more secrets she finds. If Quinn isn’t careful, she might go so far into her role that she will lose herself in the process.

-Nicole G.

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

Book Review: The 9th Judgment by James Patterson

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Marilyn J.

This is the ninth book in the Lindsay Boxer series so I recommend reading the previous novels before reading this one. However, if you don’t want to read the first eight books, you can jump right into this one.

Unsuspecting of being stalked by a murderer, a mother and her infant head towards their parked car. Upon reaching their car the man trailing them approaches the mother and asks to use her cellphone. As she turns to hand him her phone she finds him holding a gun. Panicking, she offers him money but to no avail. Without any mercy the unknown killer guns the woman and her child down.

Around the same time, a burglar sneaks into a million dollar home. Quietly she sneaks into the master bedroom and skillfully removes dozens of sparkling jewels from an open safe. Without making a mistake the burglar is about to leave when she accidentally tips over a table. Startling the sleeping movie stars, she has to find a quick way to escape.

Startled awake by the loud crash or her table, Casey Dowling jumps out of bed, only to be shot down. The next day her death is all over the news, and her husband claims that the burglar shot her while leaving.

How is Lindsay supposed to solve a crime where the only evidence is a cryptic message scribbled across a windshield in lipstick? The killer is quick, stealthy, and skilled. In addition, Boxer is suspicious of Casey’s death.

Can the burglar be somehow linked to the ruthless killer? And who killed Casey Dowling?

I got a kick out of this book. Along with being a suspenseful thriller, it was one of my favorites out of the entire series. I highly recommend this book for a fast-paced, easy read.

-Marilyn J., 9th grade

Book Review: The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Anmol K.

How would you react if you found out that you were kidnapped because there is a picture of you as a toddler on an ordinary, everyday milk carton? 15-year-old Janie Johnson recognizes her photograph on the “Missing Child” side of a milk carton in the young-adult novel, The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney.

After identifying her picture on a milk carton at lunch, Janie is consumed by the notions of her kidnapping. As the story unravels, Janie discovers that “her parents” are actually her grandparents and her Mother was part of a cult when Janie was born. Temporarily relieved, Janie is still curious as to why her name on the milk carton said “Jennie Spring.”

Slowly unraveling the mystery of her past, Janie discovers that she was kidnapped by her “Mother” as a young girl and finds out that her real parents are in New Jersey. The end of the book leaves you with Janie talking to her real Mother. Does Janie leave her “adoptive” parents? Does she actually meet her biological parents? Does she ever find the women who abducted her? To find the answers to all these questions, one must read this book and the entire Janie Johnson series.

Reading this book for English, I was interested that it wasn’t mainstream like some other classical works. The storyline of the book is great, in my opinion. The execution could have been slightly improved. I liked how the first book ended in a cliffhanger and then you would have to read the next one and then the next one to find out what becomes of Janie. The last book did not have a very conclusive ending, but it was satisfactory enough. If you are interested in the mystery genre, then the Janie Johnson series is for you.

-Anmol K.,

Book Review and Music Pairing: Space Case by Stuart Gibbs

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Maya S.

“This is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” ~Neil Armstrong

Tick-tock. Fast forward to the future. Man is now living on the moon. The human race has made a huge advance in technology. At Moon Base Alpha, or MBA, as referred to by the lunarnauts, life is very different from home on Earth. This may sound like a pretty cool place to live but not until you get the scoop from Dash Gibson. While being one of the most famous kids on Earth for living on the moon, he is bored out of his mind.

He tells his readers that all of those Sci-Fi movies are wrong. Have you ever seen anybody go to the bathroom in space? Nope, they never thought about how hard it is to make a toilet that functions in low gravity. And the food is never fresh and tastes nasty. But of course, the moonies, or the lunarnauts, as they are called, are not allowed to talk about the horrible conditions they are enduring, for NASA invested a lot of money on this expedition. For the children living on the moon, it is worse because they don’t have work to do like their scientist parents. Kids aren’t allowed on the actual surface of the moon, for safety reasons. So, there isn’t much to do besides attending school and playing video games. Basically, Dash feels like a sardine trapped in an empty can.

After reading all of this, I thought of the song Time Keeps on Slipping into the Future (Fly Like an Eagle) by the Steve Miller Band. Not only because of the futuristic aspect of the song, but also due to the other lyrics, I thought it fit quite well. When the ‘fly like an eagle’ refrain is sung, I thought of how the advancements in technology soared in the decade(s) that had passed to the time period of this book. (It was not specified throughout the course of the novel.)

One night, Dash was out of his sleeping pod and in the bathroom–which was very inconveniently placed at the other side of the base with the work offices rather than the dwellings–when he overheard a very exciting conversation. One of the scientists, Dr. Holtz, seemed to be discussing a new discovery over the phone. Once Dash was finally back in his bed, he could not sleep, in anticipation of information to be released on Dr. Holtz’s discovery scheduled for later that morning. But, that did not occur. Apparently, Dr. Holtz stepped out of the air lock, solo, and died.

This sci-fi story is about Dash’s mission to solve the case of Dr. Holtz’s sudden death. The circumstances seemed suspicious to him. In addition, he was eager to uncover Dr. Holtz’s discovery. His death-defying investigations got him in trouble. As the adults and kids were fighting, however, I was reminded of the song, Bohemian Rhapsody, by Queen. Of the many parts and styles of this song, the “Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, let me go” snippet struck me, and I made many connections between the song lyrics and the falling action in the book.

I would rate Space Case a 10/10 for its captivating storyline and science fiction aspects. I consumed this book in a single day!

-Maya S., 7th grade

Book Review: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Alaina K.

I recently read The Westing Game as an assignment for my English class. Even though I read this book for school, I ended up loving it.

The Westing Game is an intriguing mystery written by Ellen Raskin. In this fascinating novel, Samuel Westing of the Westing Paper Products Corporation is found dead, supposedly murdered. His sixteen chosen heirs, including everyone from a doctor to an inventor to a judge, are invited to live at Sunset Towers, located at the edge of Michigan Lake. Westing’s will is read to his heirs, where it is revealed that they are to play the Westing game. They must play in order to name the murderer amongst themselves and inherit Westing’s 200 million dollar estate.

I found this book very interesting and well detailed, but at the same time it didn’t give away all the answers. The Westing Game was hard to put down, and the whole time I was reading it I was on the edge of my seat. The amazing twists and turns made sure that things were not always as they seemed. I was constantly guessing and formulating the solution in my mind, but I did find it challenging to keep track of all the characters. There were about 20 people introduced in the plot, which got a little bit confusing. However, it all became clear towards the end, and all in all, this was an enjoyable mystery with evidence that keeps you guessing until the very last page.

I love the fact that even though The Westing Game is a fictional story, it is believable enough that you could see it actually happening in real life. This book is great for grades 6 and up. Please note that the book has several old-fashioned stereotypes about certain characters and some drinking. Whether you have to read The Westing Game as a school assignment or if you are just looking for an interesting read, I would highly recommend this book to anyone that loves a brain-stimulating mystery.

-Alaina K., 6th grade

Book Review: Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Alaina K.

Hey there Artemis Fowl fans! If you have already read (and reread) the Artemis Fowl series, another great book by Eoin Colfer is Half Moon Investigations.

Though we know Eoin Colfer best for his incredible portrayals in the Artemis Fowl fantasies, his realistic fiction Half Moon Investigations is truly astounding. Based in present day, this is an action-packed mystery you won’t soon forget. In this novel, Fletcher (Half) Moon, a private detective, gets involved in his most dangerous case yet. When Fletcher is employed by April Devereux to investigate the Sharkey family, specifically Red Sharkey, he gets much more than he bargained for. Fletcher is badly injured, accused of a severe crime, and must constantly try to determine where his trust should lie. The twists and turns, vivid descriptions, and intriguing story line of Half Moon Investigations are sure to satisfy any voracious reader’s needs.

One of this adventure’s greatest strengths is its ability to pull you in and not let go. I was completely engaged in Half Moon Investigations, and I felt like I was right there alongside Fletcher every step of the way. With phenomenal details and a spot-on view into the world of Fletcher Moon, this book is nearly impossible to put down. Eoin Colfer made all of the characters in his novel really come to life. It was almost as if you could pick up the phone book, find Fletcher Moon’s number, and have him describe the whole story to you in person.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the Artemis Fowl series or who is looking for a good mystery. What discoveries will Fletcher Moon make? It’s up to you to find out- by reading Half Moon Investigations.