Tag Archives: ya

Nothing But The Truth by Avi

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nothingbuttruth_aviIn the realistic-fiction novel, Nothing But the Truth by Avi, ninth-grader Philip Malloy aspires to run for the school’s track team. Unfortunately, his satirical answers on his final exam earned him a failing grade in his English class, taught by Miss Narwin. Without a passing grade, Philip could not run on the track team.

After finding out his inability to join the track team, the next morning, instead off standing respectfully, he hummed along to the National Anthem in Miss Narwin’s homeroom. Dismissing his childish behavior with a reprimand, the teacher sends him to the principal’s office when he defied her and hummed again the following morning. Refusing to apologize to his teacher, Philip was suspended from school for two days by the principal.

Claiming that he was suspended for singing the National Anthem, his father told their neighbor who was running for the school board. As his story gains national headlines, the truth gets twisted and turned. Will Philip come clean and promise to tell nothing but the truth?

I had mixed feelings about this book. This book could have been much improved. The beginning seems to have promise of being a good and simple book. In the novel, Philip, the main character, is unnecessarily rude with his English teacher, who seems like a nice lady. Treating and blaming Miss Narwin, Philip fails to take ownership for his poor grades, which were his own fault. An interesting aspect of the book was how it was written in “script.” With such an abrupt ending, I did not enjoy it the novel as much as I expected. Overall the novel was below expectations, but it was a quick and easy read for anyone in middle school.

-Anmol K.

Nothing but the Truth is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library. 

Biggie by Derek Sullivan

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biggie_dereksullivanEvery boy dreams of throwing a perfect game in baseball at least once. So does Henry ‘Biggie’ Abbott, but there is only one problem. Even though Biggie’s dad, Aaron Abbott (who left the family when Biggie was little), and stepdad, Jim ‘The Lazer’ Kaczor, were professional baseball players years back, Biggie is not built for the sport. He’s a high school junior and weighs over 300 pounds. Early in the book, Biggie despises athletics and having his dad’s last name, all he wants is to be left alone to maintain his straight As. But after pitching a no hitter in a high school P.E. wiffle ball game, Biggie discovers he has an “unhittable pitch,” and sets out with his younger stepbrother, Maddux, to be the first person in his town’s history to throw a no hitter.

Baseball isn’t Biggie’s only problem. There’s also a certain girl that he is in love with, but the same girl steals from the gas station where he works – right in front of him. And although it’s hard to believe, Biggie’s problems still are not over.

Although this novel sounds quite cliche, it is hard to put down. Biggie is quite a page turner, and the author, Derek Sullivan, manages to throw quite a few curve balls into the plot. Biggie is a novel not only for sports lovers, but for young teens everywhere. I would recommend this book for teens ages 13-16. As school comes to and end and summer is right around the corner, with baseball season in full swing, I believe that this novel will not be a strikeout.

-Will R.

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

Earth Girl by Janet Edwards

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earthgirl_janetedwardsEarth Girl is a dystopian novel set centuries in the future. Eight hundred years into the future, humans are able to travel through portals. These portals allow them to conquer the furthest stars. Unfortunately, not all of humanity gets to experience traveling in a portal. A fraction of humans have a genetic defect, which prohibits them from interplanetary travel, and are forced to live their lives on Earth. Jarra, the main heroine of the story, is one of them. After finding out about their child’s defect, most parents abandon their children who are often referred to as “throwbacks.”

Despite her limitations, she does not get discouraged of pursuing her dream. Creating a feigned military background story, Jarra joined a group of students from all over the galaxy in a practical Earth study class. Jarra plans to prove to “normal” people that “throwbacks” are capable of completing complicated tasks. She wants to surprise her classmates by revealing her identity as a “throwback.”

In this class, the students excavate remains from Earth’s ancient, abandoned cities. Jarra’s skills are tested when an unstable, ancient skyscraper traps another research team under it. Having practiced excavating rocks (called “tagging” in the novel), Jarra is the hero of the day when she helps dig out the team. Her rescue has put her into the limelight of her classmates, which is not something she needed for her plan. To see if her plan of tricking her classmates worked, I suggest reading this unique book.

I picked up this book because I found the plot intriguing. Interested in how Jarra would trick her classmates, I also thought that it would be cool how her classmates would eventually react. The setting was another aspect of the story that I enjoyed. Even though the story takes place on earth, the explanation of how their world was built is amazing. The only aspect of the book I did not like was were the class excavations because the author went a bit to deep with the history and science of the process. Well wrapped at the end, I cannot wait to start the second one and see what Jarra has in store for her life.

-Anmol K.

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

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacy Kade

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Alona Dare is the most popular girl in the school, and everyone “supposedly” loves her. When she dies in her gym clothes after being run over by a bus of band nerds (such horror), she starts to blame her mom for her death. Unfortunately, she also finds out that her boyfriend was cheating with her best friend when they started kissing the day after her funeral.

Because her “life” is ruined, she starts to cry in the middle of her old school. And that’s when Will Killian, the weirdest guy in school, starts to laugh out of nowhere. But Alona realizes that he might be laughing at her, and that he could probably see ghosts…

Will Killian is crazy, or so his mother and therapists say. Only he and his dead dad knew that Will could see ghosts. Problem is, the day that he laughed at a ghost (which is not a good thing to do) was the day that all the ghosts in his school found out that he could see them and drive him crazy with their last wishes. And who is to save him but the ghost of Alona Dare, who has a few wishes of her own. Problem is, in order to save him, she has to become his spirit guide, which means helping Will take the requests of the dead (one at a time, of course), and saving him from a vengeful ghost (who may or may not be his dad).

This book provides some very insightful views into the spirit world. There are some things we know from stories, like last minute wishes of the dead, but there are also some clever views Kade puts in, such as what happens when your wish gets fulfilled. When I read this book, I was sad when it was over. I was very excited to learn about each of the character’s backstories, including some of the ghosts. There is also some comedy, and the overall love stories involved in the plot.

This book was very good, and is recommending for those who are looking for slight mystery, paranormal activity, and a small yet sweet love story.

-Meagan V.

The Ghost and the Goth is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library and Overdrive. 

Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer

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artemisfowl_eoincolferArtemis Fowl is the pinnacle series of the author Eoin Colfer. The books detail the adventures of Artemis Fowl, a genius child who already runs his late father’s criminal empire. He spends his days inventing new technologies and running illegal enterprises around the world with his trusty bodyguard, Butler. Until one day, he discovers the world of faeries hidden beneath them. Being the person he is, Artemis soon goes head to head with the Faeries’ elite LEPrecon police force as his money-making scheme involves kidnapping the Faerie officer Holly Short. Eventually, they join forces to stop a multitude of other evil forces out in both worlds.

This series is one of my favorites to read because it’s filled with action from beginning to end. Whenever there’s expositional dialogue, we can always expect it to be filled with witticisms and funny personality clashes. Also, the scenes are always fresh with new ideas, rather than repetitively showing the same fight scenes like other books. Artemis always finds solutions with ingenuity, while his friends employ bravery and combat training. The friendship and camaraderie between Artemis and Holly creates a lifetime team, which involves both life-threatening situations and everyday banter.

Over the course of the series, Artemis Fowl develops a lot as a character. Although he is introduced as a cold and ruthless genius, we learn he isn’t without some good inside. He learns to respect his closest friends, and is even willing to give his life for them. The main reason for this is that he never had any friends before that have earned his respect.
The setting for this book is also very notable. While most books are either sci-fi or fantasy, Artemis Fowl includes both. While the Faerie Folk have ancient magic, they have also developed extremely advanced technologies over the thousands of years. Their inventors have created flight suits, contact lenses with built in cameras, and other creations from our wildest imaginations. It was very creative and daring for Colfer to mesh these two genres together, and the result is a literary masterpiece.

When you have a chance, you should definitely give this series a read. Although Eoin Colfer has written many notable books, the Artemis Fowl series will always be one of his best. The fun storylines will have you burning through the books.

-Phillip X., 10th grade

The Artemis Fowl series is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library and Overdrive. 

The Remedy by Suzanne Young

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remedy_suzanneyoung“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.

Mr. Lincoln’s Drummer by G. Clifton Wisler

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lincolndrummer_cliftonwislerThe American Civil War took place from 1861 to 1865 and pit the Northern and Southern States against each other, as shown in this novel by G. Clifton Wisler.  Boys from the age of 13 were enlisted to make money for their families.  There were a lot of economic problems at the time for the United States (who, due to the war, weren’t that amalgamated).  People were struggling to survive, and many barely even had enough food.   Since the war was to abolish slavery and the story is told from the side of Mr. Lincoln, there is little racism.  Willie, a young boy of the age of 11, had been working in his family’s business his entire life: mending clothes (mostly army uniforms).  But, he was always interested in war.  Willie didn’t realize any of the devastation and blood many encounter.

Much to Willie’s delight, an army general comes to town offering a modest sum of money for men to enlist in his regiment.  The general vaguely recognizes Willie and calls him over.  The man taught Willie a few of the drum patterns for the army calls some time ago and was impressed with Willie’s talent. The general gives Willie a couple coins.  As Willie walks home, he thinks what it would be like to be in the army, being a drummer.  When he arrives home and shows his mother the coins and asks, “Can I enlist to be a drummer?”  There is silence.

“Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins, I thought, accurately summarizes the reaction by Willie’s mother to his “whimsical” question.  They both disagree. They need a third opinion. Waiting, painstakingly, for his father to come home, Willie dreams of the Army and of the drumbeat of his own, courageous instrument. Then, after hours of discussion between his mother, father, and himself, the family settle on a plan whereby father and son would enlist together under the condition they must stick together.

However, when the father and son exit the train from their town, they are separated.  Willie has to live his life as a drummer mostly by himself.  Throughout the story, Willie sees death of his own friends, converses with a Reb, and takes a fall himself.  At the end of the story however, awarded with pride, I thought of the song “Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban because that is how Willie feels. He doesn’t believe himself to be a hero.  He thinks that his parents, the general, and his friends pushed him too hard, and he failed.  I would rate this book a 6/10 for its lack of power.  The story itself was good, but I wasn’t drawn in.

–Maya S., 7th Grade

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

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allquiet_erichremarqueSet deep in World War I, All Quiet on the Western Front follows young German recruit Paul Baumer as he details his wartime experiences from signing up for the war with his graduating class to fighting in the trenches of the unforgiving Western Front. The war novel was written by German war veteran Erich Maria Remarque, and was published in 1929 to the dismay of the Nazi regime. It tackles ideas of loss, hope, adolescence and growth, and provides an in-depth look in the human condition.

One thing I noticed right away was Remarque’s uncanny ability to describe the setting at which the book was taking place, whether at a training camp, the Western Front, or Paul’s hometown in Germany. The author detailed descriptions of the hardships in the trenches, from the gnawing rats to the constant pounding of shells above, is so well written that you can’t help but get immersed into the setting.

The characterization is also very well done in this novel. You get a good feel for the camaraderie between the characters in war, and how important that is to survive in such a harsh setting. Remarque also introduces the various characters very distinctly so confusion wouldn’t be an issue. He lists certain traits they have at first, then elaborates and expands on those traits as the story goes on and different events take place. A few examples include:

  • Katczinsky- the oldest of the group, a crafty man who is a master at finding food and supplies
  • Tjaden- a defiant young man who loves to eat yet is somehow incredibly skinny
  • Detering- a peat digger who misses his life at home, works well with animals

The characters all interact with each other in a realistic, believable manner for the time and dialogue is heavy with dialect and references. The character development is great, and is one of the major themes of the story. The impact of the war on the soldiers is apparent and is shown subtly through differences in actions and speech.

I felt that the pacing of the story was excellent for the most part as well. The story starts o ff near the battlefield, then switches between the trenches, training camps, or in other locations far from war. This keeps the setting fresh and doesn’t drag on in one specific location for too long, except the hospital chapter where I felt it was dragged on for a little too long.

The effect of the war on the soldier is a huge theme. Men in war lose all identity and the futures of the young recruits are ruined. PTSD plays a role along with various coping strategies and defense mechanisms soldiers use to compensate for the horrors of war.

Because of these, the story has a lot of dark and mature themes, coupled with explicit violence that makes this a story that none under the age of 13 should be allowed to read.  For anyone else though, this is a phenomenal war novel that analyzes human race as a whole, I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an insightful, historical novel.

-Ahmed Hussaini, 11th grade

All Quiet on the Western Front is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library and Axis360. 

Paper Towns by John Green

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papertowns_johngreenMargo Roth Spiegelman is an independent young woman who makes her own rules in the game of life. She goes with her own ideas and does not take orders from anybody, including her parents. She always plays games with people, running away whenever she pleases and leaving clues for people to find her. It is all a part of this little game she plays with everyone she cares about, making them scared as she has fun. She is so determined to live by herself, the way she wants, so when she runs away again, it doesn’t scare her parents. It just annoys them to the point where they don’t care if she comes back. It’s when she goes missing for more than a few days that everyone starts to think she is not coming back. Her old friend from when they were kids, Quentin, tries to get into the life of Margo. He tries to think like she would in order to find her and get her back, before it is too late.

When I first found out about this book, I couldn’t wait to read it. The storyline seemed so interesting to me, that a girl who runs away leaves clues for people to find her. But when I actually started reading it, my high hopes for the book weren’t met. All of the clues Q had to follow to find Margo were very confusing. As the reader, I was very confused and couldn’t figure out how the clues added up to finding her. It was all very complex, and sometimes that’s good when you’re reading a book, to have it be a little confusing to make you think. But this book was so confusing and difficult to read. I wanted to put the book down because it was too hard to think about everything while still trying to enjoy the story. I have heard of other readers loving this book, hanging onto every detail. In the end, it’s just a matter of opinion. Mine may not be the popular opinion, but this is what I thought of it. If you like mystery and adventure, you should definitely try to read this book. While some parts were confusing, some were also pretty funny and meaningful. One of my favorite quotes I will always remember is “she loved mysteries so much she became one”. John Green is a mysterious writer himself, so I do still look forward to reading more of his books in the future.

-Sabrina C., 10th Grade

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