Other Award(s)

Kathy isn’t a normal kid, and neither are any of her friends. They were all cloned, and someday, their vital organs will be harvested until they die. But for now, they will grow up in a secluded boarding school nestled in a corner of England, called Hailshem. Hailshem is idyllic: creativity is nurtured, friends are everywhere, and there are supported teachers. Kathy retells her experiences as she looks back on her life in preparation for her organ donations. And…. that’s basically it. It sounds like a really interesting concept for a book, but the author completely butchered it! His writing drags on and on, and completely bored me to death. If he had written it better, or if someone rewrites it, the book would be fascinating. But the writing style is so dreadfully dull. I warn you-- do not read this book! You will seriously regret it if you do!
Reviewer Grade: 7

This is an amazing book to read! It is a sci-fi, action filled, parody of the classic Cinderella fairy-tale. This is the first book of the Lunar Chronicles. Please read the books in order!!! This book will keep you on your toes! There’s a cliffhanger at the end (so make sure you get next book Scarlet before you finish Cinder). Cinder is one of the best books I have ever read!

Reviewer Grade 8.

This is an amazing book! It is a time-travel and historical fiction novel with adventure and mixed in. Also there is some romance (so boys might not like this book). It is the first book in the River of Time trilogy (please read the books in order). There’s not one slow part in this book however, there is a cliffhanger at the end. It is one of the best books I have read all year! Reviewer Grade 8.

Twilight, Count Von Count, Nosferatu, where do all of these vampire themed genres come from? Also, where do all the vampire cliches come from? I mean why do they hate garlic, can only be killed with a steak through the heart, and have no reflection in a mirror? All of this goes back to the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. This 1897 gothic horror novel was written during the Victorian Era, a period many consider of high etiquette and stern morality.
The best part about this novel is that there is no one point of view, the story is written in segments of diary entries and newspaper articles. We get to see the story from multiple characters’ views, which is absolutely phenomenal because it creates dramatic irony and suspense. In Dracula, we follow the story of 7 people as they discover the existence of Count Dracula as a vampire. When one of the 7 become a victim of the Count, the rest set out to exterminate the Count and rid him of the world. I recommend this book to all readers (high school and above as the vocabulary and style is somewhat
difficult) as this teaches all of us about the evolution of contemporary culture and the culture of the Victorian Era. Reviewer Grade 12.

The mighty hero triumphs over evil and saves the people from utter destruction. Sound familiar? Of course it does, it’s the basic plot line of the cliche hero’s tale that everybody knows. However, all of these tales most likely spawned from Beowulf, the oldest surviving English poem written in Anglo - Saxon around the 11th Century A.D. Beowulf is an epic poem that begins with Hrothgar, King of the Danes. Hrothgar’s people live in peace when they are attacked and threatened by a monster named Grendel, who kills off the Danes everynight in their mead-hall, Heorot. So in comes Beowulf son of Ecgtheow, a mighty warrior from Geatland who promises to defeat Grendel and bring prosperity back to the Danes. Beowulf is an amazing poem as it not only tells the classic tale of the epic hero and his journey, but contains hidden meanings aside from literal. Beowulf has no known author, but contains elements of factual history, which tells us this may be a tale describing actual events. This piece of literature is a traditional master piece and should be preserved as an example of how words and tales can evolve over decades. Reviewer Grade 12.

This was my first foray into Holly Black’s books, and I coming away from it not as impressed as I thought I would be. While I generally love fantasy and anything to do with faires, or fairy tales, there was just something about this book that made me not fully connect with the characters.

The general story line, I absolutely love! Of a small town forced to live in between two worlds that of fae and human and all the complications that comes with; Of a sleeping beauty like character waking after centuries of sleep; and of a hero that pledges her life to fighting the monsters in the middle of the forest. I also absolutely love the world building in this book, the description was beautiful, atmospheric, and haunting and made me wish fairy worlds were real. But the character development for me was just not as strong as it could have been, which is why rating this book was so difficult.

I am giving this one a solid 3.5 stars.

I picked this book because of the title, genre, cover, and reviews. I enjoyed this book because there are several points of view and the plot. Serafina seems to be the main one, a princess of blood, first in line to the throne, and engaged to a prince of foreign waters. Although most girls do not face those situations, Serafina is also a sixteen year old teen trying to pass school, make her mother proud, and avoid people spreading rumors and gossip about her.
Then war breaks out after her parents are assassinated and she is forced to go on a journey along with five other young mermaids she must lead. Along the journey they discover they have to work together to gain the power they need in the upcoming battle. They must destroy a monster, win a war, and stay alive while they all face their own personal problems.
This book is one out of four in a series. Each book after the first only seems to only grow in excitement with twists, turns, and surprises for which there's no warning. If you like this first one, I recommend reading them all.

The book The Maze Runner by James Dashner is a fascinating book. It places the reader in a semi- dystopian world. The time for this story takes place in the late 2200s (Maybe. Dates tend to come in this format 231.5.4 or May 4, 231.). As a disease ravages the world outside turning people into savages, the main character, a 16 year old boy named Thomas wakes up in a swinging box having no recollection of his life before that point. He remembers nothing except his name. Half an hour later, the box opens and Thomas meets the Gladers (as they call themselves because they live on a glade). All of them are male. They are all surrounded by towering walls and giant gates that shut whenever it gets dark. The giant gates lead to a seemingly impossible maze with moving walls and creatures that threaten to hurt them. These creatures are called Grievers and they are hideous bulbous creatures with concealed blades and needles. Whenever someone gets caught by one of the Grievers, they are Stung, which has a lot more meaning than getting stung. When someone is stung, they experience horrible pain and occasionally go mad. The Gladers have people they call Runners who go into the Maze every day to find new passageways. They receive food and water and antidote for Stung victims at the same times every day. Someone new arrives once a month and they are always male. All that changes when someone new arrives two days after Thomas and she is female. Then supplies and antidotes stop arriving.

In his novel, Where Things Come Back, Whaley explors many different stories of different characters that he somehow joins together to be coherent and related to one another. I loved this book! It was my second time reading it because I remember thinking it was a really good book the first time I read it and wanted to see if I missed anything. It encompasses the relationship between two brothers and the mystery of how and why one of them went missing. As I was reading it the second time, I realized all of the clues that Whaley put in the book as to tell you how Gabriel got taken. I had a love-hate relationship with this book because of some of the very sad, real, and deep characters Whaley includes. This book had me in tears of joy and sorrow as it goes through Cullen’s memories he had with his brother and also the HORRIBLE crazy man that stole Gabriel and the way he terrorizes him. Gabriel was definitely a character that I loved the most as he was calm and has unspoken humor. He also isn’t the average athlete as he has nerdy interests as well. The only thing I didn’t love was how insignificant the ending was compared to the rest of the story. I wish Whaley went into more depth of how Culen Reacted to the surprise at the end of the book. I recommend this book to an older audience as it has some very deep stories within the characters. I’d rate this book a 9/10 only because of the ending. I thought everything was so beautifully incorporated into the story.

Reviewer Grade:11

The Great Gatsby takes place during the Roaring 20’s in New York before Prohibition was ended. Gatsby hosts parties where he also gives out alcohol to his guests. I did not like this book at all because I didn’t like the love story between Gatsby and Daisy, frankly, I didn’t really like any of the characters to begin with. I think it might’ve been probably because I personally have higher morals than the characters show during this time period. I didn’t like the way Nick was used and quite honestly taken advantage of by Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby. What I disliked the most about this book is the psychotic obsession Gatsby has for Daisy because she’s his “dream.” If he has a clear mind, he’d notice that he couldn’t be in love with a lesser human being. I think all of his achievements to get to where he was, a wealthy popular man was all a waste because it was all for someone who didn’t have the equal affection in return for him. I also didn’t like how loose everybody is in the story. I thought it was sad how because Gatsby’s couldn’t see how his “dream” later became unattainable and nonexistent. I don’t recommend this book as there was hardly a turning point and it seemed to linger in unresolved conflict. I think this book suits a much older audience as it is quicker pace and sometimes hard to follow, and also for it’s immoral content.

Reviewer Grade: 11