Book Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Author
Rowling, J.K.
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

This book by J.K. Rowling engulfs you in a world of magic where you want to keep on reading without putting it down. Harry Potter takes place in England, and is all about a boy named Harry Potter's time at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. This book can attract readers of all kinds of reading levels because of its simplicity and depth. The Harry Potter series is an extremely fun series and the characters are full of emotion. I guarantee that you will love this book.

Reviewer Grade: 8

Reviewer's Name
Fred W.
Genres

Book Review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Author
Alexie, Sherman
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a very good and interesting book. This book is about an Indian boy named Arnold, also known by his nickname Junior, who is a freshman in high school. Junior lives on a Native American reservation and doesn’t fit in with any of the other kids very well because he has many special abilities that make him look, talk, and function differently. In the story, he has a best friend called Rowdy who is in his eyes, is really tough and strong. One day, Junior decides that he needs to go to a better school OFF the reservation (Rez) called Reardan. When he transferred, Rowdy decided that he hated Junior. Everyone at his new school calls Junior names, and makes fun of him because he’s an Indian with disabilities. Throughout the book, Junior encounters many more hardships and obstacles. I did like the book, although it was very depressing towards the end. The book has parts with more mature content, but is not bad if you are older. The part I enjoyed in the book is when Junior makes the basketball team by being crazy and making crazy shots. This is the second best book I have read in 2016… Messenger of Fear being the first. All in all, this is a great book that any teen should check out if they are mature enough to read it.

Reviewer Grade: 7

Reviewer's Name
Logan L.

Book Review: The Martian

Title of Book
Author
Weir, Andy
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

After a mission to Mars goes wrong, Astronaut Mark Watney is left on Mars all by himself and must find a way to survive on the deserted planet for 414 days. The Martian by Andy Weir is a nerdy but super jaw-dropping novel because it incorporates a survival journey combined with accurate science. Having a limited supply of food, no contact with NASA, and his crew mates thinking he is dead, Watney must use his botany and dummy mechanic skills to find some way to not die on Mars before the next Ares mission. Being stuck with disco music, a variety of technical problems, and no human interaction, Mark Watney is on the route to giving up, when NASA is able to contact him and work to bring him back home, but will Watney make it? We read this book as a requirement for English and I thought it was going to be a nerdy, boring sci-fi book, but it actually was super attention grabbing and I found myself finishing it within 2 days. The whole book is so interesting because you get to learn about a guy surviving on Mars and even if it is fiction, Andy Weir actually used accurate scientific data to back up his book.

Reviewer Grade: 10

Reviewer's Name
Joe T.

Book Review: Marked

Title of Book
Author
Cast, P. C.
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

After a Vampyre Tracker marks Zoey as a fledgling, she must move to the House of Night to complete her transformation. There, she soon learns that she has special powers, ones that most ordinary vampyres and fledglings do not have. When she discovers that Aphrodite, the leader of the Dark Daughters, also has been gifted by Nyx and is misusing her power, she realizes that she must embrace her destiny and take Aphrodite down.

This was a good book. It was fun to watch as Zoey settled into her new life and came to the realization that she would never be normal, even for a vampyre.

Grade: 12

Reviewer's Name
Alex M.
Genres

Book Review: Looking for Alaska

Title of Book
Author
Green, John
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

Miles is fascinated by famous people's last words. He leaves for boarding school, seeking his "Great Perhaps". There, he meets Alaska Young. She's beautiful and messed up, but he can't help but fall in love with her. Maybe she can finally help him find that Great Perhaps that he's been looking for.

This book was interesting, to say the least. It was written a lot different than other books that I've read. Halfway through, the plot changed, but I liked it. It was a cool concept.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Reviewer's Name
Alex M.

Book Review: Paper Towns

Title of Book
Author
Green, John
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

Quentin, or Q, has had a crush on Margo for ages. So when she invites him out on a night full of revenge, he agrees to help her. After the night is over, Margo disappears. Q finds a trail of clues that she's left behind and vows to find her. After all, it is what she wanted. Right?

I liked this book. I found the subject of paper towns to be fascinating. I like how the author decided to incorporate them into his story.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Reviewer's Name
Alex M.

Book Review: Code Name Verity

Title of Book
Author
Wein, Elizabeth
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

Actual rating is 3.5 stars

This book has an intriguing premise. A British young woman, apparently a spy (code name "Verity") being held captive in occupied France, tells the story of her espionage career and subsequent capture. In an attempt to avoid further torture and prolong death at the hands of her captors, she promises to reveal secret codes that are related to British intelligence. The first half of the book is written in first person as a journal of sorts addressing her captors. The style itself works fairly well, but the narrative voice is annoying -- I found the main character to be insufferably conceited, rather than brazen and confident (as she was probably intended to be). She was not likable, and thus I didn't care much about her fate. Until...

...the second half.

A new narrator takes over -- Verity's friend and pilot Maddie. She was the one flying the plane that brought Verity to France. She is less uppity, less conceited, and altogether more relatable and likable. She tells the other side of the girls' story -- her training as a pilot, her friendship with Verity, and what happens to her when Verity is captured. I found myself rooting for her all the way. She also managed to make Verity more likable, and as more is revealed, I discovered that I enjoyed them both. By the end of the book, I saw both of them as exceptionally brave characters to be respected and admired.

Although this book is fiction, there are many references to real-life WWII intelligence operations, and plenty of mechanical details concerning planes that are also interesting. The book improves significantly as it progresses -- if you don't like the first half, wait for the second. Anyone who is interested in history or espionage will probably like this. Additionally, it develops into a beautiful story of the power of friendship and sacrifice, but is never sappy. I probably wouldn't read it again, at least not for a while, but it is definitely worth trying.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Reviewer's Name
Caroline K.

Book Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Author
Green, John
Rating
3 stars = Pretty Good
Review

This book follows two boys who are both named Will Grayson. One night, fate brings the two of them together. As their worlds collide, they find their lives going in new and unexpected directions.

This book was okay. I really disliked the ending; it was just there and didn't really feel like an ending. I wish that it was tied up a bit more.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Reviewer's Name
Alex M.

Book Review: An Abundance of Katherines

Author
Green, John
Rating
2 stars = Meh
Review

Collin, like a lot of guys, has a type; he likes girls named Katherine. So far, he's dated and been dumped by 19 Katherines. After graduating from high school, his friend convinces him to go on a road trip with him. He says that it'll help to take Collin's mind off of his most recent breakup. Collin agrees, hoping to prove his Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability. He expects that it'll predict the future of any relationship and help him finally find true love.

This book wasn't my cup of tea. While it wasn't bad, it wasn't very interesting to me. The ending especially didn't satisfy me. Between it and the plot, I didn't like the book a lot.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Reviewer's Name
Alex M.

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

Title of Book
Author
Green, John
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

When Hazel attends a cancer patient support group, she expects to be bored out of her mind. She doesn't need this support group; the only reason she even bothers to go is to please her mother. But when she meets a boy named Augustus Waters, her entire life changes. She learns what it is to fall in love and what it means to be alive.

This book was alright. It didn't end the way it made people believe that it would, which was cool. Life is a precious thing and people don't cherish it enough. Also, people always view people with cancer as "sick" and sometimes forget that they are human and have lives and hopes and dreams just like the rest of us. Overall, I liked it.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Reviewer's Name
Alex M.
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