Offering a nuanced understand of identify and lived experiences, Peters poses the question, “What constitutes family?” The complexities that accompany transness, family, and self expression are explored beautifully in the book.

Howl's Moving Castle is a fantasy novel about the infamous wizard Howl, and a cursed hatmaker named Sophie.
Sophie Hatter is a pretty average girl whose been left to maintain her family's hat shop. However, she gets cursed one day by the Witch of the Waste and is turned into an old woman. Sophie, seeking out an end to her curse, finds her way into Howl's mechanical moving castle, and in it, she meets Calcifer, a snarky fire demon, Michael, Howl's kind apprentice, and of course, Howl. Howl, rumored to be an evil wizard who eats the hearts of young women turns out not to be so harmless after all. Sophie quickly decides to appoint herself as Howl's castle cleaner, and we follow Sophie and Howl through their escapades, rooting for Sophie's curse to be broken.
Howl's Moving Castle is truly a very lovely story, and as I read the story, I found that it was very easy and light to read. I enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere of the fairytale-like novel, and each of the characters all held a special place in my heart. I enjoyed how eccentric Howl was, and it was very entertaining to read through his and Sophie's bickering. I've also seen the Studio Ghibli film version of the story, and I think that both the film and book versions were equally as charming. All in all, I highly recommend this novel if you're looking for a light, magical read.

Reviewer Grade: 11

In a teen fiction romance meets Sylvia Plath's Bell Jar, Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer is a very interesting "spin-off" from Plath's breakout novel. We follow our protagonist, Jam, a troubled high-school girl sent to the Wooden Barn, a place to help teens with mental illnesses. Jam, although wary of the Wooden Barn, soon meets an interesting circle of friends, most of them in her Special Topics English class, led by Ms. Q, a quirky and interesting teacher. Special Topics only admits very few students each year, and we soon learn why that is so.
Jam and her friends at Special Topics all suffer from prior trauma, leading each of them to the Wooden Barn. Jam is currently attempting to get over her boyfriend--of 41 days, death. To work through these traumas, Ms. Q hands out special journals to each of the students, but the journals are far from normal, and instead teleport each of the students back into the time before their lives were ruined. But the catch is this: the students are only transported to this dream world when they're writing in the journal--and there's only a limited amount of pages left.
The plot of this novel was interesting enough, however, I found that as I continued to read, I began to not be able to stand Jam. I honestly found her to be a bit self-absorbed and delusional, and maybe Wolitzer did this deliberately, but I found Jam to not be a favorable protagonist. I also really didn't like the cliche stereotypes Wolitzer scattered throughout the novel, and there was a lack of good character building and the arcs built for the side characters all seemed rushed and sloppy. Truth be told, while the plot was creative enough, everything else seemed pretty surface-level, and the huge plot twist at the end really unraveled any scrap of importance that the story had left. I wouldn't say that this novel was the worst book I read, as it was a pretty fast and easy read, but I doubt that I'd ever consider picking this book up again.

Reviewer Grade: 11

Catniss Everdeen is the young girl in District 12 who comes from poverty and hunting. When the Annual Hunger Games start their draft picks, Catniss volunteers as tribute to spare her sister. She has always had talent with a bow and arrow for hunting for food to provide dinner for her family. Catniss uses her skill to win the Hunger Games and eventually eliminate President Snow, the background of the merciless games. I loved the intelligence put into the book of the making of the games. Because of the fighting, there is some violence and gore, but it’s still family-friendly and can be read comfortably. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves quick thinking and thought-out mystery. Hunger Games is intriguing, well-planned, and is an all-time favorite for my family.

Neil Gaiman has written a lot of different books. His writing has been hit-or-miss for me, but nothing that's truly middle-of-the-road average. That was until I listened to Neverwhere. I appreciate how Gaiman narrates most of the audiobooks of his works that I've listened to so far, and Neverwhere was in line with the narration quality I expect from him. However, the content felt so mediocre that I honestly wouldn't have been surprised if it came from any other different British authors like Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams (both of which are talented writers, mind you).

There's a distinct flavor of British comedy that comes through in the absurdist naming of characters and places in Neverwhere. Perhaps it's why I felt this book was so generic. It's your classic "Institutionalized" story where a man has (what seems to him) a stable life, only to have this life upended by a fantastical parallel world introduced by a character he eventually ends up falling in love with. While his interaction with this "London Below" made the main character invisible to his old life, he takes far too long to realize that the status quo he seeks is no longer desirable to him.

Maybe it's that I don't connect with these kinds of stories. They just seem so "meh" with bland characters trying to go back to their bland lives that it's always so obvious to the reader their life would be so much better in this new reality. Of course, I probably wouldn't pursue this fantastical new reality given the choice in my own life, but that's beside the point. Neverwhere contains all the trappings of this type of story, which is certainly entertaining for a bit but gets annoying the longer the main character refuses to change into their new selves.

An average institutionalized story with average British humor, I give Neverwhere 3.5 stars out of 5.

I'm glad Ender Wiggin's crewmates had this side series to explore their identities. While most of these characters were in the background of the Shadow series until now, Shadow of the Giant finally gives them time to shine on their own. After all, after three books focusing on Bean, it's nice to see the geopolitical drama unfold between these young tactical geniuses. I can definitely appreciate the storytelling that fills in the gaps between Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead .

With Achilles being killed off in the previous book, Shadow Puppets , the principal antagonist of the series left a vacuum on the world stage that was inevitably going to be filled by Ender's Jeesh. And while these individuals had aged to the point of young adulthood, I can't deny the clever game they played with entire nations so they could position themselves in stations of power. It's entertaining to read about these military and political maneuvers in a fictional context, mostly because things would probably play out similarly in the real world if the situations presented themselves.

Still, Shadow of the Giant needs to include a side-plot with Bean. There's not much to say here other than it was an adequate stringing along that left room to conclude the series in the next two books. That being said, everything else about this series was so well wrapped up by the end of this volume that I'm sure Shadows in Flight won't have the same feel as the previous entries in this series without including Ender's Jeesh and Peter Wiggin's rule as Hegemon. If you want to stop reading the series here, I wouldn't blame you.

A great wrap-up of global affairs with room to continue Bean's story, I give Shadow of the Giant 4.0 stars out of 5.

The Inheritance Games is about a 17 year old named Avery who mysteriously is put into someones will and inherits billions of dollars. But, she has to live in the owner of the will's house for a year with his four grandsons. Within the year, Avery goes through a series of riddles to figure out why she was the random person chosen to inherit this mans fortunes. He could have chosen any of his family members, but he chose her. Battling some hate and jealousy, Avery works with the boys to figure why it was Avery and not the family.

I loved this book! It was such an amazing book! The mystery of what would happen next kept me intrigued the whole time. I could not put down the book! I reccomend this book to anyone and everyone who can read!

The main plot of Homecoming begins when Dicey, Maybeth, James, and Sammy Tillerman are abandoned by their mother at a mall parking lot in the town of Peewauket for unclear reasons. Their father had already left them previously, so after many financial difficulties they were forced to take a trip to receive aid from their Great Aunt Cilla in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They were left with limited money, not enough for a bus, to somehow make their way to Bridgeport. Led by 13-year-old sister Dicey, they must rely on their wits and survival skills to pave the way to their home. Upon arrival, they hit roadblocks. Despite this, they are able to make more money and discover the valuable information their grandmother lives in the small town of Crisfield, Maryland. They are unsure whether or not she is safe because of the instability that runs in the family. Without anything to lose, they decide to make their way to Crisfield in a second attempt to find their home.

I really enjoyed this book because of how they hooked me in really well by creating an atmosphere of desperation and mystery. For example, "why did their father leave?" or, "was their grandmother crazy?" The even better part about this is at the end of the book, it spun up the story very well for a book in a series. Most books in a series, in my opinion, leave you wanting too much at the end of a book. This one just left us with a few key questions left to answer. One of the characters that I felt like I related to, or rather that I hope to relate to, was a character named Windy. Windy was a student at college who took the Tillerman's in when they needed him the most. He was extremely kind towards them and better yet, he did it in a humble way. I hope I can be like this character so I can shine brightness into someone's life that needs it someday. I believe, even though the year is young, that this will be one of the best books I will have read this year. This book was an amazing tale, which I would recommend to anyone in eighth grade or higher.

"Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle was one of the best books I've read all year. A true story, this book follows a 6th grade boy living in poverty. Both his mom and dad are unemployed, and he is forced to babysit his two-year-old brother, rather than hang out with friends. He doesn't even have time to complete his homework. Rex is determined to succeed, but struggles to focus in class because of his constant hunger - all his family can afford us cheap junk food. I liked his character development throughout the story, and how he gradually grew to be a better and more mature person. I'd recommend this for anyone interested in nonfiction and coming-of-age stories. It's a fairly easy read with simple language, best for younger tweens and teens. Just a warning, though: the story deals with heavy topics which may be triggering to some, so if you are sensitive to this sort of material, it might be best to avoid.
Reviewer's Grade: 8

Fablehaven is an easy read for a fantasy lover who wants an engaging story but doesn't want a hard read. Fablehaven reverts back to the original fantasy- fairies and giants, witches and demons. The types of creatures aren't hard to follow. therefore making more space for character development. You become rather attached to Kendra, and her reckless brother Seth.

Kendra is the oldest in their family of 4, and Grandma just died. Her last act was to give her parents a free cruise with the rest of the family, NO KIDS ALLOWED. That leaves Dad's side of the family to watch them. And that leaves the grandparents that they have never met. When they leave, Grandpa sets down one rule: Don't go into the woods. Then he leaves them with the rest of the property to explore. But, of course, Kendra's rambunctious brother Seth ONLY wants to go in the woods now. So when he claims to have found a witch after exploring the only forbidden area, they are set on an adventure that changes her perspective of her grandparents forever.

Seth has been given an entire mansion, almost. Nothing here is dangerous. And when Grandpa here bans an entire chunk of his property because of lice, Seth smells a secret. He grabs his survival kit, and goes to explore, despite Kendra's warnings. When he discovers a witch who has some obsession with knots or something, he cant wait to share! But those discovery means far more than he realized, and Grandma and Grandpa are far more than he realized.

Fablehaven is a twisty book with a great plotlines, and an easy to read but still engaging book. I recommend this to someone who just wants to relax and enjoy a book after a long day. Great fantasy novel, and would even work for a read aloud for younger siblings!
Reviewer Grade: 8