One of Us is Lying is about four high school stereotypes: the Smart Girl, the Jock, the Homecoming Queen, and the Bad Boy. One day, all four of them, plus the Class Gossip, wind up in detention. When the Class Gossip dies, it soon becomes evident that foul play was involved, and that the Class Gossip knew a secret each of them is desperate to hide. As the rumors fly and reporters circle, all four will have to figure out what happened before they become convicted, caught out, or killed.
At this surface, the book has a wildly simple premise. It's almost like a clue game: a group of simplistic characters with a simple defining theme rushing to find a shadowy murderer while they all hold their own secrets. And this is fine for a mystery. If I'm being quite honest, I've read about five hundred different iterations of this plot, with a high school murder and a killer on the loose and the main characters with secrets and suspicions. The song and dance is familiar and comforting, but, excluding the mystery itself, lacking in individuality and flavor. However, this book makes a few key deviations that make the plot feel new and exciting without diverting from the familiar high school murder plot. For one, the characters each have adequate and interesting development, specifically tailored to bring them out of the labels the book put them in itself. And the development isn't token, like a pretty girl learning to love the joys of football or the jock getting into baking or the usual clichés. The development is relevant to the modern era, like the crushing need for perfectionism in the college application process, or the way mental health struggles can wreck a family, or the superficial weight our society assigns to looks. In a lot of ways, its not the characters learning to overcome their stereotype, since each of them feels they don't live up to their's perfectly. It's about how society at large forced them into that stereotype. It's actually really impressive that the author managed to pull of five substantial character arcs! On that note, the book creates a far more realistic high school environment than most YA books. There's no really token "popular group" that is played up too much and taken too seriously. School is a genuine issue, and there are struggles with maintaining grades. There are more named characters than the main cast, and you get a sense other people have an actual life outside the central plot. Also, the book is just paced really well, letting you see the lives of each character while moving the plot along at a steady and fascinating pace. It can be funny or heartbreaking at times, and the mystery itself is satisfying and interesting upon reread.
All in all, this was in no way a groundbreaking novel. The plot is predictable mystery, with the usual twists and turns and not much beyond it. However, the deviations this book makes to the usual mystery formula make it a worthwhile and fun ride!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, in my opinion, is a very confusing novel to say the least. Switching between past and present, we follow Nick Carraway who narrates the story from his point of view about the main character, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is a millionaire that throws outrageous parties to anybody willing to come. Nick takes the reader through the journey of discovering who Gatsby really is, including his secrets and fears. The Great Gatsby is a classic novel that might just take a couple reads to fully comprehend.
Grade 11

I strongly recommend this book. It is very interesting, there are so many topics that can be evaluated regarding the main character Nora Seed and how she appreciated her life, people, friends, lover, opportunities (mainly opportunities) and how the "Boat of Opportunity" can pass again in this in between place called " The Midnight Library". Nora represents in many aspects, when a person reaches the lowest point of her / his life, with lack of hope, depression maybe and when as a person you fell unwanted or unappreciated, however there are always opportunities to correct your path. She had so many versions or opportunities to choose a life that can suit her completely, however those versions did not give her that sense of "ownership" and many were "good " lives, (almost ideal), she felt in that way (i.e. Marriage with Ash and a completely family).

The narrative is very light.- The introduction of topics like Quantum Physics, traveling between this kind of "dimensions" provide certain explanation to the situation that she is experiencing. I think that the main message will be that: We as human beings need to pay attention to the small things that are around us and that forms our lives which are very important. Don`t waste your life, try to life as possible, take opportunities and enjoyed but the only way to enjoy is by living it fully and learning and deciding and making yourself ready to take control of your life and decide to live it as "full" as you can.

Christy Lefteri's novel The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a beautifully written and powerfully relevant story about a Syrian couple escaping their war-torn country and attempting to heal what is broken. Lefteri portrays the challenges faced by refugees in intense and emotional detail, bringing to life the stories which often get lost behind statistics and news headlines.
Nuri is a thoughtful, gentle beekeeper; his wife, Afra, is a painter who creates beautiful landscapes of Aleppo, where they lead a peaceful life. But when war strikes Syria, their lives are eternally altered. The couple must grapple with grief and pain as they make a dangerous journey to the United Kingdom, along the way facing strange lands and strangers who will do anything they can to survive. Afra has gone blind, and every day Nuri faces demons from the past, but they must press on.
Each chapter of the novel is split into present and past, transitioning from Nuri and Afra's daily happenings in the UK to their journey there from Syria. Lefteri's writing is poetic, raw, and compelling as she intelligently weaves together the past and present alongside themes of light and darkness, hope and sorrow, memories and grief. Nuri and Afra's transformation is a symbol of hope; their story and those of the other refugees they encounter show the persistence of life even in the midst of death.
The Beekeeper of Aleppo is meant for a more mature audience; with that in mind, it should be read by anyone who does not fully comprehend what refugees face, wants to gain a new perspective, or is privileged enough to live in a country that has not been destroyed by war. It is an incredibly eye-opening book.

This book is cute. We follow Natasha, a science and fact-based person, trying to do everything she can to prevent her family from being deported. And Daniel, a creative, hopeless romantic, is doing everything he can to please his parents by going to a Yale alumni interview. While on their own ways, their paths intersect. Daniel becomes determined to prove to Natasha that love is more than chemicals and is a real thing. While Natasha is determined to not fall in love with Daniel and stop her family from being deported.
As said before, this book is cute and explores what life is and what it can be. It does have a form of insta love, but it works with the setup and plot and is well used. I loved Natasha, she was relatable because of her fact-based ways. Then, Daniel was the kind of person that people are drawn to, funny, creative, and peotic. This book explores how much one person can affect so many other people's lives. It shows so many people besides the main character, and we learn so much about them. It is such a hopeful book and it's sp refreshing. Natasha and Daniel's relationship is rushed especially in the beginning. The social and racial aspects of this book are amazing, it was so well explained. There was history so that you could deeply understand why it was the way it was. This book makes you ponder about life, the universe, and fate. The chapters are so short that is it an easy and quick read. Overall it's a cute book that makes you think about life.

City of Bones follows Clary Fray as she discovers a dangerous world that has been hidden in plain sight from her. Clary's mother gets violently kidnapped, and not to mention that she saw something that only she could see at the teen club Pandemonium, three strange teen warriors that were supposedly dispatching a demon when she saw them. Clary gets swooped up into their world with many questions; why is her mother gone, why can she see them, and most of all, what is the truth? She discovers a world with demons, warlocks, vampires, faeries, werewolves, and of course, the glorious(ish) shadowhunters that are all fighting invisible fights, especially with the rumor that an old shadowhunter enemy is rising up again. Come along on the ride with Clary as she brings her friend Simon along on the journey for answers and learns much more than she bargained for.
City of Bones has good world-building and is an excellent gateway into the Shadow world. It is definitely not the best book by Cassandra Clare but it was her first and an entrance to an entire universe. The book has many twists and not all are huge but they are there and bring you back into the book. It can seem like it was dragging on and like not much was happening but the twists bring your attention back in. The relationships between characters were well written and Magnus Bane needs no discussion (amazing character, would die for him). The action scenes are there and plentiful, they can get cluttered but let's be honest has anyone read a perfect action scene, they are hard to write. The action scene can cause you to lose focus and it can feel a little repetitive with the setting and what happens with the character but like I said there are twists that bring your focus back in. Overall it's a good book but not the best but still a vital read for understanding the Shadow world/ chronicles. This book is a worthwhile read and a great entrance to Cassandra Clare's work.

Legend by Marie Lu is a dystopian novel with its own flair. Some dystopians can feel the same, but Legend is unlike any other. We follow June and Day who couldn’t be more polar opposites. June will someday become the best general the Republic has seen and Day is the Republics most wanted criminal. Yet, they cross paths and June’s ultimate goal is to take down Day. Like a classic dystopian, this novel will take you through twists and turns and you will never expect how it ends. I loved this book because of the relationship June and Day have. I highly recommend this book to anybody who love dystopian novels.

Aurora Rising is a gripping and exciting action/science-fiction/fantasy novel by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Starring a misfit group of cadets on a quest to help a stowaway from a different time, Aurora Rising provides action, lovable characters, and an exciting mystery element unraveling throughout.
Being the first book in a trilogy, some elements of the series aren't fleshed out to their fullest, but this is fixed in both of the next entries in the series. Some characters; especially the "Brain" of the crew, Zila; are left without much of a personality beyond one or two basic traits. The use of certain futuristic slang can be a detractor for some readers as well.
These drawbacks are more than made up for the wealth of strong relationships and a driving plot throughout. The main characters all have strong motivations and complement each others strengths and weaknesses. The plot moves forward through setpieces both large and small, providing each new world a chance to shine in its own way.
Overall, Aurora Rising is a must-read for young adult fans of science-fiction and/or fantasy and a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is a fantasy novel about Grisha people with magical powers called the small science. It follows Alina Starkov and her childhood friend Mal as they make their way through this world, just trying to survive. The novel is well thought through. The plot makes sense and is complex enough to keep interested in the book. The characters are complex with their backstories, making them more relatable. The author does a great job illustrating the world and the magic system. Overall I would rate the book with a four out of five stars.

The Silent Patient follows Theo Faber, a psychologist who has become obsessed with the case of Alicia Berenson, the painter happily married to a famous photographer who one day shot her husband in the face and then never spoke again. When Theo gets the chance to work with Alicia at her facilities, and to maybe learn the truth of her motivations, he jumps at it. From there, the book splits between Alicia's journal as her life speeds towards the tragedy and Theo's experiences working backwards towards it, colliding in a knot of intrigue and tragedy, forever blurring the line between villain and victim.
This book is one of the few adult, realistic fiction books I've been able to get through without tossing to the side after the first chapter. For whatever reason, I find adult realism to be dour and unnecessarily dark, like the authors used their genre as an excuse to be overtly cynical and call it depth of writing. This book has some of the same issues: all relationships started happily and ended horribly, everyone main character is a monster in some way, the ending is ambiguous and dark, etc. This book can be set apart, however, by its plot. The opening mystery is extremely intriguing, and wonderfully set up to make the audience deeply curious. Lots of prose is devoted to the mystery, like some great allusions to classical Greek theatre, which increases the mystique. Basically, the prose and the mystery give the novel that fun suspense many adult realistic fiction novels lack. Another way the plot shines is the plot twist. One reason its difficult to rate this novel is the fact that, while most of it is pretty good or mediocre, the plot twist at the end, and the subsequent conclusion, elevate the novel to another level. Beyond this, the character work is also moving, giving every character relatable motivations, and fleshing each out enough that seemingly insane actions make total sense.
All in all, while the writing wasn't fantastic, the stellar plot structure, plot twists, prose, and characters make this a good book. I would recommend this to anyone looking for intriguing mysteries, a gripping story, and way too many metaphors!