YALSA Award

The Hunger Games follows the gripping story of Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old that is the main provider for her younger sister and her mother after her father's passing. However, Katniss lives in Panem, built on the ruins of North America. In Panem, every year there is a deadly brawl in which 24 teens, 1 male and 1 female, from each of the 12 districts in Panem, face off in a fight to the death. Only 1 victor emerges alive. When Katniss's younger sister, Prim, is chosen to compete for the Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers herself to take Prim's place. What will happen in the arena? Will Katniss make it out alive?

Collins' creation will have you gripping the edges of your seat in suspense, shrieking with fear, and experience huge floods of relief! The Hunger Games truly grips the reader with all the emotions Katniss experiences and will leave you impatient to read the next books in the series.

I found the book, "Run, Hide, Fight Back" to be a very interesting and suspenseful book. I really enjoyed reading it and I would like to read more books like this. I very much enjoyed the detail described in this book and there were plot twists that I never would have expected.

Echo North is such an amazing book because the little girl wanted to save her farther because she loved him very much. For her to save her farther she had to make a deal with a white wolf that she had for many years. The wolf said if she makes and deal with them it would change her life forever. The wolf said that she had to live with them in their enchanted house under the mountain and than they would save her farther. She agreed to the deal and the wolf took her to world that she never knew was there. She sees that world seems very lonely and sad but she has to be strong because she want her farther to live as long as he can. I have only read a little bit of this book and it seems like it is very funn and has some exciting parts and loving because she did that for her farther.

They Both Die at the End is a book about two teenage boys, Rufus, and orphan with a sad past and Mateo who’s father is in a coma and spends most of his day in his room. At the beginning of the day both Rufus and Mateo get a call from Death Cast, an organization that lets people know that they will die in the next 24 hours. The two boys meet through an app called last friend that hooks patrons up with a friend to spend their last day with. As the book continues the two boys start to fall in love but only have 24 hours left to spend with each other. They Both Die at the end is an enthralling book that I couldn’t put down. I loved how the author also brought in other perspectives besides those of Rufus and Mateo and I also like how they visited places from their pasts throughout the day to help the readers understand the characters a little better. I have no complaints about how the book was written and I kept reading because while I was reading I experienced a full range of emotions form happiness to sadness and anger.

As a continuation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians series comes The Lost Hero. A novel continuing the world of Percy Jackson with all new faces and plots. Just like the original Percy Jackson series, I loved this first book of the Heroes of Olympus. The Lost Hero begins with Jason, a kid who can’t remember anything of his past waking up on a school bus with other students and two people talking to him. These two people are Piper and Leo, his apparent best friends and girlfriend. He doesn’t remember either of them at all. Even though they remember him and all the memories they shared. Piper is a kid from a famous father who does bad things to get his attention. Leo is the comedic relief of the group and makes everyone laugh, while also being a genius with mechanics. They are all in a school for delinquents and their actions sent them there. They are visiting the grand canyon when all of a sudden monsters attack causing everyone to panic. Jason starts to speak Latin randomly even though Piper and Leo had no clue he spoke it and never heard it, and Jason didn’t know that he could either. Jason also refers to the Gods with their roman names as the monsters talk to them. They are rescued by people from camp half blood and as expected there are some familiar faces. They get to camp and realize why they act the way they do and are eventually sorted into their cabins and Godly parents. They hear a prophecy and are instructed to save Hera and hear a new prophecy. They start on their quest and along the way, they learn more about each other and build a friendship from scratch again starting from the school bus. They encounter many new and different minor Gods and Goddesses as well as new creatures and people never seen before.
Just like Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, Rick Riordan can make new and exciting plots and characters. The amount of detail in this book was upped by a lot compared to his earlier works as they were much larger and could fit in much more story, allowing for a better and deeper story. I would suggest this book and the rest of Rick Riordan's books to anyone that loves Greek mythology, great writing, and as well as adventure, fantasy, comedy, friendship, mystery, and a little bit of romance all tied up into one great book.
Reviewer Grade: 12

I have always loved Greek mythology, so when I found this book I knew I would love it. I was right I loved it, it was amazing. The Lightning Thief centers around a pre-teen named Percy Jackson, who lives in New York and has trouble in school. He has been in and out of many schools, almost a different one each year. At twelve years old Percy always felt like an outcast, like he fit in somewhere just not anywhere. He struggled with dyslexia and ADHD. Every year at school he has had some strange occurrence that ends up getting him kicked out. He has a best friend, Grover, and an amazing mother, Sally. He also has a stepfather that is abusive and he has pushed his mother to leave him but she won’t. There is a reason though for all of what Percy has gone through in his life. After encounters with many horrible and terrifying events and things in which most try to kill him, he and Grover end up at Camp Half-Blood. At camp he learns many new things, his best friend isn’t human but a centaur, his father is the God of the sea, Poseidon, and there is a prophecy that he is destined for great things. At camp Percy meets Annabeth, a girl that is a child of Athena the goddess of wisdom and warcraft, she is crazy smart and very resourceful, yet also seems to be an amazing friend and person altogether. As the three of them go on a quest to find Zeus's missing lightning bolt and return it to him. Percy, Grover, and Annabeth set out across the country for a quest of a lifetime, all at the age of 12/13. Percy and his friends face monsters and things they never could have imagined.
This book was honestly one of the best books I have read ever, and I have read a LOT of books. Although it is for a bit younger age group it is still an amazing read for anyone who is looking for a lighthearted and funny fantasy and adventure book, combined with Greek mythology and overall great writing and plot structure.
Reviewer Grade: 12

This was so cute and comforting. I could relate to the main character Belly in many ways which made this book really enjoyable to read. The summer I turned pretty made me laugh, cry, and even made me frustrated at times. I usually don’t like reading books with love triangles but this one was an exception. I love the way Jenny Han wrote it. She keeps you guessing. At some points in the book I thought it would be Conrad and others I thought it was Jeremiah. This book was really sad at some points with Susanna having cancer and belly not knowing. It just added to the emotion of the story. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and I’m really excited to find out what happens next in book!
11th grade

If I had to convince you to read this book in one sentence it would be this. Multiple times I had to stop reading, set down my book, and contemplate if Alice Oseman was in my head. If there is one thing Alice Oseman can do it is write relatable characters. This book follows Frances, a straight-A student whose heart is set on getting into Cambridge, and Aled, a quiet boy who is secretly the creator of a hit fantasy podcast. Brought together through art/media, Frances and Aled become close friends and tackle life changes, emotionally abusive people, mental health, censorship, and just being teenagers. This book perfectly describes the life of a teen going through high school and showed pure friendships based on a mutual love for something. This was extremely captivating and it helped me get out of a reading slump instantly. If you are looking for a book with characters you can relate to, diversity, true depictions of mental health, or just something exciting to read, I would recommend this over and over.
Reviewer grade: 11

Everyone contains secrets but it is about how far you are willing to bear them and how long you want to shelter them. One of Us Is Lying is the first book in the One of Us Is Lying Trilogy and a YALSA 2018 Teens' Top Ten selection. One of Us Is Lying has the perfect mix of drama, suspense, mystery, and romance, and I haven’t read anything as unique. The book is extremely well written, perfect and extraordinary with the proper balance of words to keep anyone seated in one spot for hours at a time. The novel starts with five students sent to detention with only four leaving alive. The Brain, Bronwyn, The Beauty, Addy, The Athlete, Cooper, and The Criminal, Nate, Bayview High School’s most notable hypocrites are brought down throughout the novel to a level so low. According to investigators the death of a student during detention with the other four students, The Outcast, Simon, was not an accident. The leading characters are Cooper, Addy, Bronwyn, and Nate. They are all altogether diverse in the way they behave and their personality. I found Cooper the most interesting, but Bronwyn was the most sympathetic. Addy changed throughout the story starting as a typical high school popular girl and then ending with a more refreshing style. I enjoyed how the story was put together in the first person because the perspective was constantly varying which made it altogether more interesting. It uses multiple perspectives to provide you the point of view of not one, but all four suspects in a murder mystery with their motives, but the real marvel lies within the journey and experiences of the characters. This book is much deeper than just a murder mystery, and it has much more to it in terms of character development and diversity. You witness the characters’ vulnerable lives being picked apart and their deepest secrets being spread to their peers. This book is 5 Stars and exceeded expectations. I enjoyed this book and suggest it for the next time you want to read something as unique as this.
Reviewer 8th Grade

You may have heard of the fictional character Peter Parker, also known as Spider-Man. He was introduced in Amazing Fantasy #15, back in the 1960s. Ever since then, his story has been growing, thanks to many talented writers and artists.
But after several decades of publishing Amazing Spider-Man comic books, Marvel Comics had an idea. That idea was Ultimate Spider-Man.
This comic goes back to the early days of Peter Parker, and details how he became Spider-Man. It's masterfully written by legendary comic scribe Brian Michael Bendis.
And the artwork is phenomenal. Mark Bagley truly produced some great artwork for this series.
This volume only contains the first seven issues of this great series. I would highly recommend reading it.
Reviewer grade: 9