YALSA Award

The Fault In Our Stars is a novel written by John Green, a renowned author of Young Adult fiction. The story gives an account of Hazel, who can hardly remember life without cancer and has almost given up hope in her life. She then meets Augustus Waters, a cancer survivor, who reads her favorite books for her and hangs out with her and this helps her to gather strength. The two of them deal with cancer and love.

The story is written in a breathtaking way which makes us become a part of the characters and feel the same emotions. Hazel and Augustus appeal to readers through their sense of humor and their courage. But behind this courage, both of them hide their pain to protect their families. John Green, through Hazel and Augustus, brings both: tears and laughter.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Fault in Our Stars is a beautiful novel and I would recommend it to anyone who believes in love and has the courage to fight for it. Through this book, I realized that cancer not just touches victims, but it also touches all those who love it.

Stanley Yelnats was walking home from his last day of school, on an ordinary evening when out of the blue, a pair of baseball shoes fell from what seemed like the sky. Once recovered from the sudden shock, Stanley began to recognize this pair of shoes as the famous baseball player Clyde Livingston’s famous cleats. He was in such revelation at that moment that he hardly heard the police car pull up behind him. The officer stepped out, grasped the shoes from Stanley, and in return, placed handcuffs on his wrongly accused wrists. Stanley then travels to Camp Green Lake where he and many others are forced to dig holes exactly five feet deep, and five feet wide by the dreaded warden, the repulsive Mr. Sir, and finally the kind but still quite annoying Mr. Pendanski. It had only been a few days ago when he was unjustly convicted of a crime and sent to supposedly build character in what looked and felt like the most hottest and driest place on the planet. He and the others were forced to live in devastating conditions which included the worst of the worst living conditions. Days and days pass as Stanley meets new friends and foes but also as a newly found mysteries arise. Is the warden actually having the campers dig for character or perhaps something else? Is Stanley here because of the supposed curse on his family? And what other treasures could lie in this vast desert.

This book was an overall spectacular read. I had chosen to read this Louis Sachar novel because many of my friends had requested it to me along with many of my past and present teachers. I thought it would be a fun read and a possible new experience. Some of the many things that I really liked in this book was the exciting and suspenseful story along with the explicit details listed throughout the story. This book was amazing and barely had any flaws but if I had to think of one, I could have liked the organization and structure of the novel to have been a little better. Each chapter was very short and I would have liked them to be at least a little longer, but as mentioned before, there were close to none, if not any, very big dislikes in this wonderfully written novel. Readers who love a little mystery, some suspense, and a great story line would love this book.

This book is for 12 + it is a book of mystery .

War and Hatred flood the world, leaving the USA broken, but through the ashes hope arises when a group of scientist forge a city experiment that will one day restore humanity. They re-build Chicago: however, they change the way the new civilization will see the world. The citizens of Chicago are divided into five different groups: Erudite (The intelligent), Amity (the peaceful), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), and Candor (the honest). At the age of 16, teens take an aptitude test to determine which faction they belong in. Two decades after this city is born, the story begins with the life of Tris Prior. When taking the aptitude test, Tris discovers that she is divergent. A divergent individual is someone who is aware during simulations because of their genes. The story follows her life as she discovers love, sacrifice, and heartbreak.
This is a great story for anyone who loves romance and is fine with some gore. I chose to read this book because it was one of my mom's favorites and she thought that I would enjoy it.
Divergent teaches the reader that in order to see clearly one must not only focus on one singular flaw in a community, they must look at the body as a whole not just looking at one arm or one leg. Event though this is a great story, most problems are solved with violence, and this may affect some readers in a negative manner.

Divergent takes place in a dystopian world where the characters are restricted to a small "city" and are divided into factions. This story follows a girl who does not particularly fit in any faction and has to make a decision what group she wants to be a part of. When she makes this decision she learns that people like her are not accepted and she must work hard to hide her identity.
This story is very engaging and always had suspense to keep my on the edge of my seat. The more casual writing style that Veronica Roth uses makes me more engrossed in the story and engaged with the characters. It's also very interesting how the plot line excels and how the author can describe each faction and character with such detail.
This is the book that made me interested in dystopian fiction. It is filled with suspense, comedy, and phenomenal character development that had me crying.

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