Fiction

This is the quintessential mystery novel. A Study in Scarlet introduces the famous sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, and his beloved partner, Dr. Watson. This novel makes you instantly fall in love with the famous duo and will keep you captivated for novels to come. Sherlock Holmes' deduction ability will leave you speechless and his wit will keep sucked into the
story. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it for any readers searching for a classic mystery thriller.

Sethie has perfect grades, a boyfriend, and a new best friend. However, she has the constant struggle of losing weight to conform to the model society sets. She knows that by skipping a few more meals, and vomiting a few more meals away, she can achieve her goal. She has working on her body her number one priority, even when everything she loves is gone.

Personally, I don't recommend this book. While I appreciate the book's attempt to bring light to the issues of body image and anorexia, it's not well written. There are way too many time skips and not enough clear transitions between them and the present time in the book, which made the story way too complicated to follow. There were some scenes I could understand, and the chemistry between the characters is well done, but it's kind of hard to connect with a story when you have no clue what's going on. I couldn't even finish this book, it was that bad! This book is a solid skip for me.

Jaine Austen has a trip to Hawaii with her parents on the horizon, and her new freelance writing assignment gets her a date with the company president's handsome nephew. Just when Jaine thinks her life couldn't get any better, her cat Prozac lands a starring role in a new cat food commercial. Visions of fortune and fame flitter in Jaine's eyes, but it becomes clear that the person who hired Prozac is in some shady dealings, and that the inventor of the cat food is an absolute a**hole (excuse my French). Just as the shoot is about to end, the inventor of the cat food drops dead on set, and it's clear that it wasn't accidental. With everything she was looking forward to now at stake, Jaine Austen must put on her detective gear to catch the culprit before they take a swipe at another victim.

This novel is Laura Levine at her best. At every point when I was reading this novel, I was unable to guess what would come next, and every step of the story had me full of anticipation and joy. It was pretty satisfying to watch Lance get his just desserts, as well as seeing the side plot with Jaine's parents not revolve around one embarrassing antic of Mr. Austen, but a human event that slides into chaos. The mystery, as I said, was handled incredibly well, keeping the readers guessing until the very last page, while still having a hearty helping of Laura Levine's hilarious humor. And let me tell you, while the climax was identical to all Jaine Austen mysteries I've read, I did not expect who the culprit was in the end. It was a plot twist I did not see coming! This is definitely a book I recommend you pick up as soon as you can lay your hands on it.

Being cooped up with her eccentric family in a rural village on the Thai coast, Jimm Juree longs for something thrilling and interesting to happen in her life. And lo and behold, she gets it. She is assigned to interview a local European crime novelist named Conrad Coralbank (I legitimately almost wrote Colin Cotterill when typing this review up). At the same time, she finds herself in the middle of solving the disappearance of local doctor Dr. Somluk, who never returned from what was supposed to be a three-day conference, as well as the wife of Conrad Coralbank. All of this looks very suspicious to Jimm's family, who notice Conrad's disturbing attraction to Jimm quicker than a cheetah can run. With a monsoon headed their way, and a potential serial killer threatening Jimm's life, it seems like Jimm's entire world is in for some serious changes.

When I first read this book's description, I didn't have high hopes for it, given that the culprit seemed to be painfully obvious from the start. Half the fun of a mystery novel is figuring out who the culprit is, so having the culprit be handed over to you is a huge blow. With that taken into account, while I was intrigued by the book's premise, I felt like the book wouldn't have much to offer in terms of a thrilling mystery. But I was so, so wrong! The tension in this mystery novel is unlike any I've ever seen before, and the characters are written exceptionally well. Also, be prepared for a huge plot twist at the end, because Colin uses the obvious culprit facade to bring a plot twist you will not see coming. The climax was one of the best parts of this entire novel, not only because of the plot twist and how action packed it was, but because of how funny it was. I kind of want to see a climax similar to it in a Jaine Austen mystery. Just super saiyan. However, this book does have some major problems with dialogue. There weren't enough breaks to tell us who's talking, making the dialogue very confusing to read. The setting of the dialogue is also often made very unclear at first, and there are little interactions with the environment in the dialogue, making the dialogue seem like it's in a vacuum. But even with these dialogue hiccups, this is a book I highly recommend you check out. I'll be back again for books by Colin Cotterill soon, hungry for more.

A Long Walk To Water teaches about water conditions in South Sudan, Africa. The story is told from two perspectives, a girl named Nya and a boy named Salva. The reader follows the story of Salva and Nya’s journey through Sudan with little water, and little family. It’s an interesting book and it teaches about how important our resources are in our real world. I am someone who hates to read, and I was assigned this book to read for a school project, and it wasn’t bad to read.

Black Butler is about a 13 year old boy who makes a deal to give his soul to a mysterious demon butler named Sebastion. Black Butler takes place in Victornian- Era London. The main protagonist Ciel is born into the wealthy Phantomhive family. He loses his family when his house is allegedly set on fire and he is kidnapped. When Ciel meets a demon named Sebastion, he agrees to make a deal to give Sebastion his soul when he dies, and in return, Sebastion will protect him. Ciel lives with Sebastion as his demon butler as a servant to protect him and one day have revenge for his family.

This is the first part of a twelve part series. It’s a story that combines two video game characters: Sonic and Megaman. It compares the similarities and differences between Sonic and Mega Man. The art style is detailed and nice. Each panel has a lot of detail and expression. It’s very consistent. It is interesting to see both Mega man and Sonic’s worlds put into one book. There is a lot of action and humor. This book would be good for audiences of all ages to read.

Volume 53 of Naruto stands out from a lot of other volumes. This book gives the reader a backstory of how the main protagonist Naruto, a strong ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village grew up, and where he came from. This book shows the reader details about Naruto’s past. This book has great and detailed illustrations that show the reader a lot of expressions. The art helps the reader understand how the characters feel and relate to them.

Emily is an introverted teenage girl who is best friends with Sloane who is a huge extrovert. They have been best friends for a long time and they can't be separated. When it came time for summer break though, Sloane disappeared. There was no sign of her anywhere and every time Emily went to her house to check to see where she was; Sloane was nowhere to be found. Emily was confused and hurt that her best friend didn't tell her where she was, but then a letter showed up. It was in Sloane's handwriting and it was a summer checklist. They were things that Sloane knew Emily would have to get out of her comfort zone to do. Emily debated on whether or not she should even do the list, because why would Sloane give it to her with no context? But the thought that it might bring her to her best friend made Emily determined to check everything off the list. With the help of some unexpected new friends, and love interests, Emily started the list and the search for her best friend.
I loved this book because it was so interesting to read. There was something different in every chapter with unexpected events as well as flashbacks for the needed backstory and to develop Sloane as a character. The plot and development of the story is surprising and a fun representation of a teenage girls' life. It is also a pretty easy read and easy to follow, I would definitely recommend!

Six of Crows is a book about six individuals who have teamed together to complete a supposedly impossible and deadly heist, each with their own driving motivations and goals, but all aware of what's at stake: their lives. While the book is divided among six main characters, Bardugo does an excellent job at giving each a distinct story and voice. The book, along with its sequel, take place in a fictional world where some people, called Grisha, are born with powers. While the Grisha are not an obvious main topic of the book, the world building, fantastical powers, and underlying societal beliefs about them are all still there. Six of Crows has a perfect blend of fantasy and action with just enough suspense and romance to keep you on your toes and interested.

The six main characters are tasked with going to a land, foreign to most of them, to retrieve a doctor who knew the recipe for a drug that could amplify Grisha powers and control them. Unfortunately, the doctor is burried deep within a fortress of ice with more than one group after him. I would highly recommend this book, if not just for the plot, then for Bardugo's knowledge and craft of language and her ability to excellently build immersible worlds.