“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” is another great book to read.
It is the second book in a seven book series. I recommend reading the books in order, so the story makes a lot more sense. For people that enjoy fantasy and adventure books this is a great book for you! This book is full of surprises and cliff-hangers to the reader. The story isn't relatable to the reader however some of the characters are. This is another great book I have read this year!
Reviewer Grade: 8th

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” is a great book to read. This is the first book in a seven book series. If you like fantasy and adventure books this is a great book for you! This book is completely unpredictable with many twists and turns. Some of the characters are relatable to the reader but the story isn’t relatable at all. This is one of the best books I have read all year!
Reviewer Grade: 8th

At first, Raesha thinks she is an ordinary girl. She has a sweet, affectionate boyfriend and her best friend Asia. She loves horses, just like her mother did, before she passed away due to cancer. Everything seems normal until one day, a new girl moves into town, accidentally hurts Raesha's dog, flirts with her boyfriend, and steals her best friend! She suddenly fills with hatred and jealousy towards the new girl and the rest of her friends.
Then, having no one to support her, she starts despising herself until she does the unthinkable.
This story is beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. The characters are very well developed and makes you attached to each and every one of them.
I was definitely able to relate to the main character, and many readers might relate with some situations in the book. I especially enjoyed the poetic style of the author, giving the story a nicer flow. I highly recommend you read this book. You won't regret it.

I first picked up this book when I was in maybe 6th grade and I absolutely hated it, I had no clue what it was about and why it was an "adventure" book that didn't really have a lot of action in it. Having picked up this book again this year (and actually finishing it this time) I can honestly say this story made me want to reevaluate how I have lived my entire life. The story follows a boy named Santiago as he searches for his personal legend, in other words, the reason he is alive, his purpose. This is a book that makes you want to go out and chase your dreams no matter what, and it is beautifully written. The novel takes you through the ups and downs of life and proves that sometimes your hard work is worth it in the end, whether you accomplish what you set out to do out not. I think this is a book where the messaged can’t be fully realized until your a little bit older, but to anyone struggling with what they want to do in life or even just where to start, this book is amazing, it made me feel like anything is possible. Just read it, I promise it’s good.

Reviewer: Grade 11

In the midst of desperately trying to find a historical fiction novel to read for my English class, I picked up Lisa See’s book and immediately fell in love. This book is told through the main character, Lily, as she recalls her past as an older woman. As a young girl, Lily was promised to her laotong, Snow Flower. To be a laotong in China means to be best friends, to be closer than sisters, and to never leave each other’s sides. As Lily grows up throughout the book, she recalls her stories of love and loss that shaped her entire life, most importantly in regards to Snow Flower. This book gives an important look into the lives of woman in early China, about the standards they were held to as far as their appearance goes, and the strict rules they had to follow just to live a "fulfilled" life. For anyone who is interested in learning more about the Chinese culture or simply reading a beautiful story of love and friendship, I highly recommend. (Not gonna lie, I cried at the end, this book is actually amazing).

Reviewer: Grade 11

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy is a dystopian novel set in modern day. It follows the main character Cassie as she survives alone during the alien invasion of planet earth. I read this book in 8th grade and to this day it continues to be one of my favorite takes on the dystopian “genre.” I think what makes this book interesting to read in the fact that the author does not shy away from showing how awful Cassie believes her life is. Instead of focusing on hope and the characters figuring out how they are going to single handedly save the entire human race, Yancy instead makes his characters sarcastic, selfish, angry at the world and just overall very “human”. It makes the book feel less cliche and as realistic as the alien invasion of earth can I guess. For anyone who wants to read a dystopian novel (minus *most* of the cheesy romance and heroics) and I definitely recommend.

Reviewer: Grade 11

Ghostly Echoes is the third book in the Jackaby series. It covers the death of the resident ghost of 926 Augur Lane, Jenny Cavanaugh. She was murdered ten years ago, and her fiancé (a scientist involved with some suspicious
people) disappeared. She has hired Abigail and Jackaby to investigate her death. But when a similar crime happens, they realize Jenny's case is connected.
Because of the fact that this not only deals with the murder of a liked character, but also includes peeks into Jackaby's past and how he became the seer, this is the darkest book in the Jackaby series. But it also has plenty of humor, mainly in the bantor between Jackaby and Abigail. They feel like The Doctor and their companion from Doctor Who, if they had to take up the role of Holmes and Watson for a day. This also tackles a whole new part of the world building. This always had folklore involved, but now it includes mythology.
As good as this was, there were some problems. I feel like this book series needs more details; I can't see the character's faces all that well. Also, it is implied that Jackaby has feelings for Jenny, which I think needed much more foreshadowing. I only got close friend vibes from them in the first two books. And the side characters still needed some development; they were important parts in the book, but they didn't make much of an impact on me.
Overall, I think this was the best book in the series thus far, and sets up the events for the fourth (and final) book well.

I decided to choose the book because it looked like it would tell a great story and it did. I liked the book due to its great lessons inside about the imperfections of our minds, but the greatness of them too. The part I enjoyed most was the journey f the main characters and how they didn't change their personalities and stayed focused on the topic. The part I didn't really enjoy was that the story went kinda slow. The book was pretty predictable, but the lessons and thoughts behind you need to think more about to get, so it was still entertaining to read. It was an amazing book to read and I definitely recommend it.
Reviewer Grade: 10

I loved this series. It's a really good imagination of censorship taken to the extreme. Kiiro Yumi really put thought into the character dynamic and the resolution of the series was highly satisfying. In a distant future, the Japanese government starts to ban books they find bad for society, so the libraries must put together a military force in order to defend the right to information. Kasahara has been dreaming of joining this task force since she was in high school and a mysterious member of this task force stopped the Media Betterment Committee from taking a book from her. She dubs this man her "prince" and is on a quest to find him through the Library Forces. The main romances in this story are sweet, but are subtle enough to not totally take over the storyline. I suggest you read this book if you like strong female characters, romance, and fight scenes. Nothing is really explicit in the book, though there are scenes where characters get injured.

Throne of Glass does not fulfill the promises it makes on the back of its dust jacket. Celaena is an assassin, the best assassin in the world, who got a life sentence of hard labor in a mine. But Celaena is nothing like an experienced or smart assassin. She’s reckless, overly arrogant, easily frustrated, and vain; she would rather gape at herself wearing fancy dresses in the mirror, sleep in, eat candy, get angry over her lack of skill at billiards, or read all night than worry over a competition that she knows her life depends upon. A good protagonist could have some of these features, but it is just illogical for someone in her position. In fact, the book soon starts skipping over the competitions entirely to focus more on Celaena, who does nothing to seem either cool or likable. She never acts like an assassin or like her supposed inspiration character, Cinderella. Celaena has very little to no humility, grace, or compassion. Celaena is neither a compelling assassin nor a charming Cinderella.
Reviewer Grade: 9