Fiction

An amazing and intriguing story about a girl who has lived in a town where a total of 17 people go missing in the same woods, gets lost in these same woods and has an adventure of a lifetime. This girl’s name is May Ellen Bird and she is the social outcast of the town she lives in and the town over, where she goes to school. She's considered weird for always collecting random things and always talking to her cat, Somber Kitty. While exploring her basically abandoned town she finds a letter in the crumbled and destroyed little box of a post office with her name on it, yet it was from 1951. In this letter there is a map for a lake not far from her house, yet there shouldn’t be a lake as in Briery Swamp, West Virginia has been a drought for years. She goes to look for it and sets out on a quest to find it full or not full. She finds it and falls in, after climbing out to her dismay she is now able to see ghosts. For some odd reason she decides to go back to the lake, falls in again and gets pulled to the strange world of the Ever After, where the story really starts to unfold with twists and turns, ghosts, and other things most people would be terrified of seeing.
This book is definitely different from your regular fantasy book, as it ties in slight horror. I won’t lie when I had my suspicions about this book when I first read it, but they were in fact wrong as this book sucked me in and captivated me with the depth and descriptive story. There is so much character development for all of the main characters and even the side characters as well, which is rare in most books, and there is so much description for every single little thing that you really get to know everything and everybody that you encounter throughout this book. I absolutely loved reading this book and I think many others would as well if you are looking for a slightly horrific book with adventure, friendship, and hardship along the way.
Reviewer Grade: 12

This book was so well written! Ivy, Mateo, and Cal all used to be friends in middle school but then grew apart. Ivy was having a bad day because she didn’t get class president, Booney did. She ends up running into her two old friends in the school parking lot and then decided to skip school. Little do they know they will be witnesses of Booney’s murder. The three have a day full of crazy events from being suspects of murder to being kidnapped. I really enjoyed this book. There were so many twists and turns that made it hard for you to know who did it. The suspense made you want to never put the book down. I really liked how this book was not predictable it kept you guessing all the way to the end. I would definitely recommend it.
11th grade

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

This graphic novel has lovely art and an even better storyline. Astrid is a middle-schooler who has a tough time doing roller derby without knowing anyone on the team. She has to learn how to hold her own and find her place doing a sport she loves. I liked how the author depicted Astrid's friendship with Nicole and they were able to learn from each other despite not being on the same path anymore. It was also cool to see Astrid's character development as she gained confidence and found her identity. The dedication it took to do that is a great lesson for anyone!
Grade 12

I really liked To Kill A Kingdom because it appealed to both romance and fantasy genres. This Little Mermaid retelling combined with the plot of The Siren by Kiera Cass is adventurous and exciting. The main characters, Lira and Elian, are both cutthroat and unapologetic, which makes for a fun read when they interact. Although I wish they each had a little more distinct passions and slightly wittier banter, the ending was cool and the complicated treasure hunt leading up to it was cool as well. I would recommend it if you like the other stories mentioned above, and fantasy books in general.
Grade 12

This eerie thriller was interesting, and I could have never guessed the plot twist! The Silent Patient follows a psychotherapist named Theo who is intrigued by patient Alicia's story of murdering her husband without warning or motive. She becomes mute and is resistant to talk about what happened that night, but Theo is determined to change that. Each chapter was engaging and added to the mystery of what led to the murder. Plus, the setting of a psychiatric hospital added to the grim and suspenseful tone of the book. By the very end, I was a bit confused by the plot twist because once it was revealed, it seemed like the characters totally changed personalities. Nevertheless, it was still a great book.
Grade 12

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

If you're like me, you're a fantasy lover. If you're also like me, you've heard great things about this book. Most of them are true. A Magic Steeped in Poison is about Ning, whose sister is dying from a poison. Her last option is to compete in a tea making competition for a favor from the princess, and hope she has the cure.

Let's start with the obvious, the magic system is enchanting (pun intended). I've never seen anything quite like it, and I'd read a book just explaining exactly how everything works. Really, it's just refreshing to see a magic system that isn't 'pew pew, blast blast'. The plot is great too, and every stage of the competition brought something interesting. Ning is a pretty good protagonist, and I can't think of a time I didn't like her. Most of the characters are fairly strong, although nothing amazing. The princess is likable, but not perfect. The father has a bit of complexity. And I thought the judges were very well written. Really, I only had a few complaints.

The weakest aspect of the book is Ning's love interest. Kang is a nice enough character, but we don't know anything about him. If you've read the book, you're probably confused. After all, we know a ton about Kang's past. But that's the thing, we know about his past, not him. Can you think of a single personality trait he has? In the beginning he's super exitable (this never shows up again). Later in the book he loves history (never comes up before or again). Kang is just a generic, perfect boyfriend. There's nothing wrong with a shallow character, as long as the protagonist has some emotional distance from that character. With a love interest, the goal is to have as little emotional distance as possible. Other than that, everything is pretty solid. I would have liked to see some flashbacks with Shu (so we could get more attached), and maybe some more time with Lian.

Overall, I recommend this book, and I'm excited to read the sequel.