“Looking for Alaska” is a book about Miles Halter, who is searching for the “Great Perhaps” in his life. So, to find the “Great Perhaps” he enrolls in the Culver Creek boarding school. While at school he makes new friends and grows out of his shell into the real world. One of the friends that he makes is Alaska Young, who is a hurricane unto herself and she pulls Pudge (Miles) into the real world and eventually makes him face the truth about how bitter the world can be. But she also captures his heart, making everything feel worse once tragedy strikes. But once tragedy strikes, nothing is the same anymore.

I could not put this book down. The format of the book is so fun and it cuts out useless parts of the book. Also, the way it separates the ‘before’ and the ‘after’, was a very smart way to organize the book. The writing was pretty good and felt honest about how teenagers live their lives. Sometimes something would happen very suddenly in the book but the book would keep going, so I would have to reread parts to fully understand what just happened. You get to see into Pudge’s mind and even though he is a jerk sometimes, you do get attached to him and the people that he cares about. Personally, Pudge was a very relatable character and then Alaska was the person that I want to be. Dr. Hyde was one of my favorite characters and I think that he was a good teacher. The plot and the pranks were very well thought out and I did not see the event coming ( the one that separates the ‘before’ and ‘after’). I think that the event was also very well thought out because of how common it is but also how you never think that it will happen to you, showing a life lesson, technically. Overall, this is a great novel, with uncensored teens, a few life lessons and great characters.

House of Leaves is a story within a story within a story. In short, it is a collection of writings, put together by an amateur tattoo artist after retrieving the notes from a dead blind man's apartment, notes about a documentary that may or may not have existed, a documentary that details one family and their house that is far bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. It is a desperate mess, a mile-high pile of unreliable narrators' unreliable writings collapsing in on themselves. It is a horror, not about a haunted house or a monster in the dark, but about the things that haunt us and the monsters inside our minds. It is a book that pushes the idea of what a book can be. It is gibberish, illegible, unreadable. And it is one of the most gripping books I have ever read.
I was glued to this book when I got it. It was one of the first real horror books I have ever read, and yet it betrays every idea of what horror should be. It is long and rambling and pretentious, going off on random tangents and strange digressions at the drop of a hat, but it still made my skin crawl. After I first bought the book, I quickly realized that I could not read it when my parents weren't home. It's something about the abruptness of horror after so long without it, or maybe its the unsettling words before that put you in the headspace where every shadow looks like a death omen. It's likely also something about the way the book chooses to directly address the root of all fears. It isn't about a house invasion, it's about the primal fear that comes when the comforting becomes unsafe. It isn't about surviving in a dangerous or extreme environment, it's about the bone deep terror of being somewhere you don't belong. It isn't about a monster, it's about the monstrous things this world has to offer, and how that monstrosity can creep into our very bones. This can be seen in the way the horror of the book is never named or explained. There is no ritual or legend, no handy expert or trusty guide. Even if a character manages to escape the horror, the horror still exists, because it has always existed.
Despite the beautiful prose, rich imagery, and startling effect this book creates, there are definitely some problems. The main issue is the inherently illogical structure and plot of the novel. This is obviously intentional on the authors part, since the book, and its characters, are meant to be a challenge to understand. The book is filled with rambling, nonsensical footnotes that can take up pages at a time. Words will go in different directions, appendices will stretch on for hours, entire chapters will be devoted to academic nothingness. This strangeness also weaves its way into the plot. While the documentary's story is mostly straightforward (although it, too, dissolves near the end) the ramblings of the amateur tattoo artist bringing the story together are crude, strange, abrupt, and often incomprehensible. There is a lack of catharsis, of any sort of understanding of most of the characters, and this can be very confusing and frustrating.
All in all, this book was a difficult yet rewarding read. I'd definitely recommend it for older readers, and would instruct any attempting to read it to get the physical version, read however feels comfortable, and go to the appendices when directed. I'd also recommend it for any lovers of horror, mystery, or a story in unique format.
Reviewer Grade: 12

Oathbringer is the third installation in the amazing Stormlight Archive. With their homeland overrun by "Voidbringers" (or is it...🤔), Dalinar Kholin and co must find a way to end this Desolation without being wiped from Roshar, and without the help of the Heralds of the Almighty, or the Almighty himself. Urithiru, the city of the Knights Radient, has a new, unwelcome occupant that is mimicking acts of violence that happen in the tower city. The city conceals more knowledge that no one knew, including an unpleasent fact about humanity's orgins on Roshar, their "homeworld".

“The Lost Hero” is the first book in the “Heroes of Olympus” series, which takes place after the “Percy Jackson and the Oympians” series so it is recommended that the Percy Jackson series is read before reading this book. The book is about three demi-gods, Leo, Jason, and Piper that find their way to Camp Half-Blood. The three half-bloods end up going on a quest together. Leo Valdez during this book learns new and weird things about his past, he also loves machines and flirting. In my opinion he was the most relatable character in this book of the three main characters and was very lovable. Jason wakes up on a bus and has no idea who he is but all he knows is that something is not right. In this book Jason is not very relatable because of his absence of memory, so we don’t learn many not quest related things about him but he was still an enjoyable character. Piper has secrets and her life is turned upside down during this book. She is relatable at times but Leo is still by far the most relatable character in this book. So the three demi-gods go on a quest together to stop the start of the end of the world and learn a lot of things along the way.

“The Lost Hero” was a good book. While reading I did have to look at my political map of the U.S.A. to make sure I understood where they were going. The plot and quest were overall pretty easy to follow but the book feels a little slow at times. The mythology was very well integrated into the story. The writing style was descriptive and I enjoyed the book being in third person rather than first person, like in Percy Jackson and the Olypians. The book felt really well thought out and it fits really well with the rest of the books in its world. The book had fun small plot twists that I didn’t see coming. You will get attached to the main characters, especially Leo Valdez. I liked how it ended, it wrapped up the story with more to come nicely. The small bit of French in it was easy to understand even if you don’t speak french. Overall, it was a good book and a good start to a series and a wonderful addition to the Percy Jackson world.

How is it possible to exist in a place that sucks so bad is the name of the first chapter in this book and this was enough to catch my attention and make me want to read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. This book is a story about a boy named Greg and his friend Earl who are both seniors in high school and enjoy a hobby of making not- so- great movies with his dad's old camera. Greg has a philosophy that if you don't make friends in high school then you can't make any enemies either, so he pretty much flies under the radar and only hangs out with Earl. That is, until one day, his mom forces him to become friends with his elementary school ex- girlfriend Rachel who was recently diagnosed with leukemia.
When I picked up this book, I had really high expectations because the first sentence of the synopsis on the back was "this is the funniest book you'll ever read about death" which set my standards very high, but when I got into the story, I found the humor to be subpar. Greg is an overall shallow character and I found myself waiting for him to reveal some deeper level of character that did not include jokes about alien barf and the attractive girls in his grade and I was disappointed when he didn't. I did however, find the way that the book was written intriguing because Greg was writing the book himself and would address the reader directly which I think helps you to become more involved in the story. However, the way that he wrote himself made Greg very unlikable in my opinion, which could have been the point, I am not sure. Overall I was a bit underwhelmed by the lack of empathy Greg had towards his friend and how bad his jokes could be at times. I think if you really wanted to make the argument that this book is about embracing yourself and not being ashamed of your interests, you could but it would be a bit of a stretch. If you are looking for a quick, lighthearted read with lots of jokes about random things and an insight on a teen boy's mind, you may want to give this a shot, and depending on your type of humor it could be a very enjoyable book.
Reviewer Grade: 11

One of King's earliest and critically acclaimed books, a superflu ravages the planet, leaving a minuscule remainder of the population to pick between two opposing factions.
This book was a lengthy trip to follow, but it was pretty good. The characters were my favorite part of the story, as most of them were nuanced and developed. Seeing them interact with each other and/or their environment really pulled me in. The story, overall, was also good, but there were spots that didn't bring me the same enjoyment. The ending was anti-climatic and seemed forced, and it didn't flow with the setup before hand. Speaking of flow, the story was very slow. Characters acted and did things, but they also didn't. After the beginning, nothing really happened conflict wise. It all seemed like set up without much driving force aside from the attraction to the two fractions. In context with the story, it makes sense, but it still seemed boring at points where characters either weren't developing or were just there for a purely plot reason. Still recommend a read (especially with how it connects with his other works), but not the best I've read.
Reviewer's Grade: 11

I first discovered this book in fifth grade, when my teacher read this amazing book to us. She had told us that it had songs and poems in it, and that she would sing to us, provided that we chose it for our read aloud book. Needless to say, we all wanted to hear our teacher sing. And we were introduced to the wonderful world of Aerwiar and its amazing creatures and characters, which include fearsome Toothy Cows and a crazy man called Peet. Reading it again as a teenager, I enjoyed it immensely for the second time, because of the suspense, humor, and creativity inside.

Ordinary siblings Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igby have lived in Skree, in the small town of Glipwood all their lives. Nine years ago, a Nameless Evil (called Gnag the Nameless), along with the despicable, lizard-like Fangs of Dang, took over both the Shining Isle of Anneria and Skree and now rule it with cruelty and oppression. But there is a secret in little Glipwood. A secret more dangerous than even the Fangs themselves.

Alice has traveled back to Wonderland! She and the other characters must find what has made the Hatter go inexplicably mad, or in his case, sane. And there is another mystery afoot. A mystery that had started before Alice came to Wonderland in the first place. Your actions and decisions affect the story, as you can choose to be Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen, or the White Queen, at different times in the story, including future and past...
A choose your own adventure, this book is entertaining for a light read. I enjoyed the different perspectives and whimsical ideas, but as I was reading through to the last ending, I found myself a little bored. I suppose this is because parts of story between the four characters were exactly the same, but told as "Alice said," instead of "I said," for example. I also think that it would have been more interesting if the book had differing interpretations of the same ideas depending on the character being played. However, I did enjoy making decisions for the first characters I chose, because the story was new to me, and I couldn’t predict what I needed to do. But after the first two, I could tell exactly what decisions would lead me to the right places, because the first characters had already finished the story based on the other two's actions.

I enjoyed this book a lot.
Aven has done many things that could be hard for most people, like keeping a tarantula, learning guitar, and horseback riding. But perhaps the most impressive part of Aven's accomplishments is the fact that she did it all in the absence of arms, which she had been born without. This book is the sequel to Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, which is just as good, following the adventures of Aven as well. In her first months of high school, she experiences bullies, fake friends, real friends, lies, truths, and many difficult choices. And she lives to tell the tale of many Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus.
I liked Aven's perseverance and her refusal to let anyone destroy her happiness. She is very caring, and she likes to help out, but she also has a great sense of humor. I also liked the way the author described how the characters were feeling without an outright statement.

This book is delightful, despite being only 122 pages (including the author's note, which I also enjoyed immensely). It is presented as a dictionary of quirky, imaginary creatures found in the Wingfeather Saga, which is also by Andrew Peterson. It's filled with elaborate drawings of such creatures, which I deeply enjoyed looking at. The descriptions consist of short stories of "Ollister B. Pembrick"'s encounters with the animals, and his opinions on their demeanor, weaknesses, and even taste. It is very fun to read and I would recommend this to anyone looking for something to cure their boredom. I also enjoyed the made up words in this book such as "quickitude" and "dogths" (a unit of measurement involving dogs). This is an excellent, strange little book that is definitely worth opening.