Here, you follow Jack Forman as he wages through his wife's unusual behavior and the nanotechnology her company created and developed.
For my first Crichton novel, I really enjoyed it. Watching Jack as he waded through his suspicious and the dangers he faces was a thrill to watch. While the characters themselves felt a bit bland, the plot, scientific mystery, and thriller aspects of the story make up for it. Learning about nanotechnology and different parts of programming was also fun to read, even if I didn't understand all of it. The pacing of the novel was done pretty well, from the beginning with Jack's wife, to the her place of work later in the novel. The way the danger was presented and changed was done well and kept me on my toes until the resolution. I recommend this for those who like thrillers and/or sci-fi.
Reader's Grade: 11

Little is known about the attack on Bob Marley on December 3, 1976, but Marlon James re-creates the incident as well as the characters before, during, and after the attack on the singer's life. Including over 70 characters, the story follows the first perspective of gang members, CIA agents, affairs, journalists, and others as the way of life in Jamaica spans from the 1970s to early 1990s.
This book is packed with colorful characters, story, and the way of life present in Jamaica back in the late 20th century. I enjoyed reading about the characters and how they revolved around The Singer (Bob Marley) and each other. For an incident that people know little about, James is able to create a wonderful picture about the possible involvement of various parties, the situation that influenced it, and what may have happened afterwards.
However, a (personal) issue I had with the book is the way it is written. Since the many characters are from Jamaica in the late 1900s, I had trouble understanding their dialect as they spoke. One character in particular, Bam-Bam, was especially difficult for me to understand, and this made it difficult for me to go through the story smoothly. Another problem I had was the layout of the text. Everything is in big blocks of text and dialogue is written in a way that I find odd and unorthodox. While there is nothing wrong with having a unique style, especially for the characters and story, it made it hard for me to understand some parts of the story and drew away from the experience I had with the book.
If you're into more realistic and introspective fiction, this could be worth your time.
Reviewer's Grade: 11

Ender's Game, written by Orson Scott Card, is a fictional account of an interplanetary war between the human race and aliens (known as "buggers"). The protagonist, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, is a young boy when he is selected to battle school, where the elite of humanity is sent to train in case of war. Ender quickly rises through the ranks and joins the Command School, where the elite of the elite train.
In the previous war against the buggers, one man's actions saved humanity, and that man's name was Mazar Rackham. For the upcoming war, Mazar Rackham refines Ender's ability to exploit weakness in the enemy. After the war (no spoilers here!), Ender learns of the importance of communication and trust.
My favorite part was the ending. Even thought it felt a little rushed, it was beautiful. It was filled with kindeness and hope for the future. I enjoyed reading the book because it challenged my vocabulary and helped me look at situations and misunderstandings in a different light. I would recommend the book because it teaches valuable lessons that the reader can apply to their own life.

XOXO features a teenage Korean-American girl, Jenny, who plays cello and one night meets a mysterious boy named Jaewoo at her uncle's karaoke place. They end up going to a festival and Jaewoo leaves and never texts Jenny again. Jenny goes on but moves in with her grandma she never met in South Korea and finds Jaewoo is actually a k-pop star who goes to her new school. Throughout the novel Jenny and Jaewoo grow close and learn about the struggles of balancing the expectations that come with talent and love. I enjoyed the concept of k-pop mixing with the famous-common person trope as that is what drew me in initially, but the novel was very predictable and surface level. Throughout the book the characters didn''t have much character development, there's no plot twists, and the only interesting part and pro of the novel is the concept.

Grade 12

I picked The Giver by Lois Lowry because it is on the Skyview Middle School Battle of the Books list. All books from this list have been amazing, and this particular one has a main character with the same name as my brother: Jonas. I enjoyed hearing about their way of life, the simplicity yet complexity of it. I also liked how everyone knew when to apologize, and everything about their life and job. Each job in the Community is given to a person who seems they would enjoy it. However, as the book goes on, you see the compassion of the community, or lack thereof. This book was very surprising to me at first. But it was easy to guess what was going to happen in Chapter 20 after the events of Chapter 19. I do find it a not very relatable book, but it does remind me of history. Seemingly perfect, wealthy, kind countries with dark, gaping holes underneath the pretty exterior. The ending of this book, I feel, is incomplete. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

(Grade: 7)

This is not a test focuses on a high school girl who experiences the end of the world. Humans have been infected and zombies have taken over her world. She has had a bad home life with her dad and sister. She believes she should no longer live. Her and a couple of other teenagers take shelter in the high school. The books tells the story of a girl who thinks this is her end but it really is just her beginning. I really loved how suspenseful this book was it made you want to keep reading. I enjoyed reading about a girl who things she has nothing more to offer for the world but then slowly realizes all the bad things that have happened in her life and led her to a single moment. She finally finds where she belongs. I feel like the book could have a better ending. Maybe they could have ended in the government shelter. Overall this book was pretty good. I definitely would recommend it.

We'll Always Have Summer is the last novel in the Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy.
Like the second novel, We'll Always Have Summer was another book that did not contribute to the series at all and was another story of completely useless drawn-out drama. Somehow, the last novel's conflict was even worse than the last. Turns out, Belly and Jeremiah decide to get engaged, and surprise, surprise, Belly still harbors feelings for Conrad. Except for this time, Belly is about to be married to Jeremiah. With too many practically cheating moments to count, the novel makes you realize that Belly might not be much of a good person, and probably doesn't deserve Conrad or Jeremiah. In my opinion, the person you most feel sympathy for is not the protagonist or love interest, but Jeremiah himself. With his own brother and fiance sneaking around his back, the novel really attempts to romanticize Belly and Conrad's forbidden romance but fails miserably. Overall, We'll Always Have Summer is a pretty unsatisfying book to wrap up the trilogy and makes readers despise Belly and Conrad even more.

Reviewer Grade: 11

It's Not Summer Without You is the second installment to The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy. In my opinion, this novel and plot seemed a little stretched out, in attempts to lengthen the series. The novel was pretty much the same as the first, with Belly constantly stringing along with Jeremiah while also battling feelings with Conrad. Except for this time, Belly is actually in a relationship with Jeremiah, making the whole situation much worse. Throughout the whole novel, I could not help but cringe constantly. The fact that Jeremiah and Conrad were brothers made the whole thing with Belly much worse. Belly is in a relationship with one brother, but secretly in love with the other. Clearly, a recipe for disaster, and Belly completely does not handle these situations in a logical or considerate way, making the whole novel seem like a huge jumbled mess. Overall, I feel like It's Not Summer Without You was a totally unnecessary addition to the series, and that the author could have wrapped up the plot easily at the end of the first novel of The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Reviewer Grade: 11

The Summer I Turned Pretty is a teen romance series written by Jenny Han, author of the To All the Boys I've Loved Before series. While the novel has a promising plot, containing a cute beachside childhood romance between Isabel "Belly" and her two childhood friends Jeremiah and Conrad Fisher, the plot for me got a little mixed up in the middle of the novel. Belly starts off by informing us readers of her longtime crush on Conrad but claiming that she doesn't have such feelings toward him anymore. However, it becomes painfully obvious that Belly does in fact still harbor feelings toward Conrad and is unhealthily pushing down these feelings by using other guys to make up for him. In my opinion, Belly is not a likable main character and displays many toxic traits throughout the novel. She consistently strings along innocent guys and is totally unaware of her own negative behaviors. However, I understand that the novel is supposed to encapsulate Belly being a typical teenager, discovering romance and etcetera. While I didn't particularly enjoy Belly in the first book, and couldn't really cheer her on as a protagonist, I have to admit that some of her rash behaviors did mirror common traits that many young teen girls, such as myself go through. Overall, while The Summer I Turned Pretty did not have a likable main character, it did have a couple of sweet moments and did illustrate the pains of growing up well.

Isla and the Happily Ever After is the third installment in the Anna and the French Kiss series. In my opinion, this book was far better than the Anna and the French Kiss series but still contains a couple of flaws with it. To start off, Isla and Josh's love story was pretty sweet and contained just the right amount of cheesiness. I enjoyed that their romance followed a typical, but also a well-done trope of the sunshiney girl versus the more brooding introverted boy. However, despite some of the cute moments, I couldn't ignore the glaring fact that Isla and Josh's story seemed way too sudden. Right after they meet, they practically dive into their relationship right away, with no suspense or build-up. Isla and Josh rush right into the thick of things, something that made the story seem a little rushed and underdeveloped.
Isla as a character also seemed slightly underdeveloped, because I could not really find myself relating or having any strong feelings towards her at all. Isla was a very "meh" character, her personality traits mirroring mediocrity. Adding on to Isla, her obsession with Josh was also a little worrying. Isla seemed to pin everything about herself to Josh, to the point where she felt like she didn't deserve someone as great as him. At some point in the book, I felt that Isla's only character trait was her romance with Josh and that she relied on him far too much. Overall, while the novel had some weak points, I'd say it achieved the minimum of what a cheesy and sweet teen romance book should be. However, I hesitate to say that this book was a well-thought-out work. If a cheesy romance is what you're looking for, there are thousands of far better romances you should reach for before this one.

Reviewer Grade: 11