Review Crew Book Reviews by Genre: Fiction

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.

Their Eyes Were Watching God, written by Zora Neale Hurstson, is a contemporary fiction novel regarding the tale of Janie Crawford and her quest to find love. I like how the book introduces the characters in the beginning, after Janie's journey to find love, and then Janie tells her best friend about how she ended up where she was. Originally, her grandmother wed her to a man she was uninterested in. In fact, she was so uninterested in her husband that she ran off with another, more exciting man. The more she stayed with the exciting man, named Joe Starks, (she eventually married him), the more he hurt (physically/emotionally) her. Later, Joe dies, and she has little to no remorse over his death. A couple months later, she meets Tea Cake, and eventually falls in love with him. The part that I don't like about this book is that Tea Cake has a lot of warning flags, but they all seem to fly over Janie's head. I don't know if the author intended for the main character to be foolish or not, it simply shocked me how willing Janie was to devote herself to Tea Cake.

Howl's Moving Castle is yet another exceedingly charming and wonderfully hilarious fantasy masterpiece written by Diana Wynne Jones. Set in the wondrous world of Ingary, it follows Sophie Hatter in her quest to undo a curse put upon her by the Witch of the Waste that has made her into an old woman. This quest will take her to the chicken-footed castle of Howl, a haughty and capricious wizard, rumored to consume the hearts of young maids. There, she will encounter magical doors, fallen stars, anxious apprentices, and adventure beyond her wildest dreams. Although she'll have to put up with the most annoying wizard in the world to experience it.

I love this book so much because it is the epitome of good fantasy while also spending about half the time blatantly making fun of the entire genre of fantasy. It's good fantasy because it really highlights the best parts of fantasy. It has all the spectacular world building, the whimsical setting, the spectacularly implausible situations, and the characters who treat all of this like normal, day to day life. This stuff is amazing, and its why fantasy as a genre is amazing. But because it is such standard fantasy, it spices it up by poking fun at all the things fantasy takes for granted. For example, Sophie is the oldest of three sisters, which she knows means she won't do much with her life. A huge chunk of her character is her believing she is plain and normal, because that's how fairy tale rules work: the oldest two sisters are examples or background characters, while the youngest shines as a future princess or a powerful sorceress. And its so funny! Because its something we all know, because it happens so often, and because of course the people that live in this world know the rules by now! Another bit that shines is when the characters attempt to use seven-league boots, a classic fairy tale item that allows the user to travel seven leagues with one step. But when the characters try to travel seven leagues, one of them keep accidentally taking an extra step. Because of course they would! If you're getting shoved across seven leagues, you're off balance, so you take an extra step to balance yourself out! Also, how many of us regularly take a single step? So about 3 pages of this book is just a highly relatable sequence of this character shuttling herself back and forth over fourteen leagues, desperately trying to take just one step. And it's hilarious.

Another bit that shines about this book are the characters, and just how human they are. I've already mentioned that characters in this book are aware of trends and realistically skilled, both of which are refreshing in fantasy stories. But they're all also flawed, and flawed in actually bad ways. After reading so many books with characters flaws being things like "too loyal" or "too pretty" or "too noble", I love how this book just has characters that can sometimes be the worst. The character this shines through is the wizard, Howl. He's not annoying to the protagonist because he's "too nice" or "too charming." He's annoying because he throws tantrums and gets slime everywhere and never answers questions and avoids too much work at all costs and is needlessly dramatic and constantly oblivious and carries around a guitar to impress women. He's an amazing character because he acts exactly like a twenty-something with amazing magical powers would. I also love how this quality also affects the female characters, especially Sophie. She can be brash and stubborn and aggressive. She gets turned into a ninety year old, and she's cool with it in like twenty minutes because she realizes she doesn't need to impress anyone anymore. She literally throws acidic weed-killer at Howl because he says something just a little too stupid. This book allows its characters to say stupid things and make stupid decisions, because everyone does that sometimes so everyone in this book will do it too. The level of human understanding that went into this book is astounding.
All in all, this is one of the most fun books I've read in a long time. I would recommend this to anyone who loves relatable characters, amazing fantasy, a good mystery, and a fun read!
Reviewer Grade: 12

This is a childhood favorite of mine. The story follows Louis, a mute swan who travels across Canada to learn how to communicate and find his sense of self. He has to figure out how to adapt to his unique circumstances when no other swans have gone through the same thing. It is funny and unexpectedly educational about Canadian wildlife. Louis is such an entertaining and sweet character. There are occasional language choices that reflect the author's time period (vague stereotypes of Native Americans) but everything else is completely wholesome. Read this book if you have little ones or just want something lighthearted to read!
Grade 12

If you aren't prepared for a soul-crushingly beautiful read, don't pick up this book. In a world where everyones' death day is predicted with absolute accuracy, two teenage boys meet for one last day of life together. I admit to throwing this book across the room several times due to the intense, sorrowful nature of the story and feel that I am justified in doing so. Silvera writes a compelling love story with a melancholy twist; I feel that the plot is worth the tears that leaked from my eyes for days after finishing this book. I recommend this to anyone looking for a sob-worthy, artfully written story.

The somewhat thick juvenile book- The Simple Art of Flying- is a good read with someone who loves imagining what our pets really think. Their 'secret side'.

Alastair, the African Grey parrot, lives a dull life inside a pet shop with his bright, eager sister, Aggie. This somewhat sarcastic, yet hilarious narrator is the real reason for the book's amazingness. One boy who helps out at the shop, aspiring doctor and/or vet, Fritz, takes a shine to Aggie. He starts saving up his money to buy her. She thinks that Fritz means to buy both of them, and Alastair doesn't have the heart to tell her otherwise. A little while after Aggie is taken home with Fritz, an eccentric old woman by the name of Albertina Plopky decides to adopt Alastair, though he is very much against it. The book is mostly about his time at her home, while he devises plans on how to go and get Aggie. The book had a few plot twists that made it all the more surprising and enjoyable. One quirky habit Alastair has that adds to the plot and style of the book is: he likes to eat paper. From books, posters, or newspapers, he eats it, and somehow senses what the words are saying, and the story behind the strip. A good read for a rainy afternoon.

Reviewer's Grade: 7th

Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures has to be one of my favorite books. Not only are every one of the characters realistic and wonderful, but the story carries a beautiful message as well.
Ulysses is a squirrel who was sucked up by a vacuum cleaner and gained superpowers. Flora is a self described, natural-born cynic. Together, who knows what they can achieve?
Flora and Ulysses' personal journeys in the novel are sweet and never fail to impress me, and I especially like some of the more minor characters like Flora's polite and hopeful father and his philosophical neighbor, Dr. Meescham, whom likes to tell stories of her childhood in Blundermeecen.

"[We were] Always opening the door in the middle of the night and finding the face of someone you wanted to see. Well, not always. Sometimes it was the face of someone you did not want to see. But always, always in Blundermeecen you opened the door because you could not stop hoping that on the other side of it would be the face of someone you loved. And maybe, too, the face of someone you did not yet know but might come to love," is my favorite Flora & Ulysses quote, courtesy of Dr. Meescham. Despite this, my favorite character has to be our protagonist, Flora. She claims that she's a cynic, yet sees the good in others. She is independent, literate, and capable, and only occasionally yells out words or phrases that she deems appropriate to the situation, such as "Treacle!", "Seal blubber," or, "This malfeasance must be stopped!".

This is a book about learning to love others and the world around you, about the power in relationships, and the meaning behind words. One of the most powerful aspects of this book is seeing Ulysses find his voice and in turn, teach others to hope.
Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures is one of Kate DiCamillo's more lighthearted books, but it still carries a wonderful theme and memorable characters, and for this, I give it 5 stars.

Reviewer Grade 9, age 13

Scar Island is a children's book written by Dan Gemeinhart.
The book begins with Jonathan, our protagonist, being taken to a juvenile detention center via boat by a sour captain and his more empathetic assistant, Patrick. The detention center is called, "The Slabhenge Reformatory School for Troubled Boys" and houses boy criminals aged 8-14. It's reminiscent of Alcatraz, in that the inmates are housed on a rocky, miniscule island.
Jonathan survives a miserable night in the center, but the next morning, during a role call of sorts, every grown-up is killed in an ironic accident. The inmates have the island to themselves. They decide to stay awhile instead of going home, to take back time the boys lost under the late Admiral's boot. They rechristen the Slabhenge Reformatory School for Troubled Boys as Scar Island.
However, it all begins to go wrong when an older boy named Sebastian takes control of the facility and his methods of keeping order become increasingly cruel as the story goes on. Eventually, the boys must find a solution before the sea takes back what is hers.
Scar Island is a simple book, but well written. One thing that made the book memorable for me was that in the end, there were no bad guys. Everyone on the island was just a scared kid, trying to do what they believed was right. Unfortunately, the ending was much too abrupt for my taste, and the book didn't incorporate any heavy themes.
This book is a nice rainy-day read, and I'd recommend it for reluctant readers who like books about kids banding together to survive great odds.
Grade 9, age 13

This is one of those books that gets better in the days after finishing it. Of course, the white-washed love triangle was a little stale, but I love a good romance in an unfamiliar city. The beginning of the story had so much potential, but I was slightly let down by the end. The last few chapters, which should be the best as each character frantically interacts to find their resolutions with others, just felt rushed. Here's where it gets good though. I love how the main character naturally found a true friend in her first days in Italy. I love how they find parallels around the city to her mother's own adventures there. Finally, I love how her mother's story, though rocky, helped Lina find her own path. If any of this sounds intriguing, try this book!
Grade 12

This book reminded me of Ready Player One in that it highlighted the potential for a better, or more chaotic, world of virtual reality. It was a cool concept and I liked the characters, but the plot was predictable and it just didn't speak to me. Slay is very real about the issues of racism within the online community, which is important to be educated on, but the serious topics mixed with an attempt at modern slang was odd. It is a nice book if you are bored, but not at the top of my list to reread.
Grade 12

In this book, you follow four childhood friends (shown from the perspective of Isa Wilde) as the secrets of their past actions come back to haunt them.
I was intrigued by the premise of the story, but for the most part, the story was pretty boring and predictable. The concept of a lying game in the past was interesting and I was excited to see how would play into the story. The secret about what happened almost 20 years earlier seemed really overplayed to me. What actually happened didn't really seem as much of a big reveal as I thought it would be. The final twist at the end of the book wasn't anything special and I figured it out pretty quickly compared to other stories. The ending was anti-climactic; by the end of the story, I wasn't invested. The characters were fine: originally, they seemed relatable and human for the most part, but as the story progressed, I grew to dislike a couple of the main characters. Their actions seemed abnormal and irritating, and even within the context of the story, I still couldn't get over it. This could have been a better book, but the payoff wasn't there.
Reviewer's Grade: 11

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