Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Reviewed by Rylee M.
Grade 7

How close are you and your grandmother? How would it feel to lose her, especially if you have lived with her all your life? What would be your initial reaction if the person who feed you, raised you, and taught you went missing? Scarlet goes through all of this and more when goes on a quest to find her grandmother.

While Cinder is trying to escape from prison, halfway across the world, Scarlet's grandmother has gone missing! Now orphaned, Scarlet sets out on a journey to find her grandmother. Her quest takes a bit of a twist when she meets Wolf, a handsome street fighter who decides to tag along with her. Wolf not only swoons Scarlet, but might also have information about where her grandmother is. Although Scarlet knows that Wolf has a few secrets of his own she has no choice but to trust him. When Scarlet and Wolf encounter Cinder they then discover the real mystery.

Scarlet is a very good book; overall it is action packed and has lots of surprises! I would recommend this book to sci-fi or fantasy readers. It would be very hard to determine whether Cinder or Scarlet is better. The combination of brilliant writing and fantastic storyline makes this book fabulous. After you start reading it will be hard to put down!

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Reviewed by Rylee M.
Grade 7

You may think being cyborg--half machine, half human--would be cool. Living the life of a cyborg is more difficult than you may think, but it does have its advantages. People of today's society despise people that are different. Don't you think that an exposed cyborg would be made fun of, or teased, or even taken to be experimented on? In fear of becoming an outcast, Cinder, the main character in Cinder, is careful about what parts of her body she shows.

Cinder, a rather gifted mechanic living in New Beijing, is a cyborg. She lives with her stepmother and ill stepsister. Her stepmother greatly despises her and blames her for her stepsister's illness. Cinder is the only mechanic in New Beijing's weekly market. One day, disguised and barely recognizable, Prince Kaito stumbled into her booth looking for Linh Cinder, the mechanic. The prince and Cinder soon became friends. After her many visits to the castle to meet with Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Kai's evil, soon-to-be wife, gets suspicious. Soon enough Cinder finds out secrets of her own past to help protect her world against the evil Queen Levana.

The different pieces that make up the book as a whole come flying at you from all different directions at the least expected times. In the end, when the puzzle is complete, it all makes sense. There are a range of characters with colorful personalities such as Peony and Iko. They only make the story that much more exciting and emotional. I think that this book has a very good story that will appeal to fantasy and sci-fi readers.

The style of writing paired up with the story line makes for a truly fantastic book that will pull readers in so that they don't want to put it down. I was able to personally connect with this book because I have three little sisters; in the book there are several touching moments where Cinder shows her love for her sister. I would highly recommend this book to readers in search of a truly wonderful and action packed story.

The False Prince by Jennifer A Nielsen

Reviewed by Marral P.
Grade 9

RUN. Run as fast as you can. Run and hide and do not come back. This is not your home anymore, not until the time is right. A stone is all I am giving you, a stone for you to survive. A stone is all you need to come back. And the prince was lost…

In The False Prince, expect the unexpected. The False Prince is book one of the Ascendance Trilogy and the start of an amazing adventure. The story starts with Sage and three other orphan boys whose resemblance to the lost prince put them in a dangerous situation. The kingdom is in the middle of a civil war and in disarray. It may be up to the prince to bring back peace, but the prince is lost. Conner, a nobleman, has a plan to use one of the boys as a puppet, so he can control the kingdom from behind the curtain. But there is a great price to pay, and a lot to gain for the boys! At the end there will only be one fake prince. So it is up to Sage and the others to play a high risk game, but there is much more to the story than meets the eye.

The False Prince opens the door to your imagination. The writer uses every opportunity to play with your emotions. The book will make you cry, laugh, hold your breath, and wonder what will happen next. There are many surprises that make this story a very fun and exciting book to read. Make sure you have plenty of time when starting this book, because you do not want to put it down until it is done.

The Demon King: a Seven Realms Novel by Cinda Williams Chima

Reviewed by Marral P.
Grade 9

What will happen if one day you find out all your life and beliefs were based on a lie? What will you do if you find out you are a descendant of someone hated by everybody and heard stories about it all your life? What path will you choose to prove you are not a demon who will destroy the kingdom, but brings back the balance to it? Han Alister, the main character of the book of The Demon King is the guy who faces all these questions.

The Demon King, the first of four books in The Seven Realms Series is just the beginning of the excitement and adventure of Han Alister. The book introduces us to Han, the poor boy who lives with his mother and sister and their complicated life, but it is all about to change as the truth comes out about Han. It all begins when Han takes an amulet from an old and powerful wizard family. Soon after that Han, who everybody thought to be a thief, turns out to be much more.

The book excites you with so many turns and twists about Han’s friends, enemies, his choices and his journeys. On the other hand, the book introduces you to Princess Raisa, the main female character in the book. A princess, who has a weak queen mother, goes above and beyond to save the Kingdom she loves so dearly. Fate will bring these two characters together and test their strength.

The book is well written and will take you through the journey with Han Alister and princess Raisa. You can imagine every detail in the book and live through it with Han and Raisa. You will enjoy reading The Demon King and after that the rest of the series because they are as exciting as the first book.

Maximum Ride: the Angel Experiment by James Patterson

Reviewed by Lillian R.
Grade 8

Running. That's all I needed to do right now. That's all I've been doing for the past fourteen years. I trip over a stone but quickly gather myself and continue bolting through the trees. I can hear them nearing. Their heavy breathing and stomping is scaring me the closer they get. Maybe it's because to me and the Flock, they represent death, or, in the best circumstances, represent lives filled with pain, misery, and enslavement. So we keep running. Ahead, I see a cliff. I skitter at the end of the rocky land and see a pebble fall hundreds of feet to the ground. As I spin around to face the Erasers, I can hear them laughing and barking. They think I have no choice but to give in. The dog-like monsters realize they're wrong as I jump off the cliff. I feel the wind rushing past my face at a fast pace. Then, it stops. My wings fold out and catch the air, stopping my fall quickly. I fly up to the cliff, wave at the awed Erasers, and wake up from my nightmare.

Most people on Earth want to be able to fly. For Maximum Ride, or Max, she wants the opposite. Being genetically engineered as 98% human, 2% bird, Max and her Flock of Iggy, Fang, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel, have to constantly hide their secret of wings from the world. And, to make it worse, the Erasers, a genetically altered species of human-dog monsters, is chasing them. The Erasers plan to take the Flock back to the lab where they were created, so that more tests can be done on them. And what's more is that the Flock must get back Angel from the Erasers, who stole her in an attempt to capture the entire flock.

Throughout Maximum Ride: the Angel Experiment, Max must make quite a few difficult choices. She has to risk her life for members of the flock and civilians. Max is a very nice fourteen-year-old girl, but at points throughout the book, is stretched to her limits and gets mad. Iggy is a very smart fourteen-year-old and enjoys building bombs with Gazzy. Iggy is blind because at one point in his time at the lab, they tried to give him laser vision and instead blinded him. Being blind all his life gives him extremely acute senses, though. Gazzy is Angel's blood-brother, while the rest of the flock isn't really related. Gazzy likes to build bombs with Iggy as stated above and acts like a normal eight-year-old boy, being occasionally gross. His real name is the Gasman, which he gained by farting a lot. Fang is the same age as Max and is very swift. He has black hair and dark wings with pale skin. Nudge is eleven-years-old and is very talkative. She has cream colored wings and dark skin. She is very girly and emotional. Nudge has her heart set on finding her true parents. Angel is six-years-old and is very different from the rest of the flock. Throughout the book, she gains random powers, but her main one is reading and controlling minds. No one in the flock knows why, but they assume that it happened to her at the lab, or the School, as they call it.

I would recommend this book because of two things. James Patterson writes very well, and it never gets boring. He is really good at writing as if a teen was writing it, and the reader can easily get into the character's mind. The book also teaches the lesson of family. It tells you that you should never leave anyone behind and always stick together. The book Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment will get you hooked on the whole series, and is a real page turner. It will have you thinking well after the book is finished, as will this review!

(A good song to listen to while reading this book is Radioactive by Imagine Dragons)

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Reviewed by Brandon M.
Grade 9

After 84 days of not catching a fish, even seasoned fisherman Santiago is beginning to doubt himself. He has been very unlucky and through perseverance, hard work, and faith, Santiago goes on and doesn't give up. With the support of Manolin, whom Santiago has mentored from birth, Santiago day in and day out goes to sea in search of marlin to catch.

After a dry spell of 84 days, impoverished fisherman Santiago does the same routine as always. He gets prepped for the day of fishing ahead of him, sets sail for the open ocean, drops his lines, and hopes for the best. Santiago is at peace with all of nature, especially with the sea. His “brothers”, or animals, are among him while Santiago is at sea, and Santiago truly believes that the sea is where he belongs. From lots of experience and time Santiago knows what he is doing at sea, but this series of events ahead of him will challenge all that Santiago knows. Will Santiago end his dry spell? Will the series of events in front of him change him for who he is? Is there something greater out there for Santiago?

Hemingway’s simplistic style is astounding in that it says so much in such a little amount of words. This book is a typical example of Hemingway’s simplistic style, and because of this I really enjoyed the book. There were so many things hidden in the context of this book such as symbolism, metaphors, similes, etc. For example, portraying birds as brothers of Santiago was an example of symbolism and a metaphor. Hemingway’s style of writing makes the reader truly think about what he or she is reading and because of this, this made for a great read.

Because of Hemingway’s style of writing I would highly recommend reading this book. Not just for the simplistic tone of writing, but also for the symbolism, metaphors, alliterations, and thought put into this book makes The Old Man and the Sea a must read. The Old Man and the Sea is a classic because of Hemingway’s style of writing. The way that Hemingway writes so little in such short sentences and yet proclaims so much made me really enjoy this book, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants something to read then ponder about. If you aren't up for a read that involves using your brain a lot, I would not suggest reading this book.

Dark Companion by Marta Acosta

Reviewed by Caroline C.
Grade 11

When she was a little girl, Jane nearly died. Ever since then she doesn't remember what happened to her prior to waking up in the hospital. She’s been an orphan ever since that day, and she’s trying to fix her life by attending a boarding school on a scholarship. What she doesn't expect is that going from the streets to a nice and comfortable life won’t be as easy as she initially thought.

Jane gets a scholarship to a boarding school for girls. She is quickly introduced to a life she’s never had, one full of riches and fantasies. School is going well, she has a great friend group, and she falls for the principal’s son who she’s tutoring. She discovers soon that something’s off about the town; a woman committed suicide last year and the previous scholarship student mysteriously moved away with her uncle. She slowly discovers that this great new life of hers isn't what it seems.

I loved the characters. I became irritated with some of the choices made by the main character, Jane, but this made her more realistic. Also, I adored Jack, one of the love interests. He’s an extremely lovable, funny, and sweet character from the first time he appears, when he almost runs over Jane with his bike, to the end of the story. The plot was very interesting and intriguing. Discovering the town’s secrets was extremely enjoyable and some of the surprises behind the deaths of certain characters shocked me.

Dark Companion was a great novel with very lovable characters. It is somewhat a generic paranormal romance, and if you aren't into this genre I don't recommend this. However, if paranormal romance is your thing, I highly recommend this because the love interests are great characters and the plot turns are extremely shocking at times. If you are a fan of The House of Night series and The Vampire Diaries this book is definitely for you.

Montefiore's Goddaughter by Elizabeth Brooks

Reviewed by Caroline C.
Grade 11

Have you ever closed your eyes and gone to your secret place, a place special and unique where you can go to? In Montefiore’s Goddaughter, Abigail Crabtree visits a special place in her imagination every night. With a unique cast of characters, an engaging plot line, and a thought provoking ending, I highly recommend this story.

Abigail is a teenage girl who is sent to a modern day finishing school in England due to the wishes of her godfather. She has never met her godfather before, but goes to the school to please him. Once there she realizes that the school is not an educational program, but a finishing school that teaches girls how to do their hair and teaches children how to take care of a home. She makes a friend who, like her, doesn't belong in the finishing school and visits a special world at night. In Abigail’s dreams she visits a forest of hers with an owl named Eyes, her teddy bear, and Prince Constantine. As she discovers more and more about her godfather the two worlds start melding together and she discovers that her forest could be in much more danger than she ever imagined.

As the plot unravels we discover a lot about secrets of the characters and we see the real personalities of some characters. The plot had some surprising turns and the secrets behind Montefiore, Abigail’s godfather, are shocking. Abigail is a very real character who makes very real mistakes which is why I like her. Her friends are extremely well thought through and are very loveable, especially the brave Prince Constantine who goes through many hardships for Abigail. I also enjoyed the setting of the English countryside; the depiction of Montefiore’s mansion in the midst of a forest of trees is a beautiful thought to behold.

When I first picked this book up I didn't expect anything from it. But I was pleasantly surprised. The book immediately engaged me because it played on dreams and a world where the main character can slip away to at night. I loved this concept and as the book went on I was shocked by the plot that was unfolding. Not because it was unpredictable, but because it was the last thing I expected from the book. The book slowly turned very dark and I couldn't put it down. It left me with a cold feeling, and I'm not sure how much I enjoyed the book because it certainly wasn't a feel good book. If you are a fan of Bridge to Terabithia then this book is for you. It engaged me the entire way through and I couldn't put it down which is why I give it five stars out of five.

Rush for the Gold: Mystery at the Olympics by John Feinstein

Reviewed by Danilo C.
Grade 8

As the sixth book of a book series that has been one of my favorites ever since I started reading it, I knew Rush for the Gold was bound to be a good book, and I was right. This thrilling mystery takes place at this year’s London Olympics’ swim races. Just like in the books before it, this book incorporates interesting sports understanding as well as investigative reporting which make it a tremendously exciting novel.

Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson, two teenage reporters who have been covering sporting events together for two years, are back again, this time under completely different circumstances. Normally, Stevie and Susan Carol cover big-time sporting events together as newspaper reporters. In this book, Susan Carol is there as an Olympic athlete. Susan Carol swims the 100 and 200 fly, and after nearly breaking records at the trials, she made it on the Olympic swim team for both races. At first it seemed like a dream come true, but it soon became a nightmare. Soon enough there were agents at her doorstep wooing her father with unfathomable amounts of money, and before she knew it Susan Carol was being used more as a marketing tool than as a swimmer. Things only got worse from there; her longtime swim coach was almost fired, her best friends were being shut out of her life, and her father wasn’t listening to her or anyone but the agents. To make matters worse, she and Stevie found themselves entrenched in a mystery scandal involving a sportswear company and a Russian swimmer.

John Feinstein has always been one of my favorite authors for multiple reasons. One, I am an avid sports fan, so his extensive knowledge of sports always interests me whenever I read his books. Two, I also enjoy mysteries, and John Feinstein is able to combine both of these topics and make them into an outstanding novel. I also like the way he combines real people into the story to make it more realistic.

This entire series is a must read for any mystery reader, sports fan, or both. The way the author incorporates big time sporting events and turns them into thrilling mystery novels is unheard of, which is what makes this book a must read. Reading this book and the ones before it will have any reader anticipating the next masterpiece Feinstein comes up with.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Reviewed by Kathryn A.
Grade 8


Beatrice dragged the knife's blade across her palm, closed her eye and then thrust her palm outward; her blood spilled onto the carpet between the stones of Abnegation, her home faction of selflessness, and the fire of Dauntless, the brave. Then, she reached out, and her blood sizzled on the coals of Dauntless. Beatrice had chosen her life's path and now her decision could not be taken back, either she would survive initiation and join Dauntless or live a shameful life as an outcast, Factionless. Not only were these worries clinging to her, but and even greater worry was at hand, she was Divergent. If this information fell into the wrong hands, the outcome would be death.

It all started with the results of Beatrice's aptitude tests, which were inconclusive; she had three,not two Factions to choose from, Abnegation, Dauntless and Eridite. With the Choosing Ceremony the very next day, Beatrice must pick her lives path, alone. When her name is called she is still unsure of which faction to pick, and is in shock because of her brother, Caleb's choice. She picks Dauntless, and from that point onward her life became a flurry of action. Just to get to the Dauntless headquarters she must join the others as they jump on and off a moving train and down into an unseen net from the top of a building. When she arrives she learns that she must learn to fight with and against the others, and both mentally and phisically control her fears as well as hide the secret that she is divergent.She makes some friends and many enemies along the way who strive to kill her. In the end many will be thrown out and made factionless, and every moment it is crucial that you preform your best lest that person be you. Along the way are many hardships and challenges but Beatrice, now Tris has inside help from one of the trainers, Four and is determined to make it through initiation and rank high in her year.

Tris' character is portrayed in the beginning as a girl unsure of who she is, but determined to find out. Her determination is what carries her through many tough situations and ends up saving her life. She is portrayed as someone who cares deeply about her friends and family and will do anything possible to save them. She is at her best when others are in danger which is shown early on when Al is instrructed to stand in front of a target while Four throws knives at it. Tris takes his place and Four told her that if she flinched, Al would take her place, knowing that she was better at being brave when those she cared about were in danger. Four at the beginning is portrayed somewhat stoney and stern, but as Tris gets to know him better she realizes how alike they both truly are. They both value selflessness as well as bravery and loyalty. Four, also called Tobias, is caring and thoughtful, always looking out for Tris, who he becomes very fond of.

I would most definatly recommend Divergent to teens who love a novel with an action filled plot and many unexpected twists and turns. Veronica Roth's writing style is somewhat complex but easy to follow, making this book one of the best I've ever read. I feel as if many teenage girls can relate to Tris. We all want to be the best we can at everything we attempt, the idea of fighting others is scary and somewhat repulsive, and we all are constantly battling with ourselves to find out who we truly are and stay true to our real identity. In Divergent,Tris too faces these challenges and many more, overcoming them to the best of her ability and setting an example for readers to reflect upon and enjoy.