Reviewed by Eli 12th grade – This novel is an interesting story with a good plot and conflict. Manny, is forced to leave his hometown by his stepfather. He is now faced with new challenges brought on by his new home in New York, angry neighbors, and a cockroach infestation that only he seems to understand the danger of. Although the novel is a horror piece, it is also great at describing personal relationships in a coming-of-age story. With Manny maturing as a person over a short period of time. The dialogue was very well written and descriptive at showing emotions of the people involved. I felt like some of the action scenes were a bit rushed and didn’t have much set-up.
Author Archives: Katie Myrick
Impossible Escape: A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe
Reviewed by Wyatt 12th Grade – I was captivated by the raw emotion and powerful storytelling which made me love this book. Impossible Escape is a true story about one of the most famous whistleblowers in the world and his death-defying escape that helped save over 100,000 lives during the Holocaust. With the book going into the holocaust and World War II, it helps develop the historical narrative and war literature. I liked how the characters used what they had and how they helped others even though they were also dealing with their own issues and I like the author’s take on all the violence and how he expressed it. Impossible Escape contains a lot of stuff with violence, persecution, and the holocaust which may be potential triggers for readers.
Reviewed by Jaden 12th grade – Sheinkin skillfully balances Rudi’s story with factual information on the evolution of World War II and the Holocaust. A subplot follows Gerta Sidonová, Rudi’s schoolmate and future wife, during this time frame; the juxtaposition adds depth, texture, and context. It’s an oddly sentimental and touching epilogue. He knows he has to get out of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, where he spent over two years living on the edge. even as death becomes more probable. Behind the carefully guarded walls of concentration camps throughout Nazi-occupied Europe was a dreadful truth that Rudi had discovered: the deliberate mass murder of Jewish detainees. The young adult narrative nonfiction written by Steve Sheinkin Impossible Escape tells the tale of a young real-life hero while delving into issues of Jewish history and wartime tragedy. This is a compelling story because of Sheinkin’s painstaking research, which strikes a balance between the acute horror of the camps and the bigger events of the war’s geopolitical developments. Unbelievably gripping, unbelievably tragic, unbelievably inspirational. Every person should be obliged to read Impossible Escape.
Reviewed by Andrew 9th grade – I learned a lot about Auschwitz that I did not know before. Very informative. Rudi was a Slovakian Jew in WW2. He got captured and eventually went to Auschwitz where he planned to escape and tell the world about Auschwitz and the gas chambers and the mass murder. He eventually escaped after many tries and he and his friend told the world about what was happening. The reality of the story really makes you want to find out how it ends. You forget that the book is nonfiction because of how interesting it is. I liked how I learned more about what happened at Auschwitz. It was a good read and I learned a lot. The switching between the POVs was a little confusing and Rudi’s story was more interesting. I was fine reading it but it is a tough topic. They tell in detail how the gas chambers worked.
The Pirate and the Porcelain Girl
Reviewed by Tanisha 11th grade – I love the book and I love the ending they are a very cute couple and they are so much in love with each other. This book has lots of action and it has and happy ending where the characters fall in love. I really like the artwork because it grabs my attention and also makes me find the emotion of the characters. It helps move the story along in the book. I really enjoyed the way they drew the characters. It was a very interesting book and I liked the flow of it meaning the active and the love and romance. If you don’t like romance this is not the book for you, and also it’s always best to try something new.
Miles Morales: Suspended
Book Reviewed by Kingston 10th grade – I gave this book a rating of 5/5 because it’s a compelling and engaging book, it provides a new look on Miles and who he is. The book follows Miles Morales a teenage superhero who navigates the challenges of keeping his secret identity as Spider-Man while facing formidable villains in New York City. The plot of this fictional superhero story makes you want to keep turning the page to see what gonna happen next. I like how they make Miles relatable and explore the identity and finding yourself. The pacing of the book could have been better and some characters aren’t as developed as others.
Reviewed by Cailyn 12th grade – This novel has a unique style for Spiderman! Miles Morales has become obsessed with poetry and babbles endlessly about his crush. With his spidey powers, he saves the world from an evil mastermind The Warden, and Miles gets put in suspension. What begins as a long boring day of in-school suspension is interrupted by his spidey-senses telling him that something is wrong. Since the novel is about a Marvel superhero, it is considered a fictitious novel. Also, it is poetry because it includes a mixed format of verses. In this novel, I liked how it blended superhero things and introduced the concept of racism. The book I rated a 3 because it kind of felt rushed and underdeveloped. To add to this, I think that this style of novel is just not my type either.
A Door In the Dark
If I See You Again Tomorrow
Reviewed by Raymond 9th grade – I love the story that the book is telling about love between two boys. Clark goes on these errands with Beau and Clark ends up falling in love with Beau. Such a beautiful story challenging existential aspects of human life; isolation meaninglessness, and freedom; as well as alienation and depression. All that is done in a heartwarming sweet romance. I like how it tells a love story between two boys. Also like that it’s a romance book because I love romance anything. It’s hard for me to like a book but I really enjoyed this book.
Chaos & Flame
Reviewed by Shiloh G 12th grade: When I first started the book I felt very confused but as I read more everything started to make more sense. Talon Goldhorn always bravely led his elite troops however his brother’s rule was threatening to undo 100 years of work. So other factions turned to Talon to dethrone his brother. The way that the plot develops makes me want to keep turning pages so I can figure out everything that is happening. My favorite part about the book is how the very beginning gives so much information and yet we don’t know anything. One thing I did not like about the book is that the book progresses quite slowly
If You’ll Have Me
Reviewed by Cierra 12th grade – This was one of the cutest graphic novels I’ve ever read. From the art style to the plot, to the characters, I’m obsessed. Momo is a selfless, naive, and caring friend. She has little to no experience in the dating world. PG on the other hand is the opposite. Labeled as someone who likes to “get around,” and is a player, she’s quite the lone wolf. Despite her reputation, under that hard exterior, she falls in love just as easily as anyone else. Their two worlds collide unexpectedly and a romance begins to brew. With PG’s reputation, things get a little tricky.The romance in this novel is sweet like a peach. Two people who know little about love, but crave it so much make this graphic novel such a nice read. The LGBTQIA+ aspect of it makes it feel relatable as well. The character design is just beautiful. I love Momo’s character, she’s so cute and gorgeous.It didn’t feel rushed. Typically, when you read a graphic novel you get through them fast because there are little words on each page. Sometimes that can cause the book to feel rushed. However, the pacing was perfect. It felt like I was watching a movie in my mind. I also found myself relating to Momo, as a black girl with little dating experience myself. I found myself getting jealous and wanting a romance like this. I also enjoyed the intended funny bits as well. I rarely LOL at a book, but I caught myself gasping and giggling a couple of times. There’s little that I dislike about it. I don’t like PG’s character design for one. It just looks off on some pages, I can’t exactly put my finger on why. The flashbacks were kind of hard to decipher at times. There were moments where it took me a couple of seconds to realize “Oh wait, this isn’t present.” There was one flashback where I got confused if it was PG or PG’s brother, but that may just be me being slow. This romance is a cliche, and it’s really hard to make a cliche entertaining. Despite all that, I think they did a relatively good job and I’d read it again or recommend it to a friend.
Hopeless in Hope
Reviewed by Sarah 12th grade – This humorous and sad story will keep you engaged and relating to the main characters. Eva is the main character in this book and she is 14 years old. Her life is lonely and sad, and she then deals with foster homes and poverty. She relies on her Nohkum to take care of her and of her little brother Marcus. Eva’s mom struggles with alcoholism and shares the story of the reality of her addiction. The plot of this story makes this novel a heartbreaking and humorous story. I liked that this book was a very fast read and that it shares how someone who is in poverty and struggling with housing, how their life really is. There are a few instances in this book where it may be hard for younger students to read this book due to the talk about depression and anxiety. Personally, I think that this book does a good job of sharing the realities of it in a non-glorifying way.
Forgive Me Not
Reviewed by Aliah 12th grade – All readers will find this captivating and moving journey which masterfully examines human emotions and the capacity for forgiveness to be a winning one. In the book Forgive Me Not, Violetta Chen-Samuel, a fifteen-year-old, is imprisoned for driving under the influence, which resulted in the death of her younger sister. A young adult book with hints of dystopia, Forgive Me Not highlights the issues with racism, classism, misogyny, and other issues that plague both our adult and juvenile justice systems. The two points of view are Violetta and Vince. The plot is AMAZING!
Trigger warnings: death of a child, incarceration, substance use, suicide attempt, grief, sexual assault.
Your Lonely Nights are Over
Reviewed by David 12th grade – It isn’t your stereotypical LGBTQIA+ Book. This book is about two gay Best friends on the run from a famous killer but also accused of being a killer. It is a realistic fiction book that is mainly featuring queer representation, but the book itself doesn’t focus on the main struggles of it, It mentions some of the struggles of being queer but also being discriminated by color. I love how they represented the idea of friendships in the queer community and how they can be very different. It also shines some light on being a gay person of color and the difference between the reactions people get. I love it honestly. Trigger Warnings: At the start, it discusses that there will be some graphic scenes. Not too bad but still more so than a typical book.
Luminary: A guide to magical self-care
Reviewed by Taylor T. 11th grade – This Self-Help book is catered to a variety of people which makes it a perfect guide to bettering one’s self. The author of this book communicates how they learned about spiritual self-help. They use the knowledge gained from multiple different sources. This book’s goal is to provide help to people who are struggling to understand themselves but also provide background knowledge. This helps the book stay interesting as you’re learning multiple things at once. I liked how the author did not claim to be right. They made the reader aware that in order to get better it starts with you. There are not any big warnings I have about this book, but it is very spiritually based so it is important to keep that in mind if you plan on suggesting this book to other students.
How to Succeed in Witchcraft
I went into this book expecting a re-imagined magical world AKA Harry Potter. So, I was pleasantly surprised with Aislinn Brophy’s portrayal of a magical high school. One that is supper focused on success and the pressure that entails for the students. I also appreciated how the story dealt with exploitation and predatory behavior many teens face.
Azar on Fire
By Olivia Abtahi
Reviewed by Lucas H. 12th grade – I gave Azar on Fire by Olivia Abtahi 4/5 stars because it had great disability representation, diverse characters, and an enjoyable story, but the pacing and some of the plot points felt a bit off.”Azar on Fire” follows 14-year-old Azar Rossi, a disabled and multiracial teen who accidentally damages $1000 worth of school property and is given the ultimatum to pay the school back or join the battle of the bands, leading her to form a band with diverse members to win the competition. The realistic fiction genre of this book brings to life the struggles of LGBTQIA+ characters in a way that is relatable and emotionally impactful for readers. The author’s skillful use of descriptive language and attention to detail transports readers into the characters’ world, making for an engaging and thought-provoking read.I enjoyed the book’s diverse representation of characters, including the protagonist Azar, who is multiracial and has a disability, as well as her bandmates, who are all people of color. The author also did a good job of portraying Azar’s gradual acceptance of her disability throughout the story. I didn’t like how some parts of the story felt out of place and didn’t contribute much to the plot. Some scenes felt awkwardly inserted, such as Azar’s visit to Eben’s house and the sudden mention of her demisexuality.
We Deserve Monuments
By Jas Hammonds
Reviewed by Arianna S.11th grade
The overall concept of this book was a good one, although the execution of it could have been better. Avery Anderson was a high school girl who was up and moved to Washington D.C. with her mother to live with her severely ill grandmother. Tensions were high due to Avery’s mother and her grandmother having past issues that were never talked about or resolved. The anticipation of finding out the past of Avery’s mother and her grandmother’s past makes this fictional mystery worth reading for those who like slow burners. This book was relatively easy to read, with the content and the way it’s written. This book had many things going on and at times the plot would jump around to the point where some topics or ideas in the book seemed pointless.
Forest Hills Bootleg Society
Review by M. Comeaux 12th grade
This graphic novel is sure to catch the eyes of queer kids and people everywhere, and anyone trying to navigate new relationships and how they’ll affect your other ones! In a strict, rigid, religious private high school town, a group of four queer teen girls navigate consuming anime, selling bootleg DVDs to their peers, and their own interpersonal relationships (romantic or not). A contemporary graphic novel, this book will be sure to touch the hearts of LGBTQIA+ teens and those used to very strict and repressive religious/small-town environments. It discusses the idea of how dating within a friend group can affect others, and the changes we can experience in high school, whether they’re good… or bad. I liked the small details the artist and author included in the panels. There’s a lot of context and random information provided via text bubbles and a few pages that break from the main story to provide an idea of why the situation is the way it is. I personally appreciate the breaks; they’re witty, help the reader take a moment to better know the situation, and they’re great fourth-wall-breaks. The flow is very cluttered, and confusing at times. Trigger Warnings: Swearing, homophobic slurs, implied masturbation (momentary), homophobia, infidelity, mentions of drug use, implied abuse (momentary) organized religion, and its ending is very- bitter. It’s a realistic ending, but there aren’t sunshine and rainbows. It’s a good read, for sure, but the reality of this book, and the themes it tries to convey, are sad and will cause heart pangs.
Break This House
Candice Iloh
This coming of age is tied to tons of social issues facing Americans today. Yaminah Okar feels like she has moved past the hurt from her past when it suddenly comes back and she must once again face her multiple traumas. Maybe this will be the time she will overcome. Candice Iloh dangles a mystery in front of the readers so we willingly follow Yaminah into the heart of many social ills plaguing America today. This is a page-turner that will have the reader intrigued from the first sentence of the prologue.
Iloh introduces many characters, subplots, and conflicts and doesn’t seem to fully explore any of them. This book needed to be longer, or the focus narrowed. Iloh does include a letter to the reader informing them about the tough topics and emotions of the book; I would encourage all readers, especially younger teens to take her warning seriously.
Zyla and Kai
By Kristina Forest
This romance bounces between the past, present, and perspective. Kai and Zyla fell in love, broke up, and then fell in love again….maybe. Kai is a romantic and serial monogamist while Zyla has long ago sworn off love. Their twisty relationship, heart-wrenching-back-stories, and likable personalities will be appealing to most readers. It’s nice to have a romance featuring students of Color where race and culture are treated as a natural element of the story instead of the focus. This novel is great at the build-up but sputters to an underwhelming conclusion.
A Heavy Dose of Allison Tandy
by Jeff Bishop
Review by David R. 11th Grade
A Heavy Dose of Allison Tandy surprised me. Based on the cover, I thought it would be too romantic and light. I was wrong. This book is darker and definitely more suspenseful and interesting than you would think by looking at its pink cover. I definitely recommend it, especially for guys who want to read a romance from the boy’s point of view.
Practice Girl
By Estelle Laure
An empowering novel with a lot of heart. Jo Beckett is still reeling from the death of her dad; he was her best friend and lifelong wrestling coach. Looking for comfort, Jo gets into romantic relationships with several different guys on the wrestling team. Each time Jo thinks it’s true love, but the guys don’t feel the same. Soon Jo finds out that the guys on the team have a nickname for her, “practice girl.” She’s someone to practice sex with before moving on to a real relationship. This revelation is crushing. Jo feels betrayed by her teammates and her own heart. Not willing to give up on herself, Jo makes a plan to show the guys that she’s more than a “Practice Girl.” Her initial intention is revenge, but what she finds is healing.
This realistic novel about the double-standards girls face and the labels society places on them for being sexually active is given a unique spin by being set in the world of high school wrestling. Many teens will connect with Jo’s struggle to distinguish between physical attraction and true affection. Although this is a needed story, with a strong heroine, the novel is hampered by character voices that are not distinguishable from one another.