Goodreads Choice Award/Nominee

It's odd how the main ideas presented in the original Ender Saga have almost no depictions of combat or war in them at all. It is then appropriate that the second book in this prequel trilogy pulls out all the stops and shows what a horrific battle against ant-like aliens would be like in the not-to-distant future. After all, war is hell, and the atrocities committed by a species trying to terraform Earth to their specifications are quite gruesome.

Fortunately, Earth Afire does not focus too much on the gory details of war. There are still subplots being explored that bring realism to this doomsday scenario—like needing to go against orders and bureaucracy to save people. The reader finally gets to spend some significant time with Mazer Rackham, who is absolutely the most interesting character in this prequel trilogy. His story is where Earth Afire really shines. Sure, there are still some leftover characters from Earth Unaware who stick around to continue their plotlines, but the events happening on the ground are much more interesting than outer space sabotage.

While I feel Earth Afire has some strengths over its Earth Unaware, ultimately it's the downbeat middle book in a trilogy that focuses on the destruction of Earth. There is still hope for humanity with a few last-ditch efforts, but it's clear the Formics have the advantage on so many levels. Also, being a prequel book, Earth Afire suffers somewhat from the fact that we know what will happen to some of the main characters. They can't be killed off because they must ultimately win the day and stall the Formics long enough for Earth to launch their own counterattack.

A visceral image of alien war on Earth, I give Earth Afire 4.0 stars out of 5.

Goodbye Stranger is a love letter to the changing points, the shaky areas of childhood that help us figure out who we are in a world that constantly wants us to change. Bridge survived a being hit by a car, currently wears cat ears, and wonders why she's still alive. Sherm writes letters to his grandfather and refuses to answer his calls. Emily and Tabitha made a pact with Bridge to never argue, but are being pulled inextricably apart by text messages and social justice clubs. An unnamed wanderer navigates a world where everything is made of lava, and best friends are replaced by horrid outsiders. As their stories collide and come apart, they'll need to figure out what to do when those they know best become strangers.
I read Rebecca Stead's "When You Reach Me" when I was in middle school, and it blew me away. I read her "Goodbye Stranger", now in high school, and found that the change in years didn't change the impact. The thing that astounded me was, despite me being well outside the age range of her characters, I found the book entrancing for all ages. The characters problems and personalities don't seem juvenile or trite. They seem human, a little heartbreaking, and highly relatable. I think the thing that makes this book are the characters. They're each as unique as a fingerprint, but they maintain their ability to sound strangely like the people you go to school with, or work with, or live with. Each of their motivations are perfectly obvious, each of their flaws on stunning display, fleshing out characters that feel like you'd see them wandering around your school on any given day. The book has a lot of heavy topics and sorrow packed into barely 300 pages, but still feels light enough that you aren't miserable the whole time. There's a lot of heart, a lot of happiness, and a lot of good changes alongside the tragedies of middle-school, or just regular, life. The book has a floating quality that makes it feel strangely detached. I can't tell you if this is a good or bad thing, but its definitely intentional, and it definitely messed with my ahead enough to make me want to keep reading. The only concrete things I can really say about this book is that the prose was excellent, the writing was accessible, the characters were interesting, the topics were thoughtful, and the ending was satisfying.
All in all, this book is really hard to describe. It's happy and sad and very realistic and very detached from reality and simplistic and strangely complex. I don't know what to call this book except a good read for those that like small stories, cat ears, friendships, broken friendships, and the infinite potential of strangers.
Reviewer Grade: 11

The Last Fallen Star is a great book for anyone who is in to magic and mystery. This book is full of action and has a amazing message. I think that the message is to accept yourself even if you are different and for people to learn how to accept someone who is different. This story tell of a Korean girl who tries to get powers to be the same as everyone. Her sister wants to help but something goes wrong, the it is a race to see if the sister can be saved. Overall I think this is an amazing book. There is a second book “The Last Fallen Moon”, and I can’t wait for it to be released. I will totally recommend this book to anyone.

Grade 7

“Pax” is a story about a boy and his fox. Peter has been taking care of Pax since he was a small kit. Over time Peter and Pax became very close. Peter’s father makes him leave Pax in the forest because Peter has to go live with his grandfather. Pax can’t go with Peter to his grandfather’s. After arriving at his grandfather’s house Peter realizes the mistake that he made, he decides to go after Pax. Pax who is hundreds of miles away is still holding out hope that his boy will come back, learns a couple of things about life, and makes a few friends. Peter makes a friend on the way and learns many things on his journey. Both of them want each other but will they find each other again, over hundreds of miles?

“Pax is an amazing, emotional book. It tells an amazing and eloquent story. By showing both Paxs’ and Peter's points of view you become very attached to them and you desperately want Peter to succeed. It portrays a relationship between a human and an animal beautifully. The ending made me feel many emotions. In my opinion, the ending was beautiful but if you really look at it it could be called rush with the way it was written. The ending was amazing and undesirable but at some point in the book, I knew that it would end that way. The book shows change so well, from Peter and Volas's relationship to Bristle and Pax's relationship, and just the characters in general. The writing describes everything and it was a beautiful writing style. We don’t know where the book takes place so things that are brought up in the book throw you for a curve. We don’t see what happens with Peter’s grandfather due to the ending. This book was beautifully written and it touches your heart, while some events in this book are unlikely, so much of this book will remind you of real-life. This is a book about change and it is so applicable to life. “Pax” is definitely a book to read when you want a book that will touch your heart and make you feel many emotions.

The sequel to the dystopian novel, Scythe, Thunderhead delves deeper into Citra and Rowan's stories. Citra, now newly ordained Scythe Anastasia, is an up-and-coming junior Scythe, and already has begun to stir the pot in the community. With her unique gleanings, and progressive thoughts and opinions, Citra becomes a highly respected and wise Scythe, a Scythe who even the Thunderhead recognizes of value. Rowan on the other hand, after escaping the Scythedom, becomes the feared Scythe Lucifer, a black-cloaked vigilante Scythe who gleans Scythes that are driven by corruption. An equally as fast-paced and page-turning novel as the first book in the trilogy, Thunderhead was a fantastic installment to the series. I especially loved how this novel dived deeper into the inter-workings of the Thunderhead, and it's thoughts and opinions. I found it to be very interesting to see how an inanimate being like the Thunderhead, could still have morals and a conscience. This book, just like the first book in the Scythe series, was just as beautifully written, and the plot twists continue to be well developed and unexpected. The cliffhanger was also very interesting, and it was enjoyable to see the Thunderhead and it's "character development" that led to said cliffhanger. Overall, this novel was just as good as the first book in the trilogy, and I could not recommend it more.

Reviewer Grade: 11

This is one of my favorite reads, mostly because Stephanie Perkins has a way of writing a fictional universe to feel real. In the book, the main character Anna is sent to a Parisian boarding school and must learn how to adapt to a new environment- and new friendships. Anna is a relatable character- she's a perfectionist who constantly feels out of control and uses witty remarks to cope with overwhelming feelings. I love Etienne's compassionate personality, as well as the rest of Anna's friends' humor. This book is an accurate representation of dealing with a new change, like being away from home. Despite being new and even scary, so much good can come out of it.

Love & Gelato follows Lina, a high schooler who's sent to spend her summer in Italy with her father, due to her mother's dying wish. While at first Lina is apprehensive and scornful of this trip she'd reluctantly taken, and wishes to be back in America, she then finds her mother's old journal. And with the help of Ren, a local Italian boy she befriends, they recreate Lina's mother's experiences in Italy. And as Lina spends more time in Italy, she learns that her father, Italy, and Ren, may not be so bad after all.
Overall, this story was a pretty cute teen romance novel. I enjoyed reading about Lina's adventures in Italy, and seeing her get closer to Ren. However, I wouldn't say that there's anything exceptional and amazing about it, since it just seemed like a pretty average romance novel that you'd expect it to be. I would probably recommend this book if you're in a reading rut, or just want something easy and entertaining to quickly read.
Reviewer Grade: 11

It's hard to express how beautifully written this book is. A novel that follows a dystopian plotline where the world has found a way to eliminate all diseases and achieve immortality, from start to finish, Shusterman keeps you hooked. We meet two teenagers, Rowan and Citra, both of whom are selected to become "Scythes," people whose jobs are to randomly kill, keeping the population under control. While the plot sounds intriguing, the way Shusterman tells the story makes it even more so. The extensively detailed world-building that was created in this story was beautiful and made the novel seem thought-provokingly realistic. I couldn't wrap my head around on how the author could think up of such creative details, such as the rules all Scythes must follow, and the premise of "splatting" and "gleaning." While the novel is supposed to be fantasy, it's written in a way that seems all too realistic. The way Shusterman writes makes all of his characters come to life, and the small details he injects into characters makes them seem shiveringly human. While reading, I completely could understand each and every character (even the minor ones) and their actions. Every single character in this novel is written in a completely realistic way-- fatal flaws and all.
The plot twists also completely awed me. Scythe is one of those novels that sprinkle in tiny minor hints that may seem insignificant at first, but come together to form a huge, whopping plot twist. I can honestly say that before actually reading the twists, I would have never guessed any of them. The plot also flowed very naturally, so much so that all the twists included all seemed to be important, and not just stuck in for shock factor. Lastly, I thoroughly enjoyed the journal entries written before/after each chapter, and when reading them, I was awed at the depth and meaning included in them. It's pretty rare for a book to make you think so hard, but this book was one that made me contemplate many, many things. I would recommend this book for anyone, and although it's listed as Teen Fiction or YA, I believe that due to the very meaningful way this story is written, anyone can read this novel, also including the next two books included in the trilogy.

Reviewer Grade: 11

John Green is a powerful author, and I especially enjoyed his book "The Fault in our Stars". He has a way of coming up with stories-difficult stories, that may touch on harder topics-and making them powerful and emotional, to the point where you can't put it down, and can't wait to pick it up again.

This story is about Aza, who suffered from anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder at an extreme level. She falls down into what she calls 'thought spirals', and it is hard for her to come back. She has an inherent fear of mostly bacteria and germs or infections. To the point where she drinks hand sanitizer after kissing somebody. It is always a battle for her, between what she wants as a person, and her anxiety and thoughts keeping her from that. But one thing keeps her occupied for a little bit- the Pickett missing person case. She runs into his son, Davis, which she had met years ago, but hasn't been in contact with him since. But now his father is missing and his mom is dead, and his father's massive fortune-if found dead- is going to go to a lizard. Davis and his little brother, Noah is now alone and 'orphaned', and when Davis meets Aza, life may be a little better as long as she's around. Their relationship, along with the relationships with her friend Daisy and Mychal, is constantly strained by her condition, but you grow sympathetic to Aza when you know what is going on in her head.

This is a powerful book that really makes you attached to the characters and you are constantly rooting for them. it goes through twists and turns, and you are always hoping for the best, even if it doesn't seem plausible

The second book in the Red Rising trilogy, Golden Son continues Darrow's quest to tear apart the Society from within. After having succeeded at the Institute, Darrow is now serving as a lancer in the House of Augustus. A Peerless Scarred of the Academy, his goal is to kill off the Bellona family before they kill him, and overthrow ArchGovernor Augustus of Mars. However, when a mishap throws his plan into jeopardy, Darrow finds himself leading a civil war among the Golds. While he's one step closer to overthrowing the tyrannical rule of the Golds, is at worth it at the cost of losing his friends, love, and loyalty?

Just like the first book, I couldn't set this one down once I started reading it! It's action packed and kept me on my toes the entire time, and the sci-fi elements were fantastical and literally out of this world. I like reading about Darrow's growth and how he's come to trust and see friendship in the Golds, and that while he's still fighting for the same purpose, he's opened his heart to the possibility of reforming the Golds rather than destroying them. Overall, the book is a great reference to power struggles and the inequity of class divisions. I loved all the allusions to Greek mythology, and the philosophical quotes and pieces. I can't wait to read book three and see Darrow's dream finally come true!