Romance

Divergent is a book that really drew me in as I was reading. The story starts from Beatrice Prior’s (also known as Tris) point of view. Within the world that she lives in, there are five factions. These factions being dauntless, candor, erudite, abnegation, and amity. Tris ends up choosing to go into the dauntless (the fearless) faction. Among being placed into the dauntless faction, Tris Prior meets Four. Four and Tris “hit it off” after seeing each other and the fall in love quickly. The two have different personalities which seems to click. The novel follows Beatrice and Four as they laugh, love, keep secrets, butt heads, and much much more.
I really like the variety in genres of this book. The book does have romance, humor, fantasy, but it also has action and mysterious elements to it. The short chapters make this book really good at keep the reader’s attention span. The scenes described in vivid detail allow you to feel like part of the story and envision it in your mind. This book is the first of three books. The three books were turned into movies and the first one being Divergent. If you’re looking for a read that is compelling enough to keep your attention span, have a little of every genre, and describes scenes in extreme detail, this book is for you!
Reviewer Grade: 8

The Selection was a very fun book for me to read, because it was a quick read fantasy book. It incorporates all the elements a romance lover looks for in a book. It is a love triangle, enemies to lovers, and friends to lovers novel all in one. America is a very strong and independent character, but we see her become more open minded and willing to work with others instead of fighting them. It is cool to see her perspective on the life she wants change as she gets to know Maxon, but she never forgets the change she wants to make for the people of her past life. The book was not my all time favorite, because the plot can be a little more predictable at times, and some parts are slower. Although, it is definitely worth reading.

This book left me stunned. It has a plot twist that no one could see coming. I was amazed by the character development of Sam, and by how her relationship with her new friend Caroline turned out. Learning about Sam's pure obsessional OCD was really cool and eye opening to what could be going on in someone's mind without us ever knowing. Sam was in many ways also very relatable, and I loved her. She shows the audience that they are not alone in wanting to find a place where the fit in, or find friends they feel safe around. Every Last Word also has a sweet hint of romance, but it is great because it doesn't overpower the main story of Sam's struggle with her OCD and how she found healing in poet's corner.
Reviewers Grade: 11

I chose the Inheritance Games to read, because I love fantasy, realistic fiction, and dystopian books. This one caught my eye especially from the cover. I know, never judge a book by it's cover, but this one ended up being great. This book is one I can safely say I will reread many times. It was hard to put down, because it incorporates mystery, romance, and the feeling of being in an escape room so perfectly. It is not only cool to see Avery solve the puzzles in the Hawthorne house herself, but to try solving them from the perspective of the reader. The Hawthorne boys are witty, and each so unique, they are easy characters to love. Especially Jameson, who is a very dynamic character, always doing and saying the unexpected. This book was far from predictable. It is a given that once you read the first book you will want to read the sequel, because the series as a whole is fantastic.
Reviewer grade: 11

“Every Soul has a Star” by Wendy Mass is a lighthearted novel about three main characters that must learn to adapt to new surroundings. 13-year-old Ally’s parents have owned Moon Shadow campground all her life. She grew up there with her little brother Kenny. Ally’s grandfather was always fascinated by stars and comets, when he passed Ally inherited his meteorite chunk along with his love for space. Bree on the other hand is another 13-year-old girl, however, she has a love for shopping and style. She has been nothing but excited to go to high school during the fall and climb the social ladder within her school. She wants nothing but to be popular when her life flips upside down and her parents (scientists) purchase Moon Shadow campground. Jack, a boy who has always stood out by being overweight and an avid gamer who feels most comfortable alone, must attend summer school because he failed science in his previous year. He is offered the chance to attend Moon Shadow campground for a week to study an eclipse as a substitute. When Ally and Bree meet up their plan falls into action, they must convince their parents to cancel their plans. When they meet Jack as well, they must all work together to fulfill the mission Jack’s teacher sent him on.

I really enjoyed this read! Going back and forth from when the characters were younger to the present kept my brain working and eager to want to know what was going to happen in each timeline. I definitely cried a few times but the ending was so cute.

I love this book! The fault in our stars is a book that really tugs at the reader’s heart strings. The book starts off with a 16 year old named Hazel Grace meets a cancer survivor, Augustus Waters. Hazel and Augustus begin to fall in love, but they don’t want to share their feelings with one another. Throughout the novel, Hazel and Augustus share many similarities (an example being their favorite book and favorite author). This romance story is on another level. It’s heartbreaking and astonishing at the same time. Every time I turned the page, I did not want the story to end. The entire story is so well composed and the writing is absolutely breathtaking. John Green did such and amazing job writing this beautiful tale, you really feel like you’re in the story. The challenges and hardships Hazel and Augustus face lead them to new and better horizons. The Fault in Our Stars is an incredible romance novel that everyone should read one day. From the storyline to the imagery, this story is the best romance novel in my book.

Tiny Pretty Things surrounds an exclusive ballet school in Manhattan, where three prima ballerinas struggle for the top. There's Bette, whos been the star of the studio ever since one of her competitors had a mysterious fall. There's June, a half-Korean dancer that struggles to keep her weight down and head high as her mother threatens to pull her out of the studio. And finally, there's Gigi, a newcomer and the only black dancer in her level. When Gigi lands the star role, the jealousies and insecurities of these girls will pull them deeper and deeper into corruption and rage, until one of them crosses a line they can't return from.
The writing of this book is really what propels it to the top. I have never had that much passion or interest for ballet, but this book seems to seep love for it. The description of dancing from many of the girls make it seem as though they are dancing in your room. You can almost feel the lightness of the steps, the satisfaction in perfect movements. The prose makes you feel as if you are flying alongside the dancers. However, it isn't a blind adoration, which only makes the book more interesting. The girls are told to keep their weight up but pressured by their instructor to stay as low as possible. They are sexualized by the people around them and by themselves in attempts to be the perfectly beautiful ballerina. There are racial stigmas, as the book describes how ballet adores the completely white stage, "ballet blanc", which includes the dancers themselves. The Asian girls are often shoved into roles that are "Oriental," and Gigi worries about how she stands out on the stage. In short, the story shows all the beauty of ballet, while acknowledging the harmful obsession with beauty and whiteness that has plagued ballet for centuries. The characters of the book are also fantastic. I love how so many of them are deeply unlikeable, but we get to see the reasons that they fight so hard for ballet. No one is completely perfect. Absolutely no one is blameless. Their actions impact each other in so many different directions, and the levels of miscommunication and tragedy make the drama nearly Shakespearean. In particular, I love the attention given to June, and how she was allowed to devolve despite sympathetic beginnings. Over and over the reader believes that she is going to be redeemed, but she just gets worst, and it tears you apart. I also enjoyed how the author went in-depth to the imposter syndrome that June experiences as a mixed Asian, which is very accurate.
However, this book does have a lot of problems. For one, the girls in this book are sixteen. That doesn't come through at all. I could see how the book is trying to show how ballet's sexualization and pressure causes these girls to mature before their time, but its just really weird reading about kids that are younger than me going clubbing and sleeping around and trying to destroy each other via psychological warfare. Again, this might be intentional, but it makes these girls seem like even worse people. I could see adults in careers doing this, but I don't thing juniors in high school would go this insane over one role. Furthermore, while the main three get excellent backstory and reflection, a lot of the other kids do not. One girls whole motivation for hating and horrifically bullying another girl is that the bully tried to kiss the girl once and now the bully is worried that the other girl will out her. This is stupid for a lot of reasons, mostly because I don't know why someone would antagonize someone that has potential black mail on them. A lot of the margin characters in this book are pretty underdeveloped and have bad motivations for doing pretty horrible things, which makes them look pretty stupid at best and plain cruel at worst. Finally, I wish Gigi had been a bit of a worse person. It would've rounded out the three girls as all being flawed people, and it would've given catharsis for a lot of the horrible things Gigi endures because of the other girls. Instead, she doesn't do anything wrong, and I spend the entire book being so mad at what was happening to her to the point where I lost a lot of sympathy for the other girls and their problems. I think it would've been amazing if Gigi had been allowed to become more corrupted by all the jealousy and cruelties around her, and had to fight her way back to the good person that she's always been. Instead, she barely changes besides becoming more and more beaten down by the things that are done to her, which gets frustrating.
All in all, this was a very well written book with a tight plot and great characters. It just had problems with the side characters and some overwrought drama. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in ballet, revenge, tragedy, and some excellent twists!
Reviewer Grade: 12

When Anne finishes her schooling at Redmond, she decides to start a new life away from Green Gables. She finds herself in her tower room at Windy Poplars, befriending two old widows, Aunt Kate and Aunt Chatty. She arrives at Windy Poplars looking for a job. She gets one as the principal of Summerside High School. Anne is then made aware that she was not the person they wanted as the principal, but they couldn’t find anyone better. Over time, Anne also becomes friends with the housekeeper, Rebecca Dew. Anne loves her students, but she greatly misses her lover, Gilbert Blythe, who is currently in medical school. Anne of Windy Poplars is a book in the Anne Of Green Gables series. It was less interesting and active than the other books, but it had a decent plot. I am a person who likes action and drama, but this novel did not satisfy me. Contrasting to the other books in the series, it was very drawn out and not very suspenseful. It left me with the urge to not continue reading. I want a book that makes me want to read more and never stop, but this did not meet those expectations. The only reason I kept reading was to keep the series going. I finally finished the book, and I’m glad I did. The storylines following Anne of Windy Poplars were much more interesting, but the books later on had flashbacks and connections to it.

We Deserve Monuments follows a seventeen-year-old girl named Avery as her and her family leave Washington, D.C. to return to her mother's childhood home. Avery's grandmother is dying, but somehow her mother and her grandmother still can't bring themselves to reconcile over decade-old, hidden arguments. While Avery struggles to adjust to a new school and new friends, she must also try to untangle the deep roots of family resentment that could keep her family broken forever.
This book is beautifully done. The prose is something out of a dream, and stays light and airy in the same way that small towns seem to hover in a landscape. The past is interwoven into the landscape to create a truly textured story. Every moment is given the weight and wonder that it deserves, and is a glorious reflection on the raptures of youth. Honestly, my only issue is the plot. I feel like the story would've benefited from more focus on Avery and her family, and less on the drama with her friends. I appreciated it in the beginning, but I felt like things fell apart so quickly that I couldn't get invested in what was going on. Avery herself was sympathetic, but both her and every other younger character in the book makes some truly stupid decisions. It worked better for Avery, since it showed her struggling to grow up and be an adult in her family situation while still embracing her teenage years, but I'm not sure if anyone else has enough of an excuse. With the three generations being examined, I wished that Avery's mom had gotten more of a spotlight in the story instead of whatever was happening with the kids all of the time. The story was still tight, and I felt like the ending was deserved and poignant.
I know it sounds like I didn't like this book that much, but that's just because its a very well done story with lots of style and a lot of things to nitpick. My opening notes still stand: this is one of the most poignant and affecting books I've read this year, with a lot of heart and charm distilled into it. I would recommend it to anyone that wants to read some beautiful prose and cry over family!
Reviewer Grade: 12