Reviews of Teen Books

One of the most classic science fiction novels ever written, Jurassic Park is a tense, action filled, and groundbreaking book that won't let you go! The novel takes place on a tropical island, where a man has invented a technique to extract dinosaur DNA from mosquitoes, and is then able to breed living dinosaurs. However, something goes terribly wrong, and the characters then have to escape the island with giant dinosaurs after them. The novel is incredible, and it displays the dinosaurs perfectly. The characters are all fleshed out and seem like real people, and the couple sub-plots are exciting and do not seem tedious at all. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an action story, a sci-fi novel, or a good book in general.

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen tells the story of a high school girl named Ruby. The book starts after her alcoholic mother abandons her and Ruby moves in with her older sister who she hasn't seen for 10 years. Ruby has to go from living with an unstable mother and having to be the parent in family, to a rich, preppy life with people who actually want to be there for her. Ruby won't have it, she plans on staying till her 18th birthday then leaving. Her plans change when she meets Nate, a jock who has an interesting past but is now used to the rich life. Will Ruby and Nate let their walls divide them or break them down and become closer? I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 because it instantly grabbed my attention from the beginning and kept it. The author has a way of bringing her characters to life, like you could see it happening in real life. I would recommend this book to people who like realistic and romantic stories.

Speculative fiction at its most fun and haunting in the Victorian period, with that little hint of Steampunk! Seventeen year old Evangeline is off to stay with her Aunt Henoria in the old house of Dragonspire, located in the northern wood and filled with things that like Evangeline herself...are not quite what they seem. Her life teeming with questions about these new mysteries, and her newfound powers, she tries to pry the questions out of her estranged aunt. And who are the Musgroves, why is the house so strange, and what is going on with the northern wood? This quick read is unique and comes from a local author, has the flair of Gothic Horror with a speculative fiction/steampunk twist in a Christian genre. Say that fast ten times. Basically, this is something fresh and new and I appreciate Ms. Bishop's humor and understanding of the Victorian era and what it takes to write good speculative fiction.

A harrowing story of murder, deception, lies, and the struggle of a broken man to gain his life back, The Innocent Man is an incredible novel.
It's exemplary qualities are highlighted because everything in the book happens to be true. The story follows the tale of Ron Williamson, a baseball prodigy who, after his life begins to fall apart after he loses a career with the Yankees, is wrongly accused of a murder. It then describes his experiences in prison and the things he had to do to prove his innocence.
John Grisham's attention to detail and research is impeccable and top-notch, and the book is riveting for it. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes nonfiction novels, or anyone who likes murder mysteries.

"Let me show you
what a woman can do."

Artemisia Gentileschi is a painter. But because she's a painter in Rome in the early 1600s, she cannot take credit for her work. All of the credit goes to her father, who is a painter himself, though not a good one. When her father solicits the help of fellow painter Agostino Tassi to develop Artemisia's perspective, she thinks that finally her work might get taken seriously. But after Tassi brutally rapes her, Artemisia must decide whether she wants her life to continue as close to "normal" as possible, or if she wants to speak her truth and risk her painting career or worse: death.

Unbeknownst to me until about halfway through the book, this story is actually based on a true one, which makes what is already a beautifully written gut-wrenching book all the more poignant. Artemisia is a woman unhappy with her unfair lot in life, and she uses her art to express that by depicting Biblical women (primarily Susana and Judith) realistically instead of through the male gaze. Judith and Susana's stories as told to Artemisia by her late mother are sprinkled throughout the book, and are the only parts not written in verse.

Blood Water Paint is so timely. It's primarily about a woman's ability to speak her truth, and as we live in the time of the #MeToo movement it all feels so horribly relevant. As terrible things are happening in the book, you can see them mirrored in today's society. But ultimately, even as it's depressing (and it is brutal), the book is empowering and inspirational, and Artemisia is the quintessential example of a strong female character - her strength in the face of insane adversity is even more affecting given that it's based on a real woman.

I can think of no better book to read for National Women's History Month (or really, at any time). I'd strongly recommend this to both teens and adults, and I won't be surprised should it garner several nominations and/or wins when book award season rolls back around. This is one that is not to be missed. 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dutton Books for Young Readers for the eARC, which I received for review consideration. Blood Water Paint is available now!

Where the story was left off in volume 1, Max and the flock finally escape the lab. Angel informs them of their parents, and another lab in New York where they can find more information. They work their way there, constantly running into erasers, and struggles along the way. Even when they make it there, they must survive the busy streets as it becomes a scavenger hunt, for the mysteries along the way.

Living as a slave her whole life and with it many stories and scars, Mariah and some family and friends are finally saved when the Yankees come and take them along as they march towards the war. The slaves will be dropped off at a free state, but they must endure the troubles. Mariah meets Caleb, someone who assists the soldiers. He ends up falling in love with her, but is too afraid to become attached to someone due to experiences in the past. As Mariah tries to overcome troubles and thoughts, Caleb fights his internal struggle, both hoping for something more.
This book is based around a real event that happened during the civil war at Ebenezer Creek, and the author did a wonderful job illustrating and spreading a story not much have heard. I recommend this story to anyone who is into war history and romance.

While Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit have had their moments as fantasy epics, I believe that The Gunslinger, and indeed, the whole series, deserves to be placed right next to Tolkien's masterpieces as one of the greatest fantasy books/series of all time. Taking place in a medieval world that is somewhat similar to the Old West, but exists in a parallel time frame to our own, we follow the journey of Roland of Gilead as he travels across this universe in search of the nexus of the universe--The Dark Tower. The novel is filled with adventure, intrigue, suspense, humor, and action that keeps you reading, no matter what. While not a traditional horror novel like King is known for, it is still a worthy addition to the King collection. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great fantasy book series to read, or any Stephen King fan.

: I just need to start off by saying that this book is more than Bohemian Rhapsody awesome, and that song is my jam! This book was so beautifully written and it made me bawl my eyes out at some points. John Green does such a good job at making the reader feel like they are a character in the book. It all starts when sixteen year old Hazel Grace reluctantly goes to her cancer support group. She feels the sensation that someone has their eyes on her, so she glances across the room only to see drop dead sexy Augustus Waters. Many days of talking and helplessly falling in love lead up to being Amsterdam as part of a "cancer perk". After a plethora of adventures in either Amsterdam or Indiana, including an encounter with a drunken author, tragedy strikes. With love and lost battles, the truth hits hard and must be accepted. I chose this book because it was gifted and recommended to me by a friend. I'm a rather picky reader, but this exceeded my standards by about a million. I think the part I enjoyed the most about this book is just the fact that every single tiny little detail was thought about. John Green puts so much effort into his books and cares about each and every one of his characters he writes about. With every page flip a new sort of surprise was waiting to be read, and that is also part of what I loved. Believe me, this is one of the best books I have ever read and only took me a couple days, if not a week to read.

"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" is an adventurous book about a young boy named Jacob who wants more. He had grown up in a normal town with a normal family, feeling different. His grandfather felt the same when he was a kid, and when he dies, Jacob uncovers a huge power that he has. That power helps him find Miss Peregrine and her peculiar children, and they all need to work together to fight evil. This book is part of a trilogy, and gets better with every page. At first it can be hard to get into, but once you start to read, you can not go back. This story is filled with plot twists, cliffhangers, and exciting events to keep the reader engaged. This book is fictitious and takes place in both modern and past times. If you love interesting tales, a little bit of creepiness, and an amazingly well written novel, this book is for you!

One of King's most famous books, Salem's Lot is a story about vampires that doesn't exactly rival King's other books in terms of plot and suspense. However, it's still a great book that is very enjoyable. The book is about a vampire that eventually turns the entire town into vampires themselves, and a small group consisting of a doctor, a priest, a writer, and a little boy all fight back against the outbreak. The book does a good job of building up the villain and the characters, but the horror is not exactly the preliminary theme here. Instead, it is more focused on the drama and action, which is fine, but for an author who is famous for his horror novels, this book was slightly underwhelming. However, I would still recommend it to Stephen King fans or anyone looking for a good book.

The book Wolves And Roses by Christina Bauer is placed in a similar world to ours, but in this world there is a race known as the Magicorum. The Magicorum are the descendants of shifters, fairies, and witches from fairy tale stories. This book tells the story of Bryar Rose, who has the life template of Sleeping Beauty. Or, in other words, she's destined to live a life similar to Sleeping Beauty. The problem is that Bryar has no interest in living a fairy tale life, all she wants to do is go to a normal school with normal people. Her dream can happen, but she has to convince her guidance counselor, who wants her live the perfect Sleeping Beauty template, to let her go to her dream school. Bryar's plan is to get her counselor to sign the necessary papers for her dream school and live a normal life. But, all her plans are turned upside down when she meets a mysterious boy, who shows her that things aren't what they seem to be and the people she thought she knew are really strangers to her. I would rate this book an five out of five because it was an amazing romance and a great twist on a classic fairy tale.
Reviewer Grade: 9

Flipped is an innocent novel with characters that the audience either sympathizes or connects with easily. The novel follows children Bryce Loski and Juli Baker in a period of coming of age starting when Juli moves into Bryce’s neighborhood in the second grade. She develops an annoying and persistent crush on him that Bryce just wants to go away but over the course of six years their feelings flip for each other. Bryce, once distant and cold, is now interested in Juli but he does not show this new feeling well after he upsets her on three separate occasions which causes Juli to begin to dislike him. There is also a movie based on the novel which I think does justice to the book portraying everyone accurately and evoking the appropriate emotions. The only major difference is the time period, the novel takes place from 1994-2000 and the movie takes place from 1957-1963. I personally enjoyed the the 1957-1963 setting better because that emphasizes the whole playing with the neighbors outside for hours and everyone knows everyone aesthetic which is necessary to the plot. Flipped is a quick read I read for the first time in the fifth grade in elementary school but continue to enjoy now as a high schooler.

Max has been caring for everyone, the flock, since the person who was like a father to them disappeared. Each one of them contains a special ability, including wings. They don't know what had happened, only that they had been in the lab for too long until their father figure helped them escape. But when creatures called erasers take their youngest, Angel, back to where they were created, they have to rescue her, along with trial and error.

Review: In a world full of music, Chester travels from town to town to find his father who was one of the people who had gone missing. He makes money from the music he plays on his fiddle, but there is one song that you must not tamper with, or it is an automatic death sentence. Unfortunately, he cannot control it and accidentally plays it while preforming. But right before the ax comes down, he is saved by someone who recruits him in the Nightfall Gang, a thieving group. With this, he is brought along for an adventure full of mysteries and music.

Lira steal's princes' hearts. Literally. She lures them into a trance-like state with her siren song, and drags them down to the bottom of ocean where she rips out their hearts. After failing to steal Prince Elian's heart, the pirate prince also known as the "siren killer", Lira's mother, the Sea Queen, turns her into a human in punishment, and commands that she retrieve Elian's heart, or stay a human forever.

Are you getting Little Mermaid vibes from that description? Good, because there is a definitely Little Mermaid inspiration here, though it's definitely more Anderson than Disney (for examples, sirens turn into sea foam a few moments after they are killed). There's also some Greek mythology (I feel like this is the origin of sirens, but I only say that because of the Odyssey), but the influences, while noticeable, are integrated nicely, and the world-building game in this book is super strong. Elian and Lira travel to several different kingdoms, and each kingdom has its own flavor and customs. There's also some cool mythology around sirens vs. mermaids vs. mermen, and I really loved where she went with the mermaids in particular. It was a version of mermaids that I had never read before.

Elian and Lira are both complex but likable characters (if you like your heroes of anti- or bloodthirsty variety, which, I DO). Initially, Lira is a stone-cold killer. She was raised to be one, and the fact that she could be anything but a stone-cold killer after her upbringing is kind of magical. As the book develops, she learns more about humans and begins to *gasp* kind of like them. Her character development and growth are a main theme throughout the book, and Lira's maturation is slow enough to develop seems plausible.

Elian was also fine; he mostly serves as a foil to Lira, and it's fun to see his opinion of her change as he slowly learns more about her. There is a bit of romance between them, but as they are at odds for most of the book, its kind of a forbidden romance which is a trope that I love when done right (needless to say, it was done right here).

Amazing worldbuilding, great characters, no sequel - what's not to love here? If you are into pirates or mermaids or lux worldbuilding, you'll enjoy this book. 4 stars - I really liked it!

Thanks to Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for the eARC for review consideration. To Kill a Kingdom will be released on 06 March, but you can put your copy on hold today!

I was required to read Into the Wild for English class and normally I’d be procrastinating to get into those books but I enjoyed this one a lot. In 1990, based on real life events, a wealthy boy named Christopher McCandless, fresh out of college from the East Coast, abruptly decided to donate all of his money to charity, sever contact with his parents, and set out for the great Alaskan wilderness. He journeyed all over the West Coast traveling around California, New Mexico, and Arizona and even held a job at a farm in South Dakota, eventually renaming himself Alexander Supertramp. Alexander picked up new skills and information such as how to skin a moose, different camps he might stay at, what weapons he needed, etc. from all of the individuals he met. For years, he remained in the continental United States but his goal was always to live off the earth in Alaska - he thought there was more to life than the money and fame his parents treasured. What I enjoyed most about this book was that there were actual accounts of Alexander’s journey either from his personal journal or the friends he encountered that allowed the readers to sympathize with Alexander and understand his goal despite his unfortunate fate. The problem with the novel was that I think Alexander was portrayed to be more conscientious and experienced than he truly was due to the fact the author, Jon Krakauer, outright states he idolizes him in the foreword. This concept can also be emphasized by the epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter that provide quotes from famous adventure novels including The Call of the Wild and White Fang as if trying to ensure that Alexander was the hero Krakauer thought he was. However, I did find Krakauer’s bias easier to support the claim that Alexander was naive. Why else would the author be trying so hard to prove he was not? Slow-paced at some parts, but I do think this is an interesting telling of what so many individuals are afraid to do.

Spy School, by Stuart Gibbs, is a really good, light, and easy read. The book's main attraction is its plot twists. The unknown double agent, hidden 'spy' school, and secret organization all combine to make a great action-packed, half-romance novel. The ending also gets the reader hyped up for the next book in the series. Stuart Gibbs uses great foreshadowing throughout the book, and hints at every little detail in the plot. Although the plot is sort-of cliche and some characters are kind-of bland, the book sums up to be a highly entertaining read. I would recommend this book to anyone willing to put in the little time it takes to read it.

Stuart Little, by E. B. White, is quite the fascinating tale of an adventurous mouse on a quest to find his beloved, lost friend. The book is endlessly entertaining, and Stuart the mouse hooks the reader with his various shenanigans. Rather than developing the side characters, E. B. White strives and succeeds at focusing on peculiar Stuart and amusing the reader. The side plots also fit very nicely into the main story. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone, as it is a quick, easy, and wondrous read.

The novel Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, is a 'meh' romance novel. While I may not be a big fan of the genre (which is why I personally find it excruciatingly boring), the book exceeds in describing how relationships were the main influence of wealth and power in Britain around the 1800s. Jane Austen also gives each character an 'okay' backstory. Other than that, the book struggles to keep the reader interested. The characters are bland, their relationships have a very poor development, and some of the well-developed side characters just leave without any sort of sentimental goodbye. The book just seems to be a monotonous lecture with all of the uneventful dialogue, and overall, the book just doesn’t seem to capture the reader. I would maybe recommend this to some hardcore fans of romance, but other than that, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. There’s a reason they had to call the movie, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies."