Reviews of Teen Books

If you are looking for a fantasy novel to swift you away into a new and complex world, this is the book for you. This is the first book to the sequel trilogy of the Mortal Instruments series, which you must read before this, if you wish it to make any sense.

Emma Carstairs' parents were murdered by Sebastian Morganstern. Or else that's what the Clave has declared. She, however, is not convinced that is the whole story. When murders similar to her parents erupt in the city, her and her friends, Julian and Cristina, are desperate to find the truth. Finding Emma's true parents murderer is not the only thing at stake. Julian's older brother, Mark, was captured by the Wild Hunt years ago. They are a group of Faeries that took Mark in, seeing that he is half Fae. Now, someone is murdering the Fae, and they have offered to give Mark back, in exchange for Julian and Emma bringing them the murderer. They have two weeks, to not only find the murderer, but to also convince Mark to stay with them.

These are not their only worries though. Emma and Julian are parabatia, meaning they are connected in the deepest kind of friendship possible. However, it is forbidden for parabatia to fall in romantic relationships. This is a problem for Julian and Emma, seeing that they might not be able to contain their love for much longer. The repercussions for their love includes banishing them from ever seeing their family again, which means everything for Julian and his seven brothers and sisters.

I have read all other books written by Cassandra Clare, and I did not believe this was the best of them. I did think that Julian and Emma's love was a bit too overpowering, and made the action and rest of the book seem like sides to the main dish. I would have preferred more action and battles, rather then deep conversations about infatuation with one another.

She was able to surprise me at the end, with multiple plot twists and action. Not everything was easy to guess, and it made for good brain exercise. I am looking forward to the rest of the series, which should come out sometime in 2017.

Reviewer Grade: 9

Me Before You is a tragically beautiful story about life and peoples will to live in it. After you read this it is impossible to look at life the same as you did before.

Louisa Clark has just lost her job of six years and is desperate to find a new one. She is even desperate enough to work for the Traynor's, a wealthy family whose son, Will, was paralyzed in an motorbike accident two years in advance. She is hired as Will's caretaker, but soon learns that caring for him is easier said then done. Despite his efforts to make her quit, and their constant bickering, she soon grows to like him as they grow closer as companions. When she overhears an argument between his sister and mother, her job, and life, will never be the same.

Seldom books have the power to make me cry, but this book left me bawling (I suggest you stock up on chocolates and tissues in advance). The further you read into the book the more you understand Will's
requests. It leaves you with a different outlook on life, and on love. Moyes does a wonderful job on never letting us really know what to expect. Even though parts of the storyline were slow, and some characters hard to relate to, the books dynamic and plot made up for it.

This book first caught my eye when I saw the new trailer for the movie adaption. The trailer looked so interesting I had to put the book on hold immediately. I am glad I picked up this book, and am looking forward to the movie coming out in June. I highly suggest it for anyone looking for a quick read.

Reviewer Grade: 9

Actual Review: 4.5

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a very well written book. There's a lot of drama that takes place. Narrated by a character named Nick, tells the many things that had taken place from his experience. Love, mystery, and drama happen throughout giving the book an interesting story. It is pretty easy to read and comprehend. Overall it has a good story along with theme.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Actual Rating: 3.9

This book is good and fairly understandable if you like books that take place in war times. It has A LOT of symbolism which many can be examples of the exact things they carried. There are many back stories and stories about the soldiers as well giving you a lot of imagery as to what is happening. It talks about their missions and thoughts emotionally. It was a little difficult for me to read it but it's a pretty well written book otherwise.

Reviewer Grade: 12

A Separate Peace by John Knowles, is a pretty good book in that it shows a lot of emotion and drama. It gets you thinking: How did this happen? What does this mean? And what will happen next? There is a strong friendship between Gene and Finny and the actions are either caused by envy or just pure accident. Many signs of symbolism are found throughout the book and some also can relate to religion. This book is good also when relating to real life situations which can relate to a majority of the people who will read it. I really liked this book and it was pretty easy to understand.

Reviewer Grade: 12

This book is about an alien apocalypse that comes in 5 waves. Except the aliens – called the “others” – aren’t the traditional kind that most people picture. The book starts off after four of the five waves hit. The main protagonist, Cassie, is in a tent all alone in the forest. The thing that I liked the most about this book was the fast-paced writing, which made it entertaining and enjoyable. However, a few characters weren't as interesting in my opinion and sometimes appeared generic or like the standard character in YA/dystopian series. Also, to be overly critical, I thought there wasn't any logic to a few things in the story. Overall, though, this book was very entertaining and I read through it quickly.

Reviewer Grade: 8

This book is about a society where children are born with two souls. As they get older, the recessive soul of the two disappears, while the dominant one becomes the only one controlling the body. However, in some people, the recessive soul doesn't completely disappear, making them a hybrid. The society in this book doesn't accept hybrids, which our main characters – Addie and Eva – happen to be. I thought this book was okay for the most part. It was interesting to see the different characters’ personalities and how they interacted with each other, especially when sharing a body. However, I thought the pacing was just too slow. It took forever for something important to happen. There are maybe two or three pages that actually feel fast-paced, at least in my opinion. Also, the whole point of the story isn't too clear, such as why the hybrids are viewed as a threat and not accepted in society.

Reviewer Grade: 8

This book is about Verity, a spy imprisoned by the Nazis during WWII who agrees to write everything she knows down for them, just to buy time. I found the format very interesting in this book. Although it was slow and seemingly pointless at the beginning, the little details all come together in the end to complete the story. Even though the ending may appear predictable, it is pulled off in a surprising way. I liked the characters in this book; most of their personalities were well developed and there were some plot twists about them revealed later in the book.

Reviewer Grade: 8

This book focuses on the main antagonist of The Lunar Chronicles series: Levana, before she became the queen of Luna. This book explains many things that were mentioned in The Lunar Chronicles, and shows Levana’s journey from an unfortunate youth into the powerful queen. It was interesting to see the world through the younger Levana’s eyes, and understanding her past. This book also describes drastic steps she took in order to become the ruler of Luna. The setting for the story, the moon, was described and built from a unique perspective, which made it interesting to see Earth from the moon’s.

Reviewer Grade: 8

This is a dark horror and mystery book told by Gabriel; a 20 year old recounting his humiliation-filled life on his deathbed. All of Gabriel’s recollections add up to the present situation that he and his town are in. This book has a lot of imagery, which gives readers a good picture of the horrific things that play out. It also has a lot of complexly-worded phrases, and some rhyming. The characters were fascinating, especially Finnigan, and develop a lot towards the very end. I found the story interesting enough to read through quickly, but the ending was a little too dark and confusing in my opinion.

Reviewer Grade: 8

Actual Rating: 4.5

In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, I found it to be based upon the ideas of good vs evil. A group of British boys are traveling on a plane when unexpectedly their plane crashes on an unknown island. Many examples of symbolism can be found throughout this book which play a big role on finding the true meaning of it overall. Good vs evil can also be found throughout the boys and what they go through when trying to survive and keep stable. This book makes you want to keep reading so you can learn what happens next, which I believe can be some of the best books to read. Keep an eye out for the meaning of the title and how it plays along with the things that are affecting the boys and their survival.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, is a pretty interesting novel. There are a lot of different scenarios taking place for the main character named Tessa, who is also trying to find out who she really is along with finding her brother, Nate. A majority of the book is taking place at the institute, which is a place where not so normal people are taken to. This book has many different fantasy-like aspects from demons, shadow hunters, downworlders, vampires, etc. I thought it was a pretty good book and super fun to read, though it's somewhat long for some.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Actual Rating: 4.5

In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, it depicts many aspects relating to actual things in today's society. Many concepts such as love, hate, beauty, selfishness, and more help to do this. In this book Dorian also goes through a series of emotions and battles with his own thoughts. Throughout, many people have had a great or little effect on how the book plays out overall. This book was very interesting and kept me engaged the whole time while reading it. If you love reading novels that are a bit crazy but really puts others lives in perspective this is a great book to read.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Action-packed and heartbreaking, Red Rising has no doubt become one of my favorite series of all time. Morning Star is a powerful conclusion to a thrilling series that left me satisfied with how the story concluded. There are many points where I just want to stop and write down all the quotes I love in the book. Pierce Brown writes beautifully and he did every justice to Morning Star. Since it's a sequel and the final book to a trilogy, I won't say much about what happen in case someone new to the series happens to stumble on this review. If you are new, what you need to know about Red Rising is that it's a sci-fi fantasy that borrows elements from mythologies. Red Rising is a phenomenal series and I hope that more people would pick up and give this book a try.
Reviewer Grade: 12

This book left me speechless so many times, shocked by the brutality that brought upon hopes and dreams for a race of the oppressed. War is ugly, yet Pierce Brown paints art and beauty to every word written in this book. There wasn't a moment that bore me. My heart broke many times for the characters in the book, for Darrow, for the young innocent boy he once was and the death stained Reaper he has become. We witnessed the rise of the Reaper in Red Rising and his fall in Golden Son. This is one of the best book I've read so far this year, possibly one of my all-time favorite book. I definitely highly recommend anyone who has already read Red Rising to continue with this book. For anyone who have not read or heard of the series: please pick it up. It is very much worth your time.
Reviewer Grade: 12

Actual Rating: 4.5

If you love anti-hero, this book is for you. Vicious follows the stories of Victor and Eli, a pair of brilliant, arrogant yet lonely college roommates who share ambition and interest in EO, ExtraOrdinary human being with unnatural superbeing abilities. Vicious blurred the line between heroism and villainy, a moral gray area we often find ourselves standing in. From roommates to enemies, Victor and Eli engaged in a game of cat and mouse that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the book. It was a very thrilling and exciting read and I can't wait for the next book in the series.
Reviewer Grade: 12

I'm not a teen, so I'm obviously not the target audience. The first half of this book was very good and even made me cry. The fact that Ruby's sister was so brave and protected her in her quiet way was very powerful. I loved how her experience protecting Ruby shaped her career and life's purpose. However, once the book got beyond that point it devolved into the naval gazing so common in teen fiction. Too much introspection and obvious symbolism explained by the narrator made for a tedious second half. If the author could have kept up the power of the first half, this would be a 5 star review.

Actual Rating: 4.5

When I first saw the cover and title of this book, I was intrigued. The title of this novel does not reveal much about what the plot was all "about". The main character of the book, Janie, is a woman of mixed race who is trying to find her happiness, which she believes is love. Hurston writes this novel in a way that the readers too, can feel what Janie is feeling, and see what Janie is seeing. Even though this book was written in the 1930's, the topics that pop up are still relevant today, including Feminism. This book may have been predictable at certain times, it was surprising as well. I have never read a novel like this one before. I encourage others to read this book, so they too can experience the journey of Janie's coming of age.

Reviewer Grade: 11

When assigned this novel for school, I did not expect much to be completely honest. In fact, the story of The Tempest was actually a pleasant surprise. The story is about Prospero, a man looking for revenge against the one person who took his Dukedom away from him, his brother Antonio. At the beginning, the story moves a bit slow and can be a bit boring. Although, it does not take too long for Shakespeare to interest the reader with the plot of the novel. I did not find the story to be predictable, which is what made it so interesting! A theme that the story revolves around was Compassion VS Cruelty, making The Tempest very interesting and intriguing. The language of Shakespeare may be difficult to understand, but is not too difficult. Although, it would be useful to choose a version of The Tempest that has annotations/footnotes as there are various terms and mythological references that some people may not understand or know.

Reviewer Grade: 11

The reason why I picked this novel was because of the cover I had. It was unique and in my opinion, very pretty. Also, if you skim through the book, each chapter has a simple illustration which is quite interesting. However, I found the book to be mediocre. This book takes place on a made up island nearby the city of Tokyo. The main character Shinji, is a hardworking boy who partakes in the fishing business on this small island. He soon meets a girl by the name of Hatsue, and their story begins...This book did not surprise me at all, but it was cute. Mishima touches base on the idea of coming of age and love, and wrote it all beautifully. Mishima's style is full of imagery and is what really makes this novel different.

Reviewer Grade: 11