A new student review of A Really Awesome Mess

taterb26 posted a new student review of A Really Awesome Mess . See the full review.

 A Really Awesome Mess dealt with some pretty deep topics. Themes such as anorexia, bulimia, sexual activity, and depression were often brought up. The authors did an okay job with these sometimes difficult to navigate subjects; however, they could've done much better. For this reason, I'd advise people with triggers to tread lightly into this book. At times, the sheer frankness of one of the main characters (Emmy) made me cringe. Towards the end of the book, this problem ceased. But allow me to restate this; tread lightly into this book with the knowledge that the main character's have some potentially hurtful opinions.

 Teenage love seemed as if it were supposed to be a big part of the book, but it didn't really come up all that much, and when it did, I became increasingly frustrated. This may be attributed to the fact that teenage love is an irritating topic in general to me, but it just seemed much more so in this book than any other. I knew that the authors wanted to get at a touching tale of two love-stricken, mentally screwed teens, but I feel that it should have been a bigger aspect to really accomplish that feat. This wasn't so. The opportunity seemed missed in my eyes---the main part of their 'love' that I noticed was how rushed it was.

 Another angle of this book I did not like was the dialogue; it was sloppy and unrealistic. There seemed to be nothing normal said. Real people say mindless things and rant and talk about random things. Everything said by this book's characters was for the sole purpose of progressing the plot. Now, this is a personal opinion, just as every other part of this review is, so other people may not have a problem with this. It was just something I noticed and wanted to point out.

  My last issue with this book was how unrealistic and cliche it was. The officials at Heartland were irresponsible and wishy-washy and completely unlike how it would be in real life. So many things slipped them by and many actions went without consequence. I was a bit shocked at how blatantly played down some things were.

 Overall, this book was a miss for me. I was excited to read about these two teens and become attached to them as I normally do with characters, but it was near impossible for me to like this duo. I couldn't support them and hope for good for them---I tried and tried, I did. Basically, there were so many aspects of this book that could've been turned into something utterly phenomenal, but sadly, they were overlooked.

 Ugh, this book is just oozing with potential.

A new student review of Formerly Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

ClarissaAdeleMorgenstern posted a new student review of Formerly Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham. See the full review.

This book was okay.  Like its predecessor, Formerly Shark Girl was told in poems and letters.   There wasn't much conflict or plot, and many of Jane's actions were predictable.  I felt that Formerly Shark Girl was written just to tie up loose ends from Shark Girl.  Having read Shark Girl, I did want to find out what happened to Jane and other characters, so this book felt a lot like an extended ending.  However, I don't think that this book was as emotionally compelling as Shark Girl.   I understand why Jane was so torn between art and nursing.  I also really liked that the reader got to see some of the letters written to Jane to understand the pressure she felt.  I don't think this book was as emotional as Shark Girl.  This is a relatively quick read, and I would recommend it to realistic fiction fans in sixth grade and up. 

A new student review of The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina

zkraus posted a new student review of The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina. See the full review.

Out of all the dystopian genre books I've read, I like this idea best. However, I struggled to get through it. When I started reading it, pushing through the first 20 pages was a challenge. I got confused with who was talking and when. The book begins with Ashala being detained. It was difficult for me to connect all the dots. I was completely lost for a majority of the book. Again, I like the idea and plot but I think it could have been written in a clearer way. However, the detail and descriptions really painted a picture in my head. The author also did a good job of describing emotion, which caused me to understand and almost feel the same emotion that the character was feeling. 

A new student review of Every Day After by Laura Golden

SarahLou posted a new student review of Every Day After by Laura Golden. See the full review.

If you feel down you should read this book. It is a very good book and it was a very good inspiration to me. There are a lot of tough situations in this book so it took a while to read and understand what Lizzie was going through. I loved how Lizzie found hope again and fixed her problems by facing her fears, even though this is the opposite of what her dad told her. I am glad I read this book and learned that there are different ways to trust people. This is a good book for ages 10 and up.

A new student review of Quests of Shadowind: Sky Shifter by LA Miller

sharmer posted a new student review of Quests of Shadowind: Sky Shifter by LA Miller. See the full review.

In my opinon, it is a slow moving book at the beinging but gets better as you read on. But overall it is a good book. There is some mystery to it. I think it would be good for 5th and 6th graders and even some 7th graders.

 

A new student review of The Chance You Won't Return

Peace8747 posted a new student review of The Chance You Won't Return . See the full review.

I thought that The Chance You Won't Return was a really good book! There was a few swear words.

A new student review of Seeking the Storyteller by Jessica Walsh

ReesaOnFire posted a new student review of Seeking the Storyteller by Jessica Walsh. See the full review.

Seeking the Storyteller was definitely an intriguing story. It’s plot was great, subplots interesting, and mechanics good.  However this book lacked one key element that caused the book to fail. The key was organization.

Unfortunately the book, which had so much potential with a fantastic plot, interesting characters, and captivating subplots forming, did not have proper order.  I understand that perhaps the authors might have done this on purpose to reflect how, in life, things are hardly clear. But, this is a fictional book. The writing style, also, could use some work but it wasn’t terrible.

My biggest beef with the book was the revelation of Alix’s past.  Alix’s past is a huge part of the book, and personally, I thought that the authors' choice in explaining it left much to be desired. However, that is my opinion.

On the bright side, the ragtag team Walsh and Lawrence created of demons, humans, hunters and victims was fascinating. I kept on wanting more and more of it. One thing this book didn’t fail in (with the exception of Alix’s story) was subplot. Each subplot was great, and it made me wonder about those characters and their stories.

Overall for writing and style I give this book one star—it leaves much to be desired.

For creativity and originality I give this book four stars out of five. 

I recommend this book for fantasy lovers who don't mind a few rushed explanations. 

A new student review of Knowing Jack by Julie Elizabeth Powell

nate329 posted a new student review of Knowing Jack by Julie Elizabeth Powell. See the full review.

I love Knowing Jack so much, and I was hooked right away in the first chapter.  I thought that this book was written perfectly. This is a great  adventure book to read for fun.  But this book has some really big words in it, so if you're going to read it, I suggest that you are at least 13-15 years old.  It also had some violence in it, so be aware.  If I had the chance to go into the world of Jack I would definitely go. 

A new student review of Timmy Failure: Now Look What You've Done

Roho posted a new student review of Timmy Failure: Now Look What You've Done . See the full review.

I like this book because it’s similar to one of my favorite series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It’s funny, cool, and awesome. There are jokes in it that I thought were funny. Timmy is a detective, which is what I want to be, and I like mysteries like this one. I picked this book to read because I read the first one and because I wanted to start reading a new book series. People who like the Wimpy Kid and Big Nate books would like this series. They are all diaries that contain humor and adventure.

A new student review of Seeking Dr. Magic by Scott Spotson

JUDGE posted a new student review of Seeking Dr. Magic by Scott Spotson. See the full review.

Some books are just good but I think this as a great Book. This book seeking Dr. Magic is one of my favorite books and I am in 7th grade. It has suspense, a little action, and is overall a great story. This book’s genre is Fantasy. When I was reading this book I often lost track of time. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend and have already done so.