Awakening was a phenomenal book. It had a very good mixture of fighting, love, and intensity. The storyline was well written and kept me interested and there were no boring parts that I struggled to get through. Lauren did a great job of explaining each character and how they fit into the story, each character had a mission and a point, and none of them were there for no reason. I am very excited for the next book to come out, for while this story ended well, it left room for a lot more. I am sure Lauren will pull through and come out with another amazing book that will create just as much suspense and intensity as the last one, if not more. I am looking forward to read the next one and I plan on rereading this one. Anyone who enjoys magic, fiction, love, fighting, or just a good book should definitely look into reading Awakening.
Monday, May 19, 2014
A new student review of Awakening (Hope Trilogy #1) by Lauren Ashley
Sunday, May 18, 2014
A new student review of Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron
This was a fantastic book. I absolutely loved learning about the wild boy and his experiences. One critique that I have is that I wish there was a little more sensory details. While I know that a lot about the wild boy's life is a mystery, I believe there were a few moments in the book where the author could've added a good description. But overall, this book was extremely enjoyable to read and I think the author deserves a round of applause. Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron is a book you should definitely read.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
A new student review of Orion Poe and the Lost Explorer by William Summerhouse
I would describe this book as inconsistent. In some parts, it was airtight, truly incredible writing. In others, it was all in pieces. There was explosive dialogue with a wonderful addend of dialect, but, then, there were too many inside phrases, too many I thinks and I did’s…..they never spoke aloud! Sometimes the sentences were too long and too awkward, with redundant descriptions that sat on the borderline of mind-numbing. The setting also changed too much—it seemed like the explorers were in a new place every couple of pages. I also felt that the author, at the end of the book, went the easy way out on some of the major plot holes that the book had, covering them with shoddily executed one-liners that didn’t really relate. One thing that this book was consistent AND exceptional in was the characterization. Summerhouse’s character development and personalities made them almost irresistible—you loved some, you hated some, you connected with some. It was flawless. Altogether, though, I felt it was a slightly bogus book that could have been executed better.
“I was falling through a shadow of snow. The next something solid came flying up out of nowhere and –SMACK!—everything went black.”
I would recommend this book for all ages, as there is no profanity and sexual situations. There is a little bit of violence and death, so if that bothers you, you may want to skip over this book.
Will Orion Poe be able to solve the mystery of the Lost Explorer AND find a way to get home unscathed and alive? Read Orion Poe and the Lost Explorer by William Summerhouse to find out!
A new student review of Julius Caesar Brown and the Green Gas Mystery by Ace Hansen
I think that this would be a great book for kids 8-12 who like gross stuff and humorous books. I bet you would like reading this book if you are a fan of Captain Underpants. The humor is very similar and super silly.
Friday, May 16, 2014
A new student review of A Force of Will A Shakespearean Fantasy Adventure by D.J. Wallace
I did not particularly enjoy this book, because although I can untangle most decorative language, this story was written in such an ornamental manner that it was nearly undecipherable. The addition of fictional terms and names for futuristic objects made this book extrememly hard to follow. Unnecessary word use further entangled the plot, and gross exaggerations and childish plot lines made it hard to enjoy. The combination of vocabulary that would confound a high-level scholar and a plot line that would bore an elementary student made it hard to gauge who the intended audience was. Confusing descriptions made for difficult transitioning between settings and people, so it was hard to tell what was happening during the conflict. It would make much more sense if the author made it so it was targeted at a specific audience, because the simplistic and unoriginal plot is that of a children's book, while the vocabulary is extremely high level, and in some places completely invented- such as that of the futuristic objects and ceremonies in the book. Because of this, I could not rate the book very highly.
A new student review of Seasons of Raina by Milissa Nelson
If there were a book that never ended this would be the book I would choose. I really liked Raina and her relationship to her cousins. Some of them were younger and some of the cousins were older. Since I am the oldest of six children, I liked that Raina was in the middle and could relate to the older and younger cousins. When Raina discovers she is good at track I was very excited for her and I was eager to see if she would win each of her races. The author did a great job of making me want to see what happened with Raina.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
A new student review of Fat Angie
When I read the back of this book I was so excited; this book sounded so different and so fresh, and I thought it would be a book I loved. However, I was extremely dissapointed. My frist disappointment was the character of Angie. She even called herself Fat Angie and was so sad throughout the whole book that I got tired of her self-pity.
One thing that made her sad was that she was bullied by the kids at school. Yes, I know bullying happens and people can be very mean to others, but the things that they did to her I kind of didn't buy. The things they did to her reminded me of the bullying seen in the book, Carrie and that made this book seem not so fresh or creative anymore. At the end of the book, we find out why the head mean girl bullies Angie, and the reason just doesn't make sense, and there could have been a much better ending with that story.
I also really didn't like the other characters. They all got annoying as the book progressed. I was so disappointed with K.C.. I thought I would love her as her character. She has many of the same interest as me, but the author takes this fun creative character and makes her depressing and sad.
Another thing that disappointed me about this boook was that it was supposed to be an Anti Romance, but it turned into a romance.
Also the ending was kind of just left open. There really was no ending, and I think several of the situations could of been resolved in better ways.
Overall, I sadly cannot reccomend this book. It's very depressing and disappointing.
A new student review of The Summer of Shambles (Ondine Book #1) by Ebony McKenna
The main reasons I didn’t choose to finish the book was how the author chose to draw me into the story, and the tone of the part of the book I read. To me personally, the plot itself was not enough to push the story forward. I didn’t feel connected to the characters or what they were doing. A book can have a fine plot, and be executed poorly, and that’s what I believe happened here. It was a mix of humor with serious characters that didn’t make me laugh. The real cool thing that I was intrigued by was the commentary-type format that the book was in; numbers by certain comments to describe the country, a magical background, etc. This was a very neat aspect, especially in the introduction. However, as much I liked it though, I believe this also lent itself to the strange humor of the book. It wasn’t so much as the story involving funny characters (which I probably would have enjoyed more) , but the author seemed to be making light of the story itself, which in turn made me consider the characters as boring or flat. So the overall tone of the book may very well be perfectly suited to someone else’s humor, which I definitely can appreciate. If you’ve read books like this before then you will most likely enjoy the adorable characters (especially the ferret) and magical world. I, however, could not enjoy the book as much because the tone wasn’t suited for me. The introduction was something that I needed to draw me in as well, which did not happen. I didn’t feel as though the characters were either introduced properly, or were possibly just not interesting enough, for me to care very much about them. Most of these things though, I realize, are very subjective, and I really appreciated the creativity that went into this book, the commentary, and the fun world that was drawn up. I wish I could have enjoyed it more.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
A new student review of The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa
The third and final installment to the Blood of Edem trilogy certainly didn't disappoint. The story starts with Allie Sekemoto bent on revenge for the murder of her love and that was that aspect I loved to see play out the most. A number of characters avoid revenge and take the higher ground but Allie wouldn't. She wanted to avenge which I think a number of any people would do in her shoes.
Although the story begins with revenge, it's about more than that. Sarren, the vampire who murdered who Allie's love, is determined to release a virus that will destroy all living things. While that lends itself to be a line of tension in the novel, I feel that The Forever Song certainly went beyond expectations with conflict. For me, the first two books felt more action-packed and while the third book contained great action scenes, it felt like the conflicts in this story stemmed more from emotional turmoil and emotional manipulation.
The Forever Song maintained its dark mood that has been evident from the first novel. Allie Sekemoto's voice is clear and strong, as it has been from the beginning, and immediately pulled me back into the story after having been away from the second book for awhile. It was also great to see the development of Allie and Jackal's relationship; a relationship I think the story couldn't function without.
The Forever Song was a great ending to an already wonderful trilogy.
A new student review of Close by Erika Raskin
Close by Erika Raskin was a very well written book. I really enjoyed it. I breezed through it! The characters were so complex, and the way they were written made what was going through their head so easy to understand. The humor intertwined throughout this book was beautifully executed, and realistic. It was kind of a tear-jerker! This book isn't just for adolescents, adults would enjoy it just as much. It gives you an insightful look on the inside of a divorced family- and shows you the similarities between every family that you may think no one may ever understand. I can't wait to read more by this author!