A new student review of The Castle Park Kids by Laura Smith

sschu5 posted a new student review of The Castle Park Kids by Laura Smith. See the full review.

My favorite part of this book is the friendship. They have true friendship because they overcome obstacles to have fun and be friends. I also like how the plot how foreshadows the climax. The dragging out of the story in the beginning shows something big is going to happen. I really, really like this book and I think it would be great for anybody.

 

A new student review of Spaceheadz (Be SPHDZ Save The World) by Jon Scieszka

Pikachu posted a new student review of Spaceheadz (Be SPHDZ Save The World) by Jon Scieszka. See the full review.

This book is part of a series and I have not read the other books. I was a little confused in the beginning, but then everything fell into place. I suggest you read the first book in the series before reading this one, but this is still a great book on it's own.

My favorite part was the beginning because when I read it, I felt like I was part of the story. My favorite character is Agent Umber, because he has a pickle phone and I think that's funny.  Electromagnetic sources sound spooky...

A new student review of Phoenix (Phoenix Elite #1) by Melissa Starr

E_Hunter posted a new student review of Phoenix (Phoenix Elite #1) by Melissa Starr. See the full review.

I wanted to love this story, as it had a great synopsis and sounded like something I would be interested in but I couldn’t invest and it took me awhile to read all the way through.

That being said, the pacing of the story was fast. It jumped from days to months and it was confusing to figure out the time frame of everything that happened. The fast pace didn’t need to happen at all, as there was a lot of things that weren’t explained.

Our main character, Elora, finds out she is a Phoenix on her 16^th birthday. Besides a letter from her dead mother and a-rather quick-oath she has to swear by, there is nothing added. No history, why it’s happening. She didn’t even freak out. Who wouldn’t have a mini freak out if wings sprouted from their backs?

I became rather annoyed when I learned what Phoenixes are really called. This book had nothing to do with it and yet the name appears everywhere. As I’m trying not to give away spoilers, I’ll just say it makes no sense.

I found a few grammatical and spelling errors in this book and it really became hard for me to continue reading. The tone of the story felt off too, as in not consistent from the beginning, middle and end.

Overall, the book itself is just odd. I couldn’t find anything I liked about it unfortunately. The writing could use more edits and have the pace slow down a lot more. There isn’t really a climax either, which is disappointing. I can’t honestly recommend this series.  

A new student review of Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince

darkash375 posted a new student review of Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince. See the full review.

Overall I really enjoyed this graphic novel, the story just drags to you into it. I love the character Liz, she's a character that everyone can relate to. This book was really entertaining and shows us all "Tomboys" out in the world (myself included) that we aren't all alone. It shows us that gender norms are very overrated and how we shouldn't waste time on them. I recommend this book to every 7th grade and up girl out there. 

A new student review of The Field by Tracy Richardson

jotaf posted a new student review of The Field by Tracy Richardson. See the full review.

I thought The Field was an imaginative book full of action and mystery.  I liked that the author, Tracy Richardson, blended a believable story about a regular high school boy with just enough sci-fi to make it enjoyable.  I also thought the characters were realistic.  I think my favorite part was in the ending, but since it gives away a lot of the book, I can’t say what it is.  You’ll just have to read it yourself to find out.  The book was sometimes slightly confusing to follow.  Also, on the editor’s part, I saw a bunch of grammatical errors and flipped words, like “a in” instead of “in a."  Unfortunately, a lot of the book dealt with soccer, which started to get a little boring for me.  But if you are a soccer fan who also likes a little bit of sci-fi, this book might be for you.

A new student review of The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher by Jessica Lawson

moseso posted a new student review of The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher by Jessica Lawson. See the full review.

This book is intriguing and attention-gripping. With surprises around every corner, the author does a wonderful job of making it seem you’re right there next to Becky and Amy every step of the way. Becky Thatcher, the main character, is extremely clever, and always on the lookout for an adventure. Her best friend, Amy Lawrence, is more ladylike, but just as adventurous. The author, Jessica Lawson, does an impeccable job of making all the characters in the book seem real. It is a cliffhanger, but that leaves room for imagination. Geared towards girls of ages 10-12, this book will definitely end up on your list of favorites, and will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. 

A new student review of Briony Hatch by x x Penelope and Ginny Skinner

Sweetfable posted a new student review of Briony Hatch by x x Penelope and Ginny Skinner. See the full review.

This book was decent with its story, and the visuals were pretty good for a graphic novel. However, I do have an issue with most of the characters. Briony herself is pretty likable, and I do see some aspects of me in her. However, I have a hard time believing her claims of her being the only girl in her whole class that has not been in a relationship or has not done any drugs. Also, I do not know why she hangs out with Julia anymore, especially because she is a really bad influence. The other thing is her attraction to this goth boy, which is totally strange because it makes no sense why she would like him other than a belief that they may both like the same book series. Overall there are some things that are correct about how teenagers act, but there are others that I know are not true. I did like the ending, which was pretty open and left things off on a happy note.

A new student review of The Severed Tower by J. Barton Mitchell

MezokaCapturer65 posted a new student review of The Severed Tower by J. Barton Mitchell. See the full review.

This is a post-apocalyptic book with a great deal of action and intensity. The switching points of view made each character feel more dynamic to me, and the ending really did tug at my heartstrings. Speaking of that, the ending was, I think, wonderfully set up for the next book in the series. Only some of the information about where the characters’ next adventure would take place was given, enough to make readers interested. I really like the idea of Zoey becoming more independent and smarter and deciding what she feels would be best. It’s always very interesting to me when stories put children in important decision-making positions, and this is no exception.

I had not read the previous book in this series, and I felt that I might not be able to connect to it very well with my lack of background, but it actually did a decent job. By the end I really cared about what was happening to these people. One complaint I do have was with the pacing; I feel that going a bit slower with the story would have made it better. It seemed that everything happened very quickly, the characters making choices within very short amounts of time. The timing of flashbacks and previous character stories worked wonderfully, however. It probably is a better experience to read this book after reading the first in the series, with more background and story to work with. Overall, a pretty good action series that I will definitely be looking into for future reads. I would recommend it to preteen or teen fans of action movies with sci-fi elements.

A new student review of Little White Lies

thudson36 posted a new student review of Little White Lies . See the full review.

I thought Little White Lies was a good, suspenseful novel. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat and I found myself wanting to keep reading after every chapter. I liked the major plot twist near the end of this book, but I did find some parts confusing. I think it takes the first couple of chapters to grab your attention, but once it does, it holds your interest. The characters are very well developed, although I think they can sometimes be unrealistic. You can tell the storyline took a lot of thought and planning because the book has many twists and turns. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a thriller.

A new student review of Keepers of Runes and the Tower of Shadows by Andrew Cratsley

Anjel posted a new student review of Keepers of Runes and the Tower of Shadows by Andrew Cratsley. See the full review.

I really liked this book. It was pretty good. My favorite part is when Rieka walks out of the tower into the mass of dead not using any emotion as if she were cold hearted. At some points I felt fairly confused, having to reread a paragraph two or three times. My favorite character was Corinth because of his attitude. I also liked that this was PG so when I was babysitting and the girl asked what I was reading I could read it out loud and she loved it. This is the first book in a series. I would recommend this book to 10+, for people who absolutely LOVE fantasy (like me) and who have read and liked “Fable Haven” By Brandon Mull (especially book five) and “Lark Rising” by Sandra Waugh.