A new student review of The Living

Hunt1023 posted a new student review of The Living . See the full review.

What I liked about this book was the word choice. It gave you new words to put in your vocabulary.  I also liked the theme- it was thrilling scary and romantic. The suspense was very good; it made you wait along time to find out, which makes you want to keep reading.  What I didn’t like was the very end, because I didn't feel like it ended the best it could have. But overall it was a GREAT book!

A new student review of Breathe Into Me by Sara Fawkes

btulips posted a new student review of Breathe Into Me by Sara Fawkes. See the full review.

I liked the book! There was very good character development. I loved the characters. There was some unnecessary drama that could have been left out, but in all the book was great. I liked how their love outweighed their dark pasts.  

A new student review of Summer of Elves by Joanne Vruno

jotaf posted a new student review of Summer of Elves by Joanne Vruno. See the full review.

In my opinion, Summer of Elves was a really great book.  I liked that the author, Joanne Vruno, made the characters easy to connect with; the descriptions and characteristics Joanne gave the characters were captivating.  One of my favorite parts in the book was when Aly was learning to use her various powers.  I also felt that her take on elves was really interesting because I usually picture them at around six feet tall or so, but in this book they are very tiny.  This book has a hint of Fablehaven and Spiderwick Chronicles combined. The only problem I had with this book was that it wouldn't let me go to sleep; I wanted to keep reading the whole night!   I would recommend this book to anyone who likes magic, mystery, and adventure.  I would definitely read the sequel!

A new student review of An Uncertain Choice by Jody Hedlund

Star360 posted a new student review of An Uncertain Choice by Jody Hedlund. See the full review.

I’ve been warned not to judge a book by its cover, but An Uncertain Choice really defies the popular saying. Its cover shows an attractive royal twirling her long blond curls as she stares uncertainly at the viewer. Frankly, that’s all that you need to know about the book. Lady Rosemarie is a sweet girl, to be sure, and her opposition to torture is honorable. Unfortunately, she’s also indecisive and naive.  The supporting characters are given a regrettably superficial treatment. For instance, when the knights are introduced, more time is spent discussing their manly frames, muscular bodies, and strong shoulders than their personalities. Rosemarie is expected to marry one of them; shouldn’t she get to know them a little better? My major issue with An Uncertain Choice was its emphasis of Rosemarie’s potential grooms. Rosemarie is very young, and she has a lot to learn. I understand that the setting is the medieval times, but as an author, Hedlund could have altered the plot so that she’d spend more time enjoying her youth. Look at Disney’s Brave and Frozen. Its princesses set a wonderful example for girls in showing that a woman’s happiness does not have to depend on a man. I’ve got nothing against marriage or love, but in a society where women have fought so hard to receive equal education and career opportunities, I’m appalled that underage marriage is written about as a good thing. As for the Christian message, it is pretty light. There are themes of morality and a few prayers, but nothing that would make a non-Christian uncomfortable. Overall, the plot idea was interesting (if somewhat predictably executed) and, for me, very thought-provoking. I give this YA novel two and a half stars not because of a low quality of writing, but because I believe that some of its themes are not aligned with what a modern girl should aspire to do.

A new student review of Lies in the Dust by Jakob Crane

Gwendolyn posted a new student review of Lies in the Dust by Jakob Crane. See the full review.

Ann's morbid narration is accompanied by stark and hair-raising drawings that depict gruesome yet simple silhouettes, reminiscent of Edward Gorey's art in The Insect God in the sense that they are both minimally expressive and vaguely unsettling styles. The cover of this graphic novel uses a beautiful color scheme of black, white, and red. Although it's the novel's only use of color, I feel that it seems to express the story's tone in one illustration and gives its darker sense without seeming heavy or overbearing.

 

Through flashbacks and ghostly visions, this graphic novel unearths the greedy influence of Ann's parents during the trials, as they took advantage of their daughter in hopes of gaining land belonging to the accused.

 

As someone who has a deep fascination for the Salem Witch Trials and the history of the Puritan society in general, I was pleasantly surprised to see this graphic novel available to review. I find the Salem Witch Trials to be a horrific yet intriguing time in our history to study. Although Lies in the Dust is hardly a substitute for a historical narrative, it does its job of conveying one particular girl's guilt for her actions in an extremely artistic and fairly enjoyable way, through stunning artwork and lyrical writing.

 

This read went extremely fast. It has a written afterword to give additional clear cut information and a conclusion to the graphic novel. As I said before, the presentation of Lies in the Dust definitely fits the mood of its subject matter. At times I found myself somewhat bored by the black and white format of the graphics, yet I found them fitting for the overall tone of the book. 

 

Lies in the Dust provides an informative and thought-provoking view into the mind of Ann Putnam Jr. Although she and the other girls responsible for false accusations in the trials weren't ever subject to lawful punishment, this tale of remorse displays the mental torture Ann felt as an adult regarding her actions as a child. It also describes how the town shunned her and treated her as an outcast. I find it ironic that in a sense she later became the type of person who was most commonly accused of witchcraft in the actual trials. This book is thought-provoking because it helped me to feel an empathy for Ann Putnam Jr., painting a perspective that I hadn't thought of when regarding the Salem Witch Trials before. The sad aspect about this story is how her parents seemed to use her to cause the death of others for their personal gain. In conclusion I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, as well as information or theories regarding the Salem Witch Trials.

 

A new student review of Intangible by C A Gray

McTower posted a new student review of Intangible by C A Gray. See the full review.

I'm going to start off by saying, I didn't really like Intangible in the beginning. Unfortunately, it was one of those books that starts off slow for the first few chapters. However, after about the first 4-5 chapters, I felt Intangible was absolutely flawless. When I closed my eyes, the setting and events where illustrated perfectly. The way Gray put the book together was just beautiful. The vocabulary was wonderful for young adult readers. In my opinion, the only flaw was the first chapters were slow. In conclusion, I would recommend this book to all readers.

A new student review of 77 Things You Absolutely Have to Do Before You Finish College by Halley Bondy

cow_shower28 posted a new student review of 77 Things You Absolutely Have to Do Before You Finish College by Halley Bondy. See the full review.

Some of the pros are that there defined in sections, topics are detailed and specific, very creative illistrations, and great tips. Personally I felt the book was a little above my age level and meant for people graduating high school. There were a few mature topics with which I was not comfortable. I personally thought the book at times dragged on and on with the choppy chapters and how there were so many chapters.

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.