A new student review of The Kingdom Lights by Steven VS

bygflower posted a new student review of The Kingdom Lights by Steven VS. See the full review.

To explain this book in one word... chaos.  Steven VS creates a fantastic place full of magic not unlike Harry Potter's world, but the book as a whole didn't keep me entertained and made my head spin because of excessively changed viewpoints and an incredibly complicated storyline. The beginning and middle were very confusing, and the end chaotic. It seemed to me that it was trying to be similar to Harry Potter, with a school for magic, and a bully, but the way it was written did not satisfy me. It's a shame, because it has the potential to be a great fantasy novel. The Kingdom Lights has a storyline with incredible promise, but the changing viewpoints and excessive description took away from what could have been a brilliant book.

A new student review of Haw by Sean Jackson

JesusFreak posted a new student review of Haw by Sean Jackson. See the full review.

When I began reading this book, I was immediately pulled into Lucas’s world. Though very gory, the author described the state of the world in this book perfectly. The descriptions he used were enough to give me an idea of what it would be like to live in a devastated world, yet they weren't so long that they bored me.

The characters weren’t your average heroes; they were damaged people living in an imperfect world. Though damaged, they were likable and relatable. The author set up the characters and kept me on the edge of my seat through the use of dual points of view.

I was a bit confused about what the author called "citoyens." A bit more elaboration on who they were may have made it less confusing for me.

All in all, this book is a swift read for those who like dark, apocalyptic worlds.

A new student review of Cock-A-Doodle-Oops! by Lori Degman

Boomer123 posted a new student review of Cock-A-Doodle-Oops! by Lori Degman. See the full review.

I did enjoy the book mostly because it had animals in it.  The pictures were illustrated very well.  

 

The book is short and I read it in about 10 minutes.  I thought it was a chapter book but it’s more of a picture book for 1st or 2nd graders.

If you like funny books about farm animals then you should read this book.   

A new student review of True Son

Katiedid.Break posted a new student review of True Son . See the full review.

      I loved the book; it was an epic conclusion to the Psi Chronicles. The author didn’t rush the ending and let the events unfold naturally. Krumwiede made it seems that Psi was really possible. There is more than one antagonist, who give Taemon a run for his Psi.  The concept was amazing and executed nearly flawlessly. There were many twists and turns that keep the reader engaged. And the ending happened the only way it could have.

 

A new student review of Forever Ruby by Claire Merchant

123evae123 posted a new student review of Forever Ruby by Claire Merchant. See the full review.

While reading this book I had mixed emotions about it. Somtimes the plot was a tad slow, and sometimes it was too fast-paced.  Characters were well developed however, and it was easy to forge connections with them and sympathize with their actions.  Fans of the supernatural genre will love this book and its twists and turns as Ruby tries to figure out who is helping and hindering her on this journey of self discovery . She learns about her flaws and has downfalls like everyone else, and she is not described as "perfect" as so many novel heroines are. This novel was a great, relaxing beach read, and with such great character development, it was easy to overlook the slow or fast plot.

A new student review of Boundaries: How the Mason-Dixon Line Settled a Family Feud and Divided a Nation by Sally M. Walker

blaklab66 posted a new student review of Boundaries: How the Mason-Dixon Line Settled a Family Feud and Divided a Nation by Sally M. Walker. See the full review.

 

I enjoyed this book because as I explained in my summary, the author touched on many events. This book was interesting because it was engaging and very accurate. The story was easily comprehendible and deep. There were not many characters to keep track of and the main idea was very clear. I also liked the format this book was presented in. It helped present the facts clearly.

A new student review of The Cryptic Case of the Coded Fair by Barbara Tinker

moseso posted a new student review of The Cryptic Case of the Coded Fair by Barbara Tinker. See the full review.

This book is extraordinarily exciting and will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end! When the main characters, Ella and Shomari, are asked to help uncover the baffling code that the evil Dr. G has sent out to several people who are judges for the science fair, they visit various geniuses and learn the secrets of coding. Beautiful illustrations help one imagine every detail of what happens in the book. It is extremely descriptive. The reader will find it hard to put the book down until the end. This book would be most enjoyed by 11-13 year olds. When one of many coding processes was explained, it was confusing and required re-reading a few times in order to gain understanding.  Don’t let this stop you, however, from reading The Cryptic Case of the Coded Fair.  It will definitely end up on your shelf of favorites!

A new student review of Toks & the Phoenix Project by A.S Lawal

JesusFreak posted a new student review of Toks & the Phoenix Project by A.S Lawal. See the full review.

When I began reading this book, I found myself bored with it. I felt the main character, Toks, was whiny and unlikable.  She made bad decisions throughout the book. However, as I came to the ending I began to like her character. Additionally, I did not care for the author’s writing style. I thought that most of the dialogue in the book made it seem as though the author was telling the story to a child. It was not a writing style that appealed to me.

I felt the book started out slowly in the beginning, though about halfway through it started to pick up. The last two chapters were especially exciting.

The book was promising, and it had great ideas. It just didn't turn out the way I was hoping it would.

A new student review of All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

JesusFreak posted a new student review of All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. See the full review.

When I opened this book and began to read, I realized that I was immediately intrigued by Finch. Though troubled, I found him to be a very likable character.  The author did a good job describing her characters without overwhelming her readers with an overabundance of information. I felt as if I was in the book with Finch and Violet every step of the way.

I enjoyed the fact that Finch and Violet's relationship was believable.  It is hard for me to find a good romance that convinces me of the character's love, but the relationship in "All the Bright Places" was done very well.

Another thing to comment on is the pace of the book.  The beginning sentence grabbed me and wouldn't let me go.  As the book went on, I was never bored.  The last few chapters were especially beautifully written; they left me awestricken.

Overall, this book was an amazing read that I’m sure I’ll read many times again.

A new student review of Draw-A-Saurus

sisto8 posted a new student review of Draw-A-Saurus . See the full review.

I picked this book because my little sisters love to draw.  We drew most of the dinosaurs in the book and they still wanted to draw more.  At first I thought Draw-A-Saurus would be an average drawing book, but after we started, I found it to be one of the best drawing books I've ever used!  It explains about dinosaur bones, how to draw dinosaurs, and what kinds of animals look like dinosaurs.  The bright colors are attractive to little kids.  My sisters were inspired by all the different examples of how they could color their pictures.  I will definitely keep an eye out for more books from this author!  I recommend this book for dinosaur lovers 5+.