A new student review of The Cake House by Latifah Salom

Star360 posted a new student review of The Cake House by Latifah Salom. See the full review.

You can have your cake and eat it too, but this Cake comes with a serious disclaimer. While it seems like Salom is heading for a creepy Shakespearean family tangle, Hamlet this is not. As a lover of mysteries and psychological dramas, I thought that this book would be perfect for me. Alas, this novel didn’t learn that brevity is the soul of wit. 

     

Salom’s sentence structures are well-developed, not littered with excess adjectives and adverbs. I never had to flip back pages in confusion, which is always a plus. However, I felt that the book’s plot got dry quickly. I’m all for a good remake, but the Hamlet elements seem forced. There was Claude (from King Claudius), a mother that doesn’t inspire much sympathy, Alex’s weird hints of an Oedipus complex, and the father’s ghost. Claude was a dull, dull villain. He was too bipolar (Nice dad! Bad dad!) for me to ever get a solid analysis of him. The father’s ghost was simply bizarre. It worked in Elizabethan England, but I don’t think that today’s audience will buy the Look! It’s a ghost giving me warnings because I don’t have the common sense to see them myself! storyline. I would have rather seen Rosaura do her own investigative work without having to rely on a dead person.

 

While I liked the idea of reading from a young girl’s perspective, I really disliked Rosaura by the end. She is nothing like the pensive woman on the cover; instead, she mopes around, makes rash decisions, has unfortunate friends, and seems rather out of place in the story. With a few tweaks, if Salom had inserted a twenty- or even thirty-something-year-old woman I would have found the tale more realistic. In fact, I wouldn’t recommend this book to any of my friends. Teens don’t necessarily need a breathtaking romance or epic fights to love a story, but they do need a fast-moving plot with relatable characters. Despite its great promise, The Cake House didn’t make the cut for me.

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

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

After finishing this book, I have one word to say: WOW.

I’ll admit it: I was iffy about reading a graphic novel. I’ve never been that into graphic novels, but the description of the book had me hooked. When I began reading it, I found myself not able to stop turning the pages as I devoured each word. Not only did I find some of the descriptions relatable, but I was also extremely happy that a book like this exists. Now parents can show their daughters this book so that they know it is okay to be a tomboy, and that there is nothing abnormal about it.

The main character, Liz, struggles throughout the book with constant bullying. This is an everyday occurance for most people that go to school. I thought the ways Liz deals with the harassment were excellent; she stands up for herself at various times throughout the book.

This book is a great representation of what it’s like to “be a girl” in the society we live in, and how to fight gender boundaries.

A new student review of Regina Shen: Resilience by Lance Erlick

JesusFreak posted a new student review of Regina Shen: Resilience by Lance Erlick. See the full review.

Most people say not to judge a book by its cover. Unfortunately, I can't help myself from doing so. If the cover doesn’t grab me from the start, I won’t bother looking at it. With Regina Shen: Resilience, this was not a problem. The cover art was very dark, but beautifully executed. Regina Shen holding the crossbow on the front cover was stunning; I was immediately intrigued by the book.

Some authors have trouble putting new worlds into words, but that was not the case for Lance Erlick. The author’s descriptions were well-written, resulting in me fully understanding the world.

The main character, Regina, was likable from the start. She loved to learn and was an amazing survivor. I felt that I could relate well to her, even though we both live in completely different worlds. My only wish was that the story was longer. At just over 200 pages, it was a quick read for me.

Overall, the author did an amazing job, and if you like post-apocalyptic novels about survival, this is definitely the book for you.

A new student review of Silent Alarm by Jennifer Banash

Star360 posted a new student review of Silent Alarm by Jennifer Banash. See the full review.

Silent Alarm is unlike any other book that I’ve ever read. First of all, Banash deserves major credit for undertaking the difficult project of telling the story from the perspective of the shooter’s sister. Alys was both a bystander and a victim, which added depth to her otherwise simple character. She was a violin prodigy, which I found to be cliched, but her talent helped underline Luke’s jealousy. As for Luke, I was satisfied with his character development. To keep the reader intrigued, Banash avoided making him a stereotypical monster, but she didn't make him a martyr, either. In doing so, the reader is able to see him not as an evil robot, but as a human whose inability to deal with his psychological issues led him to commit an atrocity. 

     

Supporting characters, while few, provide a strong backbone to the story. Though the novel is told in first person, the insight of characters like Riley, Luke’s best friend; Grace, the violin tutor; and all the journalists adds dimension. They remind us of how we act when school shootings happen, and they gently show us that maybe parents and siblings of the shooter shouldn’t be judged as harshly as they often are. As for the flow of the book, it was cohesive and sharp. Banash makes a wonderful use of parentheses and italics to illustrate Alys’s confused mind.

     

The reason this book didn’t get five stars from me is partly because of the first line, “Life changes in a second.” Maybe it’s just me, but there are way too many “life” metaphors out there. I prefer a subtle comparison rather than one plopped immediately on the page. The last three pages were also a bit of a disappointment. While it contained the required elements of hope and forgiveness,  it seemed to drag on thanks to a lack of action or dialogue. Besides those details, Silent Alarm is definitely a book to check out or keep on your home shelf. Mature teens and fans of Laurie Halse Anderson will enjoy this gritty, realistic drama.

A new student review of The Monsters' Anonymous Club: Don't Play with Dead Things by J.L. Lipp

nictaf posted a new student review of The Monsters' Anonymous Club: Don't Play with Dead Things by J.L. Lipp. See the full review.

Monsters' Anonymous Club: Don't Play with Dead Things was an awesome book. J.L. Lipp wrote an excellent book filled with excitement, fun, and many plot twists. One aspect I really liked about this book was the rich descriptions in it. For example: “Kimmy ate four hot-dogs, two helpings of potato salad, three ears of corn and a huge piece of cherry pie. And she didn’t even get a stomachache!” I felt the characters could have been developed further, but they were described adequately. I would recommend this book to anyone aged 8 and above.

A new student review of Charis: Journey to Pandora's Jar by Nicole Y. Walters

Pie posted a new student review of Charis: Journey to Pandora's Jar by Nicole Y. Walters. See the full review.

My opinion on this is amazing it's amazing because it's just like the book Pandora's Jar, but in a diffrent way because a 12 year old girl is looking for Pandora's Jar and tring to set hope free, and turn the wrong that Pandora did into right. I really hope this author will right a series about this because it's one of the books I could read over and over again. Another reason is that the other Pandora's Jar series ended at 7 it's pretty cool to have a back up series of a 12 year old girl trying to set the wrong that Pandora did to right with the help of other godds like Mr.P. It really is a really interesting book to read and I highly recomend people to read this book. It's so amazing that even my mom is reading itr and she likes it already. Another reason why it's amazing is because there is sections like Monday and so on so it tells you what she did on Monday about  the Jar thing. It also has alot of Charis's feelings in it. One exempla is that a lot of the time she thought about her mission and the Gods and everything and she thought that it's all so stupid. Why am I doing this?

A new student review of Key to Kashdune by Claudia White

Jordan posted a new student review of Key to Kashdune by Claudia White. See the full review.

If you like reading fantasy and adventure like I do, you will enjoy Key to Kashdune. I liked Key to Kashdune because the people on Kashdune change into animals. There is a wide variety of interesting and exciting characters that you will meet along the way. Claudia White made the community of Kashdune come to life. She did a great a great job of describing the details for the island of Kashdune.

A new student review of Winter Falls (Twin Willows Trilogy) by Nicole Maggi

josiscra19955 posted a new student review of Winter Falls (Twin Willows Trilogy) by Nicole Maggi. See the full review.

I liked Alessia because she is strong. Alessia is also very likable. Another thing I liked was the shape shifting and romance. It has strong and likable characters. It is a pretty much good story overall.

A new student review of Fabrick by Andrew Post

emma365 posted a new student review of Fabrick by Andrew Post. See the full review.

Fabrick's author chose to create a completely new world.  However, instead of using the new atmosphere to consistently recreate interest, the author vaguely described some of the planet's culture.  I found that he could have explained things better rather than simply having Flam (who is half-hazard and flippant) explain things.

Also, the chapters often changed perspective without an explanation as to the new character and setting.  I often found myself confused.

Altogether, the story was fairly interesting and humorous, but it could be made a lot better if it were to be given more content or events as is typical for adventure based novels.

A new student review of The Author or The Characters' Short Living Story by Facundo Raganato

Gwendolyn posted a new student review of The Author or The Characters' Short Living Story by Facundo Raganato. See the full review.

The Author or The Characters' Short Living Story by Facundo Raganato is unlike any book I have ever read. In the case of this story, the characters can think, feel, and fight back with the author, who is their creator. Although it is a difficult work of spiritual and psychological fiction to summarize, Raganato creates a visually frazzled world that translates into written word in an oddly coherent way. It opens with a plot line that is not clearly defined to the reader, but keeps the read compelling with its wonderfully dynamic and three-dimensional characters. It is a book that reaches out to its reader. 

    

This story shows an author's relationship with his characters in a very literal sense. Although this novel remains quite vague and mysterious, I felt that I was inside the story with the characters as I was reading. The Author or The Characters' Short Living Story has a way of sharing just enough information to keep the reader interested, while leaving the right amount of mystery to make the reader never want to look up from the page. 

   

Although the pace of this story felt a bit slow at its start, it picked up quickly as I adjusted to its concept and structure. A few sections throughout the book had brief lulls. This was particularly felt in scenes in which I really wanted to find out what happened to the characters. However, the majority of the book kept me thoroughly engrossed. 

    

Seeing as I read from an uncorrected proof, there were a few grammatical errors and missing words and letters I came across while reading. I expect these will be edited before the book is published. However, there was a small selection of sentences in this novel that seemed oddly phrased but not grammatically incorrect, and their structure didn't flow with the rest of the writing. Some passages of writing felt estranged from the main writing style; others fit the tone of the book perfectly. 

 

In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed Facundo Raganato's The Author or The Characters' Short Living Story, and would recommend it to any imaginative and contemplative soul in search for something new to read. It is a completely fresh written work, incomparable to anything I have ever read.