A new student review of The Candy Store by Michele Poague

Star360 posted a new student review of The Candy Store by Michele Poague. See the full review.

Reading The Candy Store was like savoring a bittersweet chocolate bar that has a surprise twist in flavor at the last bite. The novel was a delicious combination of sci-fi time travel, historical fiction, and romance. I don’t usually like time-travel, since I believe it can come off as cheesy or weird. However, in this case it was a clever way to get a realistic peek into the 1920s, a time glamorized by Jay Gatsby, the main character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

 

It was clear that Poague did a lot of research for The Candy Store. Joan Jett, banana clips, and Sony Walkmans gave life to the '80s. The Jazz Age part of the novel, which readers may be less familiar with, was also filled with references that made the story pop! Classic novels like The Age of Innocence, expressions like “the real McCoy,” and descriptions of plain and elegant fashions help readers understand life in the '20s.

 

Jett was a strong character who was a good bridge between the '80s and the '20s. She exuded a rebel, tough-girl image at the beginning, but love from the Watsons helped soften her into a kinder, wiser person. I liked how she retained her can-do attitude and showed real willingness to work and get back to the '80s when she fell into the Dollar Decade. The young Jay and Henry were good reflections of who they would grow up to be. Henry was quite charming, and I can understand why Jett was attracted to him.  He wasn’t eighty when she had a crush on him! Jay was really sweet, and she best exemplified the era. The supporting characters, like Jay’s mom or socialite Abigail, also showed readers important aspects of the times, like the country’s general attitude towards women working or acting.

 

As for the ending – no spoilers, I promise! – it was really unexpected for me. I still enjoyed it, though. When I looked back at the first few chapters, there are some subtle clues that are only clear if you know the end already! I was left with a few questions about the finer points of time travel – did she use a Tardis? a Time-Traveler? a magic peppermint stick? – but nothing that left me too bummed.

 

I highly recommend The Candy Store. It is the perfect novel for teens looking for a story packed with love, friendship, adventure, history, and romance.

A new student review of Supernova (The Star-Crossed Saga Book 2) by Braxton A. Cosby

jotaf posted a new student review of Supernova (The Star-Crossed Saga Book 2) by Braxton A. Cosby. See the full review.

I thought Supernova was a good book full of action, suspense, and adventure. I liked that the author, Braxton A. Cosby, was able to build on the characters that he created in book one. I was able to picture them even more clearly in this book. 

Cosby used vivid descriptions for both the characters and the action. Also, there was even more action in book two than there was in book one, which made it even more exciting.

A part in the book that I liked was when a huge battle happened near the end. I can't tell you any details, though, or I would spoil the ending. Something I didn't like about this book was that the story seemed to drag on in some parts. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked book one of The Star-Crossed Saga, or who enjoys science fiction and romance.

A new student review of Molly McDougal Montgomery McGrath and Other Stories by George Cooper

Boomer123 posted a new student review of Molly McDougal Montgomery McGrath and Other Stories by George Cooper. See the full review.

If you like to laugh at silly stories, this is the book for you. To read the whole entire book, it takes about 45 minutes.  I think George Cooper is a good author because he writes his stories so that kids can understand them. This book would be good for anyone who likes to read short stories. I think readers who are about 8 or 9 would like this book. Other young readers and those young at heart would enjoy it as well.

A new student review of The Green Teen Cookbook by Pam McElroy

Star360 posted a new student review of The Green Teen Cookbook by Pam McElroy. See the full review.

I have always been interested in how to be a good advocate for Mother Nature, and The Green Teen Cookbook is a fine addition to my green library. I was very happy to see that the book is not just a string of recipes, but that it also makes a point to educate teens on sustainable eating. The chapters at the beginning were both interesting and educational, a feat that is often difficult to achieve. The authors do not push readers to stop eating meat; instead, they make suggestions about how to limit meat consumption and have fun eating seasonal foods. Many of the recipes feature fresh or unique ingredients that can broaden a young cook’s horizons. Even if you can’t find a single stalk of celery, you can still make the Oreo Cupcakes!

The authors were also considerate in including tips on how to shop on a budget. As much as I love Whole Foods, the prices are considerably higher than at the supermarket. Teens on a budget (and that’s about 80% of us) can feel comfortable swapping out ingredients and trying fresh new recipes. The recipes include the teen creator’s name and picture, which adds warmth and relatability to the cookbook. 

As for the quality of the recipes, I was left with a mixed bag. The Guacamole was the best I’ve ever tried, and I have had a lot of the avocado goodness. The Tuna Salad also made a light, delicious dinner that is perfect for lazy summer evenings. I do not recommend the Apple Chips, since mine burned way before the cooking time was up, nor do I suggest the Miniature Chocolate Cookies, whose mixture was so crumbly it was impossible to roll. Of course, it could have been my oven acting up or a mix-up in ingredients. I don’t expect every recipe to work for me, so I was satisfied with a 2-2 record.

The Green Teen Cookbook may be aimed at teens, but home cooks young and old will benefit from its practical sustainable eating advice and yummy recipes.

A new student review of The Tale of Rescue

moseso posted a new student review of The Tale of Rescue . See the full review.

This book is an excellent choice for more reluctant readers. It is written for any age, comprehensible even for an eight year old, yet complex enough that an eighteen year old would enjoy it. The author does a beautiful job of using descriptive words, allowing the reader to be transported into the story. It is written such that one would easily believe that this story is true. Appropriately, the climax is slightly emotional and urges the reader to love dogs more than before. Any dog lover will adore this book. I highly recommend it.

A new student review of Earthshine by Chad T. Douglas

alison_S posted a new student review of Earthshine by Chad T. Douglas. See the full review.

First of all, I'd like to applaud Douglas for the jaw-dropping amount of cultural detail he weaves into Earthshine. Not only does he craft entire religions, political controversies, and class warfare for his fictional world, he also envisions dazzling architectural innovations and insightful new technologies for this brisk-paced, surprisingly immersive sci-fi novel. Thanks to the astounding depth of Douglas' worldbuilding and the surprising relevance of Genesia's political upheaval (can someone say "energy crisis"?), Earthshine somehow bridges the thirty-five million mile, six-hundred year gap between its Genesian protagonists and its readers back on Earth. The novel's characters, however, don't always share the setting's depth of development—. Although Earthshine's Martian city flaunts mile-high luxury apartments alongside subterranean slums, the novel's characters seldom enjoy similar complexity. Over the course of the novel. Douglas stuffs more characters and subplots into three hundred pages than a three-hundred page book could ever develop or resolve. That's not to say I didn't commiserate with Benni when her love life misfired or long for transhuman Shirro to finally get out of the hospital; I did, however, wish Douglas had shown the reader some vital scenes instead of glossing over them. If you're the kind of person who can't stay in a relationship for more than two weeks, Earthshine is the book for you: the intricate blend of subplots and character arcs quickens the pace while guaranteeing you won't tire of any one character. Don't read Earthshine expecting characters so deep you need a submarine to understand them, but if you're looking for fun, action, and sci-fi wizardry, Chad Douglas has got you covered.

A new student review of The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B

jessica.kalee posted a new student review of The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B . See the full review.

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B, is not one of my favorite books. Nonetheless, Teresa Toten is a very skilled writer. She is able to show every emotion there is to finding love and losing it.

I think that teenagers who are religious and believe religion helps solve problems would prefer this book over teenagers who are not religious.

Most of the characters were very well developed. Toten pointed out many behaviors that those dealing with OCD might have when they feel different emotions. For example, when Adam was nervous or scared he would tap or count in his head.

A new student review of X: A Novel by Kekla Magoon Ilyasah Shabazz

MezokaCapturer65 posted a new student review of X: A Novel by Kekla Magoon Ilyasah Shabazz. See the full review.

I found this book to be entertaining, but repetitive in a lot of places. I felt that Malcolm's perspective was well-written and helped me to understand his mindset when important events were going on in his life.

While I did find this book to be enjoyable, I also found aspects of it irritating. Malcolm's numerous poor decisions made me angry, but the book was interesting enough to keep me from putting it down. I felt it was the intent of the author for the book to be somewhat aggravating so that the reader would feel a sense of satisfaction when the book reaches its final pages.  

The fact that this book is based on actual events presented a problem for me. I found myself constantly questioning which aspects of this story were real and which were fabricated, and it distracted me. I would recommend this book to students 15 and up if they're interested in aspects of black history, but not if they want an accurate representation of Malcolm X's life. 

A new student review of Taking Sides by Patrick Jones

sisto8 posted a new student review of Taking Sides by Patrick Jones. See the full review.

This book was pretty good.  The characters were realistic.  They had depth and meaning behind each of their actions.  I occasionally don't see this very clearly in books, but the author had their actions pretty clear.  I think the author did a great job on making the book creative. The setting was different from other books I read. It seemed like a mystery novel, with all the different clues, twists, and turns, but it also was like just another fiction book because it didn't have the person acknowledge that they had a mystery.  I thoroughly enjoyed and I hope other readers do, too.  I recommend it for people 12+.

A new student review of Denton Little's Deathdate

tlang posted a new student review of Denton Little's Deathdate . See the full review.

Words cannot describe how funny and entertaining this book is. I was mesmerized in the storyline in the very beginning of Chapter One and still loved it all the way through Chapter 37. The book is funny. Denton's personality is that, even when death is right around the corner, he is still a funny guy who loves life and loves to make people laugh. All the characters are fully developed and each has a grand personality. The entertainment in this book...well, how can a gun shootoff not be entertaining?