Reviews by Category: Fiction

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton follows a 14 year old boy named Ponyboy Curtis. There are two

kinds of people in the world: greasers (always have to be cautious and not wealthy) and socs

(wealthy with a lot of attitude). Ponyboy is a greaser and he’s experienced a lot of rumbles with

socs with his other greaser friends. One night, one of his friends murders a soc and the world

around him slowly starts to crumble.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a very empowering book. The book follows Starr Carter

who witnesses the shooting of her best friend by a police officer. After his death, people started

calling Khalil (her friend who was shot) names. No one knows what went down that night, only

Starr does. The story focuses on Starr fighting for justice for her friend and her community.

Raina is a nervous kid bites her nails and tends to stress over everything. When 5th

grade starts, Raina finds out that she is scared of throwing up. Sbe has to see a therapist and

she doesn’t tell any of her friends because she doesn’t want them to think she is weird. When

Raina’s enemy ends up in the hospital, she must decide if she wants to make things right. I

enjoyed this graphic novel because it was funny and had a good message. My favorite part is

when Raina gets her own room. I would recommend this book to 5th graders.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman is the first book in a 4 book series, which Shusterman refers to as

a “dystology.” After a war breaks out between pro-life and pro-choice people in America, both

sides come to an agreement to implement a practice called “unwinding,” or the retroactive

abortion of teenagers ages 13-18. The method promises to keep 98% of the child’s body alive,

but harvest all of their organs and donate them. This is the story of three teens, Connor, Risa,

Brave is about a boy named Jensen who is trying to navigate middle school one level at

a time. He faces bullies, mean friends, and evil teachers. When the newspaper crew asks him

for help, he gladly accepts. When middle school starts getting harder and more confusing,

Jensen has to decide for himself who to hang out with and who to stand up to. I really enjoyed

this book because it had lots of interesting facts and well developed characters. My favorite part

Crush is about a boy named Jorge Ruiz who has middle school life under control. At

least until he runs into a possible crush on a theatre girl, Jazmine. He has to figure out a way to

ask her to the athletics ball without everyone noticing since Jorge hates gossip. I really enjoyed

this book because it was funny and exciting. My favorite part is when Jorge helps the drama

club move boxes and they get pizza. I would recommend this book to 5th, 6th, or 7th graders.

Spy School Goes South is about a boy named Ben Ripely. He is asked to trail one of his

former friends who agrees to lead him and his friends to SPYDER, the group of terrorists that

Ben continuously thwarts. When things go sideways and Ben ends up in a crocodile infested

river, he must rely on his friends to track down his enemies and save the day. I really liked this

book because it had things I didn’t expect and the characters had good senses of humor. My

A Lite Too Bright features Arthur Pullman the third, who is known for his famous grandfather,

the author of a bestselling classic, A World Away. However, Arthur’s grandfather had died after a

long time faced with Alzheimers disease. After Arthur had faced a trial in court for allegedly

attempting to hit his girlfriend, he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle. Not long after, he sees a

Scott Novosell is eager to play on the Kansas University basketball team. He repeatedly emails

the team’s head coach, and eventually scores an interview with him. The interview didn’t go

well, but the coach advised him to participate in the walk-on tryouts. On the first day, he played

outstandingly, but all of a sudden, he broke his leg and is unable to try out for this season. Will

Scott bounce back and try out next season, or leave basketball behind and focus on other

things?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a science fiction novel. Set in the dystopian

nation of Panem, Katniss Everdeen volunteers herself as a tribute for the 74th annual Hunger

Games. The games pit teenagers against one another in a fight to the death for the Capitol’s

enjoyment and to instill fear into the citizens. Katniss joins forces with Peeta Mellark, the

baker’s boy, and if they are to win they have to discern how to survive and not fall into the