15-year-old Xiomara Batista never felt heard from the people around her. Although she hated it, her body did all the talking. With an overly religious mother and the judging stares of other people, Xiomara felt trapped, unable to break free from her problems. Due to her overwhelming emotions, she turned to writing poetry to manage her feelings.
One of Us is Lying opens with the death of Simon, a high school student and the creator of a gossip app, a day before he had planned to expose the carefully-guarded secrets of four other students: Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper, and Nate. Only, the four students in the detention room when he was poisoned were just those: Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper, and Nate. When the “Bayview Four” are declared suspects in Simon’s murder, all four of them claim they’re innocent—but which one of them is lying?
Frostbite, the second novel in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series, was even better than the first book. After a mysterious strigoi attack threatens the protections surrounding St. Vladimir's Academy, the student body takes a trip to a ski lodge. On the trip, controversy arises among the moroi, and Rose is held hostage by a group of strigoi.
Restart is an amazing book to read if you like reading for fun. In Restart, the story is about a boy named Chase and he falls off his roof and forgets everything. He remembers how to speak the language he speaks but he does not remember anything else. When he gets to school there are many kids who are scared of him and many athletes who like him. Over time Chase learns that he was a bully and a jerk to many students. Chase takes the opportunity of forgetting everything and tries to learn how to make himself anew person.
This teen comedy TV series was years ahead of its time and unappreciated when it aired in 1982-83, cancelled before the full first season could be finished. It’s a shame because it’s so smart and funny and different from anything else on TV at the time. It probably would have done better 15 or 20 years later, but it’s so endearingly ‘80s, I can’t imagine it at any other time and being so charming.
Finding My Voice by Marie Myung-Ok Lee focuses on17-year-old Ellen Sung, the only Korean girl in her small, all-white school in a small, all-white town. While grappling with her parents’ high academic expectations, Ellen also experiences blatant and implicit racism. Time and time again, she catches hissed remarks or sly smirks from other students, yet she doesn’t seem able to speak up against them.
The first time I saw this book was online while I was browsing through the Johnson County website. I was interested in this book because of the cover. As I read further into this book I understood that it was more than an adventure story but also a way of going on the journey with Karr. This book has the highest of commendations because it shows how Karr, a kid, journeys throughout the entire galaxy to find out how his powers work only to find out that he was predestined to do something else. This book will help people find how to find themselves because it helped me in that way.
Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy, the first book in a series of the same name, was excellent. After running away from school, Lissa, a Moroi princess, and her unofficial guardian/best friend, Rose, are caught and forced to return to St. Vladimir's Academy. There, the two girls must figure out who's after Lissa, all while trying to navigate a high school filled with vampires.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a very exciting and funny movie. In the movie, the main character Ferris Bueller decides to fake being sick and have one last extremely fun and eventful day off of school before graduation. He sneaks his girlfriend out of school and convinces his friend, who actually is sick, to join the adventure. The movie details the memorable day from performing in a parade to deceiving the principal.
One of Using Is Lying, by Karen M. McManus, is a Mystery/Thriller novel. The story unfolds around four teens after their classmate, Simon Kellhelro, dies. Brownyn, Nate, Addy, and Cooper become suspects in the murder. The four suspects each had a motive to kill Simon. Slowly by slowly, the supposed murder reveals the secrets of the four students. The four suspects become closer and vouch for each other.
