Teen and Staff Reviews

Teen Review

Speak: The Graphic Novel

By Laurie Anderson

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Aug 2, 2018

Everyone knows Melinda is the freshman who called the cops on that summer party. She got some people arrested that night for underage drinking. But no one knows the real reason she called 911. That night, she was raped by an upperclassman, but hasn’t been able to tell anyone for fear that they won’t believe her. And now that she is a freshman in high school, she has been relentlessly bullied and suffered in her classes. The only class she enjoys is art class, where she can learn to express herself with a semester project.

Teen Review

Haunting the Deep

By Adriana Mather

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Jul 31, 2018

After surviving one curse, Samantha Mather never imagined having to combat another. She keeps having vivid dreams of being a first-class passenger aboard the Titanic. Meanwhile, strange artifacts have been appearing around town, as well as visions of spirits who went down with the ship. Even stranger, her close friends have begun acting strangely, and the spring ball has been suspiciously themed after the Titanic.

Teen Review

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful

By Eric Lindstrom

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Jul 27, 2018

Having Bipolar disorder can make life unpredictable for Mel. Especially because none of her friends know the truth. She tries to keep everyone at arm’s length so she won’t be able to hurt them. But that has become increasingly difficult as she battles her growing feelings in a new relationship. And when someone from the past shows up with no warning, her deeply buried secrets now threaten to come loose.

Teen Review

Prince and the Dressmaker

By Jen Wang

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Jul 25, 2018

Prince Sebastian has a secret, one no one can ever find out. At night, he wears beautiful dresses and takes Paris by storm as a fashion icon named Lady Crystallia. Only two people know his dangerous secret, and one of them is his best friend, Frances, his dressmaker. But she dreams of greatness as a fashion designer, but as long as she remains a secret, she will never be able to gain recognition for her work. But how long can she put her dreams on hold to protect her friend?

Staff Review

The 57 Bus

By Dashka Slater
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Chris K.
Jul 23, 2018

What labels define you? Which boxes contain you? No middle ground. No grey. Keep it simple. Describe yourself with categories. Binaries. Either-ors. Extremes.

Once you tell me, do I know you?

Or do you want to say, "Wait, that's not really me. I'm much more complicated and nuanced than that. Those are mere ideas. I'm a person."?

Teen Review

The Belles

By Dhonielle Clayton

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Jul 18, 2018

In the world of Orleans, beauty is prized above all else, and the Belles control beauty. Camellia is one of the revered Belles. But it is not enough for her to just be a Belle, she has to be the favorite, the Belle chosen by the queen to live in the palace and tend to the royal family, the one recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But once she arrives at court, she realizes being the favorite is not all she dreamed it would be. There are dark secrets in every corner, and soon she learns that she is far more powerful and dangerous than she ever imagined.

Teen Review

Genuine Fraud

By E. Lockhart

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Jul 16, 2018

This is the story of a young woman whose wit and charm are her ticket to a privileged life. She constantly reinvents herself and changes identity as she crisscrosses the world. There might have been a murder, or maybe 2. There could be a bad romance, or maybe 3. She refuses to give people what they want from her, and refuses to be the person she once was.

Teen Review

No Better Friend

By Robert Weintraub

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Jul 10, 2018

This book tells the extraordinary story of survival and friendship between a man and his dog during war. This is the story of the dog Judy, the only official prisoner of war in World War ll. It details how she and flight technician Frank Williams met in a POW internment camp in the Pacific theater. Their story of an unbreakable bond during the worst circumstances is one of the great undiscovered stories during the war.

Teen Review

Girl on a Plane

By Miriam Moss

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Jul 6, 2018

After spending the summer with her family, Anna boards a plane back to England to her boarding school. But an hour into the trip, her plane is hijacked by Palestinian rebels who divert the plane to an airstrip in Jordan. They switch off the engines and make their demands to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. If they are not met, they threaten to blow up the plane in three days. The heat is insufferable, and the passengers endure hunger and psychological abuse. Time is running out for Anna, she begins to think she might never see her family again.

Teen Review

Ruins of Gorlan

By John Flanagan

Rated by
Ivan
Jul 4, 2018

Will Treaty was a young slender man growing up in an orphanage. Both of his parents were killed in the past. Growing up all his wardmates new what occupation they were suited for and prepared for them. However, Will had not the slightest idea of what he was for, and was worried he might have to be a farmer. This all changes when he gets a letter saying he has been selected as the new ranger's apprentice. He gets his exciting position not long before the evil Lord Morgorath starts assembling his army.

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