Teen and Staff Reviews

Teen Review
Song For A Whale by Lynne Kelly

Song For A Whale

By Lynne Kelly
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Sriha P.
May 25, 2021

Iris is a twelve-year-old girl who was born deaf. She loves fixing radios and she loves her Grandma and Grandpa. Iris learned about a whale in school. Its name is Blue 55, and it sings songs but not one replies. Iris feels how hard it would be for no one to reply to what they say, because that is what happens to her, because she is deaf. Iris talks to a scientist who is studying about Blue 55 and trying to tag Blue 55. Iris talks with her and asks if Blue 55 is deaf. The scientist said that they already tested that and Blue 55 is not deaf.

Teen Review
Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Red, White and Royal Blue

By Casey McQuiston
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Palak P.
May 24, 2021

Red, White and Royal Blue is a sweet, funny, and lighthearted romance between Alex, the First Son, and Henry, the Prince of Wales. As a result of their rivalry being photographed, a staged friendship follows which then leads to a secret between the two. When their secret relationship gets exposed, the Heads of Family and other handlers must find a way to fix the campaign. Will the damage be fixed? Will Alex and Henry’s love fix it?

Teen Review
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

The Starless Sea

By Erin Morgenstern
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Palak P.
May 23, 2021

The Starless Sea is about Zachary Ezra Rawlins who discovers a rare book hidden in a library. As he turns through the entrancing tales, he finds a strange story from his childhood. He then finds a bee, a key, and a sword which leads him to a doorway–a hidden place far below the surface, a place of lost cities, seas, and lovers. As Zachary travels through this strange yet magical world, he discovers the purpose of his own life and in his story.

Teen Review
The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

The Henna Wars

By Adiba Jaigirdar
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Palak P.
May 22, 2021

The Henna Wars has amazing characters, POC, and LGBTQ+ representation. This is about how Nishat doesn’t want to hide who she is, but she doesn’t want to lose her family. It only gets harder when a childhood friend, Flavia, comes back into her life and Nishat falls for her. When a competition invites students to create businesses, both Nishat and Flavia choose to do Henna.

Teen Review
The Degenerates by J. Albert Mann

The Degenerates

By J. Albert Mann
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Laura M.
May 21, 2021

This book is realistic fiction. The main characters of this book are Maxine, London, Alice, and Rose (Maxine’s sister). The main characters want to get out of the place they are trapped in (The Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded) because they are diagnosed as morons, imbeciles, and idiots because of something “bad” they did. Their parents dropped them off there because they didn’t want them, and the main characters know that they won’t come back. That is why they don’t see a reason to leave.  London tries to get out but she gets caught on a farm she ran to for food and water.

Teen Review
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The House on Mango Street

By Sandra Cisneros
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Raghu P.
May 20, 2021

Esperanza is a young girl who moves into a house on Mango Street with her family.  This house   is not what Esperanza dreams of though since it is in terrible condition and it is very small.  The house is in a Latino neighborhood in Chicago.  Esperanza matures during the year.  Esperanza makes friends, develops a crush, and is assaulted.  The novel also talks about some of the tragedies going on in some other people’s lives who live on Mango Street.  Esperanza learns a lot from her experiences and from her neighborhood.

Teen Review
Kiss Kill Vanish by Jessica Martinez

Kiss Kill Vanish

By Jessica Martinez
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Taylor E.
May 19, 2021

Kiss Kill Vanish is a young adult thriller written by Jessica Martinez. Valentina Cruz is the daughter of the most powerful man in Miami. After witnessing her boyfriend, Emilio, and her father murder a man, she runs away to Montreal. There, things become even more confusing when further secrets about Valentina's life are revealed.

Teen Review
Gone to Dust by Matt Goldman

Gone to Dust

By Matt Goldman
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Saathwika A.
May 18, 2021

Maggie Somerville was murdered in her bedroom. Specks of dust from vacuum cleaners and fibers were scattered to obscure suspicions. Nils Shapiro, an excellent Minneapolis private detective, comes to observe. He decides to find the killer, but no one is ye tof suspicion. Shapiro works with the police department to search backgrounds. When he puts his theory to test, he finds that the killer is closer to him than he thought.

Teen Review
Tales From the Hinterland by Melissa Albert

Tales From the Hinterland

By Melissa Albert
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Lisa J.
May 17, 2021

The Hinterland — a fairytale world filled with magic, violence, and wickedly beautiful promises. In this collection of twelve dark fairytales, author Melissa Albert brings to life the stories that make up the very backbone of her debut novel, The Hazel Wood. Within these pages, girls grown from apple blossoms, women in bearskins, and grooms with the eyes of lions perform a precarious dance, toying with the fibers of life.

Teen Review
How to Make Friends With the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow

How To Make Friends With the Dark

By Kathleen Glasgow
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Neha K.
May 16, 2021

The book ​How to Make Friends with the Dark, by Kathleen Glasgow, is a realistic fiction novel. The main character, Tiger, has an unbreakable bond with her mother. Their mother-daughter relationship is deep and understanding, with a few quirks. Everything changes for Tiger when her mom unexpectedly dies. After Tiger loses the person she loves the most, her life goes into shambles. As the book narrates on, changing from first person point of view to second, we see how Tiger’s emotions play out.

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