Teen and Staff Reviews

Teen Review
The Silence of Bones by June Hur. Behind text is a moody blue water color portrait of a girl look down, with dark hair framing her face.

The Silence of Bones

By June Hur
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Keiko C.
Dec 9, 2020

As a servant, silence and obedience is the only way Seol can safely and peacefully spend her days. Assigned to a young inspector, she pledges loyalty to him who seems to welcome her curiosity. However, her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect of the murder case.     

Teen Review
Cover photo of the book Oryx and Crake

Oryx and Crake

By Margaret Atwood
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Jordyn G.
Dec 8, 2020

Oryx and Crake ​is a dystopian novel written by Margaret Atwood, the writer of ​The Handmaid’s Tale. ​Set in the post-apocalyptic future, this book follows Snowman, the last remaining human, as he navigates surviving in a world with few supplies and genetically mutated animals trying to kill him. The only ones to keep him company are a new breed of people called the Crakers, who are the creation of Snowman’s old friend Crake.

Teen Review
Traitor by Amanda McCrina "Betrayal is a matter of life and death"

Traitor

By Amanda McCrina
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Zoe D.
Dec 7, 2020

Traitor highlights the societal division and question of morality that was prominent during World War II. In this novel, the lives of two teenagers, a Ukrainian orphan named Aleksey who fights to protect his brother and stay alive, and Tolya, a half-Polish, half-Ukrainian seventeen year old who is unsure of where his loyalties lies.

Teen Review
Cover photo of the book Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451

By Ray Bradbury
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Raghu P.
Dec 7, 2020

Fahrenheit 451 is a science fiction novel written by Ray Bradbury in 1953.  The genre of this book is adventure and science fiction.  The novel is set in a futuristic dystopian society that burns  books in order to control dangerous ideas and concepts.  The novel tells the story of Guy Montag.  Guy Montag is a fireman, whose job is not to protect people but to protect them from books by burning them. Montag meets Clarisse, a smart and curious girl.

Teen Review
Cover photo of the book The Night Country

The Night Country

By Melissa Albert
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Lisa J.
Dec 4, 2020

The Night Country is the chilling sequel to Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood. After returning to New York City from the Hinterland, Alice, an ex-Story, attempts to live a normal, human life. Even though Hinterland citizens are still trickling into New York, Alice vows to leave her past behind. However, she quickly learns that escaping the Hinterland was far from the end — Hinterland characters are being slaughtered, one after another.

Teen Review
Cover photo of the book Fantasy League

Fantasy League

By Mike Lupica
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Raghu P.
Dec 3, 2020

Charlie is a fantasy football geek who cheers for the LA Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are so bad that their nickname is “the dogs.” Charlie and his best friend Anna, who is also a huge Bulldogs fan, love watching all of the games together. Luckily, Anna’s grandfather is the owner of the LA Bulldogs. Charlie attends a game with him and shares some of his thoughts to improve the team and suggests to sign an aging quarterback that is going under the radar. Mr. Warren, Anna’s grandfather, signs the quarterback and the team starts to get the success they have been wanting.

Teen Review
Cover photo of the book Wonder

Wonder

By R. J. Palacio
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Sriha P.
Dec 2, 2020

Auggie is going to school for the first time and he is completely petrified. August Pullman has had 27 surgeries to help him hear, breathe, see, and talk. He has been homeschooled for his whole life by his mom and now he is starting middle school in an actual school. Auggie makes some friends and some enemies in middle school. While Auggie is going to middle school, his sister, Via, is starting high school, when she finds out her only best friend abandons her. At school, Auggie meets Jack, Will and Julian but only becomes friends with one of them, while the other makes fun of Auggie.

Teen Review
Cover photo of the book In the Hall With the Knife

In the Hall With the Knife

By Diana Peterfreund
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Ava P.
Dec 1, 2020

In the Hall with the Knife​ by Diana Peterfreund is a teen fiction mystery novel about the death of Blackbrook Academy’s Headmaster Boddy. When a vicious winter storm strikes the coast of Maine, where Blackbrook Academy is located, a group of students and staff are stranded in one of the safest buildings on the campus: the Tudor House.

Teen Review
Cover photo of the book To Kill a Kingdom

To Kill a Kingdom

By Alexandra Christo
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Lisa J.
Nov 30, 2020

Lira has seventeen hearts in her bedroom. As a siren, she kills a human prince and takes his heart every year on her birthday. By doing so, she proves that she will be strong enough to take over her mother’s throne and become queen one day. However, after Lira disobeys her mother, she is punished by being transformed into a human — one of the creatures she hates the most. To win back her mother’s favor, Lira must claim the heart of Prince Elian, an infamous siren-killer and the heir to the most powerful kingdom in the land.

Teen Review
Cover photo of the book Quantum Weirdness

The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss

By Amy Noelle Parks
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Grace L.
Nov 25, 2020

The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss​ was a largely enjoyable read with only a few drawbacks. It was a very good romantic book. I was very invested in its main romantic plot. Unlike some other romance books I’ve read, this one felt believable. The relationship between Caleb and Evie was really interesting and I didn’t feel like many aspects of it felt forced. I genuinely enjoyed it. The supporting cast was small, so most of the important characters had more time to develop.

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