Teen and Staff Reviews

Cold The Night, Fast the Wolves is a book written by Meg Long about survival. The book is about a 17-year-old named Sena who runs away with her wolf named Iska and how they encounter difficult challenges to get away from everyone else and get off the planet. I honestly thought this book was rather good. Even though I am not a huge fan of books where characters are supposed to somehow survive, I really thought this book changed my mind on that.

Little Do We Know by Tamara Ireland Stone is a heartfelt story of rekindled friendships, hidden desires, and self-discovery. When Hannah saves the life of Emory's boyfriend, Luke, it sets off a chain of events that forces the former best friends to confront the rift that once drove them apart. As they reconnect, Hannah and Emory, both seventeen, must navigate their complicated feelings, first loves, and true connections, ultimately finding the strength to face the truth and follow their hearts.

After her parents' tragic death, 16-year-old Jackie Howard moves from New York to Colorado to live with her mother's family, the Walter Boys - four brothers (Matt, Jake, Alex, and Greg) and their father. As Jackie navigates her new life, she faces cultural shock, sibling rivalry, and blossoming romances, particularly with Alex, the charming and sensitive brother. Amidst the chaos and emotional struggles, Jackie finds solace in her growing relationships with the Walter Boys and discovers a new sense of belonging, identity, and love.

Shoe Dog is a memoir written by the creator of Nike. It talks about how the multi-billion-dollar company started from scratch. This book shows how Nike got its first sales and employees. It talks about how going to Japan was very influential to Nike’s success and that starting a new company has many challenges. This book keeps you hooked through all of the twists and turns such as going bankrupt and getting sued.

In Julia Alvarez’s Afterlife, Antonia’s commitment to her family and willingness to support others highlights her selfless nature, even at the expense of her needs and desires. Antonia hesitates when one of Antonia’s neighbors, Mario, asks if his girlfriend Estela, an undocumented immigrant, can stay at Antonia’s house due to the precarious situation she may face. She explains that she cannot “handle something like this right now” because she is grieving the recent passing of her husband, Sam (Alvarez 29).

Nothing More to Tell is a mystery book by Karen McManus. The book is about how a teacher named Mr. Larkin who was mysteriously killed in the woods.  Four years after the event, Brynn, one of Mr. Larkin’s students, decided to investigate the event. After tirelessly finding as much as she can, she stumbles upon the killer, and it’s someone that nobody expects. This is an enjoyable book. I do not like romance and all that stuff, but it is still a 4.2 out of five.

All That’s Left in the World is a survival book written by Erik Brown. The book is about two teens in a world where a super flu killed most of the world, and everyone else needed to find a way to survive. It was great to see how far they came, from Jamie pulling the gun at Andrew when he first came to loving each other. The author did an excellent job of showing how ruined and lonely the world was after the super flu and how everyone died.

Ravenfall is a book written by Kalyn Josephson that is about magic. It is about a 13-year-old girl named Anna who is in a town where everyone has magical powers, but she finds her powers as boring as her power is to see people’s deaths. Then, a guy named Colin came to town, and Anna sees his mysterious past with deaths. She decides to help him find out what happened, but then she finds out about something else completely that could end the world. This was a fairly good book.

Heartless is, quite literally, the backstory of the Queen of Hearts, the hated antagonist from the classic tale of the Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol. It reveals the Queen's mysterious and surprisingly tragic past--as well as how she came to be the villain, we all know of.

Brandon Sanderson’s book, Oathbringer, is the third book in the Stormlight archives series. The book begins with the main characters splitting up. As the everstorm sweeps on, Kaladin goes home to warn his family. Dalinar attempts to unite Roshar, and Shallan continues research on the Knights Radiant. Kaladin ends up returning to Urithiru where he is tasked with taking back Khloniar.