Customer Review: RIP Eliza Hart

R.I.P Eliza Hart

Alyssa Sheinmel

Scholastic Press

$18.99

Available November 28, 2017

I really loved this book; it was written well and it was an enjoyable read. Ellie, her claustrophobia, and her will to know how and why her former best friend died are the main plot to the book. The plot is pretty easy to follow and Ellie’s feeling are traceable and understandable. There were however, two things that I did not like. First, I think the age recommendation should be at least a year higher, because suicide, mental illness, and depression are too scary for most twelve year olds. Second, the parts where Eliza was talking from the grave were hard to follow; she was just telling stories that mostly didn’t connect with her death. I really liked that Ellie’s reaction to Eliza’s death is realistic and easy to understand. Another thing I loved, is that the story is sort of confusing at the beginning (for example why Eliza “hates” Ellie and why Eliza dies in the first place), but in the end everything comes together perfectly. I thought R.I.P Eliza Hart was a good read. I hope others will enjoy it as much a I did.

~ Yolanda, ages 12

Customer Review: There’s Someone Inside Your House

There’s Someone Inside Your House

Stephanie Perkins

Dutton Books for Young Readers

$16.99

Available September 26, 2017

I really enjoyed this book and it was (as said described) truly impossible to put down. The only thing that did not make sense to me is the title. I think the title is fitting to the horror theme, but it somehow does not fit with the story.

One minor aspect that I questioned is that Makani’s reaction to the deaths of her fellow students was unrealistic, deaths usually have to sink in a bit and when that has happened it is really devastating. However, what I loved about this book is that you never get even a clue about Makani’s secret until she tells everyone, which builds up LOTS of suspense. All in all I really loved this book and hope it will be successful.

~ Yolanda, age 12

Customer Review: Greetings From Witness Protection

Greetings From Witness Protection

Jake Burt

Feiwel & Friends

$16.99

Available October 3, 2017

Greetings From Witness Protection was a pretty quick read, but definitely had me sitting at the edge of my seat.

The main character Nicki is in foster care and has gone to many different schools and homes. She is also a pickpocket and has kleptomania, which means that she often can’t stop herself from stealing. The Sicrezzas are in witness protection and the US Marshalls decide they need a girl who will help the family blend in as a daughter.

The characters are very realistic and not at all superficial. There is plenty of action and except for a few instances the happenings make sense and are not unrealistic. The book has funny, sad, and touching parts and it definitely made me think about the fact that everyone is more than they seem on the surface, whether they are hiding their identity or not.

~ Helena, grade 10

Customer Review: Wonder Woman — Warbringer

 

Wonder Woman: Warbringer 

Leigh Bardugo 

Random House 

Available August 2017 

 

Diana knows she’s different from everyone else on the island of Themyscira. She wants nothing more than to prove herself to the other Amazons. When her opportunity finally comes, however, she throws away the chance she has at finally being recognized as one of the Amazons and risks exile to save the life of a mortal girl, Alia Keralis. And Alia is no normal girl; she is a Warbringer, descended from Helen of Troy. Diana and Alia must fight many enemies, both mortal and immortal, to save both their worlds. Leigh Bardugo has written a Wonder Woman adventure almost as thrilling as the Wonder Woman movie, and any fan of the DC Universe should add Wonder Woman: Warbringer to their bookshelf. 

Leah, 9th grade

Customer Review: Zero Repeat Forever

Zero Repeat Forever

G. S. Pendergast

Simon and Schuster 

Available August 2017 

 

Sixteen year old Raven isn’t expecting much from the summer camp that she is forced to go to with her boyfriend Tucker. But then the terrible aliens called Nahx invade . . . and kill Tucker. Raven and the remaining survivors are forced to leave camp to find survivors from the alien attack. 

He has no name, no voice, just a rank: Eighth. He knows only the directives implanted in his mind. Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall. His task is to protect his Offside, let her do the fighting. When a human kills her, he deserts his unit, and meets Raven. The two of them are forced to rely on each other for survival. Zero Repeat Forever is a gripping novel that is a must-read  for any fans of science fiction. 

~ Leah, grade 9

 

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Customer Review: The Chaos of Standing Still

The Chaos of Standing Still

Jessica Brody

$17.99

Simon Pulse

Available November 28, 2017

A small red number has been in the top right corner of Ryn Gilbert’s Messages app for almost a year now. One unread message. Ryn can’t bring herself to read it, because that message is the last thing her best friend Lottie ever said to her before Lottie died. Ryn hasn’t been able to move on since the fateful day of the accident, but when she is trapped in the Denver International Airport due to a blizzard, she meets a boy named Xander Hale. She accidentally swaps phones with him, which leads to the two of them to having a night filled with excitement and adventure. And for the first time, Ryn might be starting to move on from her best friend’s death. The Chaos of Standing Still is an emotional, heartwarming story which I recommend to anyone who needs a good book about life, love, death, and meet-cutes with charming strangers.

~Leah, 9th grade

Customer Review: Invictus

Invictus 

Ryan Graudin 

Little, Brown 

Available September 2017

$18.99 

Farway McCarthy is an anomaly. Some would even call him an aberration. He was born outside of time, on his mother’s spaceship the Ab Aeterno. After failing his time-travel exam, he steals a spaceship and with his friends travels through time looking for valuable items to sell on the black market. Far’s life is simple until one day he meets a girl who seems to know him better than he knows himself. And this girl bears a chilling message: history is being erased, events since the beginning of time are disappearing, and Far is the catalyst. Far and his crew must race through time to stop the destruction of history as they know it. Ryan Graudin has written a thrilling novel with a perfect balance of history and science fiction, and any fans of time travel should definitely add Invictus to their reading list. 

 

~ Leah, 9th grade

 

Customer Review: The Cruel Prince

The Cruel Prince 

Holly Black

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Available January 2018 

 

Jude Duarte is stolen away from the mortal world at seven years old, her parents murdered by the same faerie that then took her and her sisters to Faerie. She grows up among the faeries; their lifestyle becoming hers. She wishes more than anything to truly belong in the Faerie Court, and when she is seventeen a chance to make this dream come true finally appears: she must defy the wishes of the cruel Prince Cardan and compete in a tournament to seek knighthood. However, in gaining the power she craves, Jude finds herself in the middle of a deadly web of bloodshed and deceit, and she is the key to stopping the imminent civil war hovering over Faerie. The only way to survive is to become more ruthless than the murderers she faces. With fast-paced action, well-drawn characters and a gripping plot, The Cruel Prince will keep you up all night reading and leave you impatiently awaiting the sequel. 

~ Leah, 9th grade

 

 

Staff Review: The Forgetting

 

The Forgetting

Sharon Cameron

Scholastic

$18.99

Available September 13, 2016

Every twelve years, the city of Canaan falls into the Forgetting, a day where everyone’s memories vanish. The only way to remember events from before the Forgetting or even clues to who you are as an individual is by keeping detailed entries in your personal book. Your book is your identity, but the truth can easily be twisted or misrepresented and no one truly knows exactly what has happened. Except for Nadia. She has never forgotten. She remembers exactly what has happened. She knows who’s telling the truth and who isn’t. Nadia’s memories allow her to investigate how the city of Canaan came to be. Because she remembers her past, she is less afraid than her neighbors and ventures over the stone wall that is supposedly protecting the city. When Gray catches her coming back over the wall, he threatens to expose her secrets unless she helps him. With the next Forgetting approaching, Nadia and Gray must figure out what is destroying Canaan. Or this time everyone will forget what the truth really is.

Staff Review: With Malice

With Malice
Eileen Cook
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
$17.99
Available now

Jill Charron wakes up in a hospital bed not remembering anything for the past 6 weeks. She doesn’t remember the once in a lifetime trip to Italy she just took with her best friend. The trip which was supposed to be fun and exciting, that instead turns into a deadly car accident. Jill is told that her friend Simone was killed during the accident, but now questions are being raised about whether the accident was intentional. As Jill slowly regains her memory, she tries to piece together bits of information that will explain what really happened to Simone and what led up to the accident. Is Jill responsible for Simone’s death, or is she being framed? With Malice is a great summer read for anyone who loves mysteries.

~ Lana