Book Reviews
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
By V. E. Schwab
While Addie looks like a 23 year old girl, she is really a 323 year old self-pronounced “ghost.” After walking the streets all over the world for 300 years alone with no one remembering her, she finds Henry, a young man who she seems to have nothing in common with, except that they can both remember each other perfectly, which is something neither of them have had for a long, long time.
A Good Girl's Guide To Murder - A Trilogy written by Holly Jackson
(Spoilers)
A Good Girl's Guide To Murder is about a girl named Pippa Fitz-Amobi, a highschool senior and her (eventually to be) boyfriend Ravi Singh. Ravi's brother Sal and his girlfriend Andie Bell were murdered. They say it was Sal who killed her and he then committed suicide out of shame, but Pip doesn't think it is Sal who killed Andie. This case was five years ago, and now she's looking back into it as a senior, the same age as Andie Bell and Sal Singh when they were murdered. She knocks on Ravi's door and he answers, at first he's pissed at her but he eventually ends up helping her. At first he questions her, why would Pip think any different when everyone else is set on being okay with saying "it was her boyfriend and he commited suicide in shame" but instead Pip thinks otherwise. Instead, she thinks someone killed Sal and made it look like it was a suicide of shame, and she turns out to be right. Her friend Naomi Ward and Cara Ward's dad ended up killing Sal because he THOUGHT he killed Andie but it turns out Becca finished the job by getting into a fight with her when she came home, pushing her and her head cracked on a kitchen table, thus killing Andie. When Pip figures this out she tries to kill Pip by overdosing her on sleeping pills but Ravi (25, ends up being her boyfriend) got there in time and brought her to the hospital. Pretty stupid of Becca to bring Pip to die and a place where a public event is happening.
Good Girl, Bad Blood is the second book of the trilogy and she is officially dating Ravi. Now her friend Connor's brother Jamie is missing. Connor begs for help and Pip refuses, but when she goes to the police they say since Jamie is 24 and an adult, it's a "low risk" case. (Likely he just left without saying anything) so then Pip feels bad and helps him. Her mom says to make sure she doesn't get herself involved too much and she should focus on her essay, she isn't responsible for Jamie, etc. But Pip goes on saying "well, the police isn't doing anything so I have to do it." (Honestly just talk to another person, she talks to the same person who she hates every time she has a problem, no wonder he won't help.) Anyways, she helps Connor find Jamie but surprise! She misses her college essay due date. But someone (I forgot who) pulled some strings and she got into college. And that brings us into our last but not least (well maybe it is least so far I don't like it)
As Good As Dead is about Pip having a stalker. And surprise! She goes to Hawkins. (Why go to someone who won't help with a kidnapping they obviously won't help with a stalker.) Surprise again, there's nothing he could do. So now weeks before college she gets herself into another crime. And right now she has to go to a mediation to settle things with a (supposedly) sexual abuser. I say supposedly because people don't think he is, even the jury said so, but there is proof he did at least once to Becca Bell. (Who's now in jail by the way.) I didn't finish the book yet, so will she get her way? Will the stalker get her? Read to find out.
Written by; Emily Albert
Do You Mind If I Cancel is written by the producer and writer of Family Guy, Gary Janetti. DYMIIC (shortened because it's a long title) is short stories that happened in his life. And allow me to say, it is HILARIOUS! More about this book in the opinions section.
Written by Emily Albert
We Were Liars
One of the worst books I have read is We Were Liars. Ok, hear me out. I get it that’s a strong sentence. But oh boy is it the right one. I have spent a MONTH and a half reading things that don’t even matter in the end. EVERYONE IS JUST DEAD ‼️ I am still flabbergasted on how I spent so long reading it, loving it & all just DOESN’T matter. Ok. We start with Gatwick (Gat) Patil, Johnathon (John) Sinclair, Cadence (Cady) Sinclair, and Mirren Sinclair. But get this. THEY’RE ALL DEAD FOR LIKE FIVE YEARS AND CADY DOESN’T REALIZE. Yeah. Oh yeah they’re dead and she thinks they’re alive. But like, no one tells her the truth??? Like jeez mom thanks for letting Cady believe her dead siblings and boyfriend are alive there’s no problem with that at all. Anyways. there’s nothing else to say. I don’t suggest it, I spent some time reading it and I was so disappointed. (also I didn’t read it all of the ending but I just skimmed it so I do know they died but don’t know how she didn’t realize).
Making B*mbs for Hitler
Making Bombs For Hitler is about the Holocaust. There is this one main character named Lida, she has a sister named Larissa and she got separated when the Nazis took over. Linda is the older sister trying to stay strong so she can go find her sister. Her sister is younger than she is and can't really fend for herself. The Nazis put Lida in this camp where she met many other people. For an example, she met this boy named Luka, they became very close, they "are like brother and sister." All Lida was caring about was if her sister was ok. She was staying alive for her younger sister. wouldn't it be a shame if Larissa didn't make it? Well do you want to know if Lida finds her long lost sister? Well you will have to read the book to find out!! I highly recommend it.
Hachiko Waits
By Benjamin Chase
Hachiko Waits is my favorite book of all time and I think you should read it too! *SPOILERS* Now before you read, if you are an animal lover like me. Get a tissue box. We start in Japan in April of 1924, A college professor is heading off to work but first he has to feed his new puppy, Hichiko. When they both arrive at the train station the professor orders Hichiko to go back to the apartment to make sure he is safe. Hichiko was a stubborn dog and just stood there. But there was also a 6 year old boy who wanted to pet Hichiko so the professor let him, him and Hichiko had a bond. The train station master came and said that he would look after him. but when the professor boarded the train and left, Hichiko just left and the train master had so many people that he couldn't have time to look for him. But when the train came back to the station so did Hichiko. The train master came clean to the professor and it was fine, at least Hichiko came back to the station! So for the next year when the professor left for work Hichiko went about his day but when the train arrived in the afternoon... the professor never got off.
One of Us is Lying
In the town of Bayview, five high school students walk into detention, but four walk out. As the evidence grows, the twists and turns of this suspected murder continue to change by the day. We start to learn that no one is truly innocent, and that everyone in this town has their own web of secrets and lies.
13 Gifts By Wendy Mass
Tara Brennan, the main character, has been a shy, loner. She once tries being cool, by stealing the school mascot. But, she gets caught and accidentally pepper sprays her principle. She gets suspended, and her parents don't let her go to Madagascar with them. So, she gets sent to where her parents grew up and met. She meets her cousin, not a toddler but 11 years old, a mathematician. She meets a boy, named David. He is kind, and his bar mitzvah is the day after Tara's birthday! What a good luck charm. She loses all her money, her iPod, and her phone on the way to Willow Falls. So, she steals one of her uncle's special novelty collectible comics, to get all the money back. But, the store manager knows she stole it and put her to work. She needs to find 13 mysterious items on a list before her 13th birthday, or something will happen, something awful. But, one day in the attic of her house, Tara find...a playbill, with all the items on it. She confronts the store manager, Angelina De Angelo, and apparently...it's the wrong list!! So, Angelina suggests putting on the play, Fiddler on the roof, for the whole town! Her favorite celebrity goes often to this town, and apparently Rory, another friend of Tara, is a really good friend with the celebrity, Jake Harrison! Jake even signed a form saying Rory and him wouldn't date until 9th grade. When Emily becomes stubborn about not wanting to play the lead, Rory gets a video of Jake Harrison basically saying, "Emily, if you play the role, I will come and play the role of your husband." So, of course, Emily took up the role in Fiddler on the Roof! They performed, and after the lay Tara sees...no way, her parents! So they talk, and catch up, and reveal that they are moving to Willow Falls!
By Sophia Espiritu
The Fault in Our Stars
The fault in our stars is a book with bursts of roller coaster emotions, laughing and crying from one page to the next. John Green’s story is about a teen named Hazel who suffers from cancer, specifically thyroid and lung tumors. Regular doctor Jim says Hazel’s depressed, and recommends she goes to a support group. So she does go to this support group, and a church basement run by a lonely, grown man who survived cancer named Patrick. Hazel’s “friend” in a group, Issac who has eye cancer, one day brings a friend, Augustus Waters, as he shares bad news. Issac shares that he will be cured of his cancer but then, be blinded after the surgery. Blah blah blah, girl meets boy, blah blah blah, girl meets boy's parents and stays for dinner and a movie, blah blah girl calls him nonstop about everything. Gus has osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. So, he is in remission as one of his legs is amputated around the knee. On their first "date" Hazel recommends "An Imperial Affliction," to Gus. HE reads it and gives them a bonding point, especially as the author responds to a list of questions sent in Gus's email. He says (from memory), "I cannot, however, write to you as you may publish a sequel or may record over phone your answer. But, if you happen to meet me in Amsterdam, I shall be willing to answer your questions." So, Hazel and Gus get a wish(a sickness/cancer perk, get any possible wish from donations) and go to Amsterdam with Hazel's Mom. On the 2nd or 3rd day however, Peter Van Houten (author) lashes out and reveals he is an alcoholic, and no longer the person who wrote that book years ago. His assistant quits and helps the kids in touring the city. They return home and have a heart to heart,
By Sophia Espiritu
Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling
Most people grow up with the movies , while a small handful read the books. I recommend reading this book before the movie. This is the first book in the seven book saga about a boy named Harry. His parents died protecting him when he was a baby and his aunt and uncle shunned him. Making him live in the cupboard under the stairs. One day he receives numerous letters he is not allowed to read. Soon more come flying around his house. On his eleventh birthday, he is sitting on the floor playing with dust in the night in a lighthouse of some sort when a large half-giant tells him he's a wizard! He was to be sent off to wizard school. He quickly gathers his few things and goes with the half giant, Hagrid. Hagrid takes him to buy a wand and Harry finds out his parents left him a hefty load of money. He buys a school robe and soon is at the train station, nine and three quarters. On his way, he makes two friends. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. They help him throughout the year. At the end of the year, harry learns about Voldemort, an evil wizard, who tried enslaving the world, and killed his parents. He has this professor, Quirrell who they follow to the stone... He was acting strange. Ron falls off a giant chess piece and Hermione had to drink a potion so Harry can stop Quirrell from getting to the stone. On the back of Quirrell's neck is VoLdEmOrT!!!! Harry and moldy voldy fight, but Harry defeats him, and his soul flies away... Till the next book...
-Lucia Bruccoleri
Maniac Magee
Every year, the sixth graders at Seneca read Maniac Magee, ny Jerry Spinelli. It is about a young boy Jeffrey (Maniac) who loses his parents at a very young age and is sent to live with his aunt Dot and uncle Dan. They hated each other but refused to get a divorce, and one night Jeffrey starts screaming at them at his concert and runs away. It takes him a year, but the kid makes it to Two Mills. The town is separated by race. East end and West end. On the West end he runs into a little trouble, and a girl Amanda, after some confusion, Amanda's room is Maniac's and she has to live with her sister and brother. ( I am going to refer to him as Maniac now because he gets his name soon) Maniac is seen doing amazing things, he saves Arnold Jones from the Finsterwalds in the East end , steals Hands Down's ball in the West end and stands up to Mars Bars in the West end . But one summer afternoon, an old coot spots Maniac, and tells him to go home where he belongs. It doesn't take long for others to hate and the house he lives at is chalked on "Fishbelly Go Home." Amanda decides Maniac should stay, and makes him do Cobble's knot. An un-unknotable knot. He solves the knot and is treated like a hero, but he leaves town because it feels like he keeps bringing trouble to Amanda's family. One day after sleeping in the buffalo pen, he meets Grayson. An old minor-leaguer who spends his time as a zoo attendant and lives at the YMCA. They become besties and Maniac even teaches him how to read. On Christmas morning Maniac gives him a homemade book and Grayson gives him his old baseball glove. But one day Maniac wakes up and Grayson is still in bed. He rustles Grayson screams, and shouts, but, he's dead, a couple days later Maniac attends his funeral, but is the only mourner. He runs, doing the thing he knows best. You'll have to read part three to see if Maniac gets a happy ending like he deserves.
By Lucia Bruccoleri
Septimus Heap by Angie Sage
Septimus Heap is about a family with 7 children who live in a magical world. Believing that their seventh son had died, the father, Silas Heap, took in an abandoned baby girl. But since their last son, Septimus Heap, was a seventh son of a seventh son, he would have magical powers. But where did this baby girl come from and what really happened to Septimus?
BE PREPARED!!! THIS IS A 7 BOOK SERIES!!!