Lit Reviews
Baby Teeth
By Zoje Stage
Wow! Talk about an antagonist you love to hate! This novel reminded me a lot of the movie, "Orphan", and I disliked Hanna almost as much as I disliked Esther in "Orphan". I found myself rolling my eyes and talking out loud to the characters frequently while reading this book (mostly because of the clueless father), and there were many parts that were downright infuriating. But, I do love a book that makes me FEEL something, and this one certainly did that! This novel is not for people who are pretty sensitive or who don't like scary or intense situations, because there are quite a few scenes that will have you on the edge of your seat or will make the reader feel angry or uncomfortable. All in all, I found Baby Teeth to be a pretty unique thriller that stood out from the rest, mostly because of the utterly dispicable character, Hanna, and how much of the story is told from her young and quite twisted point of view.
Reviewed by Mrs. Wilimzig
Badass Black Girl
By M. J. Fievre
I would recommend this book not just to black girls, to be honest, but for every teen girl that has issues with accepting themselves. The book has quotes from black women who want to uplift women that they can do and be anything they want. They have questions teens ask a lot about themselves and they answer them in a way that is going to make you feel better about yourself. The author puts affirmations in to reassure yourself that you got this the world is hard and cruel but you got this. People all the way back from when women were nothing but housewives are in this book but instead, they take the action into doing something for themselves, like Diahann Carroll, who became the first Black actress to land a leading role in the television series, Julia. When you feel down about yourself, this book gives you songs on what to listen to that can help you pick yourself back up, and it gives a section on 30 days of purpose. Now I'm not going to spoil the book, but these are the things that every teen girl needs because most of us would get down on ourselves for not being like the next or being a way that someone wants us to be and not accepting us for who we are. If you want to, you can check the whole book out for yourself. It helped me accept myself and feel better about who I am, not saying it would do the same for you but if you want, go check the book out.
Reviewed by Taniyah Fitzpatrick
The Revenge Playbook
By Rachael Allen
I loved this book. I read it 2 times and I like how it represents the sense of girl power and how it addresses double standards between boys and girls, and slut-shaming. The book is led by 4 protagonists and the antagonist of the book is the football team. The football team is the typical jocks and everyone treats them like they're special and no one addresses their issues. The football team treated the protagonists Liv, Ana, Peyton, and Melanie Jane badly, and they are going to get back at them and to do so they are going to crash their scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt is something the football team normally does to the boys who join the varsity team and girls aren't allowed to do it, but they are going to do it anyway. It shows girl power because the girls work together to win the scavenger hunt. Slut-shaming was mentioned because one of the boys on the football team was talking about one of the girls and they heard it and the football team made one of the boys break up with her for it and he didn't even want to do it. I can relate to the book and I recommend the book to girls my age. Also, they should make a movie because this is something I would watch.
Reviewed by Anastasia Williams
The Son of Neptune
By Rick Riordan
The Son Of Neptune by Rick Riordan, is a Greek mythology book about Poseidon's son, Percy Jackson. This book is a 8.5/10 for me. The reason why is because some of the story is the same as the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan with little elements changed. In this story the character Percy Jackson meets with a camp of other demigods (which are half humans, half gods), then goes to Alaska with his friends, Hazel and Frank, to free the God of Death, Thanatos. Then after that has to save the world from the Earth goddess, Gaea. The book carries action and adventure; Percy in the beginning of the book is running away from monsters, finding himself alone with no memories of himself., but is guided by the Wolf Goddess, Lupa. He meets Juno, who tells him that he is the Son of Neptune, and is told he can get his memory back from being a Hero again. This book/the series keeps Percy on the road of adventure to discover who he is and proving that he is a Hero. Major Conflicts during this book is Man vs Self by Percy trying to gain his memories back, but struggling. The theme of this book for me is friendship because it shows people that he just met, is willing to put their life on the line to help Percy become a Hero again and gain his memories back.
Reviewed by Semaj Dean
The Underdogs
By Mike Lupica
The author is Mike Lupica and according to Goodreads, this is “the #1 New York Times bestseller - Mike Lupica tackles football! Will Tyler can fly on a football field. He may not be the biggest running back around, but no one can touch him when it comes to hitting the hole and finding the end zone. And no one can match his love of the game." I absolutely loved this book. The reason I loved it is because it's relatable to all athletes and everything was well put together because some books don't have the interesting details and things. Well, this book had it all. This book includes a lot of details I such as what was going on with his family and what he been through as a kid, and overall it's just a great book.
Reviewed by DeMontrel Jones
Leave the World Behind
By Rumaan Alam
This is the most interesting novel I've read in quite a long time. It's about a family who takes a short vacation to a little country house about 90 minutes away from their home in New York City, and while everything starts out great, things quickly devolve in more ways than one. This is one of the only books I've ever read that is written in the 3rd person omniscient point of view, so I really appreciated the ability to "go inside" all the characters' thoughts and feelings throughout the story. There is a lot of mystery in this story, and while some things are left a bit unexplained, it gave me so much to think about while reading. It's essentially an "end of the world" story, so it's very dark and uncomfortable at points, but there it is a very timely piece that shows that we should all appreciate life while still realizing that nothing is promised or predictable and things are not always as they seem. (Also, one character's teeth just randomly start falling out, which is my WORST NIGHTMARE!!! This really stood out to me!)
Reviewed by Mrs. Wilimzig
