Book Reviews
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Reviewed by H. Ballweg, January 2017
A Christmas Carol, though written well over 150 years ago, is still a popular holiday tale, which is somewhat perplexing. It’s not a difficult book to read or understand, but its depressing nature left me wondering why the author ever became famous. Personally, I’d much rather read a happy book where...
Read moreMilkweed by Jerry Spinelli
Reviewed by G. Ballweg, January 2017
The book Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli is about the Holocaust, but it is told from an unusual point of view. The main character is a homeless kid who doesn’t belong anywhere. He steals food and belongings to survive. An older thief befriends him and gives him the name Misha. The story follows Misha as he...
Read moreThe Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
Reviewed by H. Mankowski, January 2017
In the book The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, readers meet two cousins of Jewish descent working as comic book creators during the 1940s. The course of this novel follows their hardships and the drama of their careers, occasionally splitting off to explain other characters or...
Read moreOne for the Murhys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Reviewed by A. Marquardt, December 2016
Life for Carley Conners has been a twelve-year-long roller coaster of ups and downs; and her wild, Las Vegas loving mother and threatening step dad hasn’t made it any easier for her to know what a real family is. After an especially scarring situation that puts her mother in trouble with the police, Carley is...
Read moreThe Keeper by David Baldacci
Reviewed by C. Hutchinson, December 2016
The Keeper is about a teenage girl named Vega Jane. Vega Jane is from a little town called Wormwood. She always knew there was more to her past than what she was told. And the only way to find out the truth, was to go through the Quag. From childhood, everyone was told there was nothing beyond...
Read moreZeroes by Scott Westerfeld
Reviewed by M. Blochwitz, December 2016
They may have powers, but don’t mistake them for heroes.
Six teenagers who are anything but ordinary. Scam has a voice inside of him, sprouting lies or truths just to get him out of trouble. Flicker, who can see through anyone’s eyes but her own. Crash brings technology down to its knees. Anon whom no...
Read moreThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Reviewed by D. McLaughlin, December 2016
Imagine a kid who has a difficult time reading emotions, and sometimes needs practice understanding what a sigh means. A character like this isn't common, but does exist. The main character in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a young boy named Christopher who is autistic. He...
Read moreGifts by Ursula K. LeGuin
Reviewed by L. Hanousek, January 2017
Imagine you had the power to destroy - to unmake things, and humans, with just a glance. Now imagine you used that power. You almost killed your father, whom you love beyond all reason. Ursula K. LeGuin tells this haunting, imaginative tale in Gifts, a book about those with power, and what they do...
Read moreThe Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey
Reviewed by L. Schwenn, December 2016
Cassie Sullivan was your typical high school girl. She lived with her average family in an average house, in an average town, with average people. But her world turned upside down after the arrival of The Others, alien beings that walk, talk, act, and most importantly look like humans. After their arrival, Earth...
Read moreThe Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
Reviewed by J. Bergeman, November 2016
In a time of sword and steel, a small boy named Will takes up adventure. Will was left upon the doorsteps of a castle, and is sent away to the Ward. The ward is a lot like an ofimage, except the boys are recruited by the various professions to serve the kingdom. Will wants to become a knight to serve the King and...
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