Book Reviews
A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Bernard
Reviewed by K. Yanna, June 2019
Steffi is selectively mute, as in, she doesn’t talk. In school she relies on her best friend, Tem, to speak for her. When Tem goes to college, Steffi is on her own. A new deaf boy, Rhys, comes to her school, and Steffi is assigned to look after him. With her basic knowledge of sign language, the two communicate with...
Read moreA Crack in Creation by Jennifer Doudna
Reviewed by K. Yanna, June 2019
A glimpse into the world of bioengineering, A Crack in Creation is a small and simple guide to CRISPR. Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, CRISPR is a tool scientists use to investigate gene expression (how DNA codes for proteins). Those proteins, in turn, make up the organism. First...
Read moreThe Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Reviewed by S. Tobin, June 2019
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a must read for every teen. This story is about a young girl, Katniss Everdeen, who must fight to stay alive. Not only does she have to participate in the Capitol’s annual Hunger Games, but she has to scavenge for food in her own district. By her side through this...
Read moreWhat She Wants by Cathy Kelly
Reviewed by A. Klink, May 2019
In the novel What She Wants Cathy Kelly’s humor follows four diverse women linked to the quaint Irish town of Redlion. Hope Parker, “Mrs. Tracksuit Bottom,” is the mother of two, and a wife of Matt, who is an ad executive/closet novelist and beneficiary of his uncle’s cottage in Redlion. Hope fears she will...
Read moreThe Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Reviewed by S. Tobin, May 2019
It all started with a disease, as most world catastrophes do, and soon there were almost no kids left. The disease affected kids and the few kids that did survive were left with extraordinary powers. Ruby’s life was turned upside down on her tenth birthday. That’s when she changed and got her powers. Unfortunately, Ruby...
Read moreThe Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Reviewed by L. Bauer, May 2019
Can a childhood romance grow into a teenage romance? Belly and her family always go to Cousins Beach for the summer. Cousins Beach has three things that home doesn’t have: the beach house, Susannah, and Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly has had a crush on Conrad since they were little. Will this finally be the summer that...
Read moreThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Reviewed by E. Mankowski, April 2019
The year of 1885 marked the first time that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, was banned in the United States. The boy-adventure book has been subject to controversy due not only to the discussions surrounding the themes and ideas present in the novel, but the presence of the “n-...
Read moreAlways and Forever Lara Jean by Jenny Han
Reviewed by L. Bauer, April 2019
The girl who dreads change must rethink all her plans- but when your heart and his heart are saying two different things, which one do you listen to?
Lara Jean is loving senior year. She has her boyfriend, her friends, and she will be graduating and going to her dream school, UVA, with her boyfriend. But when...
Read moreThe Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer
Reviewed by H. Walters, February 2019
In the book, The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer, Alex and Conner head back to the Land of Stories. They must work together with friends to defeat the Enchantress, who has recently returned. They are on a race against the clock, because not only is the fairy-tale world on the line, so is their world...
Read moreHome Front by Kristin Hannah
Reviewed by A. Klink, February 2019
The daughter of alcoholics who left her orphaned at 17, Jolene “Jo” Zarkades found her first stable family in the military. She’s served over two decades, first in the army, later with the National Guard. Now Jo’s stationed at home, taking care of her two daughters, Betsey and LuLu. Jo’s life is completely the...
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