Friday, September 23, 2016

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before



Title: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Pages: 368
Genre: YA Fiction, Teen Romance
Rating: 4/5 stars
Awards: SLJ Best Books 2014, Young Adult and
IRA Young Adults’ Choices 2015 Reading List

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is an amazingly well written book by Jenny Han. It is a mix of young adult fiction and teen romance. This book fits these genres because there are a lot of relationships and drama with boys all over the place. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before takes place in present day Virginia. It affects the plot by using technology to solve little problems and to communicate. The main conflict in the book To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is that Lara Jean is in love with 2 boys: Josh and Peter. E) Josh was Lara Jean’s first kiss in 8th grade, and she hasn’t quite seemed to get over him since then. After Lara Jean’s love letters to Peter, Josh, and a few others mysteriously get sent out, Lara Jean’s life gets turned around.

In the very beginning, Lara Jean’s sister who she tells everything to, Margot, leaves for college, leaving her broken hearted boyfriend, Josh, behind. Once she leaves, Lara Jean realizes she has had a love for Josh for a very long time, even before her sister. But when Josh tries to confront her about it, she tells a lie to Josh that she is dating Peter Kavinsky. Peter goes along with the plan to make his ex-girlfriend jealous. As the weeks go on, Peter and Lara Jean start to become very close with what they do. He takes her and her little sister to school everyday, and even go as far to kissing to get people to believe they were dating. But what they didn’t know would happen is they would start to fall for each other. So one day, Lara Jean decides that she wants to go on a class field trip with Peter to a skiing slope. When they go, they go skiing together and end up in the end, kissing in a hot tub. Everyone claims that they did it, but Lara Jean is very upset because it was not true. When her sister comes home from college for Christmas, she overhears a conversation between Josh, Peter, and Lara Jean about that night. Since Lara Jean tells her sister everything, Margot was very upset to hear that all these things happened and was never told. This was a very big deal when it happened and the whole house party that was  going on at the time. When Lara Jean explains everything to her sister, it takes her a while to forgive and forget. But in the end, Lara Jean ends up with the guys she feels she should be with.

The theme in this story is just because someone is quiet doesn’t mean that they don’t have a loud voice. For example, everyone thinks that Lara Jean is this super quiet girl who doesn’t want to date, and here she is dating the coolest guy in the school. This could also mean she can stand up for herself. For example, one day Peter doesn’t pick her up from school like normal and then Lara Jean ignored him for a week. she stood up for herself.

I really liked this book because realistic high school events happened like huge parties where everyone was drinking and there was a ton of drama. But what I didn’t like so much was the facts that her mom is dead. She doesn’t have anyone to tell all of her boy problems to or to cry to when she is just not having a good day. Plus, she has to practically take care of her whole family now that her sister is gone to college. For all you girls out there that like a nice chick-flick, this book is for you.

Contributed by Hannah Harder

Friday, September 16, 2016

Rapunzel Untangled Review


Rapunzel Untangled

Title: Rapunzel Untangled
Author:  Cindy C. Bennett
Pages: 304
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5 stars
Awards: Whitney Award nominee, 2013, Featured on USA Today's Happy Ever After review page, 2013 
    • “A suspenseful mix of romance, adventure, and dark arts,”...“compels readers to want to find out Rapunzel’s backstory as much as she does” (Booklist Review).


This book is a combination between adventure and romance because Rapunzel falls in love with a boy where they will both later explore the deeper meaning behind the Gothel Mansion. The book takes place in the Gothel Manor where all her adventures start. The main character, Rapunzel, has a disease called SCIDs and has been stuck in the same tower for as long as she can remember. The main conflict she faces is that she finds out Gothel isn’t her real mother. She goes through many steps trying to figure out why Gothel would even want her. The antagonist is Gothel, also known as Rapunzel’s “mother.”

Rapunzel was doing homework in her tower when she stumbled upon Facebook where she meets a guy named Fab Fane Flannigan. They start talking back and forth where they learned a lot about each other. Gothel has been going on a lot of business trips recently causing Fab to come by and bring different food and games to show Rapunzel. Rapunzel and Fab have been exploring the Mansion and going outside. After a couple of days of sneaking out together, they both go to a Halloween Party where Rapunzel gets sick. During her recovery, she overhears her mother keeping a secret away from her. Ever since that day, Fab and her have been trying to figure out the secret. Gothel finds out about Rapunzel sneaking out with Fab, and she gets really angry and decides to tell Rapunzel the secret. Rapunzel figures out that Gothel kidnapped her and was going to use her soul to bring back her dead daughter with the help of a wizard named Vedmak. For that to happen, Rapunzel would need to be healthy and they would need her long blonde hair. Turns out, Vedmak was using Gothel to get Rapunzel healthy, so he could bring back a witch from a long time ago. Vedmak creates an earthquake to try to kill Rapunzel and Fab. They both escape the mansion as it crumbles to pieces. Rapunzel ends up in the hospital where she figures out she’s not who she really is. Her name is actually Sara Rowley and her parents are divorced. Her birthday wasn’t June sixth, it was really December third. She didn’t have a place to go because her parents were practically strangers to her. Rapunzel ends up moving in with Fab and his family and they start dating.

The theme of my book is if you don’t adventure you’ll never know what nature has for you. I know this because if Rapunzel hadn’t sneaked out she would've never known that her mom was using her. She would of never been able to date Fab or known that she didn’t actually have SCIDs. I like how this story was a modern version of the original fairytale but I didn’t like how the beginning and middle were easily predictable. I also liked how the author developed a slight plot twist at the end of the story and also how she developed the characters. I recommend this story to mostly females, or anyone that loves to read romance and adventure.

Contributed by: Cecilia Ha

Friday, September 9, 2016

Shelter


Image result for Shelter by coben

Title: Shelter
Author: Harlan Coben
Genre: Mystery, Action and Adventure
Pages: 320
Awards: None at the time of this review
Rating: 5/5 stars

There is always something going on, with a lot of clues popping out in each chapter. The main character, Mickey,tries to put all the clues together so he can find out what happened to his girlfriend Ashley, and if his dad is still alive. Mickey has to make many choices throughout his journey, which leads to finding out more answers. Ashley has disappeared, at the same time an odd old lady that people call “Bat Lady,”tells Mickey that his dad is alive. However it couldn't be possible, because a few months before Ashley disappeared,Mickey and his dad got into a car crash, and sadly Mickey's dad didn't survive. All of this is happening during the school year, in a town located in Newark. This is also where Bat Lady's creepy,old house sits. Everyone in town avoids that house, which looks somewhat like a dungeon. Except one day, Mickey decides to take a stroll past Bat Lady's house and that's when weird things start happening.

Ema and Spoon are two of Mickey's best friends. They help him through everything, and they all have each others backs. Mickey isn't a very popular kid at his school and neither are his best friends, but they still have a very good bond with each other. When they find out Ashley went missing and everything turns upside down, they all stick together. Mickey does everything to try to find her. Everyday clues add up, and with the help of his best friends, Mickey tries putting them all together. Eventually everything does come together, and at the end Mickey solves the case and  finds out the truth. However, all the confusion does not get resolved until you read all 3 books. This specific novel keeps you on the edge of your seat. You will always want to read more and know what's going to happen next. If you don't like that feeling, then it's not the right book for you. You would need to read everything or you would be confused later on and the book wouldn't be as good.This book is for people who like mystery and action. More for teens  than adults,but overall both boys and girls would like it. What I really liked, was how a lot of things were happening at the same time,I was never bored when I was reading this book. Shelter really brought me in, and there really isn't anything I did not like. Later in the book after Mickey talks to Bat Lady, he starts realizing that you should never give up on looking for something/someone you love. While Mickey was looking for Ashley he would not waste one second. He risked getting killed just by looking for her. Overall I definitely think this was a great book!

Contributed by: Elizabeth Fridman

Friday, September 2, 2016

Deep Zone

Title: Deep Zone
Author: Tim Green
Pages: 304
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Awards: None for this book, yet the author has won multiple awards
Rating: 4/5 stars
Image result for deep zone tim green

This story takes place in modern day, in Miami and in New York. Miami is where Troy and Ty face off for the 7 on 7 tournament. One main character in the Deep zone is Troy. Troy is a star quarterback who can predict plays before they even happen. The main conflict in this book is the dangers outside of football. Another main character in this book is Ty. Ty Is a star wide receiver and he has amazing speed. Ty and Troy never in a million years would be thought that they have so much in common. The exposition of this book is Ty and Troy are dominating other teams. The riding action would include Ty and Troy finding out that they are facing each other. The climax of the Deep Zone would be Ty and Troy finding out that they have things other than football in common. The falling action would be Ty and Troy became really good friends. The resolution of the Deep Zone is when Troy moves to new York with Ty and the wants  to play again next year. The Deep Zone had many conflicts and many lessons but the main lesson Learned was that everyone has a story. Examples like reputations and backgrounds everyone has one. I liked this book because of the football story and it shows how the game can bring you closer to people, but can also separate you from some. But I didn't like all of the things that were going on outside of football also didn't like how the characters come from different books that was kinda confusing. If you like football then this book is for you because you can relate to some things in this book.

Here is a book trailer on this book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKTqUJB7WV4

Contributed by: J. Edwards