The Hunger Games

This book is part of a trilogy.

Author: Suzanne Collins
Pages: 384
Genre:Action, Adventure, Dystopia
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Hunger Games is all about action and adventure. There’s a huge battle where people are fighting and killing each other to survive the Hunger Games. In Panem,  which is the future ruins of North America, there is a dangerous arena. The arena is made with traps and poisoned foods to help kill tributes. There are two tributes picked out of all 12 districts of Panem to compete in the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a competition of life or death in the arena where tributes fight to kill each other. Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old volunteered, tribute out of district 12, took her sister’s spot in the games. The other tribute out of her district was Peeta Mellark. He’s the baker’s son and has revealed his love for Katniss. When the games begin, 11 tributes are already killed on the first day, but Katniss and Peeta survive. During the games, a rule is changed saying two tributes from the same district can win the games as a pair. This actually creates a twist to the story. When Katniss finds Peeta, they team up and Katniss nurses Peeta since he’s injured. However, the rules change again. They have to kill each other in order to win. They both threaten suicide which made the announcer stop them by making them both winners of the Hunger Games. Sacrifice is the theme of The Hunger Games. One major sacrifice was made when Katniss volunteers Prim’s spot in the games. Katniss and Peeta also sacrifice themselves at the end of the games when they threaten suicide. This taught them that sometimes you’ll have to risk your life for someone you really loved or cared about. I liked how this book had mysterious twists to it to make it more interesting. Sometimes it seemed like Katniss was going to die, but she  actually end up killing. When Katniss climbed to the top of a tree a Career tribute was at the bottom with a bow and arrows trying to shoot them at her. Katniss saw a tracker jacker and cut it off of the tree to kill the tribute. Other times were when she had severe  burns or stings, sponsors would send her medicine for them. She had major times of weakness, but was able to stay strong throughout the book. The Hunger Games is suitable for male or female in 7th grade and up. You’ll probably understand and enjoy it if you’re interested in action and adventurous novels since this book is all about action.

Contributed by Khamil Douglas

Boys of Fire and Ash

Author: Meaghan McIsaac
Pages: 352
Lexile: 740
Genre: Adventure, Dystopia, and Fiction
Rating: 3/5 Stars

The setting of the book is in the Ikkuma Pit which is in the forest. This affects the plot because we don't have these places on earth and we don't have children running around in the forest. The protagonists are Urgle, Fiver, Av, Cubby, and Blaze.

The problem in the story is when Cubby, Urgle's little brother, gets abducted by Krepin’s slaves and they have to go get him back. Av is Urgle's closest friend because their big brothers were close friends. Cubby is abducted and they have to leave their territory and have to go find him in the wild and they don't know their way around. 

The book's theme is to never give up and to keep going forward even when things seem impossible. Urgle faced the challenges of almost drowning, almost had his leg amputated, and was close to starving to death. I did not like much of the book only just the theme. What I did not like about the book was that it was too far-fetched, and the ending was really bad. The characters names were too unusual for me to connect to. I would recommend this book to those who like the Hobbit series or to someone that likes adventure with unusually-named characters.

Contributed by Gavyn Dockery

Big Game

Author: Stuart Gibbs
Pages: 352
Lexile: 740
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4/5 stars

The entire story is based on finding out who shot at the rhinos and who robbed the ice cream and candy stores. C. There is action through the whole book. The setting of this book it at a zoo, and it is present time. D. The main character of Big Game is teddy, he is 12 years old, and his parents live and work at the zoo “Fun Jungle”. The other main characters are teddy’s parents, they are important to the story. This book continues from a series of two other books, so you may want to read those first.

The story starts when the keepers are walking the elephants and they hear a loud rifle shot, this small event will be very important throughout the whole story, it is the first main event to happen. When Big Game starts to have more action is, when teddy is accused of robbing a ice cream and candy store, when he never did and there was no real evidence of it, it also seems to look like it wasn't a human that did it. Later in the story the author puts in a plot twist that maybe one of the monkeys escaped and broke in, but the mean security guard marge is determined to catch him and arrest him.

The climax of Big Game is, when security thinks that the hunter was a woman not a man, but after all it was just a disguise. This was one of my favorite parts of the story. The climax also continues  when teddy, and summer (the owner’s daughter), go to one of teddy's friend’s aunt and uncle's ranch and find out some good suspects that they never really any evidence on. Also, in the story there were many events of teddy and his parents trying to catch the hunter, each time he got away, but on the first try, teddy's mom breaks her leg trying to run after him. The climax continues when teddy and summer go to check out where security thinks that the hunter shot from, at SafariLand, once they are there, they almost fall into the crocodile pit, but they escape safely. This was one of the most scary parts of the book.

The falling action in Big Game starts to happen when they set up a camera to watch the monkey that they think is escaping and catch him in the act! Then, story ends when Teddy finally finds out who shot at the rhinos, it was 2 of the zoo's employees. They almost escaped the zoo with the real rhino horns, that are worth over 1 million dollars.

The resolution of the story is  when teddy caught the two hunters and had to do it a weird way too, by making the elephants stampede again. They almost made it away with the real horns, when the zoo had the fake ones!  I really liked how the author made the book end how it started, it was interesting.

The theme of Big Game is mystery, the author shows this theme by having you wonder who shot at the rhinos all through the story and added many other stories inside the book to continue with the mystery theme. H. I really liked how this book was a mystery type of book, and I really liked how it continued from the other books in the series, and how there were 2 other mysteries inside the main story. I didn't like how the book was very long. I recommend this book to anyone that likes mystery type books and people who like animals would also enjoy this book.

Contributed by: Bobby Dengel

City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

Pages: 496

Lexile: 710

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars

This book is a young adult fantasy because it contains a variety of different supernatural beings and demon slaying teenagers and shadow-hunters. The story is about Clary Fray a teenage girl living in an apartment with her mom in Brooklyn. Clary’s life is turned upside down when her mother is kidnapped by some creature. From there Clary is dragged into the Shadow World to save her mother and everything she thought she knew about the world is challenged. The setting of modern-day Brooklyn affects the mood of the story. Countless times in the book the busy streets of Brooklyn or the dark alleyways are used for effect. The busy streets give the  reader the sense of frustration or clutter. Here is a quote from the text on pg. 261; “Clary froze, staring into the shadows at the mouth of the alley. For a panicked moment she wondered if she’d imagined the voice.” In this quote the setting of the dark alleyway creates a mysterious and spooky tone, but this is only one of the many times the alleyways are used to that effect. 

The story begins when Clary witnesses a murder by three teenagers with odd markings on their skin, who she later discovers are shadowhunters. As Clary learns a shadowhunter is a human with angel blood who is appointed the task of protecting humans from the Shadow World. Clary’s mom is kidnapped by the evil shadowhunter Valentine who seeks the Mortal Cup, a powerful weapon. She then meets one of the teenagers from the bar, Jace who helps her on her journey to rescue her mom. As the story progresses Jace and Clary grow closer and start to become more than just companions.  Along the way, Clary learns that her mom was once a shadowhunter married to Valentine and she must find and protect the Mortal Cup if she wants her mom back. The turning point in the story is when Valentine shows up and takes the Cup and Jace. Clary seeks the help of Luke, a friend of her mother’s and werewolf, to find Jace and her mom. When she finds Valentine, Clary and Jace find out they are brother and sister which makes their feelings for each other even more confusing. At the last second Valentine escapes through a portal with the Mortal Cup, and Clary’s mother is left in a comatose. with the Mortal Cup, and Clary’s mother is left in a comatose.

In the end Clary learns that you have to accept who you are to feel complete. For her this meant she had to come to terms with her shadowhunter blood and face the fact that Jace is her brother. I know this is the theme because this scenario is shown more than once in the book and can be applied to the real world. Jace also fits the theme by accepting that his father is a villainous murder and that he is happier with Clary in his life.

The only things I disliked about the book were all the new terms. Each time the author brought up a new term relating to the setting of the story she wouldn’t go into detail about it. Instead I was left to come to my own conclusions about what the author meant. For example the Clave is a term commonly used. I assume that they are the rulers of the Shadow World, but I don’t know for sure. I recommend this great story to my friends or anyone else who has the same taste in books. I know they’ll love this book because we all share the common interest of an action-packed fantasy.

Contributed by Callie Cox

My Summer of Pink and Green

Author: Amy Greenwald.
Pages: 259
Lexile: 740
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4/5 stars
This book is part of a series.

Lucy Desberg, a thirteen year old girl, is the one who tells the story. Claudia, Lucy’s older sister, came home from college for the summer to help with their family’s spa opening. Lucy was completely annoyed at her entire family because nobody was taking her seriously. Claudia was so worried because the opening date of the spa kept getting pushed back. The book took place in Connecticut, and the Desberg’s always went to the beach to hang out and have fun.

Lucy got a grant for her family’s pharmacy, which was struggling financially. The grant was for making everything eco-friendly. Her best friend, Sunny, is ignoring her and Sunny’s brother, Yamir, has a crush on Lucy, but she doesn't know it. The climax was when Mayor Danes, who gave the Desberg’s this grant, came by the pharmacy to check in and make sure everything was going smoothly. This was a big relief to the family because it meant that somebody cared about the spa opening and was there to help. Lucy then talked her sister into driving her downtown so she could go to a meeting at the library. While there, she learned a lot about business and how to help out by doing research. In the end, the spa was open and every problem had been solved.

My favorite thing about this novel is how relatable it was. By the end, I felt like I knew the characters in real life. Since it was from Lucy’s point of view, the way it was written was very similar to a diary or journal. By the last page, I felt like I knew the characters in real life.

The theme of this book for sure has to do with family life. Lucy had to express herself by behaving as a mature teenager so that her family would know how responsible she truly is. After all, actions speak louder than words, according to Lucy.

I recommend this fun book to middle school girls. It’s suspenseful throughout and will always make you want to be best friends with Lucy Desberg.

Contributed by Gracie Cohen

The Crossover

Author: Kwame Alexander

Pages: 240

Lexile: 750

Genre: Poetry, Young Adult Fiction

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Once you start reading this book, you won’t be able to stop. “The Crossover” is a amazing action-packed combo of realistic fiction and sports. This book takes place in junior high, the second most known place for drama, (the first is high school). Josh, the main character (A.K.A Filthy Mcnasty), is a fantastic basketball player who plays on his junior high team. But when his twin brother starts to hang out more with someone different than Josh, Josh feels like he’s put aside. Of course, how could I forget to mention Josh’s twin brother’s name, Jordan. Although most people call him JB, he’s like basically Josh’s equal in basketball.

The story starts of with Josh and JB scoring points in their basketball game. Later on in the week, there’s a new girl who starts there, and Josh can tell that JB is definitely interested in her. Then at one of the games, the new girl comes to watch, and JB notices, and then the next day, JB walks into lunch with her and sits with her, leaving Josh all alone. One day Josh overhears his mom arguing with his dad about going to the doctor and mentioning something about everyone in their family history has come down with some kind of heart disease. But when he tries to tell JB, he won’t listen, because he’s too busy on the phone with the new girl. Then when JB starts to hang out more and more with the girl, and eventually starts dating her, he starts making Josh angry and frustrated. Then at one basketball game, Josh finally snaps and does something so terrible, that JB doesn’t talk to him for almost the rest of the book. Later, at a park, while JB hung out with his girlfriend, Josh played a game against his dad, but then it lead to Josh’s dad collapsing and being rushed to the hospital. While Josh’s dad is still in bed, his suspension from the basketball team has gone away which means he can play. But rather than go play, (which he definitely wanted to do more than stay in a hospital waiting for nothing to happen), he stayed in the hospital with his dad. Then on the day of his championship in basketball, Josh’s dad tells him to go play and then sends JB to watch. While Josh won the championship, it came at a terrible price. Then after the incident which changes his life, Josh starts thinking in a much bigger way leading him to see that what he did to his brother was wrong.This leads us into one of the themes of the book. Be careful about what choices you make because good choices lead to good results while bad choices lead to bad results and you don’t want to make the wrong choice.

I loved how the book was written, and the way each line flowed into the next like a fluid. Plus, I love how the author put the words on the page in different ways so he could emphasize his point. The only thing I don’t like was how short it was, because I really wanted to keep reading but there was nothing more to read. People who love raps, rhythm, poems, basketball, or sports in general would love this book. Actually, anyone would like this book but if you like reading those kind of books, than you absolutely will LOVE this book!

Contributed by Phani Chintakunta

Thirteen Reasons Why

Author: Jay Asher

Pages: 304

Lexile: 550

Genre: Young adult fiction, Mystery, Drama

Rating: 4/5 stars

This book is considered young adult fiction because there are types of drama that only teens would have, also it is in the point of view of a high-schooler's life. The story takes place in a small part of a town (they never specified what city or where it is). The time is most likely current since it never really effects the story. The setting is a big part of the story because while Clay listens to the tapes he travels around town, following the path of where Hannah’s stories took place. There’s even a map at the beginning of the book, so the readers can see where all the places are. The protagonist is Hannah, and even though the reader never meets her personally, we still know all her thoughts and feelings throughout the book. The main conflict is that Hannah commit suicide (before the book started, so we never heard from her personal point of view) and now she’s sent all these tapes (explaining why she killed herself) to people who have somehow caused her death. Now, Clay, who liked Hannah and knew her personally, has to listen to why she killed herself on these cassette tapes.

The beginning starts off with Clay finding the tapes on his doorstep. Then, the rising action is when he finds out that the tapes were sent to people who caused her death. She explains that the thirteen people who are to hear these tapes did something (or didn’t do something) that caused her death. Upon this knowledge, Clay is extremely nervous to know what she said about him. So Clay ventures into the night, cassette player (he borrowed a walkman from his friend Tony) and map in hand. The climax is when Clay finally listens to his tape, and he discovers that he didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, Hannah actually liked him. The falling action is when Clay reaches the end of the tapes. Finally, the resolution is when Clay sends the tapes off to the next person (which is actually the start of the book), and he’s forced to move on. The theme of this book is that all our actions have consequences. I know this because everything that happened to Hannah, even the smallest things that people just overlooked, affected her in a way no one can ever come back from. Even if someone thought they weren’t doing anything harmful, it still caused something horrible to happen. For example, when Zach took all the notes from Hannah’s compliment bag, it seemed small but she really needed something to keep her alive. Or when Alex violated her in public. He didn’t think much of the gesture, in fact he thought it was funny, but it meant much more to her.

I liked how as Hannah was telling her stories, we could hear stories from Hannah's point of view as well as Clay’s point of view. Clay always shows how he never knew something was going on with Hannah, and that shows how this could very well happen in the real world. I also liked how realistic Clay’s reactions were. Usually, mostly in movies, people react over the top to small things that aren’t important to the story. However, in Thirteen Reasons Why, Clay acts almost exactly how I would act (if I was ever listening to something like this and in public). I like this because I feel more connected to a book when I can relate to it. If you like drama and mystery than this book is for you. Especially if you like teen novels, read Thirteen Reasons Why. This book is filled with teen drama and the mystery never stops.

Disclaimer: this book deals with suicide

Contributed by: Brynne Bursack

Spy School

Author: Stuart Gibbs

Pages: 304

Lexile: 740

Genre: Mystery, adventure

Rating: 5/5 stars

This book is called Spy-School, by Stuart Gibbs. It is a mystery and action book. It takes place in Washington D.C. The main characters travel to the Washington Monument, the National Mall and to the White House. The protagonist is Ben Ripley, and he is faced with the task of defeating SPYDER. Erica Hale is Ben’s best friend, and helps him defeat SPYDER.

It begins in a normal middle school, then Ben gets carted off to the academy of espionage and must take SACSA exams. also he gets attacked by a professional assassin. Then, he finds out that he is mole bait. his search to find the mole becomes more difficult when he finds a bomb under the school. Erica and ben get locked in a closet with the bomb. They successfully defuse it and save the school. In the end , Erica’s dad ends up stealing all the credit and claims it for himself.

It’s a story about danger and daring. I know this because they are constantly in danger. Furthermore, they are always running towards danger, like the fact that instead of hiding in the top of the Washington Monument. I really like this book because it is relatable. Also, there are lots of cool things and places that they go and do. Also, it puts a new perspective on life. I would recommend this book to anybody in middle school and up who likes realistic fiction. This is a great read, highly recommended. this book is one of my personal favorites.

Contributed by Liam D.

Me and Earl and The Dying Girl

Author: Jesse Andrews

Pages: 298

Lexile: 820

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Young Adult

Rating: 2/5 stars

Disclaimer: This book is realistic fiction and young adult, because it involves many adult topics and profanity. Although the book does not consist of actual events, readers can relate to the issues the characters experienced.

The main character of this story is a senior in high school, and his name is Greg Gaines. He has to confront his insecurities ,and he is searching for  an identity. You will learn a lot about how Greg has somehow managed to avoid being one of those “lame” kids with no friends. Greg doesn’t really have any friends, but there is this one kid that he hangs out with. His name is Earl. Greg and Earl are pretty much complete opposites. Earl is his own person and does whatever he wants. No one is stopping him. Greg on the other hand, has a mom that is too involved in his social life. But I wouldn’t really consider Greg and Earl friends. They’re more like associates or business partners. They work together on creating these really pointless films.  Earl really isn’t a good influence on Greg, but he somehow manages to keep Greg in check. A majority of the story takes place at a hospital and in a teenage girl’s bedroom. The hospital setting definitely gives the reader a dull and sad feeling. The teenage girl’s bedroom helps the reader relate to the teenagers in the story. This book takes place in our current time because the characters are using modern day technology. They also use a lot of present time slang in this book.

Greg is that kid that has really bad social skills. He struggles with communicating with kids around him. It’s as if Greg doesn’t exist. No one notices him. Greg has somehow managed to just blend in and stay low key his whole life. Greg has one friend, and his name is Earl. They have made films together since they were in elementary school.

Greg and Earl make mediocre films that would likely never be produced. Although they are not very good movies, one of their classmates, Rachel enjoys watching the films. When Greg finds out Rachel, has been diagnosed with leukemia, he and Rachel’s mother decide that Greg would be the best person to make Rachel feel better about her illness. Greg is worried about her watching these films, because he does not think they are good. Earl doesn’t care if they are good and would do anything to make Rachel feel better, so he lends her the films. One of Rachel’s friends realize how much she likes the films and asks Greg to make Rachel a film to make her want to keep fighting. He takes on this challenge with his coworker Earl. Once they complete the film they aren’t happy with how it turns out, and Greg can tell Rachel doesn’t like it. She has still gave up fighting, and she has accepted that she is going to die. The theme of this book would be to care about others, and don’t be selfish. Greg hasn’t really ever had anyone to care about but himself. Now he’s in a situation where he has to care for someone else that is in serious need. At the beginning, Greg really struggles to comfort Rachel, because he is trying so hard to be someone he is not. Greg is too selfish to give Rachel his films to watch so Earl does it. When Earl does this, Greg gets highly upset. 

I liked that this book wasn’t like the Fault in Our Stars at all. It didn’t automatically make everything about Greg and Rachel being in love. I also really like that this book actually taught the reader a lesson about sacrificing for others. I dislike how this book involves so many chapters that don’t have anything to do with the plot. Some parts were funny but most of the book was filled with humor from the narrator, but the jokes really just fell flat. (I) If you have a really good sense of humor you will love this book. I say this because the comedy really isn’t something that just anyone will find funny. You will also enjoy this book if you like books with unique formats. I give this book two stars because I did not find it very funny but I like the plot of the story.

Contributed by: Faith Bland

The Maze Runner

Author: James Dashner
Pages: 384
Lexile: 770
Genre: Dystopia
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This book is the first book in a trilogy.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner is a very interesting and exciting novel. This book takes place in a future dystopian society, and goes under the genre of science fiction. The setting of the book plays a major part in the plot, “the maze”. All of the characters reside in an area in the center of the maze called “the glade”. The maze is inescapable, as far as the “gladers” know. The main character, Thomas, is a teen boy who, like all other gladers, came into the maze with no knowledge of himself other than his name. Because of this, Thomas spends much of the beginning of the book confused and wondering what he’s supposed to do. He wants to help the gladers out of the maze, and is willing to do anything to do so, even though he doesn’t have any idea how. In the start of the book, Thomas is arriving in the glade, confused as ever. The other gladers spend days attempting to explain to him what was going on, or at least as much as they know. Just when Thomas has begun to adjust to the glade, strange things start to happen. Someone new is brought into the glade, claiming they know Thomas in some way. This makes Thomas more confused and curious about this place, if that was even possible. Throughout the book, Thomas goes through many struggles and adventures as he tried to find out who he is and what he’s going to do about his situation. One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the character development. As I mentioned before, Thomas starts out as nearly nothing, and as he makes more decisions and learns more, he slowly becomes a hero to those around him and himself. One thing I didn’t like about the book was the lack of closure at the end, but it did a good job making me want to read the rest of the series. Overall, the book was a rather fast read that I enjoyed. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in sci-fi dramas, or books like The Hunger Games or Divergent.

Contributed by Cassie Beisheim

The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green
Pages: 336
Lexile: 850
Genre: Romantic Drama
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The book takes place in Indianapolis.  This book takes place in current times. Hazel Grace is the main character and is a seventeen year old girl with cancer.  She has had cancer since she was a young girl. Another character is Augustus Waters.  He is a boy Hazel meets at the cancer support group in a church shaped like a cross. The support group meets in the middle of the cross because they feel like they are in the middle of Jesus’s heart.  Hazel’s mom makes her attend the meetings.  Hazel feels like she does not need the support group.  Then one day she met Augustus (Gus) Waters and there is an immediate connection between the two.  They kept staring at each other during the meeting.  Throughout the book Hazel and Gus become really good friends and fall in love. The main conflict of the story is that both of them have cancer and the story is about living.

The book starts with the beginning of Hazel and Gus’s relationship.  They start as friends and then fall in love.  They go on a trip to Amsterdam together and Hazel finds out some unfortunate news.  The rest of the book deals with the aftermath of the unfortunate news.

Gus teaches Hazel that it does not matter that you have cancer, you can still live your life to the fullest.  Before Hazel met Gus, she spent her time re-reading the same fictional novel by her favorite author and watching television with her mom.  No friends ever come over to the house to visit with Hazel.  Once Hazel meets Gus everything changes.  He teaches her how to live life and enjoy life.  Hazel realizes she has to live her life to the fullest.

I liked Gus the most.  He was able to change Hazel, he was romantic, and he was a good friend not just to Hazel but to his friend who goes blind.  One thing I did not like about the book was that overall it was a sad book. People who like romance, drama, and are not afraid to cry will like this book.  I think this book deserves five stars for it’s amazing characters and fun story.

Contributed by: Melissa Batchman

Independent Study

Author: Joelle Charbonneau

Pages: 336

Lexile: 840

Rating: 3/5 stars

This book is the second book in the Testing Series. The book is another spin on a dystopian and corrupt society after a large scale civil war. The book is about Cia who survived the testing in the first book. She was able to keep many of her memories alive, by recording them and keeping the recorder hidden, where she slowly regained her memory after having it wiped. The main conflict takes place around Tosu City, which was Witchita, Kansas, and the outlying land around it. The outlying regions around it are very important because they are a constant reminder of the “7 Stages of War”. These revitalized areas are were many challenges for the students take place, because of the many chemical mutant animals.

The protagonist of the story is Malenica Vale, or Cia. She has survived the testing experience, watching friends kill friends and seeing people betray to get ahead. Though she does not remember who betrayed who, so she is always told to never trust anyone. Though she has trouble facing the reality of the university, that failure, is punishable by death. Making it so intense that students will kill to get ahead. The conflict Cia faces is the fact that her school is killing people almost for sport, and not just to test, and even that she believes is wrong. Cia believes she must stop the University of the United Commonwealth by stopping Dr. Barnes. (E). Dr. Barnes is the head of the university and is responsible for the countless deaths, and has followers all through the Government, slowly corrupting it so he can take control. Dr. Barnes controls Cia’s whole life and schooling by being able to track her, watch her, make her take classes, test her whenever, and even if he feels like it kill her for failing. He controls all matters of life and he can destroy any political boundary that comes into play with his mass following.

The main plot of the story consists of Cia, learning about the rebellion from Michael. Michael was her guide and a university official who was working with Symon, a rebellion leader. Cia decides to join and does what Michael says of learning faces and who can be an asset. Cia slowly starts to realize what “redirection” means after she watches her friend Obadiah get carried out on a stretcher and body bag after he fails a test. She is soon faced with another test of the sorts, this time with teams where she is almost betrayed by Damone, who tries to trap her in a steel box and suffocate her. Only do her friends save her, when she realizes that the abandoned air force base wasn't so abandoned. Soon into her studies she finds out that she will be interning for the president. The president soon discloses to Cia that a vote will be taking place to get Dr. Barnes out of power. Though she also learns that the president is part of the rebellion, but the president is ready for a war, not a peaceful attack. Soon after this discovery, Dr. Barnes sends Damone to go kill Cia, and stop her. Where the reverse happens, having Damone be thrown into a pit. After which she returns to the base to find her brother sitting there and waiting for her, though she thought he was trapped in 5 Lakes Colony. When she returns with evidence for Symon and Michael, to give to the president to help free everyone from what has become of Dr. Barnes. She finds that Symon has shot Michael and destroyed the evidence. She learns that Symon was working with Dr. Barnes all along and that they only reason the rebellion existed was to rat out people who didn’t believe in the system.

The theme of Independent Study is freedom of choice. The author constantly states over and over how the characters want to make their own decision and do whatever they want to do and choose where they live. Though they can't make those choices because Dr. Barnes dictates it all and decides everything, even who lives and who dies. They constantly are forced into jobs, and internships, into the University without choice at all, and that is why the theme is freedom of choice. (H) I really enjoyed all the twists and turns in the book, and I really thought it was a great plot point making Cia so sophisticated and being able to figure out small clues. I enjoyed that when Cia noticed something like fresh branches, it wasn’t just branches, the author gave you clues as to what that could mean and let you and Cia, really piece together the reality of the story. What I did not like about the book, was how the author constantly said something doesn't exist, like there can't be unsanctioned colonies, and then next thing you know there is an five unsanctioned colonies on the border of Tosu City. There were five illegal colony right under the capitals city’s nose, that makes no sense. I also disliked that the author never actually stated what the “7 Stages of War” was, and what caused it. I would give this book a 3 out of 5 stars, while it does have good twists, there are some things the author just doesn't have an explanation for other than poor planning. I think anyone who enjoys books such as The Hunger Games, Legend, or Divergent would enjoy this book.

Contributed by Miles B, 8th grader

Summer Reading Programs

Hey readers!  Summer is here (thankfully), and now is a great time to get signed up for the summer reading program in your area.  There are free summer reading programs offered through the City of St. Louis library system, the St. Louis County library system, and the St. Charles City-County Library district.

Happy reading!

It’s Kind of a Funny Story

Author: Ned Vizzini
Pages: 646
Lexile: 700
Genre: Young-adult fiction
Rating: 4/5 stars



This book is a great mix of young-adult fiction and comedy, with hints of romance. It takes place in present-day Manhattan. The part of Manhattan that Craig lives in has amazing schools and hospitals around. The protagonist, Craig Gilner, is a depressed teenager. Craig and his best friend, Aaron, both make it into one of Manhattan’s best schools, Executive Pre-Professional High School. Craig starts falling behind as he believes he is not as smart as them. He starts getting lower grades than the other students, which stress him out because he thinks he can’t get a good job unless he’s perfect. Eventually one night Craig almost kills himself, but instead he takes a different route which you will learn about in this book. The theme of the story is no matter how bad things are, they will get better.

The author Ned Vizzini spent 5 days in a mental ward. This book will help people get out of depression or sadness. I loved the hilarious moments in the book. Craig and Bobby were very funny. The one thing I disliked was the long introduction to everything. It took too long to introduce all the characters and explain their stories. Teens who love a good laugh will enjoy reading this book. Also if you are stressed out or depressed, this book can help you get out of it. Finally, I would rate this book 4 stars; it’s a great read for all kinds of different people.

Contributed by Niko Barstow, 8th grader