Reviews by Tag: survival

Teen Review
Dune by Frank Herbert

Dune

By Frank Herbert
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Zach D.
Oct 21, 2021

The story of Dune begins with Paul Atriedes, son of the Duke Leto. Leto is assigned to govern over the hostile desert world of Arrakis, the only source of melange. This “spice” is highly coveted, as consumption of it can cause, most notably, heightened mental abilities and limited foresight. However, the Duke’s acclimation of the planet was planned so that the Atriedes family might be left vulnerable. Paul must learn to navigate the new worlds of Arrakis and interplanetary politics, or his family will not survive.

Teen Review
Dry by Neal Schusterman

Dry

By Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Saathwika A.
Oct 21, 2021

Dry is about Alyssa and Garret, whose lives completely alter after the drought. Alyssa and Garret are siblings who live in California with their parents and uncle. Suddenly, the water supply is gone. Therefore, families turn against each other, striving for water. Her parents are gone, and her brother and her lives are threatened.  Can Alyssa fix the problem with the help of her neighbor, Kelton?

Teen Review
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

Island of the Blue Dolphins

By Scott O'Dell
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Afraah H.
Aug 28, 2021

Based on a true story, Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell, focuses on the main character Karana who enjoys life on an island with her tribe in the middle of a sea of dolphins. One day, Russians unexpectedly raid her island and attempt to make a deal to share the supply of fish equally with the islanders.

Teen Review
Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies

By William Golding
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Gemma K.
May 3, 2021

Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel which focuses on a group of British schoolboys who are stranded on a remote island. They start off with rules and a form of government, but their situation quickly turns chaotic and savage. They split into two groups, one more civilized and attempting to follow a basic moral code under the leadership of Ralph, and the other wild hunters under the control of Jack. These two groups clash with each other and this results in more than one death.

Teen Review
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Beauty Queens

By Libba Bray
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Rana S.
Feb 28, 2021

Beauty Queens follows a simple concept: what if a plane full of beauty queens crash-landed on a deserted island, a la Lord of the Flies?

Except it’s not quite so simple as that. This is the story of the survivors, fourteen typical (and atypical) beauty queens who must work together to stay alive and keep their pageant skills sharp until help arrives.

Staff Review
book cover with a songbird and snake in gold

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

By Suzanne Collins
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Kristen R
Sep 30, 2020

“Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping.” - Lucy Gray Baird

Suzanne Collins bring us another installment of the Hunger Games.  This time she takes us back in time to the Tenth Annual Hunger Games (64 years prior to The Hunger Games trilogy, before Coriolanus Snow was President). 

Teen Review
The Lovely and Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Lovely and Lost

By Jennifer Barnes

Rated by
Jessica W.
Jun 24, 2019

This book had an incredible story line, and it kept me wanting to read. There were lots of elements to the novel like mystery, love, and humor which made it even more enjoyable. The characters were easy to relate to and very intriguing. I had the same sense of desire that Kira did throughout the book- I wanted to know why things happened, and what about her past led her to her current situation just as much as Kira did. I thought the cover went well with the book because it ties into elements of the novel. It has the same mysterious tone that the book does which translates well.

Teen Review

The Ark Plan

By Laura Martin

Rated by
Mary from Lackman
Aug 27, 2018

Adventures with two boys a girl and a whole lot of dinosaurs. Sky and Shawn just escaped from the North Compound to find more information on Sky's dad, they meet tons of dinosaurs and a new friend Todd on the way who has been living topside since the pandemic.

The perfect book if you are into adventure and excitement.

Teen Review

Unbroken: An Olympian's Journey From Airman to Castaway to Captive

By Laura Hillenbrand

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
May 21, 2018

Louis Zamperini was an army air forces bomber during World War II. And before that, he was an Olympic sprinter. But now he is a captive of the Japanese forces. His plane crashed and he survived thousands of miles in the open ocean with little to no water or food. His raft eventually washed up near a Japanese base and he was sent to a POW camp. This book tells the incredible story of his survival against all odds and about the amazing life he led.

Teen Review

Boot Camp

By Todd Strasser

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Jul 3, 2017

Taken in the middle of the night, Garrett is taken to Harmony Lake, a boot camp for child delinquents. But Garrett knows he doesn’t deserve to be there. He doesn’t think he did anything wrong. He endures harsh physical and psychological abuse from both the campers and the staff. There is no way to fight back because the battle is futile. He can’t leave until he has admitted his “mistakes” and conformed to the standard of behavior. He has slowly been beaten, humiliated, and stripped of what little pride he has left, he feels he will never be able to escape.

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