Teen and Staff Reviews

Teen Review
The Tempest

The Tempest

By William Shakespeare
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Nihanth D.
Apr 24, 2023

The Tempest is Shakespeare’s last play, and one of his most magical. The play is about
a wizard, Prospero, who wrecks a ship carrying some people who’ve previously wronged him
and manipulates the survivors to exact his revenge and return to his role as the Duke of Milan.
But be warned: everything is not as it seems, and the ending of this book carries a lesson that
I’ve remembered since reading this book. I love the story of this book because unlike his other

Teen Review
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet

By William Shakespeare
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Nihanth D.
Apr 24, 2023

Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare is one
of the greatest playwrights of all time and one of the biggest influences on English literature,
and Romeo and Juliet is considered to be one of his greatest works. The play takes place in
Verona, where Romeo and Juliet meet each other and fall in love. This isn’t any regular love

Teen Review
Atonement

Atonement

By Ian McEwan
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Rhyan
Apr 24, 2023

Atonement written by Ian McEwan is a piece of historical fiction that follows the lives of the Tallis family in the early to mid 20th century. The reader follows the sisters Briony and Cecilia Tallis and the groundskeeper's son Robbie Turner on a hot summer’s day in the family’s household as they prepare for the eldest Tallis son to return from college. Briony is an imaginative and naive 13 year old girl trying to convince her visiting cousins to perform her written play.

Teen Review
Shooting the Moon

Shooting the Moon

By Frances O'Roark Dowell
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Rishi
Apr 21, 2023

Jamie, a twelve-year-old girl, grew up in an Army family and has always felt proud and amazed when talking about the Army. Her brother, TJ, goes to Vietnam and she is really excited on his behalf and she tells him to send letters about all his adventures. However, instead TJ sends her pictures that need to be developed, most of them are of the moon while the others show experiences that are different than what she imagined. When her brother’s letters stop coming, Jamie’s beliefs are questioned.

Teen Review
Educated by Tara Westover

Educated

By Tara Westover
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Isobel P.
Apr 21, 2023

This was one of the most inspiring memoirs that I have ever read. We read about Tara Westover’s personal experiences living in a very strict, radical Mormon family. It’s a very empowering book about her journey out of her prison-like life under her radical, abusive father. She talks about all of the challenges she faced as her brainwashed religious side fought against the other side of her that wanted an education and wanted to leave her home. You get to read about her journey to getting an education after not being taught much as a young girl.

Teen Review
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay

By Suzanne Collins
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Helton W.
Apr 21, 2023

Suzanne Collins provides the third and final installment of the dystopian series, The Hunger Games, in Mockingjay. Katniss Everdeen has survived both the 24th and 25th Hunger Games, but she has also established herself as an enemy to the State, against the Capitol and tyrannical President Snow. Her wins have inspired rebellions across Panem Districts as she has become the symbol of freedom against the oppressive government.

Teen Review
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire

By Suzanne Collins
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Helton W.
Apr 21, 2023

Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. In this novel, Katniss Everdeen continues in her battle for survival in the post-apocalyptic world and tyrannical rule of Panem’s Capitol. Katniss and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark have just won the 74th Hunger Games, defiantly and in their own way, angering the Capital and sparking acts of rebellion in several Districts.

Teen Review
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games

By Suzanne Collins
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Helton W.
Apr 21, 2023

The Hunger Games is a dystopian novel by Suzanne Collins that tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in poverty-stricken District 12 of Panem. Set in what is assumed as futuristic North America, the ruling Capital chooses teen tributes, one girl and one boy, from each district each year to participate in the Hunger Games as punishment for their part in an uprising against the city decades before.

Teen Review
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray

By Oscar Wilde
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Helton W.
Apr 21, 2023

Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, originally published in 1890, details the life of exceedingly handsome Dorian Gray, who comes to live a decadent lifestyle in Victorian London. While initially innocent, symbolized by his alluring countenance, he becomes obsessed with a desire for eternal youth and beauty. Through his acquaintance with mysterious aristocrat Lord Henry Wotton, he enters a bargain in which he will remain handsome and youthful, while a painting of him, created by artist Basil Hallward, ages.

Teen Review
Purple Hibiscus

Purple Hibiscus

By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Helton W.
Apr 21, 2023

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a powerful story following the life of Kambili, a fifteen-year-old girl living in Nigeria. The novel explores many themes, including identity, faith, family, resilience and politics. Kambili lives with her religious and oppressive family, and is required to make painful decisions for survival of both her home-life circumstances as well as her country’s changing political climate.

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