Teen and Staff Reviews

Teen Review
Kiss and Tell by Adib Khorran

Kiss and Tell

By Kiss and Tell by Adib Khorram
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Tyler H.
May 5, 2022

Kiss and Tell is a story about Hunter, a boy going through a hard breakup with his boyfriend. A boy who is also in a band that is widely popular. But he doesn’t know how to be the perfect gay boy for the band. Stuck between things The Label wants from him and the new relationship he’s falling into with another band’s drummer, Hunter is stuck. But when the media’s idea of him is changed after some texts get leaked, he must juggle his actual life and what people want from him.

Teen Review
Night by Elie Wiesel

Night

By Elie Wiesel
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Anonymous
May 4, 2022

Night is a non-fiction memoir book written by Elie Wiesel. The book is about how Jews were treated by the Nazis in concentration camps while they were being persecuted. The main characters are Elie and his father. He and his father want to escape the camps while they endure hard labor but the Nazis won’t let the Jews escape. Elie tries to survive the time through the winter in the camp by not running out of food or water during the journey.

Teen Review
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Crooked Kingdom

By Leigh Bardugo
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
A_Gascich
May 3, 2022

Crooked Kingdom is a fantasy novel written by Leigh Bardugo. It is the second novel in the Six of Crows duology. After being double crossed, Kaz Brekker and his crew are faced with new enemies as more powerful forces search for the dangerous drug, jurda parem.

Teen Review
Legend by Marie Lu

Legend

By Marie Lu
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
A_Gascich
May 3, 2022

Legend by Marie Lu is the first book in the Legend series. Set in a dystopian future United States, Legend is told from two points of view: June, a government prodigy and Day, an infamous criminal. After Day supposedly kills June’s brother, she sets out to hunt him down. When their paths cross, June’s loyalties are called into question as she discovers Day may not be as bad as her superiors say.

Teen Review
What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

What If It’s Us

By Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Ken
May 3, 2022

What If It’s Us is about two guys named Ben and Arthur who met at a New York City post office. Arthur was on his way to work, while Ben was sending off a heartbreaking box with his ex-boyfriend's belongings in it. When the two crossed paths, they were unable to forget each other even though they thought they would never see each other again. They defied all odds and find each other once more and decide to start a relationship, but will their flourishing relationship last?

Teen Review
Shameful Flight by Stanley Wolpert

Shameful Flight

By Stanley Wolpert
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Paranjay S.
May 3, 2022

In Shameful Flight, Wolpert analyzes the British exit of India and the permanent effects it had on society. His book follows the various political figures that were key in the partition such as Nehru, Jinnah, Atlee, and Mountbatten. The book shows the process of the partition and focuses the blame on Mountbatten, who in his haste, left India with no unity and arbitrary boundaries.

Teen Review
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

By Haruki Murakami
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Mariam S.
Apr 30, 2022

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami is a complex contemporary novel with elements of mystery and magical realism. The story follows a young man named Toru Okada who, at the beginning of the novel, is told by his wife to look for their missing cat. His journey takes him from the suburbs of Tokyo to a supposedly haunted house to the bottom of a well to a strange dream world that somehow affects reality. In the process of looking for their lost cat, he loses his wife as well.

Teen Review
Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Red White and Royal Blue

By Casey McQuiston
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Mariam S.
Apr 30, 2022

Red White and Royal Blue is a contemporary young adult novel. It follows Alex Claremont-Diaz (the love of America and the son of the first female president) and his nemesis/fake friend/lover Henry (a British prince who also happens to be gay). Alex and Henry’s burgeoning relationship undergoes trials and tribulations throughout the entire book – from Alex’s perception of Henry as an annoyingly perfect douchebag to Henry’s reticence to show his feelings.

Teen Review
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

By V.E. Schwab
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Mariam S.
Apr 30, 2022

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a novel with elements of historical fiction and magical realism. Addie is a young woman, born in sixteenth-century France. She hates the life set out for her: never leaving the village, never seeing anything new. She refuses to resign herself to a life of marriage and children; on her wedding night, she takes a risk. By praying to the old gods who answer after dark, she falls under a curse to be forgotten forever unless she agrees to give up her soul.

Teen Review
Cramm This Book by Olivia Seltzer

Cramm This Book

By Olivia Seltzer
Star Rating
★★

Rated by
Mariam S.
Apr 30, 2022

Cramm This Book is a useful briefer on most of the important events going on today, as well as past events that are still relevant. Topics covered include recent wars such as the Vietnam War, the war in Afghanistan, natural disasters such as Katrina, diseases like AIDS, movements like BLM and #MeToo, and even more. The book also offers a helpful briefing on “the isms and phobias” where Seltzer defines and provides examples of discrimination due to xenophobia, homophobia, racism, sexism, islamophobia, etc.

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