Teen and Staff Reviews

Teen Review
Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh

Nowhere Boy

By Katherine Marsh
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
The Quiet Starling
Jul 10, 2023

Everything begins in Belgium, where Max Howard, his parents, and his sister Claire have recently relocated. He finds it challenging to quickly adapt to his new surroundings. He had to redo sixth grade in a French school, which was the worst letdown.

In his home's basement, he one day found a wine cellar. Ahmed, a Syrian teenager of 14 years old who lacked identification and was running away from authorities, is lying there. He was alone himself and had no relatives with him. They gradually became good friends as they exchanged stories over the course of the days.

Teen Review
Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel

Half Brother

By Kenneth Oppel
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Neil J.
Jul 7, 2023

The book Half Brother is an engrossing novel based in Victoria, Canada, in the 1970s. Ben was a teenager whose father had gotten a job as a behavioral psychologist at a university. He was going to try to teach a chimpanzee how to communicate with humans using sign language. At first, Ben thought Zan, the baby chimpanzee that his parents brought home, was weird. How dare his parents have more time for some random animal than him? But soon, Zan grew on Ben and they became like brothers.

Teen Review
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince

By Holly Black
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
TeenReviewer11
Jul 7, 2023

The Cruel Prince is a fantasy novel written by Holly Black. Jude is a mortal who is swept away to Faerieland with her two sisters by Madoc. Jude struggles to fit into the Faerie world, but unlike her twin sister Taryn, she doesn’t try to blend in. Despite being bullied by the king’s children, especially Prince Cardan, she strives to attain a spot in the High Court. When she least expects it, an opportunity is presented to her, one that will help reach her dream, but also risk the safety of her family and herself.

Teen Review
Tropical Secrets by Margarita Engle

Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba

By Margarita Engle
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Jeli N.
Jul 7, 2023

Fleeing away from chaos and leaving his family behind, the 11-year-old finds himself in Cuba, hoping and dreaming for the day he can finally make music in New York City with his parents. Along the way, a kind girl named Paloma befriends Daniel. However, even in this country, the two realize that there is not only greed and sadness in Germany, but also here in Cuba. In the end, will the two ever find peace and happiness or will they find themselves reaching for something unreachable?

Teen Review
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns

By Khaled Hosseini
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Anonymous
Jul 7, 2023

Mariam is a fifteen-year-old girl growing up in Afghanistan amidst the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Sent away from her home and father to be married off to a man 30 years older, Mariam reluctantly acquiesces. As a girl in this place and time, she doesn’t have a choice. As she grows into a woman, she is forced to endure endless abuse and disrespect.

Years later, Laila is born. While Laila has a happy childhood, her life takes a turn for the worse amidst the Taliban takeover, and when her family is taken from her, she is forced to marry.

Teen Review
The Caldera by John Flanagan

The Caldera

By John Flanagan
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Mahad Z.
Jul 7, 2023

The Caldera is the seventh book in the Brotherband Chronicles series by John Flanagan. Set in a world of Viking-like cultures, the story follows Hal and his crew, the Herons, as they embark on a perilous mission to find the fabled land of Santorillos. Their journey takes them to the treacherous Caldera, a volcanic island inhabited by ruthless pirates and deadly natural forces.

Teen Review
The Titan's Curse

The Titan's Curse

By Rick Riordan
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Maddy H.
Jul 7, 2023

The Titan’s Curse is the third book in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The book follows the series' protagonist Percy Jackson and his friends, who recently discovered two powerful half-bloods. Whilst trying to recruit the half-bloods for their Camp, they are joined by a group of Artemis’ followers, the Hunters. When Artemis goes missing Percy sets off on a quest to save her, joined by friends both new and old. But can Percy and his friends save Artemis, and keep the two new half-bloods safe?

Teen Review
Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

The Sea of Monsters

By Rick Riordan
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Maddy H.
Jul 7, 2023

The Sea of Monsters is the second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. It follows the teenage half-blood Percy Jackson, the son of a god and a mortal. Percy’s last day of school is interrupted by his friend, Annabeth, who brings bad news about their magical camp, Camp Half-Blood. In an attempt to save their camp, and all of their half-blood friends who stay there, Percy, joined by Annabeth, and a new friend, ventures out to say his camp.

Teen Review
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief

By Rick Riordan
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Maddy H.
Jul 7, 2023

The Lightning Thief is Rick Riordan’s first book in the series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Percy Jackson, the book’s protagonist, is a struggling sixth grader at a boarding school. But, when Percy is constantly attacked by monsters it is finally revealed to him what he is, a half-blood, half-god, and half-human. Even though he is very new to this new world Percy is accused of stealing Zeus’ prized possession, the master bolt.

Teen Review
The Secret of the Snow by Thea Stilton

The Secret of the Snow

By Thea Stilton
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
The Quiet Starling
Jul 7, 2023

The Thea Sisters were this year's Christmas tree decorators as Christmas approached. They were summoned on a special mission by Will, Thea says as she enters the room. They discovered that an enchanted world was in peril as they entered the I.I.S. 

Someone was responsible for the disappearance of the distinctive lotus blooms produced in the region. They needed to identify the perpetrator. They encounter the tengu, a dragon, ice pixies, kitsune, and many other magical creatures along the way, who lead them to the primary suspect in the disappearance.

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