Teen and Staff Reviews

Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets is the second hilarious installment in Dav Pilkey’s beloved series. George and Harold are back with their usual mischief, but this time, things go terribly wrong when they accidentally create an army of evil talking toilets! With the school in chaos, Captain Underpants must step in once again to save the day in his hilarious and unconventional style.

Captain Underpants: The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey is a hilarious and action-packed book that introduces readers to the dynamic duo of George and Harold, two mischievous fourth graders, and their accidentally created superhero, Captain Underpants. The story revolves around the boys’ prank-filled lives, their conflicts with their grumpy principal Mr. Krupp, and the wild adventure that ensues when they hypnotize him into becoming the fearless but clueless Captain Underpants.

Big Nate: Aloha! takes Nate Wright on a hilarious new adventure as he heads to Hawaii for what he hopes will be the perfect vacation. True to form, Nate’s trip is anything but smooth sailing, and the usual chaos, mishaps, and Nate-style disasters follow him, even in paradise. This tropical twist brings fresh scenarios for Nate’s comedic personality to shine. I’d give this book a 5 out of 5 because it keeps the humor alive while adding a fun, new setting to the series.

In my opinion, Atomic Habits is one of the most accessible and actionable self-help books out there. Author, James Clear presents a lot of useful strategies, like the "Habit Loop," where a cue triggers a routine that leads to a reward, and he emphasizes the importance of designing your environment to make good habits easier to follow. What I really liked is how Clear breaks down complex psychological ideas into simple, relatable examples.

In my opinion, Animal Farm is a brilliant and powerful work that captures the dangers of power and corruption in a way that’s easy to understand, even if you don’t know much about the historical context. Orwell’s use of animals to represent real historical figures and political movements makes the story both engaging and accessible, while also delivering a biting critique of how revolutions can go wrong.

Dawn of the Dead: Dawn of the Iconic Status

Dawn of the Dead is one of the best horror films ever made. While this movie is gruesome, violent, and at some times just plain disgusting it is also iconic, funny, and crafted well. Art is subjective and in a way this movie is art, just set in a more darker tone. It’s about a plague that takes over the nation causing the recently dead to rise from their graves with a hunger for living flesh. 

Daydream by Hannah Grace is a long and repetitive book with no clear message or image that sets itself apart from the other two books in the Maple Hills Series. This book is about Henry and Halle and how two unlikely people can come together for a mutual benefit situation. Henry gets help from her for a class he can’t seem to get and Halle gets new experiences from Henry to help her write her romance book. 

It is 1957 Madrid, Spain, and Daniel Matheson, an 18-year-old Spanish American photographer is visiting Spain for the first time. All Daniel wants to do is get eye-opening photos for his portfolio and get into journalism school. However, his father, an oil baron, who is signing a deal with Generalissimo Francisco Franco, has other plans for Daniel. He wants Daniel to join the family oil company. Throughout navigating this messy time in Daniel’s life he meets Ana Moreno, an employee at the Castellana Hilton, the hotel he’s staying at.

This book is brilliantly bizarre. Then She Was Gone, by Lisa Jewell, had presented itself as something different to me, but although it's not my favorite genre, this book kept me hooked and waiting for the next twist. Each twist was riveting and unique, and my jaw dropped several times. The plot unraveled beautifully at the end, in a way that made you think, "That makes sense." I felt that the book explored the antagonist beautifully, if not too in detail.

Old Man's Cave, is a graphic novel, the sixth book of a nine-book series called Bone. At the end of the fourth book, the Bones and the creatures escape the mountain and Roque Ja defeats Kingdok. In addition, Bartleby rejoins the rat creatures. In this book, the Bones meet the little Bug Ted in the forest, who tells them about what happened with the Dragon and the Rat Creatures earlier. They find out that the rat creatures invaded the valley.