BOOK REVIEW: The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler

Good Reads Summary:

When Alice's father goes down in a shipwreck, she is sent to live with her uncle Geryon--an uncle she's never heard of and knows nothing about. He lives in an enormous manor with a massive library that is off-limits to Alice. But then she meets a talking cat. And even for a rule-follower, when a talking cat sneaks you into a forbidden library and introduces you to an arrogant boy who dares you to open a book, it's hard to resist. Especially if you're a reader to begin with. Soon Alice finds herself INSIDE the book, and the only way out is to defeat the creature imprisoned within.

It seems her uncle is more than he says he is. But then so is Alice.

Book Review:

The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler is filled with adventure, a little romance and fantasy. Alice, the main character in the book is a studious young lady who after losing her father goes to live with one of her uncles who she has never met. In her new home, a mansion also known as "The Library" she meets Emma, a plain looking girl who is a servant on the estate. As Alice begins to settle in and explore her new home, she starts to question what happened to her father and looks to the others in "The Library" for answers, this is where the book gets interesting.

 

 

Django Wexler does a good job describing Alice and the other characters in the book so that it is easy to build a picture in your mind of what the characters are doing and expressing. The author chose the right number of characters so that the reader would not be confused about where they fit in. There are lots of plot twists that keep you interested. Each twist had lots of detail, and many supporting ideas that helped you feel connected to the novel. The chapters are the right length for reading in the car and the right length for capping over what was happening, enough detail so it was a good story but not too much that you would lose interest. It was an easy book to read and understand. I liked that the author put some images in the book. As the book goes on, Alice's adventures become more extreme. Alice moves into a fantasy world full of fairies, magic, and monsters. One of my favourite quotes from the book is:

 

"Ashes," Alice said, in a tone of extremely strained patience. "Where are we?" He sighed, which was an odd sound to hear from a cat.

"We're inside the book, of course. The one you read; The Swarm." Alice laughed.

"You're not serious."

"Don't ask questions if you don't want to hear the answers," Ashes said. He swished his tail, offended, and started off down one of the corridors. Alice, feeling the first thrills of fear, hurried after him.

"All right, all right," she said. "We're inside the book. How did we get here?"

"You brought us," the cat said. "You have the gift, apparently. You're a reader."

 

If you like fantasy books, action and mysteries, then this would be a great book for you to try to unravel. Once you begin you won't want to put the book down!

By Jillian (Teen Reviewer)

Teen Book Review: The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey

Amazon Summary:

   For fans of Cassandra Clare's City of Bones and Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone, The Girl at Midnight is the story of a modern girl caught in an ancient war.

     Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.

     Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.

     Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, though if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.

But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.

 

Book Review:

    

     Melissa Grey’s “The Girl at Midnight” showcases the exotic and adventurous lives of the ‘Avicen’ people and will leave you on the edge of your seat. This story is narrated similar to a movie; where the characters are vividly expressed through a spectator-like position.  The reader is able to get a full grasp on all that’s happening.

     The story’s brisk plot-line and moderately short chapters allows the tale to flow together with ease making it an easy and enjoyable read. It is an upbeat and fascinating book that showcases the exploration of the legend of the Avicen. Overall, I really enjoyed this book as it has a little something for everyone and kept me engaged throughout every page. If you are a reader of magic, action, adventure, or all of the above, this book is perfect to satisfy your literature needs. This book was very well written and I would definitely recommend it. I would give it 5 out of 5 stars ★★★★★. Next time you step into your local library make sure to give this book a go!

 

Happy reading!

~Jenna (Teen Reviewer)

“One needs only a single match to start a fire”

“Every good fairy tale has a kernel of truth to it.”

~Melissa Grey, The Girl at Midnight

Teen Book Review: The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan & Maureen Johnson

 

Amazon Summary:

     Fans of The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices can get to know warlock Magnus Bane like never before in this collection of New York Times bestselling tales, in print for the first time with an exclusive new story and illustrated material.

     This collection of eleven short stories illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality, flamboyant style, and sharp wit populate the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices.

     Originally released one-by-one as e-only short stories by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Rees Brennan, this compilation presents all ten together in print for the first time and includes a never-before-seen eleventh tale, as well as new illustrated material.

Book Review:

     The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Maureen Johnson is an extra to both The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series. It’s about important life events of one of the most interesting and mysterious characters in the books; a powerful warlock named Magnus Bane. There’s 11 stories to explain how he came to be who he is, how he formed relationships with certain people, where he’s stood in positions of power and important events, just many different components to his character. It answers a lot of what hadn’t been said about him.

     I found this book read like a movie more than anything. I didn’t particularly relate with any characters, but it was entertaining and made me want to keep reading more. I liked how there was a lot of humour to it but kept it serious enough to have a story to it. In the previous mentioned series, there were many instances where an event would be mentioned but not fully explained. Many of those events were explained in The Bane Chronicles. I would recommend this book if you have read the other series. It was a fun and entertaining read and I enjoyed it.

Ian (Teen Reviewer)

Teen Book Review: All Fall Down by Ally Carter

 

Amazon Summary:

Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things:

1. She is not crazy.
2. Her mother was murdered.
3. Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.

      As certain as Grace is about these facts, nobody else believes her -- so there's no one she can completely trust. Not her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. Not her new friends, who all live on Embassy Row. Not Alexei, the Russian boy next door, who is keeping his eye on Grace for reasons she neither likes nor understands.

      Everybody wants Grace to put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, blocking out all her unpretty thoughts. But they can't control Grace -- no more than Grace can control what she knows or what she needs to do. Her past has come back to hunt her . . . and if she doesn't stop it, Grace isn't the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.

Book Review:

     All Fall Down is about Grace Blakely a 16-year-old teenager struggling for answers. It's been three years since she watched her mother die. Her mother's death was ruled an accident but Grace knows her mother was murdered by a man with a scar. Three years and nothing has changed; until Grace's grandfather decided that she should live in the US Embassy with him. All is well, until Grace finds the murderer of her mother, the man with the scar. Also, Grace is reunited with some old friends and makes some new ones from the Embassy Row. Even with some help from her friends nobody believes Grace and they all think she's going crazy… again.

     Ally Carter is the New York best-selling author of her two series, Gallagher girls and Heist society. I personally thought the beginning of the book was slow but the more you read the book, the better it got. It was pretty fast-paced and I couldn't put the book down until I was finished. I would recommend this novel for mystery lovers. Overall, I gave this book a 4/5 rating.

~Cassidy (Teen Reviewer)

Teen Book Review: Galgorithm by Aaron Karo

 

Amazon Summary:

A romantic comedy that’s “a good choice for fans of John Green” (Booklist) about high school, heartbreak, and having all the answers.

What if the secrets of dating and love were revealed in one simple formula? That’s the tantalizing proposition high school senior Shane Chambliss offers the hopeless and hapless guys who come to him for relationship advice.

After the girl of his dreams breaks his heart, Shane devises a mysterious formula called the Galgorithm and establishes himself as the resident dating guru at Kingsview High School. But his attempts to master the art of romance go outrageously awry.

As Shane tries to navigate the ensuing drama, he must follow his heart, abandon all the rules, and ignore his own advice in a quest for true love. What he discovers, no formula could ever predict...

 

Book Review:

     Galgorithm is a book about a boy named Shaun who has had a terrible break-up, and has tried to make an algorithm to help fellow guys on how to get the girl of their dreams.  But... He seems to be having trouble with his own love life.  Though he has calculated everything to the last smile and batting eyelash, he soon discovers that no one can figure out the inner workings of the female mind.

 

     I would rate this book a nine out of ten, because of the originality and how the author describes the characters.  I also like how the chapters weren't extremely long and every time you started a new chapter it was like the author introduced a new problem that needed fixing.  I would most definitely recommend this book to people who love a good comedy and romance because every time I opened the book and started reading I was laughing to myself, and the occasional scandal occurred.  Overall, this book is one of my new favourites.  It is a must read and I hope you read it this summer.

Margaret (Teen Reviewer)

Teen Book Review: Solitaire by Alice Oseman

 BONUS! This outstanding book as 2 reviews!

 

Goodreads Summary:

 

     My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that’s all over now.

Now there’s Solitaire. And Michael Holden.

I don’t know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don’t care about Michael Holden.

I really don’t.

This incredible debut novel by outstanding young author Alice Oseman is perfect for fans of John Green, Rainbow Rowell and all unflinchingly honest writers.

 

 

Book Review #1:

 

     Alice Oseman was 17 years old when she wrote this book. Alice is an exceptional writer and wrote the main character from the point of view of an average teenager. It is written as Victoria Spring's prospective of high school and life.

 
     Solitaire is a novel about Victoria Springs, but she prefers to be called Tori. Tori is in year 12 at Higgs High School.  She is very introverted, basically hates everyone and spends most of her time blogging. Tori is also lonely, depressed, and unhappy in her own little world. One day Tori decides to follow a Post-it Notes trail that started at her locker and ends in a computer lab.  That is where Solitaire was created. Solitaire is a pranking blog group made up of mystery people or a person who pull pranks on the school. As the book progresses, the pranks start getting out of hand and people start getting hurt. While this is all going on, Victoria is reunited with an old childhood friend, Michael and they start re-connecting. Michael is happy and social. Becky is her best friend through the novel. We also meet Charlie, Victoria's brother, who is also struggling with mental health.

Throughout this bumpy journey of unexpected twists and turns, Solitaire isn't what you think it is.

I give this book 5/5 stars and recommend this book to any teenager looking for a realistic, funny and adventurous novel.

 Cassidy (Teen Book Reviewer)

 

 

Book Review #2

     Sometimes there’s no such thing as perfect, there’s only okay. Solitaire is the story of a girl, named Victoria Spring who discovers this after much complication. Solitaire is a journey of friendship, strength, at times isolation, and perhaps even heart break. Victoria is comfortable with her life, but not necessarily happy. She knows she could be happy, but this would require giving into things like curiosity and love which could just as equally make her life worse as they could better. Throughout this novel we are exposed to the realities of life which can sometimes be tough, but often turn out okay. Or in extreme cases, better than okay.

 

     As Victoria experiences good things, bad things and new things she starts to see the change in herself and the truth about those around her. Victoria’s character develops immensely through the last few chapters especially, which allows us to see just how strong she really is. This character development made the entire book for me, it inspired me to stand up for what is right even when no one else has the courage to. I judged the book harshly at the beginning, but was surprised when it proved me wrong. After reading it front to back I was awed by this heartwarming novel and would strongly recommend it.

I hope you enjoy!

Rachel (Teen Book Reviewer)

 

 

Teen Book Review: The Cage by Megan Shepherd

 

Goodreads Summary:

     The Maze Runner meets Scott Westerfeld in this gripping new series about teens held captive in a human zoo by an otherworldly race. From Megan Shepherd, the acclaimed author of The Madman's Daughter trilogy.

     When Cora Mason wakes in a desert, she doesn't know where she is or who put her there. As she explores, she finds an impossible mix of environments—tundra next to desert, farm next to jungle, and a strangely empty town cobbled together from different cultures—all watched over by eerie black windows. And she isn't alone.

     Four other teenagers have also been taken: a beautiful model, a tattooed smuggler, a secretive genius, and an army brat who seems to know too much about Cora's past. None of them have a clue as to what happened, and all of them have secrets. As the unlikely group struggles for leadership, they slowly start to trust each other. But when their mysterious jailer—a handsome young guard called Cassian—appears, they realize that their captivity is more terrifying than they could ever imagine: Their captors aren't from Earth. And they have taken the five teenagers for an otherworldly zoo—where the exhibits are humans.

     As a forbidden attraction develops between Cora and Cassian, she realizes that her best chance of escape might be in the arms of her own jailer—though that would mean leaving the others behind. Can Cora manage to save herself and her companions? And if so . . . what world lies beyond the walls of their cage?

 

Book Review:

     “The Cage” is a breathtaking novel that will always have you on the edge of your seat with action packed adventures, sci-fi realms, plot twists and some romance to top it all off. This extraordinary novel will never fail to keep readers guessing.

     Cora, a determined, strong minded girl with extreme amounts curiosity. Her determination and willpower to never give in, makes her a great character to look up to and believe in. You won’t be doubting Cora unlike her peers who are blinded in fear. Her past and thrilling new adventures will always have you wondering about her. “Why doesn’t she give up?” or “Why does she feel that spark between her and her captor?” Cora never fails to impress us in this engrossing novel.

     The characters and the story lines won’t be the only thing to impress you, the grammar used within the story is excellent, and the words describing the emotions in this story we’re quite distinctive and fit perfectly with the scene and what was happening.

     This novel was a great, it had enough explanation for each chapter to give us a visual, but didn’t give as much where it would be predictable and corny. Each chapter was a new adventure with more twist and turns. I highly recommend this novel to teens or adults who like a fantasy or Sci-fi read.  

Anissa (Teen Book Reviewer)

Teen Book Review: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

 

BONUS!  This fabulous book has 2 Reviews!

 

Goodreads Summary:

 

The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.
Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning!
 
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.

 

Book Review #1:

 

All The Bright Places is a breath-taking, thought-provoking, and brilliant fictitious read.  Fans of realistic fiction, this book is a must read.  I heard this book was similar to The Fault In Out Stars by John Green.  Upon beginning All The Bright Places, I was really hoping the story would be diverse, and different from John Green's most popular book, as I didn't want to read a book that repeated The Fault In Our Stars.  Jennifer Niven did not disappoint.  She took a new take on realistic fiction, and explored a problem we are all familiar with.

This problem was teen mental health. Finch and Violet, the main characters, both suffered from traumatic experiences, causing them to experience unstable mental states. They help each 

other explore the world in a new way, a way that makes living a bit easier. This story is an eye-opener.  It sends a message to all teens that mental health is important, and there is ways to help ourselves.  The characters are easy to relate to,  and fall in love with. The story is beautiful. I strongly recommend this book, to every type of reader. If you love stories that bring tears to your eyes, that are page turners, and that are deep and relatable, this book is perfect for you. This is definitely a book that I would re-read. It is the kind of book you will learn something different from each time. I am in love with the characters, the story, and the lessons Niven leaves for us readers. Take the chance to experience this book yourselves, It will not disappoint. 

 

 “The thing I realize is, that it's not what you take, it's what you leave." -Finch

 

Enjoy,

Tamara (Teen Book Reviewer)

 

Book Review #2

 

The stand alone novel, All The Bright Places will have you hooked from the very first sentence. This is a story of love, friendship, loyalty and wandering into the unknown. For a teenage girl named Violet Markey this means befriending a seemingly odd Theodore Finch, who selected her as his Geography partner and in other scenarios, saved her life. For Theodore Finch this means staying Awake and resisting his fascination with death.

 

This novel had me on edge by every single word of every single page. It exposes us to the good and bad realities of life in their most extreme forms. I would strongly recommend this novel to The Fault in Our Stars fans and the readers out there who appreciate realistic fiction.

I hope you like this novel as much as I did!

Enjoy!

Jillian (Teen Book Reviewer)

Teen Book Review: Prison Boy by Sharon E. McKay

Amazon Summary:

     Little Kai is brought to the orphanage run by Bell, a fearsome Englishwoman whose dedication to her charges is unflinching. There, an older child, Pax, immediately takes Kai under his wing. It soon becomes apparent that Kai is a brilliant child, and given the right circumstances, could go on to achieve great things.
      Penniless and living amidst political strife and constant uncertainty, the children are nonetheless taken care of and protected -- until Bell dies and they are left on their own. Pax is determined to keep Kai safe, and to make sure he gets the education he deserves. But life on the streets is tough -- and dangerous.
      In a desperate attempt to make enough money to keep Kai in school, Pax agrees to work for a shady character known only as Mister. Mister sends Pax on a "special" mission -- carry a very heavy box to a pre-arranged location, and wait there. At the very last minute, Pax realizes that the box contains a bomb; it explodes, killing and maiming hundreds of people.
      Pax and Kai escape the deadly explosion, only to be arrested soon after and charged with terrorism. What follows is a descent into the hellish prison where brutal guards stop at nothing to make Pax talk. As a means of survival, he retreats into a magnificent fantasy world and finds himself on a journey of hope and discovery.
     This haunting novel brings home the tragic situation in which children in over 40 countries are tortured with impunity. But it also speaks to the strength of love under the most dire of circumstances.

 

Book Review:

      Prison Boy by Sharon E. McKay is an interesting look at the struggle for life in an unfortunate situation. It follows the story of an orphan living in a slum and doing whatever he can to keep himself and his brother-like friend safe, fed, and as comfortable as they can be. It shows just how important money can be for those without it, and how harsh the world can be.

     Though this isn’t a very big book, I found myself easily attached to the characters, hoping that something would work out in their favour and seeing why they would feel a certain way. In Orillia we don’t know how bad the character's conditions really could be but it was descriptive enough to give a good idea, and that contributed to connecting with the characters. I would recommend this book because it’s a better look into lives of the less fortunate that’s more understandable than different campaigns to raise money for places like in the book, so it gives more meaning to those things. I also thought it started out slowly but later on the storyline consistently progressed, so it was exciting.

 

Ian (Teen Reviewer)