TEEN BOOK REVIEW: The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brokenbrough

Good Reads Summary

Antony and Cleopatra. Helen of Troy and Paris. Romeo and Juliet. And now... Henry and Flora.
For centuries Love and Death have chosen their players. They have set the rules, rolled the dice, and kept close, ready to influence, angling for supremacy. And Death has always won. Always.

Could there ever be one time, one place, one pair whose love would truly tip the balance?
Meet Flora Saudade, an African-American girl who dreams of becoming the next Amelia Earhart by day and sings in the smoky jazz clubs of Seattle by night. Meet Henry Bishop, born a few blocks and a million worlds away, a white boy with his future assured—a wealthy adoptive family in the midst of the Great Depression, a college scholarship, and all the opportunities in the world seemingly available to him.

The players have been chosen. The dice have been rolled. But when human beings make moves of their own, what happens next is anyone’s guess.
Achingly romantic and brilliantly imagined, The Game of Love and Deathis a love story you will never forget.

Teen Review

The Game of Love and Death written by author Martha Brockenbrough follows the lives of two star-crossed lovers. Flora, an African-American girl who aspires to become the next Amelia Earhart while working as a jazz singer in Seattl;, and Henry, a Caucasian boy who comes from a wealthy adoptive family, spends his day focusing on school, baseball, and his love of music. Although their backgrounds and the prejudices of the 1930s separate them in many ways, they have one thing in common, they are both pawns in a game that is played by love and death.

The Game of Love and Death is a complex and intense love story that will keep you guessing till the very end. Author Martha Brockenbrough not only writes about the complexities of love and death and their impact on the human experience, she also discusses issues that impacted both people in the 1930s and in modern day such as racism, mortality, poverty, and accepting one's self for who they truly are. Because such issues are prevalent in today’s society the novel allows the reader to bond with the characters and their struggles.

In short, The Game of Love and Death is a novel that should be put on every avid reader’s “must read list”. Whether someone is new to the genre of romance or has read thousands of romance novels this novel is sure to be a fantastic read with a message about life that will stick with the reader for years to come.

Stephanie (Teen Reviewer)

TEEN BOOK REVIEW: Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

Good Reads Summary

Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late.

In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other. 

Vanishing Girls has a magnificent plot line and story. The characters in this novel we’re great, they were very relatable and had unique personalities. The main character “Nick” who was the oldest sister was a great character to follow throughout the story, her determination and willpower to find her sister made her the best character to lead us through this novel.

The ending of this novel will really have you gasping. It has the most unexpected ending and will keep you wanting more. The novel is extremely well written and the grammar was extremely good as well.

Lauren Oliver is an amazing and creative author. This novel will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat, till the very last page.

I highly recommend this novel to teens who like a mystery thriller read.

Teen Review

 

“Vanishing Girls” is an amazing novel written by Lauren Oliver. This novel is about two sisters, in which one goes missing and the other sets out to find her, whether her sister was kidnapped or ran away she’ll have to find out the truth the hard way. Vanishing Girls will always have your jaw dropping, with its unimaginable twists and unexpected events. The ending will definitely shock you.

Vanishing Girls has a magnificent plot line and story. The characters in this novel we’re great, they were very relatable and had unique personalities. The main character “Nick” who was the oldest sister was a great character to follow throughout the story, her determination and willpower to find her sister made her the best character to lead us through this novel.

The ending of this novel will really have you gasping. It has the most unexpected ending and will keep you wanting more. The novel is extremely well written and the grammar was extremely good as well.

Lauren Oliver is an amazing and creative author. This novel will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat, till the very last page.

I highly recommend this novel to teens who like a mystery thriller read.

Anissa (Teen Reviewer)

TEEN BOOK REVIEW: Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer

Good Reads Summary

Then: That is, until the fateful flash of a photo booth camera transports the four of them back in time, to the summer they were fifteen—the summer everything changed.

Now: The girls must recreate the past in order to return to the present. As they live through their second-chance summer, the mystery behind their lost friendship unravels, and a dark secret threatens to tear the girls apart all over again.

Always: Summers end. But this one will change them forever.

Before: It was the perfect summer of first kisses, skinny-dipping, and bonfires by the lake. Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe knew their final summer at Camp Okahatchee would come to an end, but they swore they’d stay friends.

After: Now, two years later, their bond has faded along with those memories.

Teen Review

Proof of Forever is a heartwarming story that reveals what true friendship is, and that having it can affect you as a person. Four girls named Zoe, Tali, Joy and Luce, are all bound to Camp Okahatchee. Every summer they attend, as it is significant to their friendship. When their last summer at camp rolls around, they promise each other to be friends forever. Then, Joy leaves, and their friendship falls apart. Two years later, Camp Okahatchee has a reunion night, which they all attend. The four girls are transported back to that last summer at camp. This crazy, unexpected experience reveals secrets, gives the girls a second chance, and leaves them all asking one important question.

Are they stuck in the past?

In this beautiful, touching, and inspirational tale, Lexa Hillyer shows her readers the truths of friendship, and that when you receive a second chance, take it, as you may be surprised by what it leads to.

Overall, Proof of Forever was the most developed and complex book I've read this summer, even though it was Hillyer's first novel. I strongly recommend this novel to those looking for a soulful read, or those who like books that are thought-provoking. Hillyer's story will not disappoint, and will leave you breathless at the end. I guarantee you will not only enjoy, but learn something important from this book.

"What would you give for a second chance?"

Enjoy,

Tamara (Teen Book 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: D-Frag by Tomoya Haruno

Summary:

 

"D-Frag " is a new ongoing manga series that parodies high school clubs, nerd culture, and the slice-of-life genre in a side-splittingly hilarious storyline. For fans of manga series about otaku-centric high school clubs like "Haganai: I Don't Have Many Friends, Genshiken," or "The""Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, ""D-Frag " has the last laugh, as it satirizes the genre like never before.

Kazama Kenji thinks he's a delinquent. He's got the look, the style and the attitude to match--he even has a second-rate entourage of sorts. Deep down, however, Kazama is a good-hearted kid who finds himself and his loyal gang in over their heads when they stumble upon the Game Creation Club. The club's formidable members, Chitose, Sakura, Minami, and Roka, are four girls who he might actually be attracted to if they weren't so freaking weird.

The girls claim to have otherworldly powers which they use to defeat Kazama's gang and force him to join their offbeat club. Can Kazama resist the girls' bizarre charms and return to some semblance of a normal, everyday life...or is it "game over" for our hapless hero?

 

Teen Review:

 

D-Frag is an excellent manga series and you should read it. Why? Because the characters, story and adventure in the first volume alone will leave you wanting more. In the first book an upcoming gang at a Japanese high school enter the Game Dev. Club looking to swipe some games. This does not go well for them and their leader is sucked into a world of gaming and make-believe. If you are a fan of manga or are looking to get into it D-Frag is the one for you.

Carson

Book Review: IRL: In Real Life by Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang

Book Review: IRL: In Real Life, Graphic Novel

Author: Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang

IRL, simply read, is a story of a young girl who gets hooked on gaming, meets people on the other side of the world and is exposed to a culture she never comprehended.  The graphic novel sets out to explore the multiple dynamics of online gaming on a global scale. From Gender inequality, social economics, bullying and employee rights, this novel attempts to open the conversation of such topics through a medium completely familiar to young adults today – online gaming.

While the novel is a great conversation starter for these topics, it fell short on character development and narrative depth.  It attempted to address too many issues in one short novel and instead left me feeling unsatisfied with the moral compass of it all.

The introduction by author Cory Doctorow was insightful and led me to trust that great thought and care had been taken to develop a unique endeavor for a YA graphic novel; while his intentions were commendable, the graphic novel did not level up to my expectations.

Teen Readers Advisory

Valerie

Orillia Public Library

Teen Review: How to Love by Katie Cotugno

How to Love

by: Katie Cotugno

 

 

Summary

Before:

Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he's never seemed to notice that Reena even exists . . . until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated-and pregnant-Reena behind.

After:

Almost three years have passed, and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena's gotten used to life without Sawyer, and she's finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn't want anything to do with him, though she'd be lying if she said Sawyer's being back wasn't stirring something in her. After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

In this breathtaking debut, Katie Cotugno weaves together the story of one couple falling in love-twice.

 

Quick Review

Have you ever enjoyed a vanilla cupcake? It wasn’t chocolate, it wasn’t frosted, and it wasn’t covered in sprinkles, but it was still so delicious because of its simplicity. How to Love by Katie Cotugno is that vanilla cupcake. It was a simple sweet and realistic novel about the happy moments and struggles of a teenage couple. It describes the journey of the female protagonist, Serena, when she first meets the love of her life Sawyer LeGrande, and then when she encounters him again after he disappeared mysteriously 2 years ago. Sawyer had unknowingly left Serena when she was pregnant with their daughter Hannah, and now he returns a changed man. Will Serena be able to forgive him? Will Serena drop everything she has built over the last 2 years to be with Sawyer again? I would personally give this story a 7 out of 10.

Long Review

The most unique feature of this book has to be how it is structured. The book is divided into two stories, the story of the first time Serena met Sawyer and the story of the second time Serena met Sawyer. The two stories are told in alternating chapters, which makes it easier for the reader to compare the difference the two years had on Sawyer and Serena’s personality. However, because the stories share so many similar attributes, the two stories sometimes start blending in your head. For instance, in one of the chapters she is at Sawyer’s house and he is buying oxycotin from a friend (1^st time she fell in love with Sawyer), then suddenly Sawyer and Serena start talking about Aaron, Serena’s new boyfriend after Sawyer left her. Without rereading and realizing that you already entered a new chapter, the stories get quite confusing. If the author made chapters longer than 3 pages this story of storytelling would have been more effective.

The story takes place in warm Florida which is not highlighted in the book. The book overlooks the need to describe the setting and other inanimate objects. The focus is placed primarily on character behavior and character dynamics. The author, Katie Cotugno, wants all the readers’ attention on how each character felt and why that led to the decisions they made. As a result it is difficult to picture the story happening, but it is really easy to feel the story happening.

My favourite part of the entire story is how realistic it is, the female protagonist isn’t perfect and she is frequently on an emotional rollercoaster. But, most importantly, the male protagonist, is prince anti-charming and he is real. He isn’t terribly smooth, he does drugs, he has problems, and he isn’t obnoxiously wealthy. Sawyer isn’t just about having fun and partying. He knows when he is required to step up and take responsibility.

I really enjoyed this book, but it wouldn’t be one I would read again. The book felt very still to me.*Spoiler Alert* If you are a sucker for cute endings. You would love how this book ends.

Review by: Betty