Bridge Across the Sky by Freeman NG provides forgotten history and edgy insight into Chinese immigration and what it was like through the eyes of a teenager as it follows Tai Go, his father and grandfather as they travel to the United States in search of a better life in the 1920s. The rude reality of racism confronts Tai Go before he even sets foot in America, as he has a false identity to use when he arrives at Angel Island Immigration Station, the Ellis Island of the west coast. This book provides a perspective on the treatment that Chinese immigrants went through for endless months of processing. The vulnerability the author has in his book is compliments of the verse format — it connects narrative with the personal feel of poetry. I recommend this book to readers of all ages. There’s hope in a natural wonderings in the opposite sex and a particular girl that keeps catching his attention. There’s the tragedy of suicide as a means to control the situation that was out of their control — no confidence in really gaining entry to “Gold Mountain” — dashing those hopes a reality check, The format makes it a simple read for younger readers, but without prior knowledge of the Chinese Exclusion Act as well as life’s coming-of-age awakenings to racism that is still prevalent today, young readers might not be the best to see the interconnection of the primary source poem fragments at the beginning of each chapter and their connection to the tone as a whole. Bridge Across the Sky is a historical fiction would pair nicely with 10th/11th U.S. History classes.  

In Jamison Shea’s sequel to I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me, our main character, Laure is overly frustrated with her life situation — being a vessel for the Wicked Dark, in I Am the Dark That Answers When You Call. Laure is not a mortal. She knows she has special powers that tend to harm more than help people. She clearly likes this edginess, this ability to control others, since she lost control of other things in her life including friendships and a future career in ballet in the previous book. But little does Laure know the true background to why she’s really in the situation she’s in — not just the pact with Acheron — which explains her deep down anger from the trauma of being abandoned by her mother. Laure will jump back and forth between her above ground Parisian world, which will still include ballet here and there, and the catacombs of Elysium as it decays and threatens her life, which is confusing at times. Ghosts will haunt her. Friends will turn on her. Readers may root for her to survive only to see her commit acts of horror that made this reader shake her head on multiple occasions wondering how this story got published. The mix of a romance into this graphic horror writing felt forced. There’s no suspense. This is an additional purchase if a student asks for it and there’s budget to spend but overall this readers would no recommend it.

Reviewed by OHS Student, Rory C.

This illustrated biography’s intriguing premise captures and brings the reader into the atmosphere of the novel. After questioning the truth surrounding her mother’s death, Layla searches for answers with her sister. Along the way, the sisters reveal secrets about themselves and their lives while working together to solve this mystery. The premise of the novel is extremely intriguing and it completely draws the readers in. There’s also beautiful imagery which makes the novel far more enjoyable. I like the premise and idea of the story line. It was interesting and I really wanted to know the truth. Despite how good the story could be, the pacing is way too slow. I could not enjoy this book to it’s full potential. It felt as if it was dragging the whole time with so many unreasonable and useless scenes. It could not keep me attentive after the first few chapters and I lost interest for the whole novel itself. I don’t remember many details of it because of how annoying it was to have to wait until something happened. It was unbearable. If you don’t mind it being slow, then you may enjoy this book. It’s an easy read for when you don’t want to try so hard but it is most likely not going to be one of your favorite books of all time.