Reviewed by Eli 12th grade – This novel is an interesting story with a good plot and conflict. Manny, is forced to leave his hometown by his stepfather. He is now faced with new challenges brought on by his new home in New York, angry neighbors, and a cockroach infestation that only he seems to understand the danger of. Although the novel is a horror piece, it is also great at describing personal relationships in a coming-of-age story. With Manny maturing as a person over a short period of time. The dialogue was very well written and descriptive at showing emotions of the people involved. I felt like some of the action scenes were a bit rushed and didn’t have much set-up.
Category Archives: Reviewer’s Library Type
Impossible Escape: A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe
Reviewed by Wyatt 12th Grade – I was captivated by the raw emotion and powerful storytelling which made me love this book. Impossible Escape is a true story about one of the most famous whistleblowers in the world and his death-defying escape that helped save over 100,000 lives during the Holocaust. With the book going into the holocaust and World War II, it helps develop the historical narrative and war literature. I liked how the characters used what they had and how they helped others even though they were also dealing with their own issues and I like the author’s take on all the violence and how he expressed it. Impossible Escape contains a lot of stuff with violence, persecution, and the holocaust which may be potential triggers for readers.
Reviewed by Jaden 12th grade – Sheinkin skillfully balances Rudi’s story with factual information on the evolution of World War II and the Holocaust. A subplot follows Gerta Sidonová, Rudi’s schoolmate and future wife, during this time frame; the juxtaposition adds depth, texture, and context. It’s an oddly sentimental and touching epilogue. He knows he has to get out of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, where he spent over two years living on the edge. even as death becomes more probable. Behind the carefully guarded walls of concentration camps throughout Nazi-occupied Europe was a dreadful truth that Rudi had discovered: the deliberate mass murder of Jewish detainees. The young adult narrative nonfiction written by Steve Sheinkin Impossible Escape tells the tale of a young real-life hero while delving into issues of Jewish history and wartime tragedy. This is a compelling story because of Sheinkin’s painstaking research, which strikes a balance between the acute horror of the camps and the bigger events of the war’s geopolitical developments. Unbelievably gripping, unbelievably tragic, unbelievably inspirational. Every person should be obliged to read Impossible Escape.
Reviewed by Andrew 9th grade – I learned a lot about Auschwitz that I did not know before. Very informative. Rudi was a Slovakian Jew in WW2. He got captured and eventually went to Auschwitz where he planned to escape and tell the world about Auschwitz and the gas chambers and the mass murder. He eventually escaped after many tries and he and his friend told the world about what was happening. The reality of the story really makes you want to find out how it ends. You forget that the book is nonfiction because of how interesting it is. I liked how I learned more about what happened at Auschwitz. It was a good read and I learned a lot. The switching between the POVs was a little confusing and Rudi’s story was more interesting. I was fine reading it but it is a tough topic. They tell in detail how the gas chambers worked.
The Pirate and the Porcelain Girl
Reviewed by Tanisha 11th grade – I love the book and I love the ending they are a very cute couple and they are so much in love with each other. This book has lots of action and it has and happy ending where the characters fall in love. I really like the artwork because it grabs my attention and also makes me find the emotion of the characters. It helps move the story along in the book. I really enjoyed the way they drew the characters. It was a very interesting book and I liked the flow of it meaning the active and the love and romance. If you don’t like romance this is not the book for you, and also it’s always best to try something new.
Miles Morales: Suspended
Book Reviewed by Kingston 10th grade – I gave this book a rating of 5/5 because it’s a compelling and engaging book, it provides a new look on Miles and who he is. The book follows Miles Morales a teenage superhero who navigates the challenges of keeping his secret identity as Spider-Man while facing formidable villains in New York City. The plot of this fictional superhero story makes you want to keep turning the page to see what gonna happen next. I like how they make Miles relatable and explore the identity and finding yourself. The pacing of the book could have been better and some characters aren’t as developed as others.
Reviewed by Cailyn 12th grade – This novel has a unique style for Spiderman! Miles Morales has become obsessed with poetry and babbles endlessly about his crush. With his spidey powers, he saves the world from an evil mastermind The Warden, and Miles gets put in suspension. What begins as a long boring day of in-school suspension is interrupted by his spidey-senses telling him that something is wrong. Since the novel is about a Marvel superhero, it is considered a fictitious novel. Also, it is poetry because it includes a mixed format of verses. In this novel, I liked how it blended superhero things and introduced the concept of racism. The book I rated a 3 because it kind of felt rushed and underdeveloped. To add to this, I think that this style of novel is just not my type either.
A Door In the Dark
If I See You Again Tomorrow
Reviewed by Raymond 9th grade – I love the story that the book is telling about love between two boys. Clark goes on these errands with Beau and Clark ends up falling in love with Beau. Such a beautiful story challenging existential aspects of human life; isolation meaninglessness, and freedom; as well as alienation and depression. All that is done in a heartwarming sweet romance. I like how it tells a love story between two boys. Also like that it’s a romance book because I love romance anything. It’s hard for me to like a book but I really enjoyed this book.
Chaos & Flame
Reviewed by Shiloh G 12th grade: When I first started the book I felt very confused but as I read more everything started to make more sense. Talon Goldhorn always bravely led his elite troops however his brother’s rule was threatening to undo 100 years of work. So other factions turned to Talon to dethrone his brother. The way that the plot develops makes me want to keep turning pages so I can figure out everything that is happening. My favorite part about the book is how the very beginning gives so much information and yet we don’t know anything. One thing I did not like about the book is that the book progresses quite slowly
If You’ll Have Me
Reviewed by Cierra 12th grade – This was one of the cutest graphic novels I’ve ever read. From the art style to the plot, to the characters, I’m obsessed. Momo is a selfless, naive, and caring friend. She has little to no experience in the dating world. PG on the other hand is the opposite. Labeled as someone who likes to “get around,” and is a player, she’s quite the lone wolf. Despite her reputation, under that hard exterior, she falls in love just as easily as anyone else. Their two worlds collide unexpectedly and a romance begins to brew. With PG’s reputation, things get a little tricky.The romance in this novel is sweet like a peach. Two people who know little about love, but crave it so much make this graphic novel such a nice read. The LGBTQIA+ aspect of it makes it feel relatable as well. The character design is just beautiful. I love Momo’s character, she’s so cute and gorgeous.It didn’t feel rushed. Typically, when you read a graphic novel you get through them fast because there are little words on each page. Sometimes that can cause the book to feel rushed. However, the pacing was perfect. It felt like I was watching a movie in my mind. I also found myself relating to Momo, as a black girl with little dating experience myself. I found myself getting jealous and wanting a romance like this. I also enjoyed the intended funny bits as well. I rarely LOL at a book, but I caught myself gasping and giggling a couple of times. There’s little that I dislike about it. I don’t like PG’s character design for one. It just looks off on some pages, I can’t exactly put my finger on why. The flashbacks were kind of hard to decipher at times. There were moments where it took me a couple of seconds to realize “Oh wait, this isn’t present.” There was one flashback where I got confused if it was PG or PG’s brother, but that may just be me being slow. This romance is a cliche, and it’s really hard to make a cliche entertaining. Despite all that, I think they did a relatively good job and I’d read it again or recommend it to a friend.
Hopeless in Hope
Reviewed by Sarah 12th grade – This humorous and sad story will keep you engaged and relating to the main characters. Eva is the main character in this book and she is 14 years old. Her life is lonely and sad, and she then deals with foster homes and poverty. She relies on her Nohkum to take care of her and of her little brother Marcus. Eva’s mom struggles with alcoholism and shares the story of the reality of her addiction. The plot of this story makes this novel a heartbreaking and humorous story. I liked that this book was a very fast read and that it shares how someone who is in poverty and struggling with housing, how their life really is. There are a few instances in this book where it may be hard for younger students to read this book due to the talk about depression and anxiety. Personally, I think that this book does a good job of sharing the realities of it in a non-glorifying way.
Forgive Me Not
Reviewed by Aliah 12th grade – All readers will find this captivating and moving journey which masterfully examines human emotions and the capacity for forgiveness to be a winning one. In the book Forgive Me Not, Violetta Chen-Samuel, a fifteen-year-old, is imprisoned for driving under the influence, which resulted in the death of her younger sister. A young adult book with hints of dystopia, Forgive Me Not highlights the issues with racism, classism, misogyny, and other issues that plague both our adult and juvenile justice systems. The two points of view are Violetta and Vince. The plot is AMAZING!
Trigger warnings: death of a child, incarceration, substance use, suicide attempt, grief, sexual assault.