Wonder R.J Palacio

Wonder written by R.J Palacio was a phenomenal book. Although I read this book a few years back it still plays a large role in my life. The main character is a young boy named Auggie with distinct facial deformities. From kindergarten to fourth grade Auggie’s mother home schooled him. Once fifth grade came around Auggie began attending public schools. Auggie overcome being bullied over things he has no control of by his peers.

I found this book absolutely amazing and i recommend it for everyone! The book really opens your eyes to how people with facial deformities feel.

~Jaade Gillespie (Gum Spring)

Looking for Alaska by John Green

The Looking for Alaska novel written by John Green was a ‘so-so’ written book. Personally, I believe many of John Green’s books are hyped up and Looking for Alaska wasn’t an exception. I found John trying really hard in making some of the characters seem ‘edgy’ and different’. With the main characters being high schoolers, John emphasized cigarettes, drinking, and swearing. Although that’s apart of many teens lives, it was very repetitive in the book. I’ve never been a fan of many of John Green’s books and I find many of them share similar themes.

~Jaade Gillespie

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

The poetic novel, Perfect, is the sequel of Impulse written by Ellen Hopkins was a fantastic book. Typically sequels are terrible but this book was written very well. In the first book, three teenagers are placed in psychiatric facilities. They start out as strangers and end up growing strong relationships. The sequel is the sibling of those teens and how they are handling their predicament.

Like stated in the Impulse review, with the book involving mature contents and subjects readers of the book should be 14+.

~Jaade Gillespie (Gum Spring)

Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare in the 1500’s. The play is set in Verona where there are two feuding families, the Montagues and Capulets. Romeo and Juliet, the two star-crossed lovers, are on opposite sides of this feud and have a secret affair behind the backs of both their families. They met at a party and instantly fell in love, but were essentially forced to keep it secret, or Romeo could be banished from Verona forever. When they want to get married, Friar Lawrence, one of Romeo’s close friends, offers to marry them in secret, and they do. Unfortunately, the day after, Romeo kills one of Juliet’s cousins in a duel and is banished from the city. After this, Juliet’s parents (who do not know that she is already married) want her to marry Paris, a kinsman to the prince; he is very wealthy and the ‘perfect’ suitor for Juliet in their eyes. She agrees at first, but then has an elaborate plan to get  back together with Romeo; Friar Lawrence gives Juliet a sleeping potion and puts her in a tomb to be transported out of town, and when she wakes up, she would be with Romeo. However, Friar fails to contact Romeo and tell him about the plan. Romeo comes to Juliet’s tomb thinking that she is dead, when she is really just in a deep sleep. Grief stricken, he kills himself to be with her forever. When Juliet wakes up, she sees dead Romeo and kills herself too. This ends the feud between the two families forever.

In my opinion, this book was extremely frustrating to read because of the ending; if Romeo had just gotten the memo about the plan, the entire sad ending could have been completely avoided! The plot was also clichè. Despite all of that, I would recommend this book to people that like to read Shakespeare/ older books out of this time period because analyzing the literature could interest them even though the story isn’t all that great.

Mahika Ghaisas (Gum springs)

Unwind, Neil Shusterman

Unwind is a dystopian thriller by Neil Shusterman that takes place after America’s Second Civil War. After the war , the Bill of Life was instituted as a compromise; teenagers that were troublemakers and did not add to society could be unwound. This means that their bodies parts could be harvested and donated, and if you are over 18, you are safe from this. The book opens with 3 teens, Connor, Risa, and Lev who have to be unwound. Connor, who is 17 years old, is a troublemaker who has no ambition but to cause trouble.  Risa is sixteen, and is a ward of the state and a talented pianist, but it’s not good enough to keep her alive. Lev is 13 and a part of a religious community. He is proud to be unwound because he sees it as a religious sacrifice, but when his pastor tells him to run, he does. The 3 teens somehow find each other, but Connor and Risa are separated from Lev and are taken to the Graveyard, a safe place for teens like them who have escaped. Later, all three are captured by the police and are forcibly taken to the Happy Jack Harvest Camp. There, Risa is spared from being unwound because she proves her talent as a pianist, but Connor is scheduled to be unwound first, so Lev schedules an explosion that destroys the camp. The other teens revolt, and they’re eventually spared from being unwound.

I think that this was a great book because it was entertaining but also touches on how political tensions in society could one day result in something horrible like unwinding people. The personal stories of Lev, Risa, and Connor drew me in and got me interested in Shusterman’s concept. I will give this book 5/5 stars because it did a good job of having suspense but also a very good plot and story. I would recommend this book to teens that enjoyed books such as The Hunger Games series or the Maze Runner series because this is similar to that but still very enjoyable to a variety of people.

Mahika Ghaisas(Gum spring)

Olive’s Ocean, Kevin Henkes

Olive’s Ocean is a novel by Kevin Henkes about a girl named Olive. While riding her bike down the street, she is killed in a hit-and-run accident. Her family holds a funeral, and one of the girls from her school, Martha, comes to show support since Olive was shy and did not have many friends. Olive’s mother gives Martha a page of her diary and says that Olive would have wanted Martha to see it. She wrote about how even though she didn’t know Martha, she would have loved to be her friend and thought that she was very sweet. She also talks about how much she wanted to see the ocean. These thoughts haunt Martha for the rest of her summer at Cape Cod, where she worries about her grandma’s health, has her first love, and thinks about Olive.

This was a beautiful and touching story because even though it was not exciting or an adventurous novel, it was very emotional and not the typical sad story. It shows how we can get sucked up into our own lives and not pay attention to others. I would recommend this book to teens who want a touching story that’s a change from the usual because it is so well written and filled with some really good lessons.

Mahika Ghaisas (Gum Springs)

Macbeth, Shakespeare

Macbeth by English poet Shakespeare is a play written in 1606. Set in medieval Scotland, the warrior Macbeth is told by 3 witches that he is the new king of Scotland, but he is confused when another man is crowed king instead of him. Back in his castle, his wife, Lady Macbeth, convinces him that killing the king is the best way to secure his destiny. At night, his wife drugs the guards and Macbeth kills them, horrified by what he had to do. The murder is later discovered and the entire country is suspicious; the king’s sons even flee because they are so afraid. He later takes advantage of the king’s assistant, and he comes back for revenge and kills Macbeth.

This play was interesting because even though it is a tragedy (meaning that it ends in death) it was still full of mystery. The language is hard to understand, so it may take some time and additional help to understand it, but once you do, the story is quite interesting and entertaining. I would recommend this book to high schoolers and people interested in historical writing, specifically Shakespeare because the writing style and old English is really something of its’ time period.

Mahika Ghaisas(Gum Springs)

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

The poetic novel, Impulse, written by Ellen Hopkins was a phenomenal book. The three teenage main character has recently been placed into psychiatric facilities. Each character, from different paths of life, build friendships over the sorrows of their path and encourage each other to overcome their past.

With the book involving mature contents and subjects I highly suggest readers of 14+ in reading Impulse. Although it was quite sad learning about the main characters terrible lives before being entered into the psychiatric facility, the book was really alternating. With my naiveness to what the main characters grew up around, placing the book down was hard. The poetry, format, and plot made the book obsessive. I highly recommend this book for the mature minded.

~Jaade Gillespie (Gum Spring)

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

 Number the Stars, written by Lois Lowry, is a novel taking place during World War II. The two main characters, Annemarie Johansen and Ellen are best friends living in Copenhagen, Denmark. Throughout the War, more and more Nazi soldiers are polluting the streets.
As the Nazi soldiers began gathering and taking the Jewish citizens, many families of the minority religion are disappearing into thin air. With Ellen and her family being Jewish they were afraid of being taken.
Ellen’s mother pleads with Annemarie’s family to let the girl stay with them. With Annamarie’s family being empathetic they take in Ellen. For safety, Ellen must remove ties with her religion.
As World War II continues, Ellen and her Family escape Denmark by boat with the help of Annemarie and her family.
The book, Number the Stars, is perfect for readers interested in World War II. You receive insight on how terrifying it was for Jewish people during the era. Although the main characters were younger than me you easily build a connection with both girls. The book was also written in a way where you never wanted to place it down. I recommend this book to people who enjoy history leading up to the Holocaust.

~Jaade Gillespie (Gum Spring)

Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz

14-year old spy, Alex Rider, is recovering in the hospital when he unexpectedly saves the son of billionaire businessman Nikolai Drevin, from an eco-terrorist group, Force three. Nikolai invites Alex on a trip filled with luxuries more than he could imagine and is unwantedly forced on.After spending a few days with Nikolai and his son Paul, they fly to America where Alex is kidnapped by the CIA, who gives him an assignment in which Nikolai is more than meets the eye.

Emmanuel Kodamanchilly(Gum spring)