Restart by Gordon Korman

The book Restart, by Gordon Korman, starts out with the main character named Chase Ambrose waking up in a hospital after having a flashback of falling. It turns out that Chase has amnesia and has no memory of the past 13 years. When he comes back to school, there are kids that praise him and others that clearly fear him. he realizes that he was the ringleader of bullies. What choices will Chase make after “restarting”?

I thought that this book was very interesting with a good plot. This book was structured with a different character’s perspective alternating in each chapter. This book is perfect for teens and can educate about bullying. All in all, this book is a great read for anyone who wants to try it.

Daniel L. (Cascades)

The Energy Bus- Jon Gordon

The Energy Bus is a simple story. George is a negative man and everything in his life goes wrong, for example when his car breaks down and he has to take the bus. There he meets Joy, an un-ironically named character who drives the bus George ends up taking every day of the week. Every day Joy gives George a new rule for her bus, rules that help him change his perspective about his life. 

This book is for truly for anybody. It comes as a picture book for children and as a hardcover for adults, but the message is all the same: positivity is key. This is a great book to bring to the office or to a team to increase success. Personally, I saw changes in my life almost instantly, just because of how this book changed my attitude. 

Taylor Lech – Gum Spring

A Mango Shaped Space- Wendy Mass

Imagine being able to see swirls of color for sounds, words, numbers, and letters. Sounds pretty cool right? For Mia Winchell, it’s not as fun as it seems. Mia is a synesthete and her experience with color is causing problems for her at school and with friends. 

This book is perfect for a middle school audience. Mass’s depiction of a young person with synesthesia is perfect as it doesn’t romanticize the condition by showing how the main character struggles with it. I love how this book educated me about a condition I’ve never heard of before and how it showed me a completely different perspective that was unlike any other book I’ve read. A heartwarming and feel good tale, with a twist that only Wendy Mass can execute. 

Taylor Lech – Gum Spring

The Giver- Lois Lowry

Jonas lives in a bubble. Not an actual bubble of course, but a world of sameness. A world without emotion, color, or climate. No bad memories exist, in fact, nothing bad exists. Or so it seems. Every year children are assigned jobs, perfect jobs chosen for them by the community. When Jonas is assigned Receiver of Memory, his world of sameness turns upside down.

This book isn’t the fourth-best children’s novel for nothing. This dystopian text teaches an underlying message you don’t even recognize you’re being taught. In fact, although this is a “children’s” book written for elementary/middle schoolers, I think it’s one that everyone should read. Its captivating essence overcomes its simple language, making it a must read.

Taylor Lech – Gum Spring

 

The Maze Runner- James Dashner

You wake up in a metal elevator with no remembrance of how you got there, or even your own last name. You find yourself surrounded by boys, who like yourself have no memory and who came from the elevator. You find yourself in a new world, a small one encircled by walls, walls that don’t open but once a day, where they reveal the ever changing maze that’s home to lethal monsters. What do you do? It’s up to Thomas to figure that out in what is arguably the best dystopian novel of this generation. 

This book is one of my all time favorites. It’s written for a middle school/ high school reading level, but I would recommend it for anybody who loves a good dystopian novel. If you liked The Hunger Games, or even 1984 you’ll love this. Additionally, coming from a person who prides themselves in predicting book endings, you’ll never see this one coming. 

Taylor Lech – Gum Spring

The Battle of the Labyrinth- Rick Riordan

This book is one of my favorites in the entire series. Yet another quest sends Percy Jackson and his friends into Daeduleus’s ancient Labyrinth. The group begins with a plan to find Hephaestus: God of Fire and Machinery. The group then divides when Grover tries to search for God of the Wild, leaving Annabeth and Percy with only Ariadne’s string to guide the way. With dangerous monsters and a slight detour at Ogygia, the island of banished Calypso, will Percy survive this one? Find out in the best book in the Percy Jackson series yet. 

This book is a Greek Mythology enthusiast’s dream. The combination of Gods, creatures, and monsters in one place is truly magical. This satisfying addition will make you pray to the Gods that the series never ends. 

Taylor Lech – Gum Spring

The Titans Curse- Rick Riordan

Unsurprisingly, the Titans Curse begins with one of Percy Jackson’s loved ones being kidnapped. This time it’s Annabeth Chase and Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis. Of course, it’s up to Percy to find them, so he begins yet another quest, this time with new characters: Bianca Di Angelo, Thalia Grace, and Zoe Nightshade. Meeting many mythical creatures both good and bad, Percy and friends try to survive dangerous battles in what is perhaps the most action filled book yet. 

This series really never disappoints. Unlike other long series, Percy Jackson adventures never get old. Rick Riordan knows how to enchant his readers through humour, lovable characters, and of course, the magic of Greek mythology. He once again modernizes an ancient culture and makes it relevant to today’s world, creating one of the best children’s series of this generation. These books could really be for anyone who classifies themselves a child at heart or who loves Greek Mythology. They’re written at a middle school reading level, but as a high schooler I still enjoy these books and they’re some of my favorites to this day. 

Taylor Lech – Gum Spring

 

The Sea of Monsters- Rick Riordan

Last time we saw Percy Jackson, he was basking in the glory of a successful quest, at least that’s what the other campers thought. In the previous book Luke offers Percy to join him on his mission to overthrow the Gods, upon Percy’s refusal, Luke tries to poison him. Worried about his safety, Percy decides to spend the school year with his mother, which brings us to The Sea of Monsters. Percy almost makes it through a whole school year without trouble, until on the very last day monsters appear and he has to be saved by Annabeth and his new friend Tyson. Upon arrival at camp, it’s discovered that somebody has weakened the protective borders of Camp Halfblood, making the camp vulnerable to attack. After Percy’s best friend Grover is taken, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson sneak off to find him stumbling into a quest to find the Golden Fleece on their way. 

Rick Riordan does it again with this sequel to The Lightning Thief. This action packed book is somehow even more impossible to put down than the first. In this sequel the reader will unknowingly learn about the adventures of Odysseus from the classic epic poem, The Iliad. Again, recommended for middle schoolers or any Greek Mythology lover. 

Taylor Lech – Gum Spring

The Lightning Thief- Rick Riordan

What would you do if you discovered one of your parents is a Greek God? Well, Percy Jackson hasn’t quite figured that out yet. In the Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson is swept from his normal(ish) life as a middle school boy in New York into the magical world of Greek Gods and Goddesses. After his mother is kidnapped, Percy wakes up at a mysterious camp and is tasked with a quest to retrieve a powerful weapon for the King of the Gods: Zeus. 

I cannot say enough good things about this book. The Percy Jackson series is a humorous twist on real Greek culture and the reader will learn many aspects of Greek Mythology without even realizing. It’s fast paced, action packed, and impossible to not love. Riordan also does a great job portraying a character with ADHD and dyslexia, showing that learning disabilities don’t make people any less capable of achieving big things. I recommend this book for middle schoolers or even advanced elementary school readers.

Taylor Lech – Gum Spring 

 

P.S. I Still Love You (by: Jenny Han)

Now Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky are a couple. They have a really good relationship and everything is going extremely well. Almost too well. Remember the letters that were sent out in the last book? Well one person, John Ambrose finally got ahold of his letter. Lara Jean receives a follow up letter from John and she feels like her feelings for him are returning. Between volunteering at a retirement home with John, Having a boyfriend, and an ex best friend to deal with how will Lara Jean manage to handle all of this? This book is definitely targeted towards teenagers. Recently a movie for this book came out but sadly it did not do a great job in really showing what this book  really has to offer. If you enjoyed the first book this would be a great one to add to your book reading wishlist.

Neha Venna (Gum Spring Library)