One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

In the book One Italian Summer by Rebeca Serle, Katy Silver is overcome with grief when her mom passes away due to cancer. She becomes numb and shuts out everyone in her life, including her husband. Her mom, Carol, wasn’t just a mom. She was also Katy’s best friend and mentor. One day, Katy finds tickets to the Amalfi coast, located in Italy. It was for a trip Katy and her mom had planned just weeks before Carol passed away. Carol had wanted to show Katy the place she’d grown up in and share their experiences together. Katy decides to go on the trip by herself. As soon as Katy arrives in Positano, she is entranced. Katy feels her mother’s presence throughout the story, and is healed. Katy makes magical memories and learns that the people we love will forever be in our hearts, even when they pass away. 

I enjoyed reading this book because of all the metaphors and the twist of magic in the story. The only thing I would change about this book is the romance factor. In my opinion, it didn’t really go well with the original plot. I recommend this book to people who like realistic fiction books with a slight twist of fantasy to it, over the age of 13. This is because this book contains a little bit of profanity.

– Photo & Review by Abby K. (Brambleton)

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

 Shakespeare’s very well-known play, Macbeth, is a tragedy that relates the tale of a Scottish general named Macbeth who is told by three witches that he will rule as king. In an effort to hold onto his position of authority, Macbeth commits murder and enters a state of madness while being controlled by his wife, Lady Macbeth.

     Shakespeare’s skillful use of language and his ability to accurately depict the psychology of his characters make Macbeth one of its strongest points. The play is chock full of catchy lines and soliloquies, and it delves deeply into the themes of power, ambition, and guilt. However some readers, like myself, might find the plot difficult to understand or unclear, especially if they are not familiar with Shakespearean language. Everybody who appreciates tragedy and psychological drama, as well as those who value Shakespeare’s work, should read Macbeth.

Saanvi Celamkoti (Gum Spring)

Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally

Annie’s boyfriend, Kyle, has been her rock all throughout high school. It’s his dream to run the Music City Marathon, and he’s been training for months. But he suddenly dies before his upcoming race. Loaded with guilt and learning how to cope with the pain of grief, Annie decides to sign up and race in his memory. While training, she meets Jeremiah, who helps her become a better runner and provides company for her long runs. The duo hits it off, and while Annie really likes Jeremiah, how can she fall for him when she still loves and is mourning Kyle? Throughout the story, Annie learns how to overcome grief and fall in love for the second time.

The Hundred Oak series that this book is a part of contains some of my favorite books. This one is my least favorite of the seven other books available, but I still liked it. I like that all of the books in this series are in some way related to sports. Breathe, Annie, Breathe is about long distance running, and being a runner myself, I like that it shows that running is just as much as a sport as it is a hobby, and it’s not as easy as most people believe it to be. I also found this book (and all of the other books in this series) very juicy, and captivating to read. My only complaint is that the characters fell for each other way too quickly, and that made the story unrealistic and made the characters feel fake. This also made the story unnecessarily cheesy, which made me bored during some parts of the book. I would rate this book a 7/10, and would recommend it to any reader who loves romances, realistic fiction, running (especially track and cross country), or sports in general. In my opinion, the reader should be at least 14+, due to sexual content. 

Katrina Williams (Gum Spring Library)

Playing With the Boys by Liz Tigelaar

Despite Lucy Malone’s faultless kick, she still somehow gets cut from the soccer team. But when she gets recommended to be the new kicker for the Beachwood varsity football team, she makes it. Throughout the season, Lucy learns that it’s not easy to gain respect when you’re the only girl on the team. Can Lucy change the boys’ minds?

I liked this book because of the message it sends (never give up, determination, perseverance, etc.). However, I feel that the book only focused on this message, crushes, and drama and not the actual playing of the sport. This was a let down because as someone who plays sports, I wanted the book to discuss sports and have more action scenes. This book wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what I had hoped it to be. I would rate it a 6.5/10. Additionally, I think teens of younger ages (seventh and eighth grade) would like this more older teens (sophomores/juniors and up) would. However, I think this book is suitable for ages 12+, and that anyone who enjoys romance or books about sports would be satisfied with Playing With the Boys.

Katrina Williams (Gum Spring Library)

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

Penny documents everything on her blog. Her blog contains updates on anything from her family life, to boys she likes, and any other personal drama and gossip. Over time, Penny’s blog gets tons of views, and she suddenly becomes famous for what she thought was only a secret diary. And her pseudonym, “GirlOnline ”, suddenly becomes famous and causes her to lead a double life. When an incident at school causes Penny and her family to retreat to New York, Penny meets the stunning music sensation, Noah. Can Penny post about her newfound romance with Noah on her blog and keep everyone’s’ identities (including her own) anonymous?

The main character, Penny, drove me crazy and I found the whole book very cliché. From just a few chapters her ignorance annoyed me for a couple reasons. The first being that she posted private information on her blog for the entire world to view, and that this was the root of all of her problems that later followed in the book. While this made the book really juicy and intriguing, I don’t like that the author makes it seem like it is okay to post sensitive information online because this book is directed at an audience of teens and I don’t want readers to think it is alright to do this either. And second, Penny is very lovesick. From the second she meets Noah, she is convinced that she has fallen in love, when in reality, she is just infatuated with him. I wish the author also changed this part because it makes the story unrealistic and makes the author’s writing seem amateur and blend in with most of the other books out there. But overlooking those two critiques, I still did enjoy this book and I would rate it a 3.75/5. I recommend Girl Online to readers who like romance, realistic fiction, and books with drama. In my opinion, the reader should be at least 11+. 

Katrina Williams (Gum Spring Library)

Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel by Diana López

Eighth grade is a year full of so many emotions that Erica, known as “Chica” to family and friends, needs a mood ring. And when Chica’s mom gets diagnosed with breast cancer, her life becomes even more stressful. Chica’s family later goes to a church and Chica makes a promise with God for her mother to be healthy once again. Can Chica learn how to balance all of these complex emotions and fulfill her promise?

I would rate this book a 3.5/5. I felt that while it was an enjoyable read, it’s definitely not on the top of my list either. I felt like the characters were likable, all of them were relatable. I did learn new information about cancer that I found interesting. However, I didn’t understand the message the author was trying to send and I felt like the main character, Chica, was overdramatic. I think anyone who adores realistic fiction would like this book. In my opinion, readers can be from 8-12+ years of age, depending on reading level. 

Katrina Williams (Gum Spring Library)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Katniss Everdeen lives in a impoverished coal mining town under a futuristic and dystopian regime that hosts an annual game of death, known as the Hunger Games. These games are held in an arena where two tributes are taken to compete from every district to fight to the death, with only one winner remaining. At the event, Katniss prays she won’t be picked to play in this brutal game, but when her sister, Prim, gets chosen, Katniss has no other choice but to step in for her.

I’m typically not a fan of science fiction in general, but I loved this book and the book and movie series that followed it. I don’t usually like science fiction because I find the plot and setting very unrealistic, far-fetched, and weird, so this usually makes me lose interest only after a chapter or so of reading. However, this didn’t happen with the Hunger Games. I was engaged immediately and I didn’t lose interest at all. This book was really suspenseful, so I was gripped and guessing throughout the entire book about what was going to happen next. I also loved the ending of this book. Endings can be a make or break for me, but the ending of this one really satisfied me. Anyone who enjoys a good thriller, dystopian, or sci-fi book would love this. In my opinion, the reader should be 11+, due to situations of violence, especially amongst children. 

Katrina Williams (Gum Spring Library)

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Heartless is a fairy-tale retelling focused on the origins of the Queen of Hearts from a passionate and youthful girl, nicknamed Cath, to a heartless monarch. The novel explores a young girl, Catherine, with dreams of opening her bakery. Catherine is forced to take the hand of the King but finds herself falling in love with the Court Jester, Jest. I had originally read this novel without knowing that the book was centered around a protagonist that would become the Queen of Hearts, as I did not read the back or any previews of the book. Because of this, I found the experience of reading the book and discovering that Cath had turned into the Queen of Hearts to be quite enjoyable.

There were several things that I enjoyed a lot about this novel. One of them was the description of the food that Cath would bake, which made me drool and appreciate Meyer’s writing. In addition to this, Meyer’s writing effectively captured the nature of Wonderland, as the setting of the novel seemed colorful and unique at all times, but began to have a darker feel as the story shifted into Cath turning into the Queen of Hearts. This book was heartbreaking, and I wish I could say that I disliked it because of that, but it was also extremely beautiful. The novel made me sympathize with Cath and understand her character and rage, but also appreciate her journey and what had to happen for everything to come together so beautifully. Because of this, I would love to read another retelling about a villain from Meyer, as I feel like she captured every part of Cath’s story perfectly, as well as side characters from Alice in Wonderland, including the Hatter. I recommend this to almost anyone, as I feel it was simply just a fantastic book.

TA (Gum Spring Library)

The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection takes place in a society where individuals are divided by caste. Numbers represent different castes and occupations. The novel specifically follows America Singer, a young girl selected to participate in a competition to become the next princess. To do so, she must woo society and Prince Maxon. She deals with various obstacles during this journey, as she is forced to discover what she truly wants while dealing with political drama, rebels, and the expectations of society. 

I found this book entertaining, however, it was not particularly thought-provoking. The basis of the book was girls attempting to woo the prince, which seemed a little cliche. There was also a stereotypical love triangle in the midst of this. In addition to this, I felt as if America’s character was not fully developed and felt weak in a sense. Despite all of this, this series was still entertaining, similar to watching a reality show. I think more dialogue on how the society worked, as well as the obstacles faced by lower numbers, would have been more interesting. Because of the plot, it’s hard to understand why the caste system was even implemented, as the novel could have been about a competition to win the heart of the prince. However, I did find the concept of the caste system extremely interesting, and I would love a book centered around that rather than romance. I would recommend this to those in need of a light read with a little bit of action and intrigue. 

TA (Gum Spring Library)

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes follows a boy named Elias, a trained soldier for the Martial Empire, and a girl named Laia, a slave girl fighting for the freedom of her family. The novel follows their journey of interacting with one another and fighting against a world filled with danger, betrayal, and supernatural elements. 

I found Tahir’s writing to be extremely impactful and beautiful, as the word choice she uses instills emotion. Her characters are also extremely well thought out, as I even found myself curious about the villains in the story. One thing to note is that the world is extremely complex and difficult to understand at first. Elements are explained in more depth in later books, however, the worldbuilding is fantastic from the start. One thing I also loved was the representation in the book. The book’s protagonist is a South Asian woman, who is described to be extremely beautiful and strong. Overall, I’d recommend this book to those looking for a fantasy novel with likable characters, a fast-paced story, and romance.

TA (Gum Spring Library)