Chance Norton's Book Review

Testimony

By Anita Shreve

**** Stars

This book was one that will make you think more about your personal morals than any book I have ever read. The themes of betrayal or guilt or even the classic good and bad choices are stretched to the limits in the plot of this novel. I have never found my hardened Republican style beliefs to be even tested much less changed by a book until I read this one by Anita Shreve.
I am the type of person who believes in the death penalty, and specifically the Texas version where there is an express lane. I am the type of person who believes that rape ought to be included in the list of crimes that is eligible for capital punishment (and it is not at this point). I am the type who believes in a harsher more judgmental view of crime and punishment similar to the view of the Old West, they did the crime, they do the time or if the crime is bad enough then you hang them or shoot them in the street if they somehow pass the courts without due punishment. I am NOT a lenient person.

And yet, after reading this book where several young men are accused of committing statutory rape and where they all gave written confessions, I find myself wondering if the consequences are quite necessary or even if they are just. In fact I do more than wonder about this, I have changed my beliefs on several issues in today’s society. I no longer believe in blanket rules over things like statutory rape and if I read a review that said this before I read the book I would most likely become angry with the ignorant foolish person who believed that rape could be anything but rape. Well I still believe in the death penalty and I still think rapists (especially child rapists) should be punished to the most horrible and painful degree possible, but I don’t think I will throw a rule out there and anyone who toes that line gets the axe. Now, I recognize that there are sometimes extenuating circumstances that change the situation. But if the incident doesn’t fall into those circumstances THEN the person gets the axe. Literally, in my opinion. This is not a large change in beliefs but it is a large step in accepting people and situations I am not familiar with.

There are several characters that the reader ends up identifying with and several that the reader will hate beyond any other in any book the reader has read. Personally, I identified mostly with Silas and Owen who are a father and son that both go through a tremendous amount of emotional trauma. How they handle it might not have been my reaction but I completely understand where their motives come from. That is probably why this book is so powerful for me as a seventeen year old in high school much like Silas is.

Privilege by Kate Brian

A spinoff of the Private series, and a follow up to Last Christmas: the Private Prequel. Read all in order for most enjoyment.

Wow -- this girl, Ariana Osgood, is a real psycho. It's clear pretty quickly that she has been put in a prison for the criminally insane for a reason. To call her a sociopath would be accurate, but she also has some other issues including OCD and narcissism. This is definitely not a heroine that most girls would likely root for even as they anticipate what Ariana's next move is going to be. She's not quite as smart as she thinks she is, however, nor as astute. As she covets material things and money, she unthinkingly makes one mistake after another in her quest to achieve her lifelong dreams.

The novel is fast paced and a bit predictable but teen readers will likely be glued to the pages as they race along reading what this very bad girl is going to do next.

Denise Crawford

Johanna Kelly's Book Review

Lucky

By Alice Sebold

**** stars

Lucky by Alice Sebold, the author of The Lovely Bones, is a non-fiction memoir focusing on a brutal rape. Alice Sebold was raped in her freshman year at Syracuse University. After the crime, she went to the police, where they said she was “lucky” because a woman was murdered in the same location where she was raped. The first thing we read is a graphic description of her rape; from first being beaten and threatened with a knife to being called worthless by her attacker. Sebold guides us through the struggle to cope with the fact and the struggle to feel like a normal person. Lucky shows how rape can tear anyone apart; her life was and never will be the same after being raped.

Lucky is very well written, and I recommend this book to very mature readers.

Fade by Lisa McMann

**** stars

Catch a dream...

I received the second in the series to review, but I'm really one of those who has to read any previous books in a series and read them in order. I don't think I would have had as good of an understanding of all that transpired in Fade if I had not read Wake first. It's important to get the background to really get into the second book and to understand the characters. I don't think Fade can stand on its own. I understand that these are two books of a planned trilogy and I must say that I'm looking forward to the third installment.

The premise of the story - a teen girl has the gift and the curse of being able to "catch" other peoples' dreams. Since people can fall asleep anytime, anywhere - the "catch" can sometimes occur unexpectedly and completely takes over Janie's body and mind. It can even happen while she is driving. When she "catches" a dream, she goes into an unconscious state and she can't control it or resist. As time goes by, she hopes to learn to control the dreams and also to effect changes in the dreams of others that she is forced to witness.

In this novel, Janie has been hired by the local police department to work uncover at Fieldridge High School investigating allegations of impropriety between male teachers and female students - including an accusation of date rape. She has some suspicions about particular teachers and is investigating them, along with her boyfriend Cabel. In addition, she has a mentor, Miss Stubin - another dream catcher - who, though no longer living, gives her some good advice through notes and files, and a special green book, in which details about the condition were recorded.

I think most teens would enjoy this novel. The concept is fresh, and the main characters are interesting and believable. I recommend it.

March Book Club

We have selected The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield for this month's book club discussion. You will be notified by email and by announcements when the books have arrived.

Johanna Kelly's Book Review

The Night My Sister

Went Missing

By Carol Plum-Ucci

2 stars

The Night My Sister Went Missing was disappointing. To start off, it wasn’t well written; I was more than halfway through the book when I realized the main character was male. It didn’t grab my attention. It was also very confusing. I wondered how two teenage boys were able to listen to police interviews. Most of the story seems unlikely.

It starts off with a seventeen year old brother, just out of high school, and a fifteen year old sister just out of her sophomore year, hanging out with the same friends, when their parents are out of town. Then suddenly, the fifteen year old disappears. No one knew how or why. The book is told by the older brother, and takes place mainly at a police station, listening to people confess what they think happened. The brother seems to show no emotion when he is with his best friend, thinking about his sister.

The reason I finished this book was because I wanted to know what happened to the sister. I’m not giving anything away, but it was very disappointing overall.

Meaghan Kimbrell's Book Review

Testimony
by Anita Shreve
****
I found this book really interesting. I enjoyed reading this novel. The way that the author wrote the book may confuse someone reading the book if they stop reading for awhile. The way it is written it has a different persons view point each chapter. It didn’t confuse me but I also read it in about three days. The novel is not that long at all.

The novel is about students who go to a private school in Vermont called Avery Academy. The students party and drink and one night everything goes too far with a sex scandal that comes about. The students, parents, the headmaster, and the town all get into trouble because of this scandal. The parents find out that even though they pay for their children to go to a good school in hopes of keeping them out of trouble it still doesn’t work. At the beginning of the novel the reader will find out what the whole scandal is but as the reader keeps reading they will find that there is more to the whole story.

Meaghan Kimbrell's Book Review

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart

by Deb Caletti

****

This novel was extremely cute. I really like this novel. It caught and held my attention throughout the entire story. Everyone can relate to this story because it is about love and everyone deals with love in there life.

The novel is told through a sixteen-year-old girl named Ruby McQueen perspective. Ruby falls for this rich bike rider named Travis that is into danger. She soon finds out that she was not into Travis but was into his bike. Ruby’s mother also has problems with her husband that is never around. After Ruby spends time in her mothers’ book club with a group of old ladies who call themselves “casserole queens” she soon learns that there is more to life than just boys. Ruby also finds out that there is more to one of the women in the group then there appears to be. Ruby, her mother, and the casserole queens go on a “mission” to help true love.