The Dead House-- Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

“Either the Darkness alters- or something in the sight adjusts itself to Midnight- and Life steps almost straight.”

                It has been 20 years since a fire destroyed part of Elmridge High that killed 3 people. After the fire, Carly Johnson disappeared. The fire was believed to have been started by Kaitlyn Johnson after her diary was discovered years later, giving hints as to what really happened in the days leading up to the accident where she is caught in the middle of it. But the thing is Kaitlyn doesn’t technically exist because she is the alter ego of Carly. She gets the night while Carly gets the day. Many people believe that Kaitlyn appeared after her parents had died, but she had been around long before. Carly was always the good child while Kaitlyn was the reckless one. But one day Kaitlyn wakes up during the day and cannot feel Carly anymore and Kaitlyn, with the help of Carly’s best friend Naida, has to find a way to search through the Dead House if she ever wants to find Carly. But the Dead House holds the power to completely ruin the lives of anyone who dares to enter it.

                I absolutely loved this book so I gave it four and a half stars. I loved the plot to this book and I loved that it NEVER got boring. There was always something going on and things were never slow. I also loved the character developments throughout the book. I would definitely recommend this to all teens who enjoy more paranormal type books. Those kind of books usually aren’t what I read but this book was amazing and it makes me want to look into more books like this. This book was pretty good as a stand alone, although I wouldn’t mind finding out more about their childhood and their parents and when exactly Carly began having an alter ego. All in all, I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone.

Everything Everything--Reviewed by Sarah Roberts

                    Imagine being stuck in your house and not able to leave because if you do, you will literally explode. Well that's the life of "Madeline Whitter". You see, she has this disease that makes her allergic to absolutely everything. She lives in a quiet home with her mother and "Carla", her nurse. Life is always constant...that is until Olly moves to town. Nothing will ever be the same. Follow Madeline through the duration of her illness and later find that she may not be the sick one in her home.

               I gave this book four and a half out of five stars. It grabbed your attention and definitely made you want to read more. I haven't really read anything like this book before. Madeline seemed be pretty well developed and seem to have the desire for freedom of any normal teen. One thing I thought could use a little work would have been the plot line. It seemed to need a little more development, but otherwise it was well written. I would recommend this to my friends because it makes you feel what Madeline feels. It makes you want desperately the freedom that Madeline wants. So all in all this is a great book.

October Poll

Autumn is here and it’s back to the classroom!  Type your answer to the question in the comments.

What memorable YA protagonist would best describe your school personality?: 

• Charlie from THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER by Stephen Chbosky: You’re the quiet sort of intellectual that people don’t always notice, but that doesn’t faze you. When you finally come out of your shell, it’ll be worth it for an experience you’ll never forget. 

• Georgia Nicolson from ANGUS, THONGS AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING by Louise Rennison: Everything about your high school experience screams awkward, but it’s okay --- your friends will have a million funny stories to laugh about later. 

• Andrew Wiggin from ENDER’S GAME by Orson Scott Card: You’re a tech whiz and proud of it, spending your afternoons playing video games and still somehow managing to do well in all your classes. 

• Felton Reinstein from STUPID FAST by Geoff Herbach: Your life revolves around sports --- living for the game keeps you sane. 

• Hermione Granger from HARRY POTTER: You are the smartest kid in school and you’re not afraid to show it. Getting great grades and eventually getting into a great college --- that’s what high school’s all about.

• Sam in BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver: You are the popular queen bee at your school, but (at least after that dramatic accident) you’ve learned that bullying and cruelty are not the ways to use your power.

• OTHER -- please give character name, book title, and author as well as briefly describe that character's "school personality."

 

Go Set A Watchman-- Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

                                                          

                                                          

“Every man’s island, Jean Louise, every man’s watchman, is his conscience.”

                In Harper Lee’s first novel Go Set A Watchman, Scout returns to her hometown of Maycomb, Alabama to visit her father. Upon arrival, she begins remembering things of the past of the small town she grew up in. She also begins to see many differences. Set during the era of civil rights movements and racial tension, Scout finds herself dumbfounded by the behavior of people in her town, including her father, Atticus. As she begins to learn secrets about her once close-knit family, she begins to doubt her beliefs and what she thinks she knows about her family and learns that what will guide her is her conscience.

                I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. I did like it well enough but I feel like it dragged on sometimes. I did like that it did relate a lot to To Kill A Mockingbird. Since it was written before To Kill A Mockingbird, I was worried it wouldn’t relate enough to the other book. This book is technically the second book to To Kill A Mockingbird, even though this novel was written before it. Harper Lee made a lot of the stories the same except for one major detail that honestly could’ve changed a lot in To Kill A Mockingbird which did bother me a little. A lot of the characters were the same and I like that as well except for one character who did change. I would recommend it to others because it was a good enough read and it was interesting to read this novel 60 years after it was actually written. If you want to read this novel, you should read To Kill A Mockingbird first because knowing in depth about Scout’s childhood will help you understand her behavior towards certain situations in this novel. All in all, I liked this novel well enough.

Damage Done-- Reviewed by Sarah Roberts

               
              Have you ever had something happened to you, where you just want to change your name and switch cities or even planets? Well that's exactly what happens to Julia Vann.

        When Julia Vann's brother does something that makes Julia and her family the talk of the town, she and her family pack up, change their identities, and move to a new town. Now living as Lucy Black, Julia has a chance at having a normal high school year. That is until, Dr. Spence, Julia's brother's therapist, comes to town with a plan to find Julia. When a sequence of events makes it hard to hide the truth about her past Julia is forced to confide in her best friend Alane and her high school crush, Michael. Julia tells them everything about her past life...or so they think. What Julia holds inside could be the key to unlocking what really happened that fateful day, which changed her life forever. One thing is clear the damage done can never be erased. It's only just the beginning.

         I thought this book was absolutely amazing. I gave it a five-star rating because i could not put it down for even a second. This book is twisted and touches on subjects that others are afraid to even hint at. It creates a feeling of numbness at the end, because you just can't process it at first. It makes you think about how the mind works and what really makes people the way they are. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone because it is a story worth experiencing.

Saint Anything-- Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

                                                        
          

“There is no shame in trying to make things work, is how I see it. It’s better than just accepting the broken.”

                Quiet and submissive, Sidney has always lived in the shadows of her older brother, Peyton. Her brother seemed to always be the center of attention in her family. His outgoing presence always attracted many people. Lately, he is the family’s concern. Struggling with drug abuse and hanging out with the wrong crowd, he finds himself in jail after a drunk driving accident that paralyzed a young boy. With her mother and father in denial of Peyton’s jail sentence, Sydney is left alone. She also begins feeling the need to apologize to the young boy her brother hit because her family can’t seem to come to terms with the truth that her brother did something very wrong. When she meets Layla and Mac and the rest of the Catham family, she begins to feel less invisible. This close-knit family takes Sydney in as their own and shows her kindness and makes her feel like she is finally seen at last.

                I really enjoyed this book so I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. In the beginning it was a little slow but if you read the book do not get discouraged! It begins to pick up and it reels you in more and more as the story progresses. I thought that the characters were vividly created. I think Dessen has a good understanding of how someone would feel in this type of situation. I really enjoyed the character developments throughout the book. I would recommend this book to other teens. It isn’t a slow read once you get further into the book and it has enough things going on throughout the book to keep you wondering and makes you want to read even more.      

Daughter of Deep Silence -- Reviewed by Sarah Roberts

                              Imagine seeing your family killed before your very own eyes while on a family vacation. Frances Mace sees her parents shot before her very own eyes while vacationing on a boat known as the Persephone. This is the story about how Frances seeks revenge on the man who covered up the truth about what really happened to the Persephone and its passengers that fateful night. But when something happens that causes Frances to make a choice between love or revenge, which will she choose? Come and ride the waves with Frances on the journey to a successful revenge along with finding the truth behind the lies and deceit of Senator Wells.

                                I gave this book four and half stars out of five because although this book was well written and had a very well written plot line, I would have liked to have seen more of the other characters and their points of view. Especially Shepherd's and Grey's.  This book was definitely original and the storyline had great depth to it. You really got to know Frances and experience the inner battles within herself. I enjoyed how she tried to keep herself from showing emotions but you got to see what really was going on in the inside. I would definitely read this book again if given the choice. Frances was forced to grow up but you also saw that she was just a girl on the inside who felt hurt and out of control. Although Frances did not show it you could see the agony she was really in due to the traumatic experience the happened before her eyes. I would recommend this to my friends and family members because it unlike anything you have ever read before.

New Year -- New Books

The following books will soon be available in your AOHS Library so stop by and check one out!

• The Invaders: Brotherband Chronicles, Book 2 by John A. Flanagan

• Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett

 

• The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen by Katherine Howe

• Damage Done by Amanda Panitch

 

• The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

 

•   What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler

 

 

• All We Have Is Now by Lisa Schroeder

 Enjoy! Let me know if there is something you really want to read and I will try to find it for you.
Ms C.

Brutal Youth -- Review by Arinze Mgbemena

"Brutal Youth" is a story of a group of kids Peter Davidek, Noah Stein, and Lorelei Paskal being introduced to their first year of high school. It also talks about their horrible experience with bullying in their freshmen year. For Peter it brings us to how he saw bullying on his first day of school and how he immediately tried to avoid it at all cost. In Lorelei's case she tries as hard as she can to fit in with the popular upperclassmen in the school. So she won't have to be treated as the others getting bullied she joins a group of girls called the "Miss St.Mikes". The group of freshmen decide it'd be best for them to gang up to make up ways to keep them all out of the way of the bullies. They try to befriend everybody the best way they can. But while trying too accomplish that task in some situations they make bad decisions that cost them.

This book truly didn't remind me allot of my own freshmen year. From the bullying standpoint of the book I can not remember myself getting bullied like that by upperclassman. Although I can remember other freshmen getting bullied in some of the ways the book talks about. This book did teach me that I should be thankful of my freshmen year high school. Because it could've been as bad as these freshmen in the book. It also taught me that as a freshmen you start to procrastinate on how to fit in, in high school. It seems as if that's what most freshmen think worry about the most. This book would probably be a very good book for most freshmen kids in high school. I myself would recommend it to anyone.

Conversion -- Review by Arinze Mgbemena

 

     The book "Conversion" by Katherine Howe, is story about a girl named Colleen going through her senior year of high school. She is trying to focus on school and stay stable through the stress of her life at that moment. One day in class, a girl named Clara began having vigorous twitches and tics which was very awkward. Later on, Clara’s friends, and then other girls, started having horrible and strange diseases and events happening to them which soon concerns people in the town. The media commences to cover stories on the girls problems. Colleen tries not to let the girls' problems affect her while she is being stressed out from her last year of high school. Until one of her own friends gets sick. Colleen starts reading "The Crucible" for extra credit, given to her by a substitute teacher. Colleen begins to see similarities between the historical Salem and the events happening on the same area she lives on. This makes her go deeper into the subject and wonder if the girls are faking all of what's happened or if the girls are in an actual dangerous situation.

       "Conversion" was an interesting book mostly because of all the mystery put in it. I enjoyed how the author at the beginning of the story talked about the stresses of high school work. Then she moves on to the mysteries of the Salem witch trials and how it is affecting the high school student life. It was also intriguing how she brought us back to the Salem ages and modern day throughout the whole book. It let you know the differences between those times and how they were reacting to the same type of event. I really enjoyed this book and i would recommended it to anyone one of my friends.