The Bone Season- Review by Paige Espinosa

     Paige Mahoney is a gutsy 19 year old criminal with a high-ranking position in a wanted gang. Her rare ability to leave her body and enter the minds- or dreamscapes- of others around her makes her a valuable ally- and a dangerous enemy. In 2059 London, the governrment is now called Scion and it is searching for all people, like Paige, who have these special abilities. These clairvoyants are hunted and, when caught, are presumably tortured and put to death or given an option to join a law enforcement division dedicated to hunting other clairvoyants; however, option number two means being under the thumb of Scion, turning in your own, and being given thirty years to live before being "put down" like a sick animal. 

     When Paige is captured, all she knows about Scion is suddenly tested when she finds herself in a city that was wiped off the map 200 years ago after a devastating fire. Scion's secrets are unearthed with her discovery of an ancient race, the Rephaim, who value clairvoyants for their fight against the flesh-eating Emim. Paige's only options are obey the Rephaim and join their army against the Emim- leading to an almost certain death in the jaws of a fearsome creature- or to fight back and most likely be killed by her captors. Find out what happens by reading The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon!

     I enjoyed The Bone Season and gave it three and a half stars. The story was exceptionally original however the brief appearance of a love triangle took away from the quality of the story for me. The continuance of hinting at this love triangle after a shocking revelation that should have ended it also grew old and boring by the end of the book. Paige Mahoney was a likable character, similar to Katniss Everdeen (from The Hunger Games trilogy). Both are strong female roles, coming from livelihoods made on the black market to situations where you have to fight to survive and your sanity is pushed to its limits. Other characters, however, such as Warden, Paige's master, weren't quite as likable. Warden felt a little too cliche, almost like another Edward Cullen- dark, mysterious, immortal stalker. (from the Twilight series) Personally, I felt that most of the characters weren't developed fully throughout the story and at the end of the book I honestly didn't feel like I really knew much about most of them. Hopefully in sequels to come, Samantha Shannon will continue to develop these characters as they have the potential to be extremely intriguing- if not likable- characters.  

Bad Girls Don't Die - Reviewed by Maggie Devero

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

Reviewed by Maggie Devero

It's understandable to think that you're the normal dysfunctional teenager; a sophomore in high school, one that's antisocial, a troublemaker, and pink hair to boot. But when you're sister starts acting strangely, and your mortal enemy (a cheerleader, god forbid) warns you she thinks it's possession...that's when you can safely assume you're a little more than dysfunctional. Alexis Warren lives in a very old, very large house with a family who is always too busy to bother staying close to one another. Except for her little sister Kasey, she has no other friends, and now Kasey has begun acting strange. She no longer seems to be talking to her doll collection, but something that's not there, she has acquired weird strength she didn't have before, and occasionally her eyes turn from blue to bright green. Alexis isn't sure it's quite her sister anymore, and she doesn't know who to turn to. Surprisingly though, cute blonde prep boy Carter Blume has started giving her a lot of attention so she can pour out her emotion in him. But the most unexpected is when Megan Wiley, top varsity cheerleader comes to her and tells her that she thinks her sister is possessed. Will Alexis be able to join with someone that she's spent her entire high school life trying to ruin? Will the two be able to help Kasey, and keep her from these evil forces working inside her? Read the book to find out!

So I gave this book two stars for multiple reasons. I was going to give it three, just to be nice but I just hit a certain point where I was like "no."  The plot was just so completely predictable and it just worked out so well. Oh, she's sad and lonely - magically a cute boy appears and wants to shower her with attention and comfort. Oh, her sister is acting abnormally - Ms. Perfect Cheerleader shows up, befriends her, and tells her she can help her possessed sister. It just all worked out too well, and was thrown together with no buildup. Also the dialogue was really weird at some points. It was read from her point of view, so her thoughts were often showed in the writing...and even though they were trying to capture the immature thoughts of a teenage girl, it was just so awkward and random! The storyline had a lot of potential, especially because I love scary stuff, but portrayed the way it was in this book, it just didn't hit it right for me. It might fit some others taste, so read it yourself to find out! Also if you're looking for books similar to it, come check out our halloween setup in the library, with all sorts of spooky holiday themed books!

November Book Club

Don't miss out -- soon to be a major motion picture!

Divergent by Veronica Roth - the first book in a trilogy.

In a future Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more diffficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

Stop by the library and pick up a copy today! If you'd like to join Book Club, please send an email to dcrawford@oharahs.org and you will receive an invitation to the Schoology group.

Crank-- Reviewed by Desarae Coffey

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

 I am giving this book four and a half stars out of a five star rating. Something you may want to know about this story before reading it isthe writing style. This book is written in free verse. This type of style is kind of hard to understand but is easy to read.

The book Crank is about a straight -A high schooler name Kristina, who gets mixed up in drugs and is raped. Over this past summer Kristiana decides to go and spend two weeks with her dad that she hasn't seen since she was very young. Her dad turns out to be nothing but wasted soul, constantly strung out on Crank. While she is down there she meets a guy named Adam, falls in love while getting addicted to Crank aka cocane aka the monster. The monster brings out her double personality. Kristina struggles to keep Bre tamed and undercontrol while losing the will to want to. Bre is addicted to the monster and will never let him go, until something makes her...

Two weeks like she goes back home knowing her father will never change or never own up to his responsibilities. When she goes back home, Bre has gone back to her home deep inside Kristina's mind until she alone again. During the last weeks of Summer, she feels the pain of heart break and the suffocation of her mom. She gets raped and finally let goes of Bre. Bre is free and let's the Monster back in. She finds a new love interest but doesn't know if they will make it..

When Bre finally let's go of the Monster she finds out she is pregnant...

Read the book to find out the ending..

My personally reference for Crank is that drugs are apart of life, it is our choice whether we walk away or join the monster. Most people don't understand is that once the monster have his fangs hooked in you, it's a battle from hell to break free. The monster will consume your soul if you let him... Bre and Kristiana were to completely different souls stuck in the same body fighting for domance while the monster rocked both of them.

Uglies - reviewed by Maggie Devero

Uglies (1st in Series) - by Scott Westerfeld

Reviewed by - Maggie Devero

Would you betray your own friend, to choose for both of you, a life of parties, fun, and being physically transformed into a beautiful human being? 

Tally Youngblood had always yearned to become one of the Pretties. She watched them in the shadows during her late-night escapes from Uglytown, captivated by their soft pretty faces and crazy ongoing parties, all happening right across the bridge from her own home. Tally had waited almost sixteen years, and soon enough it would be her turn, same as all Uglies when they came of age, to get the operation that would turn them beautiful and allow them a life in Prettytown. On one of her escapades, she makes a new friend named Shay, and they have their own adventures together. There is only one big difference between Shay, and Tally herself...and that is that Shay has no intention of turning pretty. Tally cannot began to comprehend why Shay is so against the operation, because who wouldn't want to be perfect? But before she knows it, only a week before the scheduled operation, Shay is gone. She disappeared to some broken down, old-fashioned, empty city called Smoke, where rumor had it no one was pretty and it was just like the old society had been. The day Tally is supposed to turn pretty, though, she is called in and told to find her friend and all those others who have escaped the town and operation. So Tally begins a new journey, to find her friend and the others, and eventually become a pretty herself. Little does she know that the things she will learn on the outside, will change her perspective completely.

I gave Uglies three out of five stars. I know the series was (and still is) a hot series to read, and is well liked among the YA readers, but I don't think I caught the same hype as everyone else did about the book. The plot took some foreseeable turns, and I think I had just had too high of expectations for this book. It was still pretty good, an enjoyable read that I hope to get around to finishing the rest of the series.  The scifi idea of the book, that people turn pretty at a certain age and then are accepted into the "perfect society" is interesting, and the futuristic elements such as hoverboards and the software to make yourself look pretty fit in with the storyline well. I have just personally heard so much rave about this book, that I expected it to b e little bit better than it was. Then again, scifi/futuristic genres have just never been my thing, so that might just be it! If you do read this book and like it, I would suggest you finish the series, the other books are: Pretties, Specials, and Extras!