"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.
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Monday, December 15, 2014
Brutal Youth -- Review by Arinze Mgbemena
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Conversion -- Review by Arinze Mgbemena
"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.
Secrets of the Cancer-Slaying Superman -- Reviewed by Arinze Mgbemena
Benjamin Rubenstein was sixteen years old trying to make the varsity tennis team at his high school. He was in the middle of his teenage years and was enjoying his life. One day, Benjamin started feeling a horrible pain in his left hip. He told his brother about the pain, but his brother told him to give it a few days to see if it would go away. Benjamin decided to fight through it to be able to play tennis, but the pain became unbearable, so he reported it to his parents. A few days later, Benjamin and his parents went to the hospital to see what was wrong with him. They found out that Benjamin had Ewing's Sarcoma a horrible bone cancer in his left hip.
Throughout the story, Benjamin reflects about his experiences with radiation and chemotherapy and being around children and young adults that he called the "sick kids". He tells us about his emotions of going through cancer the first time. He also describes how he saw people with cancer acting like it was normal to have it. He also remembers how positive they were about it even though they were close to death. Not only did Benjamin go through cancer twice, he also lost his left hip because of the disease.
Furthermore, he reminisces about his second encounter with cancer when he had leukemia at the University of Minnesota. He developed this disease as a complication from his treatment from all the radiation he was exposed to. He also discuses his experience with his bone marrow transplant and how he felt alone and in pain all the time. He speaks about his strength mentally and how he tried to stay calm and determined through his second fight with the disease.I enjoyed this book very much because it gave me insight into the life of a young man with cancer.
The book is interesting. It taught how to be positive about life at its hardest moments. It gave me a look at a teenager with cancer who became an adult with cancer. It was interesting to see the types of maturity through the different times of Benjamin's life when experiencing this disease. This book also did scare me a little because Ben was diagnosed as a teenager with Ewing's Sarcoma which is found in teenage boys. Which makes me more cautious about my health. It also surprised me how Benjamin went through it all. Knowing most teenage boys at that age would've been terrified and probably would've acted different from the way Benjamin did. Me personally would've been deeply scared if it was me or even if it was for a close family member I would fear strongly for them.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Half BROTHER -- ARINZE MGBEMENA
Ben Tomlin is a 13 year old boy, growing up in Canada in 1973 and experiencing everything that life as a 13 year old boy would normally experience. Zan is an infant chimp, literally pulled away from his mother just eight days of age. He is now being raised as part of Ben's family for a university experiment on primates and language, which Ben’s father is leading. This experiment was performed to discover if another species can be taught to understand and communicate the human language. From the very first day Zan is with their family, Ben’s parents tell him about what the experiment is for and why Zan is living with them. His father talks about the importance of Zan being brought up to believe that he is a human. Zan wears clothes, eats at the table with the Ben's family , and plays with Ben’s toys, just like a normal human child. The Tomlins teach Zan how to communicate using American Sign Language so they can talk to him more and he can interact more with them. Ben understands the experiment, but he is kind of confused on how his father’s and his mother’s interacting with Zan. His father, opposed to even giving Zan a name. He never leaves the boundary of the experiment, and does not try to listen to anyone or anything that challenges his ideas of how the experiment should go. His mother is more nurturing. She recognizes that Zan’s need confronting and tries to be a mother figure for Zan, while at the same time not messing with the experiment.
As Zan gets older , and the experiment becomes more difficult to work with, the Zan Project begins to spiral out of control. At this point, Ben finds an friend in Peter, an student research assistants working on the project. Like Ben, Peter sees Zan is a living being with real needs and emotions. Peter and Ben attempt to find a way out of what has become a tragic trap for Zan.
What was most interesting thing to me about the book is how they treated Zan as a human child and he acted like a one too. I also liked how Ben was trying to take Zan away from the experimentation and show that he is just a living being not an experiment . I enjoyed the book very much and i would recommend it to anyone.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
dEAD CONNECTION -- BY ARINZE MGBEMENA
An interesting thing about Dead Connections it was never boring it gave a full background check about the characters and the plot. It was a very great mystery book the, characters were very interesting to read about especially Murray. Learning that he listens to ghosts and talks to them and how dedicated he is to knowing what happened to Nikki was very nice to read about. I would recommend this book to anyone It is a great book.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Ella Minnow Pea -- review by Arinze Mgbemena
In the book Ella MINNOW PEA there is a girl named Ella who lives on an island Nollopton. On this island, they are not well educated with modern day technology and there a small island. The island has a letter written about 100 years ago hung up for everyone to see, this note has every letter in the alphabet on it it says "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." One day, one of letters falls down the letter Z and the council of the island decides that no one should ever use that letter again so everyone is now scared to talk, and the letter Q falls, people are getting more scared except for a man named William Crevy he says what he wants and his caught saying a word with the letter Q in it and he was banished from the island. In the story Ella writes notes to her pen pal Tessie about the whole situation and as time goes by more letters fall off and Ella tells Tessie that what the council is doing maybe wrong so she goes to the council and ask them if she can make another sentence that has all the letters in the alphabet they say if she can do that then everyone can talk normal again. More and more letters fall off and the council finally decides to just take the sign off and everyone is allowed to talk normal again.
This book was very strange to me because throughout most of the book were letters written to Ella and Tessie, but i thought the book was very interesting how the island people were and how they lived their lives. It was a great read and I'd recommend it to anyone.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Rucker Park Setup -- reviewed by Arinze Mgbemena
I really enjoyed this book because it talked about two friends that were following their dreams until one of them left which made things difficult for one, but also inspired him to work hard and win it for his loved ones. It also talks about loneliness and having no one with you when you're following and leaving your dream while at the same time it talks about fear of someone watching you and making sure you keep quiet or they will hurt you. This book is a very great book to read if you're searching for a book to read about achievements in memory of those who have passed away.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Loud Awake and Lost by Adele Griffin
"Who was I, just before I almost died?"
Ember Leferrier is 17 years old when she returns home after spending over 8 months recovering from a near fatal accident. She sustained severe body injuries, and because of traumatic brain damage, has also lost the memory of six weeks of her life before the car crash. Although her body is mostly healed, the amnesia persists and Ember feels compelled to seek some answers -- especially when she finds that she "forgot" that a boy she can't remember much about was in the car beside her when she slid off the bridge that night. Who was she, and who was Anthony?
AOHS Book Club
Ms C.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Ball Don't Lie -- reviewed by Arinze Mgbenema
I enjoyed this book very much. It was an interesting and a very satisfying read. As I went deeper and deeper into the the book I truly didn't want to stop mostly because it was a book that at some points I can relate to. This is a true book for basketball players and people just trying to find a good book to read.
Friday, August 22, 2014
If I Stay -- movie coming!
IF I STAY
The critically acclaimed, bestselling novel from Gayle Forman is now a
major motion picture starring Chloe Grace Moretz! The movie tie-in book
includes exclusive interviews with Chloe Grace Moretz and her co-star
Jamie Blackley.
Movie opens Friday, August 22.
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Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Above -- Reviewed by Paige Espinosa
I gave this book three and a half out of five stars because it was good, I just had a hard time really getting into it. It was definitely original and unlike most books I've read though which I really liked. I really liked how no main character was really truly likable or totally despicable. Even Dobbs- a crazy kidnapping madman- wasn't all bad. He was really just wrong in the head because his intentions were, arguably, good. Blythe starts going a little bit crazy underground and by the end she isn't anything close to the sweet sixteen year old that got kidnapped; she's a thirty-something year old woman who lost her whole childhood and had her future dreams crushed as well, which made me not even like her character's attitude and thoughts at time. I would recommend this to anyone who wanted to read a new, original dystopian novel.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Brutal Youth: Reviewed by Jack Berney
I tried and tried to give this book a chance, but reading it honestly got to be like pulling teeth. It seemed as though it was part Mean Girls, part American Horror Story, with some of the protagonists being moderately dynamic and somewhat relatable. That is, except when they are driven to extreme violence and cruelty .The antagonists were clearly not written to be liked; their negative actions and influences dominate the book's tone, which may explain why I had such a difficult time enjoying it. The egotistical football player with the perfect but cruel valedictorian as his girlfriend, the teacher who hates kids and loves detentions, the bully who only bullies to feel better about himself. Breznican makes a great effort to weave in themes of teen angst and the struggle for identity, and to this end has characters frequently spell out their motivations directly during dialog. Though does get his point across, I quickly felt as if he was beating me over the head with it. I did find this book to be somewhat thought-provoking, it was anything but a feel good read. Those interested in fiction written about young adults (this book is definitely not suitable for children), might enjoy it more than I did; hopefully not everyone will find brutal youth so brutal.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
The Fever reviewed by: Portia Rockers
Deenie is a teenage girl who lives in a small community. She is part the Nash family who is very close. Tom is her father, he is a single father and a science teacher. Eli, is Deenies brother, he is a star hockey player and a womanizer. Lise is one of Deenies best friend who collapsed during a quiz and had a series of seizures. Deenie skips the rest of school to see her only to see her have another one. Lise is now in a coma and in the hospital. The whole town has its theories, but then her other friend Gabby has a similar incident, and then her other friend Kim. Though none of her other friends were as bad as Lise parents are freaking out, some thinks its HPV others think its the toxic lake, everyone wants an answer, but can they handle the truth?
I gave this book four stars because, while I really enjoyed the plot, I felt it switched P.O.Vs to often and there was a lot of short paragraphs that skipped around and got confusing. Also the end wasn't as dramatic as I wanted. I really liked the plot though, it showed a more dramatic way of version of high school. But at the same time it was realistic, the book showed jealousy and how fast rumors spread. I felt the girls were really believable with the problems they faced during high school, and the author did a great job at writing bad girls. If you liked this book then you might like The Crucible or Megan Abbotts other books.
Friday, May 9, 2014
The Here And Now - reviewed by Maggie Devero
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Panic - reviewed by: Portia Rockers
Monsters of Men - reviewed by Maggie Devero
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands- reviewed by: Portia Rockers
Emily Shepard is a 16-year-old girl who lives in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. She's in the middle of her junior year of high school when the power plant has a meltdown. Her parents were both killed during the meltdown, and what's worse is her dad was in charge at the time. Emily is at an evacuation camp with others from her school when she hears that her father is being blamed for the meltdown. Emily, who feels alone and is hurt by the accusations, decides to run away. She's now living on the streets and is comforted by the words of her favorite poet, Emily Dickinson.
I absolutely loved this book because it was so sad and original. Emily was such a unique character, she was strong and made adult decisions. But, at the same time, I could tell that she was a teenager. A lot of times teenagers are written too mature so that they seem like adults or they are written as so naive that they look like children. I thought Emily had the perfect balance of character traits. The story itself was tragic, and it was something that could happen in the future and has occurred in the past, which is why it was so terrifying. I would recommend this book to everyone I know, it's such a heartbreaking story. Even though the story is not being marketed as YA, I do feel that teens will enjoy this book.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands - reviewed by Maggie Devero
Friday, April 25, 2014
Book Club Meets Monday, April 28, in the Library!
Review of The Quick by Paige Espinosa
I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars because the idea seemed original enough but after about two plot twists it became too predictable. Some of the characters, like Charlotte, were relatable and realistic while others, like Mould aka Doctor Knife, a human who experimented on campus and was accepted into an exclusive vampire club weren't realistic at all. It's hard enough for vampires to get into the club, yet a simple human, a mere bedtime snack, can walk into a room of vampires and be mostly accepted? After awhile, the book started getting confusing and there were a few too many loose ends not tied up at the end. Honestly, reading it made me feel like the author didn't rally know where she was going with her story and she rambled on for 500 pages until realizing maybe that was long enough to be an acceptable novel. It took a good 450 pages to get to the real climax but then nothing really happened, few questions were answered, and new mysteries and cryptic hints were still being added. (Like hints of corpses being reanimated but not as vampires? Almost like zombies but the book didn't mention that the corpses wanted to kill you, just that they were difficult to put down. But that, point was never elaborated on and was brought up once or twice more and then forgotten.) overall, despite the lack of planning involved in writing this and the insanely predictable ending, it was an okay book. It would be perfect for anyone looking for a different, less twilight-sequel vampire story.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
The Golden World reviewed by: Portia Rockers
Monday, April 21, 2014
The Ask and The Answer - Reviewed by Maggie Devero
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Above - Reviewed by Maggie Devero
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Breaking Beautiful - Reviewed by Maggie Devero
Monday, April 7, 2014
Don't Turn Around reviewed by: Portia Rockers
Friday, April 4, 2014
Feed by M.T. Anderson Reviewed by Paige Espinosa
I gave this book four out of five stars because certain passages were just insanely thought-provoking. Some of it was too unrealistic for me but other parts I could totally imagine happening in our world. Although it is another dystopian novel, it isn't just like everything else that has been popular and being turned into movies. One part I really liked was that it wasn't from the perspective of a teen girl who was head-over-heels for this new boy she met on the moon. Instead, it was from Titus's point of view and he's just your average teenage boy. He isn't looking for anything lasting or any type of commitment and overall it was a realistic teen relationship that didn't give the reader high expectations for romance in their real life outside the book. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian or sci-fi and is looking for something a little more out-of-the-box than the average dictatorship-built-on-the-ruins-of-The-United-States-of-America-until-one-girl-brings-down-the-government-to-save-the-people-while-she-falls-in-love-at-the-same-time sort of series that everyone seems to love right now.
How about the rest of you??