Blood and Salt~ Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

 

 

 

"When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in- blood and salt."

 

 

            After Ash Larkin's mother goes back to a spiritual commune that she had left long ago, Ash follows her to Quivira, Kansas. A dead girl always seems to haunt Ash but she finds out it's because the dead girl who is connected to her mother from when she was in Kansas. Soon after coming to Kansas, Ashlyn realizes there's something evil hidden in the community. She is haunted by memories of an ancestor who was involved in a tragic love story and murder. Soon, Ash begins to be drawn to a boy she meets, the secretive Dane. When the town starts preparations for a ceremony 500 years in the making, Ash has to fight to save her mother. These past 500 years will unravel because of the sacrifice of love.

 

             I liked this book so I gave it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. I really did enjoy how the plot was set up and I thought it had interesting characters. The only thing was that there were times where it did get slow and it just dragged on, and that can really hurt a book sometimes. I did like parts of the book and I really liked how Liggett put in flashbacks from Ashlyn's past to help tie in things. I think anyone who enjoys romantic horror stories and thrillers would really enjoy this book. I would recommend this to my friends and I think for the most part it was a good book.  

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.

Brutal Youth: Reviewed by Jack Berney

   

  

      Peter Davidek is in eighth grade when he first visits St. Michael the Archangel High School. The school's reputation is far from shining: grossly underfunded, filled with delinquent students, religious zealots, and downtrodden kids desperate to fit in. Not to mention that the building is literally falling apart. After witnessing something especially horrible on the day of his visit, Peter’s parents shock him by mysteriously deciding to send him there. When the first day rolls around, Davidek meets and bonds with some other new freshman. Noah Stein is quick to become his friend: somewhat cynical yet not averse to a fight or a laugh, his scarred face hides a scarred past. Together the two boys face the campy villain Ms Bromine, who loves detention-giving more than life, and the scheming Father Mercedes. We also see events through the eyes of their fellow student Lorelei Pascal, a girl who seems to be good at heart but will also risk anything to fit in, as well as a horde of bullies bent on hazing and a faculty that is strangely supportive of it. If they are to survive, they might have to unlearn what they thought they knew.
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.

The Phantom of the Opera - Reviewed by Stephanie Best

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

Reviewed by Stephanie Best

        The author claims that the “Opera Ghost”, Erik, was a real person. The story follows the real life happenings at the Paris Opera House, the Palais Garnier. Christine Daae, a chorus girl and daughter of a renowned fiddler, is only a chorus girl at the opera house, until one day she is given the opportunity to sing at the house’s managers’ retirement celebration. Under the guidance of the Opera Ghost, whom he tells her he is her Angel of Music, she sings extraordinarily beautifully and is an instant hit. Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny, sees the performance and remembers her from their childhood together, yet, she at first does not remember him. Around this time, strange things are happening at the opera house, including deaths. Seeing Christine with Raoul, Erik becomes jealous and kidnaps Christine multiple times. Can Christine trust her Angel of Music? Who will she chose, her Angel of Music, or Raoul? Even with the help of the mysterious The Persian, can Raoul save Christine?

I rated The Phantom of the Opera three out of five starts because I often found it very hard to follow. I often have trouble reading novels with this kind of writing. Even though I have seen the musical, I did enjoy the plot, because the original story is somewhat different than the musical. I did, however, really enjoy learning more about the characters and their pasts as well as their relatives. If the reader enjoys other classic books, such as Les Miserables, which was also made into a popular musical, then I recommend this book. Personally, I would rather watch the musical version of The Phantom of the Opera than read the book.

Fury reviewed by Molly Varney

Fury by Elizabeth Miles ****

Em was just a normal teenage girl. She had two bestfriends, Gabby and JD. She was also in love with Gabby's boyfriend, Zach. It was winter break in Asvension, Maine when he finally started to notice her. With Gabby on vacation with her family Em and Zach had all the time to be together. However, when Sasha, a girl from Em's school, tried to kill herself, Em started to notice weird things happening, like the same girl that kept appearing out of nowhere. She started to see that something was wrong.

On the other side of town, Chase was also having problems. His social life was slowly falling apart when he met Ty, a mysterious, beautiful girl. Although he could feel something off about Ty, he couldn't help but stay with her and try to get closer to her. He was still haunted by the horrible thing he had done, the one thing the perfect guy he pretended to be would never do. He knew it was only a matter of time before he was completely exposed. Three beautiful girls went to Ascension to choose who would pay and how, and Em and Chase were chosen.

I gave this book four stars because I didn't like Em and Chase's characters, and I liked the storyline and how the book ended. Fury is part of a Trilogy, that I really hope to finish. I got really into this book and some things that happened near the end surprised me. Overall, I thought Fury was a really good book.