These Shallow Graves~ Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

"If you're going to bury the past, bury it deep girl. Shallow graves always give up their dead."

           Jo Montfort has always lived a simple life. Growing up in a rich, sophisticated family, Jo's life has mostly been laid out for her. She'll get married, have a family, and live the rest of her life in the shadows of her husband. But she doesn't want that kind of life. Reading the articles from world renowned Nellie Bly has made her strive to become a reporter. But when her father suddenly dies, the cops say it is due to him accidentally shooting himself in the head with a revolver while he was cleaning it, but Jo knows her father was too smart to make that mistake. When she meets Eddie- a handsome, young reporter- she pairs with him to solve the real cause of her fathers murder. As she uncovers more and more truths about his death, she learns no ones past ever stays buried.

    

            I LOVED this book so I gave it 5 out of 5 stars. I've never really tried to read many murder-mystery books, but this one grabbed my attention so quickly. I never wanted to put it down. The characters were amazingly developed, the plot was so interesting, and every time they uncovered some type of clue, it left you wondering what was going to happen next. I love Jennifer Donnelly's writing style and I'll definitely be looking into more of her books. I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves thrillers or mystery books. You will not be disappointed reading this book.

These Broken Stars--Reviewed by: Sarah Roberts

“For a moment the image before us is frozen: our world, our lives, reduced to a handful broken stars half lost in uncharted space. Then it's gone, the view swallowed by the hyperspace winds streaming past, blue-green auroras wiping the after-images away.

Until all that's left is us” 

In the blink of an eye life can change. You can go from being surrounded by your comfortable, bright life style to being in a place that's new, uncertain. Well that's exactly what happened to Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen.

Lilac LaRoux is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Carver comes from nothing, but is a young war hero who knows that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they are worth. So what happens when the two are thrown together after their beloved spaceship, the Icarus, crashes on to an unknown planet? Well, they are forced to work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Along the way there will be arguments, sarcastic comedy, heart melting moments, and even love.

I loved this book! I couldn't put it down for more than a second before I had to pick it up again. That is why I gave this book a 5 star rating. I enjoyed the suspense, sic-fi setting, and romance!. The sarcastic comments from Tarver made this story more comical, which I adored. The growing relationship between Lilac and Tarver will truly make you melt. I thought that these two characters truly complemented each other, and made this book worth reading. Some scenes in this book will leave you breathless! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and will definitely recommend this to my friends and family.

A Thousand Nights--Reviewed by: Sarah Roberts



"We do not know why we came from the sea to this hard and dusty earth, but we know that                                                     we are better than it."                                                        

Imagine a world where someone can take you from your home and instantly say that you are their wife until they decide you aren't useful anymore, and then kill you off.  Well, that is the exact life Al-ammiyyah lives.

In Al-ammiyyah's world an evil lord, by the name of Lo-Melkhiin, goes to every district and chooses a wife. He then takes her to his palace, where the wife may only last a few day before he grows tired and kills her off. One day, Lo-Melkhiin comes to Al-ammiyyah's homeland. Knowing that her sister is far too beautiful for Lo-Melkhiin to pass on, Al-ammiyyah draws on her inner power to make herself more beautiful than her beloved sister. In the end, Lo-Melkhiin chooses Al-ammiyyah and rides off with her to his palace. 

Night after night Al-ammiyyah fears it will be her last, but for some reason Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and forces her to tell stories of her homeland.Lo-Melkhiin visits Al-ammiyyah every evening and every time he grabs her hands a copper fire moves between the two. Al-ammiyyah every now and then gets glimpses of a gentler man inside of Lo-Melkhiin, and begins to wonder if there could be something causing the coldness inside of him. It isn't until after Lo-Melkhiin gets attacked by a mysterious creature that Al-ammiyyah fears her suspicions could be true.

I gave this book a 5 star rating. This book enraptures your mind and will make you never want to put it down! I love how this story was told from Al-ammiyyah's point of view, but had little snippets from the darkness inside of Lo-Melkhiin. The words grasp your attention. You really begin to imagine what happens during every chapter. I would definitely recommend this book to all my friends and family.  

Illuminae~ Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

                                                

               The year is 2575. The morning before Kady’s planet was invaded, she thought breaking up with her boyfriend Ezra would be the hardest thing about the day to come. Soon after two rival corporations declare war on each other, she realizes she was very wrong. Now that her planet is invaded, she is forced to evacuate with Ezra on a warship. As she thinks things can’t get any worse, a plague breaks out. As Kady tries to find answers, she can’t seem to learn anything because the people in charge don’t want to talk about what’s really going on. She soon resolves to hacking into the database to find the truth. What she comes to find is that Ezra seems to be the only one who can really help her. Can they overcome their awkward past to help save their planet?

                I liked this book so I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I usually am not into outer space books or a lot of books that have to do much with science. But I really enjoyed this one. I LOVED the layout of it. (Mostly because of reminded me of The Dead House). I like the different fonts and styles of the pages, which always helps with such long books. I loved all the plot twists which I did not see coming. I also love books that are realistic and I really thought events and ways the characters reacted to things really was realistic, unlike other books where things are instantly perfect again and all is well. Because come on, we all know it doesn’t happen like that. This was a good read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys books about outer space and fantasy.

Book Club -- BRUTAL YOUTH

* See the comments for continued discussion between author and book club members. Meeting was a great success!

We will be discussing this novel on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 8 am in the Library. Please bring your copy of the book and your iPad to participate in the discussion. We will be posting comments here on the blog as well.

Some questions to ponder prior to the meeting:

Discussion Questions

1. The book was set in 1991. How do you think growing up in high school then

is different from how it is now?

2. Do you think growing up in that private school is anything like O'Hara?

3. How do you feel about the people Peter surrounds himself with at school?

4. Although stealing is wrong, could you understand what drove Father

Mercedes to steal the money?

5. Hector is the only African American at the school. Is the treatment that he

received what you would have expected?

6. Brutal Youth brings forth the idea that people who are mistreated often

mistreat others. How is this not true for Stein?

7. How did you feel about the relationship between Hannah and Mr. Zimmer?

8. Although Sister Maria can be frustrating, did you respect her more or less

after she covered up for Stein's absence?

9. Do you feel like the author accurately shows what a Catholic school is like?

10. Stein believes that, "following the rules and doing the right thing aren't the

same thing" (Breznican). Do you agree?



Questions 1, 4-6, 8, & 10 from readinggroupguides.com

Reading Group Guides. St. Martin's Griffin, 2 June 2015. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.

Questions submitted by Hailey H.


Ms Crawford

Burning Blue--Reviewed by: Sarah Roberts

                           Think of the most beautiful girl in your grade. Now think about what would happen to the school if the said girl's face was ruined by someone. Well, that's exactly what happened to golden girl; Nicole Castro. 

           It started off as a normal day, but then everything changes with just one squirt from a water bottle filled with acid. Now everyone is left with the simple question of "Why?" The only person willing to figure out this mystery is Jay Nazzaro,a social outcast scarred from public humiliation. I guess having a seizure during a pep rally and later finding it on YouTube makes people think twice about becoming friends with you. So with the help of his trusty computer hacking skills, Jay is on the hunt to find the culprit who led to Nicole's downfall from queen bee, to burned girl. Follow Jay and help find out who is really burning blue.

            

           I thought this book was amazing! I would definitely recommend this to my friends and family. I enjoyed how it was told from Jay's point of view, but had some journal entries that belonged to Nicole. I gave this book a rating of 4 and half stars because although it was well written, I would have liked to perhaps hear the point of view of the person who burned Nicole. Otherwise, this book was a great read and I believe others would enjoy this book immensely. 

Need--Reviewed by Sarah Roberts

" A want is a desire to possess or do something. A wish. A need is something required because it is essential. Something very important that you cannot live without."

"What do you need?"

                   Social media is the most important thing to teens these days. So when a social media cite called NEED starts offering to send teens in the small town of Nottawa whatever they need in exchange for small tasks to be carried out, what could be sweeter. At first the tasks are as simple as inviting people to join NEED, and then everything changes. A fellow classmate is the first to die after cookies were "mysteriously" delivered to her containing the one thing that could kill her...peanuts. The culprit is a fellow classmate, and NEED member, who was just following through on the task given to them. As more teens begin to die off, there's only on teen who wants to end NEED for good. Follow Kayla, as she tries to find out who is behind NEED, and hopefully put a stop to them before more classmates meet their untimely deaths.
 

            I became obsessed with this book after the first chapter! This is why I rated the book a five out of five stars. This book will have you begging for more. I thoroughly enjoyed how each chapter was from a different point of view of each character. Just like every person has their own opinions and point of views, so do the characters. You really get to experience what goes on in every character's head through the progression of each chapter. The ending of this book will leave you breathless. It was also make you think that this story could possibly happen in real life today.



Dreamland~ Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

“All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream”

–Edgar Allan Poe

            Odea Donahue is not like most kids her age. Traveling from town to town with her mother her whole life and not knowing her father aren’t the only strange things about her.

            She has the ability to walk through people’s dreams.

            After being able to walk in people’s dreams since she was six years old, she knows that there are rules that she MUST follow. Never be seen, never interfere in the person’s dream, and never walk through someone’s dream more than once. Her mother was able to enforce these rules until she meets Conner, a new kid who has secrets of his own. Conner’s past makes her even more interested in him and she begins to break the rules in hopes that she’ll uncover the truth behind Conner’s past. But the rules were made so that the monsters would never find her. Once the rules were broken, they found her and took her mother hoping that it would lure her to their world. In her journey to find her mother, she uncovers more about Conner’s past, and her own.

            I really enjoyed this book so I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I loved the whole plot of the book. I think the author did an amazing job creating a good view of the world she created in the book. The plot twists were ones I did not see coming at all. One thing that wasn’t so great about the book was that it took a little bit to really get into. Although I liked that some parts did leave you questioning something and made you what to read even more. Also, I liked the originality of the book. There aren’t any many books that I’ve seen about people dream-walking and other worlds being created from the monsters that are in nightmares. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers.

What We Saw--Reviewed by Sarah Roberts

 

               
              Have you ever been in a situation where something bad happens, and you are the only one that wants to speak out against it? Well that's exactly where Kate Weston finds herself. After a picture of Stacey Stallard passed out over Deacon Mill's shoulder appears on social media, Kate begins to question what really happened that night. Suddenly, controversy erupt in town after Stacey accuses four of Kate's classmates of rape. Kate begins to question What really happened at that party after she left? who was still there? and more importantly what did they see?
     I gave this book a five star rating. This book was absolutely amazing! The mystery and suspense had my heart pounding and my mind dying to find out more as each chapter passed. I enjoyed how there was some romance but also a scandal that I feel any teen could experience at any party. This book may have you believe you have it all figured out by reading one single page, but in reality nothing is as exactly as it appears. The closer you look, the more you see.

 



The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen-- Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

                19 year-old Wes Auckerman has just moved to New York City to attend a filmmaker summer program at NYU. While helping a friend film a séance in the Bowery, Wes and his friend, Tyler, see a beautiful girl with a satin bow in the way of the camera frame. As the night progresses, Wes can’t seem to find her again. Due to his curiosity to find out more about her and Tyler’s need to find this mysterious girl to sign a release paper, Wes goes to find her. Once he finds her and they start spending more time together, Wes tries to uncover parts of Annie’s past. Also, how is she connected to Maddie, the other mysterious girl Wes met at the séance? As Wes and Annie travel around NYC trying to find her missing ring, Wes learns more about her past and why she seems otherworldly.

                I really enjoyed this book so I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I love Katherine Howe’s writing style and I thought this book was very good. I really liked the characters and how bizarre some of them were. I also liked the dual POV’s and that some parts were from Wes’ POV and other were from Annie’s. Sometimes it doesn’t work very well and it gets confusing when authors do that but I think it went along smoothly in this book. If you have ever read Katherine Howe’s other book Conversion I think you would like this book as well. It has that thriller/mystery twist to it that really keeps you wanting to read more. I really enjoyed this book all together.