Reviews

May

2022

Goodbye Perfect

by Sara Barnard

Goodbye Perfect is a book about a “perfect” girl named Bonnie who, defying all expectations of her character, runs away with her teacher. Her best friend, Eden, is the narrator of the book and expresses how she felt betrayed by Bonnie for disappearing without any premonition. Eden doesn’t know whether she should tell the cops of Bonnie’s location or not.

I liked this book because it had that hint of teenage trouble, if you know what I mean. The struggles and dilemmas of teenage life made it a superbly interesting read. One suspense chases after another as Bonnie runs away, Eden tries to rendezvous with Bonnie, and the cops arrest them all. What makes it even more fun is that it all happens in the week before their finals. Bonnie, the girl who always stressed too much about school, running away right before a big test? How could that happen? And she didn’t even tell her best friend? What was she thinking?

Well you just gotta read it if you want to find out.

Apr

2022

Things Not Seen

By Andrew Clements

Have you ever felt invisible with only one friend whom you can trust? If not, you should explore the book Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements. Things Not Seen is a great book because it allows you to see things in a different way. I would also recommend this book to people who enjoy science fiction. Here I will talk about the theme, summary, and my personal response to this book.

What I think the theme of this book is: sometimes you’re right but you just don’t see things my way. In other words, there are multiple ways to perceive truth. Because Alicia is blind and people don’t like her, but inside, she is just as normal as any other human being.

The book is set in Chicago, IL, and has two main characters, Bobby and Alicia. The boy, Bobby, turns invisible all of a sudden from a mysterious cause! He doesn’t know how he became invisible or who turned him invisible. He stays at home, to not cause any problem for himself and his family. One day, he meets this beautiful girl named Alicia, who is blind, and is unaware that he is invisible. Her unique perspective let the friendship blossom. A few weeks later, the school he used to go to is teaming up with the police, thinking that something is up. If you want to know the rest, then you’ll have to read it yourself!

My personal response to the book is that it is weird and sad. When Bobby turned invisible, it was weird and when the accident happened to Bobby’s parents, it was sad. Things Not Seen is overall a great book and isn’t always happy but again, I recommend this because it has amazing writing and I just love it!

Mar

2022

Room to Dream

In the book Room to Dream by Kelly Yang, the third installment of the Front Desk series, Mia and her family finally saved up enough money to go to China. When she arrives, she is linked with an editor of a Chinese middle school newspaper by her grandfather. She starts writing about her own life, with all the drama happening with it. The editor says that is good. Mia is not as sure.

She goes back home, only to see that Calivista is running out of business and that her best friend Lupe got placed in high school math. She is devastated to hear that the Magna hotels bought the two hotels next to them, and their cleaning services don’t even clean everything. Mia eventually works out a plan, and it works! People are coming back to Calivista, and Lupe can help out again.

I liked this book because it encourages readers to go with their dreams and achieve them, proving that you can do anything. Mia faces challenges such as not being able to see her best friend, and Jason turning his back on her. She finds a way to fix these problems, while managing the Motel.

I didn’t like how ignorant Mia was. When her mom was pretending to be rich to impress another woman, Mia gets angry and blurts out things that make them sound poor. I understand why she would be angry, because she doesn’t care what others think but she should have thought about her mom’s feelings. After working and scrubbing bathrooms for weeks straight, when she finally has an opportunity to hang out with cool people at the mall, Mia ruins it for her.

Feb

2022

Three Keys

by Kelly Yang

In the book Three Keys, Mia’s motel is a success, with no vacancy for over five days. Lupe, her best friend, comes over every day to help out at the front desk, to check in new customers. They go to school, and they have a new teacher for 6th grade, Ms. Welch. Mia thinks Ms. Welch is very close minded since she supports this new law to not allow illegal immigrants into school. Since Lupe is an illegal immigrant, she won’t be able to go to school anymore, but she likes going to school, so Mia and her set up a support club just for anyone who wants to talk about their feelings.

I liked this book because it talks about real world issues and how illegal immigrants are scapegoats. It’s a good book that gives us a good perspective on what is happening right now in our society. I liked this story because of the plot. Many books are very predictable but this was not. One example is that You would think mia’ motel would get sold but it doesn’t because she thinks of a brilliant idea to save it. I also liked how original this book was. I never read a book like this, and I liked it very much. All the little plots were tied together in the end, and it made a lot more sense.

Overall I thought this was an inspiring book.

Read my review on Kelly Yang’s third book of the motel series, Room to Dream.

Feb

2022

Clap When You Land

by Elizabeth Acevado

In the book Clap When You Land, the father of two 15 year old girls dies in a plane crash. Camilo is from the Dominican Republic and Yahari is from New York. Both are devastated after hearing the news of the crash. As each family tries to sort things out, the families find that the two girls are sisters. The father had a secret second life with another family. The realization of the truth sparks confusion and fury.

The sisters find each other on the internet and slowly bond as friends. Camilo wants a chance to get her family out of poverty by getting a good education. Yahari goes to meet Camilo to help her get into a college in America. They attend their father’s funeral and fly back to New York together to finish high school.

The author formatted the novel like poetry which was unfamiliar to me, but it was nice to see something different. After more research, I found that many authors formatted their words like her. I enjoyed how the narrative point of view switched between the two sisters because it spread the story out more evenly, developing the characters better. Other books that follow this format are The Girl That Fell From the Sky, and Refugee, both which I really enjoyed.

I liked the plot of the book because the climax was unexpected, motivating me to read more. After the first few pages, I didn’t want to stop reading because every chapter ended with a cliffhanger. For example, in one chapter Yahari found a “very bad piece of paper”, not telling us that those were the papers of her father’s marriage to another woman.

Overall, it was a much better book than I thought it would be. I would recommend this book to mature teens because they may be able to relate to it better than younger children.

Jan

2022

Parachutes

by Kelly Yang

Parachutes by Kelly Yang is a great book for young adults. In this book, Claire, the daughter of a rich Asian family, is told that she will be moving to the US. Dani, the daughter of a Filipino immigrant, will soon become Claire’s host-sister and classmate. Dani has a favorite teacher named Mr. Connelly, who is the coach for the debate club. He really likes Dani’s talents and always invites her to eat with him off campus. Claire, who first seems bratty and spoiled, is actually very smart and after being placed in English 1 for international students, she tests out into the regular English 3 class. They both face many problems, but they also have many similarities. Many characters in this book are Asian students studying in America without their parents nearby. Multiple times they are harassed because of their “parachute” identity.

I like this book because it is very realistic with real life references, such as the Me-too movement and Crazy Rich Asians movie. The author tells us that this book is based on her three years in college and how she was harassed and assaulted, so this book is a warning telling us to be careful. Yang describes everything in a lot of detail, which is helpful but at the same time, I wish there weren’t as much. Many parts in this book describe sexual harassment, so when I read it, I regret reading it because it makes me feel uncomfortable.

Another part I like is how the chapters are not numbered, instead they switch back and forth between Claire and Dani in first person perspectives. I like these kinds of books because when one character ends, it ends on a cliffhanger, making you want to read more but you are paused by another character who introduces a new problem, creating a new cliffhanger.

One part I don’t enjoy as much is where Dani started becoming uncomfortable with Mr. Connelly, but doesn’t share what’s going on, only trying to talk to him less. When something is bothering you, you should tell a friend and an adult so you can feel better and figure out what to do. Dani tells her best friend Ming, and Ming says that it’s ok to say no. Dani takes this advice, and the next time Mr. Connelly invites her to lunch, she says no. I liked that part because it shows that she is standing up for herself.

Overall, I think this book is worth reading.

Jan

2022

Drama – a graphic novel

by Raina Telgemeier

In the book Drama, Callie loves creating sets and props for her school plays. She’s the designer for the theater team, and she’s driven to make a play worthy of Broadway. Sadly, she can’t make one that good if everyone on the team is not working together. She meets two brothers, named Jesse and Justin. Justin is very outgoing and is a great singer while his brother is more of an introvert while he sings just as good as Justin. They plan to audition for the play, but Jesse backs out, saying he would like to be on stage crew.

Callie starts to fall for Jesse as Justin opens up to her and tells her he’s gay. Callie accepts that and says it doesn’t matter. I like this part because LBGTQ+ people are who they are, and who they want to be, so we can’t reject that. I like how Raina is very inclusive in this graphic novel. Later in the book, after the play, Callie finds Jesse talking to a boy, and Jesse tells her he’s sorry, and that he may be gay but Callie calls it off and invites him and he friends over to her house to party.

As the drama team fails to get the money to create props, the whole thing falls apart. Callie decides to work very hard, and create something very special with what they have. She makes a cannon that worked very well, just in time for the show. I like this part because it shows that perseverance can get you anywhere.

I really liked this book overall because it was very inclusive and encouraging.

Dec

2021

City of Ember

by Jeanne DuPrau

Have you ever thought of a world with no sun or moon? A world where there is complete darkness with wired light bulbs? Well if not, then I will recommend City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau to you. It is a mind blowing book about two kids that find a way out of the city of Ember. In this essay I will write about my opinions, the plot, and the theme for Ember.

Ember is one of a kind. The setting is a place where two kids (the Pipeworks) find a door to another world with everything they ever dreamed. There are 2 main characters. They are Lina, and Doon. Ember is a city that doesn’t have a sun or a moon and is completely in darkness. Lina and Doon want to escape Ember and find a place that has a sun and a moon. In this book, there is a greedy mayor who would hide everything an Ember citizen needs to be optimistic. However Doon and Lina soon find a mysterious box in Lina’s closet which leads to instructions for a way out of Ember.

The theme of Ember is if you want to accomplish your dreams, you have to persevere. For example, in the part where Lina tells Doon that she thinks it’s a way out, Doon disagrees but Lina hangs on to the idea that there is a way to escape. Finally at the end, they find a way out because Lina does not give up.

In my opinion, Ember is a mysterious, funny, and sad book. It is mysterious because in the scene where Lina found the box, I was asking myself, What’s in the box? Could it be the instructions? It made me keep wondering for a few pages. Then, a few chapters later, I found out that it was the instructions! It is funny because in the part where they described the mayor, I laughed until I couldn’t breathe. It was sad when Lina got caught trying to deliver the letter but overall, it’s pretty good!

After all this writing, my most important idea of this whole essay is that Ember might be a sad, weird, and thick book but it is still an amazing book. I just want to tell you one thing, at first you see the book and think it’s a long and boring book but after a few chapters, you’ll see why it’s so interesting!

Dec

2021

Three Girls from Bronzeville – A Uniquely American Story of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood

by Dawn Turner

In the book Three Girls from Bronzeville by Dawn Turner, three black girls by the names of Dawn, Kim, and Debra grow up in a small community in Chicago in the 1980s, with Kim only several years younger than Dawn and Debra. Kim is Dawn’s little sister while Debra is her best friend.

I liked the quote, “Prophet told us a storm was coming.” because it symbolized the part where Kim dies. I think that’s important because Kim’s death deeply impacted Dawn’s life. The storm represents the death of Kim and the sorrow that sweeps over the family. The Prophet works at the church they go to.

I disliked this book because it was too sad. Kim died from a drug overdose, Dawn was struggling with depression, and the Blacks were being discriminated against. They were all very sad events. It was also very difficult to comprehend, with many words I didn’t understand.

I thought the book was realistic, as if it could happen to any one of us right now. We could be going to school and our friends quit doing bad things, our sisters start them, and we are stuck in the middle.

Overall, it was ok. I recommend this book to teenagers in high school and college because it was hard to understand

Nov

2021

Red Scarf Girl

by Ji-Li Jiang

Find Red Scarf Girl in your local library

In the book Red Scarf Girl, a Chinese girl named Ji-Li is growing up during the Cultural Revolution in China. Chairman Mao, the leader of China, orders everyone to remove any signs of the four olds. Ji-Li has always supported him, so she enthusiastically helps take everything down. One day, everyone finds out that Ji-Li’s grandpa was a landlord so people come to search her home and arrest her dad for no apparent reason.

Later, she is asked to create a presentation about Mao at a big exhibition, and she is thrilled. She works very hard, and nails the rehearsal. But, the government asks for her to testify against her father and she refuses, knowing that even though she believes in the revolution, she can’t lie about her dad. That gets her into big trouble. The guards search her home again, and send her to work in the rice fields. When she gets back home, she has to sweep the streets because the government has found a letter from her mom about how much she hates it.

Thirty years later, Ji-Li is finally happy. She moved to America after her father got released from jail, which was quite a while.

This story was actually a real life story about the author’s childhood during the mid-1960’s. This book was definitely interesting, and very educational. It let me into the life of a girl during the Cultural Revolution, letting me experience it with much detail.

I really liked this book because there were many surprises. I never really knew that much about the Cultural Revolution in China, but now I know a whole lot more. It was a very exciting book to read, and the details were very well described. The author uses many similes, and metaphors that you don’t usually see in other books.

Reviews

Goodbye Perfect

Things Not Seen

Room to Dream

Three Keys

by Kelly Yang

Clap When You Land

by Elizabeth Acevado

Parachutes

by Kelly Yang

Drama – a graphic novel

by Raina Telgemeier

City of Ember

by Jeanne DuPrau

Three Girls from Bronzeville – A Uniquely American Story of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood

by Dawn Turner

Red Scarf Girl

by Ji-Li Jiang

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