Submit book reviews to lgyorgy@ebrschools.org for publication.
Reviews do not need to be long!
Write 5 or 6 sentences giving a BRIEF summary and what you liked about the book.
No spoilers!
The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
Shy and self-admittedly awkward bookworm, Lily Greene, comes from a family of beautiful and established sisters. She dreams of becoming a children's book editor, but now finds herself stuck in a job editing nonfiction stories. Lily finds escapism in emailing the author of her favorite fantasy novel, who uses his surname, Strick. They find an amazing friendship through email that seems to be strong, up until Lily is ghosted.
Months later, still in this lonely loop, Lily must find a date to her sister's wedding. When she was about to give up on the task, Lily bumps into her very charming neighbor, Nick, and they strike up a deal. Nick will teach Lily some of his charming ways in order to attract the perfect date for the wedding. Lily cannot understand why she starts to develop strong feelings for Nick. It's almost as if they knew each other. Little does she know, they have met before... via email.
​
Review by: Ms. Gonzales
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The Song of Achilles is a wonderful book giving a modernized view of the story of Achilles, Patroclus, and the Trojan War. From the beginning, the heartbreak and pain of ancient Grecian times is made evident. The love between Achilles and Patroclus and beautifully written, developing from a mere friendship to a beautiful romance. The Song of Achilles is an amazing story and an amazing read, and deserves some time of day.
Review by Anderson P.
Odd One Out by Nic Stone
In the book Odd One Out, a three friends explore friendship, sexuality, and self-discovery. Courtney a high school junior athlete has an extreme crush on his lesbian long-term childhood best friend and next-door neighbor Jupiter. When Rae, a new girl, comes to town she changes the dynamic of Courtney and Jupiter's friendship and makes everyone start to question who they really are and what they really want. The book is written in 3 points of view so we see how Courtney, Jupiter, and Rae feel about the thrilling events that occur. The author, Nic Stone, does a great job making the novel relatable to high school students and keeping the plot interesting throughout the book.
Review by: Emani B.
Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
Being the youngest In a house filled with several extraordinary siblings, it’s easy to be overlooked. Sunday’s only escape is writing stories with her vivid imagination. However, a new little friend brings a little more joy into this outcast life of hers and makes it a little more magical. One kiss will change everything! Unable to recognize an avid change about her new friend, Sunday deems him gone forever. Intent with regaining the love Sunday once had for him as his new self, Rumbold wants to make her see the man behind the crown. Will she come to her senses? And what will happen when the tale unfolds?
Review by Neveah J.
Rainbow in the Dark by Sean McGinty
"You find yourself alone in the dark, and you can't remember your name. You were just on the beach, but it's gone now. How does a person lose track of an entire ocean?"
Rainbow in the Dark is my absolute favorite book. I found it one day, browsing through the library and it changed me. The book is about a girl named Rainbow. She can't remember anything about her life or herself. As the book goes on she learns more about the world around her, which seems strange at best. Together with her newfound (possibly imaginary) friends and memories that tell her more about her past life, she explores the digital world around her and tries to escape. This book is a masterpiece. The ending left me speechless and contemplating my life decisions. If you love other fiction wonders like Ready Player One, you'll love this book.
Review by: Marley H.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Jenkins Reid is a fiction book about Evelyn Hugo, who was one of the most influential and famous actresses of the 1950s. Despite her challenging upbringing and growing up in Hell's Kitchen, she rose to fame quickly. She's best known as Jo in Little Women and the lead actress in Father and Daughter. To tell the world about her glamorous, and not-so-glamorous life, she hires a low-level magazine reporter, Monique Grant to ghostwrite a biography about her. When sitting with Evelyn, writing details down for the book, Monique is opened up to the truth about what Evelyn is famously known for, her seven husbands, and a secret someone. This book is one of my favourites. You can follow the life of Evelyn Hugo and learn what she has gone through over the years. It's funny, sad, romantic, and includes LGBT topics. A popular book on BookTok, but is one of the best on there.
Review by Lily V.
Run, Hide, Fight Back by April Henry
Run, Hide, Fight Back takes place in a mall called FairGate Mall.There is an active shooter situation with multiple shooters in the mall. A group of teens, Miranda, Grace, Cole, and Javier, band together together to try to get out. There is also a teenage boy, Parker, who is trying to figure out what to do to get them out. They are all trying to figure out a way to get out safely while also trying to avoid the shooter and getting shot. It is a really good book and I would definitely recommend it!
Review by: Rhianna L.
Shadowlands by Kate Brian
From the beginning, the novel, Shadowlands, by Kate Brian kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. Rory Miller, a high schooler is attacked in the woods by her Chemistry teacher, Mr. Nell. She is put into witness protection and is sent to a vacation island. What she didn’t know about was the mysterious disappearances of people around her. She meets a new group of friends who know why people are leaving without a goodbye, but Rory is kept in the dark. The ending was incredible and it’s a must read!
Review by Kyah W.
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
The Upside of Unrequited is a wonderful story about Molly, a teenage girl who's hopeless love life is turned upside down when her twin sister gets a girlfriend. Throughout the story, Molly slowly finds herself falling for two different men; Hipster Will, a cute red-haired hipster who likes to drink, and Middle-Earth Reid, a husky Tolkien fan with blinding-white sneakers. She also comes into conflict with her slowly drifting twin sister, Cassie, and is surrounded by wonderful friends such as Olivia, Abby, Max, and Mina. As a whole, The Upside of Unrequited is an amazingly written book chronicling Molly's uncertainty about her feelings and anxiety. Her actions and thoughts feel extremely realistic, and hit quite close to home to anyone who has felt that same unrequited love. Various topics, such as body issues, self-doubt, and maturity are handled amazingly in this must-read coming of age story.
Review by: Anderson P.
Here the Whole Time by Vitor Martins
The book Here The Whole Time by Vitor Martins is a story about an overweight boy with body issues named Felipe trying to find acceptance of himself and admit his love to his neighbor, Caio. The story centers around Caio's stay at Felipe's house over winter break, and focuses on the slowly building bond and relationship between Felipe and Caio. The story itself is well written, for the most part. The plot flows naturally, and the book is difficult to set down during the latter half of the story. There are some issues in the writing, however; there are moments where the humor falls flat, and some characters feel flat and one-note. Felipe is bullied on a handful of occasions throughout the book, but the bullies hardly have a presence otherwise and are overcome during their second appearance. They are quite forgettable, and do not feel to have much of a bearing on the story. Despite these flaws, however, Here The Whole Time is an excellent story about two boys slowly falling in love and, by the end, will make the reader fall in love as well.
​
Review by Anderson P.
Almost an American by Robin Hu
Almost an American Girl by Robin Hu is a true story based on her life when she moved to America. Robin had lived in Korea up until she turned fourteen when her mom decided that it was time for a change of scenery. Robin learns a lot of new things but she still misses her old life in Korea. This book is very interesting and the literature and artwork are beautiful. You will fall in love with Robin and have a new sense of respect for your parents and all that they do for you.
Review by: Abigail P.
The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland
The Dragonet Prophecy is a very good book. It is about Clay and his friends who have grown up under a mountain, secretly raised by the Talons of Peace to fulfill a mysterious prophecy. The five young dragons are destined to end the war that's been raging between the tribes of Pyrrhia and to me people who like books about dragons and adventure should absolutely read the wings of fire also because the book is engaging, easy to read, and very well written: the dragons talk and behave much like human tweens and teens, but their struggles and their adventures all take place in the fantasy world of Pyrrhia, where dragons are the main characters and humans are only mentioned in passing as scavengers.
Review by: Jayden B.
White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson
White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson is a young adult thriller about a teenage girl named Marigold who is trying to overcome her past mistakes. Her life, in her opinion, isn’t the best. Especially with her bratty little step-sister Piper and Piper’s dad who is always taking up for her little sister no matter what. When Mari starts to feel suspicious about her new house she seeks out answers not knowing where those answers will take her. This coming of age book will have you on the edge of your seat with every chapter!
​
Review by: Amya D.
If I Stay by Gail Forman
If I stay is one of those books that will keep you up until 2:00 a.m. reading. The main character, Mia, barely survives a terrible car accident where her entire family is killed. The book follows her journey in a sort of "in between" life and death where she has the power to decide whether she will stay or die. During this out of body experience, Mia is able to observe her hospital visitors and their grief. She is torn between her boyfriend, Adam, who wants her to live- and the thought of living in a world without her parents or little brother. The story, told between present day and
flashbacks, allows you to fall in love with Mia and her family.
Ruined by Amy Tintera
Ruined takes place in a world of turmoil, where you can kill or be killed. Four kingdoms are all struggling to have control. Emelina Flores is from the kingdom of Ruina, where everyone has powers. Everyone except Emelina. After her family is executed she is ready to seek revenge by infiltrating the castle of the royals responsible, and marrying their son in order to kill them all. She didn't expect to actually like Cas, the prince of Lera. How can she possible follow through with her plans to avenge her family and save Ruina now? Full of ACTION, betrayal, and just enough romance.
