Skyward
Brandon Sanderson
2018
ISBN: 9780399555770
When a long-term attack against her world by the alien Krell escalates, Spensa's dream of becoming a pilot may come true, despite her deceased father being labeled a deserter.
Review by Karolina R. High School
This book is the perfect mix of science fiction and classical heroism. We follow the heroine through a startling plot line, and watch as she comes to understand the true meaning of being a hero. The profound depth of the main protagonist's internal conflicts is mixed with the perfect combination of action and adventure. This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys talk of deep space, science fiction technologies, and flying fighter jets. I found this book to be a perfect fusion of both reality and fiction. If you enjoyed the heroism and morals of the Percy Jaskson and the Olympains series, and are fascinated with the exploration of the ‘ Final Frontier’, then this book is absolutely perfect for you.
Renegades
Marissa Meyer
2017
ISBN: 9781250044662
The Renegades are human, but with extraordinary abilities. They emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone... except the villains they once overthrew. Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and is on a mission for vengeance. Adrian is a Renegade boy who believes in justice-- and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.-- Adapted from dust jacket.
Review by Karolina R. High School
If you are looking for a new and interesting perspective of a villain who’s maybe not as villainous as we are led to believe, then Renegades by Marissa Myer is for you. Myer weaves an amazing, action packed story written through the perspective of a mislead pariah. When this pariah and her villainous crew get the opportunity to infiltrate the ruling hero’s network, they do, and the protagonist has to dive into an entirely new world. This book is chock full of mystery, action, superpowers, and friendships. It is the extraordinary combination of the classic superhero in the big city trope, mixed with the hidden underground villain ideals.
Legend
Marie Lu
2011
ISBN: 9780399256752
In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-old Day--a famous criminal, and prodigy June--the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.
Review by Karolina R. High School
This book is the best dystopian novel you can read. It creates a society within an apocalypse, filled with corruption and war. However, the book is also filled with beautiful friendships and virtues. Marie Lu creates a book filled with loveable characters, admirable, heroic actions, and espionage. We follow the mystery of murder, and revenge on the supposed culprit. If you were a fan of the Divergent friendships and the action of the SkyHunter series, then this book is the perfect fusion of all of that. It is an amazing mix of everything that you want in a young adult novel: mystery, heroics, action, super powers, and conspiracies.
Escape room
Maren Stoffels ; translated by Laura Watkinson
2020
ISBN: 9780593175941
Told from multiple viewpoints, Alissa, Sky, Mint, and Miles enter an escape room with one hour to find clues, crack codes, and solve puzzles, but the Game Master has no intention of letting them out.
Review by Dedrich N. High School
The next book in Maren Stoffels’ series of crime thrillers is Escape Room. For folks unfamiliar with Stoffels, she is the author of Escape Room and Fright Night, as well as other young adult crime thrillers. Both of these books are in a series with Escape Room, although none are connected. Escape Room is about a group of friends, Alissa, Sky, and Cleo who go to an escape room with their new friend Miles who they recently started hanging out with. In the room, they get trapped by one of the employees
who locked the door out and also didn’t leave enough clues for the friends to escape. Finally, when they were able to find the locked door, the malicious worker wouldn’t let them out. While the danger and suspense continues to escalate, Sky is wounded when the worker slams his hands in the door. He begins to slowly bleed from his hands and fingers which causes him great pain and the friends even more anxiety. Readers learn all of this is happening due to something Alissa’s dad did accidentally. Her dad, a firefighter, accidentally left the escape room worker and Miles’ family (plot twist: the worker and Miles are related!) in a house fire because the house was unstable and the family couldn’t be saved. To add more trauma, Alissa’s father’s co-worker died when a falling beam crashed onto him from the unstable house. So her dad left because the house was unsafe and he could have died. If you enjoy thrillers or suspense novels then this book is for you. I would recommend you read Fright Night and Room Service, which are also written by Maren Stoffels.
The giver
Lois Lowry
2002
ISBN: 9780440237686
Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.
Reviewed by Wyatt M. 9th Grade
"The Giver" follows Jonas, who lives in a society where everything is controlled. At 12, he's chosen as the Receiver of Memories, tasked with understanding the world's past. With the Giver's guidance, Jonas learns about love, pain, and individuality, realizing the flaws in his society, including the practice of "releasing" individuals. Determined to change things, he plans to escape with a baby named Gabriel. Their journey is full of challenges, but Jonas embraces newfound freedom and emotions. The novel ends with their uncertain future, exploring themes of conformity, memory, and the human experience. During this book, I learned so much about how a different society can impact someone's life greatly. Overall, I highly enjoyed the book and would give it a 6/6.