We received over 30 reviews of books on this year's Teen's Top Ten list of nominees! All of the reviews were truly awesome (and appreciated) but here are some wonderful quotes we picked out that we wanted to highlight:
Divergent by
Veronica Roth
Victoria (9
th grade) says:
"Sometime in the future, a post-apocalyptic Chicago is split
into 5 factions; Dauntless, Erudite, Amity, Candor, and Abnegation. Sixteen
year old Beatrice Prior, the protagonist, has lived in Abnegation her whole
life, selflessly helping others, but she doesn't feel she belongs. When all the
16 year olds get to choose which faction they will be a part of, she is
conflicted. After choosing a faction, she struggles through initiation.
Beatrice has a secret too, but can she keep it? Read the novel to find out. Roth weaves intricate patterns with her character descriptions, and suspenseful
words. This book will definitely keep you turning the pages."
Ashes by Ilsa J.
Bick
Rishabh (8
th grade) says:
"When an Electromagnetik Pulse (EMP) flashes across the sky,
destroying every electronic device and killing billions, Alex - a teenage girl,
Tom - a young soldier and Ellie - a young girl whose grandfather was killed by
the EMP must survive and figure out who can be trusted and who is no longer
human. Ashes is an excelent, fast paced, thrilling science fiction book."
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson
Danny (7th grade) says:
"It
is about a boy named Rafe that attempts to break all of the rules in his Middle
School rulebook.
He creates a game
called "Operation R.A.F.E." along with his imaginary friend Leo. They
create a point system to keep track of all his rule breaking attempts."
Gabrielle (7th grade) says:
"More than half of the book was
pictures that described the events happening in the book. When the author used words instead of
pictures to describe events, the book was more interesting," and "...the author would have
the main character go into a fantasy world every few chapters."
Julia (7th grade) says:
"Although some parts of this book were unrealistic, I found that the main
character's adventures were funny and that I always wanted to see what happened
next."
"Trix, an orphan, has
only one prized possession, a black meteorite given to her by her parents. When
a mysterious masked man who shoots fire out of his hands (Nyl) tries to steal
the meteorite, Trix joins the Circus Galacticus crew to unravel secrets of her own
past. Circus Galacticus is a great science fiction book that keeps you wanting
for more."
Colleen (6th grade) says:
"This book was AWESOME!!!!!!! It will be included on my list
of all-time favorites! Everyone in the world should definitely read this book!" and "My favorite line was But I'll take painful dreams over
empty comfort any day. I liked this particular line, because I thought
Trix was being really brave when she said that, and I liked that she was being
so brave. I think that this book definitely deserves a spot on the final
"Teen's Top Ten" list because it was simply amazing, and I hope that
there will be a sequel!"
"The book is about Cole, who has to move in with his Dad in Philadelphia, after
his mom decides she can't handle him anymore. Soon, Cole discovers his dad's
neighborhood is filled with cowboys, African American cowboys. And maybe, just
maybe that's what Cole was meant to be. Harper (Cole's Dad) is interesting
because he's so good with horses, better with them than with people. I liked
pretty much everything about the book; it was just so good."
Sharon (9th grade) says:
"This book is about two girls, Mandy and Jill, that
have completely different lives and come together because of an unborn baby.
Mandy is a nineteen year old that runs away from home and is about to give her
baby up to Robin, Jill's mom, while the woman and her daughter are still
recovering from loss of her husband, Jill's dad," and "...I liked how the point of views
changed from Mandy to Jill. It was fascinating to see their opinions on a
conflict"
Theodore Boone: The Abduction by John Grisham
Daniel (10th grade) says:
"Thirteen year old Theo has lived his entire life surrounded
by lawyers. His mother, his father, and even his uncle all practice law.
Naturally, this causes Theo to aspire to wish to become a lawyer himself and
never give up his pursuit of justice. This is what motivates Theo to create his
own search effort when his one true friend April is abducted from her home without
a trace. Despite the interesting idea and well received author this story comes
bundled with, it's execution is lacking. It seems as though Grisham decided to
quickly cough up a Young Adult story and rush it to publication without much a
second glance in terms of editing and care. I may be being overly harsh with
this assessment, but this book truly let me down as a reader with its
ridiculous (third person!) narration that attempts to win over kids by using
buzzwords and slang. Although some may say that it should be allowed to use
simple language because it is a 'kids' book,' this should not give
Grisham a pass for this rushed, albeit interesting at times, story."
Justin (7th grade) says:
"This book is a great choice for a varied amount of
readers. If you are looking for mystery and suspense than Theodore Boone is the
guy for you."
Nick (7
th grade) says:
"Read this book!!!"
Legend by Marie
Lu
Victoria (9
th grade) says:
"What was once the United States has now become the
Republic and the Colonies, two separate, warring nations. Fifteen year old June
Iparis is a military prodigy, one of their best soldiers. When her brother is
killed, she vows to find and kill his killer. His killer is Day, the nation's most
notorious criminal. When June meets Day, her whole mission is thrown of track.
Check out the novel to see if June can re-track her mission."
Chomp by Carl
Hiaasen
Rishabh (8
th grade) says:
"When Wahoo's dad takes a T.V. job with Expedition Survival,
a reality T.V. show, Wahoo tries to keep his dad from strangling Derek Badger
(the lead artist of Expedition Survival). When they go to the Everglades to
shoot, Wahoo brings Tuna, a girl running away from her father, along. In the
Everglades, Derek Badger gets chomped by a bat and goes missing and Tuna's dad
shows up waving a gun. Chomp is a great, fast paced, adventure story which
shows the reality of reality television."
Colleen (6th grade) says:
"...Tuna was an interesting
character because, well, her name is Tuna, and she's a taxonomist. I loved how
it was just so good, and also how it made me think of one of those survival
shows where the guy has a funny accent. But, at the beginning I thought it was
a little slow."
"...This book would not be
considered on my top ten list but it is a very good book, if you are into magic
and realistic fiction mixed together..."
"Across the Universe, by Beth Revis, tells the story of a
spaceship called 'Godspeed' that is travelling across the universe to a far
away planter similar to Earth, called Centauri-Earth. Before the ship took off,
scientists, military specialists, and other important people were frozen using
cryogenic technology, to be defrosted at the end of the 300 year journey.
Elder, the future leader of the ship, is learning how to lead. Amy, one of the
frozen passengers, somehow become unfrozen. Elder and Amy work together to
figure out why passengers are being unfrozen, and try to put a stop to it. Read
the novel to see what happens."
Gabrielle (7th Grade) says:
"I felt that the book should have had longer chapters and been longer in
general. I also think that the book
could have been better if it described the events and characters in more detail
than it did."
Julia (7th Grade) says:
"I thought this book
was very well written. The characters
were realistic and the storyline was too.
I enjoyed this book because I felt that the situations fit middle school
problems. I also liked this book because
I could relate to some of Joylin's feeling about fitting in. This book was a quick read and I personally
think it should be more popular."
Sharon (9th Grade) says:
"Anya Balanchine, the protagonist, is a girl that lives in a
world where chocolate is illegal, water is insanely rare, and she's the
daughter of a dead crime boss. Anya has to deal with taking care of her brother
and sister while trying to stop the family business from taking over her life."
Colleen (6th Grade) says:
"This book was so awesome! It will definetly be included on
my list of favorites! Everyone should read this book! This is pretty much the
plot: Ollie's father is a traveling preacher, and one of their stops is in Binder,
Arkansas where Ollie meets a boy whose mother is in jail for -possibly-
murdering his father. Then, the Love family gets involved with the small town
of Binder."
Jimmy (10th Grade) says:
"Under normal circumstances, I am usually not a fan of love
stories, or weepy cancer books, or really any book labeled as "teen fiction"
so I was surprised when I found myself succumbing to reading The Fault In Our
Stars. I walked into this book with low expectations, picturing a trite love
story with unrealistic characters with the same boring shtick that most books
advertised like these portray.
I don't think I could have possibly been any more wrong.
There aren't any words I can use to describe the novel, The Fault In Our Stars
but if I had to come close, I'd deem something along the lines
"brilliant," "heartwarming," and "single-handedly the
best novel I've ever laid my eyes on" as acceptable substitutes. From the
epigraph to the last period, this book had me captivated and feeling a range of
emotions that I did not think was possible to obtain within the span 313 pages.
It had me laughing, shedding manly tears, smiling, and even questioning my own
existence. John Green's writing style is phenomenal and can perfectly convey
the inexplicable feelings and of adolescence. He can believably get behind the
mindset of a 16 year old girl and considering the fact that he is a 36 year old
man, I'd say that's pretty impressive.
The story focuses on Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16 year old cancer victim that is
only living because of the help of a miracle drug. Hazel is a fun, witty
character with the mind and vocabulary of an esteemed philosopher. While
obtaining a mandated cancer support group meeting one day, Hazel encounters
Augustus Waters, a human representation of everything she sees in a man.
Augustus was another cancer victim himself and it had ended up taking a leg
from him, but it hadn't slowed down his spirits and optimism. He shares the
same charisma and sarcastic outlook on life as Hazel and they immediately
connect. Together, Hazel and Augustus go on a journey of love, life, disease,
death and the inevitability of it. I would love to elaborate more on the plot
but this is all I can say without getting into too much detail.
As I've previously stated, John Green is a fantastic author and his the words
and characters he creates are wonderful. Besides Hazel and Augustus, Green
creates a lively cast of ensemble characters that range from a blind and
heartbroken eye cancer victim, an alcoholic Dutch author, to countless others.
Even though it is a cancer book, Green still makes it a book about people, and
not just one dimensional characters that are their disease. My favorite quote
in the book is stated numerous times and it goes, "That's the thing about
pain, it demands to be felt." Green is able to vividly discuss the pain
that the characters feel and even when he is talking about their cancer, he
makes it realistic and believable.
After the first read, The Fault In Our stars had became my all time favorite
book and after 3 other readthroughs, I can confirm my decision. And even after
reading it over 3 times, I still haven't found anything worth criticism,
If I had to choose one thing to complain about, it would be that the book isn't
longer. Besides that, in my opinion, this is the epitome of Young Adult Fiction
and it would be unethical if this book did not get a spot on the final
"Teen's Top Ten" list. Having said that, I urge anyone who has a
library card and a 9th grade vocabulary to indulge yourself in the literary
genius that is The Fault In Our Stars. You will not regret it."
Daniel (10
th Grade) says:
"This book is an entertaining look into the mortality of
humanity. It stars Hazel, a sixteen year old girl with thyroid cancer, whose
body is in a constant struggle between life and death. She is forced to attend
a support group for children with cancer by her mother, where she meets a
charming boy named Augustus Waters. Together they learn how to live in a truly
compelling manner. This book is wonderfully written and teaches many lessons
about life through the constant theme of death. Although extremely sad at
times, The Fault In Our Stars is still a wonderful novel that truly belongs to
its readers."
Daniel (7th Grade) says:
"I really liked this
book. It had a lot of adventure and
twists in the story that made it an enjoyable book to read. A boy named Tommy Learner and a girl named
Jezebel were the characters in the book, however, they were from different time
periods. This made the book interesting
because they had to save the universe together but they couldn't relate to each
other. I would recommend this book
because Matthew Cody did an outstanding job of making the book unique in many
different ways. I think this book
deserves a spot on the top ten list!!"
Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Daniel (10th Grade) says:
"This beautifully presented book describes the interesting
journey of Jacob Portman from his boring life at home into something much more
peculiar. Utilizing a variety of interesting photographs, author Ransom Riggs
paints a beautiful story about life in both ordinary and extraordinary
settings. Where this story truly excels, however, is in the large cast of
characters and how they develop throughout the story. This book is a must read,
as it is on the cusp of kicking off a huge franchise, with a sequel in
development as well as a movie to be directed by Tim Burton. You are going to
want to read this thrilling novel first."
Great job to all our reviewers! Thanks for making this year's annual Teens Top Ten a success!
