ARC Review: Marvin and the Moths

Marvin and the Moths

by Matthew Holm and Jonathan Follett

The book Marvin and the Moths is about a boy named Marvin who is having some trouble starting middle school.  Marvin is forced to move into the attic of his house in order to make room for his new baby brother in his old room.  In the attic, Marvin concocts a mixture composed of Pork Loaf Incorporated (the major corporation that keeps Marvin's town, Butcherville going) secret ingredients.  These ingredients have turned out to be much more than Marvin expected, and will change his life forever.

 

    My favorite character in this book was Aristotle,  the tallest and smartest moth. He is my favorite character because he is always bossing his fellow moths around in a humorous way.  Also, Aristotle often gets the characters out of trouble because of his smarts.  If Aristotle was not in this book it would just not be the same.  He is a great character.  I think that the authors Matthew Holm and Jonathan Follett wrote this book purely to entertain the reader.  I’d say they had lots of fun writing this book, and made it so that the reader has lots of fun reading it too.  The writers of this book can also can be found on Twitter @jonfollet.

Review by Riley Q.

ARC Review: A List of Cages

A List of Cages

by: Robin Roe

Summary: Julian, a closed-off freshman with the anxiety of twenty, and Adam a popular, yet caring and warm-hearted senior, cross paths again. Despite Julian's desperate attempt the avoid the school counselor, whom Adam is temporarily job shadowing, they reunite in a rather surprisingly friendly manner. As their friendship begins to blossom, Adam realizes there may be a few things Julian isn't telling him.


(Favorite Character) Although Julian warms my heart a thousand times over, Adam blew my mind countless times and therefore, I dignify him as my absolute favorite character. In quite a few scenes, Adam has the largest opportunity to be, well basically, a senior. Many of Adam's friends are bitter and arguably irresponsible, while Adam is protective and reassuringly brotherly. Throughout the entire novel, Adam has nothing but Julian's best interest at heart, creating an adult-like quality that is portrayed constantly.

(Author's Purpose): Obviously, no one can tell you the author's purpose but none other than, the author. But we can sure try! From my point of view, the main message or moral was the trust and importance of friendship and its everlasting qualities. While that is quite a mouthful, it's a simple and extremely effective idea. As Julian's mind was molded into thinking certain things are something that they are not, his new found friends saved him from a life of danger and misconception. Sometimes the relationships that we form and create dig us out of a hole we never knew we were in, and that is what I believe the author's purpose was.

Check out Robin Roe's twitter: https://twitter.com/robinroewriter

Recommendation: I would absolutely recommend this book. The beginning was not painfully slow, as are others, but rather mysterious and captivating. The conclusion is by far the last thing you would expect (in a good way, I swear!), but comes to a satisfying ending that does not leave you begging for more questions that more often than not, you won't ever receive the answer to. I would mainly recommend the novel to young adults and adults who are looking for a realistic fiction novel that you don't find reluctant to pick up every day, but exciting. With every bone in my body, I rate this novel 5 stars! Wonderful book, Robin Roe!

Published By: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: January 17, 2016
Genre: Teen Fiction
Pages: 320
Age Range 12-18 years

Review by Mia O.
*Our class received an ARC of this book to read/review from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

ARC Review: The Singing Bones

The Singing Bones

by Shaun Tan

 Imagine yourself in an exciting and enchanting world, filled with scary new stories on each page. The book, The Singing Bones, by Shaun Tan, is a mixture of dark and creepy fairy tales. Each page contains a new and haunting story with a dark twist to it. The genre of this book is thriller and fantasy. My personal favorite quotation from this story is, “Finally, she came to the forbidden door. She wanted to walk past, but curiosity got the better of her.” In this story, a young girl finds a door that she is not allowed to enter. After entering, she ends up dying, since her curiosity is what killed her. 

My favorite character in this book is Death. Death is creepy and chilling. His presence scares many people and makes everyone on edge. This character is believable because when someone dies, people get scared and worried. The purpose of the author writing this book was to entertain. 

I would highly recommend this book because it is a very entertaining and exciting book. Also, it is an easy read. I would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars. For additional information: http://www.shauntan.net/books.html In conclusion, The Singing Bones is an extremely enjoyable and thrilling book.

Publisher: Scholastic

Release Date: October 11, 2016

Pages: 192

Age Range: 12-17 Years

Review by Adriana S.

*Our class received an ARC of this book to read/ review from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

ARC Review: Forever, Again

Forever, Again

by Victoria Laurie

Would you ever involve yourself in a murder case? What about a murder and a suicide of two people you don’t even know? Despite being the new girl in school, this is what Lily Bennet and Cole Drepeau get themselves involved in. Forever Again, by Victoria Laurie, is a mysterious novel filled with romance and action around every corner. This book is published by Hyperion, and is due to be released on December 13, 2016.

Three days into the past, Amber Greeley’s boyfriend, Spencer, was found lying in a field behind their school, shot and killed. Ever since Spencer stopped breathing, Amber blocked everyone out. Three days after the death of Spencer, Amber was home alone with her dog Bailey when she, “heard Bailey bark once--a soft woof to alert me. A tear slid down my cheek for Bailey. For leaving her. For leaving them all. I’d placed a letter on the desk, trying to explain, but I couldn’t seem to get the words right, and it pained me greatly to think they’d always have to wonder why,” (Laurie 4). When Amber’s parents return home, they find her body lying on the bed, but all her soul and life gone. Although some people believed Amber killed herself, Lily Bennet knew there was more of the truth to be uncovered. 

One of my favorite characters was definitely Gina Greeley, Amber’s mother. Even though she was only mentioned in the book two or three times, she was always so kind and compassionate to everyone after Amber was killed. Gina always tried to look at the better side of things and that was portrayed very efficiently in the book. Even though Gina is a made up character in a novel, she’s definitely someone to look up to. I believe the author wrote this book for multiple reasons. I think the book was mainly written for entertainment, but when you really dig deeper into how the book is written, you can find what the author is trying to inform the reader of. I believe that the author is trying to make the reader more aware of how quickly someone can pass away. You never know when you’re going to have your last moments with someone, and that’s why it’s crucial to make cherish every moment.

I recommend the book, with a rating of 4 out of 5. I liked how there was always something going on that kept you hooked on the book. I got through it in two days, and now that it’s over, I wish the author would have expanded her writing during certain parts. You can learn more about the author and her books at www.victorialaurie.com .

Reviewed by Lizzie S.

Publisher:  Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: December 13, 2016
Hardcover Pages: 368
Age Range: 12-17

*Our class received an ARC of this book to read/review from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

ARC Review: Liberty

Liberty

by Kirby Larson

Liberty by Kirby Larson is a realistic fiction novel about a boy named Fish who enjoys creating his own inventions and his neighbor Olympia, who tends to mess things up a lot. But when one of his inventions leads Fish and Olympia to Liberty, a stray dog, the two work together to rescue the dog. The book takes place during World War II, and Fish’s father is out fighting in Europe. He looks up to Mr. Higgins, and creates an invention that helps Mr. Higgins’s engineers. Mr. Higgins inspires Fish to be brave, and meets many new people as he is going on to rescue Liberty the stray dog. 

This is a great novel that is recommended to grades 4-7. It is very enjoyable! I would rate this book 4 out of 5 because it is a good read and was very fun to read. I believe the author wrote this book to entertain because it is a fun book to read and is very entertaining.

Review by: George N.

Publisher: Scholastic

Grade Level: 3-7

Release Date: October 11, 2016

Pages: 240

*Our class received an ARC of this book to read/review from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

ARC Review: Disenchanted: The Trials of Cinderella

Disenchanted: The Trials of Cinderella

by: Megan Morrison

The book Disenchanted : The Trials of Cinderella, by Megan Morrison is a well-written fantasy book. This novel features a poor girl named Ella whose life is suddenly turned around by the death of her mother and accepting in her new stepmother. Her new stepmother helps her father grow a business, but Ella hates being rich with all the money they now have. She continues to be angry over her mother’s death when she meets the Prince at the ball she's forced to attend. Later becoming partners in class, the two work together to turn the work conditions in the factories (like the factory Ella mom worked to death in) around. With the help of Ella’s two fairy godfathers, she turns her whole story around. 

Throughout this wonderful novel, Ella shows traits of stubbornness, kindness, and many others. When she refuses to adjust to her new life, meets the prince when told not to, and when she doesn't stop trying to convince her parents, she shows the trait of stubbornness. When she helps her friend with her burning feet, helps her other friends with providing for her family, and helps book a gig for her step-siblings, she portrays the trait of kindness. I don't know how she managed to do it all, but Ella never stopped until she got what she wanted. 

This book, being fantasy, was a twist on the classic Cinderella, and was really entertaining throughout. I would highly recommend this book to anyone from ages 10-14, boys or girls, or just anyone who wants a fairytale with a twist. The age range is based on that the reading level is for a middle schooler. I really enjoyed reading this and would give it 5 stars for sure. 

To learn more about the author and her books visit http://meganmorrison.net/.

Published by: Arthur A. Levine Books/ Scholastic

Release Date: October 11, 2016

Review by Sophia B.

*Our class received an ARC of this book to read/review from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

New Release Review: The Ones

The Ones

by Daniel Sweren-Becker

Looking for an I’m-on-the-edge-of-my-seat kind of book?... well look no further. The book The Ones, by Daniel Sweren-Becker, will leave you breathless and wanting more. Join the main character Cody and her boyfriend, James, as they find out the hard way that even being “perfect” has its flaws. Cody and James thought that they were blessed when the government chose them to be “perfect”. In this generation, perfection is possible with genetic engineering. Just a few changes in the genes, can change both the personality as well as the appearance, of the Ones being engineered. Not long after genetic engineering took off, people who did not experience this phenomenon began to see what they were missing. Some were replaced in jobs by the Ones, some were put down and compared to the Ones, simply for not being in the one percent of the population that was “perfect”. That’s where society drew the line. After enough complaining the government decided to enact the Equality Act. The Equality Act’s goal was to make everyone equal, but what that meant for the Ones, was changing them for the worse. The effects of the Act were like trying to go back to the time when genetic engineering was not a thing. In their words, it was a reversal of the phenomenal effects of genetic engineering which had been making people “perfect” for about twenty years. This divided society, as well as the government, from the one percent of the population that had to fight to keep their rights.

 

 While reading The Ones, by Daniel Sweren-Becker, what really stood out to me was how detailed the book was. Between setting the description of the plot, to describing a character’s looks, to explaining what is going on in a character's head, the details were really vibrant. My favorite character in The Ones would probably be the main character, Cody. I think that the reader automatically falls in love with Cody, because despite not having the best past, she still pushes through that and really enjoys life. Cody is a fighter, and a tad bit sassy, which I feel is definitely a reason why I love, and can relate to Cody. Cody reminds me of some people I know, aside from the “perfect” engineered genes. I believe that the author wrote this book to entertain the reader, and to open up their imagination. We live in a world where the idea of genetic engineering doesn't sound so crazy, and is in fact possible, sometime in the near future. 

Learn more about the author, Daniel Sweren-Becker, and his new book, The Ones,  in the link http://fiercereads.com/books/the-ones/ .  While talking to the author over Instagram he told me, “I wrote this book to ignite a conversation about genetic engineering. It is really important that we figure out how to deal with it now, before it is too late.” Reading his response made me feel more connected with the author, as well as the book itself. I would give this book a 5/5 star rating, for anyone looking for a dystopian futuristic novel, for both girls and boys. Find him on Twitter @The_Ones_byDSB and Instagram @d_k_s_b

Review by Bella K.

Publisher: Imprint

Publication Date: September 6, 2016

Hardcover Pages: 304

*Our class received an ARC of this book to read/ review from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.