Literary Reflections

All The Bright Places

by Jennifer Niven

A boy, beautiful and broken,

A girl, whose smile bears great pain,

Meet high above the earth

In their own little world.

In a town too small,

The future is so endless,

Yet there is so little time.

Call me an optimist,

Or is it truly

Love At First Sight?

They Bond.

They Laugh.

They Cry.

They Overcome their fears.

It seems they can conquer the world,

Together.

Until it all ends forever...

What do you do when all seems lost?

When it felt like they were going to be with you forever

If only I could just bring you back

For even a second

And Hug you

Kiss you

And tell you I loved you

One final time....

....or at least have said good-bye.

Poem by Kelley C.

New to Our Shelves!

Our Chemical Hearts

By Krystal Sutherland

What would you think of a girl who mysteriously showed up at your school dressed head to toe in boy’s clothes, had the most unkempt and ratty hair, and walked with a cane? In Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland, Henry Page was put in the same position. Henry noticed Grace and, like everyone else, initially wondered how much of a complete weirdo she had to be to walk (or hobble, in this case) into a new school in her senior year, reeking heavily of men’s cologne and wearing baggy boys clothes. But unlike everyone else, he also wondered about how someone so odd could be someone he found himself unwillingly growing more and more attracted to.

Our Chemical Hearts was published on October 4th, 2016 by G.P Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers. My favorite character in this book had to be Murray, Henry’s redundantly Aussie slang speaking friend. Murray has the urge to speak entirely in slang from down under, much to everyone's dismay. He says it's because the ladies love the accent even though he is perfectly able to speak in a regular tongue. I find so much enjoyment when reading about him, due to his comically Aussie advances towards each and every character. The author probably added Murray into the book due to the heavy-hearted tone the book quickly takes up.  Comic relief was vital to the plot.

This book would be a hard 4/5 stars. I recommend this to people who like the dark and twisted Shakespearean-feeling type of book. Thank you to Jamie Miller @brokeandbookish for sharing this book with us!

For more information, visit the author’s website at krystalsutherland.com.

Review by Ariana P.

New to Our Shelves!

Salt to the Sea

By Ruta Sepetys

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to live in a time of war? The novel, Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, takes place in the 1940s during World War II in Europe. The four characters all come from different places, with different stories to tell, and cross-paths with one another. At first, they don’t want anything to do with each other, but to their dismay being together is inevitable for their survival.

As an unexpected bond forms through the characters, the reader also starts to form a bond with them. Each character is unique with a rough back story, causing the readers to sympathize for them. Joana is a nurse, who feels guilty for everything that had happened. Florian, a conservationist, who is keeping a secret to prevent his death. Emilia, a young Polish girl who is keeping an unwanted secret inside of her and Alfred. A German sailor who just wants to be the hero.

Throughout the novel, Ruta Sepetys kept the pages turning, with unexpected plot twists and cliffhangers. As each chapter was filled with a different character's thoughts, the reader was left to ponder about what was happening to the character in the previous chapter, even though you were deep into the new character’s thoughts. My favorite character in this book is Emilia because, she is the most unpredictable character ever. Sepetys did a good job at developing her, because she would make you believe that something was going to happen, when in reality, something completely different happened, keeping you on the edge of your seat. Another thing I liked about this character was her innocence. She was so young and was like the little sister, the other characters always took care of her, even though she didn’t speak the same language as them. When Emilia goes through some tough times (and trust me, there are plenty), I couldn’t help but to empathize for her.

Sepetys wants her readers to see the struggles of some people during this time, so we can learn from mistakes and make sure that it won’t happen again. I would definitely recommend this book with 4 out of 5 stars. If you enjoy, historical fiction, drama, and a little bit of romance, this could be your next favorite read! You can learn more about Ruta Sepetys and her novels on her website: http://rutasepetys.com/.

Review by: Mia B.

New to Our Shelves

How It Ends

By Catherine Lo

Your best friends can make the worst enemies! Currently I just finished reading the book How it Ends by Catherine Lo. The author writes in two characters point of view, Annie and Jessie who become best friends. The two girls became best friends after Annie moved with her new family to the suburbs where Jessie lives. Jessie isn't really a popular person and she is surprised when Annie reaches out to her to become friends.

   The two characters are complete opposites and it's interesting to see how their friendship works throughout the story. Jessie is very insecure because of the way she was bullied by her ex-best friend in 7th grade. She has to go through many therapies and doesn't have friends at school until Annie comes and reaches out to her. Annie is the opposite of Jessie, she is very outgoing and sticks up for herself. Her mom passed away 6 years ago and Annie really doesn't like who her dad has married because her dad doesn't talk about her mom anymore and it feels to Annie as though her mom totally disappeared and isn't a thought. Since her dad has a new wife, her life has changed and not in a positive way for Annie.

   I recommend this book to people who like to read about drama, realistic fiction and teen fiction. I enjoyed this book very much because it was constantly moving and had a problem or something going on on every page and I couldn't stop flipping the pages. Also since there are two points of view it was interesting to see both people's sides to the story. I would rate this book a 4.5!

Review by: Kylee D.

New to Our Shelves

Dreamland

By Robert L. Anderson

“She knew what she was doing was wrong. She was taking a huge chance. Never be seen.” Ever since Dea was six years old, she’s been able to walk people’s dreams. When she first started walking (dreams), her mother taught her three rules. Never interfere. Never be seen. Never walk the same person’s dream more than once. Dea lives in Fielding, Indiana where her friend group is scarce as well as the people who live in Fielding. Dea lives with her mom, and together the two of them have moved tons of times over the years. Dea has finally made a friend named Gollum who is carefree and sarcastic enough not to ask questions about Dea’s past. Then Connor moves into town and begins to get close enough to Dea for her to almost tell him her secret of walking dreams. When Dea breaks the three rules her mother gave her, a boundary between two different worlds starts to break apart, leaving Dea wonder what world she’s actually in.

This book was filled with mystery, conflict and a hint of romance which left me asking for more of the story. The way the author writes the scenes and problems between characters got me extremely close to the characters. I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars and I would be thrilled if a second book came out expanding on Dea’s new life. I believe anyone who is ready to get emotionally connected to a character and anyone who has had dreams or nightmares will enjoy this book as much as I did.

Review by: Lizzie S.

ARC Review

The Lotterys Plus One

by Emma Donaghue

The book The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue, is a realistic fiction book about a very big and diverse family having to welcome a visitor into their everyday, crazy lives. Four parents, seven kids, and too many pets is the perfect recipe for a crazy household! The characters in this book are forced to welcome a grandfather of one of the fathers whom they'd never met before. They must cope with change and learn to accept that he's not leaving. The whole story revolves around one child named Sumac, who  just so happens to be my favorite. A lot like me, she takes charge and tries to stay organized for the whole family. I can relate, so I enjoyed reading about her. The author really entertained me and the book really touches the heart. To learn more about the author and her books, visit https://www.emmadonoghue.com/books/for-children/the-lotterys-plus-one.html.

I would recommend this book to younger readers, ages 8-12years old. The plot doesn't necessarily have enough action to suit children of an older age. For those ages, I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars. Those who like diversity and comedy will love this book!

Written by: Emma Donoghue

Published by: Arthur A. Levine Books/ Scholastic

Released on: March 28, 2017

Review by: Sophie B.

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

ARC Review: Hear the Wolves

                                                                                         

Hear The Wolves

by Victoria Scott

Teen Poetic Reflections...

Time passes on the clock,

as Sloan’s family leaves her in shock.

Left by her mother as a child,

she's scared of being alone, yet not the wild.

She's not entirely lonesome, there's others in town.

You'd think just people, but wolves lurk around!

Ravenous and lost, wolves start more trouble.

Sloan’s well-thought up path starts to crumble.

An old woman who’s hurt,

a friend who's a flirt,

a very caring teacher,

a father who's  anything but a preacher,

a boy who's got some smarts,

and a dog called Farts,

make their way to the river,

and fight the  cold shiver.

Things get extremely rough,

but they must stay tough.

For they are in major haste,

since time cannot be in waste.

That's all I can tell you for now,

I know this will leave you saying, “Wow!”

Although it's meant for the youth,

it's great and that's the truth!

Well this has been my honest review,

goodbye and thank you!

The wilderness is the most unpredictable thing in the world, depending on who you are, yet it doesn’t bother Sloan. Hear the Wolves by Victoria Scott is phenomenally written and beautifully climatic about a young girl with an important fate. Left to die as a child by her mother in the woods, Sloan has always had a fear of being alone. In fact, she always had a mental “lasso” around someone, whether it’s her father or sister or friend, so she’s never in the path of isolation. Yet, that fear would be riled up like fuel to fire when what’s left of her family, as well as everyone but a few towns folk, leave for Vernon and leave her alone for what should have been a couple days. But nature didn’t agree with that. A monstrous blizzard approaches her hometown, Rusic, Alaska. It not only limits transportation, but wipes out the local population of wolves’ food source of rabbits. With snow drifts with the ability to freeze a person to death and rabid wolves on the hunt for food, the prodigy hunter, Sloan has to find all the other people in town to not only escape the blizzard and wolves, but to also get an injured friend to where the local doctor is in Vernon. Watch as Sloan races to save the abandoned townspeople and avoid the dangerous blizzard and wolves in Hear the Wolves.

I had been in a reading slump for a couple weeks, so when I saw my ELA teacher Mrs. Kelly post a photo on Instagram of the new Victoria Scott ARC, I knew I had finally found something I wanted to read. I love Victoria Scott’s style of writing. Her extremely descriptive chapters and amazing use of figurative language makes novels very action packed. There’s constantly something going on! That being said, this was the perfect book to get me out of my reading slump. My favorite character is Mrs. Wade. She is always so positive and makes an effort to be a mother figure for Sloan, even if she is in dire danger. Not only that, but she is incredibly smart. She always has an idea in even the most intense situations!

In all, I highly recommend Hear the Wolves by Victoria Scott. You’ll never put the book down and it’ll leave you with a perplexed mind and an overall accomplished feeling. I give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars. So on March 28th, hopefully you’ll be able to see this  novel because it is really worth the read.

The link to her website is http://www.victoriascott.com/.

Review by Laney J.

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: March 28, 2017
Pages: 240

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