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Teen Book Review – Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player OneThe book review this month is: (drumroll pleaseee) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline! It’s been a while since the movie came out so hopefully I won’t be revealing too much in this review. Anyways, a super quick summary: Ready Player One is set in the future, and is narrated by a guy named Wade. In this future, the world is dying, global warming and the fossil fuel crisis is at it’s worse and the world isn’t expected to last much longer. However, why live in this world when you could live in a much better one? Introducing… The OASIS, a virtual reality everyone basically lives in. A place where you could easily go to mars, defeat monsters and live out your dream life. A place where you aren’t about to die. And guess what, the founder/creator (James Halliday) of this computer program has just passed away, and his fortune is up for grabs… we’re talking multibillions right now… but, to make sure someone worthy inherits his mountains of cash, Halliday set up a scavenger hunt inside the game in which only the most able and talented gamers would be able to find and solve all the scattered clues. Okay, that was pretty much all I can reveal without spoiling more than the first few pages of the book. My opinion of this book is super high! I find it a great read that doesn’t take too much time for those of us who are busier. I can also tell that Mr. Cline researched quite a lot before writing said novel because everything in here, all the allusions (did your english teacher drill this term into your head yet?) are very intricate and well thought-out. Just WOW that’s a lot of effort put into creating this book. I can’t really explain it without you reading the book yourself so go do it right now. I’ll wait. Need more motivation? I rate it a 5/5 :)) completely. Now GO!!!

Teen SRC 2018 – The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, Eleanor Roosevelt

Related imageThis was Anne Frank’s diary, written in the Amsterdam attic where she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years. In it is an account of her days in the confined quarters with her various companions, containing her yearning for affection, rebellious clashes with her parents, romance, and wry, candid observations of her companions. She faced hunger, fear of discovery and death, and frustrations of living in such confined quarters. This book has become a world classic and a testament to the human spirit.

 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Benjamin Alire Saenz’s  Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is the sort of book that you want to tear through in one sitting. As soon as I was done, I knew I’d be reading it again at some point. The writing is beautiful and flows from beginning to end, and this is easily a book that a non-YA reading adult can enjoy as much as teens can. It touches on falling in love, sexual orientation, male friendship and cultural identities. It is never shallow, yet it doesn’t throw its depth in the reader’s face in a sort of I’m smarter than you way.

Our main character, Aristotle, begins the novel very angry. He’s sad, confused and furious about his older brother being in prison and because of how his parents won’t tell him any of the specifics. His father, a war vet, is distant and depressive and it has led Aristotle further into loneliness. This alienation won’t let him grow close to anyone. When the novel begins, he hasn’t allowed himself to make any friends. He can be a jerk at times, but he doesn’t know how else to be because of all the feelings that are swirling around inside him. He wants to find out about his brother and decides to pursue the mystery of what happened.

After he meets Dante, the two of them fall into an easy friendship. Dante is a wonderful character, full of energy and light and humour. He allows Aristotle to begin viewing the world in a new way, a more open way, which leads to him tentatively making other friends as well. There is no grand plot to this novel, no big events, just two young men going through the business of living as they each find their way in the universe. If you are interested in reading a realistic story that is filled with both loveliness and heartbreak, please pick this one up.