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Teen SRC 2022 – Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies by William Golding, 7/10

This book is about a group of boys (young, around 7 – 12) that get stranded on a desert after suffering a plane crash. Due to the lack of adult supervision or rules, the group falls apart and results to anarchy.

I think this book is great, although some scenes were a bit confusing, which could be a bit on my part. I enjoyed the second half more mostly because there was more action. Good book that makes you really think about the importance of rules, boundaries, and order.

Teen SRC 2022 – Life as We knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

I would recommend the book Life as We Knew It written by Susan Beth Pfeffer because it is practical and heavy-hearted. The story begins with a meteor unexpectedly crashing onto the moon and knocking the moon closer to the earth. It might’ve seemed negligible, but according to the book, this caused tsunamis and floods, earthquakes, and volcanoes, which caused the ashes to block the sun. The blazing hot summer suddenly turned to Arctic winter, and people died from freezing temperatures, diseases and starvation. This horrific situation forces Miranda to grow up quickly to save her friends and family, and she inevitably discovers what is truly important in life. 

Most of the story was practical because of the procedures they took to survive this disaster, such as gathering as much food and supplies (candles and batteries), filling up the gas, chopping wood and restricting daily spending. This book is heavy-hearted because most of the story is depressing and despairing. The characters had to sacrifice a lot while struggling to physically and mentally keep going and survive to the very end. “Life as We Knew It” is told in a form of journal entries, and I found it a unique way to narrate the story. Since it’s told in a first-person perspective, it is easier to understand and “experience” the story. 

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Teen SRC 2022 – The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver, Book by Lois Lowry (Paperback) | www.chapters.indigo.ca

The Giver by Lois Lowry is about Jonas, a 12 year old boy, lives in a community of sameness. There is no pain, fear, conflict, or hatred, actually, there are no feelings in this society. Everyone basically looks and acts the same, they act as if they are robots sometimes. There is no things such as racism, discrimination, homophobia in this community. Everyone loses their individuality, but don’t question it because they don’t remember their life before moving into the community. In this place, they have ceremonies every December to celebrate the children’s birthday, and on their 12th ceremony, they get assigned a job. Jonas gets assigned to be the new receiver of memory, which is the only person in the society that has memories of things that don’t exist in the community. His trainer, the receiver before him, the giver, transfer memories to Jonas every training session. During their training, Jonas starts feeling feelings for the first time, and he thinks that the rest of the community should have these memories too. He also realizes that all the strict rules the society has enforced isn’t a good thing since it removes freedom from others.

Teen SRC 2021 – Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter

While I can’t say I loved absolutely everything about Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter, there are a few things that left me completely astonished. First, the characters. Namely, Maddie and Logan. How – and I repeat – how did the author manage to make me grow so attached to the characters in just a mere 304 pages? It’s like I really know both of them in real life; let me just say the characters are so incredibly lovable and the plot development between them is not only enticing but heartwarming.

One thing I wasn’t super interested in for this novel was the plot. Well, okay, not the actual plot, but rather the fact that the book was marketed as a mystery novel, and yet I didn’t really pick up on any suspense-building, plot twists, or anything like that. It was certainly a very adventurous read, but I’m not sure I would leap as far as “mysterious.”

Overall, I thought it was a sweet book despite the misleading genre; honestly I think there’s more romance than anything, but it’s very well-written and no cliche personality traits in any of the characters. 7/10!

Teen SRC 2021 – Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Monsters of Men (with bonus short story): Chaos Walking: Book Three : Ness,  Patrick: Amazon.ca: Books

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness is the third and final installment to the series, Chaos Walking. This book follows both Todd Hewitt our protagonist, and Viola, a girl he met along the way. In there, it wrapped up the questions of the Ask and the Answer and from The Knife of Never Letting Go. It also showed why Mayor Prentiss acted so insane for some reason and why he kept training his men to say, “I am the circle and the circle is me” as an exercise.

I really liked this book, but the cliffhanger at the end kind of threw me off since I thought that everything would be wrapped up. I would recommend this book to anyone who had read both the Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer because it would be confusing without the previous information.

Teen SRC 2021 – The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

The Ask and the Answer (Chaos Walking, #2) by Patrick Ness

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness is the second installment of the series Chaos Walking. In the first book, Todd and Viola went to their supposed safe place, but it had already been conquered by their enemy, Mayor Prentiss. In there, they were imprisoned and Todd was forced to learn about the Mayor’s new orders. Bombs also started exploding from another group called the Answer which was made to overthrow the Mayor.

This books showed how easily people are brainwashed by others for a “loyal” cause and also how people can exploit it. The book’s pacing is relatively slow, so I wouldn’t recommend it to people who enjoy fast paced and action filled books. I myself enjoyed it a lot.

Teen SRC 2020 – The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner - Dashner, James

In the Maze Runner, by James Dashner, Thomas wakes up in the Glade with no memory of his past just like everyone else. The only thing they all remember is their name. Glade is filled with boys his age, with some who already been here for 2 years.

They all contribute in order to keep everyone alive; they raise livestock, grow food, build, etc. and the most crucial and dangerous job, the runners. The runners spend everyday running in the giant maze surrounding Glade, attempting to solve it and escape. Every night the doors close, and no one can get out or in.

However, this all spins out of control only a day after Thomas arrived. They had the first girl to arrive, she came a day after Thomas which is peculiar as the for the last 2 years only one child arrives every 1 month, the “controllers” had stopped sending supplies, and those who had “changed” all suspect Thomas of something Wicked.

I liked this book so much I finished it in one day. To see all as the plot unfolds, and have the secrets and answers come out. When I first started, the first couple chapters were so confusing as they spoke in “glader slang”. But as I continued it all started to make sense. I loved the plot and the story but I hated the ending. I would rate it 8/10 and definitely recommend it.

Teen SRC 2020 – The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

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The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells is an innovative and imaginative book written at the end of the nineteenth century, in which humanity is left scarred by a devastating attack from the Martians. Wells uses diverse language and intriguing metaphors to engage with his audience not only with the themes of his books, but to the world as a whole. In his popular novel, War of the Worlds, Wells uses an extraterrestrial invasion to exhibit and provoke the concepts of life, free will, fate and dominant forces that we cannot control.

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Teen SRC 2019 – Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Hey friends! So first of all, if one of you has already written a review on Catching Fire (since it’s a very popular book), let me know and I’ll add a link to your review!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is the sequel to The Hunger Games which I have also reviewed before (click here). It takes place in a country where the Capitol (and its citizens) have all the power and dictates over the other cities, also known as districts. Every year, to reinforce fear in the poverty-stricken districts, the Hunger Games are held. They are essentially fights-to-the-death between 24 unlucky competitors for the grand prize of glory, survival and rest of their life in luxury. It is cruel, gory and completely senseless because all it ends up being is entertainment for the bloodthirsty capitol citizens. *SPOILER FOR HUNGER GAMES, NOT CATCHING FIRE* The shocking co-victory from Katniss and Peeta in the 74th Hunger Games has stirred an uprising in the districts. President Snow notices this and starts to threaten Katniss before their Victors’ tour around the districts. Then, an unexpected twist comes along… *OK DONE!*

Thoughts: Love, love, loved this book. This series isn’t popular for no reason! It’s an amazing example of character development, world-building and plot set-up all being spectacular and blending smoothly together. It definitely deserves its 9.5/10. The 0.5 off is because it didn’t make me feel too emotional but other than that, literary perfection; You can’t not find it interesting.

Teen SRC 2018- Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott

Image result for paper hearts bookThis book is based on a true story that took place in World War II, during the Holocaust, about two girls named Fania and Zlatka, about the bond that help them hope for the best in the face of the worst.

For Fania’s birthday, Zletka makes something for her that could mean death if it was ever discovered. She makes an origami heart, containing the wishes for happiness and hopes of all of their friends for Fania to carry. This heart is one of the few items created in Auschwitz, and can be seen today at the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Center.

This was a very touching book about a beautiful friendship, found in a cruel, bitter, and unexpected place. These brave girls were able to still hope for a better future after everything they’ve been through, and should be looked up to.