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Teen SRC 2022 – Positively Teen: A Practical Guide to a More Positive, More Confident You by Nicola Morgan

This is a non-fiction book, Positively Teen: A Practical Guide to a More Positive, More Confident You by Nicola Morgan, provides basic tips and information on living a healthy life. It includes both physical and mental aspects such as exercise, eating, sleep, attitudes, and mentality. There are graphics and drawings on every page to engage the teen reader instead of a regular, all-words type of book. I think it is a decent introductory guide to begin learning about our mental and physical health. It is simple, straight-forward, and easy to comprehend.

Personally, this book was too easy for me because I have already learned most of the concepts through other sources. School, Ted-Ed, YouTube, Internet, family and other social media platforms have given me a lot of advice even though some are misleading. However, reading non-fiction tends to be a boring activity, so this was a small challenge for me to get through the whole book. I would use it as a brief summary of how to live healthier and survive the turbulent teenage years. I think if I had read this a few years prior, I would have found it more helpful because I was inexperienced and naïve back then.

Overall, I would recommend this book because it is practical and beneficial for those who are in their early teenage years. No one taught me how to deal with negative events and feelings when I was younger, so I struggled. But this book and other similar self-help books will support youths’ lack of inexperience in the world and help them adjust. Please learn to be happy and healthy everyone! It’s actually really important!

Teen SRC 2022 – Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm is one of the only classics I have enjoyed reading because of its satire and witty reflection on our history. The fable accurately depicted how corrupted our society has become and the mindset the public has about our government. I would recommend this novel to more mature teens because you need some historical and background knowledge before you will find this interesting.

I was first motivated to read this because my peers in school were forced to read it for English class. However, I set aside personal time to read it because I was actually interested in its plot. Although I haven’t studied the Russian Revolution, which the book is supposed to be a parallel to, I still noticed the hints and clues that George Orwell included that really made the story relatable. For example, the “Seven Commandments” are the laws that govern their farm, but the pigs in power kept breaking the rules and manipulating the other animals to believe they were righteous. I laughed at their infamous quote: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” because this resembles politicians SO MUCH in their sly ways with words to cover the truth and fake the justification. This ironic statement is just so ridiculous.

Anyways, I’m glad to have finally read a classic that wasn’t boring and tedious throughout the story (I used to hate classics for that). Overall, I would give it 7.5/10, and I hope other people will enjoy Animal Farm too.

Teen SRC 2021 – Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

In the kingdom of Astrea, Princess Theodosia Eirene Houzzara was imprisoned and inside her own palace since the day her mother, the Queen of Fire, was murdered by the conquering and merciless Kalovaxians. She was merely 6 years old when the Kaiser invaded her land and destroyed her family. Ever since Theo was forced into the title “Ash Princess” to insult the Astreans and the suffering country. Regardless, Theo kept grasping on the speck of hope that someone will rescue her from the horrid palace and aid her in reclaiming the throne. Now, 10 years have passed and Theo finally realized she needed to take action herself against the Kaiser and fight for her kingdom again. Throughout these years, Theo witnessed her people perish and land being abused. She is determined to take revenge and revolt on the battlefield against the malicious Kaiser.

At first, I was intrigued in this book because I hoped to see Theo grow into a powerful female lead. However, the book displayed her as a cowardly, naive, and indecisive girl despite the traumas she had experienced. I was also quite skeptical about the teen romance involved because everything seemed childish for a young adult fantasy novel. Even the names of the people, objects, and land were unnecessarily long and strange. I did not like this book because I think the reading and comprehension level is too simple for me.

You can find Ash Princess here and more of Laura Sebastian here

Teen SRC 2021 – The Kingdom Of Back by Marie Lu

The Kingdom of Back is a historical and fantasy novel that portrays Maria Anna (Nannerl) Mozart’s life through 18th-century Europe as the older sister of the legendary musician, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Nannerl was also a talented musician and composer, but young women were forbidden to compose music; therefore, she had no chance to be remembered or honoured as a respectable musician. However, her beloved brother Wolfgang was easily shining brighter every day and stealing all the fame she should have received as well. Nannerl was extremely afraid to be overshadowed by her equally gifted brother since he began his successful music career at 5 years old. Furthermore, the gender inequality in their society oppressed her as a female and her future lies in a marriage, not music. She felt utterly despaired until a mysterious princeling boy from a magical land came to offer her a divine bargain to make her dream come true. 

I enjoyed this book because I was fascinated by how Marie Lu incorporated magic, music, and fantasy into a historical novel. She also revealed Nannerl’s intricate and complex personality through numerous aspects. Most importantly, I was very surprised to find out that the famous pianist Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had an older sister who he admired and loved so much. I appreciate that Marie Lu brought her existence to life and understand her struggles as a girl during 18th century Europe.

Teen SRC 2019 – Royals by Rachel Hawkins

Royals by Rachel Hawkins

A royal princess, a life full of fancy gowns and jewellery, is every little girls’ dream. Every day you’ll enjoy the luxuries of the beautiful palace and have the whole country fall in love with you. But that isn’t so true.

Daisy Winters, a red-haired offbeat sixteen-year-old whose life has been turned upside down with no desire to become a princess, or have anything to do with the royal family. Her perfect sister, Eleanor, is now engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland, Alex, so it leaves Daisy no choice. Soon, she is whisked off to the palace in Scotland and twisted into their royal chaos. She finds that not everything is so glamorous as how Eleanor said. Yes, the palace is heavenly, the queen is beautiful and the princes are charming, but underneath all the sweet fake smiles and sparkling dresses are malicious schemes.

This book is a little similar to the Princess Diaries, but with more humour than romance. Daisy is quite an interesting character so the story is filled with fun and jokes. I like this book very much, especially the humour. Books about royalty and romances are totally my type but the humour really surprised me. It isn’t the thrilling, adventure action type so if you prefer that genre, don’t read this book, because it might get boring. Overall this is a pretty decent book and it’s not very long, I would rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

Teen SRC 2019 – To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

To All the Boys I've Loved Before - Han, Jenny

This story starts with Lara Jean Song, a sixteen-year-old who keeps her love letters in a precious hatbox her mother gave her. These are all the love letters she’s written, five in total, one for every boy she ever loved. And these are the love letters, where she pours out her secrets, all of the secrets that should never exist in any other’s worlds, it’s only for her imaginary world. Everything has been going wonderfully for Lara Jean, until someone anonymously stole her hatbox and sent all the letters to the five boys. As for Lara Jean, her life will become a disaster…

Wow, how embarrassing the title sounds already. Sometimes I am too scared to even say the name of this book because it’s too weird, way too weird. All the girls will be judging and the boys will definitely be disgusted. But to be very honest, I love this book. My best friend bought it for me as my birthday present because they love it too. It is too relatable to the pain in life and that’s why we enjoy it so much.

Teen SRC 2019 – P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

P.S. I Still Love You

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han. This is the continuation of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, and it is just as amazing as the first book. Everything has gotten deeper into the story but when you read it, it makes you sink right in.

Lara Jean and Peter have been pretending to be together, just for personal benefits… until they actually fell in love. This is Lara Jean’s first relationship, and it all started with a dramatic make-believe. Things got complicated when another boy who received her letters came back for her. He was very charming, and he liked her too. Lara Jean was feeling the same way, but she also loves Peter. What will she do? Can she be in love with two boys at the same time?

P.S. I Still Love You is definitely some romance trouble again. It’s quite interesting and entertaining to see inexperienced Lara Jean slowly unravel her love life. I love this book just as much as the first, I would really recommend this series.

Teen SRC 2019 – Pretend She’s Here by Luanne Rice

Pretend She’s Here by Luanne Rice

Image result for Pretend She's Here by Luanne Rice

I enjoyed this book a lot but some parts were very scary even though it wasn’t the mature type of teen book. A book with new concepts really interests me and I had many friends suggest this book. It was certainly good but it was like half a horror story.

          Pretend She’s Here is a very dark story with quite some emotional parts inside. I did enjoy the book but it is very heartbreaking. There are frightening parts where it makes you tense up and urge you to read the next chapter. I would rate it 4 stars out of 5.

            Emily Lonergan and Lizzie Porter are the most loving best friends, they are almost like sisters to each other. Unfortunately, Lizzie Porter died of cancer and Emily and the Porter family were heartbroken. Lizzie was like Emily’s other half, while the Porters loves Lizzie dearly. Ever since Lizzie’s death, the Porter family has decided to move away and renew their life. The Porters are the only ones who understood how desperate Emily feels about Lizzie’s tragedy. Desperate enough to do something crazy.

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Teen SRC 2019 – The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

The Sun is Also a Star is the romance story of two young teenagers, falling in love within 10 hours of meeting each other, and changing each other’s lives forever. 

Natasha, is a girl who believes in science and facts, not dreams, not hope, not destiny nor fate. She isn’t the type of girl who will fall in love with a boy on the streets of New York City. It won’t happen because her family are illegal immigrants, who are being deported to Jamaica in 12 hours.

Daniel is always the good boy, who lives up to the high expectations of his parents. He loves to dream and write poetry, but he has to become a professional doctor and find a pretty Korean girl because that’s what his parents expect.

Somehow, the universe brought them together, something like fate, perhaps destiny. Daniel knows exactly they are meant to be together, but he just has to convince the all-scientific Natasha. Throughout the day, they debated over love and destiny, but they both cannot deny the connection they have, something more than just friendship. Soon, Natasha will have to leave America with her family, will they end up together? Or will they break the relationship they have and forget each other forever?

This book has been very popular so I got this as a birthday present from my best friend. The cover looked very tempting to read and the title looked like a deep thinking book. I didn’t enjoy the main story very much because I found it quite boring and unrelated to life. Some of the tiny details were very beautiful though, with all the descriptions of how Natasha and Daniel fell in love and broke apart. There were also chapters from other perspectives from random side characters and objects/concepts. It was really interesting to see how Nicola Yoon was able to write perspectives from the universe, love, life, history etc. I would still recommend the book, there aren’t many stories like this one, with all the miraculous things happen within one day.

Teen SRC 2018- 365 Days of Wonder by R.J Palacio

365 Days of Wonder365 Days of Wonder by R.J Palacio

This isn’t a story book but a book of everyday of the year with a quote for each day. It is about different precepts that diverse people wrote and put into a book about friendship, kindness, courage and love. The quotes are from books, movie/book characters, famous people etc. Here is a few spoils of some of the quotes: “The best things in life are not things.”-Ginny Moore “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” -Anne Herbert

I personally like the book even there isn’t any story to it. There is a lot of inspirational words and quotes in the book that can actually help with real life. It really is amazing how the author found so many great precepts. This is a wonderful book for Wonder fans and people who need some inspiration and comfort. I would rate this book 5 stars. Hope this review is helpful!