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Teen SRC 2021 – Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

“Look on the bright side”, you hear them say. Sometimes, that’s easier said than done, especially when life isn’t so encouraging. In Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata —the protagonist, Katie Takeshita, is a Japanese girl born in America. The word “kira-kira”means “glittering” in Japanese. Katie and her sister Lynn learn, through a tumbling turn of unexpected events and depressing changes, that even if situations get dire and stoop to their lowest, hope is the magic that allows them to see things from a very special perspective, the Kira-Kira way. This book is full of inspiration and shows young children a more creative way of thinking. 

When Katie’s family moves to Georgia, everything seems to change. This was a time when Americans looked down on the Japanese and all other people of colour. Katie even says that the townspeople believe the Japanese are worthless, “like doormats, or ants or something!” Racism, responsibility, and anger get thrown into Katie’s life, and sometimes she feels like she could shatter under the pressure. But amidst the hurling events and frequent financial struggles, Katie manages to grasp the strong bond of love that connects her with her sister Lynn. This bond makes Katie realize that no matter how bad her grades get, or how behind their family are on their bills, her sister’s love will always protect and guide her, and help her see things the Kira-Kira way. Oh, what would she do without Lynn! But when Lynn turns 14, she becomes friends with a popular girl at school called Amber, and suddenly doesn’t pay as much attention to Katie, or at least not in the way she used to. Katie suddenly senses a deep fear that she might lose the friendly, caring sister she’d always known, or worse, lose her altogether. Kira-Kira has won the Newbery Medal for children’s literature in 2005. 

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Teen SRC 2021 – Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Ellie Mack. The perfect daughter. The perfect student. The perfect girlfriend.

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, tells us a story about Ellie Mack, who went missing when she was fifteen. “She ran away,” the police had said. As if anyone would believe that. Ellie had her golden future shining out in front of her; she was the definition of perfect. Then she was gone, though. So what happened?

Whoa. Not many books do this to me, but this one had me thinking-about-the-plot-at-2 A.M. Is that a good thing? Most of the time, yes. This particular book, though, was somehow disturbing. Let me take you through the general mood/tone and how it changes throughout this book.

When I first started reading the book, I thought, okay, the pace is slow and it’s kind of boring, but I can deal with it. Around halfway through, the ENTIRE book changed. I mean like full-blown, the writing style, the plot, the energy level, the tone, etc. And THAT’S when I thought, things are getting more interesting.

I was totally right, by the way. It definitely got more interesting…but not in a positive way. I can’t even find the right words to describe it. Gross? Disturbing? Upsetting? Yeah, maybe a combination of those three. It was just…really, really deep. I don’t know, I was thrown incredibly off guard, and to think about some of the specific details…yikes.

It’s weird, because I still enjoyed the book. Unsettling as it was, I think it’s a good read with an unpredictable plot twist; I would recommend ages 15+. REALLY deep concepts, and it’s probably a good idea to read the trigger warnings before the book too.

Overall, 7/10 as a rating, I don’t think I’m quite ready for other books like this yet, but it could certainly be someone else’s cup of tea!

TeenTober 2019 – Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

I stumbled across this book when browsing the shelves for beautiful covers and you gotta admit, this cover’s pretty stunning.

Although yes, I only picked this book up for the cover, once I read the back I knew this was a read I would enjoy. Behold, the story of three aspiring prima ballerinas navigating expectations, jealousy and modern-world problems.

Being a dancer myself, this book was a lot more relatable to me than it probably would have been for someone else. I could understand the terms and language used in it and their struggles were my struggles. For that reason, my rating will probably be slightly higher than yours so keep that in mind.

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Teen SRC 2019 – Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Lady Midnight is the first book in The Dark Artifices series, a spinoff of The Mortal Instruments featuring Emma Carstairs and the Blackthorn family, talented albeit very, very young shadowhunters.

A brief intro to the world of the Shadowhunters: Werewolves, vampires, faeries and warlocks live amongst the mortals in this universe. However, they’re covered by layers of “glamour”, causing them to appear normal and blend in with the humans. Only Shadowhunters (aka the Nephilim) and ones blessed by the “Sight” can see past the glamour to their true selves. Long ago, the Angel Raziel put the Nephilim on earth to protect the human race against supernatural and demonic forces and so that’s what they do and their lifelong duty. Almost every single shadowhunter is trained in combat, the demon tongues and runes since they’re old enough to walk, making them more than capable of dealing with the nefarious creatures.

In Lady Midnight, the story still takes place in the Shadowhunter realm but the focus is on entirely new characters. You’ll still get glimpses of old ones but the bulk of the story revolves around the adventure and mysteries Emma and the Blackthorns discover and go on.

All in all, it was a pretty good book with a very strong plot but I just think it would’ve been good to be introduced to a new setting instead of always staying in the Nephilim world. Other than that though, the character relationships and backstories are, as always, rock-hard solid, because this is Cassandra Clare we’re talking about… 🙂 Final rating would be an 8.5/10 because it’s an amazing story but getting a bit repetitive for me.

Teen SRC 2018 – Animal Farm By George Orwell

Animal Farm

Animal Farm By George Orwell

Animal Farm is a sad but true story. The characters are animals that are meant to portray key characters during the Russian Revolution. The overall message of the book is that an uprising is useless since everything would either be in the same or worse condition as before. This book was a page turner that really made me think about each page. George Orwell is such a brilliant writer. I really enjoyed reading this book and would happily read it again.