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Teen SRC 2020 – Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Written by Erin Salvador
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Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Hello everybody! Something that is hilarious is that I’m reading the book that I won! This book is about a girl named Audrey, she is suffering from a social anxiety disorder. Audrey’s brother, Frank, is obsessed with video games, but his mom is not a big fan of them. I relate to this book a lot. My brother loves playing video games, but my mom does not understand why he wants to play video games more than, for example reading a book. I used to have this problem as well, I was so immersed in video games and playing them for hours every day not realizing all the time that went by. Last year at my school, I created a PowerPoint on the pros and cons of video games. Turns out, video games can improve hand-eye coordination, split decisions are crucial for playing most video games. Who knew?

It was humorous when Ann (mom) was doing all the disciplining and Chris (dad) was not being a role model to the kids, using his phone and sometimes agreeing with the kids. I am not a big fan of Linus and Audrey. Though, most teen books are somewhat about romance. I enjoyed that Audrey found confidence with Linus to step up. This book is so informal, in a good way. I’ve always been interested in books with a kid’s perspective. Dear Dumb Diary, Diary of the Wimpy Kid and Big Nate! They are all informal and that is why this book review is very informal. I’ve seen so many book reviews in my life, they end up sounding like a Harvard Acceptance Letters. I hope you understand what I’m trying to say. Kudos to all those amazing teens with awesome book reviews, and to all those authors who write books that always make me laugh. Thank you to the makers of this book review contest for giving me a chance to type my totally informal feelings of teen books. Finding Audrey is the first book that I reviewed that wasn’t making me drown in my own tears. I love this book!

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Teen SRC 2019 – Noggin by John Corey Whaley

Written by Inshal
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Noggin

Hilarious, real, compelling. Noggin by John Corey Whaley is a fresh new take on the cliché woke-up-in-the-hospital-with-amnesia trope spun into a breathtaking new tale.  

Travis Coates was dying at sixteen when he decided to cyrogenically freeze his head in the hope that some time in the future, doctors and scientists could bring him back to life. Five years later, Travis wakes up in the hospital with his head attached to someone else’s body. And having some athletic guy’s biceps is the least of his problems; the best friend that came out as gay to him before he died now has a girlfriend, Travis’s own girlfriend is engaged and Travis is almost certain his dad is cheating on his mom.

As I’ve mentioned before, this plot line closely resembles the common amnesia plot line with a whole new side to it as Travis had to get used to having an entire body that didn’t belong to him. There were many parts of this book that I loved: Travis’s relationship with his mom is the sweetest parent-child relationship I’ve read in a YA novel, Travis and Kyle’s friendship, (small spoiler here) Travis finally meeting the family of his body’s donor (spoiler over). There was one major aspect of the story, though, that got on my nerves. Travis’s girlfriend is engaged, and many, many times Travis makes advances on her despite her having clearly said she doesn’t want him.

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Teen SRC 2019- Liberty by Andrea Portes

Written by Inshal
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Liberty - Portes, Andrea

Funny, refreshing, and brilliant. Liberty by Andrea Portes is a spy story unlike any other.

Paige Nolan’s journalist parents went missing, and were presumably captured by terrorists. No one has told Paige whether they’re dead or alive, and there is nothing she can do to help them. Nothing, that is, until she is approached by Madden Carter, a spy from an obscure government agency called RAITH. If Paige goes to Russia disguised as a foreign exchange student and gets the government secrets from a government traitor, she can get the case on her missing parents reopened.

The problem? That foreign traitor she has to wrangle the secrets out of? He’s kind of her hero. He revealed the unconstitutional and privacy-invading spying techniques of the American government to the world, and that is just awesome. The second problem? He is actually, kind of, really… cute.

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Teen Book Review – Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Written by Rosie
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First off, Happy New Year everyone! May 2019 treat you well :))

Image result for fangirl book cover

This week I read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and I found it really quirky and cute but not as relatable as I thought it would be. That aside, I must say I enjoyed it far more than Eleanor and Park, also by Rainbow Rowell, which was the second hyped-up book that didn’t meet my standards (after The Hate You Give). Fangirl is about a young woman named Cather just getting used to college life. Her twin sister, Wren, has always been the risk-taker and the extrovert while Cath stayed in the background and lived in the fictional universe of popular series: Simon Snow, and now, in college, she’s feeling isolated more than ever. At the beginning of the book, Cath is super shy and goes out of her way to blend in and disappear. When she’s in her room, she avoids her roommate as well and instead focuses on the Simon Snow fan-fic she’s been working on her whole life. As the story progresses, however, she meets new people…whether she wanted to or not and starts to open up more and more.

Like any Rainbow Rowell or John Green book, there isn’t really a plot and the main component is just continued character development and relationships, which sadly, bores me quite a bit. However, I did like this book, just not as much as I probably would’ve had it had a more intense storyline. Overall rate: 4/5 stars, nice light read.

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Teen SRC 2018 – Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Written by Ashleigh W
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Finding Audrey is a book that stars a girl with an anxiety disorder, Audrey. She makes weekly visits to Dr. Sarah who helps her, but she is still making slow progress. However, once she meets Linus, her brother’s friend, everything changes. Audrey suddenly starts improving lots because she feels comfortable being with Linus. 

I enjoyed this book very much. I was able to easily relate to the characters. The story was so good that I was swept up into it. The relationship between Audrey and Linus is heart warming. I would definitely read this book again and I highly encourage others to read this book at least once.

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