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CONGRATULATIONS! This weeks winners are:

Written by RPL Teen Admin
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Best Review of the week: Biscuits – Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

The Most Thoughtful Comment on our Book Club goes to Inshal. Find it here!

Okay, I know I said last week that it is great that it’s sunny, but geez… it has been SO HOT the last few nights!! I can’t sleep and have been reading into the night – it’s not a bad thing 🙂

Don’t forget! We have some big prizes for the end of August, so make sure you write more comments and reviews on the blog.

And, this is the last few days to submit your entry for our Design Contest! Submissions are due Friday August 21st and you could be the big winner!

Teen SRC 2020,

Teen SRC 2020 – The Changelings by Christina Soontornvat

Written by Erin Salvador
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The Changelings (Hardcover) | BookPeople

The Changelings by Christina Soontornvat

Skip This Entire Red Section If You’re Not Interested In My Life

Today, I created a schedule for everything that I was going to do. That was my plan to prioritize my time and be more productive. I decided that I was going to start reading at 10am to 1pm. I completely underestimated how long it takes to read an average book. It took me 5 hours! My brother kept telling me to play Fortnite since the season is ending, I told him no! I haven’t even watched a single youtube video today. It is amazing how a book can pull you into it’s world to make it feel lke you’re there.

Normally, I wouldn’t read adventure books like this, but while I was reading the summary on the back of the book, I noticed that it was about a sibling relationship, sisters! Now, I am intruiged. This book is about a girl named Izzy, she’s moved with her family 11 times and now she is living in the most boring city you can imagine. I won’t give any spoilers but she realizes that her life is not so boring after all.

I felt that the intro was a bit unnecessary. Everyone thinking Marian was a witch honestly didn’t help with any of the story. I really liked how at the start, Izzy was being a bit mean to Hen (her sister) without realizing it, but when she started to look for her, she thought of all those times where she should have thought before she spoke. I relate to this in some way because my brother is always judging me on everything I do. Hopefully, someday my brother will realize his actions and change his perspective on things.

I loved the little touch of detail that they put on the cover. At the end of the book, Selden wrote a note saying “DO NOT FORGET US- S∃LD∃N. In the title, Changelings was spelled with a backwards E.

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Teen SRC 2020 – Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie

Written by Alina C.
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Bone Crier's Moon - Purdie, Kathryn

Bone ​Criers have a sacred job. Them alone can keep the dead from preying the living. But their power to ferry the spirits of the dead into goddess Elara’s Night Heavens or Tyrus’s Underworld comes with a great sacrifice. The gods order a promise of dedication to their duty. And that promise includes the life of the Bone Criers’ one true love. Ailesse has been molded since her first breath to become the matriarch of the Bone Criers. But first she must successfully complete her rite of passage and kill the boy she loves. Bastien’s father was slain by a Bone Crier which he wasn’t supposed to wittiness, and now he seeks revenge. Along with his companions’ whose family has also been taken as sacrifice by Bone Criers. But when he finally kidnapped one, his craving for vengeance will have to wait. Ailesse’s ritual has begun and now their fate has already been tied. Sabine, Ailesse’s best friend, never had the guts to take part of the Bone Crier’s work. But when Ailesse had been caught, Sabine will do whatever it takes to save her, even if it means breaking their traditions or acting against their matriarch just to break the bond between Ailesse and Bastien. And to just make circumstances even worse the matriarch seems to be harboring dark secrets and Sabine only has one year to save Ailesse, or they will all die.

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Teen SRC 2020 – Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

Written by Alina C.
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Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood

Trevor was born from a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time where that could be punishable by law for five years in prison. As he was living evidence of his parents “crime”, he was kept indoors most of his childhood. His mother hid him as well as she could as the government could take him away at any time. Finally when that era ended, did Trevor and his mother able to live freely. And it was then that he had to set foot into the ocean of possibility only made possible have a long struggle. The book takes you through a journey about a imp child who turns into a man in a environment where he wasn’t suppose to even exist. He is accompanied by his fearless, passionately religious mother, who is determined to keep her son safe from the cycle of poverty, cruelty, and brutality of the world.

This book was so beautiful and humorous. I have watched his shows before with my family online and its focused on race, police brutality, prejudice, hate speech, and many other important topics that needs to be discussed. He really brought the book to life and the audio book was even better. There is so much dark humor in there and he manages to talk about those topics that usually makes us feel uneasy. And I have to say, I love his mother. She is hilarious as well, strong minded, and basically amazing. She taught him many important lessons and guided him gently along the way through his dark and daunting life.

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Teen SRC 2020- We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Written by Inshal
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We Were Liars

Having read Genuine Fraud (also by E. Lockhart) I started We Were Liars happily expecting to have my socks knocked off. And it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Welcome to the Sinclair family. Tall, proud, and rich. Golden-haired, freckled, and most importantly: perfect. There are no Sinclair addicts, drop-outs, or failures. And every summer, the prestigious family meets on their very own island. But one summer, when the Liars (Cadence, her cousins, and a family friend named Gat) are fifteen, something goes horribly wrong. Cadence has an accident and now, at seventeen, she’s still suffering from constant migraines and selective amnesia. She doesn’t remember a thing of what happened. But after having skipped summer sixteen to travel Europe with her dad, Cadence finally returns to Beechwood Island, desperate for answers.

We Were Liars was absolutely brilliant. The idea of a perfect and rich family with their own island is fascinating, and E. Lockhart pulled it off impeccably AND realistically. The flashbacks, Cadence’s pain written in fanciful poetry, and yes, even the romance, was enjoyable to read. It beautifully conveyed the reality that no family is perfect, and there is an overall message in the book about dealing with family problems, money, expectations, pain, loss, and guilt…

And then there’s the plot twist. OH BOY, what can I say about the plot twist? My heart skipped a beat and I had to read the page again and again when I got to it. And the best part: it was entirely believable. (I mean, it took some time but I eventually came to terms with it.) Seriously, the plot twist is amazing.

The book isn’t perfect. (Duh, nothing’s perfect. Not even the Sinclairs!) The switching timelines were confusing: I didn’t know half the time when Cadence was talking about summer fifteen or seventeen. It could have been improved with chapter headings or something like ‘before’ and ‘after’. Cadence is okay as a character– not enough personality in my opinion, and not very likable, either. There were also some overdone metaphors that cut the quality of the writing, and and abrupt ending that needed more and slower falling action.

But please, don’t let my harsh criticism put you off. (that’s just me being me, really.) We Were Liars gripped me from the start and I finished the book in hours. I sacrificed sleep for it, and I don’t regret a thing. It’s the best of the best of contemporary suspense novels and I can’t wait to read it again. 9.5/10.

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Teen SRC 2020 – China Rich Girlfriends by Kevin Kwan

Written by Alina C.
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China Rich Girlfriend - Kwan, Kevin

On the eve of Rachel’s Wedding, she should be overjoyed by her beautiful ring, wedding dress, and a an who is willing to give up all his inheritance  just to marry her. But yet, she grieves of the thought that her birth father won’t be able to walk her down the aisle. That was the case until an announcement made a huge turn in events. In this second book, Carlton a Ferrari crashing bad-boy, Colette a celebrity who is constantly chased by paparazzi, and Rachel’s unknown father who she has been dying to meet. While Astrid is learning that having a newly tech, billionaire husband has a downside. Drama, gossip, rumors, and secrets unfold as they travel through auctions, clubs, estates, and VVIP after after parties.

I love this series. Its sassy, funny, bold, and so much drama! Reading this book was so enjoyable and relaxing. Even though I prefer the first book as it focused more on Rachel and Nickolas, but I think the second one was more pointed towards Carlton and Colette. I am still really fond about the story but I just wished Rachel and Nickolas had more depth in the plot. I would rate this book 7/10 and I definitely plan on watching the movie when it comes out.

China Rich Girlfriend and Kevin Kwan’s other works can be found here.

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Teen SRC 2020 – The Conference of the Birds by Ransom Riggs

Written by Alina C.
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The Conference of the Birds - Riggs, Ransom

The Conference of the Birds starts just where the Map of Days ended. Jacob and his friends left against Miss Peregrine’s wishes in order to save Noor. There he learns from H that there is a prophecy taking shape and it has intertwines Noor into it. Jacob had been given a mission of deliver Noor to V, save Noor, and save the peculiardom. Simple enough right? Except V is the most powerful out of Abe’s former ally and she most definitely doesn’t want to be found also Noor is being hunted which puts their whole group in danger and makes everything harder. Now Jacob has to take a leap towards the Conference of the Birds.

This was really disappointing. All four book before this one I loved, but while reading this one I was basically begging for it to end. In “A Map of Days”, the whole plot was steady and at a good pace, slowly revealing the new side of the peculiar world to the reader. This new book however was a hot mess. I didn’t even like this new story line, as the whole prophecy felt like a waste of time. In the first couple books the character worked hard in defeating the “bad guy” just for the “bad guy” to comeback through a “prophecy”; which is just a list that the wights have to follow. Also in A Map of Days, I enjoyed it as the characters showed hints of growing and developing. They have been through so much, surely Jacob would act and think differently in the new book right? But he didn’t evolve at all and all the characters just felt flat. The whole romance part was flat as well. And so was the whole outline of the story. I would rate it 4/10, I liked the idea of the book, but the details were flat. So in summary, I would have enjoyed the book if only it was executed in a different way.

You can find more of Ransom Riggs’ works here.

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Teen SRC 2020 – Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Written by Alina C.
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Title details for Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan - Available

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan stars Rachel Chu, an economic professor in NY dating Nicholas Young, her boyfriend of two years. She agrees to visit her boyfriend’s family in Singapore for the summer. She expects a humble experience and just spending quality time with the one she hopes to marry. However, she is faced with massive parties, homes that looks like palaces, and with the man every girl in Asia wants to marry right by her side, she is basically a prey with a huge mark on her. Not only does she have to deal with all the constant rumors and two sided people, but her significant’s mother definitely hates her guts. Nicholas Young’s mom, Eleanor Young, is very strict about who her son should, or shouldn’t marry. And conveniently, Rachel is probably the highest on the “shouldn’t marry” list. As she tries to survive in this new environment, she will have to decide who is her allies and who is her foe.

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Teen SRC 2020 – Lady Smoke (Ash Princess Trilogy #2) by Laura Sebastian

Written by Alina C.
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Lady Smoke - Sebastian, Laura

Lady Smoke has been born and the Ash Princess has fallen. Theo already feeling more like herself again; no longer wearing a crown of ashes and has her rightful title now. However, her people are still being tortured and enslaved under the Kaiser and Theo is miles away from her throne and country. In order for her to get those back she will need to secure an army. And securing an army meant she had to trust the dreaded pirate, Dragonsbane, who is also her aunt. According to Dragonsbane, the only way Theo can get an army is if she marries a husband; something an Astrean Queen hasn’t and shouldn’t do. She seeks help and allies from anyone that she can reach, but every time she gets so close, she falls back down again. As she fights to unravel the secrets and mysteries, she realizes that Dragonsbane is harboring secrets of her own. On top of that, Blaize has been having strange episodes and Theo has taken Prinz Soren, the Kaiser’s son, hostage. Will they still be able to survive the enemy’s attacks if they were already internally ripping each other apart?

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Teen SRC 2020 – Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

Written by Rosie
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Thunderhead - Shusterman, Neal

Hey guys! This week I will be reviewing Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman, which was actually my book prize from the SRC, and also the sequel to Scythe, which I very much enjoyed. I have a lot to say about this book, so I have included a TL;DR at the end!

Before the summary, I’ll just say that I’m pretty sure I have read this book before… but I completely forgot! I only figured it out when, at key points of the story, it kept jogging up a memory in my head, it all felt very deja vu. Anyway, that actually made the experience of (re)reading this book cooler than usual because I started to wonder whether it was the Thunderhead who had tampered with my memories.

SUMMARY (Contains spoilers from Scythe… so you may want to read that first!): Citra Terranova and Rowan Damisch are no more. After their apprenticeship, Citra has been replaced by Scythe Anastasia, who gleans with honour and compassion. Rowan, on the other hand, has transformed into Scythe Lucifer, whose goal is to rid the planet of scythes who are neither honourable nor compassionate. Meanwhile, the “New Order” scythes continue to recruit, leaving the “Old Order” scrambling. The Thunderhead is not happy, but it cannot do anything that interferes with the scythedom. He can only watch, and grieve, in silence. Once again, we see the flaws of a seemingly perfect society.

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