Tall Cool One

 
 Reviewed by Alinka


Tall Cool One by Zoey Dean is part of the captivating A-List Novels that are all written by this author. The story is written in the different perspectives of Anna Percy and her friends. These girls live Beverly-Hills a very superficial environment. These girls are rich and very popular so they are used to be around a lot of people and grown accustomed to living life like a party.

Even though she lives like this, Anna Percy is not a self-centered, spoiled, rich girl. She might have everything she wants but there is more to her character and she actually cares for things that are important to her and she is a very responsible girl. Anna is a very profound character, through out the book you will find her wondering if love really does exists and if she will someday find the one. She was really affected when her relationship with a guy (Ben) that she really liked was over, but that left her wondering if it was really love what she felt or just lust. She believes that love is for everyone and that maybe she will find the one that will sweep her off her feet; this is why she isn’t into hookups like everyone else. The book starts with her and ends with her even though it has chapters in the perspectives of her friends; but I think that the book is mainly about her because she is the one that carries most of the story and the friends come in now and then.

This book has many surprises inside other than what you can expect, Anna’s and her friends lives take unexpected turns in this book. The girl, who didn’t believe in love, finds a guy she will fall head over heals with. The one who thought she was never liked for who she really was finds the support of a friend and a guy who loves her for everything that she is. The troubled family still has problems but Anna learns how much she loves the ones that have cared for her. Everyone seems to be getting involved in relationships that will last for a long time except for Anna wonder that if what she had for Ben was real and she doubts that letting him go was the right decision after all; even though she has strong feelings for him long after he is gone. This will haunt her for a long time to come. Some dangerous stunts are performed by these girls at a place where everything is at the palm of their manicured hands.

Friendships are put to test, parents are going to prove that they are worth it and they would do anything for the safety of their daughters, even if it means risking their reputation with the media. Some people will be taken down memory lane and healed wounds will open suddenly. Relationships are made stronger while other start to fade away but in the end what matters the most is the ones that stayed with you the whole time. Readers will be eager to learn what will happen, page after page and will never put the book down.

The City of Bones

            

Reviewed by Saad

  The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare is an amazing story full of adventure, mysteries, humor, and is backed up by a suspenseful plot. It follows the protagonist, a girl named Clary and her adventures when she learns that what she believed for so long isn’t what it seems. Clary is a hot-tempered redhead girl who is 15, after a watching a murder in a all ages club which no one but her sees, she begins to question what she knows. The book is filled with magic seeing you can tell by the title of the story; its plot gets more intense and seemingly more brutal as it goes on. In the story, you will find warlocks, demons, fairies, unicorns, and other magical and mythical creatures not known by man. Humans are called mundanes by everything else for being “normal” and are thought to be very weak.

            The main characters in the book are separated into two groups, humans and Shadowhunters. Shadowhunters are warriors which protect humans from creatures such as demons, warlocks, etc. They use weapons which contain powers in them to slay the monsters. The main Shadowhunters are Jace, Alec, and Isabella. They live with another Shadowhunter named Hodge. The main humans are Clary and her friend Simon, Simon is described as being a sarcastic to the point of even being scolded for it. Isabella and Alec are siblings with Alec being the oldest and Jace is an only child with a mysterious past.

            The book relies on many scenes and is the first in a series. It’s a pretty big book since it reaches up to 512 pages, but the plot and action makes you want to continue reading the story again and again to get that suspenseful, scary feeling back in your chest. The author throws in a few twists in the story to make you want to read the other books in the series. There are several problems in the story that interfere with the plot and cause it to feel more realistic, those being Clary’s relationships with her friends and the Shadowhunters. The Shadowhunters make her feel less normal then what she thinks now and she is having problems dealing with boys. Her maturity in the story plays well with the plot since it seems to add on to it.

            The main antagonist of the story from the beginning is more of a group then a person or thing, the main antagonist of the story up till around end are downworlders, such as werewolves, vampires, etc. Near the end, a new, more powerful antagonist named Valentine shows up and reveals a deep secret to Clary which changes her and makes her rougher.

            Personally on a scale of 1-10, I would give this story a 10 being because it has been a long time since I read a book this good; the plot, the sequences, the drama, it all works together to form an excellent book and a great story to start a series of with. As stated before, the book makes the reader want to read the other books in the series so they can solve the problems left from the previous one. The book is great for anyone looking for a great time and a wonderful book they will never forget. 

There is never a time in the story in which you would feel bored or just want to close the book and forget it. It makes the readers connect to their younger selves when they believed in dragons, fairies, ghosts, and other things we believe is false now. It defies science and goes with more of a religious like structure as it goes through a catastrophic event happening, a person going corrupt and defying the rules, two different groups working together to stop it, and world we would perceive as non-existing due to the otherworldly beings. So, if anyone has the time, I suggest you get a copy of this book and read it.

The Secret Life of Bees

Reviewed by Eleanor A.


Sue Monk Kidd has created a wonderful world in just one book, The Secret Life of Bees. It is the story of Lily Owens, living with her harsh father-- T.Ray--on his peach farm in South Carolina, 1964. Her life is circled around the fuzzy image of the day her mother died. Lily has a big, black kind-hearted “stand in mother” for since she can remember-Rosaleen.

When Rosaleen insults three of the most bigotry people in town they muster up the gust to escape from the police, T.Ray and his peaches, to Tiburon, South Carolina where they’re introduced to a trio of black sisters—Agust, June and May—make Black Madonna honey for a living. They happily take them both in for a while, with a condition—Lily has to help make the honey and Rosaleen has to help with the house work. I think Lily is a lovely girl that decided on her own that she wanted to know as much as she could about the traces and memories of her mother.

This book is a great Realistic fiction novel; it is a New York Times Bestseller. I enjoyed The Secret Life of Bees because it is written so sweetly. I think that this book will touch your heart with various emotions, as it did mine. A great book to read, The Secret Life of Bees.

Band of Brothers

Reviewed by Santiago M.

Stephen E. Ambrose wrote an amazing, exciting, unforgettable story about World War 2 called Band Of Brothers. It is based on the men of Easy Company and their experience since the invasion in Normandy (France) to Hitler’s Eagles Nest in Berlin. This story is based on true events and true lives. The marine paratroopers jump off the airplanes during D-Day, some ready for combat, and some not ready. Either way they fought for days without sleep, the marines managed to take France. Already the marines had lost about 4000 men in the invasion and 2000 taking France. Capt. Winters, one of the leaders of Easy Company was called a “Quaker”, because he didn’t drink or smoke, Capt. Winters was a great soldier, he was always calm and quite but when he had to fight and take action he was another person a meaner, a more active person he was always the one that lead the way. So he faces problems along the way trying to find his company after landing in the wrong combat zone.  He encounters many Germans along the way, alone without a weapon, because it had fallen out of his bag while jumping out the plane, he sneaks passed them without them knowing. He had finally reunited with his men and his best friend Richard Nixon in a German outpost the Americans had taken. Many things went wrong in D-Day but they had won the fight, it had been successful. Easy Company had started to go inside Holland ready for another war.

Band Of Brothers, one of many books of World War 2 that show affection and emotion in the characters because they all are caring for one another. Stephen E. Ambrose has made many books about World War 2. Like one called D-Day which it about every detail of D-Day and not just the point of view of the paratroopers, also what happened in the days of training camp. Stephen E. Ambrose passed away in October 2002, but left many books that people still read and enjoy now days to realize what happened in 1944 to 1945.

Pretty Little Liars

Reviewed by Maria Fernanda Cuellar

Pretty Little Liars written by Sara Shepard is a realistic fiction book. This book is about a group of four girls that during their seventh grade vacation, their friend, Allison, the girl who united them disappeared.

Three years had passed and still no answer about Allison.

Aria, Spencer, Emily and Hanna that were best friends with Allison had separated.

“Spencer Covets her sisters boyfriend, Emily crushes on the new girl at school, Aria fantasizes about her English teacher, and Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful.”

During the seventh grade vacations all the girls went to sleep to Spencer’s barn, which was right in front of her house. Allison thought that by telling each other secrets it would never break them apart, so all of the girls thought she was right. So they would tell every single thing to Allison, although Ally didn’t tell much about her life… during there sleepover, Spencer and Ally got mad at each other and Spencer told ally it was time to leave, and she left.

Next day Allison’s mother, Mrs. DiLaurentis calls Spencer to ask if her daughter was still there. No. She was not there.

That is when Allison disappeared.

During the three years, of them being apart, Aria moved to Iceland, then she came back, had a crush on this guy she met at the bar which resulted to be her new school English teacher.

Emily, the perfect daughter, student, person, has the perfect boyfriend, friends, military dad, and a “wonderful” mother.

Hanna used to be fat and wanted to loose weight so that the boy she liked, Sean, would ask her out. Also for her benefits to be beautiful. She had bulimia. She also started to hangout with Mona, the girl who used to be a loser

Spencer’s sister, Melissa, was getting married. When Spencer met her sister’s fiancé she thought he was a really nice guy and started digging him. He kind of like her also (still being Melissa’s fiancé) so he… kissed Spencer. Melissa saw him do it and well, bye-bye…

The girls have been receiving anonymous texts to their cell phones from “A” talking about the secrets only Allison knew about. And threatening them with it. So they want to find out who is “A” and what happened to Allison.

To find out about everything, you must read the next books form the series.

I believe that all the girls in the world that like, mystery, drama, and suspense should read this book, it was WONDERFUL! I loved it, one of the best books I have ever read.

Before I Fall

Reviewed by Mari

In Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver creates a story about romance, friends and the thought that you can’t always turn back the clock and re-do things. It is a story about a girl called Samantha (also known as Sam) who dies in a car accident on her way to a party with her friends. She gets a second chance after she dies, seven chances to be exact, she relives her last day again and again and discovers the true value in life and the mystery that surrounds her death and finds out that there is more to life than having the best choice in everything to the cafeteria table, to best parking spots, she has her friends and a perfect boyfriend, but there is more than that to her life.

While the day is re-winding itself again and again she discovers a new crush that she never notices before, Kent. She tries to save a girl, Juliet Sykes, a girl who has trouble fitting in. As the day repeats, Sam tries over and over to protect Juliet from her unnecessary fate. Sam realizes that she is living a perfect life and but has a strained relationship with her family. She decides to spend more time with her family with the realization that any day can be her last.

She struggles with her boyfriend, being consider the popular girl, and staying friends with the popular clique—Lindsay, Ally, and Elody on top of having to help a friend from a serious situation. This story has a sense of seriousness, romance, humor, and suspense. It is a mix of everything I’ve read and keeps me reading and try find out what’s going to happen and something that’ll keep you up all night trying to finish.

Remember Me

Reviewed by Stephanie Huie

Sophie Kinsella overflows emotion in Remember Me? This is the story of a young woman who has had the worst day of her life. She’s outside of a bar, her boyfriend stood her up while she’s waiting for her ride, and everyone has gotten a bonus at work. (To show the financial year was better than expected.) However she didn’t get the bonus due to lack of qualification…missing one week of work. Everything has gone downhill until it gets even worse. As she hails a taxi and tries to get its attention from other customers; she slips on her cheap boots down stairs. The next thing she knows she’s in a hospital bed…three years into the future! From the old crappy life to the glamorous life of being skinny, rich, and having a wonderful husband…but is it really the dream life?

Remember Me? is a story with drama and comedy that will get you hooked in. Alexis (Lexi, the protagonist) has a bumpy life ahead of her after skipping three years of her 20’s (no one wants to miss those years) and can’t remember a thing in between. She’s now skinny, rich, with a great husband…and a secret affair? Last thing she remembers was being called “Snaggle-Tooth” and having the worst job in history. But when she wakes up, not only is she stuck with the life “Lexi” created, she’s nicknamed “The Cobra” for being snappy and a “bitch-boss-from-hell” from her friends…or should I say old friends. In three short years, her life has completely changed, she owns a gorgeous car, she lives in a huge house and it should be a perfect life. Her husband is perfect but doesn’t consider her feelings; on the other hand Jon (she was having an affair with) cares for her, but refuses to continue until they have something to link them together…a memory. This book is something you will NOT want to put down until you’ve finished, I’m not saying its short (389 pages) but it’s packed with juicy conflicts and emotional scenes that’ll kick the night raw.