Teens Write Reviews

Kaffir Boy
by Mark Mathabane

Kaffir boy is an autobiography by Mark Mathabane about his childhood. During the apartheid in South Africa, he encountered many hardships. Throughout his childhood, he sees people starving, violence, and racism. Although having all these constant problems surrounding him, he manages to find escape through learning. He begins to read and learn English. He later develops a new hobby, playing tennis. This book contains racism and some may find this book highly offensive. I must say I loved this book it showed me the actual experience of someone who lived through the apartheid in South Africa.

-Claudia

The Lonely Crossing of Juan Cabrera
by J. Joaquín Fraxedas

The Lonely Crossing of Juan Cabrera written by J. Joaquín Fraxedas is about three men who wish to escape Cuba and go to the United States. Having to cross more than 90 miles to reach the Florida keys, the three men face crucial events and horrifying incidents. What I admired about this novel is the relationship that the three men possess. Also, I love how they handle certain situations. I was not thrilled about how the novel ended but it was still very pleasant to read. The Lonely Crossing of Juan Cabrera was an intense novel from the beginning to the end. If you enjoy an action type novel about rafting from Cuba to the United States then I highly suggest you to read this!

-Claudia

We The Living
by Ayn Rand

We The Living written by Ayn Rand, is a rather long novel about a young girl named Kira Argnovask who lives in Russia during the 1920s. She falls in love with a man whom she met in an ally. Throughout the novel, Kira faces tough decisions and situations. I would consider this book to be a love story gone wrong! I encourage others to find time to read this novel. Not only does it constantly keep you on your toes, but it gives you a point of view during 1920s in Russia with communism.

-Claudia

The Old Man and The Sea
by Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man and The Sea written by Ernest Hemingway is about an old man by the name of Santiago. Santiago was not able to catch a fish in nearly 3 months, until one day he voyages off the cost of Havana and hooks the Great Fish. In this novel, Hemingway describes Santiago’s determination and passion for the fish he catches. I suggest others to read this novel if they have a passion for fish or fishing as well! Overall, I believe that The Old Man and the Sea was an interesting book, and I fairly enjoyed it.

-Claudia

The Hunger Games series
by Suzanne Collins.

Breathtaking. Emotional. Nail-biting. All around captivating. The Hunger Games is a trilogy about twelve districts at the mercy of the capitol which are each forced to contribute one girl and one boy between the ages of 12 and 18 to fight to the death in a capitol-made arena. Leading lady Katniss Everdeen, a fierce hunter, volunteers for her sister Primrose to go into the arena but little does she know that every one of her successes adds a spark to an erupting rebellion. Collins is a genius for creating this masterpiece that leaves me wanting more at the end of every chapter.

- Lindsey

Siddhartha
by Herman Hesse

Within the novel Siddhartha, a young man named Siddhartha begins to realize the limitations of the Brahmin lifestyle he leads. He leaves his home to join the ascetics with his good friend Govinda. Both of them set out in the search of enlightenment. Govinda ends up taking refuge in the Buddhist, however, Siddhartha continues to capture enlightenment. The whole novel is just about a young man trying to find peace within himself and find the meaning of life. This book is very spiritual and makes a person think. While traveling along with Siddhartha, I began to start questioning myself “What do I believe in?” and “Is he doing the right thing?” This book opened my eyes to learn about other religions rather than just my own. However, if a person is uncomfortable reading about a different religion then I have to warn them not to read this novel since it is about a man’s journey trying to find himself through multiple religions. This book is one of my favorites because it just makes me feel like a different person, especially when Siddhartha describes how he meditates! It’s almost relaxing to read this novel!

-Claudia

Identical
by Ellen Hopkins

Identical is about identical twins whose father is a judge and mother is running for mayor. Both of the girls feel a lot of pain and stress because of their parents’ careers and their situation at home. Raeanne (one of the sisters) only wants to know her father’s love, while Kaeleigh (the other sister), is just the opposite, only wanting to be acknowledged by her mother who is rarely home. I must warn THIS BOOK DOES GET VERY DISTURBING! There is a lot of drug usage, swearing, and references to sex. If one is uncomfortable reading those things, then i suggesting reading another novel. However, this book has to be one of my favorites because it has made such an impression on me. One of the reasons why this book is so great, in my opinion of course, is because there is a crazy twist at the end of the story which I was not expecting at all.

-Claudia

Go Ask Alice
by Anonymous

Go Ask Alice has to be one of the craziest books I have ever read. It is about a young girl who moves to a new town and everything seems to not be going her way. However, one day Alice gets invited to a party and thats when things started to go downhill. Alice drops LSD and experiences a fantastic drug trip which will lead her to do more drugs. This novel is written as a diary entry of Alice and basically tells her life story and how she had to battle many obstacles, one of them including drugs. Therefore, if any teenager or parent is uncomfortable with reading about drugs, then I suggest that they not read this one.

-Claudia

On The Beach
by Nevil Shute

On The Beach is set in a time where there was a nuclear war that destroyed the Northern Hemisphere and the radioactive dust is drifting south at a steady speed. In less than on year, the radioactive cloud will reach those living in southern Australia. In this novel, there are many characters about who you learn about their life and how they are dealing with the idea that death is enevitable and coming soon. There are captains and lieutenants who sail the oceans to search for any civilization in the Northern Hemisphere. On The Beach is a tragic story and very depressing. This book made me realize how to appreciate the life I live and stop taking things for granted. On The Beach was almost like a wake-up call. I have to admit that in the novel, it gets hard to keep up with the characters especially because they are addressed by more than one name, however, I would recommend this book to everyone!

-Claudia

Rules of Attraction
by Simone Elkeles

Rules of Attraction is the next book after Perfect Chemistry. Although I fell in love with Perfect Chemistry, I was surprised when I did not feel the same way about Rules of Attraction. The second book is almost identical to the first. The main characters, Carlos and Kiara, have to go through extremely similar obstacles. Carlos is the brother of Alex and is also a gang member. I would not recommend this book because of the similarities between the two books.

-Claudia

Perfect Chemistry
by Simone Elkeles

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles is a story about the head cheerleader, Brittany Ellis, and a gang member, Alex Fuentes. These two are from completely different worlds and when forced to become lab partners in chemistry class, the results are bound to be explosive. I have to be honest and say that when I first heard about this book, I had my doubts. I hate reading the same love stories over and over but with different characters. This book, on the other hand, is much more different. I fell in love with the characters and completely adore the two main characters. They both have hard lives they have to deal with and the story goes into detail about their lives individually. I don’t think its cliche as I thought it would be.I have read this book twice now and I still like it! I really recommend it, especially to teenagers!

-Claudia

The Collector
by John Fowles

John Fowles’ novel The Collector is about a young fellow named Frederick Clegg, who beings obsessing over a beautiful middle-class student named Miranda Grey. Frederick soon starts to stalk Miranda and makes it his interest to discover everything he can about his new obsession. He then realizes that his age and interests are contrastive from Miranda’s. However, his infatuation drives him to contemplate a master plan to kidnap Miranda, in the hope that she will eventually fall in love with him. Since I am interested in psychology, this book was perfect for me. Being able to read about Frederick’s views on certain situations allowed to me to gain some insight on what an insane, obsessive man would think like. In addition, I was not limited to reading about only one character’s view but also Miranda’s views as well. This book is extremely suspenseful and not as dramatic as televisions shows such as Law and Order. It’s the perfect medium between scary and completely disgusting. I believe this was a good book since I honestly was not able to put the book down until I completely finished it!

-Claudia

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
by J. K. Rowling

In all my years of being at Hogwarts, one of my favorite books still remains to be the Goblet of Fire. It’s a strange pleasure reading this book because the first half takes its time with the plot, filling you beyond the brim with detail and atmosphere. The first task finally arrives when you’re more than half way through the book. But then comes those thrilling last five chapters where the pages seem to blow in the wind they go so fast. You go from luscious detail to heart pounding action in a matter of moments. You’d think such an event would be jarring, but, for me, it only makes reading this book even more fun.

-Melissa

Sirena
by Donna Jo Napoli

Everyone has that one book that they can read a million times and still be captivated by word. For me, that is ‘Sirena’. My love of mermaids first drew me into the book, and then I found out it was centered around the Trojan War and the greek mythology nerd within me couldn’t wait to read it. The story follows the mermaid, Sirena, and her quest to get a human man to fall in love with her in order to gain immortality. If she sings, she can put a man under her spell easily but the mermaid’s song leads to the death of too many men for Sirena to handle. She flees to the island of Lemos to find solitude but comes across a castaway, Philoctetes. She vows to earn his love without using her gift of song but can a human fall in love with her woman half along with her fish half? One of my favorite aspects of this book is the writing style. Since it’s told from Sirena’s perspective, the sentences are fragmented and simple. The imagery is simple as well yet also very descriptive. It adds a lot to the character and also makes it an easy read for anyone looking for a great romance novel.

-Melissa

The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green

When I heard that John Green’s next book was about a 16 year old girl with cancer, I thought I might skip it. I didn’t feel like reading about such a dreary subject. But then I watched John Green’s video in which he reads the first chapter. I immediately pre-ordered my copy and now, having read the entire book, I will never regret buying this fantastically constructed novel. The book is told from the perspective of Hazel, a 16 year old girl with cancer, and follows her journey of living with her disease, her journey to Amsterdam to meet her favorite author, and her journey with a boy named Augustus Waters. Hazel and Augustus’ relationship is like something out of the movies, yet so genuine. Their love story drives the plot forward, full steam ahead, making you desperate to turn the page. Yes, you will cry. Yes, you will laugh. Yes, it is so worth it.

-Melissa