BPL Teens

Teen review by Anna

Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow
By James Rollins
Type of book: adventure, fantasy, mystery
Rating: 5 stars

Jake Ransom is not and never will be ‘normal.’ With his parents dead, and his sister always in the spotlight, and his fascination with the past, it is no wonder he is thrilled to answer the strange invitation to the London Museum, for the opening of a Mayan display of treasures his parents uncovered on their last dig- but if you think that so far the story has been predictable, this is where you have to stop thinking such crazy things- because when a Mayan coin held by Jake and his elder sister, Kady reaches a golden statue glowing with St. Elmo’s Fire, their world is cast into the unknown- possibly forever. In this bizarre and thrilling mix of cultures, lost civilizations, mythologies and yes, time travel- all in the long ago land of All-World (better known as Pangaea)- the Ransom siblings, as well as readers- will be thrust into a quest to stop the ultimate evil- The Skull King, and discover things about the world as we know it-and themselves. This fast paced book is filled with twists and turns, lasting friendship and bone crushing betrayal, as well as a mystery as old as time itself- where do the lost tribes go? Recommended for fans of Maximum Ride, Indiana Jones, Alex Rider and just plain anyone who likes adventure- don’t miss out!

Teen review by Cuca

Dead Is the New Black
By Marlene Perez
Type of book: humor, mystery, romance
Rating: 4 stars

This book was very exciting. I never got tired of reading it. It is about Daisy and her two sisters and her mom. Her mom and her sisters are psychic but Daisy isn’t. She has to figure out why people at her school are looking more dead then alive but she needs help from a friend or more than a friend Ryan. It’s a good book if you like vampires.

Teen review by Aeren

Elsewhere
By Gabriella Zevin
Type of book: fantasy, romance
Rating: 5 stars

I think this book is great because it is a new and interesting view on what happens once you are dead. When fifteen year-old Liz Hall gets in a hit and run bike/taxi accident she wakes up on a ship (SS Nile) that takes the newly dead to a place called elsewhere. Elsewhere is a lot like earth but you age backwards instead of forwards until you are a newborn baby and then you get sent back to earth and are reborn. On the SS Nile on the way to elsewhere after watching her own funeral Liz finally realizes that she is not in a dream but that she is really dead. Upon arriving in elsewhere Liz meets her grandmother Betty who died before she was born for the first time. Betty is now in her thirties (on account of aging backwards). Liz does not want to age backwards. She wants to turn sixteen, get her license, go to the prom, go to college, meet someone special….. Read this book and find out what happens. This is a great book especially if you like a book you can relate to but has some fantasy.

Teen review by Ayushi

Raven
By Allison Van Diepen
Type of book: mystery, romance
Rating: 5 stars

Raven is about a girl named Nicole who is madly in love with Zin but she can’t understand why he keeps her at a distance, even though she can feel his soul reaching out for her. Zin is not like any other normal man. He is an immortal who survives by taking other people’s souls. When Nicole uncovers the truth she gets confused. She does not know if she can trust him. This book is not predictable. You never know what’s going to happen next and you can’t stop reading once you get started. So I would want someone else to read this book. I would compare this book to Twilight cause the stories are similar and that’s why I like this book.

Teen review by Molly

Vanity Fair
By William Thackeray
Type of book: humor, romance
Rating: 3 stars

This book is entertaining, but rather long and tedious. It is a social comedy, satirizing 19th century British society and humanity in general. Its subtitle, “a novel without a hero,” perfectly describes it. The author sets out to knock down the readers’ silly romantic notions that people can be noble, selfless, and good. Instead, he presents us with a cast of characters, including the witty, conniving social-climber Rebecca Sharp and the sweet but gullible Amelia Sedley, to prove that nearly all humans act with selfish motives. The few who are well-meaning, such as the bumbling, awkward Captain Dobbin, are complete fools. For the first few hundred pages, his point is funny. His caricatures of British society are hilarious. But the problem is that the book continues to repeat the same satire over and over again, and none of the characters change very much. They just continue with their petty, shallow lives in the superficial world that Thackeray calls “Vanity Fair.” If you like the works of Austen, Dickens, or the Brontë sisters, you might like this book. It has plenty of marriages, scandals, and drama. But beware— all romance in this book is laughed at. Nothing is taken seriously, but if you are willing to read 750 pages to get a good laugh, then I recommend this book.

Teen review by Gillian

D.Gray-Man (vol. 3)
By Katsura Hoshino
Type of book: adventure, fantasy, manga
Rating: 4 stars

This is a good series for those who enjoy shonen (boy manga). The plot line is very similar to other Shonen mangas, for that reason it may seem to shonen readers very repetitive, but an exciting read none the less!

Teen review by Eden

Ragwitch
By Garth Nix
Type of book: adventure, fantasy, mystery, science fiction
Rating: 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book because the style was so different. It was written in third person, but often includes thoughts and is shown from many different perspectives. I often don’t like books that are written from the male perspective, but in this case, I loved it. I also enjoyed it because it was in my favorite genre, I think it’s mostly fantasy or sci-fi mixed with historical fiction or fiction based on today. it follows the story of a brother and sister growing up in Australia when the sister, Julia, finds a doll and the doll takes over her body and they go to another world where Julia’s brother, Paul, follows them and tries to save her. it then follows both of there adventures throughout the other world. It is an awesome book and I think that you should read it!

Teen review by Molly

The Green Glass Sea
By Ellen Klages
Type of book: adventure, historical fiction
Rating: 5 stars

After I read “The Green Glass Sea” by Ellen Klages, I decided that it was my favorite book that I had ever read. Not only was it excellently written, but it had a wonderful mix of adventure and historical fiction. I am normally not a huge history or adventure book fan, but with all of the details and realism, it felt like I was actually in there, and someone was telling me this wonderful story. I think that this would be a fantastical read for anyone who loves to devour books like I do. Read this book!

Teen review by Hannah

Prep
By Curtis Sittenfeld
Rating: 4 stars

Prep chronicles the turbulent life of teen Lee Fiora as she navigates the Ault School, an elite New England high school. Smart and observant, Lee’s journey through high school is not without its ups and downs: complex relationships, academic pressure, and teen angst. Sittenfeld does an admirable job of not falling into the all-too-familiar trap in which writers attempt to accurately represent such a monumental life experience as high school, and fail miserably. Quite the contrary is true; she depicts what being a sixteen year old feels like with both humor and sensitivity. The realistic, flawed feel given to both Lee and her peers reassures the reader that Sittenfeld has indeed attended high school.

Teen review by Cuca

Twilight
By Stephenie Meyer
Type of book: adventure, fantasy, horror, humor, mystery, romance
Rating: 5 stars

This is my favorite book because it has a 17 year old girl (Bella Swan) falling in love with a 106 year old vampire (Edward Cullen) who doesn’t look a day over 17. He can’t stay away from her no mater how much he tries. This has many elements romance, adventure, fantasy, and much more. To sum it up Bella comes to live with her father in Forks because her mother got remarried. So on Bella’s first day of school she notices all of the Cullens and to her they seem different because they sit alone away from every one. But the strangest one is Edward. She doesn’t know why he was acting so weird around her so she tries to find out why. So that’s all i am going to say i don’t want to reveal the whole story. You will have to read it to find out.