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Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfetter

Hi my name is Kire. I am a 8th grader who loves to read and write book reviews!

Life As We Knew It is a fiction novel that has themes of family, hope, and survival in it. The book is written from the main character Miranda’s point of view in a diary sort of style.

Miranda’s life isn’t anything special. She goes to school every day and everything is normal until the moon is knocked away from its regular orbit. This is when catastrophe strikes; because of the moon, giant tsunamis hit all over the United States destroying cities on the coast. Luckily, Miranda and her family live in a small town in Pennsylvania so they live through this event.

After this, a series of horrible events happen. The whole world loses power and electricity, and volcanoes begin erupting everywhere. Due to the volcanoes, the air quality becomes horrible and soon no one can see the sun and it is grey all the time. Winter comes early and it snows 10 feet in one day. Additionally, Miranda and her family must preserve their food by only having one meal a day. Will Miranda and her family make it through this horrible time, or will they become one of the victims of the moon? Read to find out.

I found Life As We Knew It to be an interesting read, although I did find it a bit sad. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book.

Find it in print and ebook here.

All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

My name is Bria, I am in 8th grade and in my free time I enjoy skiing.

The Naturals are going to solve some cases Vegas style. A new case draws the crew to Las Vegas Nevada. They just finished their Christmas break and already there have been three murders in three days at three different casinos in three different ways. All the victims have a strange number combination on their wrists. Then Sloane connects the numbers to the Fibonacci sequence.

Everyone is a little shaken up. Cassie is struggling because the police have new information about Cassie’s mother’s cold case. Cassie tries to focus on the case, but everything just comes back to her mom. Then the case takes a personal turn for Sloane, as she finds out her father and stepbrother are involved in the case. Sloane is usually a statistical genius who struggles to understand people and in this book she is more vulnerable and out of her comfort zone.

I loved this book because I feel like I know the characters so much more in depth than in the first book and it is cool to learn about Sloane’s past and how it shaped her to be who she is. I loved how it got more in depth on everyone. It was more serious as The Naturals are finally starting to get more responsibility to do active cases.

Find it in print here.

Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

My name is Bria, I am in 8th grade and in my free time I enjoy skiing.

Killer Instinct is the second book in The Naturals series. This book is in the perspective of Cassie like the first book. It continues off of the first book mystery and adds to the depth of each of the characters.

After all the drama 6 weeks ago, the naturals are ready for a fresh start. They have a new supervisor, Agent Sterling. Under her strict watch they won’t be able to get away with anything. Agent Sterling creates immediate pressure, and something happened before that they don’t know about. However, when a new active case starts to hit close to home for Dean. When victims start to show up looking like his father’s victims. Dean’s father was a serial killer that is now incarcerated. Dean is always trying to forget him, but something always pulls him back to him.

I liked this book more than the first one. One reason I liked this book more is because the groundwork was laid in the first book. Killer Instinct was able to dive deeper into the characters. This was especially compelling for Dean, who is forced to confront the legacy of his notorious father. The intense end makes it clear that the stakes will only continue to rise for Cassie and the Naturals. This ending promises even more unpredictable turns for the series ahead.

I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys crime and mystery books.

Find it in print here.

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

My name is Bria, I am in 8th grade and in my free time I enjoy skiing.

Echo follows the story of a harmonica. The harmonica goes through multiple decades, around the world, and three owners. The harmonica gives hope to each of the owners. The harmonica is enchanted by a witch’s curse, destined to travel the world and save a soul from death.
The three owners are Friedrich, Mike, and Ivy. Friedrich is a young German boy living in 1933 during the rise of the Nazis. Friedrich gets bullied because of his birthmark. To make matters worse his father is imprisoned by the Nazi. After the harmonica’s music sustains him through a dangerous journey to save his father, he ships the instrument away. Mike is an 11-year-old orphan who lives in Pennsylvania during the great depression in 1935.

Mike is a piano prodigy, and protective of his younger brother, Frankie. The orphanage tries to separate the boys. Luckily Mike and Frankie get adopted by Mrs. Sturbridge, who is forced to adopt them. She struggles to accept them, but the harmonica gives Mike hope and inspiration through the tough times. He gives the harmonica to a program for poor kids.

Ivy is a Mexican American living in Southern California, during World War II. Her family are migrant farmworkers; they came to lease farmland from the Yamamoto family who were sent to internment camp. Ivy faces segregation and prejudice. The harmonica provides comfort, strengthens her musical gifts and gives her courage. When Kenny Yamamoto, who is in the U.S. Army visits the farm, Ivy gives him the harmonica to keep him safe at war.

The book’s unique structure powerfully connects three distinct narratives, showing how music, hope, and courage unite people across time.

Find it in print and eaudiobook here.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Hi, my name is Judah and I like to play soccer, ski and play tennis.

The book Frankenstein is a science fiction book written by Mary Shelly. The main characters in this novel are Frankenstein and his “creature.” This book has a tragic beginning when Frankenstein’s beloved mother dies. That event at the beginning changes the trajectory of Frankenstein’s future. He is so grieved about this death and makes it his goal to create life and cheat death.

When his new creation wakes up in Frankenstein’s apartment, Frankenstein is horrified at the looks of this monster, so he screams and runs away. This leaves the monster with no guardian, and he leaves civilization and runs into the forest. The monster tries several times to incorporate himself back into society but because of his grotesque looks he is always shunned and rejected by any civilization he comes across. This changes the monster’s view of humans and goes about committing terrible crimes to get back at the ones who hurt him on the inside.

This book shows a creature-creator relationship and how fateful events can shape a being for the worse. This novel is packed full of suspense, mystery, and affection which will engage all readers who like a good science fiction novel. I recommend this book for older audiences above thirteen because of some gore that is contained in the book.

Find it in print, ebook, and eaudiobook here.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Hi, my name is Judah and I like to play soccer, ski and play tennis.

The book Pride and Prejudice is a novel written in the time of the19th-century Regency period and was written by Jane Austen. This novel is great for those who like a good romance story with plot twists and some humor. The main characters that this book follows are the Bennet family, Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Darcy.               

In the beginning of the book, the main character, Elizabeth, is introduced to a man named Mr. Darcy who at the first interaction with him is in disgust at his prideful behavior and wants nothing to do with him. Elizbeth later finds out that Mr. Darcy was involved with Elizabeth’s beloved sister Jane and Mr. Bingley’s relationship that was cut short. When she finds this out, she is furious at Darcy for mingling in the whereabouts of her sister and is set on never thinking a good thought about him. As the plot progresses, Elizbeth finds out more about Darcy and starts to realize that her hasty judgments and opinions without knowing the full story may have been made too suddenly.

Throughout this book, the characters are well developed, making you really feel what is happening to the book as if you were there alongside them. If I were to recommend this book for others, I would recommend it for all ages above eleven.

Find it in print, ebook, and eaudiobook here.