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Lost in the Pacific, 1942 by Tod Olson

My name is Judah. My favorite sports are Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, soccer and baseball.

Lost in the Pacific is a true story written by Tod Olson. The story takes place during World War II near Canton Island in the Pacific Ocean. The main characters are Whittaker, Bill, Rickenbacker, Kaczmarczyk and John. It begins with them taking off from Pearl Harbor and heading to Canton Island airstrip where they were to be deployed to bomb the Japanese. They were scheduled to arrive on Canton Island at 9:30 Am, but when 9:30 Am rolled around there was no sight of the island. Without fuel or contact they were doomed to go down in the Pacific Ocean with no one knowing where they were in the biggest ocean on earth. They were dropping altitude fast and then crash landed in the ocean. With only two small rafts and four people it was a tight squeeze. Surviving more than two weeks with hardly any fresh water to drink and almost no food to eat demonstrated that the crew had what it took to make surviving the impossible possible.

This book shows the crews teamwork, effort, endurance, craftiness, and most of all their survival skills. They were able to craft a spear a fishing pole and even catch a bird! I liked this book because there is lots of action and most of all, that it is a true story.

Find it in print here.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Hi, I am Sarah. I am fourteen years old and an avid reader; it is one of my favorite things to do. Inspired by authors’ creations of magnificent places and surprising havens built by simple letters, I aspire to be an author and, meanwhile, nurture the love to write.

Legendary actress Evelyn Hugo is famous for many things: her movie stardom, her sensual, natural beauty, and most notably, her seven husbands. From Don to Rex to Harry, her reasons for marriage and divorce are widely speculated but never confirmed, as seems to be the actress’s MO: enough to tempt, never enough to satisfy.

The actress, now in her 70s, has finally decided to share an interview, and with a specific person in particular: Vivant Magazine’s Monique Grant. Humbled, and suspicious of the summons, Monique arrives expecting the Evelyn Hugo that the public knows, and instead, gets much more. Evelyn doesn’t want just an interview, she wants Monique to write her biography.

Monique starts with the question everyone wants to know: which of your husbands was the love of your life? And when Evelyn answers that none of them were, it’s only the beginning.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has written a fearless and original story chronicling the life of this world-renowned actress and her controversial life. Evelyn Hugo is not a good person, nor is she a bad one. Her incentives are fabulously flawed, she hurts and has hurt others, but consistently, she has always been motivated by love. In Monique’s words, “everyone’s love life is original and interesting and nuanced and defies any easy definition,” and ultimately The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is just that—a triumphant celebration of love in all its forms.

Find it in print, ebook, eaudiobook and CD here.

Waste of Space by Stuart Gibbs

I am Thijs. I enjoy reading (maybe a little too much) and being outdoors. I have a younger brother and my favorite dessert is root beer floats.

Waste of Space is by far my favorite of the moon base alpha stories by Stuart Gibbs. It is a page turner from beginning to end. I first want to comment on the author. Stuart Gibbs is one of the most gifted writers there has ever been. I know that is a really big opinion. But for me at least it’s true.  He has done a fantastic job with every book of his I’ve read. You can check out this wonderful book Waste of Space. Before you get this great book, you must read Space Case and Spaced Out. Space Case is the first book in the series, and Spaced Out is the second. I bet you can guess that it makes “Waste of Space” the third. Funny thing that I just noticed is that all three of the titles have space in them.

This book is about the main character, Dash, and his next adventure on the moon (the most boring place on earth). Oh, I forgot they weren’t on earth (make that the most boring place in the galaxy). This book takes place over just two days. It starts at two a.m. on Dash’s Birthday. His dad is taking him outside on the moon’s surface which is strictly against the rules. Dash is super excited because he has only gone out on the moon’s surface four times and two of those times he had gone out without permission. He and his dad have only been playing catch for fifteen minutes when they hear Nina’s voice over the radio. Nina tells them to come inside but Dash’s dad says that they will only be out for a little longer. Then is a scream and Nina tells them that they really do have to come in immediately.

To know what happens next check it out at The Community Library.

Find it in print here.

Boys of the Beast by Monica Zepeda

Hi, my name is Felix. I am 11 years old and I like to play sports (soccer, basketball, swimming and skiing). My favorite flavor of ice cream is cookie dough. I like to read fantasy, realistic fiction, and sci-fi.

Boys of the Beast is an amazing book for many reasons but what really stood out to me is that it takes three cousins who are different in so many ways and brings them together.  Oscar is suffering from mental health issues because his dad died in a school shooting. Ethan has come out to his parents as gay but hasn’t told them that he has an online boyfriend. Matt has parents who him to go to a Christian school and become a doctor even though he wants to go to film school at UCLA. Though brought together by the unfortunate event of their grandmother’s death, this leads to something positive when Matt inherits her car and they all decide to go on a road trip to Albuquerque.  

The cousins decide to take a detour through Berkeley and LA  so that Ethan can meat his boyfriend and Matt can see the UCLA campus. These adventures help them discover more about themselves and each other. Their car breaks down outside of Phoenix which means they have to stay at Oscar’s house. Here Oscar has to deal with his family’s sad past. Luckily he has the support of his cousins and their newfound friendship to help him can face this painful moment. 

I found this book an amazing experience to read because I really felt the characters needs and hopes. I really liked how it felt like I became the characters.  I will leave it to you to read the book to find out why it’s called Boys of the Beast.

Find it in print here.

Winter Town by Stephen Emond

My name is Jasmine. I am 11 years old and live in Ketchum, Idaho. I love ski racing, snow/winter, and many other fun things.

Winter Town by Stephen Emond, is a novel based around two teens, Evan and Lucy. Evan and Lucy did everything together when they were young: drew comic slides, read lots of fantasy, made up life stories for the grave’s occupants in the neighborhood cemetery, and walked the streets endlessly talking of anything and everything. They were inseparable. That is until Lucy’s parents divorced and she was forced to move to Atlanta. Every year Evan looks forward to her year round visit at Christmas time. 

This year, when Lucy arrives back in town, she doesn’t look, or act anything like Evan remembers. Lucy is like a whole new goth version of herself. At first Evan and Lucy get off to a bad start. However Evan starts to realize she is her old self deep down. Lucy seems to fold in on herself, hide under her new exterior and act like a new Lucy. So what, exactly, is Lucy hiding? What happened to her over the last year that could potentially break her and Evan apart?

Winter Town is told from two different perspectives, and has Evans comic drawings between each chapter. I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked how there was a lot of growth in the characters and the change between Lucy and Evans’ feelings about each other. However I didn’t love that the overall theme of the book kept changing. What I mean by this is one moment it would be romance the next it would be accepting change, yet they did not combine it. Wintertown is perfect for anyone who loves a feel good book on a cold wintery day. 

Find it in print here.

Spaced Out by Stuart Gibbs

I am Thijs. I enjoy reading (maybe a little too much) and being outdoors. I have a younger brother and my favorite dessert is root beer floats.

This moon based alpha novel is creative, eventful and full of mysteries. Spaced Out is a story not fully related to one of the author’s other books called Space Case. You will understand this book more if you read Space Case first.  In the very end of Space Case, the main character Dash finds out Zan is an alien. This book is about when the baes commander, (Nina the Machina) goes missing dash the main character goes on an adventure to go find her. 

When the story starts Dash is showing Zan the movie Star Wars.  Dash is trying to explain what humans think aliens are like.  Suddenly, the biggest jerks in the universe, the Sjoberg’s kids, (Lily and Patton), burst into Dash’s family’s room because they thought he was talking to Roddy. Dash confesses he is not talking to anybody, but Lily and Patton do not believe him.  Dash quickly corrects himself and says he is not talking to anybody here, because that sort of is true. Zan is not really at the moon base.  She is just projecting a mental image in Dash’s brain, which makes it seem as if she was actually there. Dash wonders why the Sjoberg kids are so upset at Roddy, but before he can figure that out Patton leaps at him.  From here the story takes off with many adventures that are entertaining.

If you want to find out if Dash escapes the Sjoberg kids and learn more about Zan, check out this book at the library.  You will not be disappointed by this engaging book.   If you are a fan of science fiction this is a perfect book to read this summer.  I am looking forward to reading some of the author’s other books, like Spy School.

Find it in print here.