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Animal Farm by George Orwell

My name is Elizabeth. I love reading, and my favorite book is My Sister’s Keeper. I am in the 8th grade and enjoy dance.

Animal Farm is a dystopian novella. It takes place on Manor Farm, where a farmer lives and gets resources from his animals. These farm animals come to realize that they don’t like the way they’re being treated, so they plan a rebellion against Mr. Jones (the farmer). The animals chase Mr. Jones and his friends off the farm. The animals celebrate their victory in the rebellion, but they have to set up some sort of order. First, the animals create the principles of animalism, which states that to these farm animals, animals are friends, and humans are enemies, among other things. At the beginning of the animal society, everyone is pretty much equal, but the pigs gain more and more power and become more like the leaders. This means the pigs start prioritizing the pigs, and more power, instead of all the animals, as the original goal was. Throughout the story, the dynamic between the pigs and other animals changes a lot, and towards the end, the reader realizes the issues in the system of government throughout the farm.

Animal Farm is not just a story about farm animals. It was written by George Orwell as a commentary on political structures and social classes. I think that this is pretty obvious throughout the book, and the reader should have a clear understanding that the purpose of this book is not for the reader to learn about farm animals, but rather about the nature of political power. I enjoyed reading this book because it was a different way for me to think about social classes and equality, and I feel that I gained a greater understanding of both. I would also say that you need an understanding of what was happening at the time to gain perspective on why Orwell would write this. I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in learning more about equality and social structures, and who is looking for a short, but thought-provoking, read.

Find it in print, ebook, eaudiobook, and graphic novel here.

November 9th by Colleen Hoover

Hi, my name is Kate. I am in 11th grade. I enjoy hanging out with friends and playing soccer in my free time when I am not at school.

The book, November 9th, written by Colleen Hoover is about a girl named Fallon who gets caught in a fire at a young age and is reminded of it everyday when she looks in the mirror with a look of disgust on her face. Fallon and her father meet up at a restaurant for breakfast, the day before she is leaving to follow her dreams. While telling her father that she is pursuing her dream of acting, he doesn’t believe her or in her. In the restaurant she is surprised when a random boy adds to the conversation as her “boyfriend” telling her father how amazing she is, annoying her father even more. After her father leaves the restaurant Ben and Fallon spend the rest of the day together hitting it off after not even knowing each other an hour ago. An unfortunate goodbye comes and Ben and Fallon agree to follow the rules that they set up for each other (including, pursuing both of their dreams and dating other people) but also meeting up at the same place next year, November 9th. The next November 9th, Ben and Fallon meet up and become even closer learning how much they love each other. The same rules apply to their next visit. These visits continue every year, but with every year, their other lives continue as well, creating choices that they have to make to either continue their meetups and date after five years, or not. 

I recommend November 9th if you are looking for a good romance book to read that is super fast paced. As a teenager I really enjoyed the romance because it was a young adult book. The plot of the book was super good and easy to follow. I really couldn’t put the book down, it was so good. I loved this book, I have read almost all of Colleen Hoover’s books and this one is by far my favorite.

Find it through Interlibrary loan here.

Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Hi, my name is Kate. I am in 11th grade. I enjoy hanging out with friends and playing soccer in my free time when I am not at school.

The book Slammed is about a girl named Layken whose father died when she was 18 years-old. Layken and her younger brother are forced to move from their perfect home in Texas, across the country to Michigan with their mother. Disappointed and angry at her mom, Layken has to start all over in a new school with people she hardly knows. After school, she comes home to take care of her younger brother and fantasizes about a relationship with her neighbor, Will. While juggling time with family, friends, AND a crazy relationship she has with her neighbor, she has to keep up with her schoolwork, mainly her poetry class. Layken learns more about herself, her mother, her family, and her relationships as she starts to embrace her talent and love for poetry. Just when Layken thinks Michigan is an okay place for her, she gets thrown into a new conflict that she will have to survive in order to sustain relationships for not only her, but her family as well. Will her neighbor, Will, hurt and confuse her more, or will he be able to help her with his love of slam poetry to push her to choosing the right solution for her situations? 

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very fast read and I was super eager to read the next book to her series, Point of Retreat.

Find it through Interlibrary loan here.

We Are Wolves by Katarina Nannestad

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.

We are Wolves is one of the best books about World War ll and the effects of what came after that I have ever read.

What I thought made We are Wolves stand out from the other books I have read about World War II is that it came from the German’s point of view. I found this book very engaging to read and hard to put down as I wanted to find out what happened.  This book is about a family that consists of three children named Liesel, Otto and Mia, their parents plus their grandparents Opa and Oma.  This book starts on the day that their father is leaving to go to war with the proud German army to fight the Russians. As the weeks go by, they can start to hear the battle off in the distance. They wonder if they should run away, but the German soldiers say they are safe. Until the battle is so close, and they can hear the dying screams of soldiers.  Only then does the flailing German soldiers give permission to retreat. The family quickly gathers up all they can in a wagon until it is jammed full of their belongings. Then they hitch up a horse named Mozart, and start off in the opposite direction of the battle that is raging in the distance.  Will Liesel and her family survive and get to a safe place away from the war, wherever that may be?  If you enjoy reading historical fiction, I suggest checking out this book at the Community Library. 

Find it in print here.

Escape from Alcatraz by Eric Mark Braun

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.

If you are looking for an exciting and suspenseful mystery book then this is a great choice. 

Escape from Alcatraz is a wonderful book about the three men who escaped the Rock.  This nonfiction book is about their famous escape from the 1960s from the so-called unescapable prison.  Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin were the first and only prisoners to escape Alcatraz.  Many people say that these prisoners died crossing the San Francisco Bay.  Others believe differently. Relatives of John and Clarence say they made it to Brazil, but there are many other theories.  Maybe you will come up with a new theory after reading this book.

As you rollercoaster through this book with its twists and turns you will soon find out what you think about the mystery.  As you read you will learn facts about these men from people who helped and knew them.  This is a mystery that people have tried to find out the truth for many years and are still searching.  This book will keep you up reading late into the night until you finish. You will find many surprising facts you never may have known about Alcatraz and the escape prior to reading this book.  This book is like no other Alcatraz books I have read before.  So go to the Community Library and check out this great book.  If you are history buff this book might be for you.  Today you can visit Alcatraz on an exciting tour where you will learn many more facts.  You can see all three of the men’s prison cells and others parts of the prison where they spent their sentence.

Find it in print here.

Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover

Hi, my name is Kate. I am in 11th grade. I enjoy hanging out with friends and playing soccer in my free time when I am not at school.

Point of Retreat is a sequel to Slammed, written by Colleen Hoover. After the plot thickens in the first book, Will, Layken, family, and friends are faced with trouble. While overcoming an intense accident and family problems, Layken and Will grow apart. With troubles in their families, it is important that they learn more about themselves in order to save a relationship that is meant to be. With advice written from Layken’s mother, Layken and Will find themselves in need of reading them a little more often than they were thinking. Family and friends seem to weave them back together yet pull them further apart. Looking into the future will Will and Layken be able to survive their troubles within themselves that seem to pull apart their relationship? Or will the death of Layken’s mother rip all her relationships into shreds?

Point of Retreat digs deeper on the relationship of Layken and Will. This romance book has its ups and downs yet Colleen Hoover still pulls the reader in and keeps them entertained with twists and turns. It is a great second book to the first but it is important to know the characters of the first book to understand it better. I enjoyed this book a lot (even better than the first) and thought it was a great summer read.

Find it through Interlibrary loan here.