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With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

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. 

Emoni Santiago has magic fingers. Get her in the kitchen with some food and a few spices, and she can make a dish to serve a king; a dish to pluck a tune on your heartstrings, to uncover your deepest memories, to leave you licking the salty taste of your happy tears. 

In the kitchen, Emoni feels free.

Free of the responsibilities of navigating her senior year of high school and caring for her daughter, of choosing what she wants to strive for in this life or to sacrifice it for her child, to steer through the struggles of being part grown-up and part still growing.

When her school begins a culinary arts program with a final trip to Spain, Emoni knows she shouldn’t apply. She knows she doesn’t have the time. She knows she doesn’t have the money. She knows she has responsibilities that make being just a normal high schooler with dreams and ambitions more complicated.

But she can’t help her magic fingers, and the talent that explodes inside.

Written with her trademark beauty and care, Elizabeth Acevedo digs deep into the complicated world of one girl, and yet gives voice to many—she gives voice to the kids with responsibility, to the children who bridge cultures and people, to the high schoolers with sons and daughters to care for, and most of all: to anyone and everyone who’s ever had a dream. 

Find it in print, ebook, and eaudiobook here.

Outside In by Sarah Ellis

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

Outside In is about a girl named Lynn, and her friendships. Her family is very different. Her mom is a very free spirit and has a hard time keeping jobs. Her mom had a very serious relationship with a guy named Clive, and they had a very big fight, causing them to break up. Since Lynn was the happiest she had been in a very long time with Clive, this causes Lynn to have to come back to the reality of her and her mom living paycheck to paycheck and searching for jobs. One day while she was waiting for the bus, Lynn meets a girl named Blossom. Instantly Blossom seems very odd to Lynn, and Lynn wants to learn more. Lynn learns that Blossom lives a very abnormal life: under a water reservoir. Blossom also has a very abnormal family. As Lynn learns more about Blossom’s way of living, she learns what it really means to be a friend and to keep promises. 

I liked this book, but I thought it lacked lots of details and context. There were times that I didn’t quite understand where the setting was or who the characters were. I thought the characters were really interesting, and that is also how I would describe this book. The plot was totally unlike anything I had ever read before, and I did like that about this book. I think this book could be read by anyone because there is no inappropriate content, however, I think you should be 12+ to be able to understand some of the plot lines. 

Find it in print here.

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Hello I’m Josy, I love to read and I’m very opinionated when it comes to books. I read all books from Historical to Fiction.

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo is the third and last book in the “Grisha Trilogy” released on June 3, 2014. It is a young adult fantasy novel that hit the New York Times bestseller list. This book continues after Siege and Storm.

The capital has fallen and The Darkling, king of Ravka, rules all. Alina the Sun Summoner, the second army, and friends barely escape to an ancient network of tunnels and caverns with the help of the Apparat and the zealots.

Now Summoner lies weak and powerless, trapped by those who want to help her. She must form new alliances and find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers with the help of a disgraced tracker, her life long best friend. In order to regain her strength, the firebird amplifier is the key to her power and to saving Ravka from ruin and destruction.

The characters in this book are memorable and seeing this chapter of their stories’ end is stirring. The pacing of the book is slightly slow and can be monotonous. Although it is not my favorite book in the series, I sincerely think it is a great ending to a great story.

Find it in print here.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

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. 

A celestial consuming microorganism. A fifteen percent decrease in solar energy in the next ten years. A promised wipeout of half of humanity, best-case scenario.

Sounds like an apocalypse, right?

Yeah. Welcome to Project Hail Mary.

When a mysterious alien organism suddenly “infects” the sun and poses an extreme threat to all life on earth, Ryland Grace, a scientist-turned-middle-school-teacher with infectious enthusiasm, suddenly finds himself in space, the sole survivor of a last-ditch mission: save humanity and—by extension—Earth itself.

But no pressure, right?

After waking up from a coma that got him safely through the four-year trip, Ryland’s left with a spaceship, a mission, and no memory of how he got to a solar system light-years away from Earth. But as things start fuzzily returning to him, he begins to realize the indomitable task looming ahead of him—a heavy responsibility he must take on alone.

Or does he?

Andy Weir’s newest sci-fi novel is a highly entertaining, well-written, science-filled thought experiment that thoroughly portrays an original, fascinating—albeit terrifying—apocalyptic scenario that doesn’t fit any sort of alien invasion boxes of conventional literature. It wholly exceeded my expectations while taking me on a thrilling intergalactic journey, bouncing through the magnetic fields of cosmology and microbiology and physics and anthropology in a way that was clear, entertaining, and all-around mind-boggling.

Ready for a science-filled adventure? Climb aboard the Hail Mary—and fasten your seatbelt. It’s a wild ride.

Find it in print and ebook here.

Ciudad de las Bestias by Isabelle Allende

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. 

La vida de Alexander Cold se esta cayendo a pedazos: su madre está enferma con cáncer, y su padre necesita cuidar de ella y no tiene el tiempo para cuidar de Alex y sus hermanas en su casa en California. Así que sus hermanas viajan para vivir con su abuela materna, y Alexander van a dar con su abuela estricta y el opuesto de cariñosa: Kate Cold, que es un escritora para Geographica Internacional.

Pero cuando Alexander va a vivir con su abuela, viaja a la jungla Amazona por un proyecto de su abuela: encontrar la misteriosa Bestia de la selva. En la selva, Alexandar conoce una nueva amiga que se llama Nadia Santos, y juntos, los niños exploran la selva y su gente. En el proceso, aprende mucho sobre sí mismo.

Isabel Allende escribe un historia de dos partes mágica y emocionante, pero con mensajes muy importantes y reales en este mundo. Con personajes interesantes y un historia que tiene clímax tras climax, Ciudad de las Bestias es un libro bien escrito. Este es un libro para leer cuando quieres una historia con acción, amistad, y, por supuesto, una ciudad de las bestias.

Find it in print and ebook here.

Yes, No, Maybe So by Becky Albertalli

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

Yes, No, Maybe So tells the story of two teenagers who work on a political campaign in Georgia. For those who don’t know, Maya is Muslim, and Jamie is Jewish. Since they are not old enough to vote, they participate and help the campaign by canvassing, making posters, and spreading awareness. They become great friends through this, and they start to become more than friends. Since each chapter alternates between Maya and Jamie as the narrator, we see the world through both of their eyes. The reader gets a glimpse into how each of them feels about their world. They start seeing each other outside of working on the campaign, and they start to become more passionate about what they are doing. 

I really liked reading this book. I loved that the story was told from two different perspectives. For example, we learned about Jamie’s sister’s bat mitzvah when Jamie was the narrator, and we got to hear about Maya’s parent’s divorce when she is the narrator. I thought there was so much detail and context, and there was a lot of good vocabulary. I really liked the plot, and I thought there was just enough surprise and mystery. I thought the characters were great, and the reader can really relate to them. I also really liked it because I really like a lot of books from one of the authors, Becky Albertalli. 

Find it in print and ebook here.