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The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

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.

At first, it seemed like a simple crime – Richard lit Sascha’s skirt on fire. Sascha ended up in the hospital with second-and-third-degree burns; Richard to the state penitentiary facing the possibility of life imprisonment.

But if you dig deeper, look a little closer, you’ll see it’s more than that. And that’s exactly what Dashka Slater does. First, you get to know Sascha: an agender teen from Oakland, attending a tiny prep school, analytical, and has been making up languages since the age of 7 or 8. Then you have Richard: an African-American teen from the same city but a rougher neighborhood, a junior at the local high school, a big hugger, and by age 16 having lost two family members and three close friends to murder. Then you have the crime itself: an impulsive decision with grave consequences. 

While in prison, Richard wrote to Sascha, “I am not a thug, gangster, hoodlum, nor monster. I’m a young African American male who’s made a terrible mistake.” He was originally charged as an adult, with two felonies with hate crime clauses that increased his prison sentence. But he didn’t feel like that was quite right. He didn’t hate Sascha. Sascha and their family didn’t hate Richard, either. And of course, there were the millions of opinions made clear from the public – so many sides to the same story. 

The 57 Bus is a masterful examination of an apparently straightforward crime, delving deeper into each side and getting to the root of the story, questioning what qualities are human, and at what point a mistake becomes unforgivable.

Find it in print here.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

My name is Callan and I am entering 8th grade, currently living in Sun Valley. I enjoy activities including gymnastics, ski racing, soccer, tennis, and many other sports.

Shatter Me is a deep, emotional book that I enjoyed reading immensely. The novel starts in an asylum. Juliet was taken there and away from her family because she killed an 8-year-old boy in the grocery store. To understand why that happened, you have to start from the beginning. Juliet Ferrars was born with what most would call a disease. She could not touch anyone without causing excruciating pain. She was studied for years until scientists and doctors decided they would never figure out what was wrong with her. One day in the store, when she was 14, she witnessed a small boy trip and fall. She felt the urge to help him up. Forgetting her lethal touch, she picked him up. He started screaming, then crumpled, dead.

After 264 days Juliet is taken out of her cell by a 19-year-old boy named Warner. He is the leader of sector 45 and wants to use her ability as a weapon against sector 45’s enemies.

Juliet receives food, dresses, a warm bed, but she still refuses. She meets a soldier named Adam, who she starts dating. They both realize that they have to get out, and soon.

They escape, but not before Juliet finds out that not only Adam can touch her with no pain, but so can Warner. Once Juliet and Adam escape, they go to his house to hide. Juliet meets another fellow soldier of Adam’s, named Kenji. He takes them to an underground rebellion hideout, Omega Point. In Omega Point, Juliet finds out that she is not the only one with “powers.” She then starts training to be ready to take down sector 45 with the rest of the rebellion.

Julia must work on accepting her deadly skin. She realizes that it is part of who she is, and she will never be able to change that. She realizes that even though she may be dangerous there are people in the world that still care about her and love her for who she is. She decides that she will train to make her “powers” stronger so that she will win when the war starts. This book is part of a 7 book series.

Find it in eaudiobook here.

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Review by Ella; dreamer, ski racer, writer, and rock climber. Ella lives in SV, Idaho with her mom, dad, cat, dog, gecko, and fish.

The Selection by Kierra Cass is a captivating story set in the far future. In this future, America is no longer and the new country Illea is separated into castes, 8 being dirt poor and 1 being royalty. America, the main character, a 5 is a musician and is in love with Aspen, a 6. The concept of a 5 marrying a 6 is very rare so America and Aspen keep their love secret. Then Aspen makes America enter the selection, a competition to marry the crown prince, Maxon. Soon after, Aspen breaks up with America and when America gets into the selection she is shocked and hurt.

Aspen will be competing against 35 girls for Maxon’s heart, although she doesn’t think she wants it. America finds more than she expects at the palace. Maxon turns out to be a true gentleman and America starts to lose control of her feelings. In the palace, there are secret rebel attacks, vicious girls, heartbreaks, and there is certainly lots of drama. America struggles to get over Aspen and starts to fall for the prince but then Aspen shows up at the palace and what seemed clear has now become the biggest decision America will ever make.

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

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Review by Ella; dreamer, ski racer, writer, and rock climber. Ella lives in SV, Idaho with her mom, dad, cat, dog, gecko, and fish.

Imagine, you have the perfect senior year ahead, you have a car, an almost-boyfriend, and a best friend that anyone would be lucky to have. Well, in the book Anna and the French Kiss, all of this is taken away from Anna when her father sends her off to the School of America in France. Her father has found wealth in writing sappy romance novels and now wants to show off his wealth by sending Anna to the School of America. When Anna gets there she doesn’t expect her parents to actually leave her. She is distraught but makes a new friend that night, Meredith. 

She fits right into Meredith’s group of friends, Rashmi, Josh, and St. Clair. Anna grows close to St. Clair and Meredith but there is one problem, Anna starts to fall for St. Clair who has a girlfriend, Ellie. Anna and St. Clair become closer than ever and Anna is hopeful that St. Clair feels the same way about her. But a tragedy strikes. St. Clair’s mom has cancer and his evil father won’t let him visit her. Afraid of change, St. Clair stays in his rocky relationship with Ellie, leaving Anna wondering if any of their conversations over holidays or seemingly obvious more-than-friends connection meant anything to him. Anna and St. Clair fight and Anna starts dating another guy. Will Anna and St. Clair end up together is the question you are asking throughout this passionate, romantic, and beautifully written book.

Find it in print here.

The Selection by Kiera Cass

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

The Selection is a book written by Kiera Cass. It takes place in a dystopian society called Illea (pronounced ill-ya) where there are rankings based on what your profession is, and how much money you make/have. It is told through the perspective of America Singer, and her journey. They have a competition for girls from different areas in Illea to win the prince’s heart and become a princess. This competition is called the Selection- hence the name of the book.

America is chosen for the selection, and she has a very hard time fitting in. This is because she comes from a much poorer family than most of the other girls. America is also homesick, but she knows she has to stay in the selection to help her family- since they get checks for each week she stays in the selection. As she makes her way through the selection process, she has a lot of feelings about the prince, and other people from where she comes from. Overall this was a great book. The only complaint that I have is that there are 3 books before you get to see who actually wins the selection. In the first book (The Selection) you only get to see America’s journey to the elite (which is the last 6 girls). This book is one of the best I have ever read because of the plot, characters, and many more reasons. I highly recommend The Selection.

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

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

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

To all the Boys I’ve Loved Before written by Jenny Han is 355 pages long. The plot is about a teenage girl named Lara Jean Covey. She is not social at all, and she also has a few crushes over her years of going to school. Lara Jean has letters that she writes to admit her love for the boys.  However Lara Jean would never mail them out.

One day these letters somehow get mailed to the various boys, and this causes a lot of trouble for Lara Jean. Lara Jean has to figure out a way to explain exactly what these letters mean, and why she wrote them. To all the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the first book in a trilogy, so Lara Jean’s Journey is not complete after the first book. I’d say my favorite is the second book, but they are all great.

To all the Boys I’ve Loved Before has also been made into a movie by Netflix, so you can get an idea of what the characters and setting look like if that is a challenge for the reader. Overall this is a great book because of the plot-line, and also because of the description because it is detailed but not boring.

Find it in print and eaudiobook here.