Book Beat Reviews

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Hi! My name is Madeline, I am twelfth-grader living in the Wood River Valley. I enjoy playing the violin, reading, and writing.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” This famous opening sentence comes from A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens.

The story follows characters from two French families of very different backgrounds: one from an aristocratic family and one who is a victim of aristocratic power. Both decide to leave France and start afresh in London. The story bounces between Paris and London during the time of the French Revolution. The characters are drawn away from their tranquil life in London and into the very heart of the Revolution, where they must face its chaotic brutality.

A Tale of Two Cities explores themes such as mob mentality and violence, redemption, vengeance, and love. It expertly weaves these themes into a tale full of drama and mystery that will keep its readers turning pages. The criticisms of this book often include its characters. Some are not well developed and seem to exist solely to serve the narrative rather than be interesting on their own. This is not true of all the characters, but it can be frustrating that some of these flat characters get so much page time.

The prose in this story is written with long flowery sentences, which can sometimes be a paragraph long. The writing is beautiful but may take some getting used to for modern readers. Overall, A Tale of Two Cities is a beautifully written thought-provoking book with an engaging plot despite its flaws.

Find it in print here.

Intrepid Aviators by Gregory G. Fletcher

Hi my name is Parker and I’m a 7th grader and love reading non-fiction historical books. I also enjoy playing soccer and hanging out with friends.

Tales of a Tin Can is about the sailors aboard the destroyer USS Dale during World War II. It is written by Michael Keith Olson and portrays the day-to-day life of the crew of a small destroyer during the war. The name “tin can” is a term used by sailors for destroyers, as their armor was so thin, some joked it was made out of cans. The USS Dale would serve from December 7, 1941, until the signing of the peace treaty in Tokyo Bay in 1945. The book switches between the perspectives of the crewmembers and it is very cool to see into the day of a sailor.

The USS Dale was a Farragut class destroyer built before the war and was top of the line at the beginning of the war but was out of date by the end of the conflict and was moved to convoy escort. The ship fought from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to the treacherous waters off Guadalcanal, and fought kamikaze raids around Okinawa and eventually, Tokyo.

The book is written in a first-person account and shows the individual thoughts, feelings, and fears of the sailors who fought. In all I would highly recommend this book for its historical accuracy and how cool it was to see the troubles and the fun times of being a sailor. It was a great read and got me staying up every night to read it.

Find it in print here.

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

Hi I’m Reese and I like playing softball and volleyball, skiing, and hanging out with family and friends. My favorite genre of book is mystery and some subtle horror

To All of the Boys I’ve Loved Before is an amazing book showcasing all aspects of romance, comedy, and some parts showing bravery and confidence. The main character, Laura Jean, is Jenny Hann’s character and is how readers see through the eyes of a high school girl in a crisis.

After her mom dies, Laura Jean only looks up to her older sister Margot. She does everything and she keeps her life together and cooks and drives the family wherever they need to go. When Margot goes off to her dream school in Switzerland, everything starts to go south in Laura Jean’s life. She feels helpless without Margot and that feeling doesn’t get any better when all of her love letters to all of her crushes, get sent out to the people she wrote them about. She never planned on sending them, but these were to end the crush that she had on that person. Laura Jean gets into a fake relationship with a boy named Peter who received a letter. She is trying to make her real true love Josh, who is Margot’s former boyfriend, think that her and Peter are dating so that he won’t ask about the letter that he received. As time goes on, we learn that Laura Jean and Peter actually start to like each other, but that all goes south when they go on a school trip. They admit their feelings to each other, but it complicates things and their fake relationship along with their sort of real one, are gone. Even after everything is final and the whole school knows that they’re done, Laura Jean finds her writing another letter to Peter. Not a letter saying goodbye like her other ones, but a letter that is saying hello and telling Peter how she really truly feels.

In the story, you get to experience what home life and school life are like for Laura Jean and see through her eyes in a way that makes this a very enjoyable book to read.

Find it in print, ebook, and eaudiobook here.

One of Us is Next by Holly Jackson

Hi I’m Reese and I like playing softball and volleyball, skiing, and hanging out with family and friends. My favorite genre of book is mystery and some subtle horror

One of Us is Next is the sequel to one of my favorite books One of Us Lying. This book is exhilarating and exciting and makes you want to keep reading. My favorite quality of the book is how entertaining it is.

This book is about when a new game is created at Bayview High School, truth or dare, but has fatal consequences. If you pick truth or don’t respond, then your biggest secret gets released to the whole school. If you pick dare, then you get a challenge. Phoebe Lawton is the first to get picked. She ignores it and her secret gets out about sleeping with her older sister’s boyfriend. That’s when people know this game is serious. Knox Myers, and Maeve Rojas are next. The three of them select truth. Brandon, Phoebe’s boyfriend, chooses dare and dies in an accident at a construction site. The game has gone too far.

I would give this book 4.5 stars out of 5 overall. If I were the author, I would make it less excessive so it didn’t scare people who read. I definitely liked the book, that was just one critique I had. I would recommend this book to people in 7th grade or higher who like murder mysteries.

Find it in print and eaudiobook here.

Tales of Tin Can by Michael Keith Olson

Hi my name is Parker and I’m a 7th grader and love reading non-fiction historical books. I also enjoy playing soccer and hanging out with friends.

Tales of a Tin Can is about the sailors aboard the destroyer USS Dale during World War II. It is written by Michael Keith Olson and portrays the day-to-day life of the crew of a small destroyer during the war. The name “tin can” is a term used by sailors for destroyers, as their armor was so thin, some joked it was made out of cans. The USS Dale would serve from December 7, 1941, until the signing of the peace treaty in Tokyo Bay in 1945. The book switches between the perspectives of the crewmembers and it is very cool to see into the day of a sailor.

The USS Dale was a Farragut class destroyer built before the war and was top of the line at the beginning of the war but was out of date by the end of the conflict and was moved to convoy escort. The ship fought from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to the treacherous waters off Guadalcanal, and fought kamikaze raids around Okinawa and eventually, Tokyo.

The book is written in a first-person account and shows the individual thoughts, feelings, and fears of the sailors who fought. In all I would highly recommend this book for its historical accuracy and how cool it was to see the troubles and the fun times of being a sailor. It was a great read and got me staying up every night to read it.

Find it through Interlibrary loan here.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Janet and Geoff Berge

My name is Judah. I like to play soccer, alpine ski and x- country ski. Some of my favorite books are the Golden Goblet and A Night Divided .

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is an historically accurate book written by Janet and Geoff Benge. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born to a German family on February 4^th, 1906. Dietrich grew up with many siblings, being one of eight to grow up in the Bonhoeffer house. At age twenty-one Dietrich Bonhoeffer went to the University of Humboldt Berlin. Although having a theology degree, Bonhoeffer was used by the Lord to teach and help pastors to stay strong in times of trouble under Hitler. Dietrich would also go on and work with many others in a secret attempt to kill Hitler and end his evil dictatorship. Although they came up with several assassination attempts, none of them proved to be successful.

Sadly, Deitrich and some others were found out and were taken to prison where they would stay for over two years before being put to death less than a week before Germany surrendered to the Allies. In his time in prison, he wrote many prayers and a theological interpretation of Genesis 1-3. Through this book, there are many close encounters, escaping the Gestapo and showing how much Dietrich Bonhoeffer was able accomplished under heavy pressure.

Find it through eAudiobook here.