Book Beat Reviews

Amari and the Great Game by B. B. Alston

Hi my name is Kire. I am in 6th grade and I love to read. Other than reading I like to do gymnastics and play viola.

Amari and the Great Game is an exciting sequel to the book Amari and the Night Brothers.

The book follows a teenage magician named Amari, who is now one year older and an official junior agent unlike in the book before. The book kicks off with a time freeze that strikes Atlanta, Georgia the city where Amari lives. During the time freeze, Amari and her class from school are all in a bus going on a field trip and everyone except Amari freezes. Soon after, Amari receives a text message uninviting her to summer camp at the bureau of the supernatural world. She now has to figure out a way to get back into the summer camp and why she even got uninvited in the first place. She later finds out that the time freeze has done a lot more damage than she thought. The prime minister and everyone who was in a conference with him had all been frozen. This throws all of the supernatural world into shock and suddenly Amari has to solve the case of the time freeze as everyone believes that it is Amari who summoned the time freeze in the first place. Will Amari be successful in solving the time freeze? Are there other dangers that Amari might have to face? Read to find out.

Amari and the Great Game is a super action-packed book for anyone who loves fantasy or just generally interesting books. I think that it was even better than the first book and that the author did a great job in keeping the reader on the edge of their seat throughout the whole book. So, if you enjoy reading action packed books, this would be the book for you.

Find it in print here.

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson

My name is Kyle, and I’m an 8th grader. I love to read fiction books specifically Sci-Fi. I also love to ski and play football in my free time.

Cytonic is the third installment of the Skyward series. In this rendition, Spensa goes on an adventure through the nowhere. The Delvers call the nowhere home and it’s the source of mysterious powers. Throughout the book, the theme of persistence is constantly brought up with Spensa facing many challenges throughout the text but finding unique solutions for each. Cytonic is a science fiction book with slower plot progression than the others in the series, but it becomes a great read when the plot gets faster and more exciting.

Spying on the Superiority has its consequences and Spensa figures that out fast. Throughout the book, Spensa discovers more and more about her power and being a Cytonic. This allows her to use her powers to take on the Superiority more effectively. Cytonic isn’t a book I would read on its own, but it is essential to the rest of the series. The book is prolonged at the beginning and middle but picks up near the end and builds up the plot for the final book of the series. If you like the Skyward series, I would not skip this book but if you just like science fiction, I think this is one it would be ok to skip. It is one of the better books I have ever read but not something that I would highly recommend.

Find it in ebook here.

Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

My name is Kyle, and I’m an 8th grader. I love to read fiction books specifically Sci-Fi. I also love to ski and play football in my free time.

Starsight is Spensa’s second adventure in the Skyward book series. Like Skyward, the author takes you on an adventure with Spensa. When you read this book, it feels like you are really in the story with the main character, which seems to be a constant in Brandon Sanderson’s writing. Starsight is a Sci-fi book just like its predecessor and is extremely action-packed; when you think the plot has finally slowed down it picks right back up. In Starsight Spensa finally discovers more about who is trapping humanity on Detritus and why they are doing so much to keep humanity from leaving. Starsight is a story about bravery, perseverance, and defiance.

Spensa had finally achieved her dream of flying but at what cost? She had lost many friends on the way and now she has to fight a force bigger than anything she had faced yet. Starsight is written in a first-person point of view. This style of writing allows the reader to step into Spensa’s shoes and understand what is happening to Spensa throughout the text from her perspective. Starsight is a top 10 book that I have ever read. Next to Skyward it was probably the best book in the series and a must-read in my opinion. The plot progresses fast enough to keep you entertained but also has elements of romance and other niche topics that make the book entertaining. Overall, I would say this book is a must-read for Sci-Fi fans.

Find it in print here.

Gulp by Mary Roach

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.

Have you ever wondered why we love crunchy food, or why if something smells bad, it might still taste good? Have you wondered if constipation could kill, or whether it did actually kill Elvis? Have you ever truly wondered what really happens once food disappears down your gullet?

Whether or not you’ve actually had these wonderings, Gulp is probably your best bet in finding the answers—and the most hilarious. What happens in our gut (and out our butt) is pretty taboo, yet intimately connected within our society, culture, evolution, and the biological process that literally keeps you kickin’. Mary Roach dives deep down the “alimentary canal,” following threads that may be gross (but not too gross) and certainly interesting. She finds the unlikliest people, studying everything from the physics of chewing to the correct ratio of flavorings on dog food, and brings their fascinating stories into light. Gulp is an adventure of a story. It is not your textbook on the human digestive system; rather, a celebration of how food and the ways we eat it has brought us together as a society and community. It displays how integrated food and our digestive system really is in culture, as much as it may only seem relevant in the plastic skeleton from biology class. In Roach’s words, “the human equipment—and the delightful, unusual people who study it—are at least as interesting as the photogenic arrangements we push through it.”

Find it in print here.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Hi, my name is Zane. I am in sixth grade. I enjoy playing soccer, video games, and exercising.

The Golden Compass is a book about an 11-year-old named Lyra Belaqua. She lives in Jordan College, Oxford with her demon, Pantalaimon (Pan). A demon is a sort of pet that is connected to their human. The demons can also shapeshift into any animal that they desire. One day Lyra decides to explore a room called the retiring room. Although no kids are allowed in there, Lyra decides to look around and explore the beautiful room. However, things take a quick turn when she hears the master of the college coming. Lyra quickly ducks into the wardrobe, and sees the master secretly pour a white powder into the bottle of wine, potentially trying to poison Lyra’s uncle who will soon be arriving.

This book was definitely very surprising at certain times, and I would say it was one of my favorites. Something that I thought was good was that everything made more sense the more you read until the whole story unfolded. In contrast, I thought that the setting could have been explained a little bit better, and in more detail. In conclusion, The Golden Compass was a great page turner that I enjoyed a lot, and I would definitely recommend it.

Find it in print and ebook here.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

My name is Advik. I am in 8th grade. I love to swim, bike, watch TV and much more.

I read A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a nail-biting murder mystery book. I love Holly Jackson’s writing, and I think this book shows some of her true talents. In my opinion, this book is excellent for starting a thrilling series.

Five years ago, popular high school girl Andie Bell went missing and was allegedly kidnapped and then brutally murdered. Andie’s body was never found. Her charming boyfriend, Salil ‘Sal’ Singh, was accused of the kidnap and murder of his girlfriend before supposedly killing himself. The protagonist, Pippa ‘Pip’ Fitz-Amobi, disagrees with this theory because there are too many loose ends in the case the police conducted five years ago. As a result, Pip decides to investigate this case for her final senior project. As Pip uncovers a spiraling web of dark secrets in her small town, she is astonished by the things she learns, things she would have never known if not for this investigation.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder has twists and turns around every corner. It has an ending you will never expect. I love the ever-shifting suspects, the lies, and the twists. I strongly encourage every avid reader who loves mystery to try out this gripping book. I suggest this book for ages fourteen years and above.

Find it in print and ebook here.