Book Beat Reviews

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

My name is Camille and I am in 8th grade. I love to snowboard and bake. My favorite genre to read is murder mystery.

I read One of Us is Lying by Karen M Mcmanus. I love Karen M Mcmanus’ work and I think that this book showed her true talent. This book was really fun to read because every time you thought you had solved the case, something new was thrown at you.

This story is a murder mystery that stars four high school students who are suspected of murdering their fellow classmate. In this story you will get to know each character on a deeper level and when the truth is revealed you will be shocked. The reason that these students are suspected is because they all have reason for wanting Simon, the kid who was murdered, out of their life. Simon runs a gossip app called “About That” where he spills secrets from everyone at the school. He had written stories about Bronwyn, Nate, Cooper and Addy that would ruin their future. However, he was not able to post it before he died and everyone thought that they did it.

This story kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time and I loved every minute of it. This book also featured some romance so anyone who likes mystery mixed in with some love would really enjoy this book.

Find it in print and eaudiobook.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Hi, I am Advik and I’m in 8th grade. I love to read, watch TV, swim and travel.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, book five in the Harry Potter series, is exceptionally compelling. Rowling shows skill at character work here, whereas the previous books were about the world-building of Harry Potter.

As Harry Potter enters his fifth year at Hogwarts, he learns that most of the wizarding community doesn’t know about Harry’s encounter with The Dark Lord (Lord Voldemort). There is a new Defense against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Dolores Umbridge. Her methods are evil, and her way of teaching is tedious and useless. Because of this, Harry forms a group of students to defend the school against the constant rising of evil.

A turning point in the book is Harry’s vision of his godfather, Sirius Black, being held captive and tortured by Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries. Harry rushes to the Department of Mysteries to find a glass sphere with Harry’s and Voldemort’s names. He then realized it was a trap, and Sirius wasn’t at the Ministry of Magic. After being saved and transported safely back to Hogwarts by Dumbledore, he tells Harry secrets that were kept from him for fifteen long years. As the secrets are unearthed, they shock Harry but determine his future in a scary way.

This book is fantastic and genuinely amazing. In fact, this is my seventh time reading the Harry Potter series, and I’m still hooked. The way Rowling paints the story and creates this magical world is downright phenomenal. I recommend this book for ages ten to adults

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

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Hi, my name is Rya. I am a junior and I enjoy reading, swimming and traveling.

Eleanor is growing up in a household with four siblings and an abusive stepfather. She is the new girl in school, and her stocky stature and eclectic clothing style, paired with a head full of vibrant red hair, get her more attention than she wants.

Park is an introvert living in a world of extroverts. He gets along well with everyone, but while his friends and family expect him to embody masculine stereotypes, Park prefers to spend his time with music and comic books.

As is the case in any romance story, the two meet coincidentally when Eleanor is forced to sit next to Park in the only seat left on the bus. For weeks, they want nothing to do with each other, until one day, Park silently offers Eleanor a comic book. From there, their relationship grows, despite everything pulling them apart.

Eleanor and Park is a popular romance novel about two misfits who fall for each other, which plays on the archetype of star-crossed lovers. I expected my opinion to match all of the positive feedback I had heard, but I found the book to be decent at best. The general idea was clear and the characters were well-thought-out, but the plot and page-turning qualities were lacking. All that to say, my opinion is an outlier amongst many positive opinions- so give this book a try if you are looking for a unique romance story.

Find the book, ebook and eaudiobook here.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Hi, my name is Rya. I am a junior and I enjoy reading, swimming and traveling.

Effia and Esi, half-sisters, hardly know of each other’s existence. By chance, they both end up in the same place- the Gold Coast Castle. Except Effia is upstairs, in the bedroom of the slave-trade manager she is married to. Esi is downstairs, in the dungeons, about to be put on a ship, where the slavery of America awaits her.

Effia and Esi’s stories aren’t the only ones to tell, however. Homegoing follows the lineage of each sister through eight generations and 300 years, with a different chapter dedicated to each character. Each chapter is filled with love, tragedy, resistance, misery, and pride while contributing to the perpetuating theme of the horrifying impacts of colonization and slavery.
Homegoing is a candid and vibrant tribute to both black history and the beauty of storytelling. The way that Gyasi weaves all of the characters’ different stories and perspectives together in such a seamless way is admirable. The reader gets to empathize with each of the fourteen characters while gaining newfound perspectives on these 300 years of black history. The symbolism and connections in this book are also incredibly powerful. Needless to say, I think Homegoing is a masterpiece and I highly recommend it. It is written for an adults.

Find the book, ebook and eaudiobook here.

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Hi, I’m Dash and I’m in 8th grade. In my spare time, I like to read, play tennis, hike, bike, and play ultimate frisbee. I’m 14 years old.

Keeper of the Lost Cities (book one) tells a compelling story about a girl named Sophie, whose life gets uprooted when she discovers she is an elf and that all elves reside in the shimmering, crystallized Lost Cities. But not all is as it seems. In the beginning, I thought that it would just be the story of a girl learning to adapt to a completely new life, but the story is laced with mystery as Sophie struggles to find out who she truly is in a world where no one will tell her anything. And as she digs into her past, she unearths secrets that she isn’t ready to find: not everything is as perfect as it seems, and a mysterious group called the Black Swan is trying to control her . . . but why?

When I first read it, I didn’t grasp that this story also serves as a subtle social commentary. It highlights how the elves without “special abilities” (telepathy, phasing through walls, reading emotions, etc.) are restricted to the working-class cities and how the Nobility (those with special abilities) look down upon them.

Overall, this is an excellent book that I would recommend for ages 12-15. The only criticism I have is that the school system of the humans and the school system of the immortal elves are too similar. Overall, a great read.

Find it in print and ebook here.

Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel

Hi, I’m Clive. I am 13. I love playing basketball, soccer, and reading sci-fi.

Being a kid is hard for Ben. Especially when your brother is a chimpanzee. Ben had just moved when his mom brought a chimpanzee back home. As if Ben didn’t already have enough to think about, with starting a new school and meeting new friends, this chimp was to be taught sign language to communicate with humans! 

At first, Ben resents the chimp, who they name Zan, and the entirety of the experiment itself. Even worse, Zan hates being forced to act like a human child. He throws off his diapers and screeches and bites at people who come near him. Over time, Ben’s hatred for Zan slowly develops into love and pity for him. Ben becomes desperate to teach Zan his first word. When he does, Zan can’t stop learning words. 

Ben, however, is horrified at the chair the scientists strap Zan into. Ben’s Dad is also unsatisfied with the pace of Zan’s learning. Ben’s Dad decides he will sell Zan to a chimpanzee sanctuary in Nevada. Once Ben gets there, he can tell that the sanctuary is awful, but his dad says that it is fine. Ben has to stand up and be brave for Zan, risking everything to make sure Zan will no longer be tested on. That’s what a “half brother” would do, right? In my opinion, this book is amazing. It covers many common themes in books, like love, trying to fit in, learning to face a problem, and more. Now normally, books like this aren’t necessarily up my alley, but this one spoke to me, maybe because of the teen protagonist.

Find it in print and CD here.