Book Beat Reviews

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams

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.

Thirteen-year-old Genesis Anderson has a lot going on. After being evicted again because of her dad’s alcohol abuse, she’s facing a new school (again), being laughed at because of her name and her…everything (again), constantly worrying about whether her dad is paying rent or going to his AA meetings (always)… she’s dealing with a full plate. But the worst expectation she’s struggling under is her family’s, and her own, hatred of her dark skin. All Genesis really wants is to be beautiful.

In her new school in the suburbs, however, life isn’t as bad as expected. Genesis finds friends who actually support her, without any strings attached, and a chorus teacher who encourages Genesis to let her singing talent out of her room. Navigating the world of middle school is hard, even without any of the extra things Genesis is dealing with, but everything seems to be finally going her way… until it just isn’t anymore.

Genesis Begins Again is an honest, poignant, funny, and thoughtful story of the journey to self-love and acceptance. Though it’s written to a younger audience, I think everyone should read this book, because inside of each of us are our own barriers to self-love that we each must overcome. Alicia D. Williams has written an ode to beauty—beauty that comes from loving ourselves for who we are instead of what we supposedly should become.

Find it in print here.

Restart by Gordon Korman

Hi, I am Advik. I love to read and bike.

Will a bully always be a bully?

That’s the question eighth-grade football captain Chase Ambrose has to answer after a fall from his roof leaves him with amnesia, so he has no memory of who and what he was. When he returns to Hiawassee Middle School, everything and everyone is new. Two of his football teammates, Bear Bratsky and Aaron Hakimian, seem to be special friends, but he’s not sure exactly what to think of them. When he walks the hallway of the school, other classmates seem fearful; he doesn’t know why. Because he is on a temporary suspension (doctors not) because of his concussion, he finds a new home in the video club and, over time, develops a new reputation. He shoots videos with his former bullying target, Brendan Espinoza, and even with Shoshanna Weber, who hated him for persecuting her twin brother, Joel. Chase voluntarily continues visiting the nursing home where he’d been ordered to do community service.

As his memories slowly return and he begins to piece together his former life, he’s extremely surprised. His crimes were worse than bullying. Will he become that kind of person again? This book is set in the present day and told in the alternating voices of Chase and several classmates. I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to everyone.

Find it in print and eaudiobook here.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

I’m Advik and I love to read, write, be outside, and watch TV.

Allegiant, the third book in the Divergent Series by Veronica Roth, opens up with Tris being imprisoned for her disloyal actions in the previous book.

After Edith Prior’s video footage reveals that there is a whole world outside of the city limits, the city’s social system is in shambles. The factions have disintegrated, and Evelyn rules the city as a tyrant with her factionless army. Tris, Tobias, and their friends set out to discover what is outside the city. Their escape plan is one of two missions of a rebel group known as the Allegiant, who also wish to reinstate the faction system.

Outside the city, the group finds themselves at the Bureau of Genetic Welfare, a government agency working to fix the genetic damage that has been a problem in the United States for many years. The Bureau’s leader, David, tells Tris and Tobias that Chicago (their city) was simply one of many experiments aimed to cure this problem of genetic damage. They are told that the term Divergent means merely that someone possesses cured genes, and they realize that their entire life has been nothing but a lie.

Soon after, a girl named Nita informs the group of the evils of The Bureau. Nita forms a plan with a man from the fringe, Reggie. Nita gets Tobias(Four) on board with a plan to “reset” Bureau members’ thoughts on genetic purity using memory serum. Nita tells Tobias to not tell Tris anything. Tobias ultimately tells Tris about Nita’s plan, and Tris thinks it is a bad idea. Tobias accuses Tris of being jealous of Nita, and the rift between them grows. Caleb is chosen to take the impact of the death serum and release the memory serum so the Bureau can be reset.

Tris ultimately takes Caleb’s place in the mission, hoping perhaps her Divergence will make her immune to the death serum. She survives the death serum but David catches her and shoots her. Just before dying, Tris manages to release the memory serum into the Bureau. Tobias grieves Tris’s death. He considers taking a memory serum so he can start over and forget his pain. Christina stops him, reminding him that those actions aren’t what Tris would have wanted.

This book is one of the best books I have ever read, by far. It teaches you to trust your peers and fight for what is right.

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

We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

Hello! My name is Tess. I love to ski, bike, fish, and get lost in my books.

Just as this trilogy is ending a new world opens up right before your eyes. This book will have your mind wondering where the characters are going next. Over the past few summers, Belly has spent her time deciding whether to fall into the hands of her first love, Conrad, or her first boyfriend, Jeremiah. Belly and Jeremiah were lovebirds chasing dreams of young love, when trust is broken in their relationship causing their bond to break and the lives they had built around each other begin to crumble. Jeremiah sought out forgiveness all the while Belly was filled with anger and rage and wasn’t ready to forgive. A question is thrown into the mix that makes Belly reconsider all the emotions she had been feeling. This book will make you wish you were in the book to guide Belly through these tough choices and you may even find yourself taking sides and cheering along with the numerous friends and family members trying to help them too. The everchanging heart of Isabel Conklin has been given choices that will set the course of her life, will Belly follow the path that she has always known or the path she has always wanted?

Find it here in print, ebook and eaudiobook.

I Must Betray You by Ruth Sepetys

I am Thijs. I enjoy reading (maybe a little too much) and being outdoors. I have a younger brother and my favorite dessert is root beer floats.

The book I Must Betray You really opened up a lot for me. It brought a ton of awareness to a country I knew so little about.  I never knew so much intriguing history about an Eastern European Country that many people pass by for the famous Western Europe.

Romania, in some of its darkest moments, is where a boy named Christiano grows up, under the watch of the ruthless dictator. Christiano writes in his journal wondering, “Why is communism so great but, we are not permitted to leave?” and “Does everybody have to wait for hours for food but, maybe not get anything at all?”,  as well as, “In America do they live in fear of being reported because they live in fear of being reported because they are making a joke about their leader and then be executed?” and “Do they send kids eight years old to prison for the worst crimes just because they thought they were being treated wrongfully?” If not then why does Romania? Christiano has to navigate this world while not even being allowed to trust his own family! 

The book follows Christiano through the worst of the 1980s to the Romanian Revolution as he struggles to find hope of a better life.  This non-fiction memoir made a big impact on me.  How ruthless their leader was, but not only that he was so cunning that he made every country believe that conditions were great. He made his citizens fear each other preventing them to band together and trigger an uprising.  He would take his family on trips to Disneyland while most people in his country did not even have fresh fruit.  It surprised me how greedy people can become.  I would recommend this book to anyone.  I think you would learn a lot and really enjoy it.

Find it in print, eBook, and CD here.

Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander

I am Thijs. I enjoy reading (maybe a little too much) and being outdoors. I have a younger brother and my favorite dessert is root beer floats.

The Book “Door of No Return” is a wonderful book that really dives deep into African culture and lifestyle before the Europeans. This book informs you about African culture we did not know about influence. It is a book that is more about who the people were before their world was invaded. At the same time as it informs you about the Africans who lived in Upper Kawate. I was so bewildered that these people had to go through all these things that the Europeans brought.

The book followed the life of a young African boy who lived in Upper Kawate. The rivalry that the Europeans had formed between the two Kawates was getting bad. The Lower was trading goods and slaves from the Upper for Europe’s advanced technology. As the Kawates weakened themselves. The Europeans just sat and watched for a time to conquer all of Kawate. Meanwhile, the main character must struggle with being bullied by his cousin who has been better than him at everything. Amidst all this struggle how could this lonesome boy come through? This eventful action-packed book is short and sweet and gives you an insider’s view of how Europe changed Africa forever in the span of just a few years.

This book holds some very heavy and important lessons of life. I would not recommend it for a kid who has not fully developed yet. Preferably 11+ due to violence and slavery. You should most likely anticipate yourself for some things that are deep and have a lot of meaning in them. This is a historical fiction novel with made-up characters but the ways of the people are all true as well as the violence that was happening at the time.

Find it in print here.