Book Beat Reviews

The Puffin Keeper by Michael Morpurgo

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.

This well written book is an enjoyable read.  I recommend this book if you are looking for a calm yet eventful story.  Even though The Puffin Keeper is not a story with a lot of action this book will teach you about the kindness of others and how that will stay with you forever.  The author shows this kindness through the strong character development. 

The story starts on a stormy day when Allen and his mom were on a boat that was caught in bad weather.  The people on the boat were stranded on a rocky island.  The light house keeper recuses all of passengers from the Rocky Island they were shipwrecked on.  The lighthouse keeper has to make several trips to rescue everyone.  Throughout Allen’s life he remembers the day when the kind light house keeper rescued him.  Allen had always wanted to go back and visit the island he had been recused on. So, one day he made-up his mind and went to search for the light house keeper.  Eventually he finds the man and only planned to visit for a little while.  His stays longer than anticipated, but eventually realizes it is time to go home.  It is hard for him to leave the light house keeper. 

I enjoyed how The Puffin Keeper is a book that seems believable, like it could have actually happened in real life.  The author is very detailed in his descriptions.  The author does a good job of building character development so you can connect with the people in the story.  Make sure to read the entire book so you learn about the Puffins!

Find it in print here.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

Malibu Rising told the story of the children of Mick Riva, a famous singer in the 1950s. Mick Riva had 4 kids, Nina, Hud, Jay, and Kit. Nina, the oldest of the four, always takes care of her siblings. Every year, Nina throws a huge party at her home in Malibu, and everyone who is anyone was at this party. The story follows the progress of the night of the party but also has flashbacks through the life of Nina’s mother and Nina as a child. The children of the famous Mick Riva were put through a lot during their life, especially because Mick was such a terrible father. The reader follows each of the Riva siblings throughout the 24 hours before, during, and after the party, and through each of their growth and development. 

Malibu Rising is amazing. I like all of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novels, but this is by far my favorite of those I have read. I loved that the reader got to see both the present throughout the party, but also the flashbacks and learn about each of the Riva siblings’ childhood. I also liked that there were references to other Reid stories at some points in this book. I felt that this connected this story with others that I’ve read from the same author. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an amazing story with so many twists and turns.

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

We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon

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

We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This is a story about Quinn Berkowitz and her journey through finding herself and also finding love. Quinn’s family owns Borrowed & Blue, a wedding planning business. Her parents expect Quinn to go to college in Seattle, learn all about business, and then work full time for B&B. Quinn doesn’t know how to tell her parents that she doesn’t want to study business, especially because she doesn’t know what she would like to study instead. All Quinn knows is that she is not interested in wedding planning for the rest of her life. Quinn also grows closer with Tarek Mansour, the son of the catering company B&B uses for most weddings. Quinn learns a lot about herself and love throughout this story. 

I enjoyed We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This a lot, and I enjoyed that it was relatable. Quinn is a pretty awkward character, and the way she handles her experiences reminds me of most teens. I also enjoyed that there was a crossover between the story of Quinn and Tarek, and also two characters from another novel by Solomon. I think this crossover helped me enjoy this book more. I also enjoyed that Quinn was able to find herself, and even though her parents were expecting one thing out of her, she was able to find something she loved and spend time doing that. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a sweet story about finding yourself.  

Find it though Interlibrary loan here.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

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

Animal Farm is a dystopian novella. It takes place on Manor Farm, where a farmer lives and gets resources from his animals. These farm animals come to realize that they don’t like the way they’re being treated, so they plan a rebellion against Mr. Jones (the farmer). The animals chase Mr. Jones and his friends off the farm. The animals celebrate their victory in the rebellion, but they have to set up some sort of order. First, the animals create the principles of animalism, which states that to these farm animals, animals are friends, and humans are enemies, among other things. At the beginning of the animal society, everyone is pretty much equal, but the pigs gain more and more power and become more like the leaders. This means the pigs start prioritizing the pigs, and more power, instead of all the animals, as the original goal was. Throughout the story, the dynamic between the pigs and other animals changes a lot, and towards the end, the reader realizes the issues in the system of government throughout the farm.

Animal Farm is not just a story about farm animals. It was written by George Orwell as a commentary on political structures and social classes. I think that this is pretty obvious throughout the book, and the reader should have a clear understanding that the purpose of this book is not for the reader to learn about farm animals, but rather about the nature of political power. I enjoyed reading this book because it was a different way for me to think about social classes and equality, and I feel that I gained a greater understanding of both. I would also say that you need an understanding of what was happening at the time to gain perspective on why Orwell would write this. I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in learning more about equality and social structures, and who is looking for a short, but thought-provoking, read.

Find it in print, ebook, eaudiobook, and graphic novel here.

November 9th by Colleen Hoover

Hi, my name is Kate. I am in 11th grade. I enjoy hanging out with friends and playing soccer in my free time when I am not at school.

The book, November 9th, written by Colleen Hoover is about a girl named Fallon who gets caught in a fire at a young age and is reminded of it everyday when she looks in the mirror with a look of disgust on her face. Fallon and her father meet up at a restaurant for breakfast, the day before she is leaving to follow her dreams. While telling her father that she is pursuing her dream of acting, he doesn’t believe her or in her. In the restaurant she is surprised when a random boy adds to the conversation as her “boyfriend” telling her father how amazing she is, annoying her father even more. After her father leaves the restaurant Ben and Fallon spend the rest of the day together hitting it off after not even knowing each other an hour ago. An unfortunate goodbye comes and Ben and Fallon agree to follow the rules that they set up for each other (including, pursuing both of their dreams and dating other people) but also meeting up at the same place next year, November 9th. The next November 9th, Ben and Fallon meet up and become even closer learning how much they love each other. The same rules apply to their next visit. These visits continue every year, but with every year, their other lives continue as well, creating choices that they have to make to either continue their meetups and date after five years, or not. 

I recommend November 9th if you are looking for a good romance book to read that is super fast paced. As a teenager I really enjoyed the romance because it was a young adult book. The plot of the book was super good and easy to follow. I really couldn’t put the book down, it was so good. I loved this book, I have read almost all of Colleen Hoover’s books and this one is by far my favorite.

Find it through Interlibrary loan here.

Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Hi, my name is Kate. I am in 11th grade. I enjoy hanging out with friends and playing soccer in my free time when I am not at school.

The book Slammed is about a girl named Layken whose father died when she was 18 years-old. Layken and her younger brother are forced to move from their perfect home in Texas, across the country to Michigan with their mother. Disappointed and angry at her mom, Layken has to start all over in a new school with people she hardly knows. After school, she comes home to take care of her younger brother and fantasizes about a relationship with her neighbor, Will. While juggling time with family, friends, AND a crazy relationship she has with her neighbor, she has to keep up with her schoolwork, mainly her poetry class. Layken learns more about herself, her mother, her family, and her relationships as she starts to embrace her talent and love for poetry. Just when Layken thinks Michigan is an okay place for her, she gets thrown into a new conflict that she will have to survive in order to sustain relationships for not only her, but her family as well. Will her neighbor, Will, hurt and confuse her more, or will he be able to help her with his love of slam poetry to push her to choosing the right solution for her situations? 

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very fast read and I was super eager to read the next book to her series, Point of Retreat.

Find it through Interlibrary loan here.