Book Beat Reviews

The Gryphon’s Lair by Kelley Armstrong

Hi, I am Advik. I am eleven years old and am an avid reader; it is one of my favorite things to do. Something I also love doing is playing video games, especially Minecraft. I also love to play basketball and go swimming.

The Gryphon’s Lair, is the second of the four in the series, The Royal Guide to Monster Slaying, written by Kelly Armstrong. The story revolves around Tiera, the Gryphon, which was initially kept by Princess Rowan to learn her behavior. However, when the purpose did not materialize and Tiera starts growing too fast to be controlled, the Princess rightly decides returning her to aerie. The book is a beautiful narration of the events that happen thereafter. 

In my opinion, The Gryphon’s Lair, is an engaging book. Kelly’s narration of the events make you visualize the story, as if you are watching it instead of reading. Kelly did a great job describing the animals throughout the book. I also love the way Kelly incorporated the various monsters in the challenges and adversities the princess faces on her journey to make the book entertaining and thrilling. 

The author made this book flow great, and it was not turning to conclusions. Another great thing about his book are the characters. The characters have such unique personalities it makes the book far more interesting. I think I did not like the part where the Princess make amends with Dain, as it was not very compelling, but I think it was necessary for the story. I believe Kelly could have elaborated the climax of the story a bit more. I was craving for more. Overall, I would recommend this book any day!

Find it in through Interlibrary loan here.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

My name is Camila. I am 13 years old. I have been living here in Blaine County for the past 11 years. I love to try new things every day.

This book is an incredibly good book. It talks about a China Rabbit named Edward who lives in the Tulane house with Abilene Tulane and her family. Every day, when Abilene had to go to school, she would wake up put on her clothes, and then she would change Edward into his fancy suit. What could possibly go wrong? That was what Edward used to think until one day when the Tulane family decide to go on the Queen Mary ship all the way to London. While on the ship, Edward was thrown far into the ocean by some naughty kids. He spends his days then weeks, which turned into months until he is found by someone. Will Edward make it back to the Tulane family or will someone else keep him forever and have to start a brand new life? That, you will have to find out on your own.

This book made me feel a lot of different emotions. I cried, I laughed and even got mad at some point during the book. I was able to connect to many of these senses which made me really interested in this book because I hardly feel what I felt about the book. There were also times in this book that did not really catch my attention, Like the part where the two, not well-behaved kids started to toss Edward back and forth. This made me really mad because you know that one wrong step and what was yours will no longer be yours. 

I think that this book is a really good book. It is one of a kind and definitely will go on my favorites lists. I totally recommend this book to everyone, each page is full of excitement.

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

Restart by Gordan Korman

My name is Jasmine. I am 11 years old and live in Ketchum, Idaho. I love ski racing, snow/winter, and many other fun things.

Before the accident, Chase was a big deal at his school. People either shivered in fear when Chase came by or treated him like a hero. He was the big bully of his school, the kind that got him in real trouble. Nevertheless, he was a very successful athlete being the second after his father to win the championship games.  The accident gives Chase a chance at what many people desire a chance to restart, to start on a blank canvas. 

Chase falls off his roof in the summer and forgets the past 13 years. He remembers how to talk and walk but loses his memory. Chase does not remember himself or anyone, except one little girl. The girl is a mystery to him. He doesn’t remember anything about her. Chase finds himself to be a new person, a good, nice, empathetic person after restarting his life. Chase is forced to ask the question. Who is the old Chase and do I really want to be him? Overall, this book was really interesting and based on Gordan’s opinion that people can change if they really set their minds to it. Lose your memory to find your life. I too believe that people can change however, only if they truly want to.

Find it in print and eaudiobook here.

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

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.

Maverick Carter is seventeen years old and life ain’t perfect, but’s it’s not bad, either. He’s got a fly girlfriend and a cousin who loves him, and a set that’s always got his back.

Maverick Carter is seventeen years old and he thinks he’s got it under control. He brings in money the only way he knows how: drug dealing. It keeps the lights on and new kicks on his feet, and it’s not clean but it’s money. 

Maverick Carter is seventeen years old when he finds out he is a father.

Left with a three-month-old baby, Maverick’s gotta rethink his priorities. For the first time in his life, he has someone whose continued existence depends on him—more responsibility than he feels equipped to handle. But he has to, because there’s no other option. Maverick is surviving, and he’s gonna do that however he can.

Except it’s hard to sling dope, stay in school, and raise a baby. So when a neighbor offers Maverick the chance to go straight, he takes it. Maybe, in this world where everybody’s lost somebody and is just trying to make it from one day to the next, he can do more than simply survive.  With brilliant clarity and brutal, heartfelt honesty, Angie Thomas truly encompasses what life “in the concrete” is like, and finds each and every rose that grows from it. This prequel of The Hate U Give is not a backstory. It’s a life, a beautiful one, a tough one, and ultimately a life that’s worth living: a bud on the sidewalk, catching the rays of the sun.

Find it in print, ebook, and eaudiobook here.

I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee

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.

Skye Shin knows the standards. She knows the twisted idea of beauty in this society, the rules imposed upon her: fat girls shouldn’t dance. They shouldn’t wear shorts, stripes, or flashy clothes. They definitely should not enter K-Pop competitions.

But Skye doesn’t care, and so that’s exactly what she does.

Swept up in a whirlwind of performances, costumes, and publicity, Skye is trying to stay true to herself. But it’s not easy when the K-Pop industry, her competitors, even her mom are constantly trying to tell her that she’s not good enough. That she will never be good enough. That she could never deserve this, because she’s fat, and a fat pop-star, no matter how talented, is the last thing anyone would want to see.

But Skye is determined, and through self-hatred and doubt, she pushes back against the expectations of worthlessness, because she is set on being the world’s first plus-size K-Pop star, and she’s determined to love herself and never lose herself in the process. 

This book is reality TV. This book is romance, friendship. This book is entertainment industry and media and beauty standards. This book is singing and dancing and crying and shouting and voices lost and voices heard.

This book is breaking the mold. 

And you should read it, because Skye is awesome and Skye has a voice and Skye can dance and tell you about K-Pop, and about being a teenager, and about loving yourself: because, ultimately, isn’t that what life is about?

Find it in through Interlibrary Loan here.

Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

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.

Ana Dakkar is finishing up her freshman year at Harding-Pencroft Academy, an elite marine school that produces the best naval officers, marine scientists, oceanographers, and undersea navigators in the world. And while it may sound hard, Ana can’t imagine life anywhere else. Her family has gone to HP for generations and, beyond that, Harding-Pencroft is her home. Ever since her parents died in an undersea accident, the school is all she and her brother, Dev, have left. 

As Ana gears up for her end-of-year trials at sea, that home is stolen in a world-shattering tragedy. Ana learns that there’s more to the school than just its prestigious exterior—behind the facade brews a centuries-old cold war with another marine school, the Land Institute, harbored around a family secret that HP has been guarding for generations… a secret that might just trace back to a certain Nemo Dakkar, and his lost marine tech that lies somewhere in the depths.

As tensions reach a boiling point, her class embarks on a race against the Land Institute to reach the tech before it falls into the wrong hands. Ana must step up and put her leadership skills to the test in this epic about teamwork, adventure, and the ownership of a legacy. 

Fast-paced, well-written, inclusive, and incredibly enjoyable, this book has it all: adventure, friendship, and brilliantly creative twists and turns. If you’re looking for quality fiction, Daughter of the Deep will leave you deeply satisfied right until the very end. 

Find it in print and ebook here.