Book Beat Reviews

Endangered by Eliot Schrefer

My name is 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. 

Sophie Biyoya-Ciardulli knows she’s got it luckier than most.

With her Italian-American father and Congolese mother, she attends high school in Florida and spends the summers at her mother’s bonobo sanctuary in Congo. She has money and opportunity and an escape—because Congo is a dangerous place, even for those who are trying to do good.

But the summer she turns sixteen, she rescues a sick and orphaned bonobo from a trafficker and nurses it back to health, christening it Otto. For the first time, Sophie understands why her mother has stayed in Congo, caring for the bonobos, instead of coming to America; why she always seems to put them before her family: she now knows what it’s like to feel responsible for another creature, and she and Otto are inseparable.

But just before she must leave, war breaks out in Congo. Foregoing the UN transport getting the American visitors out, she chooses to stay with the bonobos, risking her life to protect Otto in a society that doesn’t seem to care about humans, much less the empathetic apes that share 99.8% of their DNA.

Told with harrowing detail and care, Eliot Schefer weaves a story about the relationship between a girl and an ape—but really, it’s a story about much more than that. It’s the story of a country, of a species, of a war and a hope and a mission. And it all began with Otto.

Find it here in print.

Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds

My name is 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. 

Sixteen-year-old Jamal Anderson knows loss. He’s known it ever since the car crash that killed both of his parents and marked the last time he called Quincy Barrantes his best friend. He knows how it simmers inside of him, coats him in apathy and anger and grief and doesn’t let go. 

But loss has never felt like this.

When Quincy drowns trying to save a little girl, Jamal starts to feel the waves of grief and regret creeping over him once again: this time with the knowledge that Quincy died thinking Jamal hated him, that he died when they were still angry at each other, that the bitterness between them had never been cleared.

But then a new healthcare technology gives them a chance to make up: the ability to reanimate Quincy, bring him back to life… for a short time. 

So now Jamal is faced with a new conundrum: he has a former best friend who doesn’t know he’s about to die—again. And there is no way that Quincy’s mom is going to let anyone ruin the last days Quincy has on earth by telling him that. Jamal has this second chance to fix everything between them… and he can’t mess that up.

With brilliant, heartfelt clarity about the terrible pain that comes with loving someone, Jason A. Reynolds shows that no matter how much it hurts to lose someone, it is forever worth it to love them while they’re with you. This book will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you yell, and it will break your heart—but that’s what love is: whatever happens, it’s always, always, worth it. 

Find it here in print.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Hi, I’m Sarah. I am in 9th grade and live in Ketchum, ID. I enjoy playing board games, reading, mountain biking, Nordic and alpine skiing, playing with my family, snowmobiling, and being outside.

Race.

Not the running race kind, no—the other kind of race. The societal construct used to gain and reign over others, to assign roles and ascribe stereotypes and ultimately, greatly shape the history of America.

Race: a very complicated subject.

In this remix of Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi, Jason Reynolds masterfully illustrates the history of racism, and by association, race. From the world’s first racist, Gomes Eans de Zurara, in 1415 to the Black Lives Matter movement current-day, this book explores the nooks and crannies of race and how it molds itself into history. It explains what it means to be racist, what it means to be antiracist, what assimilation and segregation is and why. It tells the intricate politics that race creates, why it benefited some and caused relentless suffering for others; how it was used as a power play and a curse word and a battle cry. It brings stories from the slave ships, the rise of the Black Panther movement, Jim Crow Laws and the communist party. It doesn’t bury the past, it reveals it: the flaws of uproars, the evilest parts of history rearing their ugly heads.

It’s a book full of pain and despair, but also one of hope: friendships made and battles one and how far we’ve come from declaring some of our brethren subhuman. It’s a manifesto, full of aspirations for an antiracist world, a world in which everyone is treated equally, where race doesn’t define your identity.

“To know the past is to know the present. To know the present is to know yourself.” – Ibram X. Kendi. This is not a history textbook. This is the story of where we’ve been and how far we’ve come. This is a story that everyone needs to hear. This is the story that we must listen to in order to create a better world for everyone in it, in order to dream of a future better than the past we’ve had.

Find it in print and on CD here.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

My name is Lucy, I am in the ninth grade. I like to play hockey, ski, and rock climb.

This is a chilling story of a young girl’s murder and the aftermath. Susie Salmon, a young girl who loved to take photos, hangout with friends, and look at boys, suddenly finds herself dead in a strange heaven-like world. She is able to watch over her family and the rest of her town as they try to deal with the grief and suffering that comes with death. Susie’s sister and father are especially interested in solving the mystery of her murder, and finding out who took Susie’s life. In the meantime, Susie isn’t ready to die. She has obstacles to pass before she can be at peace and join everyone else in heaven. 

I thought that this book was very good but it is definitely for more mature audiences. It was compelling, suspenseful, and chilling. The plot sent shivers down my spine at many parts and it made me want to keep reading. The author does an incredible job of putting you in Susie’s shoes and telling you how it felt to be there, but not really, to see things unfold and be unable to change their outcomes. Reading this book really opened my eyes. I learned to enjoy life because you never know what could happen, and to never take anything for granted. 

Find it in print here.

Breath by James Nestor

Hi! I am Sarah. I am thirteen years old and an avid reader; it is one of my favorite things to do. Inspired by the multitude of author’s creation of magnificent places and surprising havens built by simple letters, I aspire to be an author and, meanwhile, nurture the love to write.

What do Olympic sprinters, emphysema patients, choir students, freedivers, and Tibetan monks all have in common? This seemingly completely unrelated group of people—healthy or sick, rich or poor, young or old—all find the secret to success through the power of breath.

Throughout history, ancient civilizations have realized the impact of the lungs, one of the most important organs in the body, on overall health and well-being. They knew that breathing was the secret of long lifespans, health, fitness, mental capacity, and, well, life. But in our modern culture, where roughly half of the population suffers from a chronic respiratory condition; where we’re ruled by things to do and places to be, we have forgotten the magical power of breath. We suck in short, pitiful puffs through our mouths, drying our sinuses and subsisting of unfiltered air; chew soft foods and weaken our airways until 90% of us are breathing incorrectly one way or another.

Sounds catastrophic, right?

But the solution is simple and quite obvious: to re-learn how to breathe, and that is exactly what Breath will teach you. Throughout this well-written narrative, James Nestor takes you on an exhilarating journey, digging through history and trekking across continents to uncover the true science of the lost art; a journey that opens the floodgates to a superpower waiting inside of us—waiting for us to take a breath.

Find it in print and eaudiobook here.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

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.

Looking for Alaska is written by John Green. It tells the story of Miles Halter and his experience at Culver Creek boarding school. Miles is a junior in high school. He is nervous about going to Culver Creek because he will be away from his parents. He makes a couple of friends at Culver Creek. Their names are Alaska, The Colonel, and Takumi. Each of these characters has a unique story, and we get to find them out along with Miles. This group of friends likes to do things they shouldn’t. They love playing pranks. Along the way, they go through a lot of hardships, and one very large one involving Alaska. Alaska goes missing. This leaves everyone wondering. Is she dead? What happened? Did she kill herself? 

This book was really interesting. I enjoyed reading it a lot, and I especially liked discovering different things about each character as I got further into the book. I also enjoyed the mystery element of this book, and how the reader was piecing the puzzle together along with the characters. There are definitely some mature subjects in this book, so I would recommend this book is read if you are old enough to deal with these mature subjects. I would give this book a 7.5/10 because I did enjoy it, but I did not relate much to anything in it. Overall this was a good book, but there are other books I enjoy more. 

Find it in print, ebook and CD here.