Just One Day By Gayle Forman

Allyson Healey is on a school trip to England after just graduating from high school when she meets Willem De Ruiter, a charming Dutch boy, starring in an outdoor performance of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Allyson feels there's something between them, although she is not quite sure if it's genuine. And so she does something out of the ordinary and embarks on a amazing journey. Allyson and Willem jump on the Eurostar and head to Paris for the day, even though Allyson will have to be on a plane home in a few days. She doesn't speak French, she's never been to the city before, and she is hopeless at reading maps, so she leaves it up to Willem to show her the beauty of the city--until he disappears and she is left stranded.

I picked up Just One Day and assumed that Willem would leave Allyson. From the beginning of the story you know he is going to leave; you suspect as always that there will be a happy couple, but no. Willem leaving makes for a much more interesting and emotional novel.

Just One Day really shows us the briefest of romances. We can see how both Allyson and Willem get caught up in the moment, in what Paris means to them. In reality it's not romantic and life isn't a movie and no, an inspiring movie score will not suddenly start to play. I liked Just One Day because it wasn't your ordinary romance book; it has a twist that you see coming but the story keeps you interested.

Rating: 5

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini has been a life-changing book for me. It is about redemption and how it's never too late to fix a mistake. In the story the main character, Amir, lives with his father in Afghanistan. His father, Baba, is well known and wealthy. Amir's servant and closest friend, Hassan, is a Hazara. Amir and Hassan spend their days happily flying kites and reading stories by a tree in the local cemetery.

During this time period Afghan people did not accept and looked down upon Hazaras because of their difference in ethnic backgrounds. Due to this reason, Amir never said in public that Hassan was his best friend. But Hassan was still a loyal friend. This loyalty made him undergo a violent encounter. Amir knew of this but did nothing to stop it. Amir carried the guilt with him throughout his life.

                 I recommend this book to anyone who is looking to read a book that you won't want to put down. I like how the author describes how the characters are feeling and describes the setting. It makes you feel like you truly are there. By reading this book you will find out how Amir tries to fix his past mistakes to continue with his life.

Rating: 4

LOTR The Fellowship of the Ring by J R.R. Tolkien

The Fellowship of the Ring by J R.R. Tolkien, the first book of the trilogy The Lord of the Rings, begins the tale of hobbit Frodo Baggins's journey to save middle earth and continues the story of the dark and powerful ring that began in The Hobbit.

Frodo Baggins--nephew of Bilbo Baggins, who was a bearer for many years of the one ring of power made by Sauron, dark lord of Mordor, to wield--is set on this quest which unfortunately fell in his lap when his Uncle decides to call it quits on his "peaceful" time in the shire on his one hundred and eleventh birthday, leaving all of his belongings including the ring to his nephew. Frodo's quest is to destroy that one ring. Sauron seeks to increase his already immense power by reclaiming that One Ring that he has lost. The wizard, Gandalf, warns Frodo that he should leave the shire and keep the ring out of Sauron's hands. Frodo must destroy the ring by throwing it in the fiery pits of mount doom in the very center of Sauron's dark kingdom and cease his only opportunity to enslave all of middle earth. However the chances of Frodo successfully ending the ring's existence seem slightly dim. Not only is Sauron building an army of Orcs, Trolls, Variags and so on to capture Frodo, the ring too has a weapon of its own. It has the power to reel in anyone who possesses it and ultimately drive them mad. This is a burden that Frodo is brave enough to take on but not without help; thus the fellowship is formed. The author does such a good job introducing you into this fantasy world of good and evil that you'll become invested from the first page. The characters are uniquely built and it'll be hard for you not to love them. Friendship, honor, loyalty, and sacrifice encompasses the entire book and it's simply an amazing experience; it is greatly recommended.

Rating: 5

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

     Nicholas Sparks' The Last Song is a love story with a twist. Ronnie Miller was as angry as any teenager can be. Who could blame her--her parents were divorced and she was being sent to boring old North Carolina to live with her dad for the summer. Compared to the Big Apple, North Carolina wouldn't be much of a vacation. All Ronnie wanted to do was alienate herself from everyone. Too bad the town's hunky hero wasn't going to let that happen; she had made a bigger impression on him than he did on her. Not everyone was friendly to Ronnie and her family-- her dad had been convicted of burning down the town's church. 

Nicholas Spark's books are mainly about forbidden romance. Many do not know that he is the author of the famous book The Notebook. Hollywood adapted that book into a film and it became popular as one of the greatest romance movies of all time. The Last Song, which also was adapted into film, has become just as well-known as The Notebook. His stories have set unrealistic expectations for what love is suppose to be like. I believe that is the reason why we hope for happy endings when it comes to love. 

It is a must read, especially if you want to find out if everyone truly gets their happily ever after.  

Rating: 3

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

 Veronica Roth ends her Divergent series in her third installment, Allegiant. It follows up where Insurgent stopped and artistically ties together the story threads of the other two books. Veronica Roth made a worthy ending for the Divergent series. I highly recommend this book for people between the grades of six and twelve who enjoy the action, suspense, and romance genres; good-looking, intelligent, and  badass characters; and tragedy. The plot runs smoothly and jumps to a fast past in certain sections of the book.  Some adults may also find joy in reading Allegiant. If you loved the first two books, then it's a must read.


Rating: 4

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Have you ever wanted to travel back in time so you could change something bad to good?

Miranda and Sal have been best friends since they were little, but everything changed when Sal got punched in the stomach. After that, Sal acted like he didn't want to be friends anymore, Miranda's extra house key goes missing, and her father's shoe disappears. Then a mysterious note comes for Miranda that says, "I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter." The notes keep coming and they say things that no one else knows, events that happen in the future. Miranda does as the notes say and she begins writing the letter, but she doesn't know who the letter is for until the end.

When You Reach Me is also related to a book called A Wrinkle in Time. Miranda is reading A Wrinkle in Time, which is also about time traveling. A Wrinkle in Time is a book you can check out in the library.

Jason De Leon, 12 years old, 7th grade

The Misfits by James Howe

Bobby Goodspeed is a misfit at Paintbrush Falls Middle School. Not only is he a misfit but his friends are too. Skeezie is like a small version of Elvis Presley, Addie will do anything to stop injustice, and Joe is a gay boy who changes his name at least twice every week. The other kids call them names like marshmallow fluff, lardo, stupid, idiot, know-it-all, etc. In order to stop the name-calling, Bobby, Joe, Addie, and Skeezie start a new political party for the school student council elections. The election doesn't go as they planned, but they actually made an impact at school and no one is name calling anymore. But there is more to the ending and if you want to find out read the book. It really got my attention. The book relates to people at school right now.

Juan Garcia, 8th grade, 13 years old