Teen Book Reviews

Witch Child, by Celia Rees, follows Mary, a young witch, as she flees the witch hunts. Mary becomes part of a new town in America and helps the town and her adopted family grow. Unfortunately, a gang of malicious girls about her age guess she is a witch, and try to use her for their own goals. Mary denies them, which makes them angry. How long can Mary hide that she is a witch?

I would only recommend this book to someone who is interested in early American history and the witch hunts. This book does a good job of representing that timeframe and what life would be like for an accused witch. Unfortunately, a good setting does not make a good book. The main problem is that Mary rarely makes decisions, and mostly just lets things happen to her and follows others around. She doesn’t make the decision to go to America, her mother ships her off. The biggest choice she makes is keeping her journal after she has been told not to, and she has to do that so that the author can have their found text plotline. I understand she is a child, but the lack of meaningful agency makes her feel like a lens for us to look out of instead of a character with motivation and personality.

The Swan sisters arrived in the town of Sparrow, Oregon in 1822. The sisters, charged with witchcraft, were drowned in the harbor. Every year for the next two centuries the Swan sisters inhabit the bodies of three girls who enchant boys, drowning them in the harbor to take their revenge. This year when Penny, a local, meets a strange new boy, Bo, they might have found a way to break the curse haunting Sparrow.

I recommend The Wicked Deep because it is a very good mystery book that makes you want to keep reading. The book starts off very fast, and it continues with many different unexpected plot twists. It shows the hysteria of the town as many people try to blame girls of witchcraft, and it reminds me of a modern version of The Crucible. I especially like the change between the Swan sisters' experience in Sparrow in 1822 and Penny’s perspective. Penny and Bo believe they have found a way to lift the Swan sister’s curse over the town, but it comes at a price they are not sure they are willing to make. This book has a lot of emotion in it, and it shows sacrifice for love.

Alizeh is keeping a big secret that no one knows about. She is working as a lowly servant in the quarters when in reality she is the heir to the ancient Jinn Kingdom. While navigating being a servant and hiding her secret, she meets Kamran, the prince of Ardunia. Kamran has this instant curiosity toward her and wants to find out what she’s hiding. However, that may be the downfall of him and their Kingdom.

I highly recommend This Woven Kingdom. Mafi does an incredible job from the detailed world-building to incorporating Persian mythology into the story. It made it 10x better than I expected it to be. Mafi’s writing is lyrical but not confusing as it still flows with the plot. It’s slower at the start but I think that keeps you on your toes wanting to find out what will really happen to Alizeh living in Ardunia where she is wanted. I usually like books more focused on the plot than the characters themselves, but This Woven Kingdom does a good job of having a happy medium with both factors. I loved all of the characters especially when some of them showed development throughout. Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a good fantasy that includes a little bit of everything!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book 1 The Lightning Thief is a New York Times bestselling book by Rick Riordan. It’s about a teenage boy called Percy who finds out he’s the son of a Greek god; Poseidon, also called a demigod. Percy finds himself at a strange place called camp half-blood where he makes many friends, and enemies. He embarks on a journey to find the entrance to the Underworld, and more importantly, stop a war between the gods. Blurb I think that I would definitely recommend this book to kids 10 years of age and older.

Percy Jackson is a very thrilling story with lots of suspense and action! To all you parents out there who are concerned that there are no good books for your child's age, Percy Jackson is the perfect book for your child! It's not that bloody or violent, either, so it's definitely appropriate, and has absolutely no language or cuss words! But it's not boring, it always keeps you on your toes! This book is also the best way to introduce yourself to the world of Greek mythology! Once you start to read, you won’t be able to stop! This tear-jerking story will make you want to laugh, cry, and shout all at the same time! I would definitely give this book the rating it deserves! 10 out of 10!

The Red Pyramid is about two siblings, Carter and Sadie Kane, who find out they are descended from ancient Egyptian pharaohs and that their parents are secretly Egyptian magicians. They found out that the god of evil Set has malicious plans. Other magicians however think they are the enemy because the leader is rivals with the Kane family. Together Carter and Sadie have to stop Set by embarking on a perilous journey throughout the world.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan is one of my favorite myth-based books. Many people may not read this book because they think that they will not be able to understand the mythology in it, but in reality you don’t need to know anything to do with Egyptian mythology prior to reading this story. The main characters are funny and smart and the book is action-packed and has an intriguing plot with twists, a good story, and humor on every page. Simply said, I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in mythology, enjoys humor, or simply enjoys well-written stories.