Teen Book Reviews

“Who am I, and where am I?” Jason asked himself. In The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, the first book in The Heroes of Olympus series, Jason, a Roman demigod, is dealing with amnesia. His memory was stolen by the goddess Hera, who is trapped and appears to Jason in visions asking him to save her. Jason and his friends went on a dangerous quest to save Hera and learn about their common enemy, Gaia. There were surprising twists and deception between Jason and his friends.

I recommend this book because it’s filled with action-packed adventure and romance. I also like this book because the characters solve their problems and don’t argue when they tell each other's truth. Something I didn't like about The Lost Hero is that they didn’t reveal how Jason got on the bus; the beginning of the book remains a mystery. Readers that enjoy love stories and thrilling adventure tales would love to read this book.

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.

Is it really so hard to live as a slave? Did kids suffer from slavery too? Isabel and her sister, Ruth were dealing with the recent death of their mother when they were sold off to the husband and wife of the Lockton family to work as slaves. A mysterious boy in a red hat and a shiny hoop earring came up to Isabel asking her to spy for information. In return, he would try to set her and her sister free. The Lockton family supported the British during the Revolutionary War, so this could land her a severe beating, or she could even be sold away from her sister. Isabel would try to do whatever she could to keep her and Ruth safe and escape the terrible household of the Lockton family.

In the book Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, I think there are valuable lessons. It teaches people about how slavery really was a terrible thing while getting readers invested in the story of Isabel and Ruth. When reading, I felt it never got boring while still staying informative. The book is based on true events and is a representation of how slavery affected the world. The plot is detailed and the descriptions of Isabel’s life are thorough, leaving no reader in the dark. Isabel expresses how she feels in a way where it seems she is a real person. She has human emotions and opinions. Although Chains is a wonderful story, I noticed it is the type of book that will include descriptions of treacherous ways of death and the main characters spend most of the book confined in the Lockton house. This means Isabel often does not leave the house unless she was told to. People in school in the grades of seventh through ninth grades would especially love this book because the main character is around that age as well. So in a way, readers can relate to her. Readers above ninth grade can also read Chains and still enjoy every part that the book has to offer.

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!