Teen Volunteer Book Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Book Review written by Maya McKinnie

Maya is sixteen years old, and a summer 2021 teen volunteer

First line of the book: “Welcome to the beautiful Sinclair Family. No one is a criminal. No one is an addict. No one is a failure.”

Summary: We Were Liars is the story of Cadence Eastman, a girl with a “perfect” family that is falling apart. Each summer they travel to a private island off the coast of Massachusetts. The Sinclair family is composed of Grandfather Harris Sinclair, the aunts: Penny, Carrie, and Bess, the littles: Will, Taft Liberty, and Bonnie, and last but not least the liars: Cadence, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat. The story centers on Cadence and her group of cousins nicknamed the liars. Cadence suffers from post-traumatic headaches ever since an accident that happened two summers ago (summer fifteen). The thing is she can’t remember anything about the events that led up to her accident. Her mother claims that she would tell her every day what happened but then the next day Cadence would simply ask again. Finally the doctors told her mother to leave it alone and that it was best if Cadence remembered on her own. The only part of the story Cadence seems to retain is that she went swimming one night in late July all alone, was later found curled up on the beach half naked, and no one knows what happened. In addition to this piece of information, she remembers bits and pieces of summer fifteen but there are a few gaps in her memory. The main plot of the story begins when Cadence returns for the first time since the incident to the island to spend three weeks of the summer with her family and beloved liars. Determinedly she makes it her goal to discover for herself the truth of what happened during summer fifteen.

Thoughts: One of the best aspects of this story is the ultimate friendship that exists between Cadence, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat. I also loved the idea of a broken family that looks perfect on the outside. Overall I thought it was really well written and I loved the unique style the author wrote in. The ending was very unexpected but I absolutely loved it and would definitely recommend it for anyone who loves a story about overcoming tragedy narrated by the main character.

Favorite Quote: “We should not accept an evil we can change.”

FYI: There is definitely some foul language but not much more than your average YA novel. This book also might be unsuitable for those who are triggered by death, grief, or fire. 

Teen Volunteer Book Review: Sweep by Jonathan Auxier

Book Review by Aleah Jones

Aleah is fourteen years old and a summer 2021 teen volunteer

At my school library, the William Allen White award is a big deal. Each class gets a short summary of each nominee book, with the hope of getting students interested in reading them, and eventually, voting for their favorites. I enjoyed the opportunity to read several different nominee books and then vote. That’s how I stumbled upon Sweep: The Story of a Girl and her Monster.

First Line: “There are all sorts of wonderful things a person might see very early in the morning.” 

This book is about a girl named Nan, who lost everyone and everything she ever knew. She is left with only two things to remember Sweep, her father figure. His hat, and a clump of soot that sometimes seems to have a mind of its own. Nan is hired to join a group of climbers, boys that climb chimneys to clean out the soot and grime, and she becomes a sisterly figure to them. When an “accident” happens on the job, and Nan is assumed dead, she escapes to an abandoned house. With new friends of the most unlikely kinds, including a magical golem, she continues to live in fear of her old boss, Wilkie Crudd. Her golem, whom she names Charlie, continues to protect her from harm. Nan starts to feel the pressure when she finds out that a golem doesn’t have a happy ending. She doesn’t want that to happen to Charlie because they are such great friends. Then, the time comes that she has to make a decision; continue to live in hiding or risk being found by Crudd as she protests unjust conditions of the climbers all over London? 

This book is not only an exciting adventure, but it also has historical elements in it as well. When I read this book, I learned about the children who took on the role of climber to provide for themselves. It also teaches a lesson of friendship. Nan becomes friends with characters of all shapes and sizes, and also, characters of all species.

This book is really enjoyable to read because of all the plot twists woven in throughout the story. It is also a fun read because of the uniqueness of all the characters and their different personalities. 

For some, this book might be a little confusing because of all of the flashbacks that appear throughout the story. Thankfully, all of Nan’s flashbacks are in separate italicized chapters, so it should be easy to distinguish when the flashbacks occur.

Sweep is an amazing story. It is a fantasy, history, and adventure story all rolled into one. It is a really exciting read, and I would recommend it to anyone who is over the age of ten. Younger kids may find some events in the story a bit intense.

This is an amazing story, and I would highly recommend that you read it and some of the other William Allen White Nominees. You may find a new favorite!

FYI: A few of the scenes in this book are a little intense, and a couple “accidents” happen that are slightly gruesome, but are not described in great detail.

Here’s a library link to Sweep by Jonathan Auxier

Teen Volunteer Book Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Book Review by Claire Stewart

Claire is fifteen years old and a 2021 Summer Teen Volunteer

Three luscious lemon tarts glistened up at Catherine.

First line of Heartless by Marissa Meyer

    This book begins by telling the story of Lady Catherine Pinkerton, one of the most desired girls in all of Wonderland, amidst her real dream – baking. She spends the novel fighting fate, avoiding the King’s marriage proposals and her mother’s insistence that she will be Queen. 

    Of course, she will eventually be Queen – the infamous Queen of Hearts, in fact. And that’s not a spoiler, don’t worry! In fact, it’s the theme of the whole story. We all know who the Queen of Hearts is, and what it is that makes her so well-known; namely, one phrase: “Off with their heads!” So what is it that made Catherine of Hearts, the sweet girl who fell in love and wanted nothing more than to open a bakery, into the terrifying and memorable ruler of Hearts? 

    This story leads its readers through twists and turns, keeping us on our toes as we try to piece together the puzzle and differentiate fact from fiction in this strange world. We meet famous characters like the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, and, of course, the Queen herself. She does what she can to avoid love by the King and finds it elsewhere, at his black-and-white ball – a love that sends her spiraling, literally and figuratively, through Wonderland. This story features everything from lemon tarts and unfortunate turtles to strange pumpkins and unbeknownst best friends to magical rose bushes and criminals who aren’t so villainous. In short, it’s a thrilling read, one that practically jumps at you from off the pages. 

    As for the novel itself, my family can attest to the fact that it was practically glued to my fingers while I was reading it. I’m hesitant to speak too highly of this book, in case you, dear reader, end up not actually liking it, but this book was definitely to my taste. It’s quite sad, to be honest, and not for the faint of heart. It’s a given that there will be loss of life, love and limb – how else will Cath become the raging “off with their heads” kind of person? So, as long as that’s down your alley, I think you’ll quite enjoy it. 

    I also found each and every character rather enthralling, just because of intricate backstories and quite humanoid feelings and motives each one possessed. It isn’t the kind of book you’ll find yourself scratching your head and saying, “well, no real person would do that!” – if, of course, you can remember that no rabbits in our world speak and a multitude of hats doesn’t make you magical. I found myself really relating to our leading lady, and being pulled so deeply into her feelings that it was as if they were my own.

Overall, this book was quite sad, so I do give a word of warning to anyone who’s a bit too empathetic and accidentally ends up as an unpaid therapist for fictitious beings. But it was also witty, and interesting, and, ironically, magical. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and hope you do, too!

Mom and Me Reviews: My Very Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World

Henley is given a homework assignment to bring his favorite book to class the next day to share with the class. He goes to the library and the bookstore but cannot find what he is looking for. Then, Mama makes a suggestion that helps him fix his problem.

First Line: Hi! I’m Henley. And this is a story about finding my very favorite book in the whole wide world.

Summary: Henley is given a homework assignment to bring his favorite book to class the next day to share with the class. He goes to the library and the bookstore but cannot find what he is looking for. Then, Mama makes a suggestion that helps him fix his problem.

Ratings:

               

Free 5 Star Images, Download Free 5 Star Images png images, Free ClipArts  on Clipart Library
Maggie

               

???? - thinking face emoji - What does the thinking face emoji mean?
2 “hmm”s: Conor
3,143 BEST 4 5 Stars IMAGES, STOCK PHOTOS & VECTORS | Adobe Stock
Mama Lala

Their Thoughts: Conor was screaming when we started reading this, so the fact that he quieted down enough to pay attention and copy what the boy in the book was doing (saying “hmm”), shows that he enjoyed it, or at least the illustrations. Maggie said she could relate to the book– “I don’t have a favorite book, maybe I could write my favorite book!”

My Thoughts: This was a cute story, with thought out reasons I hear often from kiddos struggling to find a good book they enjoy. I enjoyed the solution Henley (and his mother) found to his problem. I do wish the librarian had been able to find Henley something, but I suppose I understand that wasn’t the point of this story.

Happy Reading our friends,

Mama Lala, Maggie, & Conor

Mom and Me Reviews: You are Enough

This book explains how people are different, and how being different doesn’t make you less. The book’s inspiration is Sofia Sanchez.

You Are Enough: A Book About Inclusion: O'Hair, Margaret, Sanchez, Sofia,  Cardoso, Sofia: 9781338630749: Amazon.com: Books

First Line: “No two people are exactly the same.”

Summary: This book explains how people are different, and how being different doesn’t make you less. The book’s inspiration is Sofia Sanchez.

Ratings:

               

Free 5 Star Images, Download Free 5 Star Images png images, Free ClipArts  on Clipart Library
Maggie

               

animated shaking head yes gif - Clip Art Library
Conor: one head nod
3,131 BEST 4 5 Stars IMAGES, STOCK PHOTOS & VECTORS | Adobe Stock
Mama Lala

Their Thoughts: Maggie liked this book because it was a “feel good” book. “It makes a point. You should feel good about yourself no matter what– no matter how you look or how you talk, as long as you are yourself. It shouldn’t matter what other people think about you, it should matter what you think about yourself.”

My Thoughts: This book was a great conversation starter. It covered many topics, or types of people who might feel excluded. We were able to talk about all of those, but we focused on the inspiration of this book (sofia sanchez) and what makes her different, and some times excluded. Sofia Sanchez is a child with Down syndrom. Like many people, my kiddos didn’t quite understand what that meant. Luckily for us, the book has some information in the back to help explain all the “big” questions.

Happy Reading our friends,

Mama Lala, Maggie, & Conor

Teen Volunteer Book Review: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

Book Review by Rachel Johnson

Rachel is fifteen years old and currently a 2021 Summer Teen Volunteer

    When I picked up The Ruins of Gorlan, I did it to escape the constant heckling of my school librarian. According to her, the book was infinite in virtue and would never be praised enough.

    Right off the start, the author caught my attention with his – shall we say interesting – writing. Take the first line for example:

“Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, former Baron of Gorlan in the Kingdom of Araluen, looked out over his bleak, rain-swept domain and, for perhaps the thousandth time, cursed,” – Flanagan pg 1.

That quote gives you a pretty good idea of what the rest of the book is written like. The dialect is interesting and is not unrealistic. Even though the book is set in feudal times, the book is never hard to read and is easy to follow. 

    The Ruins of Gorlan is an exciting adventure that I couldn’t put down. The book starts with an orphan named Will, hoping he is chosen to be a knight, like his father. Though that wish is not fulfilled, he does find happiness being trained to become a ranger by Halt,the mysterious man who lives in the forest. Then Morgarath, lord of a whole bunch of depressing stuff – as was shown in the quote – hatches an evil plot and Will and Halt team up with a few side characters to take care of it. The ending was riveting and plausible. Let’s just say Will got his chance to save the day and prove himself, and leave it at that. 

    Not only is the book interesting, it also encourages hard work. Will starts out with nothing and no one, but through working hard to become a Ranger, he gains skills, admiration, and a few close friends. Will doesn’t get all that stuff for free – he has to study and practice with his bow and knives to earn his triumph. 

    In The Ruins of Gorlan even the side characters are interesting. Firstly there is Alyss, who trains to become prominent in the diplomatic service. She is interesting, strong, and witty. Horace takes Will’s dream and makes it become a reality for himself. He struggles through Battleschool, and truly has a hero’s journey as surely as Will does. He starts out bullying Will, then after joining Battleschool and working harder than ever before, he has a few adventures with Will and they end up as best friends. Halt is perhaps the most interesting of the side characters. He starts out as grumpy and enigmatic. Then through Will’s young and cheerful influence, he becomes cheerful and begins to love Will like a son. One of the most interesting plot lines in the story is Will discovering Halt’s mysterious past.

    I enjoyed this book a lot and owe a big thank you to my school librarian. Even though I might not have enjoyed it quite as much as she did, I still liked it a lot. Since reading the first book, I read the whole series and found each of the books to be just as – if not more interesting than the first. I would recommend this book to anyone who can read and is older than ten.

FYI: There was a little action and violence, but no more than one might expect in a fantasy adventure.

Mom and Me Reviews: On a Magical, Do-Nothing Day

The main character travels to a cabin in the woods with their mother. They experience a day like every other day the spend together in the cabin. Until, their game gets dropped into the pond! (exclamations inserted) At first the main character was very sad, then they started to notice all of the things around them, turning the forest magical.

First Line: “Here we were again.”

Summary: The main character travels to a cabin in the woods with their mother. They experience a day like every other day the spend together in the cabin. Until, their game gets dropped into the pond! (exclamations inserted) At first the main character was very sad, then they started to notice all of the things around them, turning the forest magical.

Ratings:

                Maggie:

File:3 stars.svg - Wikipedia

                Conor:

out-sick - Cardinal Services

                Mama Lala:

File:3 stars.svg - Wikipedia

Their Thoughts: “It was adventurous.” (9 year-olds can be so difficult to talk into expanding on their opinions!)

My Thoughts: I give you permission to be frustrated with me for judging books by covers, or in this case titles. I expected more “magic” in this story. It was still a lovely read, i just hoped for a bit more imagination. The illustrations were well-done. I like the thematic color choices and the bright orange hoodie.

Happy Reading our friends,

Mama Lala, Maggie, & Conor

Mom and Me Reviews: The Odyssey by Jennifer Adams

First Line: “I keep Odysseus here with me, since I saved him from the wine-dark sea.”

Summary: Jennifer Adams’ retelling of The Odyssey is an extremely paired down introduction of the story via the characters. In other words, there is no plot in this board book, but there are a lovely assortment of classic characters (monsters) displayed across the 10 pages.

Ratings:

                Maggie: did not participate in this adventure

                Conor: two kisses and one throw down from the high chair

                Mama Lala: 5 stars.

Their Thoughts: Conor was quite attached from the beginning. He was even smart enough to figure out the sirens were the characters to be kissed. He wasn’t interested in the wordy descriptions, but the illustrations were more than enough to keep him entertained.

My Thoughts: What a great way to introduce the classics to the little ones!

Happy Reading our friends,

Mama Lala, Maggie, & Conor

Mom and Me Reviews: The Real Mother Goose

I grew up being read to out of this book as well. When I found we had it at the library I became SO excited!

First Line: “Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep, and can’t tell where to find them;”

Summary: All of the mother goose nursery rhymes you grew up with (or your kids will) are included in this book alongside beautiful illustrations.

Ratings:

                Maggie: *Did not participate*

                Conor: 5 stars

                Mama Lala: 5 stars

Their Thoughts: Conor opens the book repeatedly to the “Humpty Dumpty” and “Hey Diddle Diddle” Nursery Rhymes. He carries his board book version at home around. I think we found our favorite.

My Thoughts: I grew up being read to out of this book as well. When I found we had it at the library I became SO excited. My kids like it so much we actually found a board book version of it for Conor to have, and a regular picture book version for the family library. I am so happy we all get to share this memory.

Happy Reading our friends,

Mama Lala, Maggie, & Conor

Mama Lala Reads: Maya and the Rising Dark

My Thoughts (SPOILERS): This book makes me want to research. I know I’ve heard of the Orisha before…

First Line: “T- minus five days.”

Summary: There is magic in this world, and the rest, and nobody knows it. One day Maya watches the color drain from the world, and wonders if she is going crazy. Then her dad disappears– literally– and Maya knows something is going on. When the truth is revealed to her, she knows she must go save her father.

Rating: 4.5 stars! I know something about this book must not be perfect, but I cannot think of it!

My Thoughts (SPOILERS): This book makes me want to research. I know I’ve heard of the Orisha before, I believe it is an African folklore, but i want to KNOW. I want to compare these characters to the Gods they are based on. I want to dive deep into the mythology.

A little warning, I wanted to read this book with my daughter, who is 9. I’m a little glad I didn’t. Some kids could handle this book at that age, and others would have nightmares. I’m not sure which side my girl would land on, and that is why I’m glad I didn’t share. The villain is quite creepy, and he can kill you in your dreams (which is why I was timid to share with my young one).

All in all, it’s a wonderful book, just be sure your creepy kid won’t get nightmares before you bring it home to them.

You can check it out at the library via the link above. Hope to see you soon.

Happy Reading my friends,

Chelsea (Mama Lala)