Somers Library Blog

Prodigy by Marie Lu is the second book to a dystopian young adult book series titled Legend. The series follows the story of June Iparis and Day in the new America, which is split between the Republic and the Colonies. June, a sixteen-year-old girl who scored a perfect score on her trial and was born into an elite republic family. Her life has been planned perfectly since the day she was born. Day is a sixteen-year-old boy who lives an opposite life of June. He is fugitive who is currently hiding out from the Republic in the streets of Los Angeles. After the first book, June and Day are currently on the run from The Republic. After Day’s brother pretends to be Day to save his life, he dies, leaving the Republic to believe that Day is dead. While June and Day are injured and on the run with targets on their back, they seek to find an alliance with the Patriots- a rebellious group whose mission is to shut down the Republic and to kill the new elector. As Day and June venture outside of L

In the book Evert Last Word, the main character Samantha explored the struggle of having mental illnesses as a teenage girl in high school. She has always kept these mental illnesses from her friends because she was scared of what they would think. Her mind is constantly filled with dark thoughts and worries that she can’t let go off or turn off. Daily life is a struggle because she constantly questions her every action, idea, and statement. It also doesn't help that her lifelong friends will become toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Samantha is aware that it would be insane for her to leave the safety of the most well-liked students. Samantha feels a strong attraction to Caroline as soon as they meet. Caroline stands out from the crowd because she doesn't wear makeup and doesn't care what people think of her appearance. Her lack of judgment and focus solely on friendship is like a breath of fresh air. Samantha meets up with some of Caro

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw is a young adult and paranormal fiction book which follows the story of the Swan Sisters in an off-coast town in Oregon called Sparrow. In 1822, the 3 Swan sisters, Marguerite, Aurora, and Hazel were sentenced to death after being accused of witchcraft. Now every summer starting June 1st in the town of Sparrow, the spirits of the sisters each steal a girl’s body and lure boys into the ocean to drown them as revenge on the town. Penny Talbot, a local 17-year-old has lived in Sparrow her whole life and has avoided the killings and possessions every year. Up until this summer, Penny had not attended any drunk teen social events until Bo Carter arrives. On that fateful night, Bo, a new boy in town saves Penny from a drunk boy who was harassing Penny. From then on, Penny and Bo form a deep connection as he comes to work with Penny and her mom on the lighthouse island. Throughout the summer rumors spread and lies are told, no one in the town of Sparrow knows w

In this, the second installment of the Wings of Fire series, the protagonist, Tsunami, along with her friends, are searching for her family. The five dragonets, Tsunami, Glory, Sunny, Clay, and Starflight are predicted by a prophecy to be the ones to decide who will become the queen of the SandWings. After escaping their prison-like den in a mountain, they begin searching for their families. In this book, Tsunami is prepared to search the Kingdom of the Sea for her family. She dreams of becoming the future SeaWing queen, and her wishes keep her from focusing on her friends. One night, Tsunami runs into a SeaWing, named Riptide, who guides her and the dragonets to the Summer Palace—the home of the SeaWings. Within the palace, Tsunami meets her mother, Coral, the queen of the SeaWings. To her surprise, Tsunami learns that she has a little sister—Anemone. Tsunami is ready to begin her new life under the sea, but it comes with a cost. Her friends are forced into another cavern ‘for their p

Michael Vey is a 14-year-old boy that lives with his mom in Ohio and goes to Meridian High School. His mom told him his dad died when he was born. He was born with a superpower. Michael has Tourette’s syndrome and gets bullied for it. As hard as it is, Michael tries to live a normal life. Only his mom knows about his superpowers. At school, Michael gets beat up often by Wade and his friends. One day some boys beat him up while Taylor, a girl who he liked was watching. Accidently he snapped, pulsed and they fell to the ground and started shaking violently Later, Michael finds out that Taylor has a superpower also. She can reset people’s brains to make them not know where they are and what they’re doing, and she can read people’s minds. At school, Michael was called to the office and was accepted to Elgen Academy and was given a scholarship. Taylor also was offered a scholarship to the same Academy. Michael’s mom takes him, Taylor, and Austin out to eat for his birthday. While they were

This book begins with a teacher named Ben Ross; he is teaching his high school history class about World War 2. Then one student (Laurie Saunders) asks, “How could something as terrible as the Nazis and what they believed in become supported by so much of the German population?” This question prompts Mr. Ross to begin an experiment. He decided to recreate a similar situation. He first introduces his class to “the wave”, then he teaches them about their motto: strength through discipline, strength through community, strength through action. Soon, Mr. Ross and his class begin to understand how a powerful and strong group can be so appealing for many people. This marks the beginning of the wave. Pretty soon this wave begins to spread and gain popularity, soon some students are even skipping class to join in Mr. Ross's lectures. While many believe the wave is a good thing that is helping the school and boosting school spirit, some believe this is a bad idea, and that Mr. Ross is manipu

The drought or better known as Tap-Out. That's what everyone calls it. It has been going on for a while now. This book takes place in California, far in the future. The entire state of California has been in desperate need of water. People say that Vegas still had water, but all the millions of hotel rooms there have all been booked within hours of the Tap-Out. Ever since the Tap-Out started everyone's life has become an endless list of don'ts, such as things like, don't water the lawn, don't fill up your pool, don't take long showers, don't hog all the water to yourself, and don't drink too much water at once. Suddenly, Alyssa's quiet suburban street turns into a war zone of desperation in need of water. The other families and children in her neighborhood start turning against one another fighting now and then to hunt for water. When her parents don't return, and she and her brother are threatened, extremely worried about their parents. Alyssa h

In this, the third installment of the Shadow and Bone series, the protagonist, Alina, is trapped with her friends in a maze of tunnels. Following the loss of her light-summoning abilities in a battle with the evil Darkling, Alina has no choice but to give in to the orders of a mysterious priest named the Apparat. After months and months of staying in mind-numbing isolation, bound to a freezing cold room, she begins yearning for change—and so have her friends. One night, Alina’s closest friend, Mal, stages a revolt against the Apparat. With the help of his allies, Alina manages to escape unscathed, but not without a fight. Members of the Apparat’s army of worshipers chase after them, losing their lives while fighting against Alina’s newly restored power. Together, the group wanders through the tunnels for many restless nights. In their underground travels, they overcome blockade after blockade before finally coming across a doorway to the outside. A still-weak Alina, alongside Mal, begi

Purple Hibiscus takes place in the 1960s, following 15-year-old Kambili as she moves from her privileged life in Enugu, Nigeria, to visit with her impoverished cousins and her Aunt Ifeoma in Nsukka, Nigeria. Before her trip, Kambili suffers due to her father, Eugine’s, abusive enforcement of religion on the entire family. Kambili and her brother Jaja are pushed to always be the best: perfect students, religious, and silent. Kambili has always been compliant, yet when Kambili’s cousins visit for Christmas, Kambili meets her Aunt Ifeoma: loud, energetic, and the embodiment of what Kambili has been raised to oppose in her strict lifestyle. Kambili and Jaja visit Nsukka and come to learn that there is a life beyond their father’s gates. However, life is far from perfect in Nsukka. Kambili meets her cousin Amaka who immediately shuns her, thinking her a snob. Likewise, Ifeoma struggles to pay for gas and food; Kambili’s grandfather, Papa-Nnukwu, struggles with his health; Kambili’s adult cr

Ava and Taco Cat” is a sequel to Carol Weston’s “Ava and Pip,” a book that centers around 11-year-old Ava’s experiences with her sister, school, and with her new cat, through diary languages. When Ava hears her veterinarian mother mention a yellow cat brought into her office in critical condition, Ava can’t help but want to adopt the cat. Unfortunately, her parents are completely against Ava adopting the cat (who she has named the palindromic T-A-C-O-C-A-T). To make matters worse, Ava’s best friend, Maybelle, begins hanging out with the new kid Zara instead of her, Ava feels left behind. When Ava finally convinces her parents to let her adopt Taco Cat, Ava’s problems don’t all resolve themselves. Ava, an eager author, and her shy, artistic, 14-year-old sister, Pip, create a picture book, Alphabet Fish, that isn’t an immediate hit. Meanwhile, Taco Cat is still incredibly shy, and when he finally does bond with Ava and Pip, a variety of circumstances, including his health and previous ow

More Than Just a Pretty Face follows high-school senior Danyal as he struggles between high school, romance, and family expectations. Danyal’s Pakistani-American family is insistent on him finding a respectable arranged marriage. Unfortunately for them, Danyal fails to be an ideal prospect due to his poor grades, goal of becoming a chef, and dream of marrying his crush, the beautiful Kaval. However, Danyal's parents introduce their son to the intelligent and accomplished Bisma, a marriage prospect that Danyal initially has no interest in pursuing. Bisma’s difficult home life and rocky backstory, however, lead Danyal to realize that although it would be wrong to marry her without mutual feelings for each other, he could at least be her friend. In the midst of his social life, Danyal, a poor student, is chosen as a joke by his critical, sarcastic history teacher to represent his class in the “Rennaisance Man” project. Danyal couldn’t care less about the project until he hears his fat

Amanda and Leo were born on the same day at the same time. Every year they have a joint birthday party except for this one because of their silly fight. On Amanda's 11th birthday she wakes up to see a SpongeBob balloon floating around her room. As she walks downstairs her dad was coughing and sneezing and her sister was mad her because she knew she was snooping in her room. She had a regular day at school, took a pop quiz and at lunch her friend gave her a cupcake and were talking about her birthday party. After school she went dress shopping with her mom so her dad can set up for the party. Many of her friends didn't show up at her party because her ex best friend Leo was also having his party the same day and time. Amanda was upset because people started leaving her party to go to Leos party, so she went to her room to go to bed early. The next morning Amanda day started the same so she asked everyone why are you pranking me but nobody knew what she was talking about so she d

The Summer I Turned Pretty is a book about a fifteen-year-old girl named Belly she, her mom, and her brother go to a beach house at Cousins Beach every summer for the past 15 years/ her whole life with her mom's best friend Susannah sons Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly has a really close relationship with Susannah and she is like the cool aunt of the family. She is almost like a second mother to her since her real mother doesn't have a close relationship with her. They don’t have a close relationship because her mother and father are divorced, and she thinks it is her mother's fault that her parents are divorced. This summer she goes to the beach and the boys finally notice her, which is what she has been hoping for, because Belly has had a huge crush on Conrad, the oldest brother of the family, since she was little, even though she gets a boyfriend Cam and looks from the younger brother Jeremiah, she has always liked Conrad. Belly is scared to confess because she is afraid Cam

'The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali' by Sabina Khan is an insightful book that shows how some cultural beliefs along with identity, love, and family. The book is about 17-year-old Rukhsana who is tired of living up to her conservative household and cultural expectations. Her mother believes she shouldn’t date and being a lesbian isn’t normal. Rukhsana’s family is ashamed to know she is lesbian and knows that if other families hear, the Ali family’s reputation would be ruined. Her mother starts by bringing her to friends to show Rukhsana what would happen if word got out. Ariana, Rukhsana’s secret girlfriend would be in trouble, Rukhsana would be in trouble and the family wouldn’t be allowed anywhere. After Rukhsana’s mother found out about Ariana, she was more adamant on finding Rukhsana a good Muslim boy for Rukhsana to marry. She knew that if she couldn’t convince Rukhsana “not to be” lesbian then she would need to send Rukhsana to get married. They head to Bangladesh to get R

Between Shades of Gray is an enlightening story about 15-year-old Lina Vilkas. The starts in 1941 and opens in Lithuania (where Lina is from). Lina is just like other girls her age. She spends time with her friends, goes on dates, and is preparing for art school as she has a special talent for drawing and painting. However, one day that all changes when the NKVD (the Soviet secret police) force their way into her home, changing her and her family's lives forever. Lina and her family are declared criminals by the NKVD and are being sent to Siberia. Lina's father is separated from the rest of her family and is being sentenced to death at prison camp. Lina meets many new people on her train car, including a boy her age named Andrius. These people live in filthy and torturous conditions on this train car and Lina depicts what they are experiencing through her drawings, which are filled with emotion and truth. Eventually, Lina and her family arrive in Siberia, where the NKVD attempt

It 's Jaime's last day of seventh grade! However, Jaime is not as excited as you might think; something has been on her mind. Jaime has 3 main friends, Grace, Maya and Celia. Lately, Jaime has been feeling left out, like the friend group doesn't like her. They constantly make rude jokes about her appearance and even get annoyed with her mannerisms. When Jaime tries to defend herself, they say "You're too sensitive." and "Geez, it was just a joke". But today Jaime has decided that she is finally going to confront them about their rude behavior. Jaime reluctantly walks towards the bus stop, not sure if she really wants to do this. What if they like her still and she ruins her friendship with these girls? Jaime has the same bus stop as Maya; they can both feel the tension as they stand there quietly. Jaime thinks back a couple months ago. They would had been telling jokes and giggling. But, now they are just standing there dead silent. Jaime finally wor

The Princess diaries is about a girl, Mia Thermopolis who is a awkward, frizzy haired, freshman! Mia has just started high school and she finds out that her mom is dating her algebra teacher, Mr. Gianini! And now her dad tells her she in the Princess of Genovia! Mia has to figure out a way for no one to find out that she is a princess! She absolutely dislikes her grandmother! It’s honestly really interesting! I read two of them in less than a day! You just got to be prepared for the amount of craziness. There is a lot going on so make sure not to skip pages. Every sentence matters and the good thing is that if you like the book, there are 10 more of them by Meg Cabot! Happy reading! Reviewed by Allison R. 7th Grade

Deep in the forest of England lies a small town known as Wall. It lies squarely within a small forest, surrounded by jagged rocks, lakes, winding roads, and the wall. The wall divides the town of Wall from the land in the East – no one knows what’s beyond – with only the traveling market arriving once every nine years to cue the townsfolk in on the magical, mystical enchantment of the Eastern kingdom of Stormhold. It was here in one of these markets that Dunstan Thorn’s encounter with an enslaved shop faerie that would soon prompt the birth of our main character, Tristran Thorn. Fast forward seventeen years, Tristran is now almost a young man. Although painfully shy, he takes interest in another resident of Wall, Victoria Forester, who does not reciprocate those feelings back. Through endless romantic pursuits and grand gestures of adoration, Victoria presents Tristran with a deal: Bring her back the fallen star (that had just soared across the sky as they spoke in this portion of the

  The book "The Giver" by Lois Lowry is mainly about Jonas (The Receiver) and the old man who is the Giver. The book is based on the future where they're trying to live in a perfect world. Their civilization is trying to prevent the most difficult emotions, decision making, and anything out of the ordinary or their routine. They did this by observing the past which would be our world today where we have lots of rights and freedom. The main character Jonas was assigned his job of being a receiver. The Old man who is the Giver transfers all of his memories from the past to Jonas that nobody else can experience because they were taken away from the people long ago. All of this has an impact on Jonas since he's not used to feeling this much pain and emotions because of the society they lived in. They thought it was best for the people to not have to deal with any emotions, decisions, or harm, so the life people lived was very limited. After a while Jonas gets frustrated a

This book has about eight main characters and their names are Abby, Danielle, Candace, Lauren, Sarah, Bridget, Jennifer and Margo. The book "The List" takes place at a high school and there is a lot of drama involved. A list comes out every year soon before homecoming and it has two girl's names from each grade posted on it. In each grade one girl is named the ugliest, and one the prettiest. Everyone knows about the list, but no one knows who created it. After the list comes out, some people are happy, and some not so much. Each of the girls takes this a different way, some rebelling because they got named the ugliest, and others thrilled they got named the prettiest. It affects everyone, not just the girls that were on it. All eight girls are demanded to work together with their principle to figure out who could have made the list. This further teaches them, or at least most of them, how to work together. The actual list in the book is the antagonist of the story, even t

Monday’s Not Coming is a fictional book that talks about a girl named Claudia and her best friend Monday. The book goes through the childhood of both girls and their difficulties in middle school. They have a rough time because of boys and the fact that Claudia struggles in school. Claudia has always noticed that something is a little off with Monday when she's around her mom. Suddenly one day Monday starts having scratches and bruises over her body, but she tells Claudia it's just from her little brother. Claudia is Monday's best friend, and she can tell when she's not telling the truth. Claudia goes to her grandmas for summer break before 7th grade, when she gets home, she's excited to call her best friend but… she doesn't answer. She calls her again and again but still is unable to reach her. Claudia knows Monday loves school so she's sure she'll show up for the first day, but Monday doesn’t show up and neither do her siblings. This is around the t

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is the start of the fictional fantasy series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The book starts with Percy Jackson, a boy diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD. But early in the book, he comes to realize everything in his life so far has been for a reason. His absentee father turns out to be a God, specifically Poseidon, Greek God of the Seas. His ADHD and dyslexia, which used to be something fairly normal, turn out to be natural battle reflexes and a brain hardwired to read Ancient Greek. Though there are downsides to this new awareness, what used to be strange events brushed off, are now ancient Greek monsters out to kill him. His mother unfortunately goes missing trying to get him to the only safe haven for people like him, Camp Half-Blood. When the Gods threaten war, he must team up with his rival and best friend in order to recover Zeus's stolen lightning bolt before the summer solstice. If they cannot get the bolt back by their deadline the gods

Serafina, a strange 12-year-old girl, lives a secret life in the basement of Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate, only ever speaking to her father. Instead of attending lavish parties like Biltmore's other residents, Serafina spends her time hunting for rats. Curious and inquisitive, Serafina yearns to understand why she must be hidden away from almost everybody. Her life changes when she meets Braeden Vanderbilt, the Vanderbilts' 12-year-old son, and witnesses a very mystical catastrophe, revolving around a man in a black cloak. Together, she and Braeden combine their bravery and work to uncover the mystery. Serafina ventures upwards, engaging with people for the first time, while keeping her identity a secret. Although connecting with other people brings out her humanity, there is some animalistic instinct in her that prevents her from relating to the rest of Biltmore’s residents. She knows she is different. As her search for identity intensifies, so does the conflict she is in.

The Yanakakis Family has had everything they have ever wanted. They are one of the richest families in the world. But then suddenly, a nuclear attack hit. You have 40 minutes of your life left to live. What would you do? Maybe say goodbye to the ones you loved or try to run away and drive as far and fast as you can. Well, if you were part of Eli’s family, you would be spending your time getting to a nuclear bunker made for this exact reason. In “The Compound” you follow around the main character Eli, who is one of the sons of the Yanakakis family. The main story is about how a rich family of 7 goes into a nuclear bunker for 15 years for the sake of their survival. Then the family gets separated and Eli’s twin brother Eddy and Grandma are left behind. Eli is devastated. Six years later the family starts to have some problems. Some of the food died early, and the whole food situation isn’t going according to plan. Rex Yanakakis (Eli’s dad and an extremely successful businessman) assures

In a galaxy powered by the current, everyone has a gift. Some may be helpful while others may be harmful. Of the nine planets, the planet Thuvhe is divided; split between the Shotet and the Thuvhesit. Order is kept by the Assembly, which is on a large ship that holds all the leaders and associates. The current is a mystical force that gives everyone a gift and it runs through everyone and everything. Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules over the Shotet people. All she has known is brutality and pain. Her softness was taken away when her mother was killed, and deep down she knows it’s her fault. Cyra’s current gift gives her pain and power something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than a blade in her bothers hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows. Akos is the son of an oracle from Thuvhe, he is generous in spirit and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Although protected by his unusual current g

The Great Gatsby is written from the point of view of a man named Nick Carraway who has just moved to New York from Middle America. He rents a small house on the West Egg of Long Island. He is looking for new economic opportunities as it takes place during the roaring twenties, when the stock market was booming. Nick’s cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom Buchanan live across the water on the East Egg of Long Island, where there are many people who come from long lines of money. Nick’s neighbor Gatsby, who is a self-made millionaire with a questionable past, throws large parties each weekend, with people from all over the city coming out. Once visiting Gatsby’s mansion, Nick becomes friendly with Gatsby. Although coming out to New York for a quiet life, Nick gets roped into the lives of the rich of Long Island and stuck in the middle of old romances. Things get messy when Gatsby tries to relive the past. Gatsby had a life with Daisy before he went away to fight in World War I, and