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Black Panther

Reginald Hudlin

The Black Panther novel by Reginald Hudlin is an adventurous book, filled with comedy, romance and non-stop action. In the story, there is a civil war with all the Marvel Characters and civilians because of their arch enemies from outer space. There are many more books in this series by Reginald Hudlin, each with different superheroes and enemies from Marvel. This series of Marvel has more than one volume. So there are other novels based on various superheroes and supervillains.

This action-filled book that I have been reading is filled with amazing content as it is about a person with superpowers and amazing abilities because of his high tech suit. With all of his abilities there are villains in his city that are creating war and disturbing the peace in the city. Black Panther uses his abilities for good, like stopping the villains and criminals in the novel. Because of the war with Black Panther and the supervillains, it is creating a civil war with the people that live in the city. What also creates the civil war is when Black Panther fights the enemies and criminals by himself which is a hazard for the pedestrians, and the police can’t do anything about it. -Ali H.

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Chemistry Lessons

Meredith Goldstein

For seventeen-year-old Maya, the equation for happiness is simple: a dream internship at MIT + two new science nerd friends + a perfect boyfriend = one amazing summer. Then Whit dumps her out of the blue.

Maya is miserable until she discovers that her scientist mother, before she died, was conducting research on manipulating pheromones to enhance human attraction. If Maya can finish her mother’s work, maybe she can get Whit back. But when her experiment creates chaos in her love life, she realizes that maybe love and loss can’t be understood using the scientific method. Can she learn to trust the unmeasurables of love and attraction instead?

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Stained

Cheryl Rainfield

“Stained” by Cheryl Rainfield is an astonishing yet dark book based on the experience of being abducted Rainfield had gone through, just like the main character in the book.

Sixteen-year-old Sarah Meadows wants nothing but to be an average teenager-despite the fact that she has a port wine stain splattered across half her face. Because of her birthmark, she gets many unwanted stares and gets bullied by peers quite regularly.

One day, on her way home from school, she is abducted but not by any random person – but by someone very close to her family. She is held captive with the very minimum to eat and abused both physically and mentally. She thinks she will stay here forever, especially since no one will ever suspect this person to abduct her.

Sarah knows her will to live is up to her, and that she must fight hard and try to escape. This spectacular book has you asking many questions like, “will Sarah make it out?”, “how long will Sarah be kidnapped?”, and many more.

The book is in both Sarah and her friend’s Nick point of views – one to show how Sarah is coping, and the other to show how everyone else is. Personally, I liked the fact that you could see what was happening in the outside world and how Sarah’s parents were dealing with her abduction along with what Sarah was doing, which doesn’t always happen in books like this very often.

This book is a must read for every young adult, that will definitely keep them up all night reading the book! -Khadeeja F.

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Love & Luck

Jenna Evans Welch

Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding, and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible thing she did that left her miserable and heartbroken—and threatens her future. But her brother, Ian, isn’t about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once inseparable siblings. Miserable, Addie can’t wait to visit her friend in Italy and leave her brother—and her problems—behind.

So when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s able to finally escape her anxious mind and Ian’s criticism.

And then their travel plans change. Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world’s smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute, Irish-accented friend Rowan. As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tale forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.

That is if they don’t get completely lost along the way.

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Dead Girls Society

Michelle Krys

‘Dead Girls Society’ is a book that will appeal to any reader at any age, due to it being a variety of genres rolled into one and its very interesting storyline. This riveting ‘Hunger Games’ meets ‘Everything, Everything’ debut novel by Michelle Krys will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

Hope Callahan will do anything to be a normal teenager, but she knows very well that this cannot happen because of her cystic fibrosis. Because of her illness, she misses months of schools, and cannot always go outside and do regular things a teenager can. However, one day, she mysteriously gets sent an email invitation, inviting her to come to a sketchy, abandoned area and complete dares along with a few other girls, and the winner gets $100,000.

But, there are rules.

If you “[f]ail the dare, you will be eliminated. Tell anyone about the game, you will be punished. Cheat in the game, you will be punished” (Krys, 2016).

Hope couldn’t care less about the money – this is finally her time to be normal! When she goes to the place, she sees a few other girls from her school – all very different from each other. There is the smart one, the rich one, the sporty one, the goth one, and the sick one, Hope. As they play the game, the girls instantly realize that this is more than just a game. Some of the girls disappear, and they are all frightened, but they know too well that they cannot give up. The creator of the game knows a secret about each one of these girls that they threaten to expose. Also, as soon as Hope joined the game, the popular guy in school started hanging out with her, she starts getting packages in the mail for her, and she gets more popular in school. But, is it worth it? Who is behind the game? Who is threatening the girls? Because now this is more than just a game, and not doing well in it is the difference between life and death.

I really enjoyed this book, and I believe that others will too. The only thing I don’t like is that the adventure part of the book happens instantly, without really describing the characters and who they are. Other than that, this book is great and a must-read. -Khadeeja F.

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Anger Is A Gift

Mark Oshiro

A story of resilience and loss, love and family, Mark Oshiro’s Anger is a Gift testifies to the vulnerability and strength of a community living within a system of oppression.

Six years ago, Moss Jefferies’ father was murdered by an Oakland police officer. Along with losing a parent, the media’s vilification of his father and lack of accountability has left Moss with near crippling panic attacks.

Now, in his sophomore year of high school, Moss and his fellow classmates find themselves increasingly treated like criminals by their own school. New rules. Random locker searches. Constant intimidation and Oakland Police Department stationed in their halls. Despite their youth, the students decide to organize and push back against the administration.

When tensions hit a fever pitch and tragedy strikes, Moss must face a difficult choice: give in to fear and hate or realize that anger can actually be a gift.

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The Girl With a Clock for a Heart

Peter Swanson

The Girl with a Clock for a Heart was not one of my favourite reads; it was alright, mostly due to the speed the novel moves along and the unmarked time switches from past to present. You learn more about George Foss and his connection to Aubrey and Liana Decter as events in both past and present move forward. The mystery unfolds about his still-burning love for Aubrey and willingness to do anything to see her again. Fear, mystery and a heist join together to create the story of the girl with a clock for a heart.

The title does not quite reflect the book. However, it is understood through slight connections to conversations had with George and his friend. There are corrupt businesses and private investigators, fraud and lots of murder. George Foss has awaited the return of Liana Decter since his first year of college. Now in his late forties, she unexpectedly shows up at the bar he frequents, but he cannot accept that it truly is her. Out with his on-again-off-again girlfriend having drinks, he ignores the look-alike woman. When they finally once again speak, Liana asks his for a favour. She is in danger. He is the only one she trusts to help him. But after all these years, can George trust Liana?

This book is a one that leaves you questioning at the end. Not everything is as it seems! Death is not always as it seems. Question everything you believe to be true about the book. An intense book with unidentified time flips and that starts out quick but as the story progresses slows down and makes it harder to define what’s in the present and what is in the past. -Zoe P.

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Bring Me Their Hearts

Sara Wolf

Zera is a Heartless–the immortal, unaging soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly.

Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum: if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy Zera’s heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.

Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him–every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him–until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.

So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.

Winner takes the loser’s heart.

Literally.

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Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief

Rick Riordan

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson realizes that he is not like other kids his age and suspects there is an issue with his body, along with how he sees the world. That’s when he learns he is a half-blood; half-human, half-Greek God. Percy is the son of Poseidon, the Greek God of the Sea, who is the brother to Zeus and Hades. When taken to a Half-Blood camp, an organization for kids like Percy to escape and hide from monsters that attack half-bloods, Percy finds out that someone stole Zeus’s master bolt and that he is blaming Poseidon for the theft. If Poseidon fails to retrieve the master bolt and return it to Zeus on Mount Olympus, Zeus will declare war on his brother which will ultimately result in the downfall of the entire God and Goddess system. In order to save his father, Percy goes on a quest to retrieve Zeus’s master bolt along with other members of the camp where they meet monsters and Gods such as Medusa, notorious for her snake hair and ability to turn anyone to stone, Ares, the God of War, and Hades, the God of the Dead. Percy must fight off many of these beings and begins to learn dark truths regarding his family and the plans for potentially the most significant war of all time between the big three Gods, Hades, Zeus and Poseidon. Unfortunately, a twist occurs where Percy becomes responsible for the theft of Zeus’s master bolt.

This novel, along with the other books in series, is an exciting, mysterious and suspenseful story, especially for those readers that have an interest in Greek Mythology. It can teach readers to be determined in any project and advises them to protect one another like family. This story keeps the reader guessing and allows them to develop an interest in fantasy style novels, and fall in love with a potential hero. I would recommend this book to readers above grade 7. -Eesa K.

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