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by Angie Thomas

5 Stars

Hate U Give, The : Thomas, Angie: Amazon.ca: Books

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, tells a story about a 16-year-old African-American girl named Starr Carter. Starr lives in a poor, mostly black neighbourhood of Garden Heights but attends a fancy, wealthy, and predominantly white private school in the city, Williamson Prep. One day when Starr is being driven home from a party by her childhood best friend Khalil, they are pulled over by a white police officer. Khalil, who is black, is instructed by the police officer to exit the vehicle. After leaning into the window to check on Starr, Khalil is shot three times by the officer and killed. Starr becomes entangled in the national news story after witnessing the fatal shooting of Khalil. Tension culminates in a riot after a grand jury decides not to indict the police officer for the shooting. Garden Heights erupts into both peaceful protests and riots. Facing pressure, Starr must find her voice to advocate for what is right. 

I loved this novel and thought it was incredibly powerful. The novel truly speaks the truth about how today’s society is. It shows real-world problems that affect everyone every day. The novel was informative, showing how our society can be around people with different skin tones and cultures. This novel helped educate me on the matters of racism and police brutality. By reading this novel, one is able to understand the injustice the black community has had to face and is continuing to face to this day. I strongly urge all teenagers to read this book at some point, as it will leave you speechless, stick with you forever, and is truly eye-opening.

Emily K.

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by Niki Caro

5 Stars

Mulan (2020 film) - Wikipedia

Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and directed by Niki Caro, Mulan is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1998 animated film of the same name. Hua Mulan is a fearless, adventurous, and active young girl living in Imperial China. Under the leader Bori Khan, an imperial outpost is invaded by Rouran warriors. The Emperor of China issues a conscription stating that every family must contribute one man to fight against Khan’s forces. Imperial soldiers arrive in Mulan’s village to enlist, making her elderly father forced to pledge his services as he has no sons. Mulan realizes that her frail father will have no chance of survival, so she decides to flee the village with his armour, horse, and sword to join in his place. She disguises herself as a young man and arrives at the training camp, and trains to become a soldier without exposing her true identity. 

Mulan was an amazing adaptation and fresh take on the classic animated version from 22 years ago. The film focused more on the action instead of the musical element. The film explores incredible themes of family devotion and female empowerment. Powerful messages were also conveyed, such as always persevering and believing in yourself to accomplish your goals. The actress who plays Mulan was wonderful and a great choice for her role. Her special moves within the battles were so articulately performed, which was a delight to watch. Throughout the movie, I was constantly on the edge of my seat in suspense and awe while watching. I would highly recommend Mulan to those of all ages as it is truly an inspiring and beautifully created film.

Emily K

View in Library Catalogue: DVD | Blu-Ray

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by Sabina Khan

5 Stars

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali Audiobook | Sabina Khan | Audible.ca

Sabina Khan, the author of The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali, has written about the struggles of being a part of the LGBTQ2S+ in the Indian community through 17-year-old Rukhsana Ali. Readers get to look through the eyes of Rukhsana, who is lesbian and lives in a strict home with her conservative, Bengali parents who favour her younger brother Aamir over her. (Aamir is still a great little brother and tries his best to make things better.) Their parents believe that women are supposed to be great wives and mothers but also support the idea of getting an education and getting a degree.

Rukhsana’s parents one day meet her friend Ariana who is actually her girlfriend. Her parents love Ariana, but when they find out who Ariana really is to Rukhsana, they are appalled and ban the two girls from seeing each other. What will break most hearts is that the parents do not care about the fact that Rukhsana is lesbian they are afraid of what the Indian community will think of them for having a daughter that is a part of the LGBTQ2S+. To fix Rukhsana, her parents trick her into a trip to Bangladesh and try to force her into an arranged marriage. Readers will be torn apart by the tragedy but come to love Rukhsana and her family. Rukhsana teaches everyone that we have a choice to make, and it will affect our futures. The words of her Nani “We must be the masters of our own destinies. I did not learn that until it was too late. You have to fight to take back control of your life. Sometimes you will hurt the ones you love the most. But in the end, it will always have to be your choice.” ( Khan 336)

I would recommend the book to readers who can take sad stories but look forward to a better ending. This book does talk about sensitive topics such as rape and murder, so this is directed to an older audience (15+). I am not a part of the LGBTQ2S+, but it is heartwarming to see strict, conservative parents accept and want to learn about their child’s community.

Lyelle B.

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by Lincoln Peirce

5 Stars

Big Nate: Hug It Out!: Amazon.ca: Peirce, Lincoln: Books

Better prepare your laughing muscle as you prepare to read this hilarious new book. Big Nate: Hug it Out is one of the newest additions to the Big Nate comic series by Lincoln Peirce that explores more events of his sixth-grade school year and preceding summer vacation. Whether you are someone just diving into the series or someone who has enjoyed the books for a while, you will still enjoy this comedic book the same as always. It was so much fun going through the nostalgia and reliving my time reading those comic books smiling and laughing at all the jokes.

The story takes place in Rackleff, Maine and follows sixth-grade student of P.S. 38, Nate Wright, and his friends, Francis Pope and Teddy Ortiz. They are there to support him with most of the troubles that come their way, but no matter, they will still stay friends at the end of it all. But there are also many other characters that you will meet along the way and will get to see their relationship continue with Nate. It could be through comedy or romance or rivalry or something entirely new. “Never a dull moment with Nate and his crazy gang is around,” said Garima from a review on goodreads.com. It will be so interesting and exciting that you might want to read more books, to see the connections to them or for more funny jokes and great stories.

Whatever your comic reading style is, whether it is one-page shorts or longer storylines, and detailed image or simple readability, you can get it all in this book along with the other ones in the series. Maybe Francis will finally end his factoids, or his baseball team will do well, or maybe Nate will finally find love (again for about the 4th time)? Well, you won’t know until you read the amazing book by Lincoln Peirce, Big Nate: Hug It Out! I enjoyed my time reading it, and I hope you will too.

Elijah J.

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by Emily Schultz

3.5 Stars

Little Threats: Amazon.ca: Schultz, Emily: Books

Emily Schultz pulled off a very gripping, slow-burning, “who did it?” story. It is quite the book to read, and we’ll continue speaking of that as we continue.

Emily Schultz’s Little Threats is a story of good-old teenage rebellion while living a luxurious life until it meets its limits. A sixteen-year-old girl in 1993, Kennedy Wynn, is suspected of murdering her close friend in the woods, named Haley Mae Kimberson. This gets her trapped in prison for fifteen years, and she is released at the age of thirty-one in 2008. This drives the story into a new plot, where things aren’t as simple as they seem, and anyone in this Virginia neighbourhood could be the real culprit.

This story brings a very nostalgic feel, as it gives us a taste of 1993, the grunge era. Classic things like old cassette tapes, with grungy songs from the 90s. One cassette is “Extremities, Dirt, & Various Repressed Emotions for Kennedy”. ED&VREK has song references to classics like Creep by Radiohead or Come As You Are by Nirvana, which was a great way to remind the reader of the plot’s 1993 heritage. 

The detail put into the settings, characters, and actions were very well written and described. If you have a very imaginative mind, these details will make Emily Schultz’s Little Threats seem like a movie. 

“and now the Polaroid was the last of her. Haley, full cheeks, light freckles, white tank top, necklace at her throat, her red hair spilling from a sloppy bun, her eyes slightly closed as she laughed, red-lipsticked mouth.” 

Little Threats is overall a good read if you don’t get bored too quickly. The pacing is a bit sluggish, but the story is well-written with plenty of ups and downs, and turn arounds. It receives a 7.5 out of 10 from me.

Gabriel M.

View in Library Catalogue: Print