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by Angie Thomas

4.5 Stars

On the Come Up : Thomas, Angie: Amazon.ca: Books

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas follows the story of sixteen-year-old Bri, who wishes to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Coincidentally, Bri is the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who sadly passed away before achieving stardom. To catch the big break her father never could, Bri tries to win her first rap battle. However, it’s hard to get one’s “come up” when you are labelled a hoodlum at school and your mom loses her job. With these frustrations pilling up in her head, Bri focuses her anger into her first song, which ends up going viral for all the wrong reasons…

This is the author’s second novel, and I thought it was absolutely phenomenal. I highly recommend it, especially to anyone who likes to or have ever dreamt about writing songs. Angie Thomas was a rapper before she became a world-famous author, and I think it shows in the tone and writing style she chose for this novel. It’s completely different from anything else I have ever read!

This book is not a sequel to The Hate U Give (THUG), so no pre-requisite reading is required! However, if you have read THUG, you will also appreciate the linkages between the novels as the characters in either book live in the “same world”. In THUG, we get introduced to the King Lords and Garden Disciples rival gangs, but the focus of the story is on the King Lords. In On the come up, we get a totally different perspective, and we fall in love with characters from the Garden Disciples!

Emma O.

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by Angie Thomas

5 Stars

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

The Hate U Give (also referred to as THUG) is Angie Thomas’ first novel. It was also the first book I read from this author, but it wasn’t the last as I since devoured everything else she wrote! 

THUG follows the story of sixteen-year-old Starr Carter, a young teenager who lives in “two worlds”. The first being her poor neighbourhood, where she lives with her mother, her father and her two brothers. The other world is the fancy suburban prep school she attends. These two worlds are completely shattered when Starr’s childhood best friend, Khalil, is shot to death right in front of her by a police officer. 

Khalil’s death soon becomes a national headline. Due to the cause of his death, multiple protests take place to avenge Khalil. Because Starr was there when Khalil was killed, she is getting asked questions left, right and center by anyone and everyone. She doesn’t feel as though anyone can truly understand what she is going through. In a situation like this one, what Starr does or doesn’t say could ruin her community as well as endanger her life. 

Angie Thomas is definitely one of my favourite authors. She writes her novels in such beautiful and unique ways. Specifically in THUG, she makes us acutely aware of what life can be for a Black teenager and makes us feel a wide range of emotions from anger and frustration to amusement. I think that any teen or young adult reader will really enjoy this book. You might or might not know this, but THUG was made into a movie. Though the movie is good, I think the book is better. I definitely recommend reading the book before watching the movie.

Emma O.

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by Angie Thomas

5 Stars

Concrete Rose : Thomas, Angie: Amazon.ca: Books

Concrete Rose is the prequel to Angie Thomas’s first novel, The Hate U Give (THUG). It doesn’t matter if you have read THUG or not prior to picking up Concrete Rose because it stands beautifully on its own.

This book follows the life of Maverick Carter, a seventeen-year-old boy whose father is a former gang legend. To help his mom pay the bills, Maverick starts dealing for the King Lords. Maverick feels as though he has it all figured out, that is until he finds out that he is a father. Suddenly, Maverick needs to learn what it means to be a man. Even after the loss of a loved one. As we follow the main character on his journey to fatherhood, we fall in love with Angie Thomas’s writing. It’s funny yet serious, romantic yet realistic. It’s very relatable and gives a strong sense of what life could be like for a teen parent.

For those who have already read THUG, you will appreciate all the small linkages and references back into that story. For those who haven’t read THUG yet, an interesting cliffhanger awaits at the end of the novel!

I think that any teen or young adult reader will enjoy this book. I read it in three days, even during school hours, as I could barely put it down! This is even a book I’ll enjoy re-reading!

Emily O.

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by John Green

5 Stars

Paper Towns : Green, John: Amazon.ca: Books

In their childhood, Quentin and his neighbour Margo stumbled upon the dead body of a man who had shot himself in the park. Margo’s investigation of his death evoked a love for mysteries that is still present today. Fast forward to the current day, and Quentin’s dreams of going to prom with Margo are far-fetched, considering she rarely speaks to him. However, during the middle of the night, only a couple of weeks before graduation, Quentin hears a knock on his window and finds Margo standing outside. They spend the entire night carrying out an extreme revenge plan on all of Margo’s enemies, and Quinten believes the chance to befriend his now solitary neighbour is much closer than before. Plans are made to meet up at school the following day, yet Margo never shows. It is not uncommon for Margo to disappear, and she often leaves clues of where she has gone. The significance of this disappearance, however, is that the clues are specifically intended for Quentin.  

The story of Paper Towns tells the adventures of Quentin and his friends on the search for his runaway neighbour in hopes of finding her before they graduate from high school. What the future holds for them is unknown, but what Quentin does know is that Margo only wants to escape Orlando, Florida, what she considers to be a ‘paper town’.  

Paper Towns is a captivating novel that combines contemporary romance with mystery and suspense. I loved the structure of the novel, and I found the characters to be very relatable. The plot was intriguing and fast-paced, creating a book you do not want to put down. I would highly recommend this novel to teens interested in contemporary fiction and mysteries.

Emily B.

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by John Green

4 Stars

Paper Towns : Green, John: Amazon.ca: Books

Paper Towns begins with a prologue taking place nine years before the events of the novel. Quentin Jacobsen and Margo Roth Spiegelman are only nine years old when they discover the body of a man who committed suicide in their neighbourhood park. Fast-forward nine years later, the main characters are seniors at Winter Park High School. Quentin is an outcast, while his childhood crush Margo is a popular girl. Margo reappears into Quentin’s life, showing up at his window one night and recruiting him to help her play mischievous pranks on her boyfriend and friends who betrayed her. The next day, Margo is surprisingly nowhere to be found. With the help of his friends, as well as a series of clues Margo left behind for him, Quentin embarks on a mission to find and reunite with the girl of his dreams. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thought that it was quite entertaining to read. However, I did find that the middle of the book was a little long and tedious. Besides that, I loved the way John Green mixed together both romance and comedy. John Green’s writing style is amazing, and this was a great piece. Also, the characters within the book were very relatable, and I felt connected to each of them, especially Quentin. Overall, Paper Towns was a great coming-of-age book and has an amazing storyline that will keep you engaged. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery and adventure novel!

Emily K.

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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 Jenny Han

4 Stars

Book Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before – Eagle Eye

Written by Jenny Han, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a young adult romance novel. Lara Jean Covey is the main character and a sixteen-year-old girl who lives in Virginia and is very close to her older sister Margot and younger sister Kitty. In a hatbox given to her by her mother, she keeps love letters written to all of the boys that she has loved before – five in total. By writing these love letters, she is able to pour her heart and soul out and release the emotions and true feelings that she would never say in real life. One day at school, Peter Kavinsky, one of the boys she wrote a letter to, approaches her and tells Lara Jean that he does not feel any attraction towards her. Initially, Lara Jean expresses confusion, however, she quickly realizes that Peter has received the love letter she wrote to him years ago. Horrified, she rushes home to make sure the remaining letters have not been sent out, but she cannot find the hatbox. She eventually discovers that her younger sister Kitty had sent out all of the love letters. With all of the letters sent out, Lara Jean must cope with her out of control love life. 

Personally, I found this novel to be quite charming and relatable. The novel is fairly short and will not take long to finish, I was able to finish it within a day. Some may find parts of the story to be cheesy, however, I thought that the book was wholesome and relaxing to read. Anyone who enjoys teenage romance novels will absolutely fall in love with this book! 

Emily K.

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by Nicola Yoon

5 Stars

The Sun is also a Star: NICOLA YOON: 9780552574242: Books - Amazon.ca

Natasha believes in science, facts, and things that can be proven with evidence. She doesn’t care for fate, and she most certainly doesn’t care for love. Not that she has time to worry about either of those things. She and her family are being deported to Jamaica in twelve hours, and she is going to do everything in her power to stop that from happening.

Daniel wants to be a poet. In fact, he is a strong believer in fate and the way of the universe. But that’s not the path his parents have planned for him, and rather than following his dreams he plans on meeting his parent’s high expectations. This changes when he meets Natasha. He knows something greater is at play—it’s destiny, decided by the universe, and he can’t let Natasha go.

The Sun is Also a Star explores themes of fate and destiny, and how they compare and connect to science and reasoning. Both main characters are people of colour, and I really enjoyed the chapters that explain the history behind elements of their cultures as they are mentioned. I also like Yoon’s style of storytelling, which includes the main storyline, the cultural history parts, pieces of the characters’ pasts, and side characters who only appear in a few scenes but are crucial to the story.

This book is perfect for those who are just getting into reading, and people want a quick or fast-paced read that will hold your attention, because the entire story takes place over twelve hours. I think this is a five-star read, and I really enjoyed reading it!

Michelle G.

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by Eric Walters

5 Stars

Camp X (Camp X, #1) by Eric Walters

In the novel Camp X by Eric Walters, 11-year-old George and his older brother, Jack, move to Whitby, Ontario, in the year of 1943. One day, as they were playing around and having a good time, they stumble across a military spy base, known as Camp X. Their curiosity levels grew as they kept exploring the place, but soon enough they were caught and were forced to sign the Offical Secret Act, which states how they are forbidden to tell anyone about the secret military base, if told, the punishment is death. Since then, the boys learn much more about the camp and are assigned to different tasks. One day, the boys were delivering newspapers, when all of a sudden, they were caught by German soldiers. They were tortured and humiliated, but they gain a lot of information about the germans and learn their evil plot against the camp. They risk their own lives of escaping and warning Camp X about the German’s evil plan. In the end, they were proud of their work and success.

Overall, this book was entertaining and interesting. This book relates to WW2 and the events that took place during the war. It gives the reader an important lesson on how preparation is key when facing any type of situation. The book contains a perfect amount of humour, mystery, tragedy and suspense, to help the reader show more interest in it and enjoy the whole story. I would definitely recommend this action-packed novel to all ages.

Ahmed Q.

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Felix Ever After

by Kacen Callender

Felix Love wants love. He’s never been in love and has always wondered why it seems so easy for everyone else to find that perfect someone.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

After an anonymous student starts sending him transphobic messages and posting his deadname along with a picture of him before he transitioned, Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. Little does he know that his revenge plan will land him in a love triangle.

Not only will navigating these feelings be a journey, but Felix will begin to discover that the most important journey is figuring out how he feels about himself.

Felix Ever After is a feel good inspiring novel about relationships, finding love and redefining the love you deserve.

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