January 2, 2022
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Rating: 5/5

      Ryland Grace finds himself the sole survivor of the Hail Mary voyage, a last ditch effort to save humanity. There is one problem, the mission required him to be put in a coma, and he woke up with no memories of where he is or why. As his memories return he has to navigate a new solar system in an attempt to find a solution to earths problem. Ryland is faced with difficult situations one after another. He is left to face each obstacle completely alone. Or so he thought.
     This is a well written Sci-Fiction book similar to another of Andy Weir's books, The Martian. With much higher stakes, this book exceeded my expectations and is (in my opinion) a far better book than The Martian. It's hard to put down once you've started reading it, and does a good job balancing real science with sci-fiction. Not only did I enjoy the book immensely, but it taught me a few things about the real world and how it works. It is perfect for anyone who enjoys science and reading. 

The Epic Of Gilgamesh, translated by Nancy Sandars

Rating: 4.5/5

Gilgamesh is the tyrannical leader of Uruk, two-thirds god and one-third human he remains unchallenged until, eventually tired of the rule of Gilgamesh, the people of Uruk pray to the gods and ask them to make an equal to Gilgamesh. Hearing this plea, the gods would make Enkidu, who would eventually meet Gilgamesh and challenge him to combat, their battle would end with a victorious Gilgamesh instead offering friendship to Enkidu, this friendship would become a deep comradery between the two and Enkidu would persuade Gilgamesh to become a less tyrannical leader. Eventually, Gilgamesh would become bored with his life as king of Uruk and decide to go on great adventures with Enkidu, though these eventually lead to Enkidu being cursed to death and Gilgamesh in his grief seeking the secret to immortality.

The epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest piece of literature that we know of, but it still holds up as a great story. The translation I read likely isn't the most accurate but it is more clear of a story as it bridges gaps where parts of the original story are missing. Overall it's a good read and a compelling story, It's a surprisingly short story so it may be good for people who don't have a lot of free time, and I would recommend it for most people who enjoy history or even just fantasy.

Mexican Whiteboy 
by Matt de La Peña

Rating 3.5/5

Danny Lopez is a teen that was struggling with his Racial identity. His mom is white but his dad is mexican. When he was younger his dad left. So he was raised prodmitly around white people. 

During the summer Danny went to stay with his dad's side of the family in national city. 

This book is pretty good. It covers a lot of different topics in such a short amount of time. It talks about family, race, relationships and so much more. I liked this book because it was a good read. I would recommend this book to others.

Rating: 4/5

Starting in 1450 to present day this book follows the entire history of the United States of America, and its territories.  Contrary to the books name it is not an atlas. 1776 the United States of America declared independence from England. In the early 1770s, colonists thought that England wanted to take away their freedom. The United States of America saw increasing oppression, corruption, and taxation happening in The United States of America.  The American Civil War was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. A series of events led the south to leave the Union in 1861. The conflict started as a result of the long-term disagreement over slavery. In the end the United States of America won over the Confederate States of America in 1865.

In conclusion, I give this book 4 out of 5, because it was very informative, but it was still a nice book overall.

Hoover makes her readers fall in love with each character. The reader feels all the pain Lily goes through with her manipulative husband (Ryle) since at the start of the book, we're meant to see Ryle as a Saint, and as someone who saved Lily from a dark time. But by the end of the book, Lily realizes that she can't continue the abuse cycle, after getting pregnant herself, and she leaves him. 

It's about a girl named Starr carter she lives in a black neighborhood and goes to a party this one time. The party ends with gunfire and her friend khalil gives her a ride home. On the way home they were pulled over for no reason and he got shot by a police officer because they thought he had a gun. When in reality  it was a brush. The book follows her life after the shooting. How she gets justice for his death and how she makes enemies along the way.  

I like the book but i recommand the movie. It shows a better version of this book. But if you like the book then it for you. I feel like the movie for more emotion. 

 

This book is a well written fiction novel with lots of emotion. I would recommend this to anyone who likes action, adventure, or into dark fantasy. The only thing that some readers might not like is that the book is kind of long, but besides that it is a great book and I would recommend it to almost anyone.  

I really like this book, there were some parts that made me laugh and some parts that made me really sad. It also explores some deeper subjects and the writing style is beautiful.

The book flips between Evelyn’s account of her life, divided by the times she was married to each of her seven husbands: Ernie Diaz, Don Adler, Mick Riva, Rex North, Harry Cameron, Max Girard, and Robert Jameison and the reasons she married and divorced them and how they affected her life and career. 

I highly recommend this book. It’s very entertaining, especially if you enjoy historical fiction and drama. This format of this book also makes interesting, it switches from the perspective of Monique interviewing Evelyn and also just living her life and the perspective of Evelyn recounting her life.

 

By amber smith
rating:4/5
Daphne Hayden

This was a very interesting book. It is about a girl that was raped by her brother's best friend freshman year. The book goes through her high school life and how she copes in many unhealthy ways. But be warned this is a very emotional book that makes you feel very emotionally involved. It was a 4/5 only because of how emotionally involved it was.

Rating: 4/5

Rich and well educated, an unnamed protagonist in 2001 Manhattan works a cushy job at an art gallery and seems to have everything. Yet she tries to sleep through her life using medications prescribed to her by her awful psychologist. 
The protagonist has a "best" friend, Reva, whom she has a one sided friendship with. Reva loves our protagonist and showers her with friendship, despite it not being reciprocated. The protagonist constantly ignores and makes rude comments towards Reva.
The protagonist also has a shallow, corporate on-and-off boyfriend. 
I really enjoyed this book, I found the depiction of the protagonist's mental health issues to be pretty realistic. It's a super captivating book and it's very hard to put down. It leaves you wanting more but it also has a satisfying ending. However, I the writing style wasn't my favorite and I didn't really like how the protagonist stayed unnamed the whole time. It's a good book overall and a quick read at less than 300 pages.

 

Rating:5/5

This book is about an 8th grader named Nikki maxwell as she sketches her move to what she calls a snooty new school and how her enthusiasm for drawing and art and a love/hate fascination with the new school’s queen bee, a girl named Mackenzie, who becomes Nikki’s rival in a schoolwide art competition and Mackenzie is mean to nikki a lot and just doesn't like her for some reason. But in the book mainly Nikki writes about friendships, crushes, popularity, and family wihich makes the book interesting and it kind relates to highschool stuff about boys and all the stuff but it is a good book to ready if you like drama type movies this is a good book to read.

Mexican WhiteBoy 

Matt De La Pena

Rating 3/5

Mexican White Boy is a book about Danny, (the main character) who is half white and half Mexican, and lives with his sister and his mom in San Diego, California. This book follows the story of Danny going to Mexico to live with his family there over the summer but is disconnected from his family because he doesn't speak Spanish which is a recurring theme in this book. Danny also has other struggles in this book such as him writing to his dad throughout the whole of the book. 
  The reason I gave this book a low rating is because of the ending. The ending of this book was terrible, it was very rushed and I didn't like how they changed the whole setting of the story. Finally, I would say that if you had nothing else to do then I read this book. Overall this book is ok but there are definitely some parts that the author could have made better.

Mr.Hill

Book Review

6/9/23

The Hunger Games Book 1 By Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games Book 1 By Suzanne Collins is about a teenage girl named Katniss Everdean. She volunteers for her sister to play in something called The Hunger Games. She ends up competing with a boy named Peta from her district, District 12. The Hunger Games is a battle to the death and only 1 person wins. Each game has its own twist. I would rate this book a 10/10 and would recommend it to anyone who likes adventurous books.

May 28, 2023

Forge 

By Laurie Halse Anderson

Rating: 4/5  

Forge is the story about Curzon Smith, a runaway slave who joined the Patriots during the American Revolution. A second book in a trilogy after the first book Chains, Forge begins after Curzon has been abandoned by Isabel, a fellow slave who has freed him from imprisonment at the end of the last book. In Forge he fights in the war and sees a lot of the fighting and damage/death, he also served a hard winter in Valley Forge. He faces a lot of racism from his fellow soldiers. He gets court-martialed and given back to Bellingham, his former owner, where he finds that Bellingham also has Isabel as his maid. Isabel and Curzon make plans to escape and try to find Isabel's sister Ruth. The French joined the war to help the Americans which helped Curzon and the patriots. Curzon and Isabel tie Bellingham up and escape with the army. 

 

The book is really good. When I was reading I could see the similarities between Forge and the first book Chains. Although it was good, I still like Chains better. Forge was a good read and I recommend it if you like stories about slaves escaping. 

June 7th

I am not your perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez

Rating 4.5/5

In Erika L. Sánchez's novel, "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter," goes into the complex and often overlooked experiences of second-generation Mexican-American immigrants. Published in 2017, this critically acclaimed coming of age story follows the life of Julia Reyes, a young girl struggling with identity, grief, and societal expectations. Through Julia's vivid narration, Sánchez paints a raw and compelling portrait of a young girl determined to find her own path amidst cultural pressures and personal struggles.

The novel opens with a profound statement that sets the stage for the journey that lies ahead. "I am not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was my sister Olga's role." With these simple yet powerful words, Sánchez immediately fights stereotypical expectations and introduces the reader to Julia's rebellious spirit. The reader is drawn into Julia's world, eager to uncover the reasons behind her assertion and let us explore her identity.

Julia's character is characterized by a profound sense of alienation within both her Mexican heritage and her American surroundings. As she navigates the multifaceted layers of her identity, Julia grapples with conflicting cultural values, societal pressures, and the weight of her family's expectations. Sánchez expertly weaves together themes of generational divides, cultural assimilation, and the pressure to conform, capturing the struggles faced by many second-generation immigrants in the United States.

Through her captivating storytelling, Sánchez explores the intricate dynamics of family relationships and the impact of personal tragedy on individual growth. Julia's journey unfolds against the backdrop of her sister's unexpected death, an event that leaves her family devastated and Julia grappling with unanswered questions. As she embarks on a quest for truth and self-discovery, the reader is immersed in Julia's emotional turmoil, feeling her frustration, anger, and longing for understanding.

6-9-2023

How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi 

Rating: 9/10

For this book review, I decided to do my review on How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. It is a nonfiction book in the form of a memoir on the author. It is the kind of book where you grow with the narrator, as he is using his stories and experiences to becoming an antiracist. There is lots of reflection throughout the book, including room for the reader to do the same about their own racial ideas. Kendi discusses all of his experiences and the ways he learned about racism, its history, and ways to combat it. I learned that I can also look into my own life and its patterns and do the same as him. It really made me think about race and society in ways I never have before. He discusses it with lots of unique ideas, perspectives, and resolutions. I would say that some of the things he discusses can be flagged as controversial, but he also mentions that with almost anything race related, it is almost always controversial, which is a very interesting thing to think about. One big thing I took away from the book is his words on the difference between “not racist” and “antiracist”. Initially, they would always seem like the same term, but he breaks it down and explains it and offers a completely different perspective, which I really like. I will say again, a lot of the things he talks about are such new and interesting ideas which I really enjoyed, and made me really glad I read the book. Overall, if you want a deep read, with commentary, valuable information, and a fresh perspective, and are willing to read something less than filtered, I would definitely recommend this memoir. I personally rate it 9/10.