Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

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Happy Holidays, BookBirdz followers! This next book review was written by Malia A., age 14. She is an active reader who shares her thoughts on the literary classic, Little Women. 

The book Little Women is really good. Four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, struggle to support themselves and keep their household running because the family recently lost its fortune. Their father is fighting in the Civil War. As the girls get older, they each face personal moral challenges. The girls have their own characteristics that make them unique. Meg, the oldest, is polite and proper. Jo is can’t bear to be left on the sidelines, but must learn to be more ladylike. Beth is sweet, and very shy. And Amy is the baby of the family, and is confused by their new money situation. This book is definitely worth reading, I highly recommend it if you’re into classic novels with love and drama (and ages twelve and up). 

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Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

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Hi there! Raffy P., age 14, has read a classic, heart-wrenching novel he’d like to share with you. I’ve read it too, and his review is wonderfully spot-on!

download (6)Hatchet is a 1987 Newbery Honor-winning young-adult wilderness survival novel written by Gary Paulsen.  This story is about a young teen that is 13-years-old with divorced parents, named Brian. During the summer, he was going to visit his father in the oil fields in northern Canada. On the way to visit his father, the pilot suffered a heart attack, and died with just Brian in the plane. Brian attempted to land the plane by himself, but ended up crashing the plane onto a lake in the forest. He must try and survive on his own, with nothing but a hatchet that his mother gave him before he went to visit his father. The question is, will he make it? I would recommend this book for ages 12-15.

Paper Towns by John Green

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Have you ever read The Fault in Our Stars? Or how about Looking for Alaska? Then perhaps you might enjoy Paper Towns, yet another fantastic novel by John Green. Angelica C., age 14, reviews it below!

51hgkNew+XL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_Paper Towns is a 336 paged book written by an amazing author, John Green. First off, everybody has had a miracle, and Quentin’s miracle was Margo Roth Spiegelman, his next-door neighbor. When Quentin and Margo were kids, they would play together, and go biking. By high school, though, Quentin and Margo weren’t friends at all, in fact, they were strangers. Margo hung out with the “cool people” and Quentin with his two band friends. One day, surprisingly, Margo showed up to Quentin’s window late at night. Next thing you know, they went on a late night adventure together. But then, Margo disappeared. She stopped coming to school, and was nowhere to be found. When she left, she left clues for Quentin to follow. He was so in love with Margo, that he was determined to find her. Margo did love mysteries, but maybe she loved them so much, that she had become one herself…

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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If you haven’t read the recent guest review on To Kill a Mockingbird (see below), no worries, because here’s another one! Lauren M., age 14, gives her own opinion and summary of the book. Think of this review as a more detailed follow-up!

download (3)To Kill A Mockingbird  is a story about two young siblings who live in a small town in Alabama, called Maycomb. The book as I perceived it is mostly about the two kids, Scout and Jem, trying to get their neighbor “Boo Radley” out of his house. Boo Radley is known for pulling many pranks throughout the neighborhood, but hardly anyone in town has seen him. Jem and Scout love to get into trouble, and take little risks here and there. Along the way of the story they meet a new friend, Dill, who is visting the house next to theirs that summer. He helps Scout and Jem try and find ways to get Boo out of his house. By the end of the book you will be anxious to read the next, which just came out this summer so you’re in luck!.I would definitely recommend this book to all young adults who love to read. Every chapter leaves you hanging and that is one of the things I love about this book. In conclusion, To Kill A Mockingbird is an amazing book that is definitely worth reading.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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Jade-Lynn B., age 14, has many interesting opinions on the literary classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, and she shares them with you below! 

download (3)To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a great book. I like it because it discusses many interesting things and it is very entertaining. It entails friendship, anger, and even some stalking. It’s a very weird and cool book. You should read this book because it’s also very mysterious. Keep in mind, there is some minor inappropriate language. It’s a touching and heart warming classic. You may understand and relate to some of the challenges that the main character, Scout, goes through as she grows up. Overall, this is a very good book to read. When I read To Kill a Mockingbird, I kind of felt like I was in the story itself, but you need to read it thoroughly to understand everything. I wish I could read more because this book is very interesting. So you should definitely read this book! I love it, so maybe you will too.

*Harper Lee’s new book, Go Set a Watchman, has recently been published, and an upcoming review on it will be posted very soon!

Can’t Look Away by Donna Conner

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Hello BookBirdz followers! The following book review is captivatingly composed by Gabby D., age 15. Enjoy!

download (2)Everybody makes mistakes and wishes that they could change what they did… especially Torrey Grey. Torrey, a famous YouTube blogger, made videos about beauty and fashion. She had an amazing life with her blog. Then one day, everything went wrong. Her sister dies in car accident, and it may even be Torrey’s fault. She is struggling with grief and guilt, as well as having to deal with her online community. Torrey is trying to make a new video after what happened to her sister but she is feeling overwhelmingly guilty. Torrey’s fans are getting inpatient and spreading cruel rumors. Can Torrey ever be same blogger that her fans loved?

Story Thieves by James Riley

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Hi readers! The next book review I have here was written by Analani B., age 14. Her review made me curiously interested in the novel she discusses!

download (1)Imagine being able to go into any book you wanted, at any time you wanted. That is exactly what a girl, who goes by Bethany, has been able to do ever since she was born. An ordinary, average boy, named Owen, found that out when Bethany came out of a book right in front of him. After Owen discovered Bethany’s big secret, his boring life came to an end. Bethany tried to find a way to keep his mouth shut, and the only way that could happen was to take Owen into his favorite book. Owen was planning on changing the story and that was the end of Bethany’s safe life. What would you do if you had the chance to go into any book you wanted? Think about that while reading this book, Story Thieves written by James Riley. I recommend this book to all ages and mystery lovers. Have fun reading a book about someone going into books.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

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Hey there! The first book review of the day is composed by Haylee G., age 14. She shares her honest opinion on an American classic, Treasure Island. 

downloadTreasure Island is a book written by Robert Louis Stevenson. Jim Hawkins is an innkeeper along side of his mother, at the Admiral Benow, keeping watch of “seafaring men”. Billy Bones, who once was a sailor, stays at the inn and drinks way too much rum. Billy is terrified of the seafaring men. Billy has a second stroke, when he gets another visit from another man, but this time it’s fatal. Mr. Trelawny, who is a squire, agreed with Dr. Livesey that the many papers that Jim had could lead them to Billy’s hidden treasures. Although, the journey was long and difficult, the search for the treasure was successful, but not too successful. In my opinion I recommend this book to ages 10 and up. This book consists a lot of disturbing and vivid imagery. Therefore, if the reader is interested in pirates and adventure, I recommended this book. I personally am not interested in pirates, but I do think that this novel was very interesting.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

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According to Kai M., age 14, The Maze Runner is a must read, and he tells you exactly why in his review below! 

download (5)The book I’m doing a review on is called The Maze Runner by James Dashner.  This book has 374 pages but each one is worth reading!  From the very exciting cliff hangers to the descriptive way James Dashner wrote the book, it’s a must read.  My favorite aspect of this book personally is how descriptive it is.  The way the book is written paints a clear picture of exactly what’s going on in that specific scene so that it’s almost like I’m there in the book.  Another key point of the book has to be the dialogue.  I like the dialogue because it clearly portrays the character’s personality and helps bring the book to life.  Over all I think it’s a great book and everyone should read it at some point.

John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

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Ezra W., age 14, has formulated a nicely detailed review to share with you…

John Carter of Mars is the name of a series of an action-packed sci/fi novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  The books in the series include A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, The Warlord of Mars, ThJohnCarterBetteruvia Maid of Mars, The Chessmen of Mars, The Master Mind of Mars, and A Fighting Man of Mars.  The story is about a confederate captain named John Carter who is mysteriously transported to Mars to become a great warrior.  Through battles and bloodshed with the many races of Mars, John Carter seems to survive the impossible.  The only question is… when will John Carter go back to his home on planet earth? Join John Carter and his comrades in their adventures across the dead sea bottoms, massive cities, deserts, and ice caps of a dying planet.  Full of sword fights and shooting, I recommend this book for teenagers and other mature readers.  The book that I own has has the whole series in it and the total page count is 780.