Paper Towns by John Green

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…

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

How’s it going, BookBirdies? Juliana T., age 13, is the writer of the next book review. She reads quite a lot, and has me excited to read the following novel!

download (4)Outliers is a non-fictional novel about past success stories around the world. Its 285 pages are packed with stories on how people have become successful. It writes of when the successors were born, where they were born and how their ethnicity has had an effect on their prosperity. Author Malcolm Gladwell gives you visuals and exercises to further your understanding. In one particular example, he explains how coaches of sports pick members based on their age. If you were born in the beginning of the year, you were guaranteed a place on the team. Outliers doesn’t tell you “how to be successful,” it brings attention to things that others would never have thought made people successful. This book helps you look at the idea of “success” from a different perspective of normal statistics. It has helped me to view success as pure luck, not just hard work. I recommend this book for teens to adults because it isn’t an easy read, you need motivation to finish it.

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

The next book review of the day is beautifully written by Maya F., age 14. 

1The book that I read is called Angels and Demons. It is by Dan Brown who is the #1 New York Times bestselling author. It is an action filled story about a man named Robert Langdon, who is a distinguished Harvard symbologist, that was called to a Swiss research facility to observe the murder of a scientist with an ancient symbol burned into his chest. Langdon thinks the murder was committed by an ancient brotherhood called the Illuminati. I think that this book is very interesting. It has a lot about science and religion in it. Multiple people think that science and religion are total opposite fields of work, but this book suggests other wise. This book is very thrilling and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to read about an adventure.