Book Review: The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

Book: The False Prince 

Author: Jennifer Nielsen

Teen Reviewer: Kinsey Manchester

Rating: 5/5 stars

 

In a faraway kingdom, a nobleman named Bevin Conner comes up with a clever plan. This plan, if successful, would save the country of Carthya from a civil war. Conner plans to disguise an orphan boy as the long lost Prince of Carthya. With the other Carthyan royalty dead, this Prince would be the new King, thus preventing the nobles from fighting over who should be King. Conner captures four boys and tries to teach them how to be upper class citizens in less than two weeks, when Conner plans to choose one boy as the long lost “Prince Jaron." One of the boys is a rebellious teen named Sage. He fights against Conner and refuses to surrender to him. Sage hates to participate in this act of treason against Carthya, but he soon realizes that he has no choice. If Sage is not chosen to be the Prince, he will surely be killed by Conner and his guards. Sage has a plan to ensure his own safety, but he has to be careful, because the other boys are just as motivated as he is. Sage can trust no one. When Conner decides who should be Prince Jaron, things start to unravel. Secrets are revealed and lies are told, and nobody can predict what will happen next. Even Conner and his foolproof plan are completely blindsided by perhaps the most dangerous revelation of them all.

The False Prince is a story full of danger, action, and mysteries. I finished this book in one day because I couldn’t put it down. I simply had to know the fate of Sage, who is an easily likable character. His defiance is admirable, even in the obvious face of danger. Despite Conner’s efforts, Sage continues to stay true to himself and not give in to the immense pressure of becoming someone else. The other boys, Latamer, Roden, and Tobias, were good competitors. I liked how Sage and Roden would agree when teasing Tobias, but Sage and Tobias would agree when teasing Roden. Errol, who was Sage’s personal servant at Conner’s mansion, was a funny character as well. He always laughed at how improper Sage would act and realized he was lucky to have been assigned the one boy with any character. Imogen, a mute maid, was a very caring and loving addition to this violent tale. She always took care of Sage when he was hurt and in the end, she proved to be a faithful friend. I thought it was very sweet of Sage to stick up for Imogen when she was in danger. The characters were wonderful, but the plot was even better. I expected a few things, which I ended up being right about. However, I did not come close to guessing the biggest secret of them all. It was a large, unexpected plot twist and I was pleasantly surprised. I liked the ending, even if it clearly leaves room for another book. After all, this is a trilogy. I recommend this book to any teen reader who enjoys a good adventure or action book!

 

Teen Book Review: The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Title: The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Author: Emily Danforth

Reviewer: Lauren Batchelder

Rating: 4.6/5 stars

When Cameron Post’s parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they’ll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.  (Source: book summary)

The relief doesn’t last long, though, as Cameron is soon sent to live with her conservative aunt and grandmother. Despite their differences, she is able to keep her secret until Coley Taylor arrives in town. Good looking, spunky, peppy Coley has a perfect boyfriend, but it doesn’t stop Cam from starting to love her. They soon form an intense relationship and when Coley falls in love with Cam, things finally seem right. Then the world comes crashing down on Cam, when her Aunt finds out and sends the poor girl to a school to “fix” her and stop her from being a lesbian. This costs Cam the ability to love and accept herself, while she is still in the process of  trying to figure out who she is on her own terms.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a beautiful book about discovering who you are and finding the courage to live life in your own way. I really enjoyed this book, because it was a topic that isn’t really discussed much, and I found it interesting that Danforth had the guts to write about it. This riveting page turner was beautifully told. I loved it and I am sure that you will too! 4.6/5 stars!

The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston

Title: The Woman Warrior
Author: Maxine Hong Kingston
Year of Publication: 1975
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 209

First Line: "'You must not tell anyone,' my mother said, 'what I am about to tell you. In China your father had a sister who killed herself. She jumped into the family well. We say that your father has all brothers because it is as if she had never been born.'"

Summary: Maxine Hong Kingston reveals aspects of her life and Chinese culture and history through her rich prose.


Review:  Kingston tells her stories in a unique prose style reminiscent of intimate story telling.  I read this book at the recommendation of my boyfriend.  Though, because of a lack of background, I did not quite get the full meaning of everything Kingston wrote about, I enjoyed what I did understand and came away with a new and more in-depth perspective of Chinese-American and Chinese culture.  This memoir might not be suitable for younger readers because of the depth and some content but is an enjoyable read for the summer.


Disliked: I didn't feel there was enough connection through each section to make it feel like a whole piece.

Liked:  Kingston's candid and ruthless perspective offers great insight.

Rating:  4 out of 5 stars


Author's Website: None

Book Review: Switched by Amanda Hocking

Title: Switched

Author: Amanda Hocking

Reviewer: Kinsey Manchester

Rating: 5/5 stars

 

Wendy Everly’s life has never quite been perfect. When she was six, her mother tried to kill her and has been locked up in a mental hospital ever since. Her brother and aunt raise her and care for her, because her mother hates her and believes she is a monster. Wendy has not been able to settle in one place, always changing schools and not ever fitting in. At her newest school, she meets a boy named Finn Holmes. Finn is a mysterious boy who seems to be paying a lot of attention to Wendy. He is the one guy who makes her feel like a normal girl. When Finn tells Wendy that all of her quirks add up to make her something more than human, Wendy doesn’t have a hard time believing him. Wendy’s mother may just be right about Wendy being a monster. Finn promises her a new life and a place where she can finally fit in; he tells her about a place called Förening. Wendy, believing him and also not wanting to admit how much she likes him, goes with Finn and leaves behind her family. She believes that she is keeping her family safe by leaving them behind because she believes that she is a monster. She is also interested in meeting people like her. Even when Wendy finds out that the people like her aren’t remotely close to being monsters, she still doesn’t love her new life. The only thing keeping her from leaving is Finn. Wendy misses the comfort of home as things become strained. She cannot be two different people and has to choose which will win over- her supernatural self or who she was raised to be.

I did not expect myself to like this book nearly as much as I did. I really adored this book because it was a supernatural book featuring creatures other than vampires, werewolves, and fairies. Amanda Hocking wrote a unique book and she wrote it well. Switched hooked me within the first few chapters. I finished this book in one afternoon because I couldn’t put it down. The characters were extremely likable. Wendy was a great main character and I loved how she was not afraid to stand up to those higher up than her. She cares for people and even though she thinks she is a monster at first, there is no way that someone that nice is capable of hurting anyone. Wendy’s brother, Matt, was a perfect supporting character. He was the best big brother, always doing anything for his little sister. Matt saved Wendy from their mother and he never stopped protecting and loving her. Finn was also a great match for Wendy and I loved how their relationship worked. It did not feel rushed like relationships sometime seem in books. Also, when Wendy met Rhys, I enjoyed Rhys, too. Rhys was a boy in Wendy’s new life at Förening and he was a good friend to her when she had nobody. The plot of Switched was fast paced and moved along quickly, but not fast enough that you felt like you were missing details. This book was the perfect start to a trilogy, and I absolutely cannot wait to read the next one. I recommend this book to readers who like action, supernatural, or a little romance. 5/5 stars!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Title: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Year of Publication: 1925
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 182

First Line: "In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice I've been turning over in my mind ever since."

Summary: The Great Gatsby captures the romance and glitter of the Jazz Age in its portrayal of a young man and his tragic search for love and success. It is a rare combination: a literary masterpiece - and one of the most popular novels of our time.

Source: Back of book.

Review:  I read The Great Gatsby in high school and did not quite understand it as well as I wanted to, so this summer, I decided to pick it up again.  Being more able to grasp characters and keep them straight, I was better able to follow the plot-line and thus the subtleties of each character.  Fitzgerald has great command of the English language, allowing the prose to be beautiful and detailed.  If you haven't already read The Great Gatsby you should. You're missing out.


Disliked: Some characters are clearly only there for exposition purposes.

Liked:  Gatsby himself is so wonderfully crafted and Nick Carraway is such a great observer. I love the point of view this story is told in.

Rating:  5 out of 5 stars


Author's Website: None

Teen Book Review: Evernight

Evernight by Claudia Gray

Reviewed by Kinsey Manchester

4/5 stars

 

Bianca Olivier is a typical shy teenage girl. Her parents have moved her from the small town she has lived in her whole life to a new school, Evernight Academy. Bianca’s parents have decided to teach at Evernight and so now Bianca must live and learn at this new eerie boarding school. She feels like an outsider in this group of kids, and the fact that she is painfully shy doesn’t help her make many friends. All the students at Evernight are rich, perfect, and snobby, except for Bianca and a few others. When Bianca meets and gets to know Lucas, another outsider, they instantly bond. She finally feels like a part of something when she is with Lucas and she begins to actually enjoy the school. Then, something alarming and unexpected happens. Dark pasts and secrets can now mean losing each other. Bianca questions everything she’s ever taught as her relationship begins to crumble.  When the situation becomes dangerous, Bianca’s parents find out, and action is taken. However, Bianca will fight anything to be with the one person who she connects with.

Evernight is a dark and addictive novel. It moves along pretty fast, which as a reader, I always enjoy. The book was wonderful and I found myself staying up way too late to finish chapters. The relationship between Bianca and Lucas was well-written and I thoroughly enjoyed the way they met. Bianca herself was a likable character, that is, her shyness and normality in a school of snobs was refreshing. I loved Bianca’s parents and thought that they were good additions to the book. They were always looking out for Bianca and proud of her in her best moments. Bianca’s roommate, Patrice, was fairly nice to her, which I was glad for. The whole book was realistic, even when the question of vampires and vampire hunters arose. The only thing that I really wasn’t fond of was the big secret that Bianca knew that wasn’t revealed in the first third of the book. Once something happens and the secret can’t be denied, Bianca says that she knew about it all along. She played along with the people questioning the school’s structure when the whole time she actually knew why it was so creepy. It totally bugged me that for a while. She acted like she didn’t know anything. The ending, though, was a perfect set-up for a second book,  and I can’t wait to read it! I recommend this book to anyone who likes romance or the supernatural stories. 4 out of 5 stars!

Crash into Me by Albert Borris

Title: Crash into Me
Author: Albert Borris
Year of Publication: 2009
Genre: YA
Pages: 257

First Line: "The third time I tried to kill myself I used a rope."

Summary: Owen, Frank, Audrey, and Jin-Ae have one thing in common: They all want to die. When they meet online after each attempts suicide and fails, they make a deadly pact: They will escape together on a summer road trip to visit the sites of celebrity suicides...and at their final destination, they will do themselves in.  As they drive cross-country, bonding over their dark impulses, sharing their deepest secrets and desires, living it up, hooking up, and becoming true friends, each must decide whether life is worth living -- or if there's no turning back.

Source: Back of book.

Review:  Borris does a great job capturing the mindset of suicidal teens.  His plot is so-so and his characters, though varied, are a little flat, but the point of the novel is clear, even if he does try a little too hard sometimes.  Throughout the novel, I felt as if it was missing something and I decided, ultimately, the book needed another main character.  Like my previous read, this novel is told in a format that is somewhat atypical -- Owen, the main character, keeps an electronic journal during their road trip with insertions of previous online conversations with his suicidal friends, Jin-Ae, Audrey, and Frank.  Some of the "twists" in the novel (specifically regarding Owen's father and brother) made it feel like Borris was really trying too hard and stretching it, but I enjoyed going on a trip with the characters and visiting places in the country I probably otherwise won't get to or have already and seeing it from another's point of view.  Probably worth a read for teens who have ever experienced suicidal thoughts or depression, but maybe not so much for others.


Disliked: That missing piece in the novel.

Liked:  Audrey was a pretty cool character, though I was confused about her motives.

Rating:  2 out of 5 stars


Author's Website: None