Book Review: Most Dangerous

Title: Most Dangerous
Author: Steve Sheinkin
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Teen Reviewer: Se Choi


As tensions rise in North and South Vietnam, American government Decided to assist South Vietnam. But as American troops ambush rice paddies and bomb the North, they don’t seem to make a difference in the war. The North’s elaborate strategies make the war seem endless for the US. And in the US, civilians are also upset about the government’s ambush on North Vietnam and the danger inflicted on the people of Vietnam. Because they were criticized by their people, the US Government decided to hide real facts and operations going on in war-torn Vietnam. At that time Daniel Ellsberg was working at the Pentagon and knew that the war in Vietnam was not as successful as the Government said it was. So he traveled to Vietnam and experienced the truth: that American military maneuvers in Vietnam were stagnant and turning very unpleasant for the Americans. Daniel Ellsberg then found himself trapped in two loyalties. One to the government he worked for, and one to citizens like himself. But as the war went on, Daniel decided to copy pages of classified information and deliver them to newspaper companies all over the US. Then, all the people knew the truth about the things that were happening in Vietnam. They learned that the US wasn’t winning the war. But it all didn’t stop there. The government took Ellsberg to court. They even ransacked several places to find information of Daniel’s wrongdoings. But after a tiresome trial, Daniel Ellsberg got away with all the convictions that were brought against him. After the government lost the fight, they gave up and left him alone. Later, the US agreed to leave Vietnam alone and the war ended in defeat.

 Most Dangerous shows the heroism of Daniel Ellsberg. He stole documents from his government for the greater good of his people. He helped end the doomed fight in Vietnam so that lives would be saved, but he did it by breaking the law. As Steve Sheinkin tells this story, he adds many facts and details that make the novel trustworthy and interesting.

Book Review: Red Rising

Title: Red Rising
Author: Pierce Brown
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Teen Reviewer: Se Choi

On Mars, a hardworking type of human named Reds lived to drill the soil to find a certain gas to make Mars habitable for humans. The Reds wore suits that contain everything inside it, and they slave all day to serve the uppercolors without hesitation. Darrow was a gas miner, and he had a wife that started to rebel against the upppercolors. But one day, the uppercolors found out she was rebelling, so they hanged her in front of the ArchGovernor and in front of Darrow and the community. Then Darrow, thoroughly distraught, did something rebellious for his wife and got himself hanged. But he woke up and found himself alive because the Sons of Ares resurrected Darrow with high tech equipment.

The Sons of Ares was a terrorist group that was against the rule of the Golds. The Sons of Ares showed Darrow the cities the Golds had made and how they were telling the Reds lies. They turned Darrow into a Gold through the use of technology and training. Then, the Sons of Ares sent him to an academy where he was first tested his smartness and physical health. Then he was ordered to kill one of the Golds that did not do well on the test. The Gold he killed happened to be the younger brother of Cassius, the son of a rival of the ArchGovernor and a friend that he made. He decided to keep this a secret. The institute he tested for was not the normal school with classes and tests, but a huge game with seven houses. Darrow and Cassius quickly became leaders of House Mars until Cassius found out that Darrow killed his brother. Then he was left for dead by Cassius and survived to make an army of his own and eventually win the game. He was immediately claimed by the ArchGovernor and was promised a bright future.

The book was packed with action and has a very creative storyline. The novel also tells us that even the weakest and smallest can rise up to the top. The explosive action and the meaningful purpose of the book makes it perfect.

Book Review: Caraval

Title: Caraval
Author: Stephanie Garber
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Teen Reviewer: Nanditha Prashanth

Imagine a world, a fantastical city which is entirely created by the most infamous magician known as Legend. A city that is the star of a 5-night game played by real life players and an audience. A game known as Caraval which presents the unthinkable beyond the point of imagination. This very game was the only motivation for a young girl named Scarlett. Scarlett had only one dream: to experience Caraval and perhaps meet the legendary legend. This is the only dream this young reserved girl had to keep her sanity. To keep herself and her sister Tella alive from their abusive, manipulative father and marriage opposite a count whom she has never met. But this one dream just happened to come true but not the way she or her sister expected. A letter came suddenly promising two Caraval performance tickets. Scarlett was intrigued and amazed but at the same time heartbroken over the promise of her unwilling marriage. Unable to decide between her love for her brave sister Tella and her sister’s life. After many twists, turns and complications they both set out to Caraval with the help of a young sailor named Julian. But by doing this Scarlett feared the worst by her father who had done much worse than just physical abuse to Tella at this point. The fear of losing her sister, love coming too close too soon and the magical dismay of Caraval shapes the rest of the plot. The book follows through with Scarlett’s journey as she ventures to find her sister through tragedy.

This book is a mystery fantasy novel which follows the life of a young girl who has lost a dear sister and is indulged within a fantastical city. This book is definitely one of a kind and very entertaining.  Caraval kept me interested the entire time although it started off slow and very dry. It felt as though I was really at Caraval. There are exceptional descriptions of the setting and plot that keep you on your toes and ready for the next event. I rated Caraval 4 out of 5 based on my interest as a mystery lover. Personally I would recommend this book to anyone but specifically someone who loves suspenseful mystery novels with a great sense of imagination. Imagination is the key to enjoying this book at its best. Being an imaginative person helped me understand and stay interested in the book the entire time. Caraval will bring the childhood dream and aspirations out of you along with a very imaginative personality. Definitely recommended to anyone interested in a fantasy novel. 

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Book Review: Bull

Title: Bull
Author: David Elliott
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Teen Reviewer: Se Choi

Poseidon helped Minos become king of Crete, but when Poseidon sends a milk white bull for Minos to sacrifice, Minos keeps the bull and sacrifices a different bull. Then Pasiphae decides to have a baby with the bull. That leads to her baby having a bull head and the dislike of  King Minos. Pasiphae named the bull boy Asterion and loved him dearly. But the King and his subjects did not like the boy and called him a freak of nature. King Minos eventually locked him inside a stable where he could not be seen. Because of the absence of Asterion, Pasiphae eventually went delirious. Ariadne, the King’s daughter, pitied Asterion and comforted him when he was alone. When Androgeos, the King’s most successful son was killed in Athens, he ordered Daedalus to build a maze for several Athenian children to go into and die in. One of them was Theseus, which was very eager to go into the maze and kill Asterion. Asterion was the centerpiece of the maze, his job was to kill anyone that came his way, he was also given the name “Minotaur”. Theseus killed the Minotaur and returned to Athens with glory and deserted Ariadne on a deserted island to die, while Daedalus tried to escape Crete with his son, by building wings but he died, and Asterion died in a very gory way. And Poseidon was the one that caused all of this to happen. Finally, he killed Androgeos.

This novel is very similar to the myth “The Minotaur” but is very modernized(which means a fair amount of swear words). It is a very short read but is very amusing and fun.

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Title: One of us is Lying
Author: Karen M. McManus
Rating 5/5 Stars
Teen Reviewer: Se Choi

When Simon, Cooper, Nate, Addy and Bronwyn were stuck in detention for being wrongly accused of having their phones in their bags(the phones in their bags weren't theirs), Simon died because of a peanut allergy reaction from a cup of water. There were no epi-pens in the nurse’s office so he could not be saved. The four kids were questioned and were all suspects of Simon’s murder. Simon was the creator of a local gossip app and all four of them had secrets that Simon was about to post on his app. Cooper’s secret was that he was cheating on his girlfriend, Nate’s was that his mother was in a rehab center for a coke addiction. Addy was also cheating on her boyfriend, and Bronwyn cheated on a test(she was a very smart person and was going to Yale so this was very serious). When all their secrets were opened to the public by the police, they were being convicted of murder and were cast out of social groups they used to be in. Cooper, Nate, Addy, and Bronwyn were constantly harassed by police and were taunted at school. The problem at their High School had grown into nationwide news. Then after many days of answering questions for investigators and avoiding news reporters, Nate was arrested by the anxious police. The police was worried about constant angry responses to the fact that they released the secrets of the four. ::SPOILER:: Then the remaining three proved the police wrong by finding out (with proof) that Jake, Addy’s boyfriend put the peanut oil in Simon’s cup of water and put the epi-pens away and that Simon made the plan to kill himself and bring four kids down with him. Simon did this because the four kids were famous, smart, and attractive but they took that for granted. So he worked with Jake to frame them.

The ending to this story was very unexpected, and Simon’s master plan of his death was very smart and decisive. When you think it would be any of the four that would be guilty, it is someone else. The tense moments of the novel were a great experience.

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