Category: Book Review

My book reviews

Inside Out And Back Again

By Thanhha Lai

260 pages in verse

Genre: Historical Fiction

Date read: October 2018 (Sixth Grade)

Synopsis: Hà, a ten year old Vietnamese girl, flees with her family in hopes of building something better for themselves in America. The journey there will be hard, and they don’t know if they will make it. Hà has to build her life up again, in a place where no one looks like her. Her life is turned upside down in this novel.

3 stars

Review: I gave this book a 3 star rating because it was a good plot overall. Hà was easy to understand, and it was an interesting time period to read about. That being said, I didn’t really care for the writing style, and there were details that I was left wishing I knew. The book also had a slow start. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a unique writing style because although I didn’t care for it, I think many people would enjoy it.

Ready Player One

By Ernest Cline

385 pages

Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure/survival

Date read: October 2018 (Sixth Grade)

Synopsis: Wade Watts loves games. He especially loves the online virtual reality, the OASIS. He’s also a gunter. This means that ever since the creator of the OASIS died, he looks for the Easter eggs that will lead to his fortune. The first person to find all three keys, and unlock three gates, wins. Wade suddenly stumbles upon the first key, and everyone is suddenly on a mission to finish the creator’s last game. Wade encounters many dangers.

4.5 stars

Review: I gave this book a 4.5 star rating because it had a really good adventure element to it, and that made it really thrilling. One thing that I didn’t like, is there were some slow spots. These weren’t incredibly hard to overcome though. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes science fiction, or adventure. You won’t be able to put the book down!

People Like Us

By Dana Mele

384 pages

Genre: Mystery, Realistic Fiction

Date read: November 2018 (Sixth Grade)

Synopsis: Kay Donovan is out at the lake after a late party, and finds a dead body. The body belongs to a girl at her school. When Kay returns to her room, she finds an email from the same girl that she found dead. It seems like she programmed it to send after she died. In the email is a website that leads to an image of a kitchen. The website is the girl’s revenge plan. In the kitchen, is a coded recipe that gives her instructions on how carry out the revenge. If she doesn’t follow through within 24 hours, her deepest secret will be revealed to the whole school.

3.5 stars

Review: I gave this book a 3.5 star rating because it was very enjoyable. I liked the overall plot a lot. The mystery of the whole book was very addictive. The book was a bit confusing sometimes, and it got slow too. The book was definitely worth reading though. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good mystery.

Just a Drop of Water

By Kelly O’Malley Cerra

320 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Date read: December 2017 (Fifth Grade)

Synopsis: Jake and Sam have always been best friends. The attacks on 9/11 could change that. Sam is Muslim, and his family faces a lot of criticism. Jake knows that Sam and his family didn’t do anything wrong, but has to prove it. In this novel, their friendship is put to the test.

4 stars

Review: I gave this book a 4 star rating because it was easy to understand, and gave me more insight on this tragic event. I finally realized how many innocent people from all over America were affected by these events. The book was a bit slow in the beginning, and had a couple of slow spots throughout the book, but was definitely worth reading. The book taught me a lot about friendships. I would recommend this book to people who like history, and people who don’t as well. This book can be enjoyed by everyone!

Finding Audrey

By Sophie Kinsella

304 pages

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Date read: October 2018 (Sixth Grade)

Synopsis: Audrey is making steady progress on her recovery from an anxiety problem. One day, her brother has a friend over. He meets Audrey, and she starts getting comfortable with him. With his help, Audrey starts recovering faster, and faster. Audrey becomes a whole new person.

4.5 stars

Review: I gave this book a 4.5 star rating because the plot was very heartwarming, and I could relate to Audrey a lot. However, there were a few spots that were a bit slow. That aside, Audrey’s journey was incredible, and it was easy to get lost in the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an inspiring story!

The Neptune Project

By Polly Holyoke

352 pages

Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure/survival

Date read: August 2017 (Fifth Grade)

Synopsis: Teenage Nere Hanson is living a normal life in the future, where global warming is a huge problem. She finds out that her body has been altered so that she can survive under the waves. Suddenly, her past all begins to make sense. Her life has been leading up to this journey. Nere and two others set off to find a colony of kids that are like them, genetically altered to live under the sea. Her journey will change her life forever.

5 stars

Review: I gave this book a 5 star rating because I really enjoyed all of the twists and turns that these kids encountered. I also enjoyed all of the reveals about what was going on, since that added a lot to the book. The book kept surprising me, and I could hardly ever tell what was going to happen. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure, or the ocean!