teen book review blog https://library.escondido.org/teen-book-reviews.aspx http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification mojoPortal Blog Module en-US cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org (Cathy Janovitz) 120 cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org (Cathy Janovitz) cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org Cathy Janovitz no Forest of a Thousand Lanterns Forest of a thousand lanterns

The story follows Xifeng, a complex and enigmatic protagonist who embarks on a journey from innocence to power. Dao's character development is exceptional, as we witness Xifeng's transformation from a seemingly ordinary girl into a formidable force willing to do whatever it takes to rise to the top.

One of the standout aspects of this book is the vivid world-building. Dao paints a rich and vibrant picture of the mystical Eastern-inspired realm, from the opulent palaces to the dense forests and mystical creatures. The attention to detail and cultural nuances in the world-building add depth and authenticity to the story, making it all the more immersive. There were moments where the pacing felt a bit uneven, but this did not significantly detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.

If you're a reader who enjoys exploring morally complex worlds and characters, I recommend giving this book a try. It's a unique addition to the fantasy genre.

Anna, 16

Rating:  

smiley Find at the Library

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https://library.escondido.org/forest-of-a-thousand-lanterns cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/forest-of-a-thousand-lanterns https://library.escondido.org/forest-of-a-thousand-lanterns Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:48:00 GMT
Caraval Caraval

Caraval by Stephanie Garber is a fantasy novel following two sisters, Scarlett and Tella, who enter a mysterious game called Caraval to escape their father's control. When Tella goes missing, Scarlett must navigate through illusions and secrets within Caraval to find her.

I had mixed feelings about Caraval. The best aspect was the imaginative world-building, with its whimsical descriptions and magical atmosphere. The twists and turns added suspense, but at times it felt overwhelming and confusing. Additionally, character development could have been stronger, leaving me wanting more depth and connection to the protagonists.

I would cautiously recommend Caraval to fans of fantasy who appreciate vivid settings and a suspenseful plot. If you enjoy books that immerse you in enchanting worlds and don't mind sacrificing some character development for a fast-paced adventure, then Caraval might be worth a read. However, if you prefer more well-rounded characters and a clearer narrative, this book might not fully satisfy your expectations.

Jane, 13

Rating:  

smiley Find at the Library

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https://library.escondido.org/caraval cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/caraval https://library.escondido.org/caraval Mon, 06 Nov 2023 18:50:00 GMT
The Crown's Game The crown's game

The book was about two wizards who are competing against each other to be the new enchantress or enchanter for the king. The take part of all different events to see who the best enchanter is.

The book was amazing. I love the two places that the characters come from. One is an orphan and the other raised in the countryside by her father. I love seeing all the different abilities they have because it was interesting seeing what they could bring to the table to be the best enchanter.

This book has some love drama in it as the two enchanters start falling in love with each other if that is something that you are into. It is an enemy to lovers' story. There is fighting in it so that would be interesting for anyone who loves it.

Jocelyn, 17

Rating:  

smiley Find at the Library

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https://library.escondido.org/the-crowns-game cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/the-crowns-game https://library.escondido.org/the-crowns-game Tue, 16 May 2023 18:36:00 GMT
FullMetal Alchemist Amazon.com: The Land of Sand (Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 1; Japanese  Edition): 9784757506206: Hiromu Arakawa, Hiromu Arakawa: Books

The book is about Edward and Alfonse Elric who are both alchemists. They work for the government and are considered guardians of the people. Their goal is to find the Philosopher's stone so they can bring back their ruined bodies and their mother.

This is probably the best manga I have read so far. I love the facial expressions and my favorite part was when Edward was freaking out over the fact that he's short. He strongly reminded me of some of my shorter friends.

I would recommend this book to really anybody. If you kind of like the magical component of Harry Potter and are into semi war stories, then this book is perfect for you.

Analise, 12

Rating:  

smiley Find at the Library

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https://library.escondido.org/fullmetal-alchemist cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/fullmetal-alchemist https://library.escondido.org/fullmetal-alchemist Thu, 04 May 2023 01:44:00 GMT
The Picture of Dorian Gray The picture of Dorian Gray

The Victorian artist, Basil Hallward, is captivated by the young and attractive "Adonis" - Dorian Gray, whom he befriends and spends much time with. Dorian poses for Basil's portrait, which later becomes famous as "The Picture of Dorian Gray". Although Basil is hesitant, Dorian meets his friend Lord Henry, who he fears will corrupt Dorian's purity and charm. After seeing his portrait, Dorian becomes obsessed with his looks and becomes increasingly self-centered, leading him to make a series of questionable choices.

Few books have moved me as much as this one has. Perhaps it's because I've been exposed to subpar literature my whole life, but I've gained a newfound appreciation for classic and fiction books (before this, I had a strong preference for non-fiction). A good story is one thing, but an author's writing style is entirely another. Oscar Wilde's writing voice is incredibly powerful; even though The Picture of Dorian Gray is heavy on dialogue, it doesn't require elaborate scene descriptions since the dialogue effectively conveys the story. I can see why Wilde was known for his wit and eloquence in his time; reading just one of his books has already had an impact on me. The preface, often overlooked, was also deeply moving, and I encourage any potential readers to read it several times to fully grasp Wilde's message. I'm not sure what motivated me to purchase The Picture of Dorian Gray, but I'm certainly grateful that I did.

In my opinion, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a truly unique story, particularly given the intolerant climate of the Victorian era in which it was written. The book conveys the author's personal beliefs in a way that is both impactful and seamlessly woven into the narrative, making it a truly remarkable read. It's a book that anyone seeking a compelling story would want to read, particularly those with an interest in Victorian London.

Zari, 15

Rating:  

smiley Find at the Library

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https://library.escondido.org/the-picture-of-dorian-gray cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/the-picture-of-dorian-gray https://library.escondido.org/the-picture-of-dorian-gray Wed, 19 Apr 2023 20:58:00 GMT
Jade City Jade city

Sets in the fictional city of Janloon, Jade City is an Asia-inspired fantasy novel revolves around the No Peak clan, an organization that is similar to the crime/mafia families, in the conflicting war with their rivalry, the Mountain Clan. It is a story of family, honor, greed, wealth, power, and loyalty.

I loved it! It was one of the best novels I have ever read. The biggest highlight for me in this book is the relationships in the family, specifically the No Peak Clan. I would compare their dynamics to the Corleone family in The Godfather, where you see how much they love the others and how important loyalty are to them. Every single character feels like they have a lot of history with each other, you will never feel bog down by their interactions. The plot is intriguing and suspenseful, there's twists and turns that will leave your mouth open, but they feel earned and not out of nowhere. There's barely any action, but when the action hits, it hits hard. Fonda Lee wrote the action scenes in the veins of martial arts films or wuxia films. The magic system, it is a fantasy novel, is unique and visually appealing but not well developed but I think the readers could understand what is going on when the magic comes in. The worldbuilding is well crafted, the atmosphere and the social aspects are inspired by Hong Kong in the 20th century and you can feel it. It was a fantastic read for me.

I highly recommend Jade City to fans of The Godfather and have interests in martial arts or Hong Kong. This is an adult fantasy novel, so there are some vulgar languages and scenes that might not appealing to you but they are a small part of the book. Also if you enjoy a good and loyal family, well-developed sibling relationships, you would devour this book.

Minh, 16

Rating:  

smiley Find at the Library

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https://library.escondido.org/jade-city cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/jade-city https://library.escondido.org/jade-city Thu, 13 Apr 2023 18:03:00 GMT
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone

The book is called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is about a boy named Harry Potter who just found out that he is a wizard. As a baby, he survived the most deadliest curse from the most dangerous wizard named Lord Voldemort. After that horrible incident, everyone saw him as their savior for defeating Lord Voldemort. When he got a little bit older, he was invited to a wizarding school called Hogwarts. Harry was able to learn how to cast spells, ride on broomsticks, and brew potions. But within the walls of Hogwarts castle, there’s a hidden secret Harry needs to uncover before Lord Voldemort rises again.

I love fantasy novels with wizards and spells, dragons and witches, curses and incantations. The book of Harry Potter includes all of its exciting adventures that involve kids and how they solve mysteries.

I recommend this book to those who love anything that has to do with fantasy, magic, mythical creatures, and a fight between good and evil. This book has an engaging story that you can't wait to know what happens next.

Katherine, 14

Rating:  

smiley Find at the Library

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https://library.escondido.org/harry-potter-and-the-sorcerers-stone cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/harry-potter-and-the-sorcerers-stone https://library.escondido.org/harry-potter-and-the-sorcerers-stone Tue, 04 Apr 2023 20:21:00 GMT
The City of Ember The city of Ember

The book is called City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau is a post-apocalyptic novel. The story is about an underground city and the citizens of which don't even know anything about the surface world or any world at all. They lived in the city for over 200 years and it is the only world that they know of that exists. Unfortunately, the city started to wear down and eventually it could be engulfed by pitch black darkness and with all of the citizens in it. But now it is up to 2 kids, Lina Mayfleet, and her friend, Doon Harrow who will lead everyone back into the light.

I prefer to read the book instead of watching the movie. How sad it is to live in a dark world which is lit up by only light bulbs and don’t even know there is a huge world above them. I loved this mystery and how the characters went through so much trouble to solve the secrets hiding within the City of Ember.

Those who love dramatic realistic fiction and a post-apocalyptic novel would find this book exciting and interesting. Bravery and friendship is the main key to success in this novel. The story flows smoothly and the feeling of anxiety of wanting to know what happens next will rise with every page of the book.

Katherine, 14

Rating:  

smiley Find at the Library

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https://library.escondido.org/the-city-of-ember cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/the-city-of-ember https://library.escondido.org/the-city-of-ember Wed, 01 Mar 2023 02:06:00 GMT
Daughter of Sparta Daughter of Sparta

This book was about 2 sisters' perspective growing up in ancient Greece, facing the hardships of living as royalty. The older sister was supposed to be the next queen, but her parents decided her sister needed to be queen to save her reputation.

I loved it! The author spends paragraphs describing the scenery making sure we can picture the setting in our heads. What I didn't like was that the perspectives hopped around.

I would recommend this book to other teenagers and young adults because of the heavy themes it also includes advanced vocabulary and knowledge of Greek mythology.

Victoria, 17

Rating:  

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https://library.escondido.org/daughter-of-sparta cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/daughter-of-sparta https://library.escondido.org/daughter-of-sparta Wed, 01 Feb 2023 23:43:00 GMT
Winter Winter

Winter is a sci-fi novel by Marissa Meyer and the fourth and final book in the "Lunar Chronicles'" series. It follows the story of Winter, the younger sister of the evil Lunar Queen, Levana, who had been kept locked away in her palace for most of her life. Along the way she escapes, and she joins Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and their allies, who are also fighting against Levana's rule.

I loved how we got to know this new character, Winter, who is the sister of the evil queen, who everyone hates because of that whole controlling the world thing, But I loved that we also got a backstory on the evil queen.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys novels with an action-packed plot, and fairytales.

Victoria, 17

Rating:  

smiley Find at the Library

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https://library.escondido.org/winter-1 cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/winter-1 https://library.escondido.org/winter-1 Wed, 01 Feb 2023 23:18:00 GMT
To Kill a Kingdom Amazon.com: To Kill a Kingdom (Hundred Kingdoms): 9781250112682: Christo,  Alexandra: Books

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo is a young adult fantasy novel about a 17-year-old mermaid princess named Lira who is known as the "Princess of the Sea of Blood" because of her ruthlessness towards human sailors. Lira is tasked by her mother, with capturing the heart of a human prince.

I somewhat like it. This book has a captivating plot that caught my attention, it had well-developed character and really lets your imagination run wild on this world the author created but while it had all that I was expecting more suspense or drama in the plot and was left disappointed on how short the book was.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves anything with mermaids and romance.

Victoria, 17

Rating: 

smiley Suggest the Library purchase this book

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https://library.escondido.org/to-kill-a-kingdom cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/to-kill-a-kingdom https://library.escondido.org/to-kill-a-kingdom Mon, 23 Jan 2023 21:28:00 GMT
Dark Tower: The Gunslinger The gunslinger

The Gunslinger is a western fantasy fiction centered on Roland Deschain. As the last gunslinger of his kind,  he went on a horror-majestic journey filled with insanity to chase his nemesis, “the man in black.” Roland meets several characters along the way, including a boy named Jake, who joins him as part of his journey.

As the first book in the Dark Tower series, I like that it sets things up for future stories, but as a self-contain story, it falls apart right from the get-go. I will start with the negatives. The plot is dull and dreadful. There are significant moments or emotional moments that stick with you. The prose is dense but confusing. King loves to describe the scenery in this book precisely, and I like it at the beginning, but then it becomes a gimmick that annoys me. Also, the antagonist is a one-dimension type of bad guy. Now on the positive side. Roland is a magnificent protagonist. He has an intriguing backstory and motivation, and his personality is wacky and exciting, but his gun skills remind me of the cowboys in western movies. His father-son-like relationship with Jake is also one of the good parts. The world-building is phenomenal. I have never seen a world like this in the fantasy genre. It is so grounded and bleak but contains crazy creatures and people that make you want to learn or study more about it.

Overall, I recommend the book to those who love western and fantasy because it is a unique take on those genres and to those who love characters like Roland because he is worth your time, even if the story is uninteresting and lacks excitement. Additionally, I am about 50 pages into the next book, The Drawing of the Three, which is a vast improvement from the first book.

Minh, 16

Rating: 

smiley Find at the library

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https://library.escondido.org/dark-tower-the-gunslinger cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/dark-tower-the-gunslinger https://library.escondido.org/dark-tower-the-gunslinger Fri, 20 Jan 2023 01:13:00 GMT
Cress Cress

Cress is a science fiction novel by Marissa Meyer and the third book in the Lunar Chronicles series. It follows the story of Cress, a young hacker who has been imprisoned by the evil Lunar Queen, Levana, on a satellite orbiting earth. Cress is forced to work for Levana and serve as her spy, but longs for freedom and the chance to join the rebellion against Levana's rule.

I thought this book was okay! I think I was really overlooking this book because I was so eager to read the last book because I knew that was when everything intertwined, and I was still left on cliffhangers with the first two books.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a thrilling and action-packed science fiction book.

Victoria, 17

Rating:  

smiley Find at the library

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https://library.escondido.org/cress cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/cress https://library.escondido.org/cress Thu, 05 Jan 2023 22:46:00 GMT
Scarlet Scarlet

Scarlet is a science fiction novel by Marissa Meyer and the second book in the Lunar Chronicles series. It follows the story of Scarlet Benoit, a young woman living in France who is searching for her missing grandmother. As she investigates her grandmother's disappearance, Scarlet is drawn into a dangerous conspiracy involving a group of rebels who are fighting against the evil lunar Queen, Levana, and her control on earth.

I love reading about a new character in each book of the series and knowing that they are in the same universe so all of this will tie in together eventually.

If you like sci-fi books and fairytales with a twist to it, then the Lunar Chronicles series is the one for you.

Victoria, 17

Rating: 

smiley Find at the library

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https://library.escondido.org/scarlet cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/scarlet https://library.escondido.org/scarlet Thu, 05 Jan 2023 22:18:00 GMT
Heir of Fire Heir of fire

In this book, Celaena is sent to a far away land where she will learn to harness and control her powers that she has tried so hard to cover up for years. As Celaena learns the depth of her power, she also realizes that she has made a lifelong friend, and together, they could become unstoppable.

This book was so good! It was really interesting to read about Celaena discovering how much power she has and how to control it. Sarah J. Maas does a really good job of writing the story and it feels like you are almost in the story! I loved this book.

I would definitely recommend this book to others! For anyone who loves a good fantasy/action series, this series is a must! I would say this series is at least for people ages 14+ because it can be intense at some parts.

Avery, 16

Rating: 

smiley Find at the library

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https://library.escondido.org/heir-of-fire cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/heir-of-fire https://library.escondido.org/heir-of-fire Mon, 03 Oct 2022 21:14:00 GMT
King's Cage King's cage

King's Cage is the third book in the Red Queen series. It continues Mare Barrow's story of how she strives for equality between people of red and silver blood. At first all seems lost for Mare because despite her attempts to break free, she is stuck in a palace full of silvers, and is being tortured. As the book continues Mare eventually escapes the palace in an unexpected battle. She and her allies strategize new ways to take down the silver blooded king in order to create a world of equality.

This book was a little more slow moving than the previous book in this series because for about half of the book Mare is captured and not many interesting things happen. However, as the book goes on, Mare grows from her time that she spent captured and is more determined than ever— which makes the book more interesting.

I would definitely recommend this whole book series to others because it has a very well written and well thought out story. If you like dramatic books with lots of action and plot twists, I recommend that you read the Red Queen series.

Avery, 16

Rating: 

smiley Find at the library

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https://library.escondido.org/kings-cage cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/kings-cage https://library.escondido.org/kings-cage Mon, 03 Oct 2022 21:04:00 GMT
Crown of Midnight Crown of midnight

This is the next book in the Thrown of Glass series. In this book, Celaena Sardothien is still trying to discover the darkness that could destroy their world. After an unspeakable tragedy, Celaena has to decide where her loyalties lay and who she really trusts in finding and defeating this darkness.

I really enjoyed reading this book! After getting hooked on the first book, I quickly read this one, and it only deepened my interest in this series. The character development in this series is amazing and I love to see how the characters grow throughout the book.

Yes, I would recommend this book to others! This series is fantasy fiction and is very intriguing! If your debating on reading this series, do it!

Avery, 16

Rating: 

smiley Find at the library

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https://library.escondido.org/crown-of-midnight cathy.janovitz@escondidolibrary.org https://library.escondido.org/crown-of-midnight https://library.escondido.org/crown-of-midnight Mon, 03 Oct 2022 19:39:00 GMT