Here are some reviews from our local volunteer Book Reviewers.
To see our current volunteer opportunities, click here.
People Like Us by Dana Mele (2018)
Review by Stephanie - Grade 12
Genre: Fiction
Find it Digitally: Overdrive/Libby eBook, Cloud Library audiobook
Rating: 7 out of 10
REVIEW
"People Like Us" takes place at an elite boarding school, Bates Academy. The story is narrated by Kay Donovan who enrolled in the school to get a fresh start. However, her popularity and status are threatened when she and her friends discover the dead body of a fellow Bates Academy student Jessica Lane.
Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus (2019)
Review by Stephanie - Grade 12
Genre: Fiction
Find it Digitally: Overdrive/Libby eBook, Overdrive/Libby audiobook, Cloud Library audiobook
Rating: 9 out of 10
REVIEW
"Two Can Keep a Secret" follows and is narrated by two Echo Ridge High School students, Ellery and Malcom. Ellery just moved to her mother's home town of Echo Ridge with her twin brother Ezra. The twins quickly become friends with their fellow classmate, Malcom, who shares a dark connection to the town of Echo Ridge with the twins.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage (2005)
Review by Catherine- Grade 11
Genre: Nonfiction
Find it Digitally: Overdrive/Libby eBook, Overdrive/Libby audiobook, Hoopla audiobook, Cloud Library audiobook
Rating: 10 out of 10
REVIEW
As other history books become redundant with the same storylines throughout time, readers start to fall into a hole where the same information is being presented to them over and over again. However, Tom Standage’s novel, A History of the World in 6 Glasses takes a unique twist on history
Read more: A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (2005)
Review by Catherine- Grade 11
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Find it Digitally: Overdrive/Libby eBook, Overdrive/Libby audiobook, Hoopla eBook, Hoopla audiobook, Cloud Library eBook, Cloud Library audiobook
Rating: 10 out of 10
REVIEW
In literature, heavy topics such as sexual assault and abuse can be very daunting to write in a way that is approachable from an author and reader perspective. In Laurie Halse Anderson’s telling of Speak, she shares her story with sexual assault during her high school years and her experiences surrounding the incident.
Abraham Lincoln: The Man Behind the Myths by Stephen B. Oates (2009)
Review by Catherine- Grade 11
Genre: Biography
Find it Digitally: Hoopla eBook, Cloud Library eBook
Rating: 7 out of 10
REVIEW
Lincoln is a name that will go down forever in American history for his impact on the country. Even so, much of Lincoln’s life is left in the dark compared to his days in office.
Read more: Abraham Lincoln: The Man Behind the Myths by Stephen B. Oates
A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz (2008)
Review by Catherine- Grade 11
Genre: Nonfiction
Find it Digitally: Overdrive/Libby eBook, Overdrive/Libby audiobook, Cloud Library audiobook
Rating: 8 out of 10
REVIEW
While many modern-day Americans know the basic history on the foundations of this country, many events are often left unheard of and lost to history. In Tony Horwitz’s novel, A Voyage Long and Strange, the author embarks on an adventure that leads him around the country and learns of the history from early America and how history has affected these civilizations today.
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park (2010)
Review by Manpreet- Grade 11
Genre: Historical Fiction
Find it Digitally: Overdrive/Libby eBook, Overdrive/Libby audiobook, Hoopla audiobook, Cloud Library eBook, Cloud Library audiobook
Rating: 10 out of 10
REVIEW
The novel, A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park, is deserving of ten stars. This book shows hope, persistence, violence, war, love, peace, survival, hope, fear, and more. In this book, both Salva and Nya face several problems in their life, but they still decide not to give up and to be determined. Nya is a young girl who walks miles away from her village in search of water that is not even clean.
One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus (2020)
Review by Stephanie- Grade 12
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Mystery
Find it Digitally: Overdrive/Libby eBook, Overdrive/Libby audiobook, Cloud Library audiobook
Rating: 10 out of 10
REVIEW:
One of Us is Next is the sequel to "One of Us is Lying" and has just as much mystery and suspense as its predecessor. This story is told from the perspectives of three high school students: Maeve, Knox, and Phoebe. Just eighteen years after the death of Simon Kelleher and his popular gossip app, a new game has started at Bayview High School. After a game of truth or dare is started over text, everyone in Bayview wants to know who is responsible.
One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus (2017)
Review by Stephanie- Grade 12
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Mystery
Find it Digitally: Overdrive/Libby eBook, Overdrive/Libby audiobook, Cloud Library eBook, Cloud Library audiobook
Rating: 10 out of 10
REVIEW:
One of Us is Lying begins with five students entering detention, but only four make it out alive. The story revolves around one question everybody wants to know: Who killed Simon Kelleher? The story is told from the perspectives of the four main characters who were in detention with Simon and are now being accused for his murder.
Page 6 of 9