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Book Reviews

Frankenstein

Penguin Classics: New York, 2003; originally published in 1818. Before I begin this review, I want you to think of everything you think you know about Frankenstein. What comes to mind even when I think of Frankenstein is the classic depiction from the old horror movies. The insane doctor with a German accent screaming, “It’s […]

A Little Princess

Harper Classics: New York, 1998; originally published in 1905. I consider myself privileged. I have a wonderful family, live in a big house in the suburbs, and I go to a highly-ranked school. My family really cares about me. I have a great life with wonderful opportunities and perform well in school and in the […]

A Little Princess

Harper Classics: New York, 1998;originally published in 1905. What does a person really need in order to be happy? If you were to lose every tangible thing which gives you joy now, what intangible things would make life still worth living? The novel A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett answers these two questions from […]

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Harper Perennial: New York, 2018;originally published in 1943. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is the story of a Brooklyn girl with Irish ancestors who grows up at the beginning of the 20th century with all the hardships that come from not having enough money in the house, a drunkard for a father, […]

Boy: Tales of Childhood

Puff in: New York, 2016; originally published in 1984. My mother always told me tales from her childhood. Most were happy stories that made me laugh. Others were sad and made me worry about her. Sometimes she told me stories about her own mother, my Yiayia, who had an even harder childhood, raised in a […]

Number the Stars

HMH Books for Young Readers: New York, 2011; originally published in 1989. Number the Stars is about Annemarie Johansen, a Christian girl living in Denmark during World War II. She is best friends with Ellen Rosen, a Jewish girl. When the Nazis decide to “relocate” Denmark’s Jews, Annemarie and her family hide Ellen to keep […]

The Book Thief

Knopf Books for Young Readers: New York, 2016; originally published in 2005. A snow-clad cemetery in Germany, a few months before World War II. A girl cannot believe her brother has just died, as she and her mother witness the burial. A black book drops to the snow without the owner’s knowledge. The girl picks […]

The Hobbit

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012; $14.99 “In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.” J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, published in 1937, is a timeless tale of adventure worth reading over and over again. If you manage to pull open the green door that guards the cozy home inside, […]

Uprising

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix; Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers: New York, 2011; $11.99 Uprising. One word, but somehow this meager collection of letters presents readers with strong, vivid emotions. Some when confronted with this word would mentally tremble in fright. Some might feel a sense of rebellion brewing inside them. Others would, […]

The War That Saved My Life

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Dial Books for Young Readers: New York, 2015; $11.89 When I sat down to read the book The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, I thought it was a crummy book. But the more I got into the book, the more I […]

The Children of Exile

The Children of Exile By Margaret Peterson Haddix; Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers: New York, 2015; $17.99 Have you ever had a hard decision deciding between two books to read? I started in the bookstore holding two precious books. My mother’s eyes stared down at me expectantly, wanting me to just pick a […]