Pasadena Public Library
Review by Jasmine Sov, 13 Brightly Burning Edited by Alexa Donne Alexa Donne’s reimagined future space version of the popular classic Jane Eyre, Brightly Burning, follows the story of Stella Ainsley, a teenage orphan living in poverty and working an engineering job aboard the Stalwart. But when she relocates to the […]
Review by Nina Dinan, 15 Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America Edited by Ibi Zoboi This collection of short stories examines the many dimensions of African American experiences through the eyes of multiple young protagonists. Different writers give voice to each story, and their plot lines are […]
Review by Nina Dinan, 15 Always Smile: Carley Allison’s Secrets for Laughing, Loving and Living by Alice Kuipers In early 2013, Carley Allison, a Canadian figure skater and singer-songwriter, was diagnosed with an extremely rare cancer in her trachea. Instead of being dismayed by the diagnosis, she chose to use her experience […]
Review by Kira Toal, 17 Lovely War By Julie Berry “Lovely War” by Julie Berry is a historical fiction romance novel set at the height of World War I and (here’s the interesting part:) narrated by Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. It features two main couples: Hazel and James, a talented young […]
Review by Jasmine Sov, 13 Twice Dead By Caitlin Seal “Twice Dead”, a story by Caitlin Seal set in the fictional land of Belavine City, is about a girl named Naya who meets her untimely death within the first chapter while on a trading mission for her merchant father. However, she’s not […]
Review by Jasmine Sov, 13 Lovely, Dark, and Deep By Justina Chen Lovely, Dark, and Deep is the tale of Viola Wynne Li, a girl who’s hosted bake sales for about a thousand different causes. With two best friends and ambitions for becoming a foreign correspondent, life couldn’t be better. But when […]
review by Jacob Chon, age 16 Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich with Steve Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul It is every teenager’s dream to be popular; but, it’s every teenager’s nightmare for it to unravel. Evan only knew Connor a bit before he killed himself, but because of a small brush […]
review by Nina Dinan, age 15 Jazz Owls: A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots by Margarita Engle This gripping verse novel, written by Young People’s Poet Laureate Margarita Engle, tells the story of a Mexican-American family living in Los Angeles during the Zoot Suit Riots. Marisela and Lorena are sisters, laboring daily […]
review by John Chon, age 16 Moonrise by Sarah Crossan Moonrise, by Sarah Crossan, is a very gripping and depressing novel about a boy who grows up under the shadow of his older brother. Joe Moon is seventeen years old with a brother, Ed, convicted of murder. Joe comes to the small Texan […]
review by Jacob Chon, age 16 Dive Smack by Demetra Brodsky Like every high school student looking for a good college, Theo Mackey has his gimmick that will hopefully make him stand out. As the captain of his school’s well-respected dive team, he hopes that his athletic status will help him get recruited […]