Pasadena Public Library
Review by Nina Dinan, age 13 Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon Summary: In 1797, less than two weeks after giving birth to her second daughter, Mary Wollstonecraft died, and a remarkable life spent pushing against the boundaries of society’s expectations for […]
recap by Madison Comick, age 15 Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes Even if you’re a fan of magic and kingdoms, you may not like this story; participants at the YA Book Club this April meeting didn’t, even though 3 out of 4 of us enjoy fantasy novels. The fantasy novel […]
review by Kara Eng, age 18 Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake Summary: Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or […]
review by Kara Eng, age 18 A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas Summary: Though Feyre now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, but as she navigates the feared Night Court’s dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms–and […]
Book Club recap by McKenna Blackshire, grade 8 Summary: “In a world where disease has been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed (‘gleaned’) by professional reapers (‘scythes’). Two teens must compete with each other to become a scythe–a position neither of them wants. The one who […]
Book Club recap by Kara Eng, Grade 12 Crooked Kingdom For February, YA Book Club read Crooked Kingdom, the sequel to Six of Crows, which we read in November 2015. Previously, Six of Crows was our highest rated book, but Crooked Kingdom has now taken that spot. Many thought that Crooked […]
Review by Jacob Chon, grade 9 An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir Summary: Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. […]
recap by Angel Gomez & Genevieve Harvey Even though we live in an age where we can access information almost instantly, sometimes it’s hard to spread awareness of certain topics society views as “problems” or “controversial.” An example of this is the topic of mental illnesses, mental health, and how […]
Review by Kristina Yin, grade 11 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern The plot of The Night Circus, the debut novel of Erin Morgenstern, is extraordinarily hard to explain; particularly because it is everything happening at once. One can view it as a story of star-crossed lovers who are manipulated […]
Review by Alaina Joby, grade 9 Blood, Bullets, and Bones by Bridget Heos Interested in all things murder and mystery? Curious to know how murders are analyzed? Are murder mysteries really part of everyday life? This book is for you. Though, the concept of forensic science seems modern and complicated, […]