Pasadena Public Library
Reviewed by Kaelin Lee, age 15 As If on Cue by Marisa Kanter Natalie has been lifelong rivals with Reid. So when the school cuts all funding for the arts, ergo cutting Natalie’s hope of directing her student-written play, she finds herself up against Reid again to allocate funding for […]
Reviewed by Jasmine Sov, age 17 Damned If You Do by Alex Brown Ever since Cordelia Scott’s abusive father left when she was ten, life has been pretty normal. Now in her senior year of high school, Cordelia has other concerns: stage managing the school play, crushing on her best […]
Reviewed by Samuel Redfearn, age 16 A Year to the Day by Robin Benway It’s been exactly a year since Leo’s sister and closest friend, Nina, died. She can’t even remember the accident. They had been driving around with Nina’s boyfriend, East. She remembers singing along to “Time After Time”, […]
This year, we held a networking event instead of our traditional levelUP Youth Leadership Conference. The levelUP Youth Leadership Lunch & Mixer aimed to provide our local youth with the opportunity to learn and connect with local leaders and peers who share similar interests and aspirations. The event consisted of […]
Welcome to Out of the Pantry. We’re making bubble tea, also known as boba milk tea. We’ll be making it from scratch. It is a very simple recipe, though it does take quite a long time because there’s a lot of wait time. My name is Jane Gov, from the […]
Reviewed by Samuel Redfearn, age 16 Milo and Marcos at the End of the World by Kevin Cristopher Snipes Milo Connelly already had a tendency to overthink before the world started collapsing around him, but ever since Marcos reappeared in his life, it appears as though God Himself has intervened […]
Reviewed by Hailey Chen, age 14 Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber Wren Greenrock is in disguise. She has trained her entire life for the sole purpose of stealing back the throne from her twin sister, who doesn’t even know she exists, to finally give both witches and […]
Reviewed by Jasmine Sov, age 16 Private Label by Kelly Yang Serene Li longs to design her own couture dresses, but she’s stuck working as an intern for her mom’s fashion brand. After her mother is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Serene’s jolted into leadership of the company, where she faces […]
Reviewed by Samuel Redfearn, age 16 Sense and Second Degree Murder by Tirzah Price The Dashwood sisters each harbor somewhat peculiar interests. Elinor, the eldest, enjoys chemistry; Marianne, slightly younger than Elinor, works alongside her father in his detective business; and Margaret, the youngest, is a budding novelist at only […]
Reviewed by Giselle Carlos, age 17 This Place is Still Beautiful by Xixi Tian Annalie and Margaret Flannagen have conflicting feelings toward their childhood home. Seventeen-year-old Annalie savors the Midwest—the small-town closeness of it all—while Margaret feels suffocated and claustrophobic. When Margaret moves to college at NYU, Annalie breathes a […]
