Review Roundup: 8/13/10

Enjoy the dog days of summer with these great reads reviewed by our teen book reviewers!

Title of Book: Scarlett Letter
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Name of Reviewer: Stephanie
Description: Set in Puritan New England, Hester Prynne, a proud, understanding woman, has an illegitimate child and is forced to wear a scarlet A signaling that she is an Adulteress. Her husband witnesses her public shame after two years of separation and is consumed with the idea of revenge against Hester and her lover. Because Hester refuses to name her lover, her husband pretends to be a doctor for the extremely loved minister Dimmesdale while in the search of Hester’s true lover. The novel, published in 1850, has a different vernacular than the one used present day. Hawthorne writes in a rambling fashion and puts emphasis on emotions and scenery. I would recommend this novel. It has a lot of intrigue and teaches the readers of how Puritan New England society ran in terms of moral. Emotions, pride, and reputations are constantly put at risk and the novel is overall enjoyable.
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Title of Book: Treasure Island
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Name of Reviewer: Bisma
Description: This epic classic tells the story of a young boy named Jim Hawkins who goes on a treasure hunt overseas when he finds a treasure map in his parents’ inn. His yearning for adventure sets him aboard the Hispaniola toward Treasure Island. However, all goes well until Jim eavesdrops in on a secret conversation on the ship. While hiding in an apple barrel, he hears the cook, Long John Silver – aka the one-legged pirate, talk to some of the men on crew about teaming up with him and stealing the treasure for themselves. Now it’s up to Jim to see if he can warn the other people on board about Silver’s plan and to save his life.
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Title of Book:- The Ultimate Gift
Author:- Jim Stovall
Name of Reviewer:- Nidhi Thaker
Description:- This a novel which has made me to understand the gifts in my life. This is about Jason Stevens who is greedy on knowing that his uncle Red died and now he would get the massive fortune of his. Along with Jason his other relatives are also greedy.
One by one Red's beneficiaries receive their portions of the multi-billion estate but when its Jason's turn to collect his inheritance, he finds that their is something completely different in his fate. Further, the story continues with Jason's year long journey to get his inheritance and see what ultimate gift he gets out of this. This is a novel of about 154 pages which would captivate the hearts of young and old.
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Title of Book: A Separate Peace
Author: John Knowles
Name of Reviewer: Stephanie
Description: A Separate Peace is a coming of age novel about Gene and his stay at Devon’s prep school. It starts in the summer of 1942, in the middle of WWII, in a carefree atmosphere. Gene and his classmates have a year before they are drafted into the war, which provides them with a mixture of excitement and fear. Gene begins to harvest a jealously towards his best friend, Finny, who is impulsive, humble, and the best at sports at Devon. The carefree atmosphere is quickly disrupted as one of them has an accident and the summer session at Devon comes to a close. The novel is similar to Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye with its focus on teenagers and their small revelations of the world, but in my opinion, is much better. There is fantastic use of imagery and foreshadowing and the opening is written wonderfully. Gene is a likable character and thinks rationally and intelligently while often being the victim of common teenage troubles like jealously and fear. The book ends darkly and shockingly. The book was an overall enjoyable experience and deserves more acclaim than it is currently given.
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Title of Book: The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
Name of Reviewer: Vlad
Description: Ever wondered what a perfect world would be like? No war, poverty, racism, fear, and global warming? Jonas lives in a perfect world that takes place in the future. In this world, no one is different. Everyone is the same. Nobody can make a mistake since it would cause conflict. So that person would have to be released. To be released is the worst possible thing that can happen to you. When you are released you go to Elsewhere. Trust me once you pick up this book, you will not want to put it down.
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Title: Dark Visions
Author: L.J. Smith
Name of Reviewer: Vanessa
Description: A girl named Kaitlyn finds out that she has a very special psychic gift. A woman named Joyce comes to her school and encourages her to go to a school in California called Zetes Institute to study Kait and a few other people who have gifts like Kait. Their names are Anna, Lewis, Rob, and Gabriel. While trying to figure out what Mr. Zetes is he planning to do with their powers, which are evil, the group gets caught in a psychic link that threatens their sanity and lives. Continuing their journey to stop Mr. Zetes and his Institute, Kaitlyn is torn between Rob and Gabriel, not knowing which to love. This book has three parts to it and is enormous being 731 pages that swiftly fly by.