The House of the Scorpion

by Nancy Farmer

Reviewed by Timothy Cho

Fall 2016

REVIEW: The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

ISBN: #0689852231

THE STORY:

Matt Alacran, the clone of a powerful Mexican drug dealer, lives on the American-Mexican border with his caretaker, Celia, sometime in the near future. This time in the future is a time of relative stability, since El Patron, the man that Matt is the clone of, has controlled the drug trafficking on the US-Mexico border. Throughout the book, Matt questions his existence. One event that made him think about his origins was when his worst enemy, Tom, showed him a clone about to be killed. This made Matt think about where he was from. He asks his mentor, Tam-Lin, about this issue. Tam-Lin tells him how he was “made to exist”, and

The Screaming Staircase

by Jonathan Stroud
Reviewed by Shriyanshu Kode

The Story:

Lucy, a young girl, teams up with the Lockwood & Co. ghost hunting agency. Ever since the Problem occurred in London, there has been a need for people with a special skill called the Talent. Lucy has the special skill of listening to ghost whispers. After an ugly ending in her hometown she joins a new ghost hunting agency, Lockwood & Co., in London.

Divergent

by Veronica Roth

Reviewed by Mandy Mok

Fall 2016

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth.

ISBN number: 978-0062024039

THE STORY:

After turning sixteen, Tris, the main character had to pick a faction to go live and work in as a career. Although she came from Abnegation, she decided to transfer to Dauntless because she has always admired them. While being in their initiation process she makes many friends and finds out the truth about herself. Her best friends were Al, Christine, and Uriah. Sadly Al had to suicide due to the stress of

Lord of the Flies

By, Golding William

Reviewed by Kanav Tirumala 

Fall 2016

REVIEW: Lord of the Flies by Golding William

ISBN#: 978-0-399-50148-7

THE STORY:

A plane crashes on a tiny uninhabited island, bearing only a few boys as survivors. The main character, Ralph, is a young, naive boy with only ideals of fun and joy in his mind. Ralph finds another survivor named Piggy, and together they go around the island finding as many other survivors as they can. With a blow of his conch, all the survivors are rounded up, and they soon  realize that no adults had survived the crash. The boys establish Ralph as their leader, and they also establish that everyone is to have fun and enjoy their time away from Adults and civilization. As time goes on, however, the group of boys realizes that their survival depends on whether they can find shelter, hunt, and protect themselves from the dangers of the island including the ever feared “beast.” One particular turning point in the story was when three boys, Ralph, Roger, and Jack are sent on a mission to

Red Riding Hood

by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright

Reviewed by Antara Mallick

Fall 2016

REVIEW: Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright

ISBN#: 9780316176040

THE STORY:

Valerie, the main character, is a young, innocent girl living in the village of Daggerhorn. She falls in love with her childhood friend, Peter, who had been taken away. Peter’s father was a troubled man which led their family to be thrown out of the village. However, Valerie was forced, by her parents, to marry a wealthy man, Henry. Henry found out the Valerie and Peter were reunited, which made him envious about them. He realized that Valerie did not love Henry. He called off the engagement and became an unsupportive man after

Unlikely Warrior: The Jewish Soldier in Hitler's Army

by Suzanne Collins




Reviewed by David Tang

Fall 2016

REVIEW: Unlikely Warrior: The Jewish Soldier in Hitler’s Army by Georg Rauch

ISBN#:978-0-374-30277-1

THE STORY:

A city boy, named Georg Rauch, who has seldom seen the outside world, and has very little conviction on matters aside from what he has been told as a child. When Nazis invade Austria, he instantly becomes labeled as a “quarter-jew,” and is as a result shunned by society. However, Georg is spared from the holocaust, on the account of his german father. This does not mean that Georg is away from danger though.

Stung

by Bethany Wiggins

Reviewed by Yash Mishra

Fall 2016

REVIEW: Stung by Bethany Wiggins

ISBN#: 9780802734198

THE STORY:

Fiona Tarsis wakes up with a mark on her hand, a strange mark of an oval with ten lines dashing out of it. She looks around the house, filthy, trashed, and deserted. She then went outside, and was shocked by the change in her world. A child named Arris comes and saves her from some dogs that were chasing her. They camp out for a night in the swamp as Fiona tries to remember what had happened to her. Arris gives trades with her and gives her some guy clothes. Arris seems very sly and clever in this world, a world Fiona didn’t belong to.