Ready Player One

by Ernest Cline

Reviewed by Akshat Garg

REVIEW: READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline

ISBN#: 97080404190145

THE STORY:

Wade is introduced as a poor 18-year-old kid, living in a dystopian world filled with overpopulation, poverty, and drugs. The only escape from a crumbling reality is a computer simulation software called the OASIS, which is accessible to everyone. He goes to school on a free planet, Ludus, where years ago he met his best and lifelong friend, Aech. When Wade was young, the owner of the OASIS, James D. Halliday, died and left his entire fortune,

The House of the Scorpion

by Nancy Farmer

Reviewed by Anshika Yetchina

Fall 2021

REVIEW: The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
ISBN#: 978-0-689-85222-0
REVIEWED BY: Anshika Yetchina


SUMMARY:
Matteo Alacran was conceptualized in a glass plate, and birthed by a cow. He isn’t boy or machine, but he still is scorned on all the same. A clone of the twisted but great El Patron, Matt was raised in the Big House, in the intersection of the United States and what used to be Mexico, by a servant named Celia and branded with “Property of the Alacran Estate" on his foot.

Ready Player One

by Ernest Cline

Reviewed by Harvy Chang

Fall 2021

REVIEW: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

ISBN#: 978-0-307-88743-6

THE STORY:

Wade Watts, a young man, lives with his aunt in the mid-southern United States in the mid-2040s. In this time period, Earth is trashed, and people turn to the OASIS, a massive multiplayer metaverse, for an escape from the Earth. After the death of James Halliday, the creator of the OASIS, Wade is dedicated to finding the easter egg Halliday hid deep inside the metaverse before his death. Wade starts the search for the Copper Key, the first of six steps to finding the egg.

To Kill a Mockingbird

by: Harper Lee

reviewed by: Ameya Joshi                                            

REVIEW: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee           

ISBN#: 9780061743528

THE STORY:

In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the feelings of the Civil Acts Movement are portrayed  through the eyes of a girl named Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, who has witnessed a story unravel in her hometown. The story begins in the early 1950’s in the town of Maycomb County, Alabama. The main character, nicknamed “Scout” or Jean Louise Finch, has a dad named Atticus Finch who is a reserved man and a lawyer.

The Cellar

by Natasha Preston

Reviewed by Aaron Jew

Fall 2016

REVIEW: The Cellar by Natasha Preston

ISBN#: 1492600970

THE STORY:

Summer Robinson, a teenage girl, lives with her mother, father, and her younger brother named Henry. Her boyfriend, Lewis, comes over to Summer’s house often and they like to go to parties. However, one night, Lewis and Summer leave to go to a party at Summer’s friend's house. When they arrive at the house, Summer decides to go look for something and chooses to check the woods. All of a sudden, a big, tall man, later to

The Name of The Star

by Maureen Johnson

Reviewed by Aayushi Jain

Fall 2016

REVIEW: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

ISBN#: 0142422053

THE STORY:

Rory Deveaux is a teenager from Louisiana who has only recently started school at the Wexford Academy in London for her final year of high school. On edge because of the recent return of somebody resembling the “Jack the Ripper” killer from a century ago, Rory is unsettled by the several murders taking place around her school and in the city. On the day of yet another murder, this time one that took place on the school’s campus itself, Rory comes across a man who she soon assumes to be the killer. After spending days with the police,

If I Stay

By Gayle Forman

Reviewed by Julia Wang

THE STORY:

Mia, a girl with a great family lives a very happy life. That was until one day when she looses it all. On a snowy day, Mia, her father, mother, and brother, Teddy, had the day off. With nothing to do, the family chooses to go on a road trip. The morning of that day starts out fine, but the loving family did not know of their tragic fate as they went into the car. As they were driving peacefully along

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

The Lost World

By Arthur Conan Doyle

Reviewed by Ahana Bandyopadhyay

Fall 2016

REVIEW: The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle

THE STORY:

Edward Malone, a reporter from the Daily Gazette, is sent to interview an interesting, yet cranky man named Professor Challenger, who has gained lots of fame for his claims about his recent journey to South America. Edward tries to gain information from the man by pretending to have an honest interest in the professor’s claims, but is soon discovered and thrown into the streets by Professor Challenger’s workers. The professor

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.