Grief

Sofia is a 13-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. Since she was 8 years old, on select weeks, Sofia shares her favorite books with other young people her age! She is one of the most well-read youth that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!

Dear readers,

Hello and welcome to another book review! This time, I am excited to present… Two Sides to Every Murder by Danielle Valentine! This is a page-turner! I am pretty into YA mysteries right now and when I saw it, I knew I had to read it! I have also already read How to Survive Your Murder and I was super excited when I saw this book come out! I must say, I was not at all disappointed! It has many twists and turns and though I tried to figure out the murderer, I only knew a little before it ended. I must also say that this could be a nice rainy day book because it is more on the gloomy side. Additionally, there are a TON of characters which I found quite hard to keep track of (especially) for the first quarter of the book and found that it was just better if I read it all pretty much in one go. This is also a book with three perspectives which I also found aided in the storyline. Two of the points of view were people and the other one was essentially a time capsule back to when the murders happened.

Goodreads Summary

From the author of How to Survive Your Murder comes a propulsive thriller about two teens who return to the site of the famous murder case that sealed their fates. Most people’s births aren’t immortalized in a police report-but Olivia was born during the infamous Camp Lost Lake murders. Seventeen years later, Olivia’s life looks pretty perfect… until she discovers the man she calls dad is not her biological father. Now she wants answers about her bloodline, and the only place she knows to look is Camp Lost Lake. Most people don’t spend their formative years on the run with an alleged murderer-but Reagan did. In the court of public opinion, her mom was found guilty of the deaths at Camp Lost Lake, and both of them have been in hiding ever since. But Reagan believes in her mother’s innocence and is determined to clear her name. Luckily for Olivia and Reagan, Camp Lost Lake is finally reopening, providing the perfect opportunity to find answers. But someone else is dead set on keeping the past hidden, even if it means committing murder.

My Thoughts

I loved this book! It was super thrilling and I literally COULDN’T put it down! I was immediately drawn to it by the author (and cover) and am happy I was. I found it interesting that one of the perspectives was from the daughter of the camp director and that the other one was the daughter of the accused murderer. I also love that there was a perspective that took you back in time so you could gradually gather more information about the case, instead of it all being dumped on you at some point in the book. Since this was so fast paced, I would recommend this as a book to get a “non-reader” more interested in reading! I read this mostly on a sunny day which was nice but I, again, think that the atmosphere would have been better on a rainy day since it is darker, but not the night, because that would feel too spooky for me! Overall, I think this is a page-turning YA book with horror and mystery. Enjoy!

On Amazon, most of the reviewers were people buying it for people 14+. I would agree with this since it was pretty frightening in some scenes, especially the ones with the murderer! It was also a little hard to follow the characters since there are so many, and a lot of them with similar sounding names and little backstories you need to remember. Otherwise, I think if you or the person you are getting this for can handle those things, then I would let them read it!

**Thanks so much, Sofia!**

Sofia is a 13-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. Since she was 8 years old, on select weeks, Sofia shares her favorite books with other young people her age! She is one of the most well-read youth that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!

Dear readers,

Let me present to you, How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine! This is a thrilling novel with elements of mystery, horror and sci-fi. It takes us with main character Alice as she relives the horrifying night her sister was murdered. This was quite a page turner and I loved it! Valentine also recently released a new book, Two Sides to Every Murder, which I will definitely be reading in the near future!

Goodreads Summary

Alice Lawrence is the sole witness in her sister’s murder trial. And in the year since Claire’s death, Alice’s life has completely fallen apart. Her parents have gotten divorced, she’s moved into an apartment that smells like bologna, and she is being forced to face her sister’s killer and a courtroom full of people who doubt what she saw in the corn maze a year prior. Claire was an all-American girl, beautiful and bubbly, and a theater star. Alice was a nerd who dreamed of becoming a forensic pathologist and would rather stay at home to watch her favorite horror movies than party. Despite their differences, they were bonded by sisterhood and were each other’s best friends. Until Claire was taken away from her. On the first day of the murder trial, as Alice prepares to give her testimony, she is knocked out by a Sidney Prescott look-alike in the courthouse bathroom. When she wakes up, it is Halloween night a year earlier, the same day Claire was murdered. Alice has until midnight to save her sister and find the real killer before he claims another victim.

My Thoughts

Wow, was this book good! It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat! I usually don’t like to read books that have too much horror but this was great! I found the plot to be very exciting and complex, which I enjoyed. This book made me feel like I was fully immersed in the story, even jumping in my seat a little during the scarier scenes! I am so happy I stumbled upon this in the “New Books” section of my local library! It intrigued me because of the title (yes, that is usually how I decide what books I want to check out) and I’m so glad I got it. The ending was more of a cliffhanger, leaving me with questions but I like that in a book. Overall, this was a gripping novel that left me guessing until the very end. Happy reading!

On Amazon How to Survive Your Murder is recommended for ages 14+ and I agree with this. Some things to be warned about are murder, some descriptive scenes and horror.

**Thanks so much, Sofia!**

Sofia is a 13-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. Since she was 8 years old, on select Saturdays, Sofia shares her favorite books with other young people her age! She is one of the most well-read youth that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!

Dear readers,

Hello and welcome to another book review. This time I will be reviewing a graphic novel which is unusual for me since I usually don’t read them. So please welcome… The Cool Code by Deirdre Langeland and illustrated by Sarah Mai! This is a really entertaining book with, in my opinion, captivating graphics! It is about a new kid at school, Zoey, trying to fit in so she codes an app to help her. The book is funny and has STEM topics.

Goodreads Summary

In this funny and heartfelt slice-of-life graphic novel for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Kayla Miller, when coding whiz Zoey goes from homeschooled to new school, she develops an app to help her make friends. Will the Cool Code help Zoey fit in? Or will it completely crash her social life? In an attempt to fit in, Zoey develops an app called the Cool Code with a cute llama avatar that will tell her everything from what to say to what to wear based on pop culture algorithms she’s uploaded. But when the app gives her ridiculous advice, awkwardness and hilarity ensues. With a few upgrades and a bit of debugging from the coding club, the app actually works-Zoey gets really popular… and gets her pulled in all kinds of directions, including away from her real friends. Life’s most complicated choices… is there a code for that?

My Thoughts

I loved the plot and thought that the coding app was really cool. I also loved the way it ended. The ending felt perfect. Additionally, I love that it is about a previously homeschooled girl who, with the help of her self coded app, tries to fit into 8th grade. It highlights how hard it is to fit into a new school, especially if you’ve never been to one before. It was a surprise to see what kids go through when they move somewhere new. Overall I think it was a really nice book that had a cool lesson, while including STEM topics and being funny. Right after I read this, I read the sequel, The Cool Code 2.0 : The Switch Glitch and it was also very fun! If you enjoyed the first book, then you should check out the second. Happy reading!

On Amazon, The Cool Code is recommended for kids aged 8-12. I mostly agree with this rating though I think it could also be interesting for teenagers up to fifteen. Especially those that are drawn to graphic novels. Some of the topics mentioned are coding, AI, making friends, and whether it is even important to be cool.

**Thanks so much, Sofia!**

Sofia is a 13-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. Since she was 8 years old, on select Saturdays, Sofia shares her favorite books with other young people her age! She is one of the most well-read youth that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!

Dear readers,

Hello and let me introduce you to Five Survive by Holly Jackson! I love this thriller that takes place in the middle of nowhere and think it would actually make for a nice rainy day or snowy day read. I read Five Survive with my mom in our book club and we both loved it! The fact that every chapter ends in a cliff hanger made us want to keep going! Since this book is so suspenseful, I also think it would be a good pick to get a reluctant reader hooked on books!

Goodreads Summary

Eight hours. Six friends. One sniper… Eighteen year old Red and her friends are on a road trip in an RV, heading to the beach for Spring Break. It’s a long drive but spirits are high. Until the RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere. There’s no mobile phone reception and nobody around to help. And as the wheels are shot out, one by one, the friends realise that this is no accident. There’s a sniper out there in the dark watching them and he knows exactly who they are. One of the group has a secret that the sniper is willing to kill for. A game of cat-and-mouse plays out as the group desperately tries to get help and to work out which member of the group is the target. Buried secrets are forced to light in the cramped, claustrophobic setting of the RV, and tensions within the group will reach deadly levels. Not everyone will survive the night.

My Thoughts

This is a truly amazing thriller! I feel like this would be more of a winter book than a summer book, so if you are looking for a book with “summer vibes”, this might not be it for you! Otherwise, this book is truly fantastic! I love Holly Jackson’s work, especially the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series. I feel like it keeps you on the edge of your seat and fully immerses you into the book. For example, I was definitely holding my breath in multiple of the life threatening situations in Five Survive! My mom said that she liked “learning more about the characters, their relationships, and backstories.” We also always wondered who the sniper could be after. Questions like this led us to have really in-depth conversations, sharing our different perspectives and theories. We didn’t see the ending coming!

Five Survive is recommended for ages 14-17 and I mostly agree. I think that most adults would enjoy this (my mom did!) so almost any age can read it. As for the minimum age, I think it is fine to read for anyone who can handle murder, drugs, and guns/shooting. It is quite thrilling and a little scary.

**Thanks so much, Sofia!**

Sofia is a 13-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. Since she was 8 years old, on select Saturdays, Sofia shares her favorite books with other young people her age! She is one of the most well-read youth that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!

Dear readers,

Hello and welcome to my book review! The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling was a surprisingly good read for me! It is a book in verse which I am usually not very interested in but The Canyon’s Edge really hooked me! When I picked this book up from the library, I didn’t even know it was in verse and I only picked it up because it was on the Nutmeg Award (a book award that is given to a few kids books each year in Connecticut) shelf and I recognized the author. Since reading it, The Canyon’s Edge has made me think differently about my life and how lucky I am to have things that I often take for granted. This book is emotionally heavy so even though, in theory it is a short read, I found myself taking a second to process all of my feelings after every page.

Goodreads Summary

A novel in verse about a young girl’s struggle for survival after a climbing trip with her father goes terribly wrong. One year after a random shooting changed their family forever, Nora and her father are exploring a slot canyon deep in the Arizona desert, hoping it will help them find peace. Nora longs for things to go back to normal, like they were when her mother was still alive, while her father keeps them isolated in fear of other people. But when they reach the bottom of the canyon, the unthinkable happens: A flash flood rips across their path, sweeping away Nora’s father and all of their supplies. Suddenly, Nora finds herself lost and alone in the desert, facing dehydration, venomous scorpions, deadly snakes, and, worst of all, the Beast who has terrorized her dreams for the past year. If Nora is going to save herself and her father, she must conquer her fears, defeat the Beast, and find the courage to live her new life.

My Thoughts

This book has now found a very special place in my heart. I usually don’t read such emotional books, mainly because I find them boring, but that was not the case here! This book was pulling at my heartstrings while having me on the edge of my seat! The Canyon’s Edge has made me grateful for things that I didn’t think about before and opened my eyes even more to the tragedies in the world around me. This book was a nice break from reading mystery/thriller books and it was still exciting! I highly recommend it and think it is an essential read! Enjoy!

The recommended age on Amazon to read this book is 8-12 but I feel like it is more suitable for anybody over 10. This is because of the difficult topics and because I find it will be interesting for adults as well. Some sensitive topics included in this book are PTSD, gun violence, death/loss of a loved one, and flash floods.

**Thanks so much, Sofia!**

Sofia is a 13-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. Since she was 8 years old, on select Saturdays, Sofia shares her favorite books with other young people her age! She is one of the most well-read youth that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!

Dear readers,
Hello and welcome to a deadly competition on a plane, Thin Air by Kellie M. Parker! This captivating thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time you are reading! Just make sure you don’t read this while on a plane because like I mentioned earlier, the killer could be anywhere on the plane! I am currently enjoying thrillers quite a bit, and this is probably one of my favorites so far!

Goodreads Summary

Eight hours. Twelve contestants. A flight none of them might survive. A flight to Paris full of teenagers seeking opportunity turns deadly in this suspenseful, locked-door YA thriller. Perfect for fans of Diana Urban, Karen McManus, and Jessica Goodman. Seventeen-year-old boarding school student Emily Walters is selected for an opportunity of a lifetime—she’ll compete abroad for a cash prize that will cover not only tuition to the college of her choice, but will lift her mother and her out of poverty. But almost from the moment she and 11 other contestants board a private jet to Europe, Emily realizes somebody is willing to do anything to win. Between keeping an eye on her best friend’s flirty boyfriend and hiding her own dark secrets, she’s not sure how she’ll survive the contest, much less the flight. Especially when people start dying… As loyalties shift and secrets are revealed, Emily must figure out who to trust, and who’s trying to kill them all, before she becomes the next victim.

My Thoughts
There are many reasons why I enjoyed this book including just being into thrillers right now and the plot. I liked how each of the characters had their own complex backstory and even though it might be hard to follow at the beginning, each person ends up having a “defining trait” which makes them easier to tell apart. Another reason I really enjoyed this book was because there weren’t a lot of gory details. I like it when I can know when a person is dead and maybe how they died but I don’t like when they talk about tons of little details about the death. Overall, I think this is definitely an underrated YA thriller that more people should check out!

For the age rating, Amazon rates it for ages 12-17 and I agree even though I think most adults would like this too. Some trigger warnings for this book are that a couple of people die via murder and that there is blood.

**Thanks so much, Sofia!**