CHS Library Booktalk Blog

Bottled up by Jaye Murray is a realistic teen fiction. This book is about a 15 year old boy named Pip downs who has problems at school and drug problem. The principal at Pips high school gives him a choice to go to all his classes and to go to counseling or he will call his father and he will be expelled.

I think this book was great. If I had to rate this book 1 out of 10, I would give it a 9 because the detail was realistic, the story made sense and it was just great. So I would definitely recommend this book.

Reviewed by JM (Boyer)

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a tough, tender, and funny story about a high school student, Melinda Sordino, who busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Before that happened, Melinda was a sweet, popular teen but when high school starts more than her attitude and personality changes, also her voice. After discovering that people she doesn’t even know hate her, she feels like the safest place to be is inside her own head. She just wants to be alone but even that doesn’t help because there’s something that she’s trying not to think about, something that happened the night of the party. And not speaking doesn’t solve anything.

I believe the reason why I liked Speak so much was because of the humor that the author used just to lighten up the serious and depressing parts. I also believe the book really inspires young readers; it not only inspires them to read more books but inspires them in many others ways as well. Though I’ve only read one book by Laurie Halse Anderson, I am now interested in reading other by her. I give Speak a 10 out of 10.Reviewed by, Shardae H (Boyer)

A Child Called It is the first in a series of four books. It is about a boy name David who is abused by his alcoholic mother. David struggles with many hardships throughout his abusive childhood, but he eventually learns how to take care of himself because nobody else will.

I definitely thought this book was the best I have read and I rate it a 10 and recommend for anyone to read A Child Called It even perhaps more than once.

Reviewed by Kayla B (Boyer)

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick is a fiction book about friendship. This book is about two boys that are both out of the ordinary. Freak and Max are in 8th grade. Max is unusually tall and Freak is very small because he has a disease called Morquio Syndrome. Through out the story Freak and Max become close friends, and learn that you can be different and still have things in common with other people.

On a scale from 1 to 10 I give this book an 8 because I have read better books, but I found this book interesting. I also thought this book makes a good point which is that even though you are different you can still have friends.

Reviewed by Samantha S. (Boyer)

Life in Prison by Stanley “Tookie” Williams

My book is about a man who starts the Crips and Bloods. He also killed 4 people and he went to prison. He has been living on death row since 1981. Tookie has dedicated his life to ending gang warfare. Here is a look at prison from the inside out. He tries to educate people about gangs and gang violence through his books and internet education programs.

I rate this book a 10. I really like it!! I like learning about prisons. I recommend it to others who have an interest in prison or gangs. This book inspired me to work in a correctional facility.

Reviewed by Antinazia V. (Mrs.Boyer).

“Hatchet” is a story about a boy named Brian who gets in a plane crash and ends up stranded in the woods. It is about Brian trying to survive with only a hatchet. Find out if he survives or not.

I would recommend it, because it was a good book and it was well put together. I liked the whole idea of the story.

Reviewed by Matt D. (Boyer)

Eragon, by Christopher Paolini is a fantasy fiction book about a farm boy who goes hunting in the mountains where he finds a stone. The stone turns out to be a dragon egg, which turns his farm life into an adventure about magic and dragons.

If you are looking for a great book, I recommend Eragon. I’m sure you’ll like this story because of its action and storyline. It was a really great book; I rate it nine out of ten, but I warn you the movie can’t compare to the book.

Reviewed by Trevor H (Boyer)

This book tells about the true story of an eight year old girl who loses her mother in a devastating trailer fire. Jerri is then sent to live with her step-father’s parents who neglect and abuse Jerri and her siblings. Jerri refuses to believe that her mother is really dead so she writes her mother letters telling her about her life experiences which her mother never gets the chance to read.

I though this book was really good. I like auto-biographies and stories based on true events. If you like the series A Child Called It, I would definitely suggest checking out his book.

Reviewed by: Mary (Boyer)

This book is mainly about a little girl in foster care that was stolen back by her biological mother and sold for heroin. As she gets older she joins a band and it turns out that she’s an amazing singer. Unfortunately, she ends up going on the road with her band and find out that she has followed in her mothers footsteps.I loved this book… I’m the type of person that never reads! I couldn’t put this book down… but it is more of a chick book…if you like books about teen drugs, pregnancy and abandonment, TRY IT!!!
Reviewed by: Chelsea J (Boyer)

The story Hero by S.L. Rottman is realistic fiction. It’s about a 15 year old kid named Sean. He has problems with his mom and he’s in trouble at school. Sean has to go to court because he has been in too many fights at school. At court Sean is sentenced to work at a farm where he learns he’s not the only one with problems. Read the book to see how Sean deals with things to make his life better.

I would recommend this book to any kid who has family problems. I liked the author’s message that even if a kid looks or acts like they don’t have problems, they might have them.

Reviewed by Andrew G.(Boyer)

Point Blank is about a boy who finds out his parents died in a car crash. His name is Alex Rider and he is fourteen years old. When his uncle dies he has to live with a maid that worked for his uncle. He joins an agency called the MI6. He becomes a spy that is sent on missions to find out who killed his uncle.

I thought this book was O.K, but I have read other books in this series and this is not one of the best ones. I would rate this book a 6/10. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes spy and action books, or to those who enjoy the Alex Rider series.

Reviewed by Travis A. (Boyer)

Maximum Ride: Schools out Forever, a series by James Patterson, is full of adventure. This book’s about how six kids are morphed into across between a bird and a person. Now the leader Max has to take care of them. Since they have no family or home they try to search for their parents and sleep wherever they can, but since one got hurt they have to try to live a normal life by going to school and hiding their wings for a while until they’re back saving the world and on the search for their parents.

At first I thought this story was not that exciting, but around the middle of the book it got really interesting. I would rate Maximum Ride, a 10/10 because it turned out to be an amazing book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes adventure throughout the whole book.

Reviewed by Cherine (Boyer)

This book is about Michael Jordan, the greatest player in basketball history. It tells about how hard he trained when he was a little boy and how committed he was to becoming a great athlete. When he became a all-star in the NBA he was know, to be the best player in basketball. The story also talks about his retirement and how his dad had a big impact on his life.

If you are looking for a great basketball book, Michael Jordan, by Sean Adams, is the book. I recommend this book, because I can relate to what he was trying to do when he was young. I give it 8 out of 10.

Reveiwed by KM (Boyer)

True Notebooks by Mark Salzman is a non- fictional book. Mark, a former college English teacher goes into juvenile hall to teach a class of boys that have committed big crimes. He ends up really close to the boys that he is teaching. Through their writing you learn how the boys feel about their mistakes.

I rate this book a 10 out of 10 because it was really good to read about how the boys felt about their crimes, their past, and their future. This book has inspired me to work in the juvenile system to help these types of boys.

Reveiwed by Brittany Summers (Boyer)

The book Someone to Love Me by Anne Schraff is about a girl named Cindy Gibson. Her mom isn’t really there. She doesn’t have anyone to talk to but her best friend Jamee and an old lady that lives close by. Cindy doesn’t really feel loved by anyone until she meets this guy named Bobby Wallace. They start going out and he’s really nice at first, but then things begin to change.

I liked this book and I give it an 8 out of 10. I related to the problems in this book and I think that other teens will relate to them too.
Reveiwed by Nicole ( Boyer )

The book Holes is a fiction book by Louis Sachar. It explains the story of Stanley Yelnats and how he gets sent to Camp Green Lake. Stanley is a good kid, but one day he gets arrested for something he didn’t do and he gets sentenced to go to Camp Green Lake. There he meets he meets new friends and he has to endure the blistering heat while he digs holes, and the crazy dean of the Camp.

Although Holes wasn’t my favorite book, I did learn something important as I read the book. The story taught me about hard work. I would recommend it to others if they like books about people never giving up. I would rate it a 7 out of 10.

Reviewed by JRM (Boyer)

Michael Jordan by Matt Christopher is a biography. This book is about a legend in basketball. The story takes the reader from his childhood to his career in the pros where he broke world records and won awards and championships.

I thought this book was good. It had a lot of great detail from his past to his future. I rated this book an 8 out of 10. I recommend this book to people who like basketball and Michael Jordan.

Reviewed by Brian W. (Boyer)

The book Eragon takes place in amazing world, Alagaesia. A farm boy, Eragon, found a blue magic stone that was a dragon egg. The young boy became a dragon rider. He became an opponent of the king Galbatorix. And the other characters, the Elf and Dragon, also show up in the book and they help him keep safely from the king.

I give this book a rating of 7 out of 10. It is pretty interesting to read about a new world, Alagaesia. The reader can visualize the imaginary world, but this book is very long and sometimes it is kind of tedious.

Reviewd by M.K. ( Mrs. Boyer )

The Lost Boy explains the story of a child named Dave who is in foster care because he was abused by his mother. This is the second story of the trilogy by Dave Pelzer. He gets put in foster care, going from foster home to foster home, meeting new people and losing old memories. He is in foster care from 3rd grade to the age of 18 in this book. In this story you’ll get to read about what his life is like in foster care and you’ll also learn how he got through it.

I would recommend this book to other readers if they would like to learn about how life is for foster children. I would rate this book 10 out of 10 because as I was reading this book it really touched my heart and I learned a lot.

Reviewed by Cynthia R. (Sue Boyer)

This book She Said, “Yes” by Misty Bernall tells the story of Cassie Bernall who attended Columbine High School during the Columbine shooting. She went from being a devoted Christian to a troubled teen and back again. This story tells about her life, struggles, faith and death.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. I rated this book a 9 out of 10. I would recommend this book to every teenager because teenagers should know to stand up for what they believe in.

Reviewed by Janae H. (Boyer)