Jojo's Teen 2 Teen Book Reviews

The Help

2010-06-13T20:03:00.002-06:00

Kathryn Stockett wrote an instant best seller when she penned The Help. The Help is told from three points of view: one white woman, and two black women that work as maids in Jackson, Mississippi. Their characters are unique and have very clear personalities and voices that prove it. The Help follows the three as they unexpectedly join together in order to give a true perspective on what it is like to be a black maid in Mississippi in the 1960s. Through crazy employers, difficult mothers, lovely children, death threats and more the three women's tales hit close to home for many women during the Civil Rights Movement.

Within it's first 30 pages The Help jumped onto my top ten favorite books -- ever. Everything is real. Everything is told in truth. Everything is spectacular. The Help made me laugh out loud and will make most people cry as well. It's honesty shocked me. I had not realized how badly black women in the South were being treated within one generation of me. It is hard to describe how wonderful The Help is and everything it taught me. Please read The Help.

Of Mice and Men

2010-05-09T20:47:00.003-06:00

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a beautiful worded, deep read. I highly recommend it. Set in the Great Depression, two men (one with a disability) set out for another ranch job on what appears to be a long line of them. I can't go much farther because it would diminish the story line.

As for my review: the sentence structure and word usage should be studied by authors. (Maybe it is.) Look out for symbolism and foreshadowing while reading this. Do read this. I had to read it for school and it's one of the ones I'm grateful for.

-jojo

Lord of the Flies

2010-02-20T20:25:00.002-07:00

Lord of the Flies by William Golding was the first book I was required to read within high school. It was a great way to start because I thought all the books we were going to read would be that good (ha.) Lord of the Flies is about a bunch of boys who randomly end up on an island. There are no adults and no one seems to want to talk about what happened previously in their lives. The older boys instantly begin to strive for power. As soon as that begins though, mayhem begins as well. Power struggles, weird coincidences, and actions that no normal person would believe children would do.

Definitely read Lord of the Flies. Golding describes things wonderful and I still shiver whenever I think of certain scenes. The symbolism is incredible and it will make you question human nature. I believe that the last page would make the entire book worthy of reading even if you hated all the rest. Which you might. It's a love-hate book. As I've said I loved it overall, but there were definitely pages or chapters where I would think "no way kids would do this!" or "Golding, I don't care what the ground sounds like, I would really like to know what's happening to so and so"

Contrary to what you might've heard, there is no cannibalism.

-jojo

The Princess Diaries series

2010-02-20T20:08:00.004-07:00

Meg Cabot definitely keeps the reader captivated with her main character, Mia. In the first book Mia finds out she's a Princess and everything spirals down from there.

Mia is very real in most ways -- her thoughts, writing style, conversations, love interests, and friends, and yet she's frustratingly naive. Still, so far I've loved every book except the 3rd and 2nd to last in the series. I can't explain why because it would give away everything.

I think 8th graders and up could read these series. I say this because even though it's all very sweet and the writing isn't complex, Mia thinks a lot about boys.

-Jojo

Old Man and the Sea

2010-01-16T21:15:00.002-07:00

Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway was about an old man who goes fishes. Seeing as it's a classic, I'm thinking most of you have heard of it.

I loved the first 30 pages and the last 10. 40 out of 127 pages isn't too bad. It's a bit boring, choppy and hard to read. Hemingway does not develop his character, and the plot is thin. I wouldn't have read it if I didn't have to.

-Jo

Message (not a book)

2010-01-16T21:12:00.002-07:00

Hi guys! so sorry for not posting anything, I switched schools this year and it's been a big change so i've been focussing :) Hopefully reviews to come: Lord of the Flies, Night, Brave New World, Old Man and the Sea, Princess Diaries, Julie and Julia, and Antigone. (Yes, most of those have been school reads)

-Jo

Three Songs for Courage

2009-07-19T14:01:00.003-06:00

Three Songs for Courage by Maxine Trottier is not my favorite book. I got three chapters in and it was inappropriate and shallow. As of now I have only abandoned two books. So I'm serious about this book being bad. Don't read it. That is my advice.

Same Difference

2009-07-17T12:00:00.000-06:00

I enjoyed Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian quite a bit. It's about a girl (Emily) who goes to a summer program for art. She begins to feel unsatisfied with her life at home and changes herself. Unfortunately her "new look" is unwelcome at home and her old one is unacceptable for art classes. Emily learns about herself, her art, and who her real friends are.

Siobhan Vivian did well to make the characters realistic and 3D. I wondered through the whole book which person Emily would be and who she would choose to be her friend. I would give Same Difference an 8 and say people 13 and up could read it.

-Jojo

The Diary Of Mattie Spenser

2009-07-16T17:10:00.000-06:00

I read The Diary of Mattie Spenser by Sandra Dallas while at camp. My fellow campers were constantly telling me to put my book down and join in the conversation. I would not put it down it was just that good. Sandra Dallas really is an excellent author. Her stories are complicated webs that all connect somehow and not just in The Diary of Mattie Spenser, but throughout all her books. I also listened to Prayers For Sale (which I recommend just as much as The Diary of Mattie Spenser). There are main characters in Prayers For Sale that get mentioned in The Diary of Mattie Spenser which I thought was very cool.

The Diary of Mattie Spenser is about a girl who gets married and moves to "the Colorado territory" in 1865. Mattie deals with everything a Colorado woman can imagine dealing with, from Indians to dirty neighbors. Through Mattie's diary you get to know her and grow with her during her life on the prairie. Both Prayers for Sale and The Diary of Mattie Spenser are high school through adult books.

-Jojo

Trouble

2009-07-16T17:05:00.000-06:00

Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt was awesome. It's hard to describe, but I'll try. Trouble is about a boy who has had a very easy life until his brother gets hit by a car being driven by a Cambodian boy. Henry (the boy) tries to deal with his brother being in the hospital while a racial "war" starts at school and in the community. And thus begins the random weird paragraphs at the end of chapters that don't seem like Henry's thinking. So who is it? And what are they talking about?

Read Trouble. That's all I can really say.

-Jojo

The Crazy Man

2009-06-20T12:59:00.000-06:00

Pamela Porter (author of The Crazy Man) wrote a very sweet story. It's about a girl who hurts her leg, making her permanently crippled then on top of that her father shoots her best friend (a dog name Prince) and leaves. Emaline, the main character, is trying to heal both mind and body.

As I said earlier, it was very sweet. I think it was worth my time, but I would not read it again. Pamela Porter wrote The Crazy Man in a poem-like way and maybe I just don't appreciate poetry the way others would, but sometimes I would have to put it down just because I was sick of reading in verse. I rated The Crazy Man a 6 and I think it's readable starting in 6th grade.

-Jojo

If The Witness Lied

2009-06-19T10:21:00.000-06:00

If you like a good clean (or not so clean) mystery read If the Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney. In this book she tells the story from three different points of view each with their own unique voice and style of working things out. I couldn't put it down! It starts with the children in a broken family all in different places deciding they need to come home. They arrive just in time because their "Aunt" has decided to place the youngest, Tristan, (age 3) and supposed killer of both their parents on a TV show. The siblings come together to try and stop Tristan from yet again becoming the big news. And then it gets weird. Did Tristan really kill his father? If he didn't who did and why? Read If the Witness Lied to find out.

I say any middle schooler could read this as along as you can handle a little intensity and twisted story lines. I rated it an 8.

-Jojo

On The Bookshelf

2009-06-19T09:58:00.003-06:00

Hello!

This is not a book review, but it's the books I am planning on reading. This way you can read them then read my review and see if you agree or disagree.

Honestly I have to read murderously dull books for English (no offense to those books) so I have been reading non-complex books for teen girls. I know appreciate at a whole new level my middle school for letting me read whatever I wanted. (With reasonable limits of course)

My bookshelf:

1. Princess Forever by Meg Cabot (currently reading. 13th and last of the Princess Diaries series)

2. Antigone (Already read -- for school)

3. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (perhaps a school book I will enjoy... we shall see)

4. Dear John (after the Princess Diaries I figure I'll go for good old Sparks)

5. The Last Song

sorry for the lack of updating. Oddly you get a lot of homework in high school ;)

Grace Happens

2009-06-17T19:58:00.001-06:00

I hate to start reviews on a negative note, but on this one I'm going too, because it gets better rather than worse. As I was reading I assumed from the author's (Jan Czech's) voice that the main character, Grace, was about 11 or 12. It turns out she was actually 15 which changed the book a lot. It was odd for me to "watch" or read a 15 year old have a temper tantrum. Aside from the slight voice issues Grace Happens was a nice quick read. The story wasn't too complicated, but definitely had me wondering how it was going to pan out. I rated it a six and for anyone 5th grade and up.

The premise of Grace Happens is about a girl (Grace) who has been raised by her movie star mother, never knowing her father, never having real friends, and never living in a real home. Finally when her mom decides to go to her old home town, the secrets of both her mother and Grace's own past start coming to the surface.

-Jojo

Scrambled Eggs At Midnight

2009-06-17T19:34:00.000-06:00

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley and Heather Helper was a basic Sarah Dessen type of book. Boy and girl meet, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl live happily ever-after. Not to say that I didn't enjoy it because the voice of the characters rang true in every sentence. I don't know for sure, but I think Brad wrote the boy's view while Heather wrote the girl's, if so I think it worked out very well.

The basic story line was Cal (the girl) lives with her mom in a car and they are constantly traveling to match her mom's job. Cal wants to find a home. On the opposite side there's Eliot, the boy. He lives with his mom and dad at a "Fat Camp" his dad started. His family isn't the happiest either. As soon as Cal and Eliot meet they both want to get to know each other more. I rated it a 7 and for anyone 6th grade and up. If you want a sweet teenage love story Scrambled Eggs at Midnight is perfect.

-Jo

Readers Guide

2009-05-13T16:31:00.000-06:00

This post is not a review, just, as it says: a guide. Sometimes I'll refer to something from my english class and sometimes it's a name I've made up for a more detailed thing:

Voice- The way the author speaks through the character. If you think the author's "voice" was great, you could almost hear the character speaking to you.

On the back of the book- The summary of the book.

A Sarah Dessen book- Teenaged girl/boy romances with complicated family lives.

3D- not just words on a paper, but layered and real. Generally referring to characters. It means that they have secrets, and a life beyond the story in the book.

(I'll add more)

-Jojo

Sold

2009-05-13T16:20:00.000-06:00

Sold by Patricia McCormick was one of the best books I've read all year. The general idea is the a 13-year-old girl from the mountains in Nepal gets sold into prostitution. Saying that: it's so much more. Her voice is so different, I could honestly believe that this was a Auto-biography. It is actually fiction, but inspired by all the girls who really do get sold into prostitution. I hope this book inspires people to help stop the sex trade.

Written almost in a poem, the unique style made Sold easier to read and specially true to the book and characters. I applaud Patricia McCormick for doing all her research, making a point and all without forcing it on you or making the book too boring.

I thought it was so cool that I person from America could write with such a realistic voice. I wanted the book to keep going and going. I wanted to know what would happen to Lakshmi (the main character) and all the other ones. It really puts our troubles into perspective.

There are definitely some heavy parts in Sold and I recommend it to mature readers. The youngest I would suggest would be for end-of-year seventh graders. Once you do reach, or if you've already reached, the maturity level of Sold it's a must read.

-Jojo

Marley and Me

2009-05-08T18:26:00.000-06:00

I know many people have seen Marley and Me in theaters, but nothing compares to the wit and dry humor of Josh Grogan. There were many times I had to laugh out loud because of the ludicrous situations Marley got himself in. Josh Grogan did a fantastic job of combining the lovable aspect of the world's worst dog with family life. Don't not read this because it's sad it's worth every tear.

I recommend this to everyone when they need a laugh or a sweet story.

-J

Blue Bloods

2009-05-08T18:12:00.000-06:00

The premise of Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz is vampires, but not the Edward Cullen kind. These vampires have a whole different cycle, live in the "real" world, and are not quite invisible. This series follows just a few of the teenaged vampires in town as they battle their enemy. Unfortunately, who the enemy is, is the real problem.

I read this book after spending four days (a long time for me) on a highly disappointing book. It was a huge relief to read something that kept me so captivated I read it in one night. I recommend this to middle schoolers who enjoy a mystery with the details of a complicated love story.

-J

I Am The Cheese

2009-05-08T17:55:00.000-06:00

I Am The Cheese by Robert Cormier had me hooked by the first page. I couldn't put it down the rest of the night. The end left me with questions, but the good satisfied kind.

It's about a boy on a journey to give his father a present. I can't say much more because I'll give it away, but I promise it's a worthwhile read.

This is not the sort of book you'd want to read for a break, it'll keep you on your toes the whole way through. I recommend it to 13 and up readers who like suspense and physiological thrillers.

-J