Tag Archives: Sofie K. ’20

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Nemesis (review by Sofie K ’20)

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Nemesis (Project Nemesis, #1)Nemesis by Brendan Reichs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Every two years, Min dies.

It’s always the same man, time and time again. He appears sometime on her birthday, kills her, then she wakes up the next day as if nothing happened. She doesn’t know why, or what Noah, subjectively the town’s most attractive (and rich) boy, has to do with it, but it happens. On top of it all, a giant asteroid called the Anvil is threatening to destroy Earth… in like a week.

I really wanted to like this book. I hadn’t seen this premise too often before in books, so it seemed that it would live up to the hype. But it just didn’t make sense. The twists came out of nowhere (they were barely hinted at), so they felt super jarring, and the storyline with the asteroid seemed really separated from the plot. When Reichs tried to tie it all together at the end, it just felt really forced. It’s overall not a terrible plot, it just seemed disappointing compared to what it could have been.

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Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust (review by Sofie K. ’20)

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Girls Made of Snow and GlassGirls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“If they love you for anything, it will be for your beauty.”

One kingdom, completely immersed in ice, the cruel outcome of an age-old curse. Two stories intertwined, each pivotal to the other. In one: a girl from the outside comes to power beside a widowed king, her glass heart colder than the eternal winter around her. In the other: a girl born and raised within the castle’s walls, created out of snow in the image of the late queen. Her only maternal influence has been her outspoken yet stoic stepmother.

And only one can be queen.

But Lynet doesn’t want the crown. Far from it, actually. She simply wants to find her own path instead of turning into the queen her father wants her to be. Besides, why would she want to take the crown away from Mina, who so desperately wants to rule over the warm, curse-free South she was raised in? Mina has everything: looks, power, composure. She makes a much better queen than the little girl who spends her free time climbing trees and stalking the new surgeon.

But life is never that simple, is it?

Girls Made of Snow and Glass takes the classic tale of Snow White and spins it in a completely new direction. For one, there are no dwarves, and Bashardoust gives Snow White–usually portrayed as a helpless child–a sense of empowerment that princesses in old fairy tales just weren’t given. It’s a fast-paced, emotional journey of self-reflection and learning what it truly means to love. – Sophie K. ’20

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Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (review by Sofie K. ’20)

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Long Way DownLong Way Down by Jason Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“People always love people more when they’re dead.”

In Will’s world, it’s kill or be killed. In this world, you don’t grieve or cry over deaths, you get revenge. That’s what he thinks as he steps onto the elevator, gun tucked in his waistband, ready to kill the man who took his brother’s life. And then the elevator stops, and someone he long thought to be dead enters the elevator and asks him to check if the gun is even loaded.

Long Way Down is not a story about love or happy endings. It’s a story about revenge, morals, and family. It’s about discovering truths hidden under lies, and discerning right from wrong.

It’s also poetry. You don’t see many books written through poetry in the YA genre these days.

In just a single elevator ride, Long Way Down managed to make me feel a myriad of emotions ranging from sadness to anger and shock. The characters were expertly developed, and the concept was gut-wrenchingly original. Each verse of the poems is laced with deep emotion and heavy messages and morals, and it just about makes you scared of what could come through those elevator doors. – Sofie K. ’20

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To Catch a Killer by Sheryl Scarborough (review by Sofie K. ’20)

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To Catch a Killer (Erin Blake #1)To Catch a Killer by Sheryl Scarborough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There’s always that one kid in every high school that everybody knows for some reason, whether good or bad. That’s Erin Blake, found next to the dead body of her mother when she was just two years old, now obsessed with finding the culprit with the help of her two friends and biology teacher. But when another murder and some conveniently placed evidence that may or may not link her to the crime scene turn up, Erin finds herself of the other side of the Do-Not-Cross line as a suspect.

To Catch a Killer definitely appealed to the murder mystery loving side of me. It was a fast paced book with fairly likable characters, although the romance in the book was rushed to a point where it almost seemed like a separate story altogether. It was well paced for a short book, and the plot kept me engaged until the end. I would definitely recommend this book to someone who wants a quick read, or just a book to curl up with for fun. – Sofie K. ’20

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A Line in the Dark by Melinda Lo (review by Sofie K. ’20)

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A Line in the DarkA Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jess Wong and Angie Redmond are best friends, but Jess wishes they could be more. The two are practically inseparable… until a pretty girl named Margot Adams walks in to the Creamery Angie works at and practically steals Angie from Jess. In an instant, Jess’s world is torn to shreds when Angie falls for Margot and the two start dating. If that wasn’t enough, Jess attends an art program at the same boarding school Margot goes to. As Margot worms her way into both Jess and Angie’s lives, Jess discovers some dark secrets she is hiding- secrets that she knows Angie won’t be able to handle. And despite her unrequited feelings for Angie, Jess doesn’t know if she’ll be able to help her when that time comes.

This book started out really well. Malinda Lo did an outstanding job painting the friendship between Jess and Angie, and I found myself growing attached to Jess’s character. With a diverse main character and a good amount of suspense, I was entertained the entire way. However, towards the end, the story felt detached from the first part to the point where I felt like I was reading a different book. All in all, however, A Line in the Dark was quite enjoyable to those who need a little mystery. – Sofie K. ’20

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Timekeeper by Tara Sim (review by Sofie K. ’20)

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Timekeeper (Timekeeper, #1)Timekeeper by Tara Sim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Timekeeper is set in an alternate version of Victorian era England, where clocktowers (like Big Ben) in each city control the passage of time. As long as the clocks are running smoothly, so does everything else. However, if they were to stop working… that would spell trouble for the poor souls who live in that area.

Danny Hart is a clock mechanic: he is in charge of making sure the clock in Enfield is working as it should. Plagued by an event that happened to him in the past (or whenever the past is in this book), he is incredibly wary about his job. But when the mysterious apprentice he was assigned to, Colton, turns out to be the spirit of the clock he is supposed to work on, everything he think he knows about his life, career, and family changes.

With outstanding character development, a compelling diverse romance, and, hey, time travel, this book kept me hooked onto every last sentence. The storyline was incredibly unique, and Tara Sim executed it to near perfection. I look forward to following the story of Danny and Colton through the rest of the trilogy. – Sofie K. ’20

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Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth (review by Sofie K. ’20)

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Carve the Mark (Carve the Mark, #1)Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

After the hype and attention that Veronica Roth’s Divergent series received, I was very excited to hear about a second series in the works.

Cyra and Akos, like many YA novel characters, are two sides of the same coin. Separated by social class and the races of their people, the two meet when Akos and his brother are captured by the royal Shotet fleet, and delivered right to Cyra’s doorstep. Though Cyra is the sister of the tyrant that rules the Shotet people, she rebels against her family out of love for this new stranger. As if the plot wasn’t cliche enough, every person on this planet has a special power, or currentgift. Cyra has the power to cause excruciating pain to anyone she touches, which her brother exploits to get information. Akos, on the other hand, has to power to cancel out anyone else’s currentgift through contact. The characters conveniently balance each other out, obviously created for one another.

While the book’s concept was quite unique, the characters had little to no originality. Cyra and Akos reminded me of a reversed version of Tris and Four; it felt like I was reading the Divergent series all over again. Hopefully, the second book will give the characters their own personalities and develop their stories more. – Sofie K. ’20

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