Between the Lines Reviews - September 2019

In The Oasis by Katya de Becerra, Alif and her four friends on a trip to Dubai get swept up in a sandstorm with a very cute guy named Tommy. They end up lost in the desert until they find the oasis, or rather, the oasis finds them. An exciting novel filled with romance and betrayal, The Oasis uncovers secrets that turn should be friends against each other, revealing their true personalities under the pressure of being left to the wild. I was swept up into this book and couldn’t read fast enough to uncover the unknowns of the oasis. This book is great for kids 11 and up as it can be hard to follow at times. — Mia

 

Free Lunch by Rex Ogle is an autobiography and his life being poor. He couldn’t buy lunch everyday at school so he had to sign up for the school’s free lunch. He has to survive typical middle school life with the addition of eating the free lunch and his extremely hard home life. His mom doesn’t like help from many people and tries hard to keep their family going. Her second husband Sam,  is helping a bit with the cost but it is still very difficult for all of them. Overall this is a very impactful book and is definitely worth reading. — Mira, age 12

 

10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston was very good and I enjoyed it immensely. The characters and plot was very invading and the story made me smile more than once. The book also made me laugh at least ever chapter. I recommend this to anyone that saw me reading it and will to may more. Definitely a must read. — Sadie

 

Dive into Chloe’s complicated world with Clique Bait, by Ann Valett. Revenge isn’t easy, but it’s even harder when you have to infiltrate the royalty of private school, and break into a house. Throughout the book, Chloe learns how to let go, and to forgive, coming to terms with the tragedy of her friend. Clique Bait was a great read because you never know what’s coming. It’s full of mystery, love, friendship, and secrets. Readers of Red Queen and Divergent will enjoy this book because it covers many of the same topics in modern situation.  — Kaytaki

 

The Athena Protocol by Shamim Sarif was an amazing book. The characters within it are all so strong, and as a female myself they were very inspiring to me. The book starts off slow, and took me a little while to get into, but once I got a few chapters in, wow, did it really kick off! I found myself reading all the time! It was so suspenseful and exciting! Everything had a twist. The ending was especially good, and I found myself on my toes till the very last page! — Sarah

Slay by Britney Morris was amazing. After finishing this book, there is a similar feeling as after watching Black Panther. In fact, if you loved Black Panther or On the Come Up by Angie Thomas you will absolutely love this book. Sometimes I wish this book remembered the saying, "show not tell" and wasn't so explanatory. Additionally, the whole idea of just two girls running a thousand player game was just illogical. However, fleshed out characters, and amazing black women makes this book worth reading. The references and design of the game was great and kept me reading nonstop. — Nastia

I loved  Notorious by Gordon Korman. It is about a dog named Barney who was murdered and two characters named ZeeBee and Keenan. They find out that Barney was poisoned and somebody raided ZeeBee’s house. ZeeBee and Keenan follow the clues and use an ancient treasure map to find Tommy-Gun-Fergensen’s gold. Tommy was a gangster who lived in her house a long time ago. People who like mysteries and adventure will like this book. If you like Gordon Korman’s books this is an even better one!  — Will, age 9

More to the Story by Hena Khan is an amazing book about the power of family and friends. The main character, Jameela is an aspiring journalist and got the privileged job of becoming the features editor for the school newspaper. But, she ends up having to work alongside the one person she doesn’t want to. All the while, her Baba is away, working in Abu Dhabi and Jameela and her 3 sisters and their new friend Ali have to help Jameela’s mom manage everything. In all this in an incredible book that definitely deserves 5 stars.  — Mira, age 11

“Bugs in Danger”, by Mark Kurlansky, is a book about bees, beetles, butterflies, and climate change… with a lot of Latin names. Have you ever wondered what it would be like with no fruits? No apples, no peaches… why would that happen? A disease? A sudden heat wave? But the answer is this: disappearing insects. This book shows that big things, like rows and rows of fruits, depend on small things, like good pollination, that depend on smaller things, bees, that depend on even smaller things, their young, that could all shatter because of 3 things:Pollution, Climate, Pesticide. If you have ever wanted to make small, simple differences in the world, or want to learn more about the earth, this is a great book. — Ivana, age 10

 

Thundercluck Chicken of Thor: Recipe for Revenge - “I loved this book! It is about a chicken who got struck by lightening and can generate lightening. He gets captured by an evil cook named Gorman Bones. His companion Brunhilde has to save Thundercluck from a curse. I liked this book because it has a lot of action. I think kids that like action, adventure and fantasy will like this book.” — Will, Age 9

 

 

The Princess Who Flew With Dragons - Princess Sofi of Drachenheim is being sent to Villene.  Because she has to fly there and it is very windy, she pukes.  Sofi is not looking forward to going to Villene. But surprisingly she likes it there. She can finally go to school, then bad luck strikes ice giants want to take the royals and their land!!! What will Sofi do? If you liked The Princess In Black you will enjoy this book. — Hazel, age 9

Rory Branigan Detective - This is an amazing book. I really enjoyed the fact how it started off with Rory not knowing anything about detective work and then at the end he saves the day with it. I liked it so much that i read it in day and can’t wait for the next book to come out!!!!!!!!. The background is about a kid called Rory who notices that people are getting poisoned... can he save the day??? — Adro, age 7