Redheaded Reviews

A book review blog.

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Firestorm

By David Klass

Ho-ly crap do I have opinions on this book!

Have you ever read a book, and you can feel that subtle environmental undertone to it? Not this book. This book it shoves it down your throat. Hard.

SENTENCE FRAGMENTS! Yes, I understand that sometimes short sentences are good. But this author overdoes it. Yes, you're literally warned about it on the first page. But still. 

It's very detailed in some uncomfortable things, like sex and violence.

The only reason i finished this book is because I can't not finish a book.

2/10 (and the only reason it's that high is because of the dog.) Recommend to...maybe a sixteen year old boy?

Edit: I forgot to say what I liked about it. Which is one thing. The dog was sarcastic.

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The Grift of the Maji

By Ally Carter

What got me into this book? It’s Ally freaking Carter, that’s what. My readers soul belongs to Ally Carter.

What I didn’t like: She uses ‘said’ a bit too much. After three books and two novellas, we still don’t know one of the main characters names (which is not so much a complaint, but....)

What I liked:.....can I just say everything? No? Okay. The characters are all selfless in their own way, which, seeing as one of them has been raised as an international thief, is pretty impressive. Ally continues to pull characters from earlier books in the series where they’d be useful, rather than just forgetting about them as some authors are like to do.

Here’s the thing, I can’t really be objective when it comes to Ally Carter, so my advice would be to read the book for yourself, I can almost guarantee that you’ll like it.

Overall rating: 9/10. Recommend to EVERYONE. But that’s just me.

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Sidekicked

By John David Anderson

“Andrew Bean might be part of H.E.R.O., a secret organization for the training of superhero sidekicks, but that doesn’t mean that life is all leaping tall building in single bounds.” What can I say, I like superheroes!

Drew’s team is pretty fun, a good range of powers and personalities. I love their mentor, their “ugly-sweater-vest-wearing second dad”, Mr. Masters. I love that somehow, noone noticed the fact that there is a hero training organization, faking as an environment club. The twist at the end came out of nowhere, which is pretty awesome because it wasn’t OBVIOUS like most books.

However, the books did have some negative constructs. I don’t understand why they would purposefully give a sidekick to a hero who had decommisioned himself, and spent most of his time in bars. Drew spends a lot of the book ragging on one of his teammates for having a crush on the same girl as him, though that can be expected in a prepubescent boy. And excuse me, ending, did you just send a thirteen year old to prison?

Overall rating: 8/10. Recommend to a 9-14 year old. (Hey, I’m 22 and i enjoyed it)

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Confessions of a Not It girl.

By Melissa Kantor

“Jan Miller is a senior in high school who’s convinced she is destined to lead the world’s least fabulous life.” I think I only wanted to read this book because the summary mentions Shakespeare???

What I liked: The way her imagination phrases things like a theatre, so every ‘imagine spot’ is written like a mini-play. 

What I didn’t like: You know those books where all the problems could be solved through proper communication? Yeah, this is one of those. If she (Jan) had told her love interest (Josh) that she had only lied about not being allowed to date to another guy, because she wanted to let him down softly, she could have been with her ‘one-true love’ much earlier on. Also, the name. “Jan” is actually pronounced “Yahn”, a fact which I constantly had to remind myself of. I know that this was the author showing how odd her parents were, but it was a little...distracting. Also, there’s a B-Plot of her underage friend trying to have sex with a twenty-something which is ????.

Overall rating: 7/10. Recommend to a 13-15 year old.

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The center of the universe. Yep, that would be me.

By Anita Liberty

It’s....just a book about being a teen. Kind of written like a journal, which I love.

What I liked: The format she (the main character) wrote in, the random excerpts she’d add, such as SAT words or math problems (funnier than it sounds).

What I didn’t like: JESUS CHRIST if you’re thinking about buying this for a young teenager, DON’T. Excerpts along the lines of- “ All I know is that these boys are here to give me a reason to get up in the morning. Christ, they are glorious. I’d do any of them. Or all of them. At one time. In the girls’ bathroom. After school. Between classes. During class.” - are very common, and sex seems to be the only thing on her mind. Other than complaining about her parents, that is. Overall, the main character is kind of bratty, and has a bit of an ego. A bit too much poetry for my taste.

Rating: 6/10. Probably recommend for a 15-17 year old.

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Lay-out

1. Authors Name (Book name will be the heading)

2. Premise of the book/what led me onto it.

3. What I liked about the book.

4. What I didn’t like.

5. Overall rating and reccomendations.