LA Readers' Reviews

“The marrow thieves” by Cherie Dimaline is an award winning YA novel, which is set in a future dystopian world, devastated by environmental collapse, in which Indigenous people are being hunted for their bone marrow, which allows them to dream an ability that was seemingly lost by the other part of the population. Therefore the government shares the belief that this “dream-web-filled” bone will help the people regain what they have lost.

We experience this thrilling and adventurous story through the eyes of Frenchie, who has lost his family and is on the run from the government recruiters, who hunt him for his  “dream-web-filled” bone marrow and want to take him to the so called residential school, where their bone marrow is being harvested. While the main story is told in the present out of Frenchie’s perspective, there are also numerous parts that take place in the past, which helps the reader understand his story and why he is alone on the run. On his journey he meets a group of nomad people, who are also Indigenous and now, after failed attempts to cooperate with the government, trying to survive by themselves in the wilderness. These people start to become his new family as he also finds out more about his history and culture.

Although “The marrow thieves” is overall a pretty dark and dystopian novel, Dimaline also included strong moments of hope and love, as the story also covers topics like family and romance, in addition to the adventurous part.

Another remarkable element of the novel is the fact that it is (science) fiction, but still has a lot of history mixed into it, especially when it come to the story of the Indigenous people and how they were treated in the past, for example how kids were forced to unlearn their language and traditions in the residential schools.

In my opinion “The marrow thieves” is a beautifully written and truly powerful story, with great detail and messages and I enjoyed reading every single page. Therefore I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for and quick, but still thrilling and compelling read.

Man Made Monsters is a collection of short stories following characters in indigenous midwestern tribes. The stories take place over various generations and are filled with themes ranging from messy breakups to a zombie apocalypse. Each story has its own characters and plotlines however, in the end, the author connects the short stories in a very unexpected way. 

Man Made Monsters is a new and original take on horror that gives readers a little bit from every side of the horror genre in just one book. The only downside I found to the short story aspect of the book was simply the fact that they were short stories. I often times found myself having to really force myself to read the longer chapters because I felt as though most of the longer stories were dry and not only lacked any horror or thriller aspects but also the stories themselves simply fell flat for me. When it came to the shorter chapters I would zip through them because I found the plots to be dynamic and complex and I would be a little sad when they were over simply because they were just so much more enjoyable to read. It was a little tricky because the longer stories seemed to be finished within a page or two but continued despite the fact, while with some of the shorter stories seemed to end before there was really any closure given which was a little difficult to stick through. 

This book seemed like you needed to have a lot of prior knowledge of the customs, religious traditions, language, and attitudes of the indigenous tribes of the Midwest. While I can understand and respect the author’s choice to include these things I wish there had been some sort of explanatory guide at the beginning rather than a hidden glossary at the back of the book. I think my lack of knowledge of the indigenous way of life and especially their language severely hindered my ability to understand certain details and sometimes even entire themes and motives within the book wich makes this book feel very inaccessible. 

I also had a lot of issues with some of the characters. I’m not sure if this was intentional or not to add to the shock factor but I found a lot of the characters to lack any humanity and not in a “monster” type of way but rather they just didn’t seem to react at all. Stoic characters have always been hard for me to read because I find myself unable to relate to them and with a lack of overly expressive characters to who I am usually drawn to, most characters seemed to simply just exist with no feelings, emotions, or even reactions to the “horror” surrounding them which was a little difficult. 

Overall had higher expectations for this book, this book won the award for best book by an indigenous author which is not a category I typically read from and I was sad to have this book fall so flat for me. I would be curious to read another book by this author in the future that is not short stories to see how they compare.

This heartwarming story is about a boy named Ante. He loves his family, his culture, his heritage, and his best friend. With the struggle of trying to hold on to his culture he also struggles with his relationships. He’s never heard about any Sami’s who was just like him. It’s very rare, and Ante had only heard rumors. That people just like him, fleas away from their homes. But he doesn’t want that. He also doesn’t want his best friend, Erik, to find out about him. He’s already confused with the mixed signals he receives, but telling him? It’s much more complicated. Not to mention Erik already is in a relationship. The pressure of trying to hide who Ante really is, just leads him to have more stress. As Ante navigates through all this, he finds out truth, and secrets that he never knew. Ante unravels the culture of the Sami, and weaves through his life, trying to find an ending he’s happy with. Will he finally relieve himself of this stress, or will he just end up hurt in the end?

Fire from the sky is a heartwarming, with a mix of sadness in it. Moa really depicted well on how the Sami culture worked, and what they do. And that sometimes being different from the rest of your culture. The story really bings out how hard it is to tell someone that you like them, and especially if your trying to live up to your culture and heritage. This is much different love story I’ve read. It’s based on a real life culture, and shows the struggles of a boys life. I’ve only read books that show boys as the people who keep their calm, and composure. But Ante shows how boys can actually have stress, and mental breakdowns as well. It isn’t just the women. Some people just have a hard time admitting it. The author also put it in simple terms. No big words, and no big plot. Just a teenage boy who’s struggling to deal with his life.

But Fire from the Sky also had some minor set backs on it. The ending of this book was very sweet, but it didn’t give enough. I’ve asked myself questions like: “What did his parents think?” and “Was Ante accepted?” I wanted the ending to have more detail on his journey of acceptance, and coming out. Just to find out how the other characters would think of it. And especially what his parents reactions could be. Just having that information sets all questions aside, and gives it the final touch, in my opinion.

Fire from the Sky is a novel for people who love queer books, or just want a change of page of romance. It’s those kind of books where the main characters don’t kiss until the end, and your at the edge of your seat. It builded up to that moment, so if readers love suspension, and heartwarming plot, this is the book they might want to consider.

BOOK REVIEW

This novel by Byron Graves tells the story of a young athlete determined to play like the hero his Ojibwe community needs him to be.

The protagonist TRE Brun is happiest when he is playing basketball on the Red Lake Reservation high school team.

TRE is a Native teen who grieves the recent death of his older brother Jaxon  but despite the sadness that consumes his family , TRE Brun strives to excel in basketball as a way to make his dreams come true even struggling to come out from under the shadow of his old brother .

Jaxon, the brother, was a superstar basketball player and was killed in a car accident.

For this reason, the Tre’s dream was to play on behalf of his brother.

Tre Brun morphed from a short , dumpy, nerdy gamer to a good basket player.

After working hard all summer to hone his fitness level and perfect his shooting skills , TRE hopes to make the Red Lake Warrior’s varsity team.

But despite many efforts, TRE will have to wait another year to play in The Red Lake team.

And when Tre gets called up to the varsity team at the last minute, he has no idea the pressures he will face as he tries to fill his brother’s shoes, navigate peer pressure and keeps his grades high.

But stepping into his brother’s shoes as a star player means that Tre can’t mess up. Not on the court, not at school, and not with his new friend, gamer Khiana  who is falling in love.

WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THIS BOOK.

The author Byron Graves describes THE PAIN in a deeply way.

The pain that means about racisms, family loss, poverty and forgotten dreams.

The Tre’s life is full of pain: The death of Jaxon, his brother.

TRE have to face and to solve a great personal pain: the loss of his brother.

But this pain turns into a feeing of revenge that leads TRE to realize his dream and play in a great basketball team.

This book can inspire all of us.

This book exort us to never give up ad to pursue all our dreams with determination.

The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky is a fantasy romance, and serial killer

This is a book about an immortal goddess learning that maybe love is more important than power, and how to forgive people for past mistakes. Its main subplot is Artemis realizing that she loves the mortal man who is helping her solve the murders, which all started with his ex being killed. This is a quit exhausting plot point, its nothing new, strong female lead believes she can’t fall in love because it’s weak, or maybe it’s because she’ll put him in danger. Its all been done before, and there is nothing special about it this time, it was boring once and it is boring again.

There is also the whole, immortal has been around for a couple million years but still hasn’t figured out things most humans have by fifteen. As well as being a virgin is what keeps her divine, she is annoyingly portrayed as really old, but acts really young, and rather that has no interest in romance, she is scared of it and wants to throw-up every time its mentioned. Stories like this have been told and retold over and over, it was boring the first time, why are you still trying? There were also some gods that weren’t fading because people still worship there aspects, like the god of wine, but the goddess of motherhood and children dies??? But there are children, and mothers, like everywhere, that just makes no sense. The murder mystery part is really only a mystery if you don’t have a brain, or if you are Artemis, the still brainless after 10 thousand years of life. Artemis’s love interest, Theo, wasn’t much better, also just a whole bunch stereotypes lumped together to make a character. Most, if not all of the characters where like this, the only Latina character effectively hits every stereotype for that ethnicity. Bravo! The only half way decent character was Hippo, the dog. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone. I’m not that cruel.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo follows a young journalist at a prestigious magazine dealing with many personal struggles. Monique Grant has been specifically requested by perhaps the most famous woman to date for a “Tell-all interview”. When she arrives for her first day of interviews with Evelyn Hugo she is surprised to learn that Hugo never planned to do an interview for a magazine but rather has specifically requested her to write her official biography, only to be published once she has passed. This opportunity is far too great to pass up and Grant begins meeting Evelyn every day where she begins to uncover all of the actress’s secrets and the thing everyone wants to know; the story behind all seven of her husbands.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was very fun to read, I found the beginning to be a little slow but once you make it a few chapters in, the book really picks up. The writing style was very interesting because the story is told from the third person and the second person and there are times when the author will include articles and blog posts for the characters which I found fun and different.

This book deals with many issues including child abuse, sexual assault and exploitation, LGBTQ+ issues, domestic violence, and the harsh realities of life in the spotlight. I appreciated Reid’s take on these subjects and I think the way she chose to portray them was very unique and emphasized the point. This book is definitely geared towards older teens and young adults rather than younger teens because this book primarily focuses on adult issues and relationships in a way that wouldn’t be relatable to younger teen audiences.

The only trouble I found in this book was the way Evelyn Hugo is portrayed. Hugo is meant to be this huge old Hollywood superstar, beloved by all. I found Hugo to be cold, and calculating, She tells Grant she has no choice but to write her biography and that she was never going to do an interview for the magazine. This not only instills mistrust in Grant but the readers as well. Hugo seems to have no regard for those she hurts or uses for her own personal gain as she manipulates situations and orchestrates people’s downfall as soon as she gets what she wants. Hugo pays little mind to the fact that she has forced Grant to put her job in jeopardy for a book she might not be allowed to publish for another 20 years or that she prayed on her husbands to perpetuate her own stardom. For a character who is supposedly “beloved by all” Hugo seems largely unrelatable with little value to the good of others which I found difficult.

New moon is the second book in the Twilight series, and it starts with the main characters Edward and Bella in the small rainy town of Forks, Washington. Edward and Bella are happy and secure in their relationship but an unforeseen event with Edwards family leads him to believe Bella would live a better life without him. Broken without him Bella fell into a deep depression for months pushing all her friends away, having nightmares etc… After a while of falling into a depression Bella finds herself craving friendship again and attempts to reach back out. Although they were hurt they accepted her back into there circle with ease, and Bella even found herself becoming close friends with someone unexpected. She had taken comfort in hanging out with Jacob Black, a family friend who she could just hangout with without worry. Somehow in the midst of this friendship Bella found herself to be a little bit of a adrenaline junky just to hear Edward’s voice in her head. Bellas new found hobby leads her to make some bad choices that almost change her life for the worst. I think that Stephenie did a really good job on not rushing this book. I felt like we got to know the characters a bit more and was just overall able to relate to the book more. For some reason I really dislike the character Jacob, I just don’t like the way he was written and how he fills in for Edward. I kinda wish that Stephenie had chosen a different path for Bella after the breakup instead of having her run to another guy to fill the void.

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir is a realistic fiction novel about Pakistani teenagers, Salahudin and Noor, and their families. Salahudin’s mother had been sick for a long time but she refused to get proper treatment for it. She thought it was too expensive and wouldn’t go to her appointments. Sadly she passed away, leaving Salahudin to deal with all their hefty debts and his alcoholic father. He used to be able to rely on his best friend Noor but after he cruelly rejected her moths ago, she no longer wants to speak to him. Noor lives with her uncle who saved her life when she was a child. Noor used to live in Pakistan but when she was sick, her home collapsed and she was the only one left. Her uncle pulled her from the rubble and she’s lived with him ever since. Noor’s uncle wants nothing to do with their Pakistani roots. He doesn’t even want Noor to go to leave their town and go to college, but that’s what she wants more than anything else. So she has to sneak around and apply without him finding anything.

Salahudin begins to struggle to make ends meet in order to keep their family motel. As he falls into even greater debt, he turns to something he swore he wouldn’t do. He finally takes his friend Art up on his offer and starts selling drugs. Soon enough, Salahudin pays off some of the family’s lesser debts. When Noor learns of what happened to Salahudin’s mother, she slowly starts to integrate her self back into his life. As Noor and Salahudin get closer, it gets harder for Salahudin to hide the drug dealing. It also becomes more and more apparent that Noor is hiding something. Can Salahudin escape the life he’s chosen and can Noor make it out of this rundown town?

I loved this story. I think that Sabaa Tahir did an amazing job capturing all of the characters’ emotions and created a heart wrenching story. Each of the characters’ had their own unique story that really felt like it added a lot to the main plot line. The pacing of the story was really smooth and it was partly what hooked me. If a story moves too fast or too slow, I will usually end up hating the book or not even finishing it. But with All My Rage, nothing felt rushed or dragging. While I may not have experienced most of what Salahudin or Noor did, I still felt like they were very relatable characters. They each had their flaws, as teenagers usually do, and it made for a story that I felt like I could understand really well.

I would recommend this for anyone who is looking for a meaningful, well written, and diverse story. All My Rage is an incredible realistic fiction that could be enjoyed by all. There are quite a few heavy topics in this story so I would advise readers to be careful. These range from drug use and over dose to death and child abuse. Because of this, I would recommend this book to a more mature audience. This book is also a good example of multiple points of view done well. It switches between Salahudin and Noor and occasionally Salahudin’s mother. The switches were not jarring at all and added hidden details to the story. Overall I thought this was an amazing book and it’s one that I recommend to all who can stomach its contents.

Realistic Fiction lovers will adore what All My Rage has to offer. For those looking for an impactful, deep story, this is the perfect book. This is such an important book for everyone to read. There’s representation for so many different kinds of people and Sabaa Tahir has managed to capture them all quite well.

“We are Okay” is an incredibly written, Printz award-winning book by Nina LaCour. After a tragic loss, Marin has not spoken to anyone from her past life and is instead living at university in New York,  many miles away from home. However, since she has no family to return to, she is forced to spend her Christmas break alone on campus, or at least mostly alone. Her best friend from home visits her for a few days, but Marin doesn’t seem particularly thrilled about it, not because she doesn’t like her friend anymore, but because she is afraid to confront her past and the shocking discoveries she made before leaving. What Marin actually planned to be a quick, three day visit, becomes a conflicted, but also emotional journey for both of the two friends.

In these three days, Marin is forced to confront her fears and open up to the people she was once so close to. “We are Okay” tells a heart-wrenching yet realistic story of grief, heartbreak, and loneliness but conveys, as the title says, hope that everything will be “okay” even in the seemingly darkest moments. It shows that grief is just a point in the story and does not have to control one’s entire life.

“We Are Okay” is a brilliantly written book that excels at describing feelings and thoughts in a particularly authentic and raw way, allowing readers to truly empathize with the main character, making the book even more compelling. The story is written in the first person’s view from the perspective of the protagonist, Marin, and is narrated in two alternating timelines – one in the present and the other in the past before Marin’s tragic loss. This allows readers to understand Marin’s internal turmoil and helps them understand her actions. The main story unfolds within the few days when Mabel visits Marin, making the book special not necessarily for its “exciting plot” but for its sensitivity and the emotional journey of the characters.

Without spoiling the story, it’s worth mentioning that the book has a beautifully rounded ending, which is often a weak point in many books, as it can feel rushed and forced. However, Nina LaCour has excellently given the story a satisfying, but at the same time logical ending, which is indeed not an easy task.

For me, the story is like a little piece of art because the author has managed to write a profound and captivating book without relying too much on the action part of the plot. I highly recommend this book to any YA fan, although I would advise having a packet of tissues nearby while reading.

It is 1944.

A teenager named Rudolph (Rudi) Vrba has made up his mind.

After barely surviving nearly two years in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, he knows he must escape. Even if death is more likely.

Rudi has learned the terrible secret hidden behind the heavily guarded fences of concentration camps across Nazi-occupied Europe: the methodical mass killing of Jewish prisoners. As trains full of people arrive daily, Rudi knows that the murders won’t stop until he reveals the truth to the world and that each day that passes means more lives are lost.

Rudi Vrba and his friend Alfred Wetzler devised a dangerous and ingenious escape. They would bring the famous Auschwitz Protocol with them exposing the hideous crimes of the Final Solution.

Lives like Rudi’s schoolmate Gerta Sidonová. Gerta’s family fled from Slovakia to Hungary, where they live under assumed names to hide their Jewish identity. But Hungary is beginning to cave under pressure from German Nazis. Her chances of survival become slimmer by the day.

Rudi Vrba is a normal teenager in Slovakia in the late 1930s. His close friend, Gerta Sidonova, comes from a prosperous family near Rudi’s home. Both are Jewish, but neither is particularly religious. Hitler begins taking over countries bordering Germany in 1938, and this includes Slovakia. Soon Jews begin to face ostracization, the loss of civil rights, and finally, their economic status.

As the Nazi hand of death begins to fall on Jews in Slovakia, both teens try to escape to Hungary. Rudi is quickly arrested and eventually sent to Auschwitz. Gerta will be arrested by the Germans, but makes a daring escape and survives the war. Rudi has a different reality.

Surviving the initial selections, Rudi works in a number of areas in Auschwitz. He makes friends with Filip Muller, who has survived death by becoming a Sonderkommando (he takes people to the incinerators) .This group takes the corpses from the gas chambers to the incinerators. Filip tells Vrba the exact accounts of what happens to those doomed to be gassed.

Rudi adds this to his list of steps taken by the Nazis as they prepare to kill their victims.

He feels helpless in the face of this demonic evil, but is determined to tell the world about the process used at Auschwitz to murder people. But the camp is so closely guarded that escape is nearly impossible. Vrba soon meets Alfred Wexler, and together they plan a daring escape. On the night of April 7, 1944, they elude the Nazis and escape from Auschwitz.

To deceive the guards, the two hid inside the camp for three days. They knew that the fugitives were being searched outside the camp for that period of time. They hid under a pile of wood .

To deceive the dogs , they sprinkled themselves  with tobaco.

 Once the three days had expired, on the night of April 10, the escape took place. After an escape on foot lasting almost three weeks, during which they risked being captured several times, they arrived safely in their homeland.

This is the true story of one of the most famous whistleblowers in the world, and how his death-defying escape helped save over 100,000 lives.

MAIN  CHARACTER

RUDI

On 7 April 1944, Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler, both young Slovak Jews, managed to escape from Auschwitz. Walter Rosenberg, who later took the nom de guerre of Rudolf Vrba, was arrested in Budapest in 1942 and sent to Auschwitz. Who was assigned the role of collecting personal data on other prisoners.

The Vrba-Wetzler Report: While in the camp, Vrba decided to secretly write a detailed report. This document reported detailed statistics of the dead and their nationalities.

Although he escapes with his friend Fred Wetzler, the book’s focus remains on Rudi.

In just two years, RUDI is transformed from a rebellious and angsty teenager who leaves home in a rush of adrenaline with no real plan to a prison-hardened young man who has to calculate his every move to ensure he is not killed.

GERTA

Gerta Sidonová: Rudi’s schoolmate, her family took refuge in Hungary under false names to hide their Jewish identity. However, Hungary is succumbing to pressure from the Nazi Germans, and its chances of survival are slimming every day.

WRITING

 Sheinkin’s writing, while exhilarating, is also very chilling as he describes the Nazis’ final solution in depth.

The writer reminds young readers why contemplating the Holocaust is so important today.

HISTORICAL CONTEX

The Holocaust, or Shoah, was a time of unmitigated hatred and violence in the period of the Third Reich. Beginning soon after Hitler seized power in 1933, the Shoah – the catastrophic destruction of Jews – lasted until early 1945.

All Jewish people under German control were marked for annihilation. Non-Jews such as Roma (Gypsies,) Jehovah Witnesses, homosexuals, trade unionists and others were also placed on the death list. To carry out this lethal and horrifying plan, the Nazis eventually developed the “Final Solution.” This led to the building of death camps like Sobibor, Treblinka and the construction of the infamous concentration and death camp named Auschwitz.

The Holocaust, or Shoah, was a time of unmitigated hatred and violence in the period of the Third Reich. Beginning soon after Hitler seized power in 1933, the Shoah – the catastrophic destruction of Jews – lasted until early 1945.

All Jewish people under German control were marked for annihilation. Non-Jews such as Roma (Gypsies,) Jehovah Witnesses, homosexuals, trade unionists and others were also placed on the death list. To carry out this lethal and horrifying plan, the Nazis eventually developed the “Final Solution.” This led to the building of death camps like Sobibor, Treblinka and the construction of the infamous concentration and death camp named Auschwitz.

Knowing how evil their plan was, the Nazis tried to hide their monstrous crimes. Virtually no one could escape from Auschwitz because of the camp security measures.

 WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Testimony to the World: Once back in Slovakia, Vrba and Wetzler illustrated the statistics collected and showed some drawings, including a detailed map of the concentration camp. The executives were shocked by their story. They asked the two young people to write down their memories. From the two relationships the Vrba-Wetzler Report . This is an account of the crimes of Auschwitz.

It is sometimes called the Auschwitz Protocol. The Protocol is very hard  but needs to be remembered in the face of Holocaust deniers and the rise of anti-Semitism.

PERSONAL COMMENT:

I really liked this book because I am a fan of the second world war.

I like the books set in a historical context.

It is a true story, a story of hope and courage.

I think about this boy Rudi who was a few years older than me  who challenged  the THIRD REICH to save himself and to testify the atrocities committed by Hitler.

I think the most important value is THE COURAGE.

The courage to not be silent.

The courage to rebel even the risk of death.

I also think it is important don’t forget this  sad chapter in our history.

We have to not forget what it was the Olocaust.

It is important to remind young people in order that these horrendous crimes are no longer repeated

The rhythm of the writing is pressing, engaging, full of adrenaline.

It is a Thriller to read avidly.