Paper Towns

Paper Towns by John Green

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...  


                              Erick Faulk: When I first started "Paper Towns", I was unsure if I'd like it, so I wasn't expecting much. Boy was I wrong! The book starts off with a crazy ride between neighbors Margo and Quentin, driving around and getting revenge on all their enemies. It was so funny that it seemed to be the funniest book I've ever read. Then, it completely turned into a mystery when Margo runs away and is missing the next day. I typically don't like mysteries, but this book was amazing! I won't ruin the ending, but I will say it ends as perfectly as a comedy/mystery/romance can.

Rating: 9 out of 10

If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

On a day that started like any other, Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, admiring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. In an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left. It is the most important decision she'll ever make.
                                Miranda Petrosky- Beautiful! Inspiring! I can picture so much that happens in this novel. I have had a personal experience with a significant other that made this story so emotional for me yet so REAL. I bought the second book so I could know what happens next. I would HIGHLY recommend this novel, it's so amazing!

Rating 10 out of 10

Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.                       
                             I didn't love this book as much as everyone else seemed to. I thought it was funny especially the first half. The plot was interesting, but it got boring to read after a while and I didn't really want to finish it.


Rating: 7 out of 10

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.

Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.

Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.

And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.

           The real deal! a coming of age novel that truly depicts a slice of high school. Andrews cleverly blends the worlds of two socially awkward boys with a dying girl. As it turns out they end up liking each other and becoming friends. It's witty, it's clever, it's real.

Rating: 8 out of 10

We Were Liars

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

                                   "Me, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat. Gat, Mirren Johnny, and me." They were liars, but they were so beautiful. Lockhart wrote one of the deepest and most beautiful novels ever.  Each chapter is like a short story. Also, every paragraph seemed as if it was the last. Lockhart is gifted. She is deep and her writing is like no other. 

Rating: 10 out of 10

How to Save a Life

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr 

Jill MacSweeney just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she’s been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends—everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she’s somehow trying to replace a lost family member with a new one.

Mandy Kalinowski understands what it’s like to grow up unwanted—to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she’s sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It’s harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her, too?

As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy—or as difficult—as it seems.

             I thought this book was rather dull and uneventful. I like how it switched to a different peoples perspectives, but it took me forever to get through. The book was kind of sad and depressing following the troubled lives of these girls and it was not very enjoyable to read. Although it did make me think that maybe people act a certain way because of things that happened in their past and it's important to give everyone a chance. 

Rating: 5 out of 10