Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares is an interesting story about love  
intertwined with the joyous feeling Christmas brings and what it can bring for two complete strangers.

One of our main characters Lily is in despair over her favourite season,  
Christmas. In order to cure her sadness her brother Langston makes her write some instructions and dares out in a red notebook and tells her to leave it in her favourite bookstore. Next up we have Dash who is in despair over his least favourite season, Christmas. In order to cheer himself up, he makes a visit to his favourite bookstore and in amongst countless novels he finds a red notebook. This red notebook sends Dash and Lily on a whirlwind romance throughout New York City. They spill their untold truths and greatest fears and throughout this journey they both start to wonder could their relationship be the same off-page?

This book gave me mixed emotions throughout all 300 pages! I loved Dash and Lily and they were by far my favourite characters because I feel as though they both had the most character development throughout the story. Dash went from being this miserable and lonely 18 year old to a happy and loving person; Lily went from being all sweet and innocent to a mature young lady.  

I really enjoyed this development because I did actually find Dash very annoying at the start. For the first 150 pages his misery dragged the story on for what felt like forever and made the novel somewhat boring, apart from that I have nothing to complain about when it comes to these characters! During the first half of the book the whole idea of these 2 complete strangers writing to each other in a notebook seemed quite compelling however to me it was obvious what was going to happen, I just wanted them to meet in real life already! It’s not that this story was cliche I just knew what was going to happen by page 10 so for me the plot felt very stretched out. I think this stretching was done to make it so all of the secondary characters could have a chance and I did enjoy learning about them but sometimes I felt as if they weren’t integrated into the plot very well.

Although this novel had its ups and downs it is a fun read for anyone looking for a romantic Christmas tale!

Erin, Year 9

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

In Wonder Woman: Warbringer, Diana craves for a chance to prove herself a true Amazon. Born from clay on the island Themyscira, daughter of their queen Hippolyta, Diana’s shot at proving herself turns into her breaking one of their laws. She now risks exile if her sisters ever find out what she did; saving a mortal, a girl called Alia.

But Alia is a Warbringer; one fated to bring war and bloodshed if she lives.

Wonder Woman: Warbringer, was a nice, super fun, and a bit of the typical YA “save the world in a time limit, fun but with serious moments adventure” novel. But the diverse cast of characters are entertaining and lovable and it is so amusing to read about Diana, the sheltered princess, interacting with our world.

“‘Kick [their] ass.’She frowned, confused. ‘Specifically [their] ass?’‘Yeah.’‘Why?’… ‘New York tradition.’”

A bit more information about the island of Themyscira would have been awesome, and the ending left me craving more, but all in all, I personally loved it! 5/5Mykee, Year 11

Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth

The novel Four is a spinoff of the Divergent series. It is a dystopian novel written by Veronica Roth. This novel is told from Tobias Eaton's perspective. This book allows the reader to gain a deeper understanding of Tobias' past when he lived in Abnegation with his Father (Marcus Eaton) and  
his mother (Evelyn Eaton). The main idea of this thrilling novel to show Tobais transforming from Abnegation to his current faction, Dauntless.

We also discover how Marcus really treated his son Tobias. Tobias was escaping this section of his life to start a new beginning in Dauntless. The novel goes through the process of his initiation and the knife throwing ceremony until he meets the newcomers which he has to train. One of them is Beatrice Prior. As we already know she also transferred from Abnegation to Dauntless, just like Tobias.

I loved reading this book. I was gaining a deeper understanding of my favourite character from the divergent series as I was learning about his history and how he has developed throughout the series. This book was such a page turner and will leave you never wanting to put it down. It is also a very easy read as it only has 304 pages.

“Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.”  - Veronica Roth

By Grace, Year 9

Once upon a dream: Briar Rose by Jana Oliver

Briar Rose is a crazy book full of magical creatures, myths and romance and presents itself in the familiar format of Sleeping Beauty.

Our main character Briar Rose lives in a small town called Bliss and she is obsessed with fairytales. She loves dreaming of far off places, daring sword fights and princes in disguise yet in her mind her life will never measure up to this fantasy. Briar is actually living a very different fantasy with a very different outcome. Briar is cursed to fall asleep on her 16th birthday and as she does she is transported into a twisted fairytale, one she has to survive if she wants to live till her next birthday.

I’m going to start from the beginning, this book started with quite a bit of momentum. It started with this really cool idea of using the towns lineage to describe what was happening in Briars life and I really liked that. However, from there the book got kind of strange. Apparently the town of Bliss has had magic in its history books for centuries yet it is a secret that Briars friend can do magic. It was this unspoken truth that she could do something that had been involved in the town for so long. I didn’t understand it very well and it felt as if the magical aspect of the story wasn't integrated well and was just there to push the story along. I feel that it would have worked better if this concept was explained more and was mentioned more by the secondary characters in the story rather than just the main characters. Furthermore, Briar’s love life confused me way more than it needed to. I understand that she wants to live her life like a Disney movie but her romantic relationships were constantly rushed. The boy she falls in love with by the end of the book is one she was told to stay away from so I don’t really understand that as soon as she gets the chance she decides to fall in love with him. Within 100 pages she goes from hating him to being madly in love with him. Don’t get me wrong I think they make a great couple but their relationship was rushed and I feel was only written in to once again progress the story. Finally, apart from the “discrete” magic and the insta-love this book was entertaining. I loved how Jana Oliver compared Briars life to the story of Sleeping Beauty and I feel that made it easier for me to connect with the story and make it a more enjoyable read. Oliver also crammed a lot of information into one novel and was successful in being able to explain all of it, something that once again made the story enjoyable but also effortless to understand.

A great read for anyone looking for a twisted re-telling of an incredible classic!

Erin, Year 9

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

Everything, Everything is a young adult novel that is inspiring to all  
teenagers to explore the world around them and to not take what you have for granted. This novel centers around 17-year-old Madeline Whittier who is being treated with a disease called "bubble baby disease". It is when the sufferers are extremely vulnerable to infectious diseases leading them to have a life with numerous barriers.

During this novel we learn that Madeline has never interacted with anyone outside her home other than her Mother and her nurse Carla who is one of her closest friends - until the new boy next door catches her eyes. Olly Bright moves in next door leading to a series of emails and text messages exchanged between the two of them. She's continually gazing through the window at her new neighbour, wondering if she will ever come in contact with him. Through the ongoing text messages Olly and Maddie form a deep relationship that leads them to risk everything to be together.

The use of the text messages and emails made this book very enjoyable and interactive. I love how this book hooked me as soon as I read the first page. This is a novel for all ages and is an easy novel to read. I love how this book is different to all generic teenage books. This book discusses how lucky we are to have what we have and explore the world around us. There was nothing negative about this novel!

This novel is thrilling and will leave you constantly reading and never wanting to put it down!

By Grace Spiteri , Year 9

Shimmer by Paula Weston

“I crack a knuckle like Rafa would. Feel stronger hearing that sound”

Shimmer is the third book in the Rephaim series. It follows Gabby (Gabriel) who is a 139 year old Rephaim, with no memories of her past 139 years, just fake memories that never took place.

This book starts exactly were the last book- Haze finished. With Rafa gone and Gabby on the floor in the Sanctuary. Gabby is determined to get Rafa back, even if it means breaking the rules and going against Nathaniel and the council of five. Whilst doing this, Gabby is trying to fill in any  
blanks she can about her life she doesn't remember at the monastery with Jude and why she didn't leave with Jude, Rafa and the outcasts. This whole book takes place in a few days.

This book is a great lead up to the ending of the Rephaim series and gives a type of preparation for the last book. I particularly like how Gabby  
showed her independance and never let anything get in her way. Shimmer though, was not my favorite in the Rephaim series though it is still a fantastic book and read.

Giuliana Year 9

Take a look at these new books in our library!