Editors Note: What’s This? Are we a book review website now?
Well no. We’re still doing all the great things you’ve come to love about FresYes. However, this is another book review from Emma. She’s in 8th grade and a voracious reader.  We loved it and thought it just needed to be shared and hope you do too!  Have a young reader in your home? We’d love to share their book review too.

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Harry Potter and The Cursed Child
By: J.K. Rowling

This is a momentous occasion! 20 years ago, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (or Philosopher’s Stone, whatever floats your boat) was published, and a culture was born. J.K. Rowling’s world swept the world with its magic and adventure, then in 2007, the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released, and we all thought the story over. Then, we find out that a play is in the works in London, and it’s about the eighth Harry Potter story. At first, the wizard community was enraged that we could only see this addition in London, but we were soon appeased with the news that J.K. Rowling and writing partner Jack Thorne, would be publishing the script to this play! As one of the many people around the world who sacrificed sleep to go to their local Barnes and Noble’s Midnight Release party, I have to say that it was totally worth it. Though it’s not the same as the previous seven books, (it’s a script, duh) Cursed Child carries the same magic.

I remember the first time I read the Sorcerer’s Stone. I was in third grade, and by the time I finished the series I had just finished fourth. Reading Harry Potter means endless adventures, no matter how old you are. It’s the growing up with the characters and learning from them that makes the long nights of reading worth it. So when the Cursed Child came out, I was excited to see how that would carry over to a script. I wasn’t disappointed exactly, my reaction was more like surprised. For 4 years I had been in the comfortable bubble of normal for Harry Potter. I was comfortable with what I had been used to, and it was shocking that anything from Harry Potter could be different. But it was a good different. It was something new and exciting to learn about. I got to see what my childhood heroes had been up to.

It’s hard to criticize a Harry Potter book, because they always come out on top, but there are some things in the Cursed Child that could’ve been done differently. The characters for example. Harry, Hermione, and Ron, were so different from how I remember them. When I imagined them as parents, this wasn’t how I saw them. Harry especially seemed out of character. He was depressed and distant from his family, something that you would never expect from him considering his history.

However, I didn’t necessarily dislike Harry. One character who I didn’t like was Harry’s son Albus. It’s ok for a character to be dim, but at some point they should be given a wakeup call and realize “Oh wait, I made a mistake,” or “Ok maybe I’m being too stubborn.” Albus I felt like was one of the most frustrating characters I’ve read until about the last twenty or so pages. I just couldn’t wrap my head around his thinking process.

But on the good side of characters, I REALLY liked Draco’s son Scorpius. He was probably the smartest character in the book, second to Hermione herself. Although, he does give her a run for her money a couple times. I saw Scorpius as a real character, someone who I could’ve seen in the original seven books.

I’m not exactly sure about the plot of Cursed Child. Not that there was anything wrong about it. You have to remember, this is all supposed to be in stage form, so this story is probably beautiful when you’re not reading its pages. It did feel like though that too many things were being squeezed in. There were one or two plot holes that should not have been holes, and there were moments where I was left wondering why that detail was there.

As a hardcore Harry Potter fan, I do want to give credit to J.K. Rowling for even writing this new story, no matter the mixed feelings about it. As always, the morals and themes that have been there since the first book were present in Cursed Child, just in a different way. I’m grateful that the wizarding community was given something new to think about. In a way, it kind of reminds us to keep our minds open to the possibilities. J.K. Rowling writes for the sole purpose of teaching the readers to think outside the box.

Harry Potter will always have a special place in my heart and the hearts of thousands of others. I HIGHLY suggest that you pick the series up and start reading!

-Emma

Buy the Book:

Good Reads: LINK
Amazon: LINK
Barns & Noble: LINK

Editors Note: What’s This? Are we a book review website now?
Well no. We’re still doing all the great things you’ve come to love about FresYes. However, this is another book review from Emma. She’s in 8th grade and a voracious reader.  We loved it and thought it just needed to be shared and hope you do too!  Have a young reader in your home? We’d love to share their book review too.

Tell Your StoryHave a FresYes Story? Here's your chance to share it with the world!

This Is Where It Ends
By: Marieke Nijkampe

I’m not exactly sure how to start this review. Unlike other books I’ve written about, This Is Where It Ends is a LOT more serious. It’s a work of fiction, but the storyline of this book is based on something that happens too often… school shootings. I was hesitant to read this book, as I was scared that it would be a mockery of a real, important, and tragic issue. But I was wrong. The author handles the topic of school shootings so maturely that you can’t help but wonder if they had been in that situation at some point.

This Is Where It Ends follows the stories of four high school students over the course of fifty-four harrowing minutes. Tyler Brown is an dropout student transformed by abuse from his father and merciless bullying from his classmates. The book shows how four students deal with this life or death situation.

Something I liked about this book is how each of the narrators truly does have their own individual reason to fear the boy with the gun. Autumn, Tyler’s sister, is afraid he’ll destroy her chance at her dreams. Sylv, Autumn’s best friend, is constantly haunted by Tyler’s accusation of her taking Autumn away from him. Tomas, Sylv’s brother, fears that the karma of the past three years will bite him in the butt. Claire, the ex-girlfriend of Tyler, feels guilty for his corruption and worries that if someone dies, she’ll have to take the blame.

The maturity with which this book is dealt with is such an important thing. You can tell from reading it that the author has a lot of respect for the subject of school shootings, and that she wants to do it justice. Looking back, I’m glad I read This Is Where It Ends, because it was definitely an eye-opener to the world outside of the bubble of safety I live in.

There’s also a maturity with the characters. Well written characters with back stories and flaws, grow into the best characters. Even though this book doesn’t give a whole lot of time for character development, there are noticeable changes in their views on life, which affects how they act. There’s something that needs to be said about that.

One thing I wish would’ve been more emphasized was the back story. At certain intervals in the book, there would be small flash-back chapters. But they don’t really give a whole lot of reason to the plot. I would’ve liked to know a bit more about each narrator’s relationship with Tyler, like what happened between them to cause fear. What really would’ve been the frosting on the cake is if we could’ve gotten into Tyler’s head a bit and see the world through his eyes. Why is he like he is now? What happened to him in the past? How did his friends fail to reach out to him? These are questions that I felt could’ve completed the book if they were answered.

If you’re looking for a good, honest story, This Is Where It Ends is my recommendation for you. It’s a great book that can open so many eyes and change so many perspectives. The story is something we all would benefit from.

-Emma

Buy the Book:

Get your copy of This Is Where It Ends at any of the following places (and wherever books are sold):

Editors Note: What’s This? Are we a book review website now?
Well no. We’re still doing all the great things you’ve come to love about FresYes. However, this is another from Emma. She’s in 7th grade and a voracious reader.  We loved it and thought it just needed to be shared and hope you do too!  Have a young reader in your home? We’d love to share their book review too.

Tell Your StoryHave a FresYes Story? Here's your chance to share it with the world!

Hello! I have yet another book review! What did you expect? It’s prime reading time! And this one’s a beauty! This time I have for you…(drum roll please)… Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor! I have no words for this book. It was just absolutely amazing. It’s on a whole other level of books.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone is about Karou, a girl shrouded in mystery with naturally blue hair and a knack for going missing. Karou is an art student, and an exemplary one at that. Yes, she draws all the normal stuff like bowls of fruit and statues, but her real passion lies in her drawings of imaginary creatures. But, these creatures might not be so imaginary. Here is a Goodreads.com summary that I feel puts the book in perfect words.

Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”, she speaks many languages – not all of them human – and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.
When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. When I finished this book (very quickly I might add), I was blown away. Every single thing I talk about in my reviews had been hit spot on. It was just so well-written that I can’t even put the perfection into words. So, I thought I would introduce some new topics that this book ALSO nailed.

Two words. World building. The difficulty of writing a book that takes place in two worlds at the same time, not to mention when you throw in the past and present, is SO IMMENSE. Daughter of Smoke & Bone takes place in our world at our time, a fictional world at our time, AND the fictional world eighteen years ago. When writing with three settings like these, it’s so incredibly important to keep the world of reality relevant, and the world of fantasy alive. Not only did Laini Taylor have to balance out a fantasy world with a real world, she had to show how the fantasy world had changed over 18 years. Let’s just say, she did just so. Taylor knows how to keep all three settings separate yet compatible. The worlds flow together without blending together, if you know what I mean.

Another big point that I don’t usually bring up is originality. Yes, yes I know every story is different; that’s the author’s job, to be original. But a lot of books can be compared to each other. But if someone asked me to name a book that was similar to Daughter of Smoke & Bone, I wouldn’t be able to. There is no book like this one. The storyline, the characters, the world, it’s all so unique.

So it’s safe to say that Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor is certainly high up on my bookshelf. It’s an everlasting story that continues in the next two books, Days of Blood & Starlight and Dreams of Gods & Monsters. Definitely a must read for anyone that appreciates a good story.

In my next review, I’ll be discussing something that holds a very special place in my heart. An oldie but a goodie, a true masterpiece. But you’ll have to wait to find out what it is!

-ECtheBOOKLION

Buy the Book:

Author’s Website
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Editors Note: What’s This? Are we a book review website now?
Well no. We’re still doing all the great things you’ve come to love about FresYes. However, this is another from Emma. She’s in 7th grade and a voracious reader.  We loved it and thought it just needed to be shared and hope you do too!  Have a young reader in your home? We’d love to share their book review too.

Tell Your StoryHave a FresYes Story? Here's your chance to share it with the world!

Anna and the French Kiss
By: Stephanie Perkins

It’s summer! And that means lots of reading! Usually this time of year, I find myself floating around in the pool with a cute contemporary, or lounging in my room with a suspenseful mystery. Now technically, I read this book back in October, but one day I woke up, saw this on my bookshelf, and thought I am going to read you again. And what do you know, I finished it 12 hours later. I’m glad to say it was just as heartwarming and funny as the last time.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is a contemporary story about a girl who gets flown to Paris, France for her senior year of high school. You would think she would be ecstatic about this, but here’s the catch. She’s all alone and speaks absolutely no French. And on top of that, Anna is being torn away from her best friend, her job, and her home in Atlanta. But that all changes when she meets the charming Etienne St. Clair, and his amazing group of friends. Over time, Anna starts to think maybe a year in Paris wouldn’t be so bad after all.

I can’t get over how realistic and relatable this book is! Lost with no family or friends, no knowledge of the culture, and no skill with the native language, Anna is flustered and scared, but over the course of the book, she learns and adapts to her surroundings, and she uses her friends to do that. I have said over and over again how important it is for the characters to be relatable, and these characters balance each other out so well, that you can easily see yourself in any of these positions. Even then, they were realistic. It didn’t feel like these characters were from a dream or were perfect Mary Sue characters, they all had their flaws and their traits that left them unique.

Another ever important topic I bring up every review is character arcs. Perkins obviously knows what it means for a character to develop and understands how to make them develop smoothly. The developments went with the story and came naturally. The relationship between Anna and St. Clair didn’t just happen, there were ups and downs. They were friends, then best friends, and when things were finally starting to look up and bud into something more, they have a huge argument. Because let’s face it, even the best of friends fights.

And now we come to the whole reason to a book, the plot. Anna and the French Kiss is a contemporary romance, you know what’s going to happen purely because of intuition, so it’s the author’s job to make the story a little less predictable. Stephanie Perkins put just the right amount of angst and twists so that even though you could tell what the ending was going to look like, you didn’t know how the story was going to get to that point. She made it about the journey, not the destination.

Anna and the French Kiss should definitely be on your summer reading list, and just a little advice, this book is best read with a small animal to cuddle with, as it gives the reader the warm and fuzzies.

-ECtheBOOKLION

Buy the Book:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Anna-French-Kiss-Stephanie-Perkins/dp/0142419400

Editors Note: What’s This? Are we a book review website now?
Well no. We’re still doing all the great things you’ve come to love about FresYes. However, this is another from Emma. She’s in 7th grade and a voracious reader.  We loved it and thought it just needed to be shared and hope you do too!  Have a young reader in your home? We’d love to share their book review too.

Tell Your StoryHave a FresYes Story? Here's your chance to share it with the world!

The Crown
By: Kiera Cass

Behold, The Crown! Kiera Cass has done it again. She made me cry. Like, a river of tears. The Crown was a sad but satisfying ending to her debut series, The Selection. In the first three books, we read the story of America Singer, a poor girl from a poor neighborhood, who had a stroke of luck, found her true love, and become Illea’s queen. Then, in the fourth book, The Heir, we returned to the castle twenty years later to find that America and Maxon’s daughter, Eadlyn, is holding a Selection of her own. Now, in The Crown, Eadlyn is on the verge of finding out who she truly is, and what love really means.
“When Eadlyn became the first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection, she didn’t think she would fall in love with any of her thirty-five suitors. She spent the first few weeks of the competition counting down the days until she could send them all home. But as events at the palace force Eadlyn even further into the spotlight, she realizes that she might not be content remaining alone.
Eadlyn still isn’t sure she’ll find the fairytale ending her parents did twenty years ago. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and soon Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more impossible—and more important—than she ever imagined.” –GoodReads.com

Like I said before, The Crown was a very satisfying ending, even though at one point it did break my heart. This was also when the characters really interacted with each other and it became a character driven story. Reading it felt like being inside the character’s head, not watching the story unfold in front of you, which is a great thing, but being inside the mind of someone is always more exciting!
And now probably one of the most important things in a book, second only to the plot itself, character arcs. In the previous book, The Heir, Eadlyn was a whiny little diva. The book even opened with the lines, “there is no one more powerful than me”, and that attitude was carried throughout the whole book. But then when we come to The Crown, something inside Eadlyn’s mind clicked, and her perspective on things changed. She saw the world for what it really was, and that instead of using her power to provide a cushion for her feelings and as an excuse for her behavior, she can use it to help those who don’t have ANY power. Eadlyn learned who she was, what she had, what she could do.
When writing a final installment to a series, the author has to be extremely careful in how they play things out. They have to somehow fill all the plot holes, answer all the questions, and keep it an entertaining story. For being her first last book, Cass seemed to know how to do that. She ended the story in harmony with the plot, she didn’t just throw a bunch of information in random places and call it a day. In a way, she wrapped up the series and put a bow on top. It was a gift.
I’m sad to see The Selection series end, but I can’t wait to see what Kiera Cass does next. I can tell you right now that I plan on reading any book she writes. That’s all for now! Bye!!!

-ECtheBOOKLION

Buy the Book:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Selection-Kiera-Cass-ebook/dp/B013PKDSHI
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-crown-kiera-cass/1122825564

Editors Note: What’s This? Are we a book review website now?
Well no. We’re still doing all the great things you’ve come to love about FresYes. However, this is another from Emma. She’s in 7th grade and a voracious reader.  We loved it and thought it just needed to be shared and hope you do too!  Have a young reader in your home? We’d love to share their book review too.

Tell Your StoryHave a FresYes Story? Here's your chance to share it with the world!

Hey! It’s me! I have returned with a glorious book! The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan!!!!! The Hidden Oracle is the first book in Riordan’s new Greek mythology series, The Trials of Apollo. Just let me tell you right now, this book was flippin’ amazing!!! It was easily some of his best writing yet. Here’s the GoodReads summary…

The Trials of Apollo, Book 1: The Hidden Oracle

“How do you punish an immortal?

By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus’s favor.

But Apollo has many enemies – gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.”

If you’ve read any of Rick Riordan’s books before, you know that this a very different plot than what we’ve seen before. From Percy Jackson and The Lightening Thief, to Magnus Chase and The Gods of Asgard, and all the books in between, Riordan has spun tales about a teenage demigod battling monsters, spirits, and magicians. And don’t get me wrong, I live for those stories, but it was starting to get a little repetitive. Not that they are all the same story, because they’re not, they’re completely different. It’s also Rick Riordan’s writing style; troubled teenagers who happen to be half god. So it’s not like I was getting tired of it, it’s that I wanted something a little different. And Trials of Apollo is exactly what the fandom needed.

For the first time ever, instead of writing as a teenage demigod, Riordan has given an actual GOD their own series. This series is from the perspective of the Greek god of archery, music, and medicine, Apollo. All of Riordan’s signature traits, including witty and sarcastic remarks, shine through but in a new way. Riordan definitely executed this amazingly.  Just the quality of the writing was unbelievable. Seriously, as I was reading it, I felt like I was reading the original series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, all over again.

Another big point about this is the naturalness of the plot and the character arcs. In the beginning of the book, we saw Apollo as spoiled, whiney, and rude. But as the story went on, he slowly grew to realize that he needed to take the blame for his mistakes and fix them. Sometimes in a book, the author will force this kind of change onto the character, and it doesn’t feel right. In The Hidden Oracle, it was timed perfectly and it was a natural change.

The relatability to the characters is another important factor too. As a teenager, I could relate to problems that these characters were dealing with, such as dealing with immense amounts of pressure or feeling like the whole world is against you. The characters are so REAL, and that’s a gift to not only the readers, but to the author.

The last big point is the captivating-ness. I grew up with all of Riordan’s characters. Percy Jackson, Carter and Sadie Kane, Magnus Chase, and so many more, are all heroes of mine. The first time I read the Lightening Thief, I was 9 years old. And now I’m 13, and I still connect with the characters. With Rick Riordan’s writing, it’s so easy to be a part of the story. You can feel and think like the characters without trying. It’s so dang captivating.

I give The Hidden Oracle a 10 out of 10, 5 star, 100% rating. I really hope you guys read it because it’s a must! I absolutely loved it and I have no doubt you will too. Bye!

P.S. Here’s a little sneak peek to my next book review…

“A Selection can only have one winner. A princess only has one heart.”

-ECtheBOOKLION

Buy the Book:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Trials-Apollo-Book-Hidden-Oracle/dp/148473274X/

Editors Note: What’s This? Are we a book review website now?
Well no. We’re still doing all the great things you’ve come to love about FresYes. However, this is another from Emma. She’s in 7th grade and a voracious reader.  We loved it and thought it just needed to be shared and hope you do too!  Have a young reader in your home? We’d love to share their book review too.

Tell Your StoryHave a FresYes Story? Here's your chance to share it with the world!

Finding Audrey
By: Sophie Kinsella

I’m back! For my past due March review, I’ll be writing about an absolutely AMAZING book, Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella! I thought Finding Audrey was just amazingly well-written and well-thought. The characters were relatable, the dialogue was realistic, and the plot was just unbelievable.

Finding Audrey is about a girl with an anxiety disorder that causes her to be extremely shy. Audrey has to suffer through therapy sessions, over protective parents, and crazy brothers, and she hasn’t been making very much progress. Until she meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate. With Linus, she learns to let loose and go back to her normal life. For the first time in a long time, things are starting to look bright and sunny again.

The one big thing about this book that I just loved is that it dealt with Audrey’s mental illness in a realistic way. Other books that I’ve read where a character has a mental illness, it seemed like it was an act where the author didn’t handle it well. But in Finding Audrey, Sophie Kinsella knew how to treat mental illness and how to use it in her story. It felt like it was a real thing and a deep part of Audrey, like it’s something that has affected her life. Sophie Kinsella is definitely a talented author if she can pull all the elements she did together. To be able to do that and keep the story under control, the author has to have some serious writing skills. Definitely read Finding Audrey because it is just a great book and it’s a really pretty story.

By the way, I CAN NOT WAIT FOR MAY!!!!!!! OMG! My second favorite author of all time (my first favorite is J.K. Rowling, because she’s a goddess, duh), Rick Riordan, is releasing his new book, Trials Of Apollo, The Hidden Oracle, on May 3rd, and I just can’t wait to read it and write about for you!!!! Aghhhh!!!!! This is the first time in two years Riordan is going back to his roots in Greek mythology for a full five book series and I AM JUST SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!! Anyway, I hope you read Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella so we can share its wondrous beauty! Bye!!!!

-ECtheBOOKLION

Buy the Book:
Author Site: http://www.sophiekinsella.co.uk/book_detail.php?b=34
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Audrey-Sophie-Kinsella/dp/0553536516/