The Outsider

Oran Gelinas
The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer

Tired and cold, ocean water flooding into your ship and the trolls barking orders at you. Imagine you are eleven year old Jack. He used to live in a quiet village but it all changed when the Bard came, he could use magic and bend nature to his will. One day he chooses Jack to become his apprentice; they train for months, but time narrows down as trolls are hunting the Bard down and will murder the whole village if he is not found. When the trolls come they assumingly kill the Bard and take Jack and his sister as slaves. Jack now has to work on their ship and hopes for escape.

So far this book has intrigued me and has me reading more. I find the plot to this book to have a lot of depth and it interests me every time I read. I am never left waiting for parts of the book to come to an end because they’re boring or bland. The imagery and details are fantastic as I can visualize everything happening clearly and I am never confused on why something is happening or who someone is. Parts of the book remind me of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, or Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. While reading this book I always seem to get lost in my imagination, as I think I’m living thousands of years ago with magic and trolls. However, I do think this book can get repetitive of what they’re explaining but you never will get confused on uninterested. I highly recommend this book, especially if you love fantasy and engaging your mind into another realm of possibilities. The book makes reality become limitless, and possibilities endless.

In a Distant Future, Far Away

Ryan Politis

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

The world is ending due to climate change and everyone is plugged into virtual reality headsets. This future sucks.  The novel follows Wade Watts, a senior in high school, who lives in a stack of RV’s.  The OASIS is a virtual reality headset that most of the US wears to escape reality.  The Creator of the OASIS, James Halliday, has recently died.  He left behind billions of dollars and a game inside the OASIS riddled with clues to find it.  Wade is one of those people looking for Halliday’s Easter egg.  Halliday left riddles and references from old games and tabletop role-playing games.  The search is on and Wade has to find the egg or die trying.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a great book.  It is filled with countless references to old games and tabletops.  The book references Galaga, Wargames, Dungeons and Dragons, and Joust.  The references are important to the book. I really like how the references are incorporated into the book.  A part of a riddle might include references to a game or a tabletop and Wade might have to complete that game to proceed to the next clue.  The only part I didn’t like so far is when Wade and a friend roasted another person.  The actions of Wade, his friend, and the crowd do not reflect how people react normally react. When Wade insults the person everyone claps. It's unnatural and it doesn't reflect how people react to people insulting each other. There are some funny moments in the book.  When Wade was dancing with someone he described himself as “Plastic Man, if he were tripping out of his mind on LSD”.  That line had me dying.  I’d rate this book a 4.5/5.  I’d recommend this book to anyone that enjoys science fiction, video games, and tabletop role-playing games.

You're hearing ghosts.

Brendon Cruz

Far Far Away

By: Tom McNeal

“‘Ghosts,’ his grandfather finally surmised. ‘You’re hearing ghosts.’ He squinted at Jeremy. ‘Do you see ‘em, too?’ Jeremy said he never saw any ghosts, and a few days later his grandfather, having done his research, announced that Jeremy was not a clairvoyant but a clairaudient. ‘That’s a person who hears voices from the spirit world,”’ (McNeal 43-44).

The book Far Far away is about a boy named Jeremy who lives in a town that is full of gossip. He gets made fun of at school because he can hear ghosts but nobody believes him. There are a select group of girls who are nice to him, but in the past they used him for his homework. They took him out to eat at a bakery that has special prince cakes that are supposed to make you fall in love with the first person you see while you are taking your first bite. His mom supposedly ate one of the prince cakes, and then she ran off with a Canadian man, and lived in Canada for awhile. When Jeremy’s mother passed away his father had gotten a letter saying that she died and, since then, (5 years ago) his dad has rarely left his room, so his house is about to be taken by the bank. While Jeremy is doing whatever he can, in attempt to save his house alone without his father's assistance. The story is told from a ghost's perspective who has been talking/guiding to Jeremy since he was about 7 (presently he is about 15). At this point in the book he just was in trouble with the police for sneaking onto someone's yard with those girls and he got caught, but the prosecuter whose property he snuck onto was kind, and let him go with no charges.

Personally I would read this book if I hadn’t read it before because of how interesting the story is since it’s from the ghosts point of view. No other book I have ever read has had such an unique way of telling a story. I feel like the type of reader who may be intrigued by this type of book may be someone who tends to like realistic fiction. I’m sure there are people who hide the fact that they can do or hear something but are afraid of being looked upon as being ‘weird’.

Innocent, or guilty

Shaelyn Hart
Shutter by Laurie Faria Stolarz


Day loves taking pictures but one day took a picture of the wrong guy, at the wrong time.
         The main character Day, in the book shutter by Laurie Faria Stolarz, met a guy named Julian and immediately they had a connection. Little did she know he had a dark past. Julian was arrested for alleged murder of his father and his mother committed suicide the same day. Even worse he is an escapee from prison. When they first met they were so intrigued by each other. Day took pictures of Julian, and researched him after she was told who she was. Julian followed her everywhere out of fascination. After meeting once more, day decided to let him stay in her shed, under one condition, they he let her interview him and help him prove his innocence. As they investigated, their feelings for each other became undeniably strong. The more they talked the more their romance got stronger. Day kept finding out sketchy things about Julian, and doubted is innocence, but that didn't affect her feelings for him. And over time they grew closer together.
        I enjoyed this book because it uses both the perspectives of Day, and Julian. The book keeps the suspense with both the romance and criminal aspects. As Day kept interviewing Julian, he kept revealing important details of the murder. As more details were revealed, the more they acted on their feelings.  It starts to feel slow 3 quarters into the book because nothing really happens and it feels as though it is repeating. Towards the end of the book it becomes a little more eventful and entertaining.
       I would definitely recommend this book to people who like romance and/or mystery. It has a good balance of both genres. For example, Each chapter we find out more about what happened the night of the murder and each chapter they express more of their feelings for each other. It keeps you wondering about two things ( the murder and their relationship), and it is a page turner. It definitely  made me imagine what I would do if I were in that situation. Overall I really enjoyed this book and I would rate this a 4 out of 5 stars.