Tolog Review: My Sister's Keeper

My Sister's Keeper
by Jodi Picoult
reviewed by Payton Tompkins

For the first SSR reading assignment, I read the book My Sister’s Keeper. The book was very intriguing, and an overall good-read that is not very difficult. The book is about a 13-year-old named Anna Fitzgerald. She has a very interesting life, because the only reason she actually has a life and was brought onto this earth was to help save her older sister Kate’s life. The reason she is saving Kate’s life is because she has promyelocytic leukemia, and Anna can donate her body parts in order to save her sister’s life. The problem is, that Anna has never given anyone permission to take away her body parts, and she decides she needs to take a stand. This is when she persuades Campbell Alexander to be her lawyer, so she can sue her parents for the rights to her own body. This causes much drama for her family, not even including the fact that her sister is extremely sick.

If I were to rate this book, I would give it a 7 out of 10. The overall plot was extremely intriguing, and each of the characters were interesting, but some chapters just seemed never ending. Although the chapters were long, I really enjoyed Picoult’s writing style. It was extremely interesting how each chapter had a different character narrating, and they would rotate. I also liked how the book was not all in the present, and that some of the chapters were about past times/situations. It made the book more intriguing and unique. If someone enjoys fiction, that somehow seems to come to life and seem real. This book truly reminded me of The Fault in our Stars, because I felt such a strong connection with both books. This book is well-worth your time if you are looking for an easy read with intense characters.

Tolog Review: Speak

Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson
reviewed by Sofia Gutierrez

Doesn’t it seem like a nightmare to lose all of your friends? Living in a world of loneliness where everyone is against you, you can’t let your voice be heard, and you just can’t speak.
Laurie Halse Anderson introduces this theme of a silenced individual in her novel, Speak. This nightmare of loneliness is a reality for freshman Melinda Sordino. Everyone including her closest friends are against her because she is the one who called the police at a huge party over the summer. Anderson takes us on a journey to find out the real reason Melinda called the police at the party.
Anderson captures the life of Melinda and steps into her world of loneliness that starts off as just sadness. Her loneliness evolves into skipping class, grades dropping, and eventually not speaking at all. Living with the pain of what happened that night, we look through the eyes of Melinda and her thoughts as we continue reading the novel.

Anyone can relate to this story in many ways. We all have a “Mr. Neck”, a character in Speak, in our lives. Someone who enjoys seeing us fail and fall down. We also have that person in our lives who is like Rachelle who thinks he or she is better than everyone else and will not listen to the truth.

Anderson does an excellent job of introducing the theme of being silenced. For those who have had a traumatic experience in their life, they know what it is liked to be silenced and feel as if they have no place to go. Anderson reaches out to those who have no voice and ultimately gives them the hope and closure that they need to hear to know everything will get better. 

I would recommend this book to everyone but I mostly recommend this book to high school students or the people who feel as if they lost their voice due to struggles in life. This powerful story will change your view about how we should treat people. With the progression of events in the story, it is impossible not to turn the next page!

Tolog Review: My Sister's Keeper

My Sister's Keeper
by Jodi Picoult
reviewed by Margaret Gervais

My Sister's Keeper is a novel that is changing of characters speaking. This story takes place in the present in a short amount of time. This story is about a lawyer and now a stay-at-home mom with a two year old child, Kate, with a rare case of leukemia. The family starts treatment at once but soon figures out that it would fail. They try to find a bone marrow donor that is related but the parents end up having a baby named Anna with the exact match of bone marrow. Anna undergoes many surgeries till she is about thirteen and has had enough. She goes to see a lawyer to try and sue her parents for medical emancipation. Her mother and father are somewhat confused and furious when hearing about this. Kate progressively gets ill and must be hospitalized. Anna stands up for herself and decides not to drop this case. They take it to the court, and Anna admits that Kate put her up to this because she was tired of getting sick and wanted to die. Anna's lawyer, Cambell keeps fighting as hard as he can and they eventually win. Anna is now free from giving anymore organs to her sister. Anna and Cambell decide to visit Kate in the hospital after feeling so bad that Anna got medical emancipation. They get into a serious accident and Anna is brain damaged and dies. Cambell makes the righteous decision and gives one of Anna's kidneys to Kate. Kate lives, but feels as though it is her fault for all the mess that has happened. She knows that she will always carry Anna within her.

Tolog Review: Lock and Key

Lock and Key
by Sarah Dessen
reviewed by Sarah Vail, class of 2015

This is a very entertaining story between a mother and daughter both named Ruby. When Ruby's single mom (Ruby) leaves for a few months before Ruby's 18th birthday. Ruby lives alone in her and her mother's poorly conditioned house without running water, hoping to stay under the radar until she's a legal adult. Instead, a social worker tells her she has to live with Cora, her older sister she hasn't seen for 10 years, now a lawyer married to a rich Internet entrepreneur. Despite her new surroundings, Ruby always wears the key to her old house on a chain around her neck as a reminder of her difficult yet more familiar old life. She slowly starts to lower her deep emotional defenses, reconnecting with her sister, making friends with another girl who doesn't fit in at school, and crushing on Nate, the cute, popular boy next door who seems to have a perfect life. It's only when she gets to know Nate that she realizes he might have secrets of his own to unlock. Overall, this book belongs in its own category of literature, it is unlike any other book I have ever read before. It was a very good book in the end though.I have actually never read a book similar to this one, this book to me is actually one of a kind. Teens will respond to Ruby's first-person voice as she struggles with all the changes in her life, even positive ones. Handed $200 by surprise and then sent to the mall, Ruby is completely anxious with what we as teenagers would seem to be as the greatest time. The child abuse isn't sensationalized; Ruby's mother, Ruby, focuses on the psychological damage, not the physical violence. This may seem crazy at first, but because of this, Ruby is able to accomplish so much in her life that she never thought would be possible. If you are entertained by the certain aspects of the book said above, you will then love this book!

Tolog Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty

The Summer I Turned Pretty 
Jenny Han
reviewed by Juliana Gallegos, class of 2015

         The Summer I Turned Pretty may seem to be a book based solely on the outward appearance of a girl by just looking at the cover; but I can easily inform you, it has much more content that is not based on vanity. Belly, a 15-year old girl, spends each summer in a beach house in “Cousins” with her mother, brother Steven, and family friends Susana, Conrad, and Jeremiah. Susana, Belly’s mother’s best friend, enjoys the beach house more than anything during the summers and only wants the kids to enjoy it too. Her relationship with Belly I felt was the highlight of the book, because it was the only relationship in which Belly felt open and happy. According to Belly, this summer was going to be different, and it certainly was because she had “turned pretty.” Belly’s descriptions of Jeremiah and Conrad aren’t very similar, and by the way she describes Conrad you already know what she has her eyes set on this summer. Not only does she encounter boy troubles throughout her long summer days, but also realizes that she is still not considered “one of the boys.” This confuses her greatly, because she thought she would have received more equal attention now that her appearance had changed. Will she ever be allowed to join in with them? I felt she focused too much on her thoughts of Conrad to see that the boys really appreciated her; and when she later found out how much she did mean to them, it astonished me that she didn’t see it coming her way. When this is revealed, she is struck with an even more difficult situation to embrace. Had she spent her summer worrying about the wrong things? After all, it is the summer she turned pretty. 

Tolog Review: Stealing Heaven

Stealing Heaven
by Elizabeth Scott
reviewed by Natalie Niu, class of 2015

This is an amazing and impressive book, which depicts an 18 years old girl’s struggle to let go of her former, dangerous life that her family established for her. Instead of being a normal, happy girl as other do, Daniel is a thief and all she pursuits are silver. The most surprising things I first read was about her mom. Her mom has been raised her that way, with not education, no future, only a life of deception and thievery. Since her father in jail and her mom is becoming more and more obsessed with stealing, Daniel gradually grows disenchanted with her current lifestyle. However, she cannot abandon her mom. It made me even more curious about what things will save Daniel from this dangerous situation. The change comes when they arrive in a beach town Heaven. She feels the human connection in there as she made two friends. She longs for that human connection because she has never get to know about the world around her since she starts being a thief when she is little. Then she starts to recognize the choice she has to make—go back to the life she’s always known, or choose a life that she’s always expecting secretly. Besides the story, Daniel is a really wonderful, cute character for me. Even though at the beginning it was hard to believe a 18-years old girl being a thief, however, I changed my views on her after reading more about the story. She’s always been a quiet and mysterious girl who secretly dreams of having friends, longs for human connections. This lukewarm novel is really impressive and deals with some very teenage girl problem. I believe this book can be very inspiring and amazing for any teenage girls! I highly recommend you to read it. 

Tolog Review: Just Listen

Just Listen
by Sarah Dessen
reviewed by Miranda Spears, class of 2015

Just Listen, written by Sarah Dessen, follows the complicated and extremely difficult life of the teenage model Annabel Greene. Annabel used to be known as the girl with everything, she was the perfect "model" and had many friends and her family seemed perfect in their glass house. The whole plot changes once she attends a party with her two best friends (Emily and Sophie). At the party Sophie's boyfriends rapes Annabel, but he claims Annabel came onto him, which causes Sophie to hate her. One of Annabel's sister becomes diagnosed with an eating disorder, which makes Annabel feel her parents have enough to deal with, so she often doesn't tell her mom or dad about her problems, or the fact she wants to quit modeling. Due to the event that happened between Sophie's boyfriend and Annabel, Annabel loses all her friends because no one believes her (and she doesn't stand up for herself). Annabel befriends Owen, an outcast who is a diehard music fan and doesn't care what anyone thinks. He teaches Annabel to be completely honest about her opinions and feelings. Owen is the one that teaches Annabel it's okay to reach out for help and talk about her problems. Of course, like any good teenage romance story, they eventually fall for each other. Towards the middle of the story Annabel realizes she wants to quit modeling, but her mom loves modeling and play such a big role in her career she doesn't want to feel like she is failing her mother, especially while Whitney has anorexia. In the beginning of the book Annabel describes what their house looks like, it's all glass. She says from the outside looking in the family looks like the perfect, happy, content family eating dinner at the table together, but in reality their family has many problems they are just very good at hiding. I thought this book was very good because it shows that you need to speak up for yourself, as well as it taught me that you can't always assume you know what’s happening in someone life. You should never assume their day is going better/or worse than yours. It also taught me that making friends with someone who may be very quiet (Owen) could possibly become one of the best relationships you could have. This novel follows the path of Annabel conquering her fears and the truth. If you read this story you will find out if she gets the right help in time, or if she is too far lost to find her way "home". I think this book would appeal to any girl who likes romance/general fiction/teenage drama. This book opens a new perspective on how to view other people. You never know if someone's family really is perfect, or if they've been through things no one should have to go through at ages 16 and 17. I think if you like any of Sarah Dessen books then you will like this one. She is a very consistent and good author, and always manages to connect to the reader somehow.
 

Tolog Review: Paper Towns

Paper Towns
by John Green
reviewed by Dominika Wilczek, class of 2015

Paper Towns by John Green (summed up) is basically a twisted love story that ends up not really making any sense and you just want to lie down and be frustrated at Mr. Green for doing this to you, yet again. Relating back to The Fault in Our Stars, Green hands you an unexpected love story and leaves you with a cliffhanger. The two main characters in this book almost exactly resemble Alaska and Miles from Green’s book Looking for Alaska.This book will make you both angry and happy, and you will have pity for Quentin (the main character/narrator). The spectrum of emotions the book will give you range from snickering to making you want to throw the book across the room. I recommend, that if you do read this book, you set out an entire day just to read it, because I guarantee you it’ll be too hard to put the book down once you’ve picked it up. I enjoyed reading this book because it was believable. Everything that took place could potentially happen to anyone around us. If you enjoy any other John Green book, I guarantee that you will enjoy this one. Although it isn’t as intense or heartbreaking, I still found it exciting. 

Tolog Review: Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska
by John Green

reviewed by Camille Trevor, class of 2015

Looking for Alaska, by John Green, is widely considered an unmistakably bestseller and one of his best works. The story is based on teenager Miles Halter and his experiences in transferring to Culver Creek, a boarding school. He transfers from public to boarding school in order to escape his home life of having no friends and receiving little attention. The first part of the book, “Before,” is solely based on his involvement with several characters in Culver Creek, including Alaska. His life as a Culver Creek student is dramatically impacted by Alaska because he falls in love with her secretly. The first section is separated by the number of days “before” what happens, which creates a great mystery for the reader to unravel. In addition, the second part of the book, “After,” picks up the pace of the story and consists of more consequential affairs. Because the novel is divided in terms of time and a specific event, it is highly unpredictable and suspenseful.

Although this book is seen as an extraordinary success, I find it to be adequate. The story is good, but the overall emotional depth seems insufficient. My main concern is that the story seems choppy in terms of plot and character development. The last part of the book encompasses thought-provoking ideas of life, including suffering, death, afterlife, and purpose on earth. Moreover, the first half does not contain half of the concepts displayed in the second half, which makes it seem dry in comparison. Regardless of these issues, the story does portray an excellent ongoing subject of friendship throughout the entirety of it. The significant occurrence between “Before” and “After” brings the characters together in times of hardship and pain. Furthermore, this story demonstrates the enigma of unanswerable questions, including an escape from the “labyrinth of suffering.” I enjoyed reading these reflective topics because there is no right or wrong answer. Finishing this book leaves you questioning for more because it is all interpretation. You decide what to believe. You decide the characters’ fate. The control shifts from the author to the reader, which leaves countless possibilities.If you like anything by John Green, you'll love this book! If you liked Paper Towns, you'll love this!

Tolog Review: The Truth About Forever

The Truth About Forever
by Sarah Dessen
reviewed by Kayla Montgomery, class of 2015

Sarah Dessen’s books are not just romance novels, they are masterpieces beautifully crafted tying in an addictive love story and real life events. This makes the relationship you have always dream of seem more attainable. The Truth About Forever is about a senior in high school named Macy who has always strived to be “perfect”, the perfect daughter, the perfect girlfriend, and the perfect sister. However, when she finds a new job over the summer at a catering company she realizes that no one can really be perfect, but everyone has their own flaws that make up who they are. Sarah Dessen’s novels always have an underlying message. She does not just talk about your typical love story, but she teaches you a moral lesson that you can take away and really reflect on and apply it to your life. The Truth About Forever teaches us that not only should we take chances in life, but also we should live life enjoying it and taking in every moment because life does not go on forever. She also teaches that sometimes in life we have to take risks and not be afraid of the results. She states in her novel, “It’s just one of those things…You know, that just happen. You don’t think or plan. You just do it”(Dessen 360). Dessen explains to us that some things in life happen for a reason. We do not have to plan things or worry about the consequences. She demonstrates that we have to sometimes be impulsive and take risks and not be afraid of the outcome because if we are, we will always be left wondering what would happened if I took that chance, that leap of faith would my life have ended up differently? So what I take away from the story is, that we are all capable of finding not only our one true love, but also life does not go on forever. Life is always changing and what we should focus on is living in the moment and taking in all that life has to offer. I think Sarah Dessen stated it beautifully in her final words of the novel, “You just never knew. Forever was so many different things. It was always changing; it was what everything really was about. It was twenty minutes, or a hundred years, or just this instant, or any instant I wished would last and last. But there was only one truth about forever that really matters, and it was this: it was happening. Right then”(Dessen 374). I have not been able to call a book one of my favorites in a long time, however The Truth About Forever I now consider one of favorite books hands down. Her novel really touched me, and I would recommend it to any one.  If you liked any of the books written by Sarah Dessen such as Lock and Key, Just Listen, and Along for the Ride you will love this book.
  

Tolog Review: The Solitude of Prime Numbers

The Solitude of Prime Numbers
by Paolo Giordano

reviewed by Sarah Vail, class of 2015

I have mixed reviews about this book. The beginning was extremely slow and each chapter kept flipping back and forth between several different character's stories, so it was very easy to get lost in the beginning as well. Though towards the end I really liked this book because I love sweet endings about friends who become more then friends after all of the struggles they have encountered together and finally being together in the end. So overall, it took a while for the story to really pick up, but the end made me happy with the book in the end. Though the end did not make up for the slow beginning because the slow beginning made me feel like the book was just going on and on and nothing exciting was really happening, from my perspective. It took a very long time for the romance to come into play in this book and that is when I could not put the book down. So I was happy with the book, but it is not one of my absolute favorite books. One of the specific things I did not like about the book was the switching of character stories every chapter. I eventually got the hang of this sequence, but in the beginning of the book I was very utterly confused on what was going on and I would get character stories mixed up. Getting character stories mixed up plus my confusion is probably one of the contributing reasons as to why I did not like the book in the beginning. Though this book was still a great one, but it was definitely not my favorite. This book is for people who can easily follow many different stories and love how they come together in the end, then this is the book for you. 
If you liked books such as Valentines Day and New Years Eve, then you'll love this book!

[note from Ms. Murphy: I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!]

Tolog Reviews: The Last Song

The Last Song
by Nicholas Sparks
reviewed by Sarah Montgomery, class of 2017

Sparks is a brilliant author who weaves messages between the lines. Reading between the lines is key in reading this book. He engages the reader in his novel The Last Song. To an inattentive reader, it is a simple story about a girl named Ronnie who lives with her dying dad over a summer and falls in love. A good reader can see how Sparks leaves the reader with the truth about love, family, and the consequences of actions and inaction. It is beautiful to watch Ronnie grow as a person in such a short time and you are constantly praying things turn out okay. You see the beauty of a relationship between brother and sister, children and father, enemy to self, lover to lover, friend to friend, and God to self. The most important messages he leaves is that you must truly get to know someone for yourself and that true love never dies.

for those who enjoyed Looking for Alaska, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud
  

Tolog Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green
reviewed by Sarah Vega, class of 2015

 The Fault in Our Stars is the best, most heartbreaking, hilarious teen novel that I have read so far. This has been said countless times, in countless reviews, and you know what? In my opinion, they are one hundred percent true. Everyone who had read this book told me to get ready to "cry my heart heart out" and I was pretty skeptical at first. Well, now I step down and admit defeat. I was in tears for the last 60 pages of the book. Absolutely heart wrenching, but triumphant. I was captivated because it conveyed the emotions of the characters so intensely that I felt as if I was actually going through what they were enduring. Also, the profound and personal thoughts told by the characters sweep me away in love, broke my heart, and made me ecstatic in laughter. The subject of cancer (huge subject in this novel) in general is not an easy subject to write or read, but the author has written a lovely, touching and highly unique story with remarkable characters. In the midst of unfortunate circumstances, a beautiful love story and a story of the importance of treating everyday as a gift is told. The novel is essentially about two young lives, dealing with the affects of cancer and the fragility of life, but it is more than that ... It's quirky and interesting and full of metaphors and amusing conversations. Augustus and Hazel 's ( main characters of the novel) story will stay with me for a long time.

“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

If you enjoy teen books that relate to the reader and are full of insightful messages (ex. Catcher In The Rye, Perks of Being a Wallflower, etc) you will love this book!

Tolog Review: Why We Broke Up

Why We Broke Up
by Daniel Handler
reviewed by Irene Niu, class of 2015

This book is writing in a teenager girl’s perspective to her ex –boyfriend. In this big long letter, along with a big box, narrator explained why they broken up and ended their relationship. Min Green and Ed Slaterton are Junior and senior in high school. EL is a popular basketball player and they meet and fall in love. They are bother first love to each other. As the reader can see, both of them tried really hard to keep up relationship through daily contact. However, at such young age, they are both naïve and immature about this relationship which they had no experience at all. This letter also composed lots of images that what is in the box, which Min will send to El at the end of the book after they broke up, this book reveals lots of details and develops of their relationship as Min moves on to explain the items she put in the box. The items in the box are all small things that filled with their memories, no matter the memories are bitter or sweet. Things like a box of matches, a pinhole camera, a folded note, a rubber band, a high school pennant, a toy truck are all in this box. There isn’t any direst claim about why they broken up, instead, Min tries to tell the mistakes both of them make that led to the end of the relationship. As a teenage reader, I feel sorry for their broken relationship, but I also acknowledge that how many mistakes we unconsciously make that can heart the feeling of people we care about. It is a wonderful book because it teaches me to be mature when facing a relationship with guys and be careful of what we do form their own relationship and experience. If you had a romantic relationship with someone in a short time.
If you want to know the pain or feeling when breaking up with boyfriend as a teen. If you are curious about the reasons why people broke up and are sparate form a relationship  

Tolog Review: The Ashleys

The Ashleys
by Melissa de la Cruz
reviewed by Alyssa Noriega, class of 2015

The Ashleys details the problem of cliques in an all girl’s school, and is very much based off of real world issues that girls in every type of school or grade can face from other girls around them. The main character, Lauren, is the stereotypical girl with low self-esteem who was an outcast until she spent a lot of money to change her physical appearance in order to fit in with the popular group of girls known as “The Ashleys.” However, Lauren has a dark side because her intentions were not just to be able to become friends with these girls, but to be able to infiltrate and destroy their clique. Lauren represents the bullied girl who was marginalized to the point that she developed a hatred toward the Ashleys, which fueled her desire to take them down. The marginalization she experiences from these girls goes back to Kindergarten when they forced her to eat mud. Lauren is successful by transforming herself to be more like them and in the process learns that not all of the Ashleys are happy so she uses them against each other to get what she wants. Her attempts to get back at the girls are representative of the fact that she felt so bad about herself because of them that she took it out on them. This shows how she may have transformed superficially, but she is no better on the inside than the other girls are. The book shows how vicious girls can be toward one another and how desperate the need to be accepted can become that some girls will go to any length to try to achieve. The Ashleys makes one think about how actions can have major negative effects on others’ lives years down the line, and that it can lead to unexpected consequences like a hatred that cannot be stopped. The moral of the story is to treat others the way one expects to be treated and that sometimes revenge is not so sweet. The Ashleys would mainly appeal to teenage girls since the main character is a teenage girl who is dealing with the social problems that any teenage girl could encounter. The book is a good reference to any girl who struggles with self-esteem issues because it allows them to identify with the main character. If you liked the movie "Mean Girls," then you'll love this book!

Tolog Revew: The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars

by John Green
reviewed by Olivia Amestoy, class of 2015

I'm sure countless girls have written about this book, and I don't doubt my review will be extremely similar to theirs. John Green eloquently writes a love story based on realism and well just life. There's no simple way to explain this book and give it justice. The story is relatable, real and wonderful. Green writes about how our lives are based on the opportunities we are presented with: both the ones we take and the ones we miss. The story isn't just a love story, it is about two people who struggle with their love and their lives, trying or not trying to make their marks in the world. I am writing this review after my second time reading it and I can confidently say that the book gives me a new meaning and perspective on life every time I have read it. So read it, you won't regret it. The quote "the world is not a wish granting factory" and "the existence of broccoli does not effect the taste or chocolate" are very interesting concepts and are talking about throughout the book. The book talks about suffering and making our marks, which are things humans have been pondering and struggling to answer since the beginning of time and always will, well into the future. Green does a great job of depicting Hazel as a relatable teenager, who thinks and feels the similarly as other teenage girls, with additional struggles from her cancer, which made me feel terrible for my complaints. Also, Hazel has a friend Kaitlyn, from her school days, who represents a lot of the "basic" girls I feel that I too have encountered and seeing Hazel chose being "friendless" over being fake friends with someone I find heroic and admirable. The story means a lot to me because I can easily relate to a lot of Hazel's emotional struggles and Green does a great job of reeling the reader in. In comedy, it is known that the funniest jokes are the ones where you see yourself in the joke, and in the same way, the best characters and stories are the ones that the reader sees themselves in or feels the same way. TFIOS also talks about how Hazel loves another book, where she relates to the girl very well. Green, through Hazel's obsession with the book and at the beginning of his novel, makes it apparent to the readers that fictional stories are made up and we should not idealize the characters. As much as I love the book, there are still some parts I disagree with. Overall, the book is thought provoking and amazing.

Tolog Reviews: Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska
by John Green
reviewed by Sophia Ferrer, class of 2015

Looking for Alaska is a compelling story by John Green that begins with the main character Miles Halter, a somewhat nerdy and unsocial kid who has a fond interest in memorizing famous last words. He is sent to Culver Creek boarding school, where he is in search for his “great perhaps”, that he once read about. As soon as he settles into Culver Creek, Miles meets a group of diverse individuals, that eventually will become a big part of his life, especially Alaska young who steals his heart and changes his life forever. Alaska Young a clever, gorgeous and funny individual puts Miles out of his comfort zone and teaches him to enjoy life as if it was ones last day to live. Miles is also introduced to things he’d never even dare of doing such as pulling pranks that always put him in a dangerous position of getting caught. Thinking that he was the only one to have a screwed up life, he soon learns about his friends who share their stories and seemingly all become closer. While everything in Miles life seems to be going right and believes he is figuring out what his “great perhaps” could be, an unexpected event turns each of their lives around for the worse. Miles experiences the ideas of new love, friendship, hardship, and adventure. This book is an example of how it is important to live life to the fullest and to not let it pass by. Looking for Alaska relates to the struggles and experiences teens may face during their high school years such as the struggle to be well-known, relationships, tragic events and grades. 
I would highly recommend this novel because it explores emotions that many of us may be facing as teens during our high school years. If you are fond of novels by John Greens , then you will definitely enjoy this one! This book would appeal to guys and or girls, it gives each a different perspective of how they think and what they feel during situations that come up. 

Tolog Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green

reviewed by Sarah Montgomery, class of 2015

Such a touching story. Green uses his characters, cancer patients Augustus and Hazel, to truly depict what a teenager's life is like while exaggerating the stakes by making these characters sick. He touches on questions and concepts all teens have to face- will I be loved?, will I be remembered?, how do I make the best choices?. Green also faces the harsh reality about sickness, from the few advantages to the many disadvantages of being sick and having a sick child or even simply knowing somebody sick. Although the story does have a slightly guessable ending (two love-strucken teenagers with cancer, it is easy to assume one will die), the story has many twists and turns and "aha!" moments that will weep the reader off their feet and make them question their lives and meaning.

Recommended for those who liked My Sister's Keeper, A Walk to Remember  

Tolog Review: You Know Where to Find Me

You Know Where to Find Me
by Rachel Cohn

reviewed by Jenna Farac, class of  2017

I thought I was going to like this book a lot more than I actually did. It reminded me of Go Ask Alice because you see some result of drugs and it has the same gloomy tone. I didn't really feel like there was a climax or a plot to this book. To me it just seemed like the book was describing the main character's life and I thought it was going to be a lot more dramatic and exciting than it was for me. Overall I was not very excited to read the book once I got into it because I did not notice any exciting parts that made me want to keep reading the book. This book pretty much describes a girl's life after her cousin, who was always the "perfect" one, dies of a drug overdose. The main character is just trying to get by without her cousin, who was like a sister to her. The main character always seemed to show indifference towards everything and that made me feel indifference towards the book. It was a very dingy book. I prefer books that have more going on in them and are not just a description of day-to-day life. I think the book would have been made better if more major events happened in it and it was more dramatic. Also I think it would have been better if the main character showed more emotion because she didn’t really seem to care about anything and that made the book boring to read.

If you liked Go Ask Alice, you'll love this book!

Tolog Review: Lock and Key

Lock and Key
by Sarah Dessen

reviewed by Miranda Spears, class of 2015

The book, Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen, is one of m
y new favorite books. This story follows a teenage girl, Ruby, and her complicated relationships with family/friends/boyfriend life as she is abandoned by her mother and forced to live with her older sister, who she hasn't seen or connected with ( or so she thought) in years. After being abandoned by her mom, Ruby lives by her self for several months until the landlords realize what is happening. She is then taking in by social services, and put to live with her older sister Cora, and her loving husband Jamie. Ruby prefers to be alone, and has always struggled with her families problems. At first things are awkward, as Ruby has always supported her mothers alcoholic, teenage-like behavior, while Cora does not want a single thing to do with their mom. Ruby is put into a private, classy high school where she feels she can not connect with anyone. She feels like nothing is in order, she goes throw moments when she returns back to drugs and alcohol and her old friends, who have very negative impacts on her BUT in the end, she ends up falling in the love with the super cute, preppy, intelligent, athletic neighbor Nate ( who is also in her grade at school) and makes some sincere relationships with people she did not think she would. Throughout this novel Ruby struggles with her past, and learns to open up and trust people, after being "alone:, and having to act like parent for her own mother for almost 16/17 years.

If you like romance/individual soul searching/a little mystery novels, with a main female character who is very strong,independent, and does not like to be told what to do from other people, then you will enjoy this book. Sarah Dessen is a great author, who always had something new and unexpected happening throughout the novel, which is something that kept me interested. Some parts are relatable, while others are interesting to view from someone else's' perspective.