#Limbo HenGoku is back with his take on a bluford series book SECRETS IN THE SHADOWSShelves: Drama, Realistic-Fiction, Romance
Age Range: Young Adult Author(s): Anne Schraff, Paul Langan Series: The Bluford Series Published: December 1st 2001, English Pages: 126 Synposis: This book focuses on Roylin Bailey, a Bluford sophomore who appears in A Matter of Trust. Roylin makes a terrible mistake: He steals money to buy a gift for the girl of his dreams and finds himself in a nightmare he cannot escape. Review Plot 10/10: I thought the plot of the book was very well contructed, engaging, and enjoyable pverall. There isn't anything left out in the book. All elements that this book had were skilfully brought together for a satisfying conclusion. Pacing 9/10: Story overall was not too fast and not too slow. It did at a point slow down a bit but then quickly picks up. I was engaged throughout the entire book, not wanting to put it down. Characters 10/10: The characters in this book are very likable and believable. Like the way they react to things is the same way people would react in real life. I did feel sympathy towards the main character though. I was very engaged with them and could not help but root for them to get out of what they're in and achieve what they wanted to achieve. They're all full developed. Writing 10/10: This book was really well written. There weren't really any grammar errors or sentences that ran too long. The sentences were long enough in fact. Wasn't too descriptive either. I found nothing wrong with the writting for this book Feels 10/10: I actually felt for the characters in the book. I felt bad for the situation they were in and wanted them to get out. I could relate to the characters in the book and what happened to them. Personal experiences: This book is one of my most favorite books of all time. Things that happen in this book really happens in real life. The only problem I had with this book was when it ended.... as in when I hit the final page of it. This book was intriguing, relatable, and the characters were likable for what they were. I honestly can't find any negatives about this book. Overall rating: 9.5/10 READ IT! Would I recommend this book? I recommend this book to everyone because I feel like everyone should read it at least once. +Factor with another book review The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-TimeShelves: Mystery, Contemporary
Age range: Young Adult Author: Mark Haddon Published: May 18 2004 Pages: 226 Synopsis: Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched and he detests the color yellow. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor's dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favorite (logical) detective, Sherlock Holmes. What follows makes for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world entirely literally. Review Writing and Characters: 9/10 I liked all the characters in this novel, especially the main character which I could really relate to. He was just like me and I could understand how he does things a lot of the time. He did rarely get annoying but it didn't really ruin the experience and didn't make me not like the main character. The rest of the characters are pretty likable as well and don't get too annoying, or really mean to the main character. Feels: 8/10 I could bond with most of the characters in the novel and their actions were acknowledged as they should've been. Also, the book made me feel really entertained and interested in the main character unlike other books that make the main character blander than white bread and boring. The book went all out with what it used with material which is pretty cool and unpredictable. My Personal Experience I had a fun time reading the book and getting to know the characters was really cool and I had a great read through this book. I liked the choice of illustrations being in the book so I could get clear images of things, also there was no unnecessary filler written in the book. All in all, a great book Would I recommend this? Yes of course, I found it really nice and enjoyable to keep it simple. Give it a shot and see if you like it Overall Rating: 8/10 An interesting book to read. +Factor is having a change of pace, this time reviewing the literary crime classic And Then There Were None by Mistress of Mystery Agatha Christie.
And Then There Were None Shelves: Crime, Thriller Age Range: Adult Author: Agatha Christie Published: 1939 Pages: 264 Synopsis: Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to a lonely mansion on Indian Island by a host who fails to appear but leaves a recording accusing all of undetected murder. Cut off by his orders, one by one each die according to a nursery rhyme Ten Little Indians. A confession in a bottle solves how nobody remains alive. Review Characters: 8-10 I loved all of the characters in this book. I found all of their back stories interesting and it made them very enjoyable to read about. I found it very gripping and wanted to find out more about the character back stories. Writing: 8-10 The book was very well written and I always wanted to know what happened next to each character in the story. Very interesting and enjoyable. There was a small pacing problem in the beginning, but it recovered. "Feels": 10-10 I really bonded with these characters and could get emotionally invested because after what happens in the story I could understand what they did and why they did it. I really loved how the characters changed how their entire personalities and almost went insane because of what was happening on the island. I feel that was very well done, also it happened gradually and it wasn't rushed. Personal Experience: I enjoyed reading this immensely. I found it really cool how the continuous character deaths caused all the characters to go insane and break the trust that they had for one another. It seemed realistic and so believable that it kept me hooked the entire time to see what happened to everyone at the end of the novel. I felt that the epilogue was totally necessary to end the book and subtly reveal the killer. Overall this was an amazing read that was on my summer reading list. Would I Recommend This? Yeah of course. If you're looking for a classic thriller that is very interesting, and has great characters this is the book for you. Overall Rating: 9.5/10 #Calyxium here, and I'm putting up a rough template for you to use to format and structure book reviews. I hope it's helpful!
As always, include a [MAJOR SPOILER WARNING] whenever it's necessary, but please confine all spoilers to the Personal Experience section. Book Title Shelves: Classic Literature, Horror, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Paranormal Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Epic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Mystery, Crime, Historical, Non-Fiction, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Suspense Romance, Paranormal Romance, Dystopia, Comedy, Alternate History... etc. Age Range: Adult, Young Adult, Children's. Author(s): The Author(s), if audiobook or graphic novel, also include the narrator and the artists. If it's an anthology, just list the biggest names. Series: Ignore this if the book is standalone, but otherwise include the name of the series it's from. Published: Publication date/original language. Pages: The number of pages in the book, this information is on Goodreads. Synopsis: An outline of the plot, or the book's blurb. This can be sourced from Goodreads or written yourself, but make sure it's spoiler-free. If you are reviewing one book from a series, ensure you do not spoiler the previous books here. Review Plot: 1-10 Was the plot well-constructed? Were there plot holes? Did it make sense overall? Were things left hanging, questions left unanswered? Was the plot enjoyable and engaging? Did the author rely too heavily on deus ex machina? Were all elements of the plot skilfully brought together for a satisfying conclusion? Please don't spoiler here, just your comments on the quality of the plot's construction. Pacing: 1-10 Was the book too slow, so you lost interest, or too fast so you couldn't follow what was happening? Did you remain engaged throughout reading? Were there sluggish parts where nothing interesting happened? Did you constantly want to read more and find you couldn't put the book down? Characters: 1-10 Were the characters likeable? Believable? Sympathetic? Did you root for the hero, or for their cause? Did you engage with them? Were they fully developed - did they have flaws and full, fleshed out personalities or were they reader or author-avatar characters, or just there to push the plot onward? Writing: 1-10 Was it well written? Were there grammar errors, or sentences that ran on too long, or not long enough? Did the author use synonyms or overuse the same words over and over? Was it too descriptive, or not descriptive enough? Did the author "show, not tell" and introduce you to information as it became relevant to the current plot, or did they have large chunks of exposition to wade through? Worldbuilding: 1-10 Were you given a sense of the wider-world? Was it described, did you have a sense of the geographical location the book was set in, and how it related to other areas? Were there different cultures which were presented and developed? Was the description and imagery lacking, or enough for you to imagine this setting? Narration/Illustration: 1-10 OPTIONAL category for people reviewing audiobooks or graphic novels, or books with illustrations. For audio, consider whether the narrator was the right choice from the book, and if his performance added to the book, or detracted from it. Was his range sufficient for the cast of characters? Did he add emotion to scenes or read in a flat monotone? For illustrations, did they add to the book? Were they skilfully illustrated in a style that fit with the book? Did they illuminate scenes that might otherwise have been obscure? Feels: 1-10 Did you feel for the characters, and for their plight, or for their successes? Did you care about them and about what happened to them? Did you connect emotionally, or relate to any of the characters or circumstances? Personal Experience: Your personal experience and any other thoughts you had while and after reading. You can obviously include spoilers here but be sure to use the spoiler warning tag: [MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS] where appropriate. Are you looking forward to reading more by the author, or similar books, or the next in the series? Did the book make you think about issues you hadn't previously considered? Would I Recommend This? If so, who to? Who wouldn't you recommend the book to? Explain why. Overall Rating: The numerical average of the score for the previous categories. |
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