Hunger Games

By Susanne Collin

Reviewed by Andy O.

The Hunger Games written by Susanne Collins is one of the best books I’ve read since Harry Potter. It is a book that is written so well and does it great job of showing and not telling. It is a book filled with suspense, romance, and action. It is a blend of all books and there will be something in there for everybody.

The book is about a girl named Katniss Everdeen who struggles in the district where she lives, along the way she encounters hardships that force her to make some difficult decisions, but through these decisions she learns that not all of them were made correctly.

I truly recommend this book for everyone and it is a great read for a English project or just for your personal taste. 

Changes (Dresden Files, Book 12)

Written by Jim Butcher
Reviewed by Eric M., BCCHS student

*** This book is available at your local public library or bookstore.

Changes is the 12th novel in the Dresden Files Universe, and it’s the exactly what the title states, changes. Meet Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only practicing professional Wizard. He’s been in more “end of the world” scrapes and adventures than he has fingers, has 10 times more enemies than friends, owns a spiritual entity that lives in a skull called Bob, consults for the Chicago Police Department on supernatural cases, is a Warden of the White Council and a teacher to his apprentice, Molly.


For the last 11 books or so, Harry has primarily been hired/bullied/tricked into taking cases/assignments that have led him to having to either:

     A. Save lives (sometimes his own)

     B. Save Chicago.

     Or C. Save the World.

Whether its squaring off against killer F.B.I. werewolves, starting wars between courts singlehandedly, going toe-to-toe with sex-driven Vampires, or having to go up against a couple of heavyweight divine-gods—twice—you name it, Harry has done it all. Harry has been fighting for his life, his city, and his world for years.

But just when his previous engagement had left him asking what the world would ask of him next, his ex-girlfriend (who was turned into a half-vampire after an enemy of Harry’s kidnapped her and gave her a new taste for blood) called him up and opened with a casual, “They’ve taken our daughter.” Talk about a wake-up call.

Harry now faces a daunting task: not only does he have to go up against an entire vampire race (which he’s been at war with for half a decade), but Harry’s conscience will be tested more than ever. In the past, Harry has been offered immense power from evil yet powerful individuals. And even though he always seemed to be staring death in the face, he always declined. But now, Harry isn’t the one in danger, and he will have to decide just how long he can walk the straight and narrow before his little girl runs out of time.

The Hunger Games

Written by Suzanne Collins

Reviewed by Jorge O., BCCHS student

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is the first book in a trilogy. The book takes place in a futuristic modern world, but no time is given. Here a nation called Panem lies in the ruins of what used to be North America. This nation is divided into 12 districts. The higher the number of the district, the poorer the district is. The main character of the story is a girl named Katniss. She lives in the poorest district, District 12. She lives with her mother and younger sister, Prim. They have to hunt for their own food and struggle to survive because their mother is in a deep depression and Katniss has to take care of her younger sister alone. But Katniss has found herself in a nightmare predicament. Katniss’ little sister, Prim, was chosen to fight in the hunger games, which are held every year. Katniss wouldn’t let Prim enter so she volunteered to take her spot. They had to prepare for the games for weeks which I thought was a bit of a slow start for the book.

One of the reasons that I chose this book is because of the description that the librarian told me. The librarian told a short summary of the book so we know what it’s about and that got me very interested in the book. One other thing that got me interested in the book was the cover. The cover looked like it could be an action book, and the mocking jay pin on the cover looked like it was a symbol for something that the character would have as a prized possession and it looked really interesting.

This was a really great book overall. I thought that the combination of the setting and the plot of the story just went together perfectly. There are some exceptions to the book though. At the beginning, Katniss was just with a friend hunting and talking about the memories of her father. I thought that this beginning was kind of slow. However, as the book progressed there started to be more and more action in the book which kept pulling me back to read it some more. This was a great part of the book that the author did to keep making the reader wonder what is going to happen next, which I loved.

Overall I thought this was an excellent book. The author tied the thoughts of a teenager and the story really well. I would give this book 4.5 out of 5 because it was an excellent book and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 13)

By Lemony Snicket

Reviewed by Emily P., BCCHS student

This book revolves around the three Baudelaire orphans and Count Olaf, who has wanted their money since day one. In book twelve they escape from a hotel and end up at sea.  They end up cast away on a coastal shelf. Where there is a village who welcomes them with open arms but they soon notice that the leader is very demanding. They try to figure out why and how all the islanders pay attention. The find out it has to do with the cordial he gives them. It is strong so it hypnotizes them. Once the island gets into danger, they try fixing it but the island leader just gives them cordial and they leave before the Baudelaire’s have a chance to save them. While they are trying to save the islanders their friend starts to go into labor and dies. They now have to raise her baby. They stay on the island another year and then decide to leave the island with only what they need.

All books have their good parts and their bad parts. “The End” by Lemony Snicket has them too. The bad points were the flashbacks. They confused you unless you read all the other twelve books. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you read them. Most of the flashbacks are from the book before. Like when they kill one of their friends. Unless you read book five you won’t know what importance that person has. 

The good points are how intense it is. It kept you reading. Like the author said, “Every time a question is answered another one is asked”, which is exactly what kept me reading. Every time you put a piece into the puzzle you would have to figure out where the other one went. It was a real page turner.

This 324 page book with its 13 page Epilogue is really good. But you have to read the first twelve books first. Because some of the characters they mention are from books before. And the most important part of the book revolves around an organization named the V.F.D. which is explained in one of the previous books. I would recommend this to anyone who can play catch up fast. Once you understand the language used you will understand the book. Most of the words in the book that are hard to understand the author defines for you. Over all this is a very good book. And has a lot of adventure and mystery.    

324 pages 13 page Epilogue

Author: Lemony Snicket

Book 13^th of 13.