Red Dragon

By Thomas Harris

Reviewed by Ms. Andersen, BCCHS English teacher

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris is the scariest book I have ever read.  I read this book in high school when everyone was saying that Silence of the Lambs was the scariest book ever.  It is not.  This one is.  They share one character, Hannibal Lector, but he is not prominent in this book, as he is in Silence of the Lambs.  Red Dragon has another antagonist, the Tooth Fairy.  Sure, a character named the Tooth Fairy doesn’t sound scary, but this one is.

The Tooth Fairy is named that because when the killer in Red Dragon kills his victims, he leaves teeth marks on them.  But not normal teeth marks, teeth that have been filed to a point.  The killer wants to be called Red Dragon, but the FBI get on to the Tooth moniker and can’t leave it alone.

This book becomes scary when the FBI get close to catching the Tooth Fairy, but he outsmarts them by faking his own death.  Once I realized it was a fake, I was terrified.  I used to read this book late at night in front of a window.  Not a smart choice.  So I started reading it at the beach in full sunlight.  Still scary.  Once the killer faked his death I started reading it at night again.  This was a mistake.  So scary.

If you like Stephen King books, you will like this one.  Red Dragon is scarier than most Stephen King books that I have read, even his scariest (in my opinion), Salem’s Lot.  Thomas Harris does a brilliant job at terrifying his readers.  So if you want to be scared, read this book.  At night.  While your family is sleeping.

Runner

By Carl Deuker

Reviewed by Edward G., BCCHS student

Runner is about a boy named Chance, a teenager that is living in a sailboat in Seattle, Washington with his dad who always drinks. He helps his dad pay the mortgage for the boat by working in a cruddy restaurant as a dishwasher. His dad then gets fired, so Chance tries to get a raise in his job but can't. But one day, a fat guy who always looks at Chance run every night comes to him and tells that he has a job for him. He just needs Chance to run and pick up a package everyday under a tree. That’s when the story gets interesting and conflicting.

My opinion of the book is that it’s very intriguing. This book will catch your attention in the beginning and then gets you to read more and more. The title makes you curious about why it’s called Runner; it makes you wonder what the ending would be like, and you will have so many theories about the ending in this book.

My favorite character in this book is Chance. He thinks just like me sometimes and does some things that I do in a related way just like this quote from the story, “… I did what I always do when I feel like my head is about to explode: I ran”. I go outside once in a while to cool myself down whenever I get mad. I like that he thinks so much and wonders about things that he does, what people do, and what people say.

People who might like this book would be people who like mysterious, fast-paced, mind-blowing, surprising, and suspenseful books. This book will blow your mind in the end and I would really recommend this book to anyone. A lot of people will like this book, it’s very simple to read and easy to follow. I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. To me it’s not 5 out of 5 stars because it needs a little more suspense, but everything else about this book is great.

Dark Places

By Gillian Flynn

Reviewed by Jazmine L., BCCHS student 

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn is about a girl named Libby Day. Libby Day was only seven when she lost both her sisters and mother in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” After seeing her family laying there all cut and stabbed, bleeding to death, she runs to a tiny little farmhouse, freezing in the middle of January. You will never believe who killed her family.

My favorite quote from the book is, “I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ.” I like this quote for many reasons, but I believe it means that she has so much pain and hate against someone who hurt her.

The best thing about this book is that it has so much mystery and suspense. I personally recommend it to everyone who enjoys a good mystery. You will also see how Libby thinks and feels, what she thinks of everyone, why she’d rather be alone, and why she has so much hate. I rate this book a ten, because I love how she is, the way she sees people, and how she doesn’t care about anyone other than her mother and sisters.

The Morgue & Me

By John C. Ford
Reviewed by Fatma S.

This is a great book--I'd rate it 8 out of 10.

Chris, a boy who gets a job at the morgue, gets suspicious when the owner of the morgue has a briefcase with $15,000 in it.  He suspects a murder and thinks his best friend, Mike, has something to do with it.

Chris meets a girl named Tina, and Chris and Tina try to solve the case of who killed the dead guy at the morgue.  Things are getting weird and Chris's best friend, his best friend's girlfriend, the mayor, and Tina's ex all become suspects.  Who is it; who is the murderer?  Chris and Tina plan to find out.

Accomplice

Written by Eireann Corrigan

Reviewed by Ms. Freeman, BCCHS Teacher Librarian

Have you ever secretly fantasized about doing something really awful and manipulative in order to get what you want?  Like devising a elaborate plan to steal your best friend’s boyfriend or cheat on the SAT?  You’d probably (hopefully!) never go through with such a wicked scheme…but this book is about two friends who took that secret fantasy and acted on it.

Chloe and Finn were terribly stressed out about getting into a top college and felt they needed an extra something to make them stand out on their applications. The friends started joking about how much attention kidnapped girls receive, and then their jokes turned into a twisted plan: They decided to fake Chloe’s kidnapping and have Finn miraculously find/save her. What a college essay that story would make!

It was supposed to be a “victimless crime,” but the pain they inflict on their families and on the prime suspect turn their cute plan into a nightmare. They never meant to hurt anyone, but can they back out of their plan before they ruin their own lives and the lives of those around them?

I liked this book because it was surprisingly realistic for such a far-fetched plot. It seemed to show what would really happen if you tried to fake your best friend’s kidnapping! However, I had hoped it would be a really tense, suspenseful book, and instead I found it more interesting than suspenseful. (The end was suspenseful, though!)

I’m very curious to know if BCCHS students will like it…Please let me know what you think!

(Note: I know that my use of the word “hopefully” above is grammatically incorrect. Please forgive me, English teachers.)

Fake ID (Hunted Series, #1)

Written by Walter Sorrells

Reviewed by Serena L.

When I first read the title, I knew this book had adventure. The main character is a young girl who goes by the name of Chastity Pureheart, for now. She got that name from a book her mom chose in a library in Alabama. Alabama was her and her mom’s new place of residency. Chass and her mom were always on the run. She never knew why, and was never allowed to ask. There were two things that Chastity didn’t know. One, her real name, and two, who her father was.

On Chastity’s sixteenth birthday, things fall apart. First, she and her mom get into an argument. Second, her mom doesn’t come back home from the time she left in her car after the fight. A day passes and her mom’s still not back. So Chass calls the police and files a missing person’s report. After that, Chass goes to stay with her best friend Ben and his family. A couple days later, Ben’s dad gets a call from the sheriff about Chass’s mom. Chastity overheard the conversation.

Chass has all these questions going through her mind like “Where’s my mom? Is she dead? Will she ever come back? Was she kidnapped? Where is she?!!!!!!!”

There is a house on a mountain-like hill. It’s a crime scene. Two stoners skip school to go smoke some crack and when they arrive to the abandoned house, they find a purse. They look inside and what they found were a bunch of I.D. cards. All different names, all the same person. Chastity’s mom.

The police and detectives get called to the house to investigate. That was when Mr. Purvis, Ben’s dad, gets the call. So Mr. Purvis drives up to the crime scene and with him are Chastity and Ben. Chass runs inside the house and bumps into a detective. He stops her and says:

“You know this doesn’t mean anything. Not yet”.

“Mom wouldn’t leave me by choice,”

“Down in the basement there was sort of… Look, your mom’s not here. Let’s not jump to conclusions alright?”

“How much blood? What’s in the basement? What happened in there?”

“You don’t want to be thinking about that.”

The sheriff took some things out of the pocket of his suit coat and set them on Chastity’s leg.

“Take a look at those” he said.

There were six separate plastic baggies with red letters on them that said EVIDENCE. Each one held a plastic I.D. card. One was an ATM card from a bank, one was an I.D. card, one was a company I.D. card, and they were all Chastity’s mom.

Right now Chass is thinking that if her mom’s dead, then Chass can take care of herself and she should just move on and just leave Alabama. Then Chass thinks of what if her mom’s not dead, what if someone was after her, caught up to them, and got her mom. Finally, Chass realizes she needs to get out of town before whoever got her mom got her too.

They were always on the run from something. Or someone. And now Chass figures out that her mom was just trying to protect both of them.

I would recommend this book to a lot of people.

This book involves a mystery and a lot of suspense. You’ll love it because many people did including me. And I am not the kind of person who likes to read. This book went by really fast and was really good.

The Winds Of Change: A Richard Jury Mystery

Written by Martha Grimes

Reviewed by Rebecca R., BCCHS student

(*This book can be found at your local library or bookstore.)

Are you into mystery fiction books with curiosity increasing with every turn of a page? If you are, then I would recommend Winds of Change to you. Winds of Change is a 407-page novel by Martha Grimes. If you love this book, then you will surely enjoy knowing there are another eighteen books in the series. This book costs $22.95 dollars in stores but if you don't plan on buying it you can always get it at your local library.

This book is about the disappearance of a young girl named Flora whose case is somehow connected to the murder of an elderly woman. Richard Jury is the main character, the Superintendent of Scottland Yard, a detective who is trying desperately to put the pieces together in this strange puzzle that will lead him to a startling revelation.

There are some downfalls to this book such as its frequent change of view, its slow beginning, and the British accents of the characters. For example, "Split the lark and you'll find the music". Although this book has some downsides, it has many positive factors:  It has a great main character, it's a page-turner, it is very mysterious and sure to arouse your curiosity, and it has an amazing ending. "You said her eyes were the same shade as her dress she was wearing...I'm wondering how you knew that...you couldn't have seen the dress because it was...the same day she disappeared." This book is like a nonstop current in a river, you don't know where it will lead or how fast it will go. It keeps you thinking.

I chose to read this book because it had all the qualities I look for in a book such as mystery, crime, detective stories and adventure. If you do too then you'll love this book. The whole concept is a detective doing his job by solving mystery cases, but this case is like no other. In the writing of this book, everyone has a British accent, which indicates that it takes place in England.  I, myself would have preferred it without that given accent, but it is still a great book.

The overall book is amazing, but not the best work I have read so far. I would rate this book a four out of five because it is a great book with some downfalls. I would recommend this book to all readers who love mystery or crime novels. Although, it would be better for you to start off with the first of its series called "The Man with a Load of Mischief". I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

The Shining

By Stephen King

Reviewed by Alan Nguyen, BCCHS student

"El sueño de la razón produce monstruos."
"The sleep of reason breeds monsters."
– Francisco Goya, painter

A small family of three is staying at the Overlook hotel: Jack Torrance, a former alcoholic who lost his teaching job after beating up a student, Wendy Torrance, a mother who wants to give her family a better life, and Danny, an independent 5-year-old son who has a gift that reflects the evil of the hotel.

Jack is a writer, and decides to become the caretaker of the hotel. Wendy and Danny join along, not knowing the history of the hotel. As time passes, strange things start happening: Jack starts becoming a cold-hearted figure who represents the hotel’s darkness, and Danny soon discovers the family’s future, a bloody nightmare of death, the ghosts of the past wreak havoc on the hotel.

The Shining is one of the best, creepiest books, and it will leave you wanting more. It is the one book that kept me up at night.

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.

The Last Thing I Remember

By Klavan, Andrew

Reviewed by Jesus, BCCHS student

The last thing Charlie West remembers is writing a girl’s number in his hand, when he wakes up bloodied, tied to a chair, and hearing someone give the order to kill him. After getting away from the killer, he finds out that he’s wanted for the murder of his best friend. After escaping police custody, he discovers that the pieces of conversation he heard while he was bound to the chair actually refer to a terrorist assassination plot. From various clues, he starts to figure what’s going on, but since he can’t go to the police he decides to stop it himself. Will he be able to stop the attempt? Will he find out who wants him dead?

I think this is a very interesting book that deals with scenarios that could happen. The best part was that he never gives up even when everything seems over for him.

'Salem’s Lot

By Stephen King

Reviewed by Alan Nguyen, BCCHS student

"…in the awful heavy silence of the house, as he sat impotently on his bed with his face in his hands, he heard the high, sweet, evil laugh of a child—and then the horrible sucking sounds."

This book, written by Stephen King, is about a novelist named Ben Mears, who goes to his hometown in southern Maine, after being away for 25 years. Ben had the idea of writing one of his books on the Marsten house, a house that sits on top of the hill staring down at 'Salem's lot. The experience he had at that house has kept him from coming back to the town. Everything seems normal at first, but the town's fate is more dreadful than death. The population decreases over time, a man's best friend is found dead, and monsters of the night take over…
It was a great book, it was the first Stephen king book that I have read, and for any student who is looking for a book that is sure to give you chills it would be 'Salem's lot. 


Image courtesy of Joseph Valks / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Thirteen Reasons Why

By Jay Asher

Reviewed by Diana

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is a fiction book about a girl who commits suicide. Before she does this, she releases a box of cassette tapes. In those tapes are the 13 reasons why she came to her decision. To many the truth will haunt them forever. This story is written perfectly in my eyes. It involves many topics teens interfere with today like rape, drugs, depression, alcohol, and suicide. I would assume some parents might not like their kids reading this due to the material. I would recommend this book to teenagers 15 and older. There really is no limit in age to read this book. It will pull in any reader. This book is for people who are into the mystery books. It involves a little secrecy as you connect all the facts and events in the story. You will not be able to put this book down. Once you begin to read it you will not be able to stop. You will always need more, from the first page all the way to the last word. The plot sounds catching. The storyline may seem a little dark, bleak, and cruel but the message it transmits is a very valuable one that many of us learn from through experience. It will show you how the way you treat others does affect them and you really don’t know when the last day for anything is.

Many teenagers think the whole suicide theme is a little played out in books now a days. This book is not only about suicide. It involves many other things that you may also relate to. It also is helpful to many high school students. It helps you to be alert around you with the people you interact with. This book will help you identify some teens that may be in trouble and the ones that doubt their existence here on Earth. It can teach you that no matter how great and wonderful someone may display their life on the outside, they may be crushed and falling apart on the inside.

Favorite Quote: “One…last…try.”

Cirque du Freak

By Darren Shan

Reviewed by Matthew E.

Cirque du Freak is a page-turning thriller that is sure to leave readers bloodthirsty for more. There are many plot twists that are sure to chill the spine of even the most brave-hearted. 

Cirque du Freak is the story of your average teenager Darren Shan, who is more than unenthusiastic about how things are going in his life. He simply hates the conformity and wants adventure. So one night when his mischievous friend Steven asks him if he wants to see a freak show, Darren jumps for the chance for excitement. Little does he know that choosing to go to this show will change his life forever.

Throughout this book, Darren is dragged into a centuries long war that no one outside of the vampire society knows about. Will Darren turn the tide of this war against Vampires and Vampaneze? Will Darren ever get a chance to have his first kiss? Or will he turn to an inhumane society and become a full vampire whose only purpose is to be a bloodsucking demon? You can only find out when you read Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's assistant. 

The Summoning

By Kelley Armstrong

Reviewed by Jesus Padilla

If you like the supernatural, you will like this book. Also, if you are interested in secret projects like Area 51, you may want to read this book. It’s about a girl who lives a normal life and suddenly she starts seeing ghosts. She is sent to a house for troubled teenagers where things are not as they seem and people are not what you call normal. The house is run by nurses and doctors as if it is a normal house, but there are some powerful people who control it for their own purpose. And that is where the mystery begins…

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Runner

By Carl Deuker

Reviewed by Hugo

Living in a difficult situation, Chance Taylor currently works at a restaurant and lives with his alcoholic father on an old sailboat. With his father getting fired from his job, they don't have enough money to pay the mortgage. He is desperate and does not know what to do next. One day he stumbles on a fat guy that works at the marina office and offers Chance an easy job that pays well. He has no choice but to accept the job. The job is to go for a run to a tree and retrieve a package that is hidden underneath the roots. Then come back running with it and put it in his locker. The job pays $200 a week. "Chase knows how much he will earn—what he doesn't know is how much he will pay."

Runner by Carl Deuker is a fast-paced suspense story that is fun to read. It is full of mysteries and obstacles that Chance must go through. The novel is well written with lots of details and is full of characters with different personalities. It is easy to read and will make you want to keep on reading. The ending was a surprise, for I didn't expect any of those things to happen. What was most interesting about the story was what was in the package, which contains the answer to the entire mystery. I haven't met anybody that doesn't like this book, and I would recommend this book to anybody that loves mystery and suspense. I give this book five out of five stars.

Fake ID (Hunted)

By Walter Sorrells

Reviewed by Ms. Freeman

Every couple years, Chass's mom announces that they're moving.  They get in the car immediately, randomly pick a point on a map, and start driving to a new city where they don't know anyone.  Over and over again, they change their names and start a whole new life.  But why?  Who are they running from?   What kind of danger are they in?  Chass has no idea...She doesn't even know her real name or who her father is.

On Chass's 16th birthday, everything comes to a head.  Her mom disappears, and Chass soon learns that whoever took her mother is coming to get her too.  Both of their lives are in danger, and Chass has to put together the puzzle pieces of her life and revisit a decades-old murder in order to save her mom and herself before it's too late!

On top of that, her best friend has a big crush on her, but she's never thought of him in "that way."  Until now...

Fake ID is a fast-paced mystery that's fun to read.  Chass is a cool heroine with a good sense of humor, so it's easy to sympathize with her when things get ugly.  I didn't think all the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly in the end, but I haven't met a Birmingham student who read Fake ID and didn't like it -- Several students have asked me to get the sequel.  Highly recommended for 9th-12th graders who want a quick YA read with suspense!

(Image courtesy of  Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)