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ANIMAL FARM

ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell 144 pp. Penguin Group. £8.99. (Ages 13 and up) ISBN 9780141182704 Rating: ? Stars     This book is set in a future when animals are much cleverer than now. And because of their cleverness, the pigs started a revolution against the humans. Pigs could speak fluently in English unlike the other animals, and that gave them the power to be leaders. But, the story that follows only happened a few years after that...     Their first leader, Old Major, was kind and fair who knew animals should be equal. But when Napoleon became the leader it was very unpleasant. He made a rule that allowed the pigs to have better food and that forced all of the other animals to work crazily hard every day and night. That wasn’t enough, Napoleon wanted more power.     He decided to kill his brother, Snowball, so that he would be the only leader. Snowball was admired because he came up with a clever idea to build windmill. Sn...

The Secret

"The Suburban Strange" by Nathan Kotecki

Release Date: October 2, 2013
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Pages: 368

From Goodreads: "Shy Celia Balaustine is new to Suburban High, but a mysterious group of sophomores called the Rosary has befriended her. Friends aside, Celia soon discovers something is not quite right at Suburban. Girls at the school begin having near-fatal accidents on the eve of their sixteenth birthdays. Who is causing the accidents, and why? As Celia’s own birthday approaches, she is inexorably drawn into an underground conflict between good and evil—the Kind and the Unkind—that bubbles beneath Suburban High. Plentiful references to music and art—along with the intriguing underworld mythology—make this supernatural series debut a page-turner."

When I saw the cover of this book, coupled alongside an interesting synopsis, I was instantly drawn in. However, after having finished the book my feelings are not unlike they were when I was drawn into another book by it's pretty cover, "Tris & Izzie" by Mette Ivie Harrison.

My largest complaint about this book was how contradictory it was- on the one hand it was extremely sophisticated, with how the characters dressed, what they read, and what music they listened to (in that regard, despite me being older than them, they far surpassed me), but on the other hand, they were sooooooo juvenile in every other way- especially in the way that the spoke and interacted with one another. Unfortunately I feel that this is the result of the author's writing, it felt far too basic than what the storyline called for.

Another complaint that I had about this novel was that it was so BUSY- I couldn't help but feel like the author even went so far as to throw the kitchen sink into the storyline of the novel. Every time I turned around there was another plotline thrown in, each plotline increasingly more and more ridiculous and farfetched than the last.

All in all, this novel was not for me- I will not be continuing on with this series and I will be trading or donating my copy. That being said, I do feel that perhaps younger YA readers might be able to connect to the characters and their situations where I was unable to.

Rating: 2/5

I received this book from the publisher to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for said review. 

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ANIMAL FARM

ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell 144 pp. Penguin Group. £8.99. (Ages 13 and up) ISBN 9780141182704 Rating: ? Stars     This book is set in a future when animals are much cleverer than now. And because of their cleverness, the pigs started a revolution against the humans. Pigs could speak fluently in English unlike the other animals, and that gave them the power to be leaders. But, the story that follows only happened a few years after that...     Their first leader, Old Major, was kind and fair who knew animals should be equal. But when Napoleon became the leader it was very unpleasant. He made a rule that allowed the pigs to have better food and that forced all of the other animals to work crazily hard every day and night. That wasn’t enough, Napoleon wanted more power.     He decided to kill his brother, Snowball, so that he would be the only leader. Snowball was admired because he came up with a clever idea to build windmill. Sn...

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