The Door of No Return by Sarah Mussi

Plot: The main character, Zac, is trying to solve a mystery passed down to him from his grandfather. Zac and his grandfather suspect that a treaty between slave catchers and an African tribe was broken, a long time ago. The treaty had stated that the tribe would pay the slave catchers so no one in the tribe could become a slave, but the slave catchers went back on their word and sold every single tribe
member. Zac is trying to gather enough evidence to sue the English government.

Comments: This was a good book, fiction but it seemed as if it could have really happened. The characters are good, pretty well rounded. Their personalities speak for themselves, without needing a whole lot of details. I like how you only know as much as Zac does, but sometimes something was obvious to me and he was completely clueless, without me having any more information than him. I really like how the history was mixed in with the story. The whole thing sounds pretty plausible, and the whole historical part of the book was portrayed in an interesting, mysterious light.

I like the pace of the story; it moves smoothly, not too slow or too fast. I think the beginning had an interesting hook, but I was unsatisfied with the ending. It was okay, but I had hoped for more hints of the future than were given. The last few words also left something to be desired. I had thought there would be one last sentence on the next page, but there was only the author's note. I was confused, and it took me a little while to realize that those were the last words in the book.

Rating: I give this book a seven out of ten.

Storyteller by Edward Myers

Plot: a poor farmer's boy, Jack, loves to tell stories. They pop up unbidden into his head, begging to be told, so Jack finally decides to seek his fortune in the world by telling his stories. He's discovered by the king, and begins to tell his stories to the melancholy ruler, trying to cheer him up. But dark clouds start moving in, among one shining bright one.

Comments: A pretty good story for when you want something light and amusing. I like the characters, but they aren't very well-rounded. They are people, but not true people. They don't carry a story by themselves; they are merely in the story. I think Jack has to apologize too much to everyone at the end. Even though he made a couple of mistakes, he had good intentions and everything turned out alright. So why did he have to beg to get on his love's good side again? If she really loved him, she would listen, wanting to hear anything that would convince her that he's good, because she wanted to love him. But she wouldn't listen and decided that he was on the bad side. I don't like how Jack has to fix the relationship by himself. I don't like how Jack put everything aside when he fell in love, either. He wouldn't think about anything but her, and I hated how he didn't care about his friend's problem anymore, even though he'd promised to try and fix it.

I like the way the story's being told, but sometimes it felt like I knew the story better than Jack. He was always confused and didn't know what had happened or what to do when it was so obvious to me, and not because I saw some part of the story that he hadn't seen. He was pretty clueless and that annoyed me. I also hated how he just gave up towards the end. I know no one's perfect and most people would do as he would, but I read this story to take a break from my life, and this story only reminded me of what people in life are really like. I think this story was sort of abrupt, too. Too many rough edges and not enough details.

Rating: I rate this book a six and a half out of ten.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Plot: a little girl is growing up in America in the early 1900's, in Brooklyn. Her family is poor and struggles to make ends meet. Her mother vowed that her children would be educated and graduate high school, but with her father earning less money and drinking more, who would bring in the money?

Comments: This is an amazing book, based on a true story. It is a wonderful novel for deep thinkers and those curious as to how life used to be in the United States. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is thoughtful, easily connected to the reader's own life, and incredibly inspiring. This book is longer than it seems, and when you've turned the last page and your eyes have settled on The End, it feels like you've lived through the story, like you were part of the book the whole time and only now are coming back to Earth. This is not necessarily a novel meant for young adults, and is not a good book for when you need a light story to delight you and keep you amused. You will only receive the true effect of this book if you are mature and read it carefully. There are some hints of adult content, but not much, and this story teaches life lessons wise enough to age a person. This book changed my life.

Rating: I rate this book an eight and a half out of ten.