Weekend Reads

Guest Review by Kyra Carlson, Class of 2021

Maximum Ride by Anthony Horowitz 

Maximum Ride, and her ‘flock’, or species, have wings. That’s right wings! When one of the flocks precious members is taken captive by wolf-men, the flock is determined to rescue her. But the wolf-men take her to the school - the last place the flock wants to go. Where the flock were first made, where they were tested on, poked with needles, and tortured. Now what? This book is so unique because with most books, you know everything right at the beginning, but this one, you don’t know everything, and as you learn what the characters already know, you also find out know things as the characters do.

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A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin

Georgiana Fitzwilliam is brilliant, bold, straightforward and a problem-solver - all things that girls in 1814 shouldn't be. When a scientific experiment burns down her father's barn, she is sent to Stranje House. There, Headmistress Emma Stranje has built a reputation for herself as administering tough discipline that will get girls like Georgie back in line and marriageable - the greatest quality any young lady of her social class can have. When Georgie arrives, she finds that not is all as it seems at Stranje House. Baldwin immerses readers in the setting of her novel - from detailed descriptions of the clothing and accoutrements to a firm social class frame work, leaving the book feeling very much of the period. What's intriguing, however, is Baldwin's modern take on gender roles and the recognition of women's skills and abilities. Georgie is recognized as very much an equal of her counterpart, Lord Sebastian Wyatt, and a lot rides on her ability to solve a complex problem that affects the outcome of an international conflict. This book is the first in a series; the second book (Exile for Dreamers) is expected to be published in spring of this year.

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Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson

Kate has it made. She is a top student, has a great group of friends and a boyfriend who was once her nemesis and is now her confidante. She is in control of her life, her future and her self. Until she isn't. Added to her sudden loss of control is Teri, Kate's neighbor and former elementary school bully, and her brother who move in when their own house burns down. Anderson writes wonderful characters; each one has good alongside bad, which makes them very human and relatable. Kate is no exception. Thanks to first person narration, readers see the dark side of Kate's commanding control of her life. She is under tremendous self-inflicted pressure, and though her friends and family do not initially see the effects of her drive for perfection, readers understand this immediately. When tragedy begins to strike in waves, it is 

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