The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams

 

A guide to the art of animation. It teaches all of the basics of animation and also some tips on how to improve, or start down the road to becoming an animator. It also includes the various principles and fundamentals of animation that every animator needs to know to start making animations. Written by the famous animator, Richard Williams and describes his techniques to making characters come to life.

Animator's Survival Guide, by Richard Williams, is famous and useful.  It has a plethora of animation tips that can be useful to anyone who wishes to become an animator. I like that this book also has graphics in it, it really helps convey the idea than if he just explained with words. This might be a long read, but the amount of information in this book makes it worth it. I don’t think there’s anything I dislike about this book, it’s a genuinely great guide for any animator.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 9

Grandview Library

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

Madeline or Maddy Whittier is 18 years old and the only people she can interact with is her mother and her nurse, Carla. She lost her father and brother and she cannot go out. All of her life, she's been home because of her SCID or severe combined immunodeficiency. The only possible way for her to go to another place is if it's been sanitized. However, her life changes when a new family moves out to her next door and when the family's son, Olly, becomes her friend. They always messaged each other, but never met in person until Maddy's nurse, Carla, sneaks Olly into Maddy's house. When Maddy's mother finds out about them, she bans her and make the restrictions harder, but Maddy kept messaging Olly secretly. As she got to know Olly more, she found out that she's not the only one with family problems. Olly's father is abusive, and his sister has smoking problem. Finally, one day Maddy finds out about a very important secret that her mother has been keeping from her for almost her entire life when she and Olly go to Hawaii secretly.

I believe Everything, Everything, by Nicola Yoon, has a lot to teach its audience. Sometimes we keep important things away from those people that we care and keep them as secrets because we think it'd be better for the person not to know, but we don't realize that the lie is far worse and can even destroy the person's life. This is just like what Maddy's mother did to her and I cannot tell what she's been keeping from her because it'd be spoiled. The book made me shocked, especially at the very end. I really didn't expect that ending. Also, it made me think deeply about how I care about others and how I respond to difficult situations. I think it'd be a great book for teenagers and young adults because of its important life lessons.

Reviewed by Orkideh, Grade 12

Glendale Central Library

Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One, by  Ernest Cline, is a story that takes place in the year 2045 where everyone has been playing this game called the Oasis. The Oasis is this V.R system where you can go and do amazing things like fight monsters or climb Mount Everest. It was created by a man named James Halliday who was an enthusiast of video games and fictional trilogies.The people in this time is known as the lost generation because all people do is play on the oasis. The main character of this story is a guy named Wade Watts and he lives in a town full of stacked trailers. His parents died when he was young and he lives with his aunt but he spends most of his time in the Oasis like everyone else. In the Book wade is not a very experienced character but he is clever, especially when it comes to fictional fan bases. One day the creator of the Platform Halliday, dies and sets out a video to everyone on the Oasis announcing the Easter egg hunt. The person who finds the egg wins half a trillion dollars and total control of the oasis. Wade makes it his goal to find the egg and faces a number of puzzles and challenges. He makes friends on his journey that eventually help him. His main threat is This Company called the Sixers who plan on doing what it takes to find the egg.

I thought that the book was enjoyable and full of creative twists. I liked how all the challenges the characters faced were Pop culture references. There were a lot of moments in the book where I'd go ," hey I know what that is". The story had a cool concept of a future that I'd both wish for and hope doesn't happen. In the story Society grows antisocial and people had relied on technology for freedom of the worlds instead of a social life in the real world. Whenever the people in the book went on these bizarre adventures I'd think of how cool it would be to do something like that. My favorite character was Artimus who was a very hardworking character who"s main mission was to get the egg. She was very competitive even with Wade (her love interest).

Reviewed by Anonymouse, Grade 10

Montrose Library

The Summer I Wasn't Me, by Jessica Verdi

The Summer I Wasn't Me, by Jessica Verdi, is a story about a teenage girl named Lexi who hasn't come to terms with her sexual orientation. Growing up in a conservative town and being raised by a single mother doesn't help her case at all. Lexi's urge to mend her family constantly conflicts with pursuing her forbidden love interest. In an attempt to change her thoughts for girls, she attends a Christian gay conversion camp called New Horizons. However, the camp doesn't advertise the horrors the kids go through in order to "turn straight" and soon, events take a turn for the worst.

Coming from a queer teenager who is going through Lexi's struggles, this book honestly made my eyes bawl out. Over the news, you hear all these horror stories of gay conversion camps (which are often scams). The description of Lexi's thoughts and feelings at the camp made me shiver and made her story feel very real. Reading about each day in that camp made me feel hopeless about not only Lexi's situation but also the lives of teenagers around the world who don't feel safe by being who they are. The ending was also quite chilling and not what I expected. I would recommend this book to those who do identify as part of the LGBT community but also parents of those kids. This is because no matter what a teenager is going through, their parents should be informed about those feelings many teenagers have.

Reviewed by AH, Grade 10

Downtown Central Library

Noragami, by Adachi Toka

Yato is a homeless god living in the streets of Japan desperately wanting loyal followers to worship him. Unfortunately he is one of the most unknown gods and doesn’t have any popularity. So, in order to earn money and to try and gain publicity, Yato starts doing services for people in need for a very low price of 5 yen. It’s his attempt to make his dream of owning a shrine and having worshippers come true.

First of all, I like the idea of a homeless god, I think it’s really creative and a great story idea. The cast of characters get developed very well and characters show up very frequently so it’s hard not to forget them, and easier for the reader to remember who they are. I think that anyone interested in action, drama, and a little romance would like this series. Also, as far as I can tell, there isn’t much problems with the series. Overall, Noragami, by Adachi Toka, is very creative and a lot of people can appreciate this series.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 9
Grandview Library

Girl Code: Gaming, Going Viral, And Getting It Done by Andrea Gonzalez & Sophie Houser

 

 Girl Code:Gaming,Going Viral,And Getting It Done, by  Andrea Gonzalez & Sophie Houser, begins with a junior named Andy or Andrea Gonzales and a senior named Sophie Houser. They are two girls who met in a coding program that they both signed up for
which is Girls Who Code. As teens becoming into young adults, they figured that there are many women who are very ashamed of the menstrual periods they get.
So Andy and Sophie make a coding game called Tampon Run so they could show that having a period is a normal thing for a teenage girl.

This book was very funny.  I liked the creativity that was made in the game. Especially when they use tampons rather than an obvious gun to it. I liked the fact that this is a relevant for a teen's category since profanity is between from
none to less so tweens could read this too. I think mainly teenage girls would like this novel since it gives out a theme to not feel bad about your sexual health. What I didn't like about this book is when there was two teens trying to copy
their game by using condoms.
That is what kinda makes the book a little obscene and salty. I also liked the part when they put pictures in it so the reader could be more interested into reading. I kinda liked the part when they added some websites for people who would like to learn about or get ideas from coding. Girls, you should get this book if you want to know what having a period is like so you won't feel bad about yourself. It is a very humorous and an interesting book to read.

Reviewed by Hannah Rachel, Grade 8
Downtown Central Library 

From Me to You, by Karuho Shiina

A shy and gentle young teenage girl named Sawako Kuronuma is misunderstood by her classmates for her scary appearance. For this reason she is unpopular and tends to have a hard time making friends due to everyone being too afraid to even talk to her. Although she truly wants to make friends and tries her best to make herself more likable, everyone avoids her. Everything changes once she gains the interest of and befriends, Shota Kazehaya, the most popular boy in school. 

In my opinion, I think the main character of this book, Sawako, is much more relatable than protagonists of other girls manga.

Shy and introverted people can probably easily relate to Sawako. And although I don’t really read much of the romance genre, I really enjoyed this book. I believe it’s because of the easily likable characters and the actual, gradual romance development between Kazehaya and Sawako throughout the  From Me to You, by Karuho Shiina, series.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 8

Grandview Library 

Half Bad, by Sally Green

Nathan is a half coded witch. A half black and white one. He is the only second weapon to his father's death, Marcus,the most dangerous Black Witch ever known. Therefore, the Council of White Witches has been controlling Nathan's life as long as he could remember. His life has been almost ruined because of the Council. The only reason he could ever think of why all these things had been happening to him was because of his father, but he can never hate him, he can never do what the Council wants from him. The Council sees Marcus a really big threat to White Witches and its goal is to murder him with Nathan, his half coded son. What would Nathan's life be? Will he ever be able to see his father? Will he ever do what the Council forces him to?I really did not enjoy  Half Bad, by Sally Green, at all. To be honest, this book is not a book of exciting events nor it is a book about witches, I mean it is about witches, but not what we expect. All Nathan's story is about how he is been suffering right from his birth until his current life. There is no joy or excitement in his life. He is been isolated from any other white witches except his family. Later when he gets older, he becomes a prisoner of the Council and the story goes on and on. I do not really recommend this book if I want to be honest, however, that is my personal opinion.

 Reviewed by Orkideh, Grade 12

Downtown Central Library

I Was Here, by Gayle Forman

girl named Meg Luisa Garcia committed suicide by drinking some bleach and when her best friend and her boyfriend Cody hears the news,they feel very bad of themselves. So they are eager to figure out why would she kill herself. While they find some clues such as the deleted emails in Meg's computer or the depression she had in the past,they meet a rock star named Ben McCallister who was involved into Meg's miserable life. He helps them by explaining the history he had with Meg.

I liked I Was Here, by Gayle Forman. I liked the ending even though it felt really sad that it made my tummy feel like that it had butterflies. I felt crying a little bit while reading the epilogue since it took place at a funeral. I also liked the idea that this story was similar to the story "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher. I didn't really like the idea that this book had to involve bathing and that it had so much bad words. For a teen such as a fourteen-year-old having to read this book with vulgar language isn't really that bad. This is a really good book but then can also be obscene at the same time. Go check out this book! I know you'll like it.(if you like reading these intense stories)

Reviewed by Hannah Rachel, Grade 8
Downtown Central Library