Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury

Dandelion Wine, by RayBradbury follows Douglas Spaulding, an imaginative and thoughtful twelve-year-old boy. It is a collection of short stories, each one centering around Douglas and a different situation. It takes place in an American small-town called Green Town, Illinois. 

Douglas spends his summer and talks about the happiness and sadness of the human condition, and sometimes, even takes about topics as mature as death and the afterlife.

In the collection, Douglas' grandfather makes dandelion wine, a wine made of dandelion petals and other ingredients.

I really enjoyed this book. Even though Ray Bradbury is known for his books in the science fiction genre, it was Dandelion Wine, a simple book for an extraordinary summer, that really made me enjoy his writing. It was a deep tale, talking about life and death, sadness and happiness. It really resonated with me due to a book drowning in nostalgia. 

I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially adults. It will make you long for a childhood you once had but enough memories to make up for it.

Reviewed by Melody S., Grade 10

Montrose Library

Miles Morales: Spider-Man, by Jason Reynolds

Miles Morales is a 16 year old teen who goes to boarding school and lives with his parents. Everything is normal about Miles except for his big secret, he is the amazing Spider-man. Miles was bit by a spider that's granted him the power to climb walls, have enhanced strength, speed, the power to turn invisible, and sense danger. Although Miles enjoy saving the day as Spider-man he has problems balancing his hero life with his life at home. Miles's powers start to malfunction and he has to make the decision whether he wants to Spider-man or not. Miles has a friend named Ganke who wants him to use his gift for good but Miles wants to focus on school. Will Miles quit being Spidey forever or will he continue to save the day.

The adventures of Miles Morales have made me laugh cry and skip a few hours of sleep. I was so engaged and addicted to this book for it's adventure and comedy. I found Miles Morales: Spider-Man, by Jason Reynolds, relatable because Miles and his friend Ganke did things I remember doing. There were several moments where I was like "hey I've done that". There was this one time where Ganke bugged Miles about his powers and that remind me of this time my friend bugged me about showing everyone my finger trick. I will recommend this book to all of my friend it is a wonderful read, that I didn't want to end.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 9

Montrose Library