The Predicteds, by Christine Seifert

The Predicteds, by Christine Seifert, follows the story of Daphne Wright, a high school student living in a society largely influenced by PROFILE, a system that predicts if you will be a criminal, that the students become divided. The story follows Daphne Wright as she falls in love with the wrong person. A lot of gossip and rumors fly around surrounding the boy she loves. These rumors, not to mention PROFILE scores are determining everyone’s opinions of each other. And when a friend gets attacked, it adds more tension between the predicteds and the normal teens. Then we get a twist at the end of the story.

To start with, I like the plot of the story. I like how the author describes a society where everyone is told whether they will be normal or turn out to be criminals. The story gets me to think about how if someone knows that some test told them that they would be a criminal, they would feel as if there is no way to change that fate. Wouldn’t this in turn lead them to become a criminal because it is who they think they should be? This is definitely a book I would recommend to my friends. It really is interesting to see how people will conform to society’s rules, and in a way, it’s not much different from society today.

Reviewed by Dusk Goth, Grade 11

Downtown Central Library

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

The classic novel Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen follows the story of Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret Dashwood and their older, half-brother John. The three sisters moved into the home of their mother who had been widowed. After the father dies, the family begins to have money problems. They had to move form Norland Park to Barton Cottage.

Now that they're in a new location, Elinor and Marianne are navigating their own respective romantic endeavors, all while their lives are persistently changing.

The novel is a classic and is a definite must-read. However, it was quite tedious and went by extremely slow. Jane Austen is a master at character development. The book gives you an insider's view of how life must be like for the 19th century British woman.

Even though the language is somewhat complicated, the characters make up for it. It was quite funny. All the characters, both the good and the bad, are interesting and entertaining!

I recommend this book to all readers, especially women!

Reviewed by Melody S., Grade 10

Montrose Library