MUSD Library and Learning Commons

Review by Sabrina Ton, 9th grade

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Charles Dickens definitely knows how to make us, book lovers, hungry and thirsty by his delicious writing. Destructed dreams, powerful pride, and crazy cliffhangers are perfectly demonstrated in his honorable, gothic novel called Great Expectations. At a time when social class was extremely important, people judged each other based on wealth and property. Assuredly, Pip, the main protagonist who is a poor and uneducated boy, faced many difficulties and social pressures to become a high class gentleman to win the heart of a beautiful yet indifferent lady named Estella. Will Pip succeed to gain true happiness and great fortune on his journey to his ambitious goal? Or will he fail miserably and fall on the grounds of the dirty marshes at his hometown? Personally, I was disappointed by the book’s outcome at the ending and wished that the resolutions for all of the characters was shown rather than implied. Though the novel makes us sympathetic and frustrated by the character’s wrong doings and gives readers a melancholy aspect of the bildungsroman book, it also reveals many beautiful and touching morals and teachings that all of the characters learn by their choices. Undoubtedly, I especially enjoyed the abundance of diverse and intriguing characters that make you fall in love with them; and I was captivated by the thrilling and surprising plot twists, as well as the dramatic and emotional side stories. A small example from the book is: “That was a memorable day to me… Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, what would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day” (Dickens 70). This illustrates the story’s breathtaking narrations that help readers to visualize the characters’ unique personalities and uses elegant figurative language to convey the author’s hidden messages. Ultimately, I highly recommend this novel for mature teens or older audience so these two groups will appreciate this lovely prose the most, because of its sentimental excitement, well-written eloquent style, and scintillating plot structure.

Nov 6, 2016

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Review by Angela Ton, 11th grade

Imagine a combined story of The Hunger Games and The Bachelor. What would it be like? There is a world of glittering gowns and jewels in The Selection, perfectly developed by the author, Kiera Cass. But it was more than that. This dystopian romance novel follows the story of America Singer, who dreaded from entering into a competition called the Selection to compete against thirty-four girls for the prince and the crown of their country, Illéa. Initially, America thought that she would not wished to be part of the televised competition, until she met Prince Maxon. She realized “that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.” From the start of the novel, I was confused about the setting of the story, such as what the castes were, and how do they work on the society of Illéa. Also, there was a vague description of what the nation, Illéa, would look like, after being changed from the former country of America (U.S.A.) and split into many provinces. However, the story progresses with a much better development of the setting and history behind the country, as well as the characters. I loved the storyline as it slowly progresses because it shapes and develops the characters through their actions and thoughts, especially on the protagonist. Additionally, I liked the way this unique dystopian society is set, and how it is like the combination of The Divergent and The Bachelor. Overall, I would highly recommend this novel to young adults who love romantic dystopian novels. Teenagers would find interest in this first book of The Selection Series, including myself. With a strong start of the series, this book convinced me to continue reading all of the books in the series, which are even more wonderful. For those who started The Selection Series, I recommend reading all of the stories, because each of them gets better and better until the end of the series. It is worth reading this book itself for all teenagers, and I hope everyone will enjoy Kiera Cass’s hard work on The Selection.

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