All Involved By Ryan Gattis

Madeline Cruz

Plot Summary:

All Involved by Ryan Gattis is a novel based on various stories of gang members and people who witness the Rodney King riots.  But throughout the book we learn about why they're in gangs and why they do activities such as killing or doing drugs.  

Critical Evaluation:

Throughout this book you'll learn about fear and doing drugs. Gattis seems to be telling the reader that when a person does drugs when scared they'll do stuff they never thought they would be capable of doing. For example, a character called Lil Creeper does hard core drugs in order to help himself out in his daily life because he feels unstoppable on drugs. This hurts him both emotionally and physically because when he is on drugs there are situations where he doesn't remember how he got to a place or how he got something done, which affects his health by giving him a tumor. Through this example we see the author telling us that we can't use drugs to get out of our problems, because drugs will only make them worse.

For this book I'll give it a 10/10 because the way the book was set up really made it interesting and it really kept me on the edge of my seat because I kept wondering what's going to happen next.

Spider from Mars my life with Bowie by Woody Woodmansey

 

Joseph Gomez-Garcia

 Plot Summary
This book mainly focuses on the author's early life and how he became a drummer. It starts off how the drummer Woody was a well-behaved school boy living in a small town in England. The town Woody lives in is full of hard working people that end up working in factories nearby and many of his friends drop out of school to go work. Woody is drumming in several bands and soon he leaves school to become a drummer. Shortly after he gets a call from David Bowie to join his band to tour and play in several albums. Woody recalls several memories with Bowie as well as fights they had in general. Most notably he even writes about his perspective onhow Bowie killed off Ziggy Stardust and broke up the band.

Critical evaluation 
I give this book a 10/10 because it was one of the best reads I've had! Any person who has rebelled against their parents can relate to the author's story . You also learn not to listen to your parents when it comes to expressing yourself .

Boomerang Effect by Gordon Jack

Haotian Jiang

Plot Summary
Lawrence Barry is a 16-years-old teenager boy who goes to Meridian high school in Silicon-Valley, California. He uses drugs to get high and get drunk in parties. His dad thinks his friends are "idiots" and is often disappointed in Lawrence because he always gets in trouble at school. When Lawrence is assigned as a mentor for a freshman after a conference with the teachers, he realizes that he needs to change his old lifestyles.


Excerpt

“I had been involved in enough ‘incidents’ in my two years at Meridian that we could go on like this all day” (Page 6) The quote reflects Lawrence's lifestyles during high school, he always causes troubles, and the school Principal hates him.

Critical Evaluation 
I give this book a 10 out of 10 because the main character Lawrence Barry is a really interesting character. Lawrence was miserable and had a messy life when he was around his old crew, but when the Principal threatens to sent him to Quiet Haven, he knows that he needs to start to put his life together. This book is good for readers who likes to read books that has humor and it is about teenagers. I really like this book because some of the things that happened in the book actually related to me, and instead of feeling embarrassed, I actually found it to be fun and encouraging.

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

Gordon Jack

Plot Summary
Hillbilly Elegy was recently named by the Times as "one of six books to help understand Trump's win." This is the story of how a boy who grew up in poverty in Kentucky's Appalachia region went on to become a Yale Law School graduate. Vance chronicles his family's struggles with alcoholism, abuse, and trauma and how he was able to rise above these circumstances through personal fortitude and community support. He uses this coming of age story to shed light on the decline of white, working-class Americans.

Critical Evaluation
I picked up this book after the election because I wanted to understand the world outside our Silicon Valley bubble better. J.D. Vance's story helped immerse me in a culture and community that I knew very little about. After reading this, I feel like I have a better understanding of how poor, working class communities like the one Vance grew up in both help and hurt a person's chances for happiness and success. For all the hardships Vance endures, he has the love and strength of his family to get him through the hard times. In the end, the author doesn't offer much advice on how to help these communities, but he does lift a veil and help the reader understand them better.

A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer

Joseph Gomez-Garcia

Plot summary 
A Child Called It is a book written by Dave Pelzer in which he recounts  the abuse he had to undergo by his own mother on a daily basis. Young Dave would go days without eating and would sleep on the cold concrete floor in the garage . Dave's only source of food was at school where he had to steal lunches. The abuse ranged from several punches in the face, being forced to eat regurgitated food and spoonfulls of ammonia.

Excerpt
" Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun , not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul . Inside my soul become so cold and I hated everything "

Critical evaluation 
This book is a must read because it is a very engaging and descriptive book. It also has several parts  that are very unexpected. It deserves a 10 out of 10 because it is one of the few books I've read and liked.

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Madeline Cruz 

Summary:
This book is about a suicidal teenage boy who goes into his senior year trying to finish high school as fast as possible. His dad is a total bully, his best friend is dating his sister, and the love of his life doesn’t even know he exists. But everything changes once he gets to school and people see he has changed. He’s bigger, smarter, and even badder, making the love of his life take a second look. But there’s one problem, Bethany’s brother doesn’t seem to happy to see him.

Excerpt:
“I was so desperate to make this night happen, I took the school bus home. The upperclassmen stared at me like I had lost my mind. I nearly told them I had an almost date with Bethany Milbury ( I’ll see you tonight, right?) but that would have tempted the fate, so I scowled at them instead.”

Critical Evaluation:
I liked the book because it made me wonder what would happen next each time I stopped reading. The author really made the book have some really intense parts which really grabbed my attention.This book deserves a 8 out of 10 stars because at times there would be boring parts where it wouldn’t get my attention as much as how the intense parts of the book did.

Tyrell by Coe Booth

Tania SanJuan

Quick summary 
This book follows the life of a boy named Tyrell who is living in a broken down motel infested with cockroaches. To get him, his mom, and little brother an apartment, he throws a party to get money like his dad used to do before we went to jail. After the party, he learns that his little brother got taken away by the state and his mom is never going to change her ways of being a bad mom.

Excerpt
“We still got roaches on the bed, walls, and floors, but Troy ain’t even crying ‘bout them no more. He probably too used to them by now.”

Critical evaluation
This book deserves a 10 out of 10 because it is really well written. The first person point of view helps you understand how the character is feeling and you can get into more depth of what he is thinking. It teaches you about being responsible and appreciate what you have because other people are dying to have it.

Always Running By Luis Rodriguez

Alexia Gonzalez

Plot Summary: This book is about a teen who got into the gang life in the streets at a very young age. He talks about all the struggles he went through trying to fit in with the gangs, and his struggles of trying to find his true belonging. He really struggled getting his life back together after the gang life. He dedicated it to his son, and any other teens struggling what he went through.

Critical Evaluation: I would give this book a 9.5 out of 10. It really shows all the struggles that people go through in gangs. I really like how when he's telling his story he's not being a hypocrite about and telling kids, don't join gangs because this will happen, he says it in a way that his story will inspire teens to take a different path in their life.

Love Letters To The Dead by, Ava Dellaira

Galilea Garcia

Plot Summary 
All Laurel ever wanted was to be like her big sister May who she thought was just perfect. Until she passed away and Laurel's world started falling apart. In the struggle of trying to find herself she embarks a new journey that takes her into a real world all by herself where the truth is brought up and her whole perspective changes.

Critical Evaluation: 
I rate this book a 10/10 because it is an amazing story on the courage it takes on a person to keep living after their world falls apart.

Wise Young Fool by Sean Beaudoin

Carlos Diaz

Plot Summary

Wise Young Fool is a book about a teenage rock group that is in preparation for what could be their big break. Unfortunately, the main character gets arrested instead of becoming famous. Jump forward to 2013 and Ritchie and Elliot decide that they could form a rock band and compete in "Rock Scene 2013." Will they win Rock Scene 2013, or all hope be lost for their rock band?

Critical Evaluation

On a scale from one to ten, this book would rate a 7/10. This book does very well in narrating important and specific events that help advance the story. This book however does not really include a tension based factor that would lead to wanting to read faster. The plot is predictable, and but there are some interesting parts that demonstrate difficult situations to get out of, that help us learn about more about the main character.

All The Bright Places By Jennifer Niven

Maria Ortega

Plot Summary:
Two troubled teenagers meet unexpectedly in a situation that will connect them together. In a struggle that will embark them in a romantic adventure. Soon Finch and Violet realize that they need and count on each other for love and support that they are neglected at home.

Critical Evaluation: 
I rate this book a 10 out of 10. Since it was real page turner and had built a lot of suspense in the end of the book. Also its teen romance book with a slight twist but the good kind.

Go Ask Alice By Beatrice Sparks

Isabel Figueroa

Plot Summary

Go Ask Alice is written in the form of diary entries from an unnamed 15-year-old girl. The book goes deep into a teenage drug and sex addict's life all the troubles and mistakes she has made in life. Go Ask Alice is a true story but rearranged into different dates and different names.

Critical Evaluation

This book enters a teen's life, giving you a look into the teenage world and what some teens might go through when they are peer-pressured. This book won't solve teen problems for parents, and this book does not mean that all teens are like this. I give this book a 8 out of 10.