Origin
by Jessica Khoury

Reviewed by 
Elizabeth Mosolovich

Everyone dreams of being immortal — never sickening, growing old, or dying. Well, Pia is. She is the crowning success of a few scientists' genetic research after five generations experimenting with the Elysia flower. Pia's skin is uncuttable, and she has no blood. She will stop aging at a certain point, and she will never, ever die.

But a success like Pia's can't just be announced to the world, which is why the scientific compound she calls home is located in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. Pia knows she is not allowed outside the gates, and for the most part she is fine with this — until one night she decides to sneak out and ends up meeting a native boy named Eio. Immediately intrigued, Pia keeps meeting up with him, all the while training to be part of the team that will teach her how to make others like herself.

But when contributors of the research start demanding more progress, Pia begins to learn that the people she's always looked up to are hiding dangerous secrets. Because making an immortal comes at a high price, and as Pia meets Eio's tribe and begins loving them as much as she loves Eio, she might decide that it is too high..

 This book is a bit slow in the beginning, but once it starts picking up it's hard to stop. A few characters aren't as fleshed out, but the important ones certainly. A truly fascinating, original book, this is a must read. Find out what Pia chooses, eternal life or eternal love, in Origin.

Rooftops of Tehran 

by Mahbod Seraji  

            Reviewed by 

Emma Erwin

Rooftops of Tehran is a young adult fiction novel written by Mahbod Seraji that tells the story of 17-year-old Pasha who lives in the Iranian city of Tehran in the summer of 1973 with his mother, father, and his best friend, Ahmed. The city is going through trying times, and the citizens resent the controlling government and the SAVAK, a political organization that threatens to destroy any freedom of the people. While the story is about the struggle of the community, it focuses on the relationship of Pasha and, literally, the girl next door with whom he falls in love, Zari. The novel is a love story, but it is also so much more than that. It is the story of political rebellion of an oppressed people, and it is the coming of age of a young man.

The novel was also very interesting to read because it takes place in an Iranian city. The culture there is very different than ours in America, but the novel shows that the emotions, the relationships, and the struggles experienced by the characters are very similar to those of American teenagers today. I could not have read the novel at a more poignant time, as we as Americans may feel that after the recent bombings in Boston, our culture is isolated from the world and that we are very different from the rest of the world. The novel offers a unique perspective of the universality of teenage experiences of young love, friendship, family, and rebellion.

Overall, I found the book to be a good read. I got through it very quickly, and I found myself very attached to the characters by the end of the book. I enjoyed the author's style of writing, and the descriptions of the city and the environment made me feel like I was right next to Pasha in the colorful alley by his house. The book was not corny in the slightest, and it did not paint an unrealistic picture of romance or a glorified view of a struggling community. The novel has become a personal favorite of mine, and I would highly recommend it. I give it an A+.

Raised By Wolves
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Reviewed by
Elizabeth Mosolovich

Bronwyn Alessia St. Vincent Clare — Bryn — is a fifteen-year- old human girl. But when you live with a whole Pack of super strong and super skilled werewolves, that's not exactly a good thing...

Bryn was adopted by Callum, the Alpha of his Pack, when she was four years old, after a Rabid werewolf killed her parents. Since then, she's grown up in a tough world where everything the Alpha says is law. While Bryn has always been a bit of a troublemaker and a rebel, she knows not to cross the line, or she'll have to face the consequences. While her life can be hard and sometimes limited, she would never challenge her Alpha directly.

That is, until she discovers a boy in Callum's basement — a werewolf,  newly turned. Except that's impossible, because wolves can only be born. The more time Bryn spends with the boy, Chase, the more she grows to love him, and the more she's warned away from him. As Bryn tries to figure out the secrets everyone's been ordered to keep from her, she must also deal with the traumatic memories of her past. The Rabid is back.

And he's coming for her.

This book was very descriptive, very original. It has friendship, humor, love, and secrets all wrapped up in a supernatural world. This is a trilogy; the other two books are called Trial By Fire and Taken By Storm. It is a book about free will and loyalty, and choosing between them. You should definitely give it a try.

Ruby Red 
by Kerstin Gier

Reviewed by 
Elizabeth Mosolovich

         Ruby Red, by Kerstin Gier, is the first in the Ruby Red Trilogy,
and is actually first and foremost a German book, the original
title being Rubinrot. As per usual in a trilogy, there are two other
 books after Ruby Red: Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green.

         The story takes place in London, England (so be prepared for

a few English phrases). The protagonist and narrator is 16-year-old
Gwyneth Shepherd, who lives with her mother, younger siblings
Nick and Caroline, Aunt Glenda and her daughter Charlotte,
Great-aunt Maddie, and the matriarch of their extended family,
Gwyneth's grandmother, Lady Arista Montrose. Everyone in the
 household knows that cousin Charlotte is meant for great things
— being born on the calculated date, October 7, she is expected to
have inherited the Montrose time-traveling gene. Charlotte has been

prepared her whole life, waiting for the moment when she'll travel

back in time, while her cousins (including Gwen) lead fairly normal lives.

        However, Gwen winds up being the one to take a couple unexpected trips

back to the past. After doubting herself, she eventually tells her mother,
who takes her to a group of time travelers who, at first, disbelieve Gwen's
and her mother's claims until Gwen takes another trip under their
surveillance. Now Gwen discovers she is one of the twelve time travelers
 whose blood is needed to unlock the secrets of their founder and

time travel itself. She is thrust among people who do not trust her, paired up

with thegorgeous but annoying Gideon de Villiers, subjected to her aunt and
cousin's jealousy, and must somehow absorb a lifetime of learning in weeks
if she doesn't want to be embarrassed or, worse, killed, in various time periods.
Gwen must also try to figure out not only her mother's secrets, but those of the
order's founder, Count Saint-German, as well, because something about a
man who can speak to someone telepathically and also choke a person by smiling
just isn't right.

           So, if you are looking for or like historical fiction, humor, romance,
mystery, and time-traveling, this series is definitely for you. It's even-paced,
detailed, and immediately hooks you. The second book picks up immediately
from where the last one ends, so it's best to read them right after each other.

There are also various letters, notes, and family trees inserted between the finish
 and start of chapters which sometimes mess up the flow, but not too much.

I hope this review helped you, and that you'll look up Ruby Red and its sequels

right away!