The Girl of Fire and Thorns

by Rae Carson

Reviewed by

Elizabeth Mosolovich

Princess Elisa is special — she is the Chosen One of this century, the bearer of the holy Godstone that warms in response to her prayers and marks her as one who will fulfill the prophecies of her world's sacred text, the Scriptura Sancta.

But she is also the younger sister, the useless princess who, coddled by her nurses, has grown into a huge disappointment to her people. And she knows it. That is why, when she is married in secret to the king of another, turbulent country, she is determined to do right by her father and homeland and act on her duty, even though she has no idea what that is.

That duty soon becomes clearer when Elisa is kidnapped by peasant rebels leading a revolution against the king, and Elisa begins to realize how troubled things are, especially when an enemy people, with access to their own Godstone powers, continues to attack her adopted country. As Elisa strives to understand what her destiny is as the Chosen One, she also must juggle her duty to her husband and the feelings stirring within her towards a young rebel leader as she connects to these young revolutionaries. She wonders what could happen if she wasn't a queen and the bearer of the Godstone.

But she is, and those never have happy fates.

This was an amazing book that blended modern spirituality/religion and historical politics with fiction beautifully. Elisa's self-esteem issues and desire to not be a disappointment is very understandable; she's an easily relatable character. And many of the scenes in this book were so beautiful mostly because of the raw emotion in them; some of these scenes, however, seem to be overlooked in the sequel, something I feel is very regrettable. The sequel is titled The Crown of Embers, and a third book just came out: The Bitter Kingdom. Overall, they are still very wonderful, and I feel you should give all three books a try.

They Cage the Animals at Night
by Jennings Michael Burch

Reviewed by
Nicole Valladares

When people see the word autobiography, some think of history, or a very dull point in someone’s life. For some people, this might not be the case. There are some autobiographies that entrance people with their sensational pages, of love, or hardships or the pain of losing someone. Like the story of Anne Frank.

Jennings Michael Burch is different, similar to Anne Frank, but much, much, different. They Cage the Animals at Night is truly a heart shattering novel that will make you look twice at the world. It will have you questioning the meaning of love, the meaning of friendship, and the morbid feeling of being alone.

This is the story of Jennings Michael Burch, abandoned by a mother who could not possibly care for him. He is sent to an orphanage, and faces problem after problem, hanging on to the hope that his mother might come for him again. This young boy is stolen of the childhood that many of us had the luxury of experiencing. This boy learns about survival, he learns about friendship, and about the power of love.

I thought the book was marvelous, is marvelous.  Jennings’ writing style is something that just sucks you in- this man has the capability to intrigue twelve- year- olds. In my opinion, this book was made for all ages. Children who just happen to come across it, teenagers that just happened to have time on their hands, and parents who are expecting a child should read this novel. It’s something you can cry over, laugh, and smile at.