Review by Luca I. Fate, destiny; the idea that our future demise has already been planned. This is believed as true to some, but not all. The character of Tom specifically displays this mindset. Tom, along with more than twenty of his fellow teachers and students, finds himself in a precarious position. A plane they were aboard crashes into a thick rainforest. A simple naturation observation trip has turned into a likely fatal survival situation. After examining the surrounding wreckage of their airliner, Tom and Alice form a rather unlikely friendship over the idea of escape. Tom shares with her …

Review by Kylin M. This story is about the book thief, Liesel Meminger. On the way to her foster parent’s home on a train with her brother Werner, he dies tragically. The first book she stole was at his graveside, then throughout the story she molds into a book thief. Growing close to her foster parents; Rosa and Hans Hubermann, one had an iron fist the other was an accordion-playing painter. Hans taught her to read, things were well, but times were getting even more dangerous. When her family takes in a Jewish man, Max, in their basement, they soon …

Review by Kylin M. When the young un-named bride to Maxim de Winter arrives at her new home along the Cornish coast called Manderly, she soon uncovers hidden secrets, and learns of her husband’s past. Including the late first Mrs. de Winter, where her room is kept clean, clothes pressed, as though any minute she’ll come back. She struggles with the first Mrs. de Winter’s maid, Mrs. Danvers, and her sinister ways of sabotaging her. She soon finds out what really happened to Rebecca de Winter, unearthing the haunting secrets of Manderly. This story is a chilling thriller, mixed with …

Review by Luca I. A stable read for first and secondary schools across America, Flowers for Algernon deeply touches upon the ideas of human morality and relationships. The story follows Charlie Gordon, a thirty-two-year-old man with an I.Q. of 68. Through his teacher, Ms. Kinnian, Charlie is selected for an experimental operation. The procedure aims to increase Charlie’s intelligence quotient, and does fulfill this. Months after being operated on Charlie’s IQ reaches the 99th percentile. However he soon realizes that though he has intelligence in logic, he does not have properly developed emotional intelligence. This imbalance is what causes most …