Student Saturday - Odette’s Secrets by Maryann Macdonald

Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Student Reviewer: Camilla M.

The book an Odette's Secrets is about a young girl that went through much hardship during the Holocaust. Odette was a yound girl with curly hair. Odette started out as a young girl in Paris. Throughout the story she grew up and moved to the country and eventually back to the city. Madame Marie was her godmother, who played a big part in Odette's life. Madame Marie, her mother, and her father all cared for Odette very much.  Odette was forced to move around to escape the soldiers. She moved to the country where she met great people. Her mother then forced her out of the country to go back to the city. Odette had a hard time finding out who she was and where she belonged. She found that poetry would soothe her mind. I sometimes wonder where I belong. Just like Odette I find things and activities that help me with calming my mind. This book teaches great lessons and exceeds my expectations. I would reccomend this book to someone that likes history and heartfelt books. 

 

Student Saturday: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

 

Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Myths, Adventure
Student Reviewer: Aliyah E.

 Percy Jackson: The Battle of the Labyrinth is an adventurous book about five courageous kids Percy, Anabeth, Grover, Rachel, Tyson known as half-bloods, cyclopes and mortals all fighting for their life to save their camp.

      This book  is about how the creator Daedalus is in his workshop and the Titans are trying to find him so they can invade camp half-blood. The job of Percy, Anabeth, Tyson, and Grover is to go and find Daedalus before the Titans do. Grover is searching for a lost god named Pan and believes he is in the Labyrinth so he and Tyson search from Pan while Annabeth and Percy try to save camp, but they quickly realize they need the help of a mortal Rachel because she can see through the mist and safely get them to Daedalus. But they did not get there in time.....

       I can connect to this book because like Annabeth I struggle trusting people and is always on the lookout for danger. I would recommend this book to people who struggle with trusting or focusing so that they see they are not alone and there is people to go to. Overall, this is a really good book, and I enjoy

Thirty Seconds at a Time by Tracy Bilen

 

Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult Mystery

Source: I won a copy from LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Kate didn't understand why her father was packing her clothes. She told him that there were two weeks until Christmas break. As she was trying to unpack the suitcase, he was hurrying to pack; she heard gunshots. She ran down the stairs only to find her father in a pool of blood. She tries to stop the bleeding but can't. He hands her a piece of paper and tells her to burn it and tell no one. Kate's mom finds her at the hospital where she learns of her husband's death. Once allowed to return to the house to get some of their things, Kate discovers her guitar case full of money. This is the beginning of a great mystery. Kate and her mother move away. Her mother takes a teaching job at a private school where Kate will learn to ski. However, she can't let her father's murder go.

Kate meets Ryan, who always seems to be in trouble. He inadvertently gets pulled in to all of this mess. Can Kate extricate herself before someone else gets hurt? What is she to do with the money? Who keeps leaving her cryptic messages? What is with the address her father gave her before he died?

All of these questions lead to one of the most fulfilling mysteries I have read in a long time. Throw in a snarky roommate, a good looking young man and a lot of twists and turns in this wonderful book. One my students will definitely love as much as I did.