Book reviews from the Castilleja Middle School.
Women learning, Women reading
 By: Natalie C. Parker
★★★★★ Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Adventure Length: 384 pages Summary: Caledonia Styx blames herself for her family’s deaths. After she trusts a Bullet, her family is killed by the evil warlord Aric Athair and his army of Bullets. Caledonia and her childhood friend, Pisces, are the only survivors. Together they rebuild their family’s ship, rename it the Mors Navis, and put together an all girls crew, who, like them, have lost their families and homes to Aric and the Bullets. The crew are like sisters and will protect each other at all costs. They fight Bullet ships and follow their main rule- no bullets. It stays that way until one day Pisces is attacking a ship and gets caught. Caledonia is worried her friend is dead, until a Bullet pulls himself and Pisces up onto the ship. She’s about to throw him overboard, but Pisces begs her to let him live. She gives in, but still questions whether or not she should let him join the crew. Even with her doubts, she can’t help but wonder- could this boy be the key to saving them all? Review: This book was amazing! The main theme was female power, and the crew and Caledonia are all such strong and devoted women. I can’t wait for the other 2 books in her trilogy to come out. This book is perfect for middle schoolers who are looking for a book full of adventure and even a little romance. Warnings: Romance: ●○○○○ Violence: ●●○○○ Language: ○○○○○ Substances: ●●●●○ More Books Like This: Ash Princess series Reviewed By Anaika, 2025
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 By: Stuart Gibbs
★★★★★ Genres: Comedy, Spy Fiction Length: 353 pages Summary: Spy School Goes South follows 12-year-old Ben Ripley, an agent in training at the CIA’s secret spy school, as he goes to Mexico to fight the CIA’s biggest enemy: an evil organization called SPYDER. In the previous books in the series, Ben foils SPYDER’s plans multiple times, dealing with spies, bombs, and missiles in an attempt to rid the world of the agency. Ben and his fellow spy school companions are sent on a “risk-free” trip in order to locate SPYDER’s secret hideout, but end up thwarting bad guys, fighting alligators, helping traitors, and eating way, way too much free food. Review: Spy School Goes South is an amazing book filled with adventure and humor. Ben is a likable character with relatable problems, and the other characters have equally strong personalities. Stuart Gibbs challenges spy stereotypes, and created a book with an elaborate, confusing, and ingenious plot. I highly recommend this book, as well as the rest of the series, for people who love mysteries, spies, and humor. Warnings: Romance: ●●○○○ Violence: ●●●○○ Language: ○○○○○ Substances: ○○○○○ Other Books in this Series: Spy School Spy Camp Evil Spy School Spy Ski School Spy School Secret School Spy School British Invasion More Books Like This: The FunJungle series The Moon Base Alpha series Note: This is Book 6 of the Spy School series. If you are interested in the book, we suggest reading the first 5 books of the series first for context. Reviewed by Aasiya, 2024  The Name of This Book is Secret
By Pseudonymous Bosch ★★★★★ “He’d only bent his head for a second, but it had been long enough for Cass to get a glimpse of the back of his neck—and to get the proof she was looking for.” … “What?” “The birthmark on his neck. It was shaped like a crescent moon.” One might say that Cass and Max-Ernst are absolute opposites. Some may say that they are the same. Cass is a survivalist. She is ready for any type of disaster thrown at her at any time. She is always prepared. In fact, as you read this, there is a 99.9999% chance that she has all of survival necessities at the ready in her backpack. Some of which include a flashlight one of the most important, a compass, which is always a good idea, and if she can remember, she will have her homework. When a box of old junk is delivered to her Grandpa Larry and Wayne’s junk shop, she finds a curious little box called the Symphony of Smells. The old box of junk was delivered by Gloria Fortune, a common donated to her grandfather's store. Gloria sells houses after the owner has died, and is often coming to donate the previous owners belongings. Gloria says that the owner was an old magician who died in a common home-kitchen fire. When Class starts to dig deeper into the story, she realizes that something isn’t right about Gloria’s story. After meeting Max-Ernst on the playground one day at school, they become collaborators to try and solve the strange mystery. One day they take the dangerous trip to the magicians house to look for some clues. After a very close call with almost getting caught during a house tour, Cass and Max-Ernest realize that the people who visiting the house really didn’t want the house, they wanted something else. They soon realize that they have endangered themselves, and that by visiting the magicians house, they have gotten themselves into quite an mission. Why did those strangers want the personal files of the magician so badly? What really happened to the magician and his home? Most importantly, and though it’s an awfully dark thought, are Cass and Max-Ernest safe? In this exhilarating story, we take a life risking adventure to help Cass and Max-Ernst try to save the magician, while bounding over obstacles that are put in their way. This is a terrific book for anybody over the age of 8! This is a terrific book for a bedtime read-aloud, and fun for the whole family! By Daniella, 2023  By: Shannon Messenger
Book Review By: Olivia ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “I would rather be punished for making the right decision than live with the guilt of making the wrong one for the rest of my life.” Sophie Foster meets Fitz Vacker who tells her that she is a telepath, somebody who can read everyone’s thoughts. After learning to understand everything he told her, she has to go on adventures to save the human world from falling apart. In Keeper of the Lost Cities Sophie learns to be kind, have friends, and how to stay true to herself. Sophie Foster is a completely normal girl except for one thing. She is a twelve year old high school senior. When she meets Fitz Vacker and learns about his world, she questions everything she ever learned. When problems arise in the human world they have to go and fight for the balance that has been contained for years. This book shows perseverance, hope and friendship. I recommend this book for fantasy readers!  Book Review by Margot S.
★★★★★ (5 stars) This book talks about five dragonets, stolen at birth from their homes and brought to live under a mountain to be trained to fulfill a mysterious prophecy. The prophecy says that they must end the Great War, which has been going on for 20 years. But not every dragon wants a destiny. Glory, one of these dragonets, was brought in by accident. Their trainers call her a mistake. One day, the dragons over hear the trainers saying they are going to kill Glory, since she wasn't supposed to be in the prophecy in the first place. The dragonets decide to escape early, although they were supposed to be released to fulfill the prophecy in two years. On the way they will run into dangers and problems, making it a challenge to survive. This book is a mix of fantasy and adventure. It's also a fiction book. This is by far the best book I have read, and I think anyone would like it. There are 10 books in this series, and a new book coming out soon. Although this is all one series, it seems as if it is split into multiple series. A quote from one of the book in the series is: "It was strange that a dragon who couldn't be hurt on the outside had so many ragged holes on the inside"  The Unwanteds Book Review
Book Review by Margot S. Quote from book: “Don’t die,” when Alex, the main character, is going to take yet another risk. ★★★★★ (5 stars) This book is about named Alex and his twin Aaron who live in the stark gray land of Quill. The day of The Purge, all thirteen years old are to be reunited. The useless ones, The Unwanteds, are sent to their deaths, and the useful ones, The Wanteds, are sent to a college of some sort to learn to be in the Quilitary, a military in Quill. Alex is Unwanted but Aaron is Wanted. Just as Alex thought he was going to be killed, a magician saves him and brings him to the colorful land Artimé, where creativity is a weapon. But with this comes challenges Alex wouldn’t have thought of. It’s also a book about how creativity shouldn’t be considered a bad thing, and that everybody is creative and should be able to grow up to be whatever they want to be. This book is fiction. I would recommend it for anybody who is a fan of adventure, risk taking, or for anybody who likes being creative. This book is part of a series with 7 books in it. For people who liked the first book, I recommend the rest of the series, as the other books are just as good and anybody is likely to enjoy it. |
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