Crewel

Author: Gennifer Albin

Publisher: Farrar Strauss Giroux Books for Young Readers

After being taken away from her family to be a Spinster, a glamorous and yet difficult job, Adelice meets an array of new people who guide her. Some are kind, and some are cruel and deceiving. As Adelice learns how to weave, the special way to control her world, she gets to know these people and finds friendship, enemies, and maybe even a little romance.

Crewel would definitely get boring for younger readers. It mixes fantasy and a futuristic world together into a surprisingly believable and relatable story, so readers who enjoy either of these genres would enjoy this novel.

I did like Crewel. But I didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have. In a lot of the book, the plot was very slow and there was nothing that really pushed me to read ahead. There were also just a lot of long explanations that made it less action-filled, which I think this book could easily be with a bit of tweaking. Overall, however, it was a good read. 

The Edge of Nowhere

Author: Elizabeth George

Publisher:Viking

You can hear whispers–or bits and pieces of people’s thoughts, and this special ability forces you to move away from your old home and completely leave you old identity behind. Becca King, previously Hannah Armstrong, moved to Whidbey Island to escape what her cruel stepfather had done. She has to leave her mother as well, and when things don’t go as expected, Becca finds herself learning more about Whidbey Island than she thought she would...including helping to solve a crime.

The Edge of Nowhere is definitely a book for eight graders or high school students because younger readers might easily become bored. Even though the book is centered around a girl, I think that some boys would like this read. Any reader who has ever moved to a completely new place will be able to relate to Becca and her struggles to fit in as the new girl. 

I really enjoyed The Edge of Nowhere. The plot seemed like a very original idea, which made this book even better. The thing I liked best about this book is how it was very truthful and seemed like it could be happening right now. The characters are all very believable and I could relate to them easily even though I’ve never been through anything they are going through in The Edge of Nowhere. 

That Time I Joined the Circus

Author: J. J. Howard

Publisher: Point

What would you do if your mother ran away and your father died? Well, if you were Lexi Ryan, you would try to find your mother–and end up working for a traveling circus. Callie, Lexi’s mom, ran away when she was younger, and Gavin, Lexi’s dad, just recently died. Since he died right after she betrayed a friend, she has no one to turn to and runs away, attempting to find Callie. Little does she know that she will soon be making friends and working in the circus...and finding answers to some of her hardest questions.

That Time I Joined the Circus is definitely a middle school girl’s book. Boys probably would not like it because of the romance that is weaved throughout this funny and touching book. Anyone who has ever felt lost will be able to relate to Lexi in her struggles to find herself.

I loved That Time I Joined the Circus. The author did an amazing job of making running away and joining the circus seem amazing and fun. I also really enjoyed how the author developed the main character Lexi, because even though my parents aren’t dead or gone and I haven’t betrayed a friend, I could easily relate to her woes. Everything in this book was described very well, making it seem better, and almost magical.