Chuyển đến nội dung chính

The Secret

Reviews | April 2019

April started off as a really good reading month, but ended up not being so great towards the end because that's when I went into a reading slump that I couldn't really get out of it. I spent this month trying to catch up to my Goodreads goal so I read a lot of shorter books. It would've worked out if I kept it up but unfortunately, life had other plans. But, reviews! Reviews Bossman by Vi Keeland I don't know what it was about this book that didn't do it for me. I really thought this was going to be another one of those steamy books I love, but for the most part, it was okay. I think the past vs. present story line wasn't something I really enjoyed. While I get that the author was trying to show the tragic past of the male protagonist, I felt like it was dragged on too long. It could've been told as a prologue and then I would've felt more attachment seeing his side of the story as well. I found this to be a little predictable and overall meh in the sex...

Review: Click'd by Tamara Ireland Stone

Title: Click'd
Author: Tamara Ireland Stone

Allie Navarro can't wait to show her best friends the app she built at CodeGirls summer camp. CLICK'D pairs users based on common interests and sends them on a fun (and occasionally rule-breaking) scavenger hunt to find each other. And it's a hit. By the second day of school, everyone is talking about CLICK'D.

Watching her app go viral is amazing. Leaderboards are filling up! Everyone's making new friends. And with all the data Allie is collecting, she has an even better shot at beating her archenemy, Nathan, at the upcoming youth coding competition. But when Allie discovers a glitch that threatens to expose everyone's secrets, she has to figure out how to make things right, even if that means sharing the computer lab with Nathan. Can Allie fix her app, stop it from doing any more damage, and win back the friends it hurt-all before she steps on stage to present CLICK'D to the judges?


Before the review I want to mention to the teachers and librarians out there - there is a teacher's guide for Click'd! Check it out HERE


Right now I am teaching a coding class to 6th graders, and it has been really fun.  I love how coding makes them think and be ok with things not going right the first time! It really forces them to think through the problem and be ok with trial and error.  So when I was given this book for review I hoped it would fit with that.  I wasn't disappointed.  I was really pleased with how this book talked about coding.  It was factual about coding but not so much that the average kid would be lost.  It kept it at their level! I think the use of the app Allie created would hold their attention.  I could see them imagining how they might use an app like it at school!

Mostly though I liked how it is a story that kids can relate to at the middle school age.  All kids can relate to the idea of their deepest secrets seeing the light of day and the horror of being the one that causes that.  Allie is a great character throughout all that.  She's typical for the age in her reactions but also a great role model for how to handle something big like this.  I liked her a lot.  

In the end: I liked that it showed the fun and challenge of coding (for both boys and girls - with an emphasis on girls) and at the same time was just a good book about friendship and taking responsibility for a situation you caused! 

Sidenote- Allie's app is super cool and I wish it really existed!  




Yes I'd put this in the library!  I think kids would be interested in it - especially at my school where they have to take coding.  

Nhận xét

Popular Posts

Review | Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist

Title: Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist Series: N/A Genre: Contemporary Publication:  January 3, 2017 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Format: Audiobook Source: Library Rating: ★★★★★ Synopsis:   On his first day at a new school, blind sixteen-year-old Will Porter accidentally groped a girl on the stairs, sat on another student in the cafeteria, and somehow drove a classmate to tears. High school can only go up from here, right? As Will starts to find his footing, he develops a crush on a sweet but shy girl named Cecily. And despite his fear that having a girlfriend will make him inherently dependent on someone sighted, the two of them grow closer and closer. Then an unprecedented opportunity arises: an experimental surgery that could give Will eyesight for the first time in his life. But learning to see is more difficult than Will ever imagined, and he soon discovers that the sighted world has been keeping secrets. It turns out Cecily doesn’t meet traditi...

Review | Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Title: Forbidden  by Tabitha Suzuma Series: N/A Genre: YA - Contemporary Publication: June 28, 2011 by Simon Pulse Format: Hardcover Source: Purchased Rating:  ★★★ Synopsis:  Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As de facto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: A love this devastating h...

Nonfiction Review: 1,000 Facts About the White House

Title: 1,000 Facts about the White House Author:  Sarah Wassner Flynn Welcome to the White House! Go behind the scenes to get a 360-degree view of America's most famous president's residence, from how it was built in 1792 and the fire of 1812, to today's state dinners, celebrations, celebrity pets, and more. Discover through 1,000 fun-to-read facts what it's like to live and work at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the quirky rules of the house and how the Secret Service keeps it safe. Find out how the kids who have lived there play, watch movies, and entertain friends. With a treasure trove of material from the White House Historical Association, this book presents a fascinating story of the building and the many people who have shaped its 225-year history. Ok we all know about the White House right?  It's the place where the president lives.  But what do you really KNOW about it?  This book is filled with all kinds of little tidbits about the house we see all the time in...

Free $100