Teen Reads: Book Review by Marcus Ciana
Eric's Greatest Race by Tim Challies and Paul Mignard
Eric Liddell’s life was a series of remarkable events, from refusing to run on a Sunday in the 1924 Olympics (as depicted in the film Chariots of Fire) to his missionary work, and finally to his imprisonment during World War II. Through it all, Eric never abandoned his faith in God.
The book. Eric's Greatest Race by Tim Challies and Paul Mignard doesn't live up to its subject. What the author intended was for more people of my generation to admire Eric, but the way it’s told is very simple. The writing of this story overall isn't very interesting or complex, which is what I personally look for in a good book. For example, most parts of the book say something like “The race started... I won!”. Every page is very simplistic and doesn't have very many words, which can be good for some, but for a book that teens might be reading, it's not great. l have to give the writing a 2.5 out of 5. It's not very complex for teen reading.
The illustrations are much like the writing, not very interesting. The whole book is in black and white and though the art style is unique, it isn't anything crazy, so a 2 out of 5.
Overall, the book is ok, it’s just a little bland and not that exciting. I wouldn’t recommend it to other teens unless they’re looking for something very simple. This book is better for younger kids who are interested, and I would recommend it for them.
Book can be ordered from Furby books on Walton Street in Port Hope.
Teen Reads: Book Review by Evan Ciana
Young David by Robert Moppet
This book is the perfect mix of a silly kid’s book and an informative church book. The art style of this book is perfect for little kids to understand and follow. This book is the story of David and Golieth from the Bible, retold in a child friendly way. This book is excellent for children and it’s technically educational. The book is published by “Drawn by Faith”who also make a lot of other Bible stories for kids, such as the “Story of Easter”,“Christmas Story” and an “Activity Book”. I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. Anyone can enjoy this story, but children 4 to 10 may have the most appreciation for it.
Book can be ordered from Furby books on Walton Street in Port Hope.
Teen Reads: Book Review by Samantha Sergiades, a grade 11 student in Northumberland County
The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography
I have always been intrigued by culture and history, so getting the chance to read Anne Frank's story was nice. The book is definitely great for other youth to read it and get a glimpse into a big part of history; world war 2 and Anne's perspective and personal challenges as it is in a graphic novel version. The book displays a bunch of pictures. Even as a teenager, pictures are nice because it gives a better visual to what happened. I saw Anne’s room and the secret bookcase that opened as a door to the secret annex that Anne spent just over 2 years in. I also appreciated that before the book talked in more detail about Anne, I got a little bit of a backstory on Anne’s family. I found out that Anne Frank's parents decided to move the family to Amsterdam in the early 30’s because of the rising antisemitism in Germany. I loved that the book included a bunch of little things from Anne’s diary that movies and such would probably not include. Little relatable topics Anne brought up really showed the story was about a teenager girl. For example, Anne mentioned her relationship with another hider in the annex, a teenage boy named Peter who she had her first kiss with and her disagreements with her roommate; Fritz Pfeffer. They had to make a schedule on when to share the desk. Finally one last thing I loved about reading Anne Frank's story was that even with the tragic ending, I found out that Otto Frank ( Anne’s Dad ) did survive, which proved that there was still something good came out of the tragedy as Otto Frank decided to share Anne Frank's story to the world, bringing inspiration worldwide.
The Faithful Spy has got to be one of my favorite WW2 graphic novels of all time. The story follows Dietrich Bonhoeffer a man who has devoted his life to theology but when Hitler comes to power and begins to take over Germany to make him their god or führer, Dietrich must make a choice between sticking to his morals or riding Germany's false god and dictator. The text is written in a way that keeps the main story written normally but along the sides of the pages there are notes and other bits of information that inform you on history and other details to help you understand the story further. Overall I believe that the text and writing are very clever and well done so I believe that it is a 4 out of 5.
On to the illustrations and they’re some of the most beautiful and clever illustrations I have ever seen in a graphic novel ever. The entire book is composed of only 4 main colors red, blue, black and white but they convey so much emotion with only those colors not to mention the amassing symbolism. The book most of the time instead of showing Hitler as simply himself they portray him as a wolf that hungers for revenge.
To be honest the illustrations alone are in my opinion one of the greatest parts of this book and are the main reason why I love this book so much. So, with that being said I have to give the illustrations in this book a 5 out of 5. Given the amazing story, writing and illustrations I would absolutely recommend this book to any teen looking for an incredible WW2 to read. Finally, something I learned from this story was how brutal Hitler really was, going to any means to secure victory in the war even going as far as to kill his own men. That is my review on The Faithful Spy.
