Unbound

In the story unbound there was a girl name grace and her mom they was slaves for master Allen they went through a lot grace was a little girl living with her mom she was a mix black girl because her dad was master Allen but it did not she was still a slave her mom got rape by master Allen as she got older she had to move to the big house to work but she didn't know what to do so the missus had someone teach her how to do her chores in the big house aunt temple was the one helping her how to cut meat how to clean up. As she got older she started doing things on her own but she was asking to much about why she got lighter skin than her mom and some of the other and why do the white folks don't do their own work but she promised her mom that she will not ask questions like that and that she will keep her thoughts to herself as day go by she had more thoughts about why is the master and missus so bad to the people helping them but she had promised her mom not to ask questions about what's going on the master land.

One day the missus to her if she don't behave she will go to the born for spanking so she had to be herself from time to time she will sneak out at night to go visit her mom and little brothers but all that had to stop because the missus was getting curious about the situation one day the master and missus was discussing selling her on the sills block where they sell slave but later the master change his for them to sell grace mom and brothers one night she pack food so her and her family could run away for good but her mom did not want to go so she had to convince her and all the others to run away with her to the north the end.

Book Review by Sarge Q.

milk and honey

The book milk and honey by rupi kaur impacted my life in a good way, that's why I chose this book for my independent reading study. This is the first book I have read of hers. Surprisingly milk and honey was her first and only book so far. She published it through Andrew mcmeel publishing in 2014. The story has 4 different inspiring parts. The hurting, the loving, the breaking, and the healing. I simply can not choose a favorite. All of them were so greatly worded and made you feel connected even if you have never experienced the things before.

Like I mentioned before there are 4 parts. At first I wasn't really sure on how to summarize because it's basically all short little poems but if you look at the whole thing it tells a story but the details / what that story means is different to everyone. It depends on how you look at the poems. The pages are really nice, most of them have little simple drawings.  It it doesn't distract you from the writing. She put her heart and soul into this book. It's focused on femininity. Her stories of struggle and her stories of building back up her life. She went from when she was little to grown. “I didn't leave because I didn't love you anymore, I left because the longer I stayed the less I loved myself” a lot of these short little poems people can relate to. “Your name is the strongest, positive and negative connotation in any language. It lights me up or leaves me aching for days”.

I'd say that this is a great book that can help you in some tough times. If you ever need some motivation or need to feel not alone then I'd pick up this book. It's something simple and easy. It can take you somewhere else when you need it. So go pick it up ! 

Book Review by Chloe E.

Inside Out and Back Again

The book I read is Inside out & Back again by Thanhha Lai. This is the only book I've read from her. Some of her other books are, guys read: true stories, Thanhha Lai young readers collection and Listenslowly. Inside out & Back again is a girl named há. Há and her family are being forced to move to the U.S. The theme of the story is há’s family is all she has left after the incident of what had happened back home in Vietnam.

In the story há and her family are being forced to move to the U.S. because of the Vietnam war that has happened near her home and was longer safe. They end up on a navy ship and leaves Vietnam. They spending a couple months at a refugee camp and afterwards they're sent to Alabama.

I would recommend this book to anyone that likes verse novel and true stories. This book is amazing and emotional to read but it's still a great book. 

Book Review by Shailyn V.

Bittersweet

Book Review: Bittersweet

From poets across the world, centrally in the United States, and primarily in the Midwest- comes a beautiful collection of rhymes and metaphors that leave the mind at ease.

Organized like a calendar, poems describe the changing world around their authors; what stays the same and completely alters itself put into the most beautiful words imaginable. As the seasons change, so do the lives and situations of poets across the world, and this book was a fabulous collection of their work. This book is pleasant to just pick up and let the words carry you along. You won’t realize how much you’ve read once it pulls you in! I am personally not a haiku fan, so I would’ve preferred for those to have been left out. I really enjoyed the poems that rambled on and described the senses of a situation, so I could feel like I was in the poetry!

If you’re looking for a leisurely and relaxing read, Bittersweet would definitely be my recommendation to you! Any fan of poetry about basically anything in the world will be a huge fan of this wide variety of styles and subjects!

Book Review by Maddie J.

Soul Moon Soup

Soul Moon Soup by Lindsay Lee Johnson was a great book with a fascinating subject. Phoebe Rose is 11 years old; she is an artist and a poet, living in the big city with her Mama and their suitcase. Mama always told that if they carried a suit case at the bus station, people would assume they were going somewhere. For a while, Phoebe even bought it. Now, however, Daddy is gone. Daddy can’t bring home little presents to their “living van” because it left when he did. Phoebe used to draw him things, like a comfy couch or a necklace of pearls that she was sure he would buy for Mama if he could. But the money left when he did, and all that was left was the suitcase.

This book is full of poems of the thoughts going through Phoebe’s head as she journeys through the life of a homeless child, and even back to Mama’s home town, Silver Moon Lake.  One night at the bus station, she was left in charge of the suitcase while Mama got food samples for them. She was told to stay still and guard it with her life. Phoebe Rose couldn’t hold it anymore; she had to go to the bathroom, so she took it with her, and left it outside the stall. Not a minute later, their suitcase was gone. It was empty, but it held their pride, and that’s when the beginning of the end begun. That’s when Mama put her baby girl on a train by her lonesome and off to Silver Moon Lake.

There, Phoebe stayed with her Mama’s Mama. She learned about being a kid and letting the grownups do their grown up things. She learns secrets of her family and how to collect eggs with frustrating the hens. She made her first real friend, a lifelong sister, and she learned to forgive her Mama.

Soul Moon Soup is a wonderful story about the honest and struggling life of a homeless child. I found it to be helpful when it comes to empathy and understanding of fellow human beings. The words flowed together flawlessly and made the story easy and interesting to read. I have not read any other books by Lindsay Lee Johnson, but I look forward to checking out more of her work in the future.

Book Review by Maddie J.

Poems: Second Edition

The book I was reading is, "Poems second edition" by Joseph Kelly. Mr. Kelly has made another poem book that I've read, and I think that this one is a little better. He's a great author and he has a lot of good poems in the two books as well. There isn't really a theme to this book. But the book is about a bunch of. Adventure, funny, cool, love (maybe, it depends on how you read some of the poems) and it's really good. There isn't much that u can tell you about this book but there are a lot of poems you will like in this book.

I definitely think that who ever is reading this review, should read this book, it's so amazing, there's a lot of fascinating stories in there as well. There's many poem books that you may have read already, but I bet, that you'll like this poem book the most. 

Book Review by J'Vonn C.