Posts

Showing posts from January, 2025

Final Thoughts on This Golden State

Image
     In my last blog post, I was still reading This Golden State , and I wrote about what I thought of the book so far. Now, I have finished the book, and I will give a summary of the entire story and my thoughts on the book overall.  As I mentioned before, Poppy is the main character. She has a little sister named Emma, a mom, and a dad. Her family has been on the run for as long as Poppy can remember. Every time they move to a new place, she does her best not to make too many friends or get too attached. Poppy has spent her entire life giving up things that she loves. Often, the reader glimpses at the internal struggle Poppy goes through; she really wants to have a normal life (have a phone, finish a year at one school, drive a car) but at the same time, she’s frightened at what would happen if she was recognized. She doesn’t know for sure, but every time she does something against her family’s rules of staying hidden, police cars arrive and they have to move away....

Top Story by Kelly Yang

Image
Hello! I'm Sloane, and I'm reviewing Top Story  by Kelly Yang. This is the fifth book in the Front Desk  series. I read the other books in the series a while ago, and then realized there was a fifth book, so I read it recently! In the first  Front Desk  book, the main character, Mia, moves from China to America, and her parents get jobs at the Calivista motel. The motel is owned by Mr. Yao, who overworks Mia's parents and treats them badly, while Mr. Yao's son, Jason, bullies Mia at school for helping at the motel. Mia and her parents help immigrants stay in the motel, which they have to keep a secret from Mr. Yao. Mia has to navigate her new life and pursue her dream of being a writer. *Spoilers for the Front Desk series (books 1-4)* In Top Story , Mia is in Chinatown during winter break with her mom and her friend Lupe, while her dad stays in Anaheim, California to run the Calivista motel. Mia is going to a journalism camp, while Lupe is going to the stat...