In this By Teens, For Teens blog post, we have two teen contributions. Magdalena W., age 12 reviews Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent, a dark fantasy where creatures of the night abound. Then, David G., age 14 brings you a read-alikes list he created with book suggestions to satisfy all you tributes out there. There’s a mix of newer reads and older classics that you may have overlooked. If you love action and adventure mixed with fantasy and dystopia, then read on!
Book Review:

Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
For the past two weeks, I’ve been captivated by the novel Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent. From the first sentence, I was hooked. This book has everything I have ever wanted from a book: action, gore, wolves, and just the right amount of romance. The story follows Adele Duval’s adventures through the woods and her village, encountering ogres, goblins, and the worst monsters of all: people. She learns who she can trust and who she can’t and has to choose between two lovers along the way.
I thought the plot was well thought-out, if a little rushed. The plot and morals were beautifully conveyed, but upon further inspection, there were some shortcomings. For example, there were some events that took up several pages, but it seemed like they were just repeating the same dialogue in different words over and over, while other, more important events got half a page to shine. There were an excessive number of side characters, and the author expected us to remember all of their names. On the other hand, the descriptions and personalities of the characters are conveyed well with just a few words. Overall, I enjoyed the book, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good dark fantasy.
Read-alikes List:
Raise your hand if you loved The Hunger Games. I know there are a lot of us out there. Some of us got a little satisfaction from the recent release of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. But, many of us are still missing the feeling we got when we read The Hunger Games for the first time.
“The novel “Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins is a real thriller. Set in a dystopian setting, the book is full of drama and suspense. The novel truly takes you on a rollercoaster ride with many different plot-twists. The book is one that I enjoyed reading and one that I recommend to others. I definitely would rate this novel five out of five stars!”

Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Blindness by José Saramago
The Iron Heel by Jack London
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Giver by Lois Lowry
If you would like to contribute to our blog or learn more about becoming a VolunTEEN visit https://rvalibrary.org/teens/volunteen/ for all the info and to apply!