10/24/2015 ** This book would make an EXCELLENT book study for schools looking for ways to bring non-test score indicators of student achievement to their own communities. The student voices of ways teachers can help them learn are especially powerful.

After 4 years immersed in the day-to-day school life at Mission High, Rizga wrote at highly compelling, descriptive book about the ways teachers bring rigor to their instruction; build strong, positive relations with their students; and successfully help their students prepare for life after high school, even as the state and federal departments of education label the school as "failing" (on the basis of standardized test scores).

The chapters contain alternating perspectives: case studies of students, case studies of teachers, and mini-histories of the progress of educational reform.

This is a MUST read for those who 1) want to see how a school labeled as "failing" is actually make a tremendously positive impact in the community and for students. OR 2) for those who believe in test-based "reforms" and want to see what true reform could look like.

10/18/15 ** It's a Jack Reacher thriller; vigilante justice and the bad guys go down. Unlike some, I was able to get a hint of the crime about 2/3 of the way through. Perhaps the clues were too overt. However, a great vacation read if you enjoy murder mysteries/thrillers.

If you want to read about the plot, read the jacket copy. :)

Excellent world building and even better characterization. 

Written in alternating voices - Elias and Laia. Though the chapters are headed by the characters' names, they don't need to be. The voices are distinct and the plot events unique to the individuals. Because the book is written with both characters' voices, I felt that I got to know each of them as individuals.

As I read, I did want to know more about several supporting characters. Surely the Commandant couldn't be as cold and evil as she seemed? Her back story is hinted at late in the book. Perhaps we will see more nuance in her personality in future volumes.

Where the power of Red Queen (Aveyard) is in the issues raised in the sociopolitical context of the people's powers, the power of this book lies in the compelling emotions of the characters.

Laia constantly compares herself to her now-dead parents, feeling herself lacking. Instead, as the story progresses, she begins to understand her own personality, while different, is also strong. Early in the book, she puts her own survival above that of others, taking the gifts they offer; later she recognizes her power to help others, surprising many along the way.

I eagerly await the sequel in April.

4/18/14 ** I've been reading this series since the third book and since late March.  I found that the plot dragged a bit in both this and in Roses are Red - I kept reading though, because I wanted to find out what happened in plot threads in Cross's life (Mastermind, Christine). 

The end of this book seemed to resolve both those threads.  I wonder if Patterson was considering ending the series.  I seem to be hooked though, because I downloaded the next two books to my eReader.