Reviews

“Linked” written by Gordon Korman revolves around a boy named Lincoln (Link) and his life. Link and his friends are an adventurous bunch that play pranks within their community, often landing themselves in trouble. However, things take a turn after a swastika is painted in their school, and the once safe space is flipped upside down. Even worse, more swastikas keep appearing, with every passing week introducing another one. Eventually, the stories spread and the whole town of Chokecherry is aware of the events going down in the local school. The story follows the events that unfold from Link’s perspective. I enjoyed reading this book, and rate it a ?. The introduction fares well in showcasing the characters and the plot twists keep the story fresh to read. It was also refreshing to see the main character facing consequences for some of his actions, keeping the story realistic. Despite the strong points of this book, I feel the conclusion of this story could’ve used some work, as it felt a bit too easy and forced. In the final bits of the story, the struggles Link faces don’t feel like they were really resolved by his actions, rather just resolved by the plot moving along to the ending of the novel. Although the main character does establish his position and thoughts on the conflict to the reader, I feel the resolution begins before the main character can convey his opinions to other characters. This resulted in the ending feeling too easy for the main character, leading to an unsatisfying ending to the story. Overall, the ending does ruin the story a little, but the plot and twists in this story kept it engaging to read, giving it my rating of ?. I would recommend this story to someone looking for some exciting twists in a middle school setting. Rated 4/5 stars.