TOS Review College Prep Genius

I don't know if you are like me but I worry.  About everything really but quite a bit of my worry comes from thinking about high school for my kiddos.  I worry that when they go to take the SAT's or the ACT's that they will fail miserably.  I worry that they won't have a vocabulary sufficient enough to convey their thoughts in an intelligent manner.

I worry.

I can't help it; I just worry.

The latest review for The TOS Homeschool Crew just might be able to help with at least one of those worries. Vocabulary.  I love to read and thankfully almost all of our girls love it too so I know they will be exposed to a wide variety of words and ideas but will they retain the meanings?



College Prep Genius is here to help and the way they will it is through Vocab Cafe.

VocabCafé books help students easily learn SAT-level words while reading an original wholesome story.


These modern novellas contain no foul language, no illicit sexual themes, and no sorcery!


Based on a three-step approach to increasing vocabulary, each book highlights 300 advanced words by using DEFINITION, REPETITION, and REINFORCEMENT.


Readers find the definition of every highlighted word at the bottom of the page — a word review and appendix complement the learning process!


The titles for the Vocab Cafe are:
IM for Murder
Operation High school
Planet Exile
Summer of St Nick


You can read descriptions of each book here.

These books are interesting stories that have SAT level words used throughout.  At the bottom of each page the SAT words are listed along with their definitions.  It's a great idea.  How many times have you been reading along and you came across a word you weren't sure about?  How handy for students to have these books that include the definitions right there on the page.  I just love this idea.

I will say that when the website recommends reading these books-or any books-before your kids, do it.  These are high school level books and as such address subject matter that wouldn't necessarily be what you want your junior higher to read.  As the descriptions states there is no foul language, no illicit sexual themes, and no sorcery but there was one book in particular that really bothered my 13yo.  She talked to me about the situation in the book, a cat was killed and put in a duffel bag, and we decided that she was a little young for that particular book.  The other books were no problem and she enjoyed the stories. 


These books are a great edition to your high schoolers arsenal to prepare them for the future.  While I can't just outright recommend them because of the one book, IM for Murder, I would recommend them with the caveat of the parent reading them first. 

You can buy a set of Vocab Cafe books for $38.95 or buy them individually for $12.95 each.  These books are designed for high school level so just remember that when ordering.



If you want to know what other Crew Members thought of Vocab Cafe head on over to The Crew Blog and check them out.



**I received a set of Vocab Cafe books from College Prep Genius through The TOS Crew in exchange for my honest review.