I am a bookworm. I cannot stop reading -- ever. Between classes, study hall, and whenever I have free time, I am found with my nose in a book. There's been a lot of good reads that I've gone through in the last year, but I thought I'd take a couple of titles and put something together. All of these books are mostly aimed at young adults or middle grade students, and the general list ranges from readers of ages 12-14, though some could appeal to those older or younger.
The Giver by Lois Lowry
I read this book for my English class, and it was the first book that we were assigned last year. I was surprised to see that we were actually reading a dystopian
novel, because honestly, we hardly ever read anything of the sort for class. This actually got me extremely excited, and I have to say, I loved it. The ultimate goal for us to read this book was to explore individuality and our unique identities, and I think this was the perfect book for this sort.
The Giver features a 12-year-old boy named Jonas, who lives in a perfect “utopia.” The community provides them everything and tells them how to live -- what to do at one point of the day, what job they have to pursue, what rules to follow, and who they have to marry, and no one questions it. Everybody, however, except for Jonas, who's seemingly different from the rest -- especially when he’s assigned a job that’s surrounded by enigma.
I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka, Liz Welch, and Martin Ganda
This was another book the I read for ELA, and while written like a narrative, it’s actually a memoir from two of the authors, Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda. Both Caitlin and Martin were assigned to each other as penpals, Caitlin being from the United States and Martin from Zimbabwe. Despite the odds, both continued to write to each other even way after others in their classes had stopped a long time ago, at a regular basis. For Caitlin, this meant learning about a world other than hers, and being exposed to what it was like for other being in other parts of the world. For Martin, this meant being able to dream big. Both of them became really good friends and helped each other in times that they needed it. Even though I found the reading level slightly low for our class, the story was touching, impactful, and I think good for all ages -- and very inspiring.
Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan
I am a big Rick Riordan fan, and I love all of his young adult series' featuring different mythologies -- from Greek to Norse. I was intrigued to see that this new novel had nothing to do with mythology, but it was definitely worth the read. In this modern take inspired by Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Ana Dakkar, a student at Harding-Pencroft Academy, journeys to learn more about her school, her roots, and her family. I’m part of House Dolphin, by the way!
Divergent by Veronica Roth
This dystopian novel was definitely on my to-be-read list for way too long. It was exciting and thrilling, leaving me eager to turn the page and find out what would happen next. In Tris Prior’s world, you join one of the six factions at age 16 -- Abnegation (her family’s faction) for the selfless, Candor for the honest, Erudite for the smart, Amity for the kind, and Dauntless for the brave. But perhaps this decision holds more than simply who you are -- and for Tris, this could be the most important decision of her life. Faction before blood… but what faction does Tris truly belong in? I’ve also finished book two, Insurgent, of the Divergent trilogy, but I’ve yet to read Allegiant. No spoilers!
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
This book, from the author of Renegades and the Lunar Chronicles, was a recommendation from one of my good friends, and I have to say, it was unputdownable. It presents a backstory of the Queen of Hearts from the infamous Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Lady Catherine Pinkerton wants to live her life her way -- as the supposed best baker in all of Hearts, she wants to open up her own bakery of delicacies and delectables. But as the daughter of a Marquess in Victorian-style Wonderland, and the eye of the King, a lady simply does not do things like that. Meeting Jest, a noble royal court joker for the King, she’s even more desperate to evade her fate. Although I’m usually not a fan of this specific genre, the story and style enough swept me up. A beautiful, sad tale that is surely one of my favorites.
While these are only some of the books I’ve read, these are a couple of my favorites that I thought would be interesting to write about and share!
Feel free to use my contact form for questions, comments, or suggestions! Stay tuned!
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