Marieke Nijkamp’s This is Where it Ends is a young adult fiction novel that depicts the tragic events of a school shooting at Opportunity high school. The novel’s main characters Claire, Tomas, Autumn, and Sylv serve to represent the intricacy of each individual life affected by school shootings; they represent that each life affected is more than a name or a number—that they are human, too.
Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is a Young Adult Fiction novel that tells Liesel Meminger’s story—a young girl living in Germany during World War II. Constantly faced with loss and tragedy, Liesel hopes to find meaning in her life—she does so through her fascination with books. Occupying her time with words and as many books as she can find, she is faced with the reality of the war—the oppression in Nazi Germany, losing the people she loves, and the consequences of doing the right, but dangerous thing.
John Green’s Looking For Alaska is a Young Adult novel that tells the complex story of the relationship between main character Miles Turner—also known as Pudge—and Alaska Young. Pudge’s fascination with searching for deeper meaning in life leaves him fascinated with Alaska Young when he transfers to her high school. Miles struggles with attempting to understand both Alaska and the world around him as he encounters the complexities of relationships, friendships, and simply being human.
None of This True, is a cozy gripping thriller that will keep you guessing. Josie Fair is celebrating her 45th birthday at a local pub. There she meets Alix Summers, a podcaster who shares the same birthday. A birthday twin! They bump into each other days later. This time Josie talks about her idea of making a podcast about herself. She convinces Alix that she's going to make a big change soon. Alix has uneasy feelings about Josie but she can't resist the temptation of her curiosity.
Ground Zero is a very well written book about the incident during 9/11. It focuses on two different characters, Brandon and Reshima. Both characters have to go through many hardships and challenges such as being trapped in the world trade center. Overall, I give this book a 5 out of 5 because it is a very engaging book and is very easy to follow. I highly recommend reading this book if you like historical fiction or enjoy any other Alan Gratz books.
Soul Lanterns by Shaw Kuzki is about a twelve-year-old girl named Nozomi. She lives in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The city she lives in was bombed 25 years ago and caused many deaths of innocent people. During a certain time of the year, people from Hiroshima put lanterns in water and let them float as a memorial for the loved ones they lost during the devastating bombing that took place 25 years ago. As usual, during the holiday Nozomi's mom was placing two lanterns in water, a colored one and a white one.
Daughter of the Deep written by Rick Riordan is about a girl named Ana Dakkar she goes to Harding-Pencroft Academy there are four houses: House Dolphin, House Cephalopod, House Shark, and House Orca each house specializes in something Ana’s brother Dev Dakkar is a senior Harding-Pencroft Academy he is House shark and specializes in the offense. Ana is a house Dolphin and specializes in leadership but feels like she is not confident enough to lead.
In the Headquarters of WICKED, a team full of teenagers has been put to the ultimate test, completing one impossible task to another. Thomas has lost everything, his memories, friends, and even his own identity are gone. As the final tests come to completion by a team of scientists and other people, Thomas wants answers to everything he had to go through. His rebellious nature finally wins and he escapes the complex only to see a whole new world. Will Thomas ever be free from the chains of his past?
Scythe by Neal Shusterman is a book in a futuristic world where people can’t die. The only people who can take lives are scythes. These people’s jobs are to kill people to prevent the world from becoming overpopulated. The story follows Citra and Rowan, two kids chosen to be apprentices to Scythe Faraday. As they enter the Scythe world, Citra and Rowan start seeing the corruption and moral dilemmas.
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is a journey of Greek gods, monsters, and demigods. The story follows Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson, a mortal woman. After he is attacked by the Minotaur, he is sent to Camp Half-Blood, where young demigods find shelter from the monsters that attack them. There he discovers who his father truly is and is sent on a quest to find Zeus’ lightning bolt, which throws him into an adventure to try and find his way to the underworld.
