The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat is a fantasy book with inspirations of Thai culture. In this book, Sai plays the role of a perfect girl working to provide herself with a future by assisting a mapmaker in Mangkon. When Sai is given the opportunity to chart the southern seas, she hopes to use the expedition to rid herself of her family secrets and make a name for herself on her own.
I read A Court of Thorns and Roses over my winter break, and I really enjoyed it. If you have ever imagined Beauty in the Beast but a little more intense and a little more PG-13, then this book is for you. In a land divided by a magical wall, there are humans and there are fairies. Feyre, the protagonist, unknowingly breaks an ancient fairy law and is forced over the wall into the fairy realm to pay her debt. The first book is moderately paced but picks up towards the end.
Summary: Half Bad by Sally Green is a gripping young adult novel set in a world where witches live secretly among humans. The story follows Nathan, a boy born of a forbidden union between a White Witch mother and a Black Witch father. Nathan is hunted and oppressed by the authorities, caught between the two warring factions of witches. As he struggles to find his place in a society that fear and rejects him, Nathan embarks on a journey of self-discovery, facing dangers and betrayals.
SUMMARY: Odysseus, stranded on an island, makes it out alive through the favoritism of the Greek gods, Zeus and Hermes. An adventurous, sorrowful and tragic twenty-one long year journey back to Ithaca he takes to see his beloved home as Poseidon chases after him, wanting him dead. Many lives are lost during the journey, only for him to find out that there are hordes of hubris men overstaying their visit.
The Song of Achilles is and has remained one of my favorite books of all time. There are many quotes from this book that really hold a place in my heart. The plot doesn't take long to pick up, which is nice if you have a short attention span like me. I love all the Greek mythology references, but if you don't know too much about Greek mythology no worries you can still understand the book! It is a lovely forbidden slow burn romance.
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry is the second book in the dystopia Giver series. Kira was born with a twisted leg, but she and her mother have always had each other to depend on. Now that her mother is dead, Kira finds herself as a flawed orphan in a society that discards the weak. Kira, however, isn't as defenseless as everyone thinks, for she has a special gift that is able to keep her alive.
Summary: As war was raging out all across Pyrrhia (a dragon dystopian land), a prophecy emerged saying that 5 dragonets born on the 20th year of the war will rise up and end the ongoing conflict. Clay and the other 4 dragonets in the destiny had heard this story a thousand times, and given that they were stuck in a cave and raised by a group of rebel dragons only interested in the prophecy, they had to figure out how to get out and see the outside world.
