The Firekeeper’s Daughter was not what I expected. This book follows an indigenous woman who is trying to help herself and her community after going through some pretty horrible stuff.
Hopepunk is a story about Hope Cassidy. A girl who grew up in an extremely Christian household being told that rock was the Devil’s song. But this was nothing compared to her sister Faith, who had to lie about her relationship with the record shop cashier, Mavis. But when their younger sister rats Faith out, she makes the decision to run away instead of going to the horrible facility her parents suggested. Her family is now in pieces and Hope decides she wants to rebel.
Zealous reverend Nathan Price travels to Kilanga from Georgia with his wife Orleanna and four daughters: Leah, Adah, Rachel, and Ruth May. As the five women alternate perspectives, each of them shares their unique story as they navigate through their unfamiliar environment in the Congo. As the story progresses, each character is morphed by the new Congolese culture. Each character comes to realize her place in the world with regards to their patriarch Nathan and the culture they left behind in America.
The Hunger Games is back and follows the main protagonist Katniss Everdeen. After previously winning the last hunger games Katniss sparked rebellion against the capital. She is now faced with a new challenge and forced to return to the hunger games to fight against previous winners. How will Katniss escape this time?
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen follows Elizabeth Bennet who is daring and extremely opinionated, and Mr. Darcy who is proud and arrogant as their relationship blossoms. At first meeting Elizabeth views Darcy as self-absorbed and ignorant, but as she meets him more and more she starts to see a new side of Mr. Darcy. With her sisters Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy learns what it truly means to love.
In the novel Emma by Jane Austen, readers follow the story of a young girl named Emma who is intelligent, beautiful, but also ignorant living in England. This is a coming of age story and does an excellent job of portraying the transition from a girl to a woman, or the growth of maturity. Along with her friends Harriet and Mr. Knightley, readers witness the fun adventure and characters Emma meets as she grows up.
The Joy Luck Club follows the story of four Chinese immigrant mothers and their daughters. Tan does an excellent job in portraying an immigrant mother and her first generation daughter relationship. She also does a great job in representing generational and cultural differences as these mothers move to America, and their daughters learn to assimilate. Each chapter talks about a different person, their story, and what they have learned from it.
This book follows two patients with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that affects the respiratory system and limits contact with other patients due to fear of cross infection. Stella gets readmitted to the hospital due to lung issues, where she meets rebellious Will. Stella is not pleased with his disregard to hospital rules. Will is awaiting his eighteenth birthday so he can break free of his mother’s control over him medically. He refused to take the medicine and do the trials his mother wanted him to. Stella then convinces Will to take his meds and that sparks their romance.
The United States gets replaced by the Republic of Gilead and the reproduction rates are super low. To combat this Handmaids are assigned to bear the children of elite couples. The story follows a handmaid assigned the name Offred. Her rights are heavily restricted and stripped of her old life. As the story goes on we meet the handmaids that are a part of a group to try and escape. Although escaping isn’t that easy in Gilead. There are guards and strict rules and punishments and it is too risky to be so reckless.
