Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins, is the final novel in The Hunger Games trilogy. After being rescued from the Quarter Quell, Katniss must adapt to life in District Thirteen while mourning the loss of Peeta. Katniss, forced to be the face of a revolution that she does not lead, suddenly finds herself in the middle of political chaos as the rebels of District Thirteen aim to overthrow the Capitol.
Simone Garcia-Hampton is positive for HIV. Simone’s mother died when she was young. After moving from her old school, Simone made new friends and decides to start over. Simone is a really smart kid as well as being the student-director of her school play, Rent. At her school, Simone meets her crush, Miles. She loves him and dreams about kissing him, etc. But how will he react once she tells him she has HIV, while someone is threatening her to stop talking to Miles?
Bang! Bang! POW! Normal 16-year-old Starr Carter’s world is turned upside down after witnessing the traumatic shooting of her best friend, Khalil Harris. The incident quickly becomes the talk of the town and it is later revealed to the public that Starr was the witness of the shooting. Will Starr be able to speak out and uncover the truth behind Khalil’s death? Will Khalil be served justice?
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart is probably one of my least favorite books I have read in a while. The story attempts to paint trauma and mental illness in the eyes of a teenager. It tries to be relatable to the reader, and while I believe that this could have been achieved, the main character of the novel is quite frankly a horrible character.
The Deadly Sister by Eliot Schrefer is a mystery novel with complex twists and turns. Abby Goodwin has always been the overprotective sister. Saving her sister, Maya, was almost like a part-time job for her. Unfortunately, as they grew up and matured, they started drifting apart. One day, Abby finds Jefferson Andrews, the popular, the smart, and the “perfect” boy at their high school dead. As she slowly unravels and follows the trails of clues, everything points to Maya and everyone suspects Maya.
Olive Torres is and has always been notoriously unlucky. From getting stuck in a claw machine to getting fired from her job to being struck by lightning, it seems like something bad always manages to happen to her. So, it should come as no surprise when Olive is forced to go on her sister’s honeymoon with Ethan Thomas, her longtime archnemesis and sworn enemy, when a nasty bout of food poisoning takes out nearly everyone at the wedding. But posing as a married couple is a small price to pay for ten days of paradise in Hawaii, and all Olive and Ethan have to do is survive each other.
Cecila’s life was going well, until one day. She fell, and when she woke up she could not hear anything. She became deaf out of the blue. She had to go to a deaf school, and learn, which was hard for her. Instead she got a hearing aid, and she gets to go back to a normal school. But it did not feel as normal for Cecila. She looked different with the hearing aid, and it was harder for her to make friends. Do you think she will have a good and fun school year? Read El Deafo to find out!!
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton provides a look into what teenage life looked like in the 60’s in America. A book targeted towards teens, The Outsiders tries to capture a more accurate perspective on these children. Almost sixty years have passed since its release, however, meaning that most of the book is not applicable to today’s society.
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a metaphor for human society and a commentary on the communist governments of the pre-Cold War era. A bold novel opposing some of the pro-communism sentiment in the country at the time, Animal Farm tells the story of the USSR and other communist countries from the viewpoint of the citizens within, and the ones that control from above.
The world is broken. The “Phenomenon” has fractured Verity into the North and the South, led by two leaders who have drastically different ideologies of how to rule. In the chaos, acts of violence and sin are physically manifested in monsters — Corsai, who feed off of fear, Malchai, who feed on blood, and the rare Sunai, who survive on the souls of sinners.
