Lord of the Flies by William Golding is definitely a classic. The book begins with a plane crash on an island, which left a group of boys stranded on their own. From then on, the decisions the boys make represent the formation of society. The protagonist, Ralph, creates an orderly society at the beginning of the novel, but the island turns to chaos as the boys begin to turn on him and create their own belief system of fear. Ralph then struggles to hide from the other boys as they become more chaotic.
The Transfer is a novella in Veronica Roth’s Divergent series. This novella highlights a different side of Tobias as Roth provides more insight into who he was before becoming Dauntless. While no new information about his past was presented, this story really emphasizes how much Tobias grew from the time he transferred from Abnegation to Divergent.
P.S. I Like You by Kasie West is an adorable YA contemporary romance that embodies a fluffy version of the enemies to lovers trope. In this novel, Lily, a girl who doesn’t quite fit in but is relatively comfortable with herself, starts writing notes to an anonymous pen pal. Lily is eventually torn between keeping the note-writing anonymous and trying to find the person that she’s fallen for through paper.
A Step From Heaven, written by An Na, describes a girl named Young Ju who recently moves to Mi Gook (America) with her family for new job and educational opportunities. This realistic fiction novel is written with small memories that show Young Ju’s path along life, from when she was a little baby to when she was heading to college. Despite Young Ju being top of her class and achieving what her parents wanted her to, she struggled with her father’s constant verbal and physical abuse.
The third book in L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series, Anne of the Island, follows Anne through her newly founded adulthood as she goes back to and graduates college, finishes growing up, and deals with the highs and lows of romance. This book perfectly captures the dream of what everyone wants when they move into adulthood; every obstacle can be overcome, and lots of fun.
It’s perfect, but is it real? Influence follows the lives of four teen influencers who live what seem like perfect lives: Delilah Rollins, a newbie who shot to fame after posting a viral video, Jasmine Walters-Diaz, a former child star who’s tired of hiding her real self, Fiona Jacobs, an aspiring actress who harbors a dark secret from her past, and Scarlet Leigh, the quintessential mean girl of the group. In the whirlwind of events and auditions and shoots, the tension escalates and one of the girls ends up dead.
Veronica a girl who sees ghosts, on the verge of dying. Sawyer the boy who is a daredevil cant say no to taking risks. Can these two conquer there demons together?
Camp is about Randy who wanted to make Hudson, a masculine gay guy, fall in love with him. However, Randy isn't what Hudson's type is, so he turns into "Del" for Hudson. Later on, things get complicated as they both realize that they are not who they really are.
I think the most compelling part is that it is an lgbtq+ book. I also liked it because it had diversity, with trans, non-binary, ace-spectrum, and POC representation. I also liked that it talked about toxic masculinity, gender norms. and other things too.
Small town America has relentlessly been stereotyped and misunderstood. Through multiple forms of literature and lenses, Rural Voices showcases the truth behind the assumptions, empowering those from no-name towns to embrace their origin.
