Batman: Nightwalker is a young adult novel written by Marie Lu as part of the DC Icons series. The story follows a young Bruce Wayne before he becomes Batman. After an encounter with the police, Bruce is sentenced to community service at Arkham Asylum, where he meets Madeleine, a mysterious and enigmatic inmate. As Bruce investigates a series of crimes in Gotham City, he becomes entangled in a dangerous web of corruption and intrigue.
Jude and Noah are the closest twins in the world in I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. But something causes them to fall out. Growing up, art, their parents, and boys are all factors that influence their relationship. Split between Noah and Jude’s perspective, the book follows Noah when the twins are just tweens and Jude when the twins are 16. Going between the two perspectives we see the complicated relationship and what comes between the pair over time.
The Betrothed is a fantasy novel about a young lady named Hollis who is dating the king. As she gets a taste of life as queen, she realizes that being royal is harder than she thought. When she decides to flee the castle after the king explains that their children are his and not theirs, she finds peace in the country with a new lover. Soon a tragic event tears her from her family and she must decide if she will be alone or cling on to those, she never knew she needed.
In George Orwell’s 1984, society is constantly being manipulated by the government, to the extent that people can’t even have a conversation full of individual thought. Individuals are forced to hide their true intentions behind a facade containing praise for the totalitarian-style government. In fact, the manipulation present in the dystopian world prevents individuals from creating bonds.
There aren’t many books that change my perspective on the world, but after reading The Handmaid's Tale I’m surprised to add one to the list. However, reader discretion is advised as there are some topics that are hard to process. Formerly known as the U.S.A., the new country of Gilead is going through a civil war, forcing many women into a Red Center to provide safety and promote reproduction.
The Martian by Andy Weir follows the gripping tale of Mark Watney, an astronaut stranded alone on Mars after a mission gone awry. Believed to be dead by his crew, Watney must employ his resourcefulness, scientific acumen, and a great deal of humor to survive on the unforgiving planet. He engineers innovative solutions to grow food, generate power, and establish communication with Earth, all while grappling with the challenges of isolation and an uncertain future.
In the fiction novel Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, artist Mia Warren and her young daughter, Pearl, have recently moved to the idyllic suburb of Shaker Heights. There, they become entangled with the Richardsons - the epitome of refined planned community members - when the Richardsons rent out one of their properties to the Warrens. When Mia’s unshakeable sense of self leads her into “interfering” in a matter Ms. Richardson would have rather she stayed out of, Ms.
Esther Greenwood has what she thought she always wanted - a scholarship, an education, access to exclusive New York events, a steady relationship with a soon-to-be doctor, beauty, brains. But over the course of her summer in the city and the subsequent months, her mental health rapidly deteriorates for seemingly unknown reasons. She cuts off her boyfriend, rarely speaks to friends, can no longer write or focus long enough to read. She doesn’t eat, doesn’t sleep. The only escape from her reality seems to be death - that, or brave the treacherous psych wards and asylums of the 1960s.
Wider Than the Sky was an emotional and enjoyable read, with the classic clashing of opposite sisters and the unexpected unity when they’re striving to achieve the same goal. With an emphasis on embracing the LGBTQIA+ community, Katherine Rothschild writes about the shocking experience of two sisters discovering that their late father died while hiding a significant part of his identity.
The Thea Sisters go to the Italian city of Verona. Colette finds a tile with the initials ABL (Aurora Beatrix Lane), an ancient explorer and archeologist, etched beneath it as they explore Juliet's home. When they learned about this recent find, they speculated that it might lead to a new treasure—the third one. A couple of Sebastiano and Aurora's pals provide a hand. They would need to locate the treasure before Luke von Klawitz, the grandson of Professor von Klawitz, does.
