The Smartest Kid in the Universe, Evil Genius is a riveting book about middle schooler Jake, who gained lots of intelligence through secret jellybeans. He was deemed the smartest kid in the universe, but what if the jellybeans wear off? After a new batch of smarty beans goes missing, Jake worries about not being the smartest anymore. Through a series of puzzles, his friends help him search for treasure to prove his theory wrong.
The novel Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales by Yoko Ogawa is a collection of short horror stories that all connect to each other. Yoko Ogawa serves as a spider who has created intricate webs that tie these stories together, which she does flawlessly. While reading the book, I found it impossible to put it down. There were no unnecessary descriptions or dialogue; all stories got straight to the point. That is what kept me on my toes.
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is a beautifully crafted dystopian young adult book. This hexalogy follows Juliette Ferrars who has a deadly touch. She finds herself locked in an asylum and there are plans to use her as a weapon. Follow her as she searches for answers and finds unexpected allies.
Peak by Roland Smith is a story about a fourteen-year-old boy named Peak Marcello. After Peak is arrested for scaling a New York City skyscraper, he is left with two choices. He can either go into Juvenile Detention or he can go live with his long-lost father, Josh Wood, who runs a climbing company in Thailand. Peak decides to take his father's offer, but he quickly learns that the request came with a few strings attached. Josh Woods wants Peak to be the youngest person to climb to the top of Mount Everest.
Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron is a twisted sapphic fairy tale. Sophie lives in a land where Prince Charming and Cinderellas’ story is true, but Cinderella and Prince Charming are dead and she lives in a controlling society where women must find husbands and be quiet. Sophie doesn’t want a husband, she’s in love with her best friend but they know they can’t be together. On the night of a ball for women to find husbands Sophie runs and defies the current king.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, is a story about an African-American 16-year-old girl named Starr Carter. Starr is stuck balancing living in a poor run-down neighborhood and attending an upper-class prep school in the suburbs. But everything goes even more downhill when she witnesses her best friend Khalil getting murdered by a police officer. Khalil was unarmed and hadn’t done anything that would cause him to get killed.
This beautifully written 19th-century classic follows the adventures of the four March sisters as they transition into womanhood; Margaret (Meg), Josephine (Jo), Elizabeth (Beth), and Amy. Meg is portrayed as a beautiful, delicate young lady who dreams of a life of luxury. Jo is shown as a headstrong, tomboyish person with a heartfelt desire to write her own book someday. Beth is an innocent, sweet soul who only wishes for happiness. Amy is a romantic (though somewhat spoiled) girl who longs for a life as an artist.
They Went Left by Monica Hesse is a powerful historical fiction novel set in the aftermath of World War II. The story follows Zofia, a young Holocaust survivor searching for her younger brother, Abek, who got separated from her during the liberation of Auschwitz. As she navigates through the ruins of war-torn Europe, Zofia grapples with the trauma of her past and the uncertainty of her future.
Stanley, a 14 year old boy was wrongly accused and sent to Camp Green Lake. Camp was not how it was expected to be, Every day he had to do holes six feet deep and six feet wide for no reason. There, he becomes friends with Zero to break the 150 year old curse on his family.
It’s been ten years since Laurel Mack’s daughter, Ellie, went missing. It has also taken ten years for the police force to find any evidence linked to Ellie’s disappearance which included clothing, a passport, and Ellie’s human remains that had been presumably run over by a car. Laurel decided ten years ago that Ellie had run away even though she had the perfect life. As Laurel forces herself to move on, she meets Floyd, a man she met at a diner who was divorced and had two daughters of his own.
