Reviews by Category: Fiction

National Treasure by Jon Turteltaub is a historical adventure movie. Benjamin Gates is a historian and code-breaker that sets out with his friend Riley to steal the Declaration of Independence. They are trying to protect the Declaration from being taken by other treasure hunters who want to take the Gates’ family treasure for themselves. Ben and Riley, with other historians that join them along the way, they work together to decipher historical clues that will eventually lead to the treasure.

Summary: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen follows the lives of the Bennet family, particularly the second eldest daughter, Elizabeth Bennet, as they navigate the social norms and expectations of 19th-century England. The novel explores themes of marriage, class, and gender roles. The arrival of the wealthy Mr. Darcy in the neighborhood sparks both attraction and disdain, leading to a series of misunderstandings and romantic entanglements.

Summary: A dystopian novel set in a future society where everyone undergoes a surgery at the age of 16 to become “pretty” and move on to live in a perfect world. Tally Youngblood, the protagonist, can’t wait to turn 16 and become pretty until she meets a girl, Shay, who wants to remain “ugly” and live outside the city. Shay runs away before her surgery, forcing Tally to find her and bring her back to the city. During her journey, Tally discovers the truth about the surgery and the dark secrets that the government has hidden.

Summary: In the gripping novel, 1984, we meet a future totalitarian society where the government, known as the Party, controls every aspect of people's lives. The protagonist and member of the Party, Winston Smith, begins to question the authority of the Party and its leader, Big Brother. Winston's rebellion against the Party leads him to a forbidden love affair and a dangerous journey to uncover the truth about the Party and their methods of control.

Romeo and Juliet is a popular play written by Shakespeare. In this story set in medieval Italy, there are two families in the city of Verona who have a long enmity between them, the Montagues and the Capulets. However, one day, Romeo, a Montague, and Juliet, a Capulet, see each other and instantly fall in love. They marry in secret and plan to secretly meet each other without their parents ever knowing, as if they did they would punish them.

Set in the future, the United States is now divided into two: the Republic and the Colonies. Constantly at war with its neighbor, the Republic has adopted a highly militarized state where kids are trained to be soldiers from a young age. June, a military prodigy from an elite family, has everything set for life. Day, a homeless kid trying to keep his poor family alive, happens to be the most-wanted criminal in the Republic.

Nurse Ratched, the head of the psych ward, runs a pretty tight ship. Oppressing her all-male patients and enforcing strict rules, readers experience the mechanical, routine life in the ward through the eyes of Bromden, a half-Indian deaf patient. This life is disturbed by the new patient McMurphy, exuberant and philanthropic in his own way, who catalyzes a change in the men on the ward. Kesey chronicles the war between him and Nurse Ratched while tying in ideas of societal pressures, sexuality, and the 1900s concept of mental health.

“Go wisely and slowly. Those who rush stumble and fall.” 

By far the most famous of Shakespeare’s works, Romeo and Juliet, is the famous tragedy warning of the dangers that love can get you into. Following two feuding families, and their children. Young Romeo wants only the attention of his love, while Juliet is soon to be married to the pompous Paris. They marry in secret and begin a set of events that lead to their eventual deaths by their own hands. 

Summary: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne follows the story of Hester Prynne, a woman in Puritanical Boston who conceives a child out of wedlock and is forced to wear a scarlet letter 'A' as punishment for her adultery. Hester refuses to reveal the identity of the father, leading to speculation and ostracism within the community. As she struggles with the consequences of her actions, Hester finds strength and independence, eventually carving out a respected place in society despite the stigma of her past.

The Crown is the final book in The Selection series. It follows Princess Eadlyn through the final stages of her Selection process. Although picking a husband might sound fairly easy, for Eadlyn, it's not. She can’t date privately and she has a timeline at which the Selection must progress. This, on top of other factors, including her mother’s health, makes her feel like she isn't fit to be royal.