The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami is a complex contemporary novel with elements of mystery and magical realism. The story follows a young man named Toru Okada who, at the beginning of the novel, is told by his wife to look for their missing cat. His journey takes him from the suburbs of Tokyo to a supposedly haunted house to the bottom of a well to a strange dream world that somehow affects reality. In the process of looking for their lost cat, he loses his wife as well.
You may have read Madeleine L’Engle’s most famous book, A Wrinkle in Time, which won the Newbery Medal and is still available almost everywhere, even 60 years after it was published in 1962. But you may not know about L’Engle’s “other” famous series, about the Austin family. The Moon by Night is the second book in the Austin family series. The book, which is not science fiction, focuses on the coming-of-age story of Vicky Austin, age 14.
Rob has only ever wanted a normal life. She wants a normal husband, with normal kids, a normal house, and a normal job. Things from the past come back to haunt her family. She finds herself unable to ignore it when her daughter starts collecting bones and talking to people that aren’t there. Stuck between her want for normality, and the trauma reawakening, Rob decides to take one last trip to a place buried in her memories.
Agnes lives happily in Red Creek. She likes the people, the tasks, the Prophet, the God, everything. But Agnes is a sinner. She makes contact with the Outside to treat her little brother of his diabetes. But it’s through this contact with the Outside that Agnes realizes that Red Creek isn’t perfect. That’s when everything starts to go wrong. Stuck between a religious cult and a global pandemic Agnes must fight to stay alive.
Set in a dystopian future, in a town of all men, Prentiss town a young teenage boy, Todd, and his dog, Manche lives in company. To him, he has no knowledge of women or even his mother. The women of the earth have been exiled for a long time according to Prentiss towns head guy in charge. In this world, everyone can hear each other's thoughts. They call it “Noise”. One day as Todd is doing his usual chores when suddenly he hears silence in the noise. He runs back to town to inform his caretakers and they tell him to leave immediately.
Legend by Marie Lu is a dystopian fiction novel about Day and June. The book swaps perspectives every chapter, giving a good comparison of what it looks like to live on opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum in this future dystopian society. Day is a world-renowned criminal operating in the Republic, while June is the younger sister of a esteemed officer of the Republic. Soon, Day learns that his family has the plague, by the mark on their door. As far as they know he’s died, he’s been on the run for years.
Everything Everything, by Nicola Yoon, is a teen Romance/Fiction book. Maddy is an eighteen-year-old girl who cannot leave the house. She has never been able to leave the house. However, Maddy meets a boy named Olly. He makes her want to live, breathe, and feel adventurous. But things do not happen the way Maddy wants them to. Her mother finds out about her friend, Olly.
The Song of Achilles, written by Madeline Miller, is a fictional romance novel, set in ancient Greece. Set from the point of view of Patroclus, a young boy exiled from his home to the kingdom of the young prince Achilles, whose mother is a small god. Patroclus is one of the many boys Achilles’ father has taken in, but as Patroclus and Achilles become closer, Patroclus becomes his right-hand man. Achilles is everything Patroclus is not, strong, smart, and charismatic.
Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, is a philosophical fiction book. Siddhartha is the story of a young boy, the son of a Brahmin, who leaves his town to go on a spiritual journey to enlightenment. He explored many regions in India, in 625 BC. He finds himself in many situations, he becomes a Samana, and business, a ferryman, a father. The book follows his whole life, through all of his relationships and experiences.
