Daphne Bridgerton is the eldest daughter in the eight-sibling Bridgerton family. In London’s debutante season, she eagerly looks for a husband with whom she can have a family and live a life with. Everything changes when she meets the rakish Simon, the Duke of Hastings. As they begin their relationship with friendship, Daphne and Simon’s relationship enters into precarious territory where one must give up the lifelong commitment they’ve made.
This novel is great for older teens looking to get into reading. The book I would say is not for anyone younger than high school ages. The book takes a different view on abusive relationships. It allows the reader to understand how it feels to be in a relationship like this and why one might stay in it. It creates a new perspective following Lily’s relationship with her new boyfriend Ryle. An ex of Lily’s comes in the picture challenging their relationship in many ways. The book is written wonderfully with so many surprising moments.
Anthony Bridgerton is a young viscount in his late twenties, as well as the eldest in the eight-sibling Bridgerton family. As the head of the family, Anthony is plagued by immense responsibility in keeping the viscountcy together, marrying his sisters off, and providing for his family. This pressure of exceeding responsibility lies in a past that he is unable to overcome. Falling in love–or more accurately– wanting to fall in love is a phenomenon he wants to avoid at all costs. Yet, this mindset comes into question when he meets the spinster Kate Sheffield.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen follows Elizabeth Bennet who is daring and extremely opinionated, and Mr. Darcy who is proud and arrogant as their relationship blossoms. At first meeting Elizabeth views Darcy as self-absorbed and ignorant, but as she meets him more and more she starts to see a new side of Mr. Darcy. With her sisters Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy learns what it truly means to love.
In the novel Emma by Jane Austen, readers follow the story of a young girl named Emma who is intelligent, beautiful, but also ignorant living in England. This is a coming of age story and does an excellent job of portraying the transition from a girl to a woman, or the growth of maturity. Along with her friends Harriet and Mr. Knightley, readers witness the fun adventure and characters Emma meets as she grows up.
This book follows two patients with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that affects the respiratory system and limits contact with other patients due to fear of cross infection. Stella gets readmitted to the hospital due to lung issues, where she meets rebellious Will. Stella is not pleased with his disregard to hospital rules. Will is awaiting his eighteenth birthday so he can break free of his mother’s control over him medically. He refused to take the medicine and do the trials his mother wanted him to. Stella then convinces Will to take his meds and that sparks their romance.
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover is an intense romance novel that narrates the new and exciting life of Lily who has moved to Boston to start her career. She meets a guy named Ryle, and truly her whole world turns upside down. She also has to face the reemergence of a childhood friend and lover, which makes the story a whole lot spicier. This book had me hooked by the very first page, and I couldn’t put it down.
Cemetery Boys is an amazing novel that follows the story of Yadriel, a Latinx, gay, and transgender teenager, as he becomes determined to prove himself as a real brujo to his traditional family. But doing so, he accidentally summons a spirit who just so happens to be the resident “bad boy” at his school and follows Yadriel around. By helping the ghost of his schoolmate, Julian, this would be the perfect opportunity for Yadriel to prove he deserves being a Brujo in his community.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a historical fiction novel set in San Francisco in the 1950’s, where high-schooler Lily Hu goes through her queer awakening. Lily Hu is the “model” Chinese-American daughter, who gradually comes to realize her sense of identity as she befriends her math classmate and heads off towards a lesbian bar. Caught in the overwhelming feelings of confusion and exhilaration, the threat of risking old friendships and even her father’s deportation looms over her.
