If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin is a beautifully written subpar book that I wish gave me more. This book is a coming-of-age book about two best friends harboring secret feelings for each other while also dealing with the ins and outs of high school.
Belly Conklin has been going to Cousins Beach every summer since she was little with her mom and brother Steven to spend the summer with Beck and the Fisher boys. They would make tons of memories and hang out every summer, but this summer was different. Belly realizes she likes one of the Fisher boys but doesn’t know which one and is stuck in a love triangle between Conrad and Jeremiah. Along with this, something is wrong with Beck, and no one knows what it is. I rate this book a ten out of ten, and I liked the summer vibes of this book.
If you grew up reading The Selection series, a contemporary YA classic that graced many, many bookshelves in the 2010s, then you might be interested in author Kiera Cass’ other work, A Thousand Heartbeats. Published in 2022, the novel centers on Princess Annika and Commander Lennox, two young people on opposite sides of a violent conflict between their two countries.
The Do-over follows Emilie, a teenage girl who is forced to relive the worst Valentine's Day over and over again. Each day she wakes up and it’s February 14th again, and the same things always seem to happen no matter what she does to change it.
Throne of Glass follows Celaena Sardothien, a teenage assassin who has spent the past year as a slave in the salt mines of Endovier. When the crowned prince shows up and takes her away she has to fight for her freedom in a competition to become the king’s assassin. However, dark forces are at play, and she might not make it out of the castle alive.
Pride and Prejudice is a story of the Bennet family, set in England. The Bennet family’s offspring are exclusively daughters, which becomes a point of consideration as the parents look to marry off their daughters. With a local ball coming soon, they came upon a chance to find their daughter's wealthy partners who could sufficiently satisfy their needs.
Check & Mate follows Mallory Greenleaf, a teenage girl who has stopped playing chess for good. But when her best friend drags her to a chess tournament where she beats the current world champion she can’t escape the world of chess.
Summary: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen follows the life of Fanny Price, a young girl from a poor family who is sent to live with her wealthy relatives at Mansfield Park. Fanny struggles to find her place in this new environment, often feeling overlooked and inferior. She develops feelings for her cousin, Edmund Bertram, who is kind to her but ultimately falls for the charming but morally questionable Henry Crawford.
Lauren Robert’s debut novel Powerless takes place in an exhilarating fantasy world. It revolves around female protagonist Paedyn, a regular, disguised Ordinary in a world of Mundanes and mostly Elites. Surviving in the slums, Paedyn poses as an elite, concealing her true identity. However, when she finds herself saving the Elite Prince Kai, she is voted into the brutal “Trials” for the royal’s entertainment.
