Evelyn Hugo was born beautiful. The most beautiful girl anyone had ever seen. Her beauty is what brought her fame, but unfortunately not live, as her life is often overshadowed by her seven husbands. This book details the fictional movie star’s seven husbands, the lessons they taught her, and the secrets they kept.
Saint Anything is a fiction novel by Sarah Dessen. Sydney has always lived in the shadow of her brother Peyton. When Peyton is in trouble, Sydney can finally break out of his shadow. She finds people who truly see her and help her become her true self. Sydney breaks through the mold she has been in her whole life and figures out what she truly wants.
Holes by Louis Sachar is an incredible novel about fate, where Stanley Yelnats is incarcerated for stealing sneakers at Camp Green Lake, a deserted desert of a camp, where Stanley is warped into a mystery 200 years into the making. In a story where there are no coincidences, Stanley must reckon with his family’s “curse”. A magical and enchanting book, the coincidences and three concurrent storylines that wrap up together are incredible. This novel is a masterpiece of story retelling and has so many satisfying details.
We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds is a romantic mystery novel where Avery moves from D.C. to a small southern town and unravels her family secrets, and what it means to fall in love again. This story tackles both racism and homophobia in the United States, weaving a deep mystery. Avery has to reconnect with her tough, hardened Mama Letty. There is a lot of characterization of both Avery and Letty. The other characters help support the novel but feel a little stereotypical without a lot of growth.
Hatchet is a novel by Gary Paulsen that is a descriptive look at a near-death survival situation and explores feelings of loneliness, though being more descriptive about the main character’s (Brian) mode of survival. The book takes place in the Canadian frontier wilderness where Brian crashes after the pilot of the small Cessna that is driving him to see his divorced father crashes. Armed with only a hatchet, he must carve up a living alone in the wilderness.
Mockingbird, by Kathryn Erksine, is a deep and moving poetic book that shows Caitlin, a girl with Asperger’s whose brother is killed in a school shooting. Ever since the incident, the world has become shades of gray. It is her story of coping with her loss and dealing with the struggles of the world. A heartfelt piece, it is an approachable yet touching story about loss. The main character is a fifth grader, making the language approachable.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is an incredibly nauseating science fiction novel that focuses on progress, themes of easy pleasure and the human spirit. In a post-Ford society, children are grown through test tubes into a social hierarchy in an Epicurean society with one goal: happiness for eternity. In it, Benard attempts to higher his social status and ends up revealing more about the world that he lives in than he can cope with.
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi is a diverse teenage love story dealing with Muslim racism post 9/11. Shirin, a socially excluded hot-headed Muslim girl living in a world thrown against her culture, meets Ocean, a star basketball player and school golden boy. This unlikely romance leads to discrimination, and the two have to deal with a world stacked against accepting others and love. This is a very solid book on diverse representation, as Shirin is an interesting character with a Muslim background.
The Sun's Heartbeat by Bob Berman explores the rhythmic pattern of solar activity and its impact on Earth's climate and civilization. Berman highlights the correlation between the sun cycle, solar flares, and the solar magnetic field every 11 years, highlighting how these events influence our planet's weather patterns, technological infrastructure, and even human behavior.
The Toll is a young-adult dystopian novel. It is the final book in the Arc of a Scythe trilogy. Set three years after Citra and Rowan’s disappearance, Goddard has taken over the Sycthedom and the Thunderhead has cut itself off from humanity, only communicating with Grayson Tolliver.
