This novel by Roy questions many parts of life and being. The story follows the life of a brother (Estha) and sister (Rahel) who grow up in Ayemenem. They witness their lives gradually fall apart after an incident in which their cousin dies and they are blamed for her death. Years of mediocrity and disappointment go by, with the book eventually ending with the reunification of the siblings after being separated and washed away of hope and life. A main point of discussion Roy has is the “love laws,” which was a theme I enjoyed hearing her thoughts about.
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.
This play by Shakespeare is a drama that views the destiny of Macbeth as he slowly marches into a pit of chaos. The play begins with three witches foretelling some of Macbeth’s fate. Realizing and worrying about his future, he becomes irritable, cautious, and destructive to those he perceives as threatening his bright future as a leader. He kills many to reach this goal, eventually being killed himself for such ambitions.
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.
Shatter Me follows Juliette Ferrars, a 17-year-old girl with a fatal touch. She was locked up in an asylum for accidentally touching someone, leading to their death. The Reestablishment, the government in this dystopian world that locked Juliette up, decided that she could be used for something better, a weapon.
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.
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller. This play occurs in Salem, Massachusetts, as suspicions rise of witchcraft. John Proctor, one of the main characters, created false accusations of Abigail (a teen) partaking in witchcraft. This leads to a string of accusations that causes hysteria in the entire town. These accusations find their way to court, where false “evidence” and faulty claims overpower the truth that few dare to speak out loud.
King Lear is a tragic play by William Shakespeare that explores themes of power, family, and madness. The story revolves around King Lear's decision to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia, based on their flattery of him. Cordelia's refusal to indulge in false praise leads to Lear disowning her and ultimately descending into madness as he faces betrayal from his other daughters and loses his grip on power.
Jude, who lives in Faerie, is a mortal. Cardan, who is the youngest son of the High King Eldred, is a faerie. Jude wants to win a place in the High Court as a knight and prove her skills even as a mortal. Cardan and his friends will do anything to humiliate Jude and hinder her chances of getting a place in the High Court. Jude becomes tangled in the Court’s secrets but then is able to find her ability to deceive and keep those close to her safe.
The Hate U Give is an enticing novel about a young African American girl finding her voice. Starr Park is a girl living in a predominantly black community, although she goes to a richer school in a different community. One day, she is in the car with her friend Khalil when a white police officer comes and shoots and kills him for no proper reason. The news coverage says that Khalil was killed because he had done something to provoke the police officer.
