Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer, is a stylistically incredible story of survival. The novel follows a Biologist, thrown into an anomalous environment that seems to have a mind of its own. She is set to discover the source of the anomaly along with several other specialists with dubious motives. With a rich exploration of the Biologist’s mind, an environment that falls perfectly into the uncanny valley, and undercurrents of mystery, distrust, and unreliability, VanderMeer creates an incredible and engaging story.
Up is a classic-animated movie with an emotional story. The movie begins by introducing Carl and Ellie, two kids who shared the same dream of visiting Paradise Falls. Now as an old man, Carl looks to fulfilling Ellie’s dream after her death. The story is very deep and well written and balances mature themes like loss with humorous elements. The contrast between Carl’s grumpiness and Russell's enthusiastic nature is one of the best humorous elements present in the movie.
Crooked Kingdom is the sequel to Six of Crows, the story of six teenagers with extremely different backgrounds united for a common cause: conducting a heist. After the effects of all the events that occurred in previous weeks, the crows have a lot to deal with. Despite being successful with the heist, they are all exhausted and weakened by their efforts.
None of this should have happened. If Ty, golden boy, and top student at the Aurora academy hadn’t decided to go for a midnight flight the day before he was supposed to pick his squad. He wouldn’t have seen the distress beacon or found Aurora, a girl who was a passenger on a ship that went missing 200 years ago. If he hadn’t decided to play the hero, he would have had the pick of the top graduates for his team instead he got stuck with the bottom of the barrel.
Rick Riordan’s final installment in the Percy Jackson series comes in amazing fashion with The Last Olympian. The book begins with Percy and Beckendorf attacking an enemy ship, however the mission goes haywire and Beckendorf is killed. Percy then travels to get bathed in the river Styx, something his enemy Luke had done previously. After getting bathed, Percy and the people of Camp Half-Blood travel to New York to defend Olympus, which is left unguarded due to the gods fighting Typhon.
I know this book might be considered to be a kid’s book by some, but even at the age I’m at, I still love it! Stick and Stone Explore and More is the story of the two main characters, Stick and Stone, and the crazy adventures they encounter. In one adventure, they get taken by a Nature Girl and need to find their way home. In their other adventure, they almost get roasted and toasted by a campfire! But Stick and Stone always do everything together, because they’re the best of friends!
A Court of Mist and Fury is the second installment in the ACOTAR series by Sarah J Maas. It is one of the best books I have ever read and is my favorite in the entire series. The adventures the characters experience are so intriguing and forces you to keep turning the page. The plot twists are exciting, and you don’t even see them coming. The dialogue is also well written and fun.
Uglies is a dystopian novel set in a society where everyone gets a mandatory cosmetic surgery at 16 to become a “Pretty.” The story follows Tally Youngblood, a 15-year-old girl eagerly waiting her transformation. However, she starts doubting the system when she meets Shay, a rebellious girl who resists the operation and introduces Tally to the Smoke, a hidden city of people who reject societal beauty standards.
London is in outrage when a gentleman steals fifty-five thousand pounds from the Bank of England. Phineas Fogg, a rich man who spends his days at the Reform Club playing whist, places a wager of 20 thousand pounds that he can travel across the world in eighty days. He and his servant, Passepartout, who has recently been hired, embark on a journey around the world, where they face many challenges and meet new people. However, he is constantly being pursued by the police, who believe him to be the robber of the Bank of England and are trying to delay his journey so that they can arrest him.
Flight 714 to Sydney is an adrenaline-filled adventure that kicks off when Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus board a plane headed for Sydney. Midway through the flight, their plane is hijacked by an unknown group of criminals, and they are forced to land on a remote, uncharted island. As they explore the island and dodge danger around every corner, they uncover a secret base which introduces them to an entire new web of conspiracy and an unexpected encounter with a criminal mastermind.
