The House on Mango Street is the coming of age story of a young Latina girl named Esperanza as she grows up with her family in a predominantly white Chicago. We get to see her struggles with friends, family, school, money, racism, and much more. What I love about this story is that it is told in vignettes. Each vignette is a unique portion of Esperanza’s childhood, each with its own lesson and message that can be applied to the lives of the reader.
Navigating Early is a story about two boys who meet at a boarding school and decide to go on an adventure through the Appalachian Trail in hopes to heal from past issues. This book was a beautiful read. If you like hearing people engage in deep conversations about any subject under the moon, you will enjoy this. I know I did for sure.
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, illustrates a hopeless boy who runs away to New York City. After Holden, the main character, gets kicked out of school and his home, he figures out the best option would be to run away from his home and try to find hope somewhere else. He experiences a cycle of the same emotions over and over again, which makes the book seem boring. However, through all of Holden’s mental instability, there are rare moments of growth.
John Knowles' A Separate Peace is a coming-of-age story that recounts the friendship of two boys during World War II. Gene is brilliant and introverted, while Phineas is charismatic and popular. As the two boys suffer under the pressures of war, their jealously will attempt to overcome their friendship. This book appears to be a simple story, but it's filled with symbolic meaning.
Eliza is a pro at writing poetry. She is so good, that boys in her school ask her to ghostwrite love notes for their significant others. At first, she doesn’t mind using her talents for others, but when Theo Moses, a guy she likes, asks her to write a love letter for his girlfriend Lila, she contemplates what is good for her and what isn’t. What happens next? Read more to find out!
Meri Miller is a teen living in Soldotna, Alaska, (aka the middle of nowhere). She desires traveling to big cities, like LA. Since she is in her senior year, she expects her plans to run perfectly, but when troubles arise in her family and life, she must face the world as she knows it.
Little Dog knows his mother cannot read, her education put to an abrupt end after the destruction of her schoolhouse by a napalm raid in her native Vietnam. So when he addresses this letter to his mother, he speaks not only to her but also to himself, straining to break free of his past. The words and phrases he knows his mother cannot understand spill out like secrets, truth, or something that lies somewhere in between.
Peyton Sinclaire is a chef with big dreams stuck in a small town. When she gets the chance to participate in a reality tv cooking show, she jumps at the chance, hoping to pursue her dream. When she is at the set, she realizes it isn’t what she hoped it would be like, she wonders how far she is willing to go to make her dreams a reality.
Naila comes from an immigrant Pakistani family where she isn’t allowed to enjoy many of the privileges her friends are lucky enough to have, including a boyfriend. But right before she graduates high school, her parents discover that she has a secret boyfriend and decide to take a family vacation to Pakistan to reeducate Naila. Naila even starts to enjoy herself a little, but her new life takes a turn for the worse when her parents decide that they want her to get married, and have already found her a husband in Pakistan for her arranged marriage.
Aideen is an imperfect teen that is facing many problems. She suddenly finds herself in a situation that she can solve. She decides to help Meabh, an overachieving, stressed out classmate, by pushing her down the stairs. After finding out that Meabh was able to get away from her problems, students with their own issues come to Aideen. This in turn leads Aideen to run her own secret business all while juggling her own problems at home. Will Aideen be able to solve her own problems and help others? Read more to find out!
