Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins, the bestselling author of the Hunger Games, is a children’s fantasy story about a young boy and his baby sister who fall from their New York City home into an underworld infested by massive bats, rats, and insects, as well as humans with nearly transparent skin.
Stardust is a fantasy movie that follows Tristain Thorn and his journey to Wall. Tristan visits Wall to find his mom and to retrieve a star for the women he believes he loves. His journey however ends up being a path of self-discovery and finding true love. To me the movie is about finding your true self and love. Finding love is shown through finding romantic love, self-love, and familial love. I really loved this movie; it was funny, interesting, and the acting was well enjoyed.
Red Glass is a young adult realistic fiction novel by Laura Resau. Sophie lives in Arizona near the Mexican border, and her family often provides short-term shelter for refugees. One night, a young boy comes to live with Sophie and her diverse little family after becoming an orphan trying to cross the border into the United States. When the boy’s family finally makes contact a year later, Sophie and her family will leave the United States to find the boy’s home.
Tomi Nakaji is a young Japanese-American boy growing up on the streets of Hawai’i. All his life knows is school, fishing, his baseball team, and his friends.
So when the Japanese Empire bombs Pearl Harbor, throwing America headfirst into World War Two, the American people are looking for someone to blame. Soon, his grandfather and father are detained solely for their Japanese heritage, even though they are loyal Americans. His mother is fired from her housekeeping job because it “does not look good” to give a Japanese-American woman work.
Adam Stillwater is a boy who’s attached to what’s left of his father and is willing to defend it with his life. He is determined to keep his old time-y pinball arcade even if gaming cafés are all the rage right now. It doesn’t help that the daughter of the founder of said café is his childhood best friend that he became enemies with. But one day a snowstorm hits. The two of them find that when they don’t care as much about the business and just see each other for who they are, there’s something there. But what about when the snowstorm is over?
Fighting Words is an inspiring and eye-opening realistic fiction novel by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. This book is about a 10-year-old girl named Della, and her sister Suki. Della and Suki’s mom had been sent to prison for blowing up a motel bathroom while cooking meth. Della and Suki go into foster care, where they meet Francine. Suki hurts herself, Della fights for what’s right, and both siblings decide to testify against their childhood abuser.
Persepolis 2 is a continuation of the story of Marjane Satrapi’s life during the Iran-Iraq war. Marjane has left Iran for her new life in Vienna; she’s miles from the war, but now she must fight to find a sense of belonging. She is safe outside of Iran, but Marjane misses her life at home. When she finally returns to Iran, she must confront the changes to her home. She’s happy to be reunited with her loved ones, but she must decide if she can have a future in Iran, where repression now governs.
We Dream of Space is an inspiring and relaxing realistic fiction novel by Erin Entrada Kelly. This book is about three siblings, Bird, Fitch, and Cash, and how they change and realize what a family is like. I love the way the author presents the change the characters go through but I thought the plot of this book was weak and needed more help. I recommend this book to people who want a relaxing pass-time book.
Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a thrilling and adventurous fictional novel by Melissa Bashardoust. This book is about a girl named Soraya, she is cursed with poison in her veins which deprive her of touch. Soraya meets a soldier named Azad, he gains her trust and feeds her lies about her family. Soon these lies get to her and she betrays her family. Soraya gets captured by Azad, and comes up with a plan to overthrow Azad from her family’s throne.
Jules Ember is a 19 year old girl who lives in a place called Crofton, Sempera with her father in poverty. She’s only ever wanted a peaceful life with her father, without any worries. However, they have too many debts and day by day her father is dying trying to pay up all of them at the same time. Jules feels really bad, so she decides to work at Everless, the house of the wealthiest family in Sempera, who she and her dad hate very much for an incident that happened years ago.
