Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter is a rom com about Liz Buxbaum who is certain the guy she’s going to end up with is Michael, who was the person she’s had a crush on since she was a little girl. Michael never noticed Liz before he moved away. Now that he’s back Liz will do anything to get his attention. Even becoming friends with Wes, her annoying next-door neighbor who bugs her every time he sees her since they were kids.
The Elite is an engaging novel that has so many plot twists! This book is about America, a seventeen year old lady competing for Prince Maxon’s hand. She is part of the Elite (the last ten girls left in the competition) but she doesn’t know if she really wants Maxon after the royal family mistreats her friend and turns away her ideas. After all, she could always turn away from Maxon and marry her first love, Aspen. My favorite part of this book was Maxon’s character development.
Miles Halter, a fairly normal teenager that memorizes last words, is living a fairly normal life at his high school in Florida. However, after reading François Rabelais' last words "I go to seek a great perhaps", Miles decides it's time for him to seek his own great perhaps outside of Florida. At a private school in Alabama he meets a new friend called The Colonel and a gorgeous girl named Alaska, and finds his great perhaps. After a few months though, Alaska doesn't seem to be who Miles thought she was.
In Where She Went by Gayle Forman we follow Adam after the events of If I Stay. Now a wildly popular lead singer of a famous band Adam feels empty. He hasn’t been with Mia since she went to Juliard but he still has trouble coping without her. When Adam has a free night in New York he sees a poster showing that Mia is playing at Carnigie Hall. After she was brought up in an interview earlier he decides to go see her.
Eleanor and Park is a book all about the romantic relationship between Park Sheridan and Eleanor Douglas. These two are portrayed as polar opposites inside of the books. Park being a half- Korean male and Eleanor the new shy red head from a bad background. They both met on the bus and started to bond over comic books and music and from there their relationship had a lot of ups and downs. There were a lot of emotions, and we see both characters grow as people because of the events that take place.
Romeo and Juliet is a book that starts in the City of Verona where we see a conflict between two families: the Capulets and the Montagues. These families have hated each other since the beginning of time. One day at the Capulet household there was a masquerade ball and Romeo Montague decided to go to this ball with his friends as a joke and to try and disrupt the ball. This is where Romeo and Juliet meet, and they fall in love.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is the story of Elizabeth Bennett and her family. Lizze and her sister Jane are of age to find husbands, and Jane has taken an interest in Charles Bingley, the new rich man in town. Bingley’s friend Mr. Darcy comes along, and immediately dislikes Lizzie. Soon, the two are rivals, and must overcome their pride and prejudices to get along and fall in love.
“See You Yesterday” by Rachel Lynn Solomon is a refreshing new take on the classic time loop plot. Our protagonist, Barret Bloom, is a college freshman who just wants to turn over a fresh page at her new school after a troubled high school experience. Instead, she has a completely disastrous first day and ruins any chance at a positive reception from those around her. In dismay, she falls asleep… only to wake up again to the exact same day.
Julie Berry’s “Lovely War” is a poignant, moving take on passion, young love, and the loss of innocence. The novel begins with a conversation between the Greek gods in an effort to answer why Love is always drawn to war, but quickly spirals into the tale of Hazel and James, two teenagers in a time of chaos.
