Lodestar by Shannon Messenger is the fifth book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities fantasy series. In this book, Sophie is unsure who she can truly trust. With tensions between the Intelligent Species rising, Sophie and her friends are in more danger than they ever could have imagined. When the Neverseen attack, they hit close to home. Sophie realizes that sometimes the only way to protect everyone she cares about means putting them in even more danger first.
Neverseen by Shannon Messenger is the fourth book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities fantasy series. In this book, Sophie and her friends are on the run. They are running out of time and people to trust, so now it is time to trust the possible enemy. With war emerging between the Intelligent Species, Sophie and her friends start to realize just how hard they will need to fight to win the battles that lay ahead. After being told so many lies, Sophie and her friends are beginning to doubt their original theories.
Everblaze by Shannon Messenger is the third book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities fantasy series. In this book, Sophie finds herself in dangerous new territory. With her new abilities getting stronger, and the Black Swan refusing to help Sophie and her friends, Sophie is unsure of what to do. Does she sit back and risk letting her world fall into war and rebellion, or does she take risks that could end in disaster for her and her friends?
Heartfelt in many ways, True (...sort of) is a fantastic book for kids. Delly, the protagonist, is a troublesome eleven-year-old girl who is one strike from being sent away. But her pretend friend Ferris is destined to keep her out of trouble with their new surprise project. Delly’s made-up vocabulary also makes this book kiddish despite its impactful underlying message on friendship and trust.
The Adventures of Odysseus by Neil Philip is a thrilling story about the Greek hero Odysseus's journey home from the Trojan War. Odysseus being troubled by many gods along the way; the Greek mythology novel is complete with chaos and action. That said, if gods, demigods, and legendary heroes come to your liking, you won’t regret giving it a read. A truly remarkable novel in my eyes, I find it hard to beat.
Queen Beatrice, Princess Samantha, Daphne, and Nina are back again and have more things going on than ever. Beatrice is juggling life as a Queen, her life with her fiancé Teddy, and making friends as a royal. For the first time in a long time America is hosting the league of kings conference and how is Beatrice supposed to know how to do everything perfect in front of all these royals from around the world?! Samantha and her boyfriend Marshall are getting more serious or so she thought, but they are realizing the sacrifices each of them would have to make for this relationship to work.
William Shakespeare's Macbeth is a great tragedy showcasing how easily power can corrupt. Its heavy-driven plot and well-written characters keep you on your toes as you continue through the acts. Shakespeare's execution of character development is flawless all the more. The only downside to Macbeth is its challenging language as it's written in verse.
“The Mamba Mentality: How I Play” is an autobiography by Kobe “The Black Mamba” Bryant, the late NBA legend who is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. This book takes us into the mind of Kobe Bryant and shows us how he approached certain situations. As the book goes on, Kobe’s passion and fearlessness was always bright and clear.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is a novel about a 14-year-old girl named Lily, desperate to escape her abusive father and find out about her mother’s long-lost secrets after her death many years ago. It is a compelling love story between women, as it greatly displays divine feminine power. I recommend this book to anybody who truly wants to be inspired by sisterly love and the power of sisterhood.
Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel where books are banned to eliminate complexion and contradiction among its citizens. Although being a challenging read and hard to understand at times, it shares many relevant messages to today's society. If you give it a few chapters, I can almost guarantee you will want to keep reading. The book's many twists and turns keep you glued and wanting to know more, with Bradbury's delivery of suspense being outright brilliant.
