Siblings Isaac and Ivy both have a lot going on in their life. Isaac has an ankle injury that has left him unable to play and needing pain relief. Ivy’s ADHD is affecting her schoolwork and she needs something to keep her focused. Isaac turns to Roxy and Ivy turns to Addison. They follow different journeys with the drugs they’re taking but both end up in the same precarious situation. How will they deal with the repercussions of the things they’re taking?
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger is the first book in this fantasy series. In this book, Sophie Foster is living with humans. However, she soon discovers that she is an elf instead. She must leave her human family and learn how to live with the elves. But, between her human upbringing and stronger abilities, she still does not have a normal life. While she settles into her new home, she makes new friends who help her along the way.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman is the story of Lyra Belacqua, a young girl living at Jordan College, in a world similar to ours. However, in this world, people have companions called daemons that are bonded with their souls and take the form of animals. Lyra, with her daemon Pantalaimon, have to face a dangerous journey to rescue her friend Roger from the Gobblers. These Gobblers take children to perform experiments, and work for the mighty Magisterium.
The adventurous story of Devon and Chiamaka is a mysterious one that tells the story of how they are being targeted. Even though they want different things such as being a head girl and going to an ivy league school. As well as just trying to stay out of everyone's way just enough to graduate. However, both of their plans are ruined when a bully online threatens to expose all of their secrets. To try and find out who this bully is they both go through traumatic events that lead them to the truth about their “prestigious” and its history.
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is an interesting take on dark fairy tales, but also what the definition of family is. Alice, the granddaughter of famous author Althea Proserpine, has had trouble her whole life. Alice and her mother, Ella, have been moving around their entire lives due to strange people following them or Ella’s failed relationships, and not to mention the fact that Alice was kidnapped by an oddly familiar man when she was a young child.
Me Before You is the first novel in a series of the same name by Jojo Moyes. Louisa Clark is desperate for a job, so she becomes the companion of a wealthy disabled man, Will, even though he despises her presence. Louisa and Will soon learn to get along, but Louisa is shocked when she learns of Will's plans for his life. Although she wants to leave Will before she gets hurt, Louisa makes it her mission to show Will that life is worth living.
Emma Theriault’s Rebel Rose is the first novel in The Queen’s Council series, a series of Disney princess continuations with historical fiction twists; Rebel Rose is a continuation of Beauty and the Beast. Belle must learn to be queen and navigate politics as the French Revolution divides France and her newfound kingdom. While I enjoyed how Theriault wove history into a Disney classic, I found that her characters lacked a solid resemblance to the originals on which they were based.
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a short story that follows the life of a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, after he mysteriously transforms into a bug. When Gregor wakes up as a bug, he cannot support his family, open his bedroom door, or even get out of bed. This story provides great commentary on societal expectations while maintaining its hilarity. Kafka manages to spell out all of modern society’s great faults through the eyes of his insect narrator.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid, is a historical fiction novel set in the mid to late 1900s. The novel tells the tale of a famous Hollywood actress, Evelyn Hugo, as she narrates her story to a journalist. Evelyn Hugo is seventy-nine and has made the decision to finally open up about her mysterious and scandalous rise to fame, including the stories of her seven husbands. She chooses to tell her story to Monique Grant, a relatively unknown magazine journalist.
Helen Jukes, unsatisfied with her work and home life, receives a colony of bees as a gift from a friend. Recalling how she enjoyed her previous beekeeping experiences, she decides to keep and care for the colony in her backyard. She describes her year of beekeeping, all the while learning more about honey bees and rediscovering passion.
