The second book in Veronica Roth's Divergent series, Insurgent, is good, but it's underwhelming compared to its predecessor. As a war between the factions surges, Tris must make harsh decisions to save the people around her. This book was a rollercoaster, and while it wasn't boring by any means, it didn't quite capture my attention as Divergent did.
Happily Ever After is a companion novel to The Selection series by Kiera Cass. The first story, “The Queen,” tells how King Clarkson and Queen Amberly fell in love. Their relationship is very toxic; his tests were controlling and not justifiable because he didn't want to marry someone vain. The second story included, “The Prince.” retells the beginning of the Selection from Maxon's perspective.
Before is the final book of Anna Todd’s After series. This book gives some insight into a few of the characters’ lives before After takes place and provides a retelling of the beginning and end of Tessa and Hardin’s relationship through Hardin’s point of view.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel about a group of boys stranded on an island all by themselves. The novel explores the human mind and how everyone has the capacity to commit atrocities, and all that they need is a push in the right direction.
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories is a companion book to Holly Black’s Folk of the Air series, this time following High King Cardan, one of the series’ more compelling characters.
Written by John Knowles, A Separate Peace is a realistic fiction story about a boy named Gene who attends boarding school in New England and is set during the years of World War II. The plot mainly follows Gene and his best friend Phineas. Gene is quiet, inverted and an intellectual. Phineas is everyone’s favorite person; he is athletic, charming, and a daredevil.
This next installment in The Hunger Games series follows now 17-year-old Katniss Everdeen as she struggles with the aftermath of her victory in the 74th Hunger Games. The foundations of this mighty and cruel country shake as districts prepare to revolt, apparently encouraged by Katniss’s stunt with the berries that led to her victory. A personal visit from President Snow frightens Katniss, and she must decide if she wants to try to stop the uprisings or join them.
Scarlett has dreamed of attending Caraval, a performance of sorts, for her whole life. Unfortunately, her abusive father has not only forced her to remain on her home island but will soon require her to participate in an arranged marriage. Shortly before said marriage, Scarlett receives a letter from Caraval Master Legend himself, inviting her to the upcoming Caraval. With her sister, Tella, and Tella’s boyfriend, Scarlett runs away from home to attend the event. However, as audience participation is quintessential, her sister is stolen upon their arrival. Scar
The Republican War on Science is a nonfiction novel detailing the falsification of scientific evidence by the Republican Party written by Washington Post reporter Chris Mooney. This book relays several examples of Republicans falsifying, hiding, or cherry-picking scientific information to promote their own purposes, most of which come from the Bush administration. As expected, this book is clearly biased, but that didn’t make the information any less intriguing.
In 1893, witch trials are rampant, especially in the town of New Salem. Juniper, Agnes, and Bella are three sisters bound together by magic after years of separation. While having to work through buried conflicts with themselves and each other, these sisters realize how magic and witchcraft are on the brink of extinction. Together, these sisters work with witches in the town of New Salem to combat the misogyny and anti-witch attitudes that dominate New Salem society, all the while learning the value of their own witching abilities and womanhood.
