Veronica Roth’s Divergent, the first series in her trilogy of the same name, is a young adult dystopian novel. At this time, society is split into five factions, each based around a core value. Beatrice Prior’s initiation ceremony is arriving soon now that she’s sixteen, and she’ll have to choose between remaining in the faction she was born into or joining one of the others. After making her choice, Beatrice, nicknamed Tris, must navigate training, initiation, and relationships with her peers and family.
How About Never--is Never Good for You? is Bob Mankoff’s engrossing memoir that focuses primarily on his experiences as a cartoonist and editor of TheNew Yorker magazine. Wryly funny and a little tongue-in-cheek, this book is a quick and enjoyable tidbit. The story initially focuses on Bob Mankoff’s life, but gradually shifts to his professional experiences and the cartoons of The New Yorker.
After Ever Happy is the final book in the After series written by Anna Todd. This book follows Tessa and Hardin as they adjust to living in different states to get space from one another and experience personal growth. This book had a different vibe than the rest of the series; it had more of a somber tone than the others, which I didn’t love.
After We Fell, the third installment of Anna Todd’s After series, might just be the best book in the series. Tessa and Hardin learn to live separately and travel to England for Hardin’s mom’s wedding. Throughout all of this, Hardin and Tessa actually seem to learn how to communicate for the most part, and a lot of drama arises surrounding both Hardin and Tessa’s parents.
After We Collided is the second book in Anna Todd’s After series. This book really isn’t anything different from its predecessor except that it’s slightly better. In this book, Tessa and Hardin changed a little bit; Tessa became slightly more annoying with her inability to use commonsense, and I was happy to see Hardin actually express some emotion for once.
Lovely War by Julie Berry is a romance and historical fiction novel that follows the lives of four individuals during World War I, told from the perspective of Aphrodite (goddess of passion and love). Hazel, James, Colette, and Aubrey’s paths cross by mere circumstance, and with Aphrodite’s help, beautiful relationships are formed. As time passes, the perils of war threaten to interfere with the romances and friendships.
Sadie is a dual-narrative book following Sadie Hunter, a 19-year-old girl on the hunt to find the man who killed her sister, and West McCray, the radio personality tracing her footsteps for a true-crime podcast.
Sadie’s 13-year-old sister, Mattie, went missing and was later found dead. The police have no suspects, but Sadie has one, and she’s determined to find him.
Kiera Cass's fifth and final installment of The Selection series, The Crown, wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst. I have a few problems with this book, the major one being the development of Eadlyn and Eikko's relationship, or lack thereof. Their relationship was predictable, but it had no growth; it seemed like they just kind of ended up together.
Anna Todd's After, a contemporary young adult romance based on Harry Styles fanfiction, gives me mixed emotions. Tessa has been picture perfect her whole life, but when she goes to college and meets British bad boy Hardin, she starts to change her ways. First off, Tessa and Hardin's relationship is entirely toxic; during most of their interactions, they're drunk, lying, fighting, or using each other as a distraction.
This young-adult novel is about a sixteen-year-old redhead, named America Singer, who was chosen to be a part of the Selection where she will compete to win the heart of the charming prince. Most girls would be ecstatic about such an opportunity, but not America. She already has her life planned out for herself, and she is fearful that this will ruin her chances of having a future with Aspen, her secret love.
