Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a wonderful futuristic sci-fi story about a fascist world full of censorship and where happiness is valued over thinking and free will. The book offers an insight on what our world might become, and even though the book was published in 1953, the problems that it presents are even more present today.
Marvel Fairy Tales is a graphic novel compilation of several different stories written and illustrated by C.B. Cebulski, Claire Wendling, and many others. I loved the idea of this book and was excited to see my favorite Marvel characters transported into some of my favorite fantasy worlds, but I was disappointed by the execution. There is no character or plot development; the stories all have a great beginning, but there’s no build-up to their climaxes; all of the stories suddenly end and feel almost incomplete.
Anne of Avonlea is the second installment of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series. In this book, we see Anne grow into her late teens while managing two young twins, taking on more responsibility at Green Gables, and experiencing her first year as a teacher. Though Anne maintains her childhood wonder, throughout this book we get to see her mature.
A must-read for any history fans, Killing the SS by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard shows the hunt to find the worst war criminals in the world and the race against time to bring them to justice. Dugard and O’Reilly bring you back to the end of WWII, following the stories of multiple “Nazi Hunters” who devoted their lives to catching these immoral individuals.
William Goldman’s The Princess Bride is a story of true love, revenge, and adventure. Buttercup, a farm girl forced into royalty by her husband-to-be, Prince Humperdinck, is kidnapped by an evil genius, a giant, and the most talented swordsman in the world. Westley, Buttercup’s thought to be dead true love, must save her from her three kidnappers and her unwanted husband.
The Cup and The Prince was a largely enjoyable read that featured charming characters, an amazing world, and a strong plot. The idea of winning a competition under false pretense was really interesting.
Jacky Ha-Ha is a realistic fiction book by James Patterson. This is a book about a girl who stutters and her name is Jacky Ha-Ha. Jacky is a prankster; she pranks teachers and friends and is very naughty. When she gets 20 detentions in four days, she chooses to use her detentions in the school musical. There, she meets her true love and she learns her best friend has the voice of an angel. She also gets in trouble and she makes everyone laugh to cover her stutter.
Donovan Curtis is not what you call “gifted.” However, his genius friend, Noah Youkilis, is Supergifted, with one of the highest IQs. After spending many years at the Academy for Scholastic Distinction, Noah looks for the chance to fail and to become normal. He lands at Donovan’s school and finds himself in trouble with cheerleading captain Megan Mercury and jock Hash “Hashtag” Taggart. Donovan sticks up for Noah but gets caught in his own feud and has to stay away from Hashtag. Noah believes that Donovan was mistreated and goes to Hashtag’s house to give Hashtag a piece of his mind.
The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather is the story of a seemingly ordinary person rising up achieving greatness. Born in the small town of Moonstone, Colorado, Thea Kronborg faces the realities of life and comes to know her true self as she fights for a place in the world of opera.
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le. Guin is the classic tale of how Ged, a young wizard, comes into his powers and repairs the mistakes of his youth, restoring balance to the land of Earthsea. Along the way he attends a school of magic, battles a dragon, and faces true evil. I really wanted to love this book. It’s high fantasy with a cult following and I wanted it to capture my heart the way that it has for so many people over the years.
