Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Diper Överlöde by Jeff Kinney, the seventeenth book in the series, puts Greg Heffley in an unexpected adventure as he gets swept up in his older brother Rodrick's dreams of rock stardom. Rodrick’s band, Löded Diper, is determined to make it big, and Greg finds himself reluctantly pulled into their chaotic world. From band practices in the basement to a disastrous attempt at performing in a real gig, Greg has to survive the roller-coaster ride that is Rodrick’s rock and roll lifestyle.
Maia Tamarin is a secret seamstress from a small coastal town within the empire. Her father was a master tailor, but age has crippled his ability to sew. Maia stepped up in his absence, and her talent is unmatched, with offers from everywhere coming in for her work. Or her father’s work. It is illegal for women to have a trade, so she works under her father’s name. This angers Maia, but she understands the consequences if she were to come clean.
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is a wonderfully written novel that follows teenager Juliette Ferrars and her journey through a tumultuous world. Juliette was born with a lethal touch. Anyone she touches experiences immense pain and eventually dies. The book starts with Juliette imprisoned inside a mental asylum. She then is introduced to one Adam Kent, who is a soldier. They are imprisoned together, and there is one thing that shocks Juliette to her core- her touch doesn’t hurt him.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot by Jeff Kinney is the sixteenth book in the series and focuses on Greg Heffley’s latest misadventure—navigating the world of sports. When Greg reluctantly joins his middle school’s basketball team, he quickly realizes that he’s not exactly the star athlete. From trying to survive brutal practices to dealing with a series of embarrassing moments on the court, Greg’s journey through the basketball season is filled with both laughs and struggles.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End by Jeff Kinney is the fifteenth book in the series, taking the Heffley family on an ill-fated camping trip that quickly turns into a comedy of errors. The story follows Greg and his family as they decide to embark on an adventure in their newly acquired RV, hoping to enjoy a peaceful getaway in the great outdoors.
Wade Watts is an 18-year-old boy in a futuristic society where most people live in a technological virtual reality world called the “OASIS.” This society was put together by a man named James Halliday, but when he dies, he leaves his fortune in the hands of any person able to “find the easter egg”. In order to find this easter egg, the user must find three keys. Wade Watts becomes the first person to find the first key after putting all his time and effort into learning everything about the virtual world.
This story details a single day of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov’s life in a Soviet Labor camp. This middle-aged man desires to survive and continue living in order to return to his life. His perspective on his situation is: as long as he remains a hard worker and a valuable asset to the Soviet Union, he will serve out his ten-year sentence in the labor camp and then be declared free. The camp life, though, is not without its difficulties as they work every day in weather below freezing and with little to no food. They have to fight to stay warm, fight to get food, and fight to live.
Armada by Ernest Cline is a sci-fi novel that follows Zack Lightman, a teenage gamer who discovers that the video game he excels at, "Armada," is actually a government simulation training players to defend Earth against an impending alien invasion. When the threat becomes real, Zack and other top players are recruited to use their gaming skills in a battle for humanity’s survival.
In this heart-wrenching, blood curdling third book in the Woven Kingdom trilogy, a gripping fantasy written by Tahereh Mafi, Alizeh is torn between loving her sworn enemy and killing him, her life and the lives of her people teetering in the hands of the devil. Despite her friends' avid warnings, Alizeh can’t help but draw closer to him, even in the face of death…. The inexplicable shift in Alizeh’s behavior toward Cyrus, now more obviously passionate, has me confused as a reader and, at the very same time, begging for more.
Space Case, a gripping novel by Stuart Gibbs, follows 12-year-old Dashiel Gibson as he delves into the mysterious death of Ronald Holtz, a fellow resident on the moon. The intriguing lunar setting, and well-developed characters make the story truly engaging. The fast-paced plot adds to the suspense, making the novel even more thrilling.
