Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a powerful young adult novel that touches on important life situations. Melinda Sordino is a high school student that lost all her friends after busting an end-of-summer party by calling the police. Since then she has not spoken and the only place that she feels is safe is in her head, and even that isn’t fully safe for her. The night of the party Melinda something happened to Melinda and for that reason she is scared to speak and let the truth of what happened that night out.

I enjoyed reading Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson because the imagery used within the novel brought it to life. The powerful theme of friends and enemies is portrayed as well. One of my favorite quotes from the novel connects to the theme of friends and enemies, “You have to know what you stand for, not just what you stand against.” If you liked Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson you will like The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is an exciting adventure novel set in a futuristic world and country called Panem. Katniss Everdeen is from district 12 of Panem. She lives a poor life with her mother and sister hunting daily in order to make a living. Every year the capital of Panem holds an annual “Hunger Games”. In these games a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 to 18 are randomly chosen to fight to the death until only one person survives. The Hunger Games describes Katniss’s experiences through the Hunger Games and the harsh, unrealistic conditions in the country of Panem.

I really like this book because the theme of power is evident throughout the novel and is constantly reinforced. The capital reminds the other districts that they are the most powerful by creating the Hunger Games. The following passage from the novel explains how Collins described how the capital uses its power while also explaining that there had been a previous rebellion, “Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch – this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. “Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen.”

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is the story of Charlie and his first year of high school. Charlie has chronic shyness and is coping with the suicide of his best friend. By doing so Charlie writes letters to a stranger who he heard was nice but never really met in person. As the school year progresses Charlie begins to open up more and encounters a lot of his “firsts”. First date, first kiss, first time drinking and doing drugs, first time being a part of something. Through his new friends Patrick and Sam Charlie learns to be a part of the moment and not be a wallflower anymore.

I really enjoyed this story because as Charlie developed over the course of the novel i began to realize realities as well. The smallest moments in life can be the most important ones and make you feel infinite. Charlie explains this in the following quote, “Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing. And in that moment, I swear we were infinite”. The Perks of Being a Wallflower has several morals and important themes that make the reader realize the world they live in even more. If you like The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, then you’ll love Looking for Alaska by John Green.

Rudayna Tabbara

Paper Towns by John Green

Paper Towns by John Green is a coming of age story. Margo Roth Spiegelman and Quentin Jacobsen have been neighbors since they were little kids. As they grew older each went their own path through high school. Quentin was the quiet kid that hung out in the band room and Margo was the popular girl that dated the jocks. One night senior year Margo goes to Quentin’s window at the middle of the night in need of a favor. They spend the whole night on an adventure. The following morning however Margo goes missing. Paper Towns tells the story of finding Margo after she went missing. Along the way friends and memories are made.

I would recommend this book because of the suspense that builds throughout the novel. The theme of finding yourself through other people is also noticed within the book. Paper Towns also shows readers that not everything is based on looks. The following quote from the book explains this, “That's always seemed so ridiculous to me, that people want to be around someone because they're pretty. It's like picking your breakfast cereals based on color instead of taste.” If you like Paper Towns by John Green, then you’ll love Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid.

Rudayna Tabbara

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Sometimes you encounter books that defy the labels they’ve been placed under. Considering the topic of this book, the author did a wonderful job of expressing a point of view that’s utterly realistic and brutally honest. This book is about a boy whose mother forces him to spend time with a girl dying of leukemia. Spoiler alert: No they don’t end up falling in love and no, the girl isn’t saved by some nearly-impossible miracle. Unlike other books with cancer patients *cough* The Fault in Our Stars *cough* this book did not make me weep but it did make me shed one tear. Four actually. There wasn’t a happily-ever-after ending, and everything about the book from start to finish was realistic, which is very unlike a lot of YA fiction books. It was harsh, crude, down-to-earth, and without embellishment. This book will smack you in the face with a dose of reality and will remind you that in reality, miracles don’t always happen and that superman doesn’t always save the girl. Heck, he may not even be in love with her to begin with.

Faatimah Solomon

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This book was everything unexpected. Ready Player One is a book set in 2044 where an online video game OASIS dominates the life of the majority of people. Earth by this time is depleted of natural resources and everyone’s lives are ravaged by poverty. People all over the world are turning a blind eye and refuse to accept their reality by replacing it with a perfect life on OASIS. When the multi-billionaire creator of OASIS dies, he sets a competition that'll determine the heir to his fortune (and company). Five years after the competition is announced, a parentless boy named Wade becomes the first to unlock the first stage of the challenge and triggers a mad scramble of OASIS users trying to complete the challenge, a challenge that many would kill for. Along his journey, he makes friends and enemies and learns at the end that OASIS is not a substitute for real life. As a person who is no way a gamer, I had my doubts when I started reading the book. By the time I was done, I wanted to pick it up and read it again. This book was nothing like I’ve ever read before, indescribable, truly one of a kind. I recommend this to everyone, gamer or non-gamer, because this book drives you to consider where the future of humanity is headed and at which point rampant technology becomes too much.

Faatimah Solomon

After by Anna Todd

After by Anna Todd, first time author Wattpad sensation alone has bucked up around one billion reads online, only to be brought to shelves worldwide. A book that will leave your head aching and wanting for more, despite the turn of events. A slightly more mature book, including foul language, sexual content and graphic writing, I would not recommend this to readers under seventeen.

Tessa Young, 18, the ambitious daughter with the reliable caring boyfriend back home, is lead into a completely different life world when she is meets Hardin Scott, the classic bad boy through her dorm partner. With his tousled brown hair, tattoos and piercing and cocky attitude, there is sure to be a clash between the all-innocent, sweet good girl and the intricate British heartthrob. Tessa knows he is different and life after him will certainly not be the same.

The book itself is a series of four books, and each book more heart wrenching and indulging than the other. The story itself, as mentioned, received a series of mixed reviews from people who debate and question if this is a so-called romance. The story itself is very addicting to read, the type of book that you cannot set down, but I could that at times it lacks detail and some of the events are repetitive, resulting in no actual plot.

It’s claimed that despite the cheats, lies, and actions displayed through the book, it tells the story of a traumatized man who learns to accept and give love with the help of the patient, kind hearted woman. Many readers criticize that this displays several signs of an abusive relationship both physically and emotionally, while others disagree. The story itself is very addicting to read, the type of book that you cannot set down, but I could say that at times it lacked detail and some of the events were repetitive, resulting in no actual plot. Then again, that is up to the reader to decide.

It mixes the ideas of old classics such as Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice to tell the story of two stubborn, passionate individuals.

Eman Fathala

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

The Knife of Never Letting Go is a young-adult science fiction novel written by Patrick Ness. The book takes place in a small settlement called Prentisstown on "New World". The strange thing about this town is that it only has men and everyone can hear each other’s thoughts, no privacy, a never ending noise, and no secrets. In this town is Todd Hewitt, the last boy in Prentisstown. Just one month before his birthday Todd stumbled upon a spot with complete silence, which is impossible. This means that Prentisstown had been lying to him. Todd goes back to tell his adoptive parents Ben and Cillian about this, they tell him to run away from the town as far as possible. Todd obeys unwillingly and soon finds himself being chased by Army of Prentisstown men. While he escapes he finds a girl named Viola who crashed inside a space pod. Now both Todd and Viola have to run away from Prentisstown army to somewhere safe, but they do not know if there are other settlements in New World. I loved this book because of its original plot full of mystery which you have to think about and the interesting Sci-Fi setting. I would recommend anyone interested into science fiction to read this book because the story is worth it.

Sameer Khan

World War Z by Max Brooks

If you watched the movie, you should probably know that there is a book that came before it. World War Z is a book by Max Brooks about zombies. It starts off in China with the start of a few infected people. But it starts to spread, and fast. Soon it spreads all over the world. A cure must be found, and fast. The story unfolds with individual accounts of people (obviously fake accounts). The book is considered an apocalyptic horror book. But I consider it a science fiction and thriller book. It is a good and exciting must-read that I absolutely recommend. If you are reading this for the movie-ness I will tell you right now that even Max Brooks said that the only thing similar between the book and movie was pretty much its name. So… yeah, big difference.

Luqman Sattar