Set during World War II, All the Light We Cannot See focuses on the lives of Marie-Laure LeBlanc and Werner Pfennig. Marie-Laure is a young girl from France who becomes blind early in her childhood. Werner is a boy in Germany who, raising his little sister, finds interest in radios after an encounter with one early in life. When Marie and Werner become older teenagers, World War II is on the brink. Marie-Laure’s father leaves and leaves his daughter with her uncle, Etienne.
In the current world, humans use social media as a way to break away from the real world to live in untrue experiences. The unnamed narrator of Fake Accounts plots to end her relationship with her boyfriend after a tame experience with him. The narrator, being a blogger for a website, realizes how she is stuck in a cycle where she has difficulty wanting to experience challenging activities.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen tells the story of thirteen-year-old Brian who is stranded in the wilderness after a plane crash. The only tool he has is a hatchet, given to him by his mother. He must find a way to not only survive in the unknown but also accept the fact of his parents’ divorce. Read to find out if Brian can deal with these difficulties as he looks for ways to keep himself alive.
It was not a town where gossip stayed put but a town where gossip spread faster than wildfire. “It was not a house where secrets could be kept easily” but a house where very few could be trusted and ”he [Johanas Vermeer] had decided to trust [Griet].” A humble and modest girl, Griet, only 16 years old, is sent to the famous painter Johannes Vermeer’s home to serve as their faithful maid. Her father, a former master tile painter, was blinded by a factory accident and her younger brother Frans is sent off to an apprenticeship.
The Killing Code is a novel written by Ellie Marney. This book is based in World War II in Washington DC. Kit Sutherland has just witnessed the death of her mistress and suddenly gets recruited as a codebreaker in Arlington Hall. Kit has to assume the rule of her old boss, and hide her real identity, things prove more challenging when Kit witnesses the murder of a government girl. Kit is joined by Moya, who is a supervisor in her department, a fellow codebreaker Dottie and Violet, who’s friend had also been murdered.
New Moon is a supernatural novel about Bella Swan and her extremely scary love life. After Edward leaves her, Bella suffers many months of depression, and the only bright spot was her relationship with Jacob. But, trouble seems to follow Bella everywhere. As it turns out, Jacob is a werewolf with sworn enemies against Edward and his family. When Edward finds himself near death, Bella must choose a side of this war that seems fit in a Halloween movie. I highly recommend this book to people who are up for a good scare.
A Separate Peace is an amazing book with a great story. Knowles captures the world of an elite New England boarding school and an interesting summer during World War Two when a tragic accident changes the lives of friends Gene and Phineas. The setting and themes of adolescence and rivalry are very impactful, although, I felt the pacing of the plot slows down a bit too much in parts. The final section of the book also left me wishing for a bit more closure.
Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young is a contemporary young adult novel that follows the story of Audrey Casella and her family as they unexpectedly find themselves staying at the luxurious Hotel Ruby after a car accident leaves them stranded. As the Casellas enjoy the opulence of the hotel, Audrey becomes increasingly suspicious of the hotel's mysterious staff and the strange occurrences that unfold.
The book is about two characters, Gena and Finn. Genevieve Goldman (Gena) is a blogger who writes about a television show and writes fiction inspired by the show. She is having issues with keeping up with college and other matters. She found Stephanie Bartlett (Finn) online, who runs her blogging site where she posts comments on the same television show as Gena. The characters progress as they learn the importance of interpersonal communication and strong relationships with trusted individuals.
The book follows the story of Daphne Berg as she experiences breakdowns of relationships and the appeal to be better than others. Throughout the novel, she has moments of reconsideration regarding her motives, befriending or villainizing others, and not being emotionally satisfied with her regular life. The story progression of the novel is unique in that it has slower-paced moments and quicker, more intense periods. The book considers how our engagement with social platforms and the internet has led to fractured relationships and a more radicalized form of opinion formation.
