Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel is the first book in the Infernal Devices trilogy, which is a prequel series to The Mortal Instruments. This book is set in Victorian London, and the story follows Tessa Gray, a sixteen-year-old girl who arrives from New York to find her lost brother, Nathaniel. Upon arrival, she is kidnapped by the Dark Sisters, who reveal that Tessa has the ability to shapeshift into other people, something she was unaware of.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Reading it I had completely no problems or concerns. I rarely give books 5 stars but The Picture of Dorian Grey was a masterpiece. The book delves into the story of a beautiful man named Dorian Grey as he grapples with his appearance, realizing how beautiful he is and his fear of getting older and losing his beauty. He curses his portrait, stating how he'll get older while the portrait stay young forever.
The Life of Pi follows Pi Patel a young Indian boy who experiences a shipwreck while crossing the Pacific Ocean trying to start a new life in Canada with his family. The story starts off as a flashback into Pi’s life prior to the shipwreck and he recounts his time in Pondi Cherry, India- where he grew up. He spent a lot of time at his family-owned zoo and developed a strong love for animals!
Of Princes and Promises by Sandhya Menon is a romantic twist on the tale of The Frog Prince. It follows the main character Caterina DeValle who is on top of the social ladder at St. Rosetta’s Academy. However, after an ugly fallout with her boyfriend Alaric, her status is left shaken. Rahul Chopra, the other main character, is a classic nerd — socially awkward and highly intelligent.
Of Dreams and Destiny by Sandhya Menon is a romance-fantasy mix with a thrilling twist on the classic childhood tale of Sleeping Beauty. The plot of this book follows Daphne Elizabeth — DE — as she recovers from past betrayals of her love interest and her family. A snowstorm traps all the students in the school with no communication with the outside world. However, a historic secret unfolds as this storm starts to get very mysterious and people start falling into death-like sleep.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossini is a heart wrenching story about the lives of two women — Mariam and Laila — in war-struck Afghanistan. Mariam is an illegitimate child who gets married off to an older man in the city after a family tragedy. Burdened with her husbands' expectations and abused by him, she grows older and more resentful of the world. Soon after her marriage, a little girl called Laila is born in the neighborhood.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a beautifully written novel about love, wealth, and the American Dream. Set in the 1920s, it tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who throws lavish parties in hopes of winning back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. The story is told through the eyes of Nick Carraway, a newcomer to Gatsby’s world, who slowly uncovers the truth about Gatsby’s past and his deep longing for something he can never truly have.
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust is a LGBTQ+ YA Fantasy novel with enemies to lovers and forbidden love tropes. This book is about a princess named Soraya with a power, or rather a curse, that kills anything she touches. Cursed before birth by a div, a magical faerie, and all her misfortunes make her question if she is a princess or simply a monster with poison rushing through her veins.
The Hate U Give is a must read for fans of realistic fiction, and/or socially conscious books. The book is about Starr, a 16-year-old African American teenager who witnesses the shooting of her friend Khalil by a police officer. The rest of the book follows the struggles Starr faces while trying to seek justice for her friend and the impact it has on her and those around her. It has won awards such as Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best (2018), and Audie Award for Young Adult (2018).
Just for the Summer follows Emma and Justin, two people cursed with bad relationship luck who agree to spend a summer together to break the cycle. What starts as a lighthearted arrangement soon turns into something deeper, forcing them to confront their fears about love and commitment. With witty banter, undeniable chemistry, and emotional depth, their story unfolds in a way that is both heartwarming and engaging.
