In the fictional novel Zombie, Joyce Carol Oates tells the story of a serial killer with a
very twisted obsession. The main character, who calls himself Q_ P_, is a seemingly average
thirty-one-year-old male from a well-to-do family that attends college; however, beneath the
surface, he is a convicted sex offender who dreams of possessing an utterly subservient dark,
strong man. To accomplish this dream, he spends the book experimenting with different
In the play-write A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry describes the resulting conflicts
in a poor African American family, the Youngers, who suddenly acquire a large sum of money:
10,000 dollars in life insurance from their father's death. Within the Younger family household,
we have Lena younger, her two adult children Beneatha and Walter, Walter's wife Ruth, and her
and Walter's child, Travis. Together they are staying in a small two-bedroom apartment that
Awkward is about a middle schooler named Pepi Torres. She has three cardinal rules for
surviving middle school. On her first day as the new kid at Berrybrook Middle School, she
makes a mistake that haunts her for the next few months. When she has to get science
tutoring with a boy that she can barely talk to, she must face her fears and break the awkward
silence, I like this book because it is relatable to middle schoolers. My favorite part is when Pepi
Proof that a good series can always take a sharp downhill turn, the Mockingjay book truly
depresses me being the final book of the series. With so much potential lost on this book, it is
hard for me to recommend it. The book might not have been so bad had it been followed up with
the hunger games of the capital’s children, its ending truly sucked. Also, I will never forgive the
author for having killed off the best character in the series, Finnick. I wouldn’t recommend this
The only challenger to the seat of the best book in the series, Catching Fire is another amazing
book by Suzanne Collins in which we get to see Katniss and Peeta thrown back into the arena,
this time with the victors from other districts. Filled with intrigue and suspicion and political
instability, this truly does rival the first book-one of the few books that ever does. You also get to
see that Katniss and Peeta are still traumatized from the last games (who knew that forcing a
The Hunger Games starts off the three (four now) book series that took the world by storm as it
beautifully ripped off the classic Battle Royale. In this book, you get to see the United States far
in the future where a small part of the population lives cushioned lives built off the backs of
starving people that might as well be slaves. In this book, you will watch a sixteen yea old girl by
the name of Katniss (apparently the name of a type of plant) sacrifice herself to protect her sister
High school senior Emoni Santiago is a wonder in the kitchen, crafting magic with flavors
and aromas. She dreams of attending culinary school one day, even if it seems as if there aren’t
many places for her to go in life. With an aging grandmother, an absent father, and the
responsibility of a three-year-old daughter to take care of, Emoni can’t afford to put herself first.
However, when her school announces a new culinary arts class, complete with an
apprenticeship in Spain, she can’t help but hope — it might be time, finally, for her dreams to
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton follows a 14 year old boy named Ponyboy Curtis. There are two
kinds of people in the world: greasers (always have to be cautious and not wealthy) and socs
(wealthy with a lot of attitude). Ponyboy is a greaser and he’s experienced a lot of rumbles with
socs with his other greaser friends. One night, one of his friends murders a soc and the world
around him slowly starts to crumble.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a very empowering book. The book follows Starr Carter
who witnesses the shooting of her best friend by a police officer. After his death, people started
calling Khalil (her friend who was shot) names. No one knows what went down that night, only
Starr does. The story focuses on Starr fighting for justice for her friend and her community.
