Christian Florescu is a teenage boy living in Communist Romania. He lives with his mother, father, sister, and grandfather. During this time in Romania, the government, run by Nicolae Ceaușescu, has completely taken over the entire country, and made the living conditions horrible. Additionally, spies of all ages, helping the government spot out revolutionaries, are littered throughout the public. When Christian is recruited to become a spy, he attempts to take advantage of his position and topple the government from the inside out.
This play by Shakespeare is a drama that views the destiny of Macbeth as he slowly marches into a pit of chaos. The play begins with three witches foretelling some of Macbeth’s fate. Realizing and worrying about his future, he becomes irritable, cautious, and destructive to those he perceives as threatening his bright future as a leader. He kills many to reach this goal, eventually being killed himself for such ambitions.
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller. This play occurs in Salem, Massachusetts, as suspicions rise of witchcraft. John Proctor, one of the main characters, created false accusations of Abigail (a teen) partaking in witchcraft. This leads to a string of accusations that causes hysteria in the entire town. These accusations find their way to court, where false “evidence” and faulty claims overpower the truth that few dare to speak out loud.
Silence is a book regarding faith and religion in a time and place where seeking a religion outside Japan’s interest would lead to immense suffering for its citizens. Sebastian Rodrigues, a character this book focuses on extensively, is a priest who has journeyed to Japan to tell the people about Christianity. The story quickly develops into his constant evasion of Japanese authorities looking to coerce him to renounce his faith.
The Diamond Eye is a historical fiction novel written by Kate Quinn. The book is centered around Mila Pavlichenko, a student turned sniper who fought during the Nazi invasion of World War II and was later recognized for her achievements. The story begins with her trying to again convince her then husband to divorce her. As her husband belittles her and shames her for not having a father in her son. Thus, she enrolls in a rifle shooting class in order to teach her son how to shoot.
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi is a diverse teenage love story dealing with Muslim racism post 9/11. Shirin, a socially excluded hot-headed Muslim girl living in a world thrown against her culture, meets Ocean, a star basketball player and school golden boy. This unlikely romance leads to discrimination, and the two have to deal with a world stacked against accepting others and love. This is a very solid book on diverse representation, as Shirin is an interesting character with a Muslim background.
