A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is a tale set during Afghanistan's history from the 1960s to the early 2000s. The novel intertwines the lives of two women, Mariam and Laila, whose fates are bound by tragedy, war, and their shared marriage to the abusive Rasheed. Mariam, an illegitimate child shunned by society, and Laila, a beautiful young girl with a promising future, form an unlikely bond that transcends their harsh circumstances.
Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle is a memoir that recounts the life of the author in her dysfunctional family. Jeannette desires stability—something that was never provided in her childhood because of poverty, neglect, and constantly moving from place to place. Jeannette learns to depend on herself—the most reliable person in her life.
Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give is a Young Adult Fiction novel that recounts the experiences of Starr Carter, a teenage Black girl who attends a rich, white prep school—a stark contrast to her poorer, predominantly Black neighborhood. Starr has an intense desire to explore how to define her identity as a result of her different experiences with her two very different worlds. Her desire is primarily fueled by the death of her childhood best friend, Khalil, who was killed by a police officer.
Educated is a memoir written by Tara Westover. Westover grew up in rural Idaho in a survivalist family. Her father was very strict; he did not allow Tara and her siblings to receive formal education and forced them to stay away from the healthcare system because he believed the government was trying to steer them away from God. When Tara was 17, she decided to attend college at BYU, which marked the beginning of her educational journey.
Friends become enemies because one falls in love. That is the only happy part of this story. For Noor everything is hard. And for Salaudhin everything is wrong. The loss of one person changed the lives of two people. And now they both don’t know what to do.
Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why is a Young Adult Fiction novel that tells the haunting story of Hannah Baker—a teenage girl who recently committed suicide and left behind thirteen self-recorded cassette tapes in the hands of the novel’s main character, Clay Jensen. Clay’s intense desire for closure drives him to seek out the truth regarding the events that contributed to her decision to take her own life.
Nicola Yoon’s The Sun Is Also a Star details the relationship between teenagers Natasha Kingsley—a Jamaican American faced with the threat of deportation, and Daniel Bae—a Korean American struggling to live up to his parents’ expectations. Natasha hopes to stay in the United States; she spends her final day in New York City seeking legal help to avoid deportation. The two meet in New York, and Daniel decides to miss out on a potentially life changing interview to spend the day with Natasha.
Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is a Young Adult Fiction novel that tells Liesel Meminger’s story—a young girl living in Germany during World War II. Constantly faced with loss and tragedy, Liesel hopes to find meaning in her life—she does so through her fascination with books. Occupying her time with words and as many books as she can find, she is faced with the reality of the war—the oppression in Nazi Germany, losing the people she loves, and the consequences of doing the right, but dangerous thing.
Marieke Nijkamp’s This is Where it Ends is a young adult fiction novel that depicts the tragic events of a school shooting at Opportunity high school. The novel’s main characters Claire, Tomas, Autumn, and Sylv serve to represent the intricacy of each individual life affected by school shootings; they represent that each life affected is more than a name or a number—that they are human, too.
John Green’s Looking For Alaska is a Young Adult novel that tells the complex story of the relationship between main character Miles Turner—also known as Pudge—and Alaska Young. Pudge’s fascination with searching for deeper meaning in life leaves him fascinated with Alaska Young when he transfers to her high school. Miles struggles with attempting to understand both Alaska and the world around him as he encounters the complexities of relationships, friendships, and simply being human.
