The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton provides a look into what teenage life looked like in the 60’s in America. A book targeted towards teens, The Outsiders tries to capture a more accurate perspective on these children. Almost sixty years have passed since its release, however, meaning that most of the book is not applicable to today’s society.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiography by Maya Angelou. The story revolves around a young girl named Marguerite, who is also known as Maya Angelou, the author. Marguerite lives in Stamps, Arkansas. She is a black girl, living with her Uncle Willie and her grandmother, who she soon calls Momma. Marguerite has one brother named Bailey.
The fifth book in George R.R. Martin’s famous A Song of Ice and Fire series was just okay. This novel is essentially a repeat of the events from A Feast for Crows but from different characters’ perspectives. I was excited to revisit some of my favorite characters that I didn’t get to hear from in the last book, but they didn’t really add anything to the story. Daenerys had the most exciting scenes, in my opinion, but even she didn’t further the storyline; basically, in over 1,000 pages, nothing was accomplished.
Dragonslayer follows the story of three children and their experiences with dragons in the land of Pyrrhia. Wren was left by her village as a sacrifice for the dragons. She runs away and finds a lost dragon, and the two of them travel the world together. Leaf is distraught by her sister being eaten by dragons, and swears revenge against them. He sets out to become a dragonslayer and protect humans from what happened to his sister. Ivy thinks her father, Dragonslayer, is not trustworthy.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is a story about friendship in the face of adversary, a story about loyalty to others, a story about destiny. Tolkien’s world building and character development is extremely well executed. Bilbo Baggins as a character works extremely well with the obstacles presented to him and the characters that he meets, allowing the reader to get engaged with the story and with Bilbo.
Every year, teams of kids compete against each other to see which team can frighten people. But, the kids are all going to lose, because the haunted house has awakened. The house will eat everyone and will not be happy until it does. Even though it started as a game, it will not end like one.
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a metaphor for human society and a commentary on the communist governments of the pre-Cold War era. A bold novel opposing some of the pro-communism sentiment in the country at the time, Animal Farm tells the story of the USSR and other communist countries from the viewpoint of the citizens within, and the ones that control from above.
Sixth grader Josie, her sister, and her mother both moved to their grandmother's house. Even though Josie does not like the town, she has to adjust to it. Weird things happen once her grandmother starts giving off warnings and rules. Then, one day at school, Josie meets a new girl named Vanessa. They become best friends. Suddenly, people from her school start to disappear. What or who is behind the disappearance?
The Tyrant’s Tomb is a fantasy book by Rick Riordan. It is an absorbing page-turner that I could not put down. The book is the fourth book in the Trials of Apollo series. The Tyrant’s Tomb is about a former god named Lester Papadopoulos and his master Meg McCaffery. They go on two quests to find out information about their enemies.
Rebecca is the first wife of Maxim De Winter. He lost his first wife due to a tragic incident. Maxim married another woman. When she enters Manderlery, she notices that Rebecca is everywhere. She fears that everyone loves Rebecca and hates her. But, one she realizes and learns things about the true Rebecca, her intentions and feelings change. Both Maxim and his new wife realize that Rebecca is haunting their memories.
