Wade Watts is an 18-year-old boy in a futuristic society where most people live in a technological virtual reality world called the “OASIS.” This society was put together by a man named James Halliday, but when he dies, he leaves his fortune in the hands of any person able to “find the easter egg”. In order to find this easter egg, the user must find three keys. Wade Watts becomes the first person to find the first key after putting all his time and effort into learning everything about the virtual world.
This story details a single day of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov’s life in a Soviet Labor camp. This middle-aged man desires to survive and continue living in order to return to his life. His perspective on his situation is: as long as he remains a hard worker and a valuable asset to the Soviet Union, he will serve out his ten-year sentence in the labor camp and then be declared free. The camp life, though, is not without its difficulties as they work every day in weather below freezing and with little to no food. They have to fight to stay warm, fight to get food, and fight to live.
Armada by Ernest Cline is a sci-fi novel that follows Zack Lightman, a teenage gamer who discovers that the video game he excels at, "Armada," is actually a government simulation training players to defend Earth against an impending alien invasion. When the threat becomes real, Zack and other top players are recruited to use their gaming skills in a battle for humanity’s survival.
In this heart-wrenching, blood curdling third book in the Woven Kingdom trilogy, a gripping fantasy written by Tahereh Mafi, Alizeh is torn between loving her sworn enemy and killing him, her life and the lives of her people teetering in the hands of the devil. Despite her friends' avid warnings, Alizeh can’t help but draw closer to him, even in the face of death…. The inexplicable shift in Alizeh’s behavior toward Cyrus, now more obviously passionate, has me confused as a reader and, at the very same time, begging for more.
Space Case, a gripping novel by Stuart Gibbs, follows 12-year-old Dashiel Gibson as he delves into the mysterious death of Ronald Holtz, a fellow resident on the moon. The intriguing lunar setting, and well-developed characters make the story truly engaging. The fast-paced plot adds to the suspense, making the novel even more thrilling.
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter is a charming young adult romance centered around Liz Buxbaum, a hopeless romantic who views life through the lens of her favorite rom coms. Liz has always dreamed of a grand, movie-worthy love story, especially with her childhood crush, Michael, who has recently moved back to town. To win Michael’s heart, Liz enlists the help of her next-door neighbor, Wes, who she finds annoying but knows is her best shot since he’s friends with Michael.
Lines Of Courage is a book by Jennifer Nielsen that is set during the time of World War I. The book is about how five people who are each on different sides of the war experienced it and how they survived and eventually met up at the end as friends. The book was better than I expected. I have no clue how it is possible to not only show five perspectives in a book, but also have each of them have a connection with each other, but this did it.
Two Degreesis a survival book about climate change by Alan Gratz. The book is about three different stories, and how climate change impacted each of them, from snow to wildfires to floods, but it was not too good. I would give it a 3 out of 5 stars. The problem for me was that it was not the most readable because they were switching between stories (but I am sure that author Alan Gratz does that for his books), but the message about climate change elevated this book.
The novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells the story of a 15-year-old girl named Kambili. In Kambili’s family, everything is controlled by her father, Eugene. Her father forces everyone in his family to follow his strict Catholic rules and punishes them if they don’t abide by his rules. When Kambili and her brother Jaja go to visit their Aunt Ifeoma’s house during Christmas, they are able to see what a truly happy family looks like, and they are able to feel love.
The Secret History is a novel by Donna Tartt who follows the life of a new college student named Richard Papen. He wants to become a part of his college’s prestigious Greek club, and he tries to fit in with the members of this group. He later finds out that this group is not what he thought it was, as they have somewhat of a weird connection with one another. As they continue to study in this group, they forget the difference between reality and fantasy, and start to go down an evil path.
