Emilia and her twin sister, streghe witches, have been cautioned their whole lives regarding the dangers of attracting the attention of or interacting with the Wicked, or seven Princes of Hell. Each twin was gifted with the mysterious cornicello, amulets of protection, and advised never to remove them. While Emilia prefers creating recipes for their family restaurant in Sicily, the more daring Vittoria disappears one evening only to be later discovered by her twin, gruesomely murdered.
This non-fiction discusses the issues of technology addiction in the modern age. At times, the addiction is not at the fault of the user and instead is the fault of the corporations that build addictive scenes and technology with the intent of addiction. Using human psychology, businesses have sorted out a way to keep users invested in social media, video games, and other mediums.
Ishmael Bea, as a young child, gets dragged into the war in Sierra Leone. He has nothing to do with it, and he wants nothing with it either. He attempts to escape the war and goes on a journey along the way. He shares his experience on the battlefield when he eventually becomes a child soldier.
The Other Americans is a novel that features Nora Guerroui, whose father was killed in a hit and run “accident”. However, there may be more to Driss’s death then there seems at first glance. As new evidence arises, more conflict does as well. Following his death, a band of characters reflect on how they knew Nora’s father, Driss, and how his death impacted their collective lives, whether that is finding new courage or discovering hidden secrets.
“Spontaneous”, by Aaron Starmer, is an equally humorous and heartbreaking look at the unique experience of growing up in the modern age. When students start spontaneously exploding all around her, senior Mara Carlyle has to come to terms with her own mortality and make every moment count.
“See You Yesterday” by Rachel Lynn Solomon is a refreshing new take on the classic time loop plot. Our protagonist, Barret Bloom, is a college freshman who just wants to turn over a fresh page at her new school after a troubled high school experience. Instead, she has a completely disastrous first day and ruins any chance at a positive reception from those around her. In dismay, she falls asleep… only to wake up again to the exact same day.
Thrilling and complex, Karen McManus’s “One of Us is Lying” is a classic whodunnit mystery with a modern edge and plenty of twists and turns as the plot progresses. When Bayview High’s infamous gossip, Simon Kelleher, dies during detention, his fellow classmates are plunged into a criminal investigation in which they are the main suspects.
Intricate and intriguing, E. Lockhart’s “We Were Liars” provides both a captivating mystery and a bittersweet portrayal of young love. The Sinclairs are an extremely wealthy family that spends each summer on their private island, Beechwood. The readers are introduced to their charmed yet secretive lives through Cadence Sinclair, a teenager who suffers from amnesia and chronic migraines after a tragic accident that occurred on Beechwood when she was fifteen.
With an interesting premise that falls disappointingly flat, Katharine McGee’s “American Royals” portrays a fun, if shallow, alternate universe where the United States has a royal family.
Return to Beechwood with E. Lockhart’s “Family of Liars”, a prequel set in the 1980s to the modern “We Were Liars”. Focusing this time on Cadence’s aunt Carrie as a teenager, the book follows her during her seventeenth summer.
