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.
The Sun's Heartbeat by Bob Berman explores the rhythmic pattern of solar activity and its impact on Earth's climate and civilization. Berman highlights the correlation between the sun cycle, solar flares, and the solar magnetic field every 11 years, highlighting how these events influence our planet's weather patterns, technological infrastructure, and even human behavior.
The Toll is a young-adult dystopian novel. It is the final book in the Arc of a Scythe trilogy. Set three years after Citra and Rowan’s disappearance, Goddard has taken over the Sycthedom and the Thunderhead has cut itself off from humanity, only communicating with Grayson Tolliver.
Scythe is a young-adult dystopian novel written by Neal Shusterman. It is the first book in a trilogy. The novel is set in a futuristic society in which natural death and disease have been eliminated, resulting in the only way to die is to be killed by Scythes, members of a selective group tasked to keep the world’s population from growing too high. The novel follows Citra and Rowan, two teenagers chosen as apprentices to a Scythe. They must learn the art of taking lives in order to keep their own.
A Darker Shade of Magic is an adult fantasy novel written by V.E. Schwab. It is the first novel in the Shades of Magic trilogy. It follows Kell, the last of a rare type of magician called the Antari, who can travel between parallel Londons (Red, Grey, White and formerly Black). Tasked to travel between Londons as a messenger, Kell secretly smuggles items between worlds. However, he and Grey Londoner Delilah Bard soon face the consequences of Kell’s smuggling and get caught in the struggle between Londons.
Thunderhead is a young-adult dystopian novel. It is the second book in the Arc of a Scythe trilogy by Neal Shusterman. After Citra’s victory at the end of the first novel, she is now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie. Now faced with the corruption infiltrating the scythedom, Citra is forced to take desperate measures to fight against the dangers in the system. Meanwhile, Rowan is dealing with the corruption in his own way, putting dishonorable scythes through his own trials.
The initial installment in J.K. Rowling's renowned Harry Potter series, this book follows 11-year-old Harry as he receives an invitation to Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry. Discovering a plot by a powerful wizard to obtain the sorcerer's stone for immortality, Harry, accompanied by loyal friends Hermione and Ron, ventures to thwart the evil plan. It is filled with imaginative elements, such as a gripping scene where Harry catches a flying golden ball on his broomstick.
The Battle of The Labyrinthby Rick Riordan is a more mature and fight heavy Percy Jackson book that expands on the character’s relations, houses larger and deadlier monsters, and sets up the final villain for the base series. In this book, Percy Jackson must explore the Labyrinth and find a way to shut it down to stop the armies of Kronos.
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan is a somber and exhilarating final entry of the original Percy Jackson series. This book has Percy Jackson defending Olympus as Kronos attempts his final invasion into Olympus. Percy must beat Luke as Kronos as the Titan army mounts a full-scale invasion of Manhattan.
The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan is an upgraded exciting entry in the Percy Jackson series, featuring exciting new characters and even more Greek monsters for Percy to face. In this book, Percy Jackson once again must save one of his friends—Annabeth, while trying to hunt down the mysterious general who kidnapped Artemins and is plotting with Luke the destruction of Olympus.
