Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson is not only the sequel to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder but also an intriguing continuation of Pip’s hunt to seek out justice in her town. When her neighbor and former friend Jamie Reynolds goes missing, she is determined to find clues and possible suspects that can lead her back to him.
In the Lake of the Woods is a novel that takes the reader through a series of flashbacks to tell the story of John Wade, a wannabe American politician who served in the Vietnam War. His story includes the disappearance of his wife Kathy Wade, and throughout the story the reader is given information about her disappearance to indicate whether or not John played a part in it. John wants a fulfilling life for him and his wife, which he believes can be achieved through getting elected into the US Senate.
The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes gives us more insight on the mysterious Hawthorne-Grambs investigation that we waited for ever since reading The Inheritance Games. With the incoming news that Tobias’s brother might not be dead after all, Avery and the Hawthorne grandsons are thrown into another reckless trek to find out more information.
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is SO GOOD. It gives off some Gossip Girl vibes, but itis so much more elevated and extremely intense. I really enjoyed this book because it is dark and mysterious while also being funny and adventurous. It is definitely a unique read and I have never read anything even remotely close to it. It is packed with so many little plots, twists, turns, and epiphanies that I read the whole thing in two days or less. A 100% must-read novel!!
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about of a group of young boys who end up on a deserted island due to a plane crash, and the book explains how they all act after leaving the structure and normalcy of society back home. Golding critiques human psychology and the ideas of how humans operate when survival is on the line. Although the novel can be a drag at some points, the actions of the boys and the thought processes that occur allow for great discussion and thoughts about human behavior.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is by far one of the best books I have ever read. Set in WWII, this historical fiction novel is narrated from two different perspectives; one from Werner, a German boy, and Maurie Laure, a blind French girl who remarkably cross paths. There is so much anger and conflict created between the contradicting backgrounds of the two characters, but their personal interactions with each other tell a much different story.
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover is an intense romance novel that narrates the new and exciting life of Lily who has moved to Boston to start her career. She meets a guy named Ryle, and truly her whole world turns upside down. She also has to face the reemergence of a childhood friend and lover, which makes the story a whole lot spicier. This book had me hooked by the very first page, and I couldn’t put it down.
The Magic Fish is a heartwarming graphic novel that showcases beautiful parallels between the fairytales Tien reads with his parents and Tien’s own story of trying to tell his family that he’s gay. There’s a lot of difficulties in communicating with parents that don’t speak English well, and wanting to them something so important as being gay. As this young boy navigates through his own struggling Vietnamese, this book shows us that happiness can be reached even through the language barrier.
Cemetery Boys is an amazing novel that follows the story of Yadriel, a Latinx, gay, and transgender teenager, as he becomes determined to prove himself as a real brujo to his traditional family. But doing so, he accidentally summons a spirit who just so happens to be the resident “bad boy” at his school and follows Yadriel around. By helping the ghost of his schoolmate, Julian, this would be the perfect opportunity for Yadriel to prove he deserves being a Brujo in his community.
