The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is a young adult dystopian novel about Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a world separated into 12 Districts. These Districts are required to send two children into the Hunger Games, a televised competition where the two children chosen for each district must fight to the death. After her younger sister is chosen for the Hunger Games, Katniss chooses to volunteer and take her place.
Summary: Rin was a war orphan living in a poor town in Nikan (based on China) when she aced the Keju, the test to find the most talented children across the country to study at the academies. She goes to Sinegard, the most elite school in all of Nikan. There, she is hated by her classmates for her poverty and dark skin. But then she discovers that she has powers that may be able to stop Nikan’s enemy, the Federation of Mugen (based on Japan). Her powers may be the only thing that can save her people, but she fears that she might lose herself in the process.
Wonder by R.J. Palacio is about a kid named August Pullman who has to try and navigate school for the first time. He hasn’t gone to school ever because August has a rare disease called treacher collins syndrome, so he looks a little different than other kids. August did want to go to school because he didn’t look like all of the other kids. Later on in the book his parents convince him to try and go to school and he does. Even though August had some hard times throughout the year he still made it.
The People We Meet on Vacation is a romance novel by Emily Henry. Poppy, the narrator, is an adventurous and driven blogger who also works for a travel magazine, while her best friend Alex is an anxious gym rat who has an English degree and likes staying inside. Ever since they met in college, they’ve taken a fun-filled annual summer vacation together... until two years ago in Croatia. Something happened between them, and they’ve barely spoken since.
Twelve-year-old Suzy Bowels lives in the tiny town of Burr Oak, Michigan, where her family expects her to stay, have a family, and be a proper lady. But she has other ideas. Suzy’s dream is to explore the world and have adventures, so when her wayward uncle comes to work on their farm but ends up disappearing mysteriously in the mornings and skipping out on chores, she has to investigate. But she didn’t expect to find him working on the legendary former circus queen Madame Marantette’s farm, training ostriches.
Summary: Celaena Sardothien, the world’s most famous assassin, was betrayed and forced to work as a slave in the salt mines of Endovier. Now, the King of Adarlan has offered her a chance at freedom: fight in his competition against twenty-three other assassins, mercenaries, and soldiers, and be the last one left. But in the middle of the competition, when her competitors start dropping one-by-one with mysterious symbols written across their bodies, she learns there is something dark happening behind the scenes.
Emma aka Saylor to some people is headed to a new environment for 3 weeks in the summer. She is going to where her mother grew up. Emma gets to the lake and it is a little awkward at first. These people are her family but she hardly knows them and she is expected to spend 3 weeks here! At first, she has mixed feelings at the lake, but then she meets some people who might just happen to change her mind even if their relationship is complicated. Very complicated. Emma will learn more about her mother’s past before she became an addict and passed away.
This book is definitely in my top 10 books of this year. I loved the portrayal of lgbtq+ themes with fantasy. It also has a mythological aspect to it. It’s honestly refreshing to see a book that has lgbtq+ as a subplot and focuses more on fantasy. Most lgbtq+ book are more slice of life or coming of age, although those are fun to read from time to time. Overall I loved this book.
The sequel to American Royals is truly magnificent. The royal family has lost so much this year. The county has lost a King, but Beatrice, Samantha, and Jefferson have lost their father. Beatrice is finding her place as the soon to be Queen. Some of the duties and opportunities the past Kings have completed are now being taken away from her because she is an unmarried Queen. She again has to choose her duty or her heart. Samantha is still sorting out her life after high school and trying to find love.
