15-year-old Liliana Cruz has a lot to deal with. From taking care of two chaotic younger brothers to dealing with an increasingly absent best friend to providing emotional support for her mother who, incidentally, won’t tell her where her missing father is, it seems like she’s just barely holding her life together. But one thing is for sure — Liliana is at home in her diverse inner-city high school, even if it’s underfunded and disorganized.
The Teen YA book Our Chemical Hearts is a romance and coming-of-age novel that follows a high schooler named Henry. When a girl, who wears baggy clothing and walks with a cane transfers to his school, he doesn’t know how much of a mark she’ll leave. Due to circumstances, Henry and the new girl, Grace Town, become the co-editors of the school newspaper, their relationship blossoms. As days, weeks and months pass on, Henry goes through drastic changes. He realizes how complicated human emotions really are.
John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars is a young adult romance novel based around the love story of two teenagers with cancer. Hazel Grace Lancaster, a sixteen-year-old with stage IV thyroid cancer, is forced to attend a cancer support group where she meets Augustus Waters. The two quickly grow close and fall in love amid their final adventures.
Alessandra has successfully seduced and led many men to her bed. Behind all the breaking of each man's heart when she leaves them, she devises a plan. Make the king, The Shadow King, fall in love with her so she can gain the kingdom for herself. She knows she has to seduce him the way no other woman has and successfully has him lured to her trap. However, the tension between Alessandra and The Shadow King may be too much for her to handle.
The Help is a historical fiction novel set in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. It revolves around three main characters: Aibileen, Skeeter, and Minny. Skeeter has returned from college determined to become a writer. She causes a stir in her hometown by deciding to interview the black women who work for the white families in the town. At first, only Aibileen will help her, but eventually, more and more gather till there are over ten.
Ignite Me is the third book in Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series, and it’s by far my favorite in the series so far. This book begins when Juliette wakes up after being shot. She is told by Warner that the war is over and Omega Point and all of its people are gone. Juliette then finds Kenji, who leads her to the handful of others that survived, including Adam.
The Little Prince is a short poetic novella about an aviator whose plane crashes in the desert. There he meets the child known as the little prince, whose miniature home planet is so small that in order to see a new sunset, he simply has to move his chair a few steps. On his planet lives a vain rose, whom he loves and is loved by, although she refuses to tell him and requires endless attention. He relates his tale of wandering through the universe in search of the meaning of love and life.
Unravel Me is the second book in the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi. This book contains a lot of relationship drama between Juliette and Adam, as well as growing chemistry between Juliette and Warner. After Juliette is summoned by Warner's father to save her captive friends, Warner is brought to Omega Point as a hostage. Warner's character development in this book is profound as his relationship with Juliette quickly develops.
The Dog Who Could Fly is the true story of a German Shepherd who was rescued by a Chezhslovakian WWII airman. The dog, who was named Antis, formed an unbelievably close relationship with Robert, his master. When Robert was on missions flying, Antis would wait beside the runway till he returned, refusing food and water till his master was back. He became the good luck charm of Robert’s plane and teammates in the British Air Force.
The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith is a young adult romance novel. This story centers on the complicated love story of two teenagers: Lucy and Owen. When a blackout hits New York City, Lucy and Owen, two very different strangers, get trapped in an elevator together. The two can’t get each other out of their heads, but things quickly become complicated when both teens move away.
