Who doesn't like Christmas, this time of year when a family's invaluableness is appreciated? Ebeneezer Scrooge that's who. That's who dislikes the warm sensation of generosity. He alone with some help from curious individuals accommodate a unique traversal through happiness and tragedy. It is a journey that is meant to depict the joyous times of celebration where a small sacrifice is not as dangerous as it may seem, and yet the unseen hardships undertaken by families in this time are not all known to those with no financial worries.
Project Hail Mary begins with a guy who wakes up not knowing where he is, how he got there or why he is in the situation he is. Eventually, he comes to find out what his purpose is by relying on his impressive memory. His goal is to save the Earth from a small microbe called Astrophage. Astrophage is a huge problem because as it spreads rapidly the sun starts losing its light. Pressure is on for this sole survivor as he tries to save Earth before its too late.
Hardy Boys Adventures: Deception on the Set by Franklin Dixon is about 2 detective brothers, Joe and Frank Hardy, who solve and fight crime around their hometown of Bayport. Joe and Frank have been hired to act as extras for a new blockbuster movie. Everything in the movie is going great until someone is found trying to sabotage the production. It's the Hardy Brothers! Or is it someone trying to impersonate them and ruin their reputation?
The Ugly Cry: A Memoir is a heartfelt, humorous nonfiction novel that revisits the author’s childhood. Raised by her fiercely independent grandmother in New York, Danielle has a life filled with unexpected challenges and hilarious lessons. The memoir dives into Danielle’s experiences growing up in a busy family environment, including her mother’s absence, struggles with racism as a Black girl in a white town and the resilience she had.
This mystery book written by Kara Thomas follows the story of Hadley as she works on writing a story for her school newspaper about the school's two time national championship football team. As she works on writing this story, terrible things begin happening to the team. Slowly, she begins to uncover more and more information about the team that the school has covered up for years. As I read this book I found it so exciting. It was full of twists and turns that I never saw coming. It kept me on the edge of my seat from the first chapter and I hoped it would never end.
Silent sister by Megan Davidhizar is a thriller book that follows a set of twins and how their senior year trip went horribly wrong. Grace was always the popular athlete with many friends while her twin, Maddy, was the complete opposite and spent her days alone writing poems to pass the time. Suddenly, on their senior trip Grace is found alone and with no memory of what happened to her and Maddy is nowhere to be found.
The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno- Garcia is a historical fiction book set in Hollywood that tells the story of a newly discovered actor in the 1950s and the character she's playing in a big film. Through her breakout role she learns all about Hollywood and some of the people in Hollywood. As her fame grows she meets people who are jealous of her role. This book follows the perspective of Vera and her character Salome while also following the story of Nancy, an actor who is jealous of Vera and her role.
If He Had Been with Me was everything and more to me. The story follows Autumn and Finn, childhood best friends who had drifted apart, but remained in each other's lives. The novel explores their unfulfilled love, as they both go through life and relationship struggles. I have read many romance books, but none had me so in love with the characters as this did. This book inspired me to remember that I have to face reality along with the idea of love.
In We Hunt the Flame, the world of Arawiya is on the brink of destruction. In order to save it Zafira, a hunter who always finds her way, and Nasir, the prince of death, are forced to work together. They are joined with others who have their own motivations for going on this journey. Many lies and truths are uncovered throughout the journey and the fate of the world rests in the hands of an unintentionally united Zumra (as one of my favorite characters, Benyamin, calls their unlikely grouping).
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is a heart-wrenching story told from two perspectives during World War II. The book follows Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl, and Werner Pfennig, a German orphan. While trying to escape ongoing German occupation, Marie-Laure and her father reside on the coast of France. Meanwhile, Werner’s intrinsic talent for engineering radios ultimately causes the two characters to cross paths in Saint-Malo.
