And, in the end, everything falls apart…

This novel tells the story of Okonkwo of the Umofia tribe in Africa.  He is a self made man, who more than anything, fears being like his lazy good for nothing father.  But Okonkwo makes a mistake that gets him exiled from his tribe, and when he finally gets to come back, everything has changed.  Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe was required reading for me my senior year in high school, but I fell in love with this book.  It is so beyond good.  Chinua Achebe really took his time researching this novel because he wanted an accurate portrayal of the African nations, which was something that had not previously been done.  Things Fall Apart needs to be on the very tippy top of your must read list!

 

We’re all just trying to be perfect

This novel tells the story of four young people, two boys and two girls all struggling to be “perfect.”  One has an eating disorder, one is questioning her sexuality, another is turning to drugs, and the other wants to reject everything that is expected of him.  These four young adults all know each other, but never see what is beneath the surface.  They never see beyond their own struggles to become “perfect.”  I love Ellen Hopkins and I loved Perfect.  It is a very powerful novel and it is write in the free form of poetry that Ellen Hopkins is known for.  I think all young adults should have to read this novel.

 

Anything could go wrong at an all boys prep school

Gene Forrester has gone back to the prep school Devon that he graduated from.  He wants to visit a few places that remind him of turning points in his life, namely a set of marble stairs and a tree.  The story is from then on told as one big long flashback.  Sixteen years ago Gene was living at Devon with his roommate and best friend, Phineas (Finny).  One day when the boys are playing Finny, who was always the leader of the group, falls from a tree and breaks his arm.  It is never clear whether or not Gene pushes him.  World War II has just begun and many of the boys begin to ship off to war, something Finny always wanted to do, but will never be able to do now.  As Gene struggles with his guilt, his friends begin to turn away from and a snowball effect begins.  A Separate Peace by John Knowles was actually required reading for me the summer of my sophomore for me.  I hated the fact that I was being made to read it, but I actually liked it a lot.  There is a lot of mystery and doubt in this novel, but it truly is great.

 

“Here be dragons”

Bilbo Baggins was a timid hobbit.  He prefered not to leave the Shire, or really even leave the comfort of his home.  That changes when his old wizard friend Gandalf the Grey comes into town and brings along several dwarf friends.  The dwarves want to take back their home mountain from a terrible dragon, but it will not be easy and they need Bilbo to be a thief.  Bilbo, of course, does not want to leave, but he eventually realizes that he is not getting any younger and it is time to bring some fame to the Baggins’ name.  Of course, Bilbo has no idea what he is getting into.  The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is an absolute classic.  J.R.R. Tolkien is a phenomenal writer and it upsets me greatly that he only left us with the four masterpieces that he did.  If you have not had the pleasure of reading The Hobbit yet, stop reading whatever you are currently reading and pick up this book!

 

Summer: The perfect time to go from girl…to woman

Belly loves summer.  She has spent every summer with her mom, her mom’s best friend, and her two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah.  Belly has been in love with Conrad for as longs as she can remember.  But the two boys have always treated her like a sister.  However, Belly has grown up and this summer the boys just might take notice of her.  The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han is an excellent young adult novel.  It is cute, funny, and shockingly accurate.  Han delves into a young girl’s mind in a way that I have not read in any other book.  The Summer I Turned Pretty is the perfect read for a day at the beach.

 

Who knew living on your own could be so hard?

So April lied to her dad, big deal.  All teenagers do it, right?  I mean, who wouldn’t lie to their dad if it meant getting to move in with their best friend?  So that is exactly what April did.  She lied to her dad so that she could move in with her best friend, Vi.  What April does not expect is how hard living on your own really is.  Especially when it comes to throwing a party, keeping up the lie, buying a hot tub, and harboring a fugitive.  It is safe to say, probably the only thing that is safe, April is in for a heck of a time.  Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have) by Sarah Mlynowski is a very good young adult novel.  It is funny and a good read for everyone.

 

High school is not a fun time for anyone

Charlie is fifteen and is very sensitive.  He has a passion for reading and writing, which his English teacher quickly takes notice of.  Charlie enjoys being a wallflower, but when he befriends Patrick and Sam, two seniors, his life is flipped upside down.  Sam and Patrick are pretty much everything Charlie is not.  They are exciting, fun, and always up for an adventure.  Charlie becomes immersed in a world of parties, friends, and staying out late.  The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is different.  It was a good book, but it was confusing at times and sometimes hard to stay with.  But for the most part, The Perks of Being a Wallflower was very good.

 

Two exceptional, and creepy, animals

Travis thinks he’s crazy when he stumbles across a monstrous, monkey looking thing trying to kill a Golden Retriever.  That is until he takes the dog home and discovers that the dog is extremely intelligent, almost human intelligent.  Travis understands that these two animals were part of a government genetic testing experiment, what he does not understand is why they did this to these animals.  What he does know is that he has to hide the dog not only from federal agents, but also from the Outsider. Watchers by Dean Koontz is one of my favorite novels.  Dean Koontz has long been one of my favorite authors and Watchers is one of his most exceptional novels.

 

Getting lost in the woods is not so fun

Trisha and her brother and mother are on a hiking trip in the mountains.  It is supposed to be fun but her mother and brother cannot stop arguing about everything. Trisha keeps falling further and further back so that she will not have to listen to them.  At one point, Trisha walks off the path to take a bathroom break and gets lost.  As Trisha begins trying to find her way back to the path, she realizes she may not be able to find her family before dark.  She tries to ration what little food she has and listens to her Walkman for news of a search for her and for news about her favorite baseball player, Tom Gordon.  As the hours stretch into days, Trisha begins to hallucinate and sees all kinds of people that cannot possibly be there.  She eventually gets it in her head that the God of the Lost is keeping her from getting rescued because she has to earn it.  Eventually she is confronted by a bear that she believes is the God of the Lost in disguise.  She knows she will have to fight him to get rescued, so she channels Tom Gordon.  But is a little girl strong enough to go up against a bear?  The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King is a psychological thriller like most Stephen King novels.  It is supremely creepy and freaky.  However, it is a really good novel.

 

Just an alien invasion

Aliens have invaded planet Earth.  They are perally white creatures that physically go under the skin of the back of the neck and their tendrils slip up into the brain and they control you.  The only way you can know is by a reflective light in the eyes around the iris.  There are a few humans left, mostly though it’s aliens.  Melanie used to be human.  She used to love a boy and have a brother to take care of.  But all of that was until the aliens caught her and inserted one of them, called Wanderer, into her neck.  It’s crazy because Wanderer can tell she is there, Melanie’s memories leak into her dreams.  Melanie is changing things with Wanderer.  She has never been this affected by a host body before and it terrifies her.  Especially when she leaves the town to find Melanie’s family.  But when she finds them, they know she’s an alien and they hate her.  Can Wanderer/Melanie convince them that Melanie is still in there and that they really want to help?  The Host by Stephenie Meyer is an amazing novel.  I know you have been thinking this novel is going to “suck because the Twilight series sucked,” but this novel is really, really good!  I promise!