Alice has had the worst luck. So much so that she doesn’t believe in it anymore. However,
she still believes in love. Especially in her love for Teddy, her best friend. As a joke, Alice buys
Teddy a lottery ticket for his 18th birthday. Using numbers that mean something to them,
somehow, Teddy actually wins. Not just a few dollars, but the whole jackpot! At first, everything
seems amazing and like nothing could go wrong. That is until Alice realizes that there’s such
thing as a lottery curse.
As Teddy gets more and more wrapped up in the money, Alice can feel him drifting away
from her and starts to wonder if hitting the jackpot was such a good thing. With people taking
advantage of Teddy and using Alice in the process, she needs to figure out a way to get out of the
mess of the money and how to get Teddy back.
Windfall is the perfect book for anyone trying to find love or luck. Reading this book you
will ache for Alice through her heartbreak and cheer for her during her triumphs. Jennifer E.
Smith has written a beautiful novel about the struggles of growing up and learning how to take
on responsibility.
The Goodbye Summer by Sarah Van Name submitted by Sanjay Aiyer
Caroline is spending her summer working at the local aquarium gift shop instead of
hanging out with her friends. After all, she and her boyfriend Jake are going to need the money
when they run away together at the end of the summer. Caroline can’t wait! So she is content to
spend the rest of her summer saving up money and dreaming of a life with the boy she is sure is
meant for her.
While working at the aquarium, Caroline meets Georgia, a camp counselor. Immediately
the two hit it off and Caroline’s world changes. Through daily pizza, spending every evening
together, and talking of what could be, Georgia shows Caroline that maybe she could have a
different life. After all, Jake doesn’t need to be her life. As the summer comes to a close,
Caroline is torn. She knows she will have to say goodbye to someone, and she’s not sure she’s
strong enough to say goodbye to anyone. Who can she survive without?
The Goodbye Summer is a heart-warming book about the meaning of true friendship and
finding your place. Sarah Van Name has given us a beautiful book that can be your guide to your
heart. Reading this book you will watch as Caroline discovers herself, and maybe you will find
your place alongside with her.
Elena Vanishing by : Elena and Clare B. Dunkle- Posted by Sanjay Aiyer
Elena has an eating disorder. Everyone around her is telling her that, but she doesn’t
believe it. All she knows is that they’re jealous of her. They’re jealous of her body, of herself
control. Elena knows that she should be proud of herself but she can’t. Not with this voice in her
head. The voice that always tells her that she’s not good enough. That she’s not skinny enough,
that she’s too ugly, and that everything is her fault.
Elena goes about her life until her body starts to break down and she’s sent from one
hospital to another, all over the country. As she finally starts to accept that that voice within her
is evil and she can’t listen to it anymore, Elena has to revisit something painful that she’s hidden
for a long time. As she starts to recover, Elena relearns important lessons about family and love,
and she realizes that the thing she needs most of all is to love herself.
elena vanishing is the story of a girl who wears her fear as armor and doesn’t let anyone
in. Reading this book you will learn to love Elena as she learns to love herself. You will cry and
laugh with her and overall, enjoy watching her grow as a person. Elena and Clare B. Dunkle
have given us a memoir we will never forget.
The Secret Language of Sisters by Luanne Rice- Posted by Sanjay Aiyer
Roo and Tilly are sisters and best friends. Tilly has always been jealous of her perfect
older sister, until one day when Roo sends a text message while driving and flips her car. Roo
bends up in the hospital, paralyzed. Everyone believes she is in a coma when Roo actually has
locked-in syndrome; she can see and hear everything that’s going on without anyone knowing.
When Tilly figures that out, everything changes. Roo suddenly has a chance at returning to
school and maybe even fix things with her boyfriend, Newton. The only problem is that Tilly and
Newton seem to be drifting closer and closer together. With Roo mad at both of them, but having
no way to tell them, her treatments start going downhill. That is until a new doctor comes in and
gives Roo a chance to speak again. Will Roo take it?
The Secret Language of Sisters is a heart-wrenching novel that gives you an inside look at the
bond between siblings. No matter what, they will always be together. In alternating chapters of
Tilly and Roo’s points of view, Luanne Rice has written a beautiful novel about the true strength
it takes to speak your mind, even when it might hurt the ones you love most.
Book Review: 500 Words or Less, Juleah Del Rosario
Nic had everything under control. That is until her boyfriend transferred to a different school because she cheated on him. With his best friend. Now, everything is spiraling out of control and Nic doesn’t know what to do. So when the opportunity comes up to write other people’s college essays, Nic jumps at the chance. She figures, maybe it will help her forget herself.
What Nic doesn’t know is that as she writes the stories of other people’s lives, she’ll discover things she never knew about her own story. Things she isn’t sure she wants to share with the world. As secrets fly and Nic’s life turns upside down again, she loses sight of who she really is and why she started writing the essays in the first place. Will Nic be able to find where she is meant to be?
500 Words or Less is a creative representation of the amount of stress students have placed on them today. Reading this book will make you feel less alone and will help you realize that everyone is going through the same thing, and that everyone deals with stress differently. Juleah Del Rosario perfectly captures the essence of high school students and 500 Words or Less is a great book for anyone feeling lost or anyone who just needs a laugh.
Book Review: The Foreseeable Future, Emily Adrian
After graduation, Audrey’s always had one plan: attend the college that both of her parents work at. The problem is Audrey has never really wanted to go to Whedon, but she’s not quite sure what she wants to do instead. All she knows is that she needs a summer job. When she finds one for a Certifiable Nurse Assistant at a nursing home, Audrey takes the course and discovers that she loves being a nurse. Plus, there’s the benefit of your coworker being an extremely attractive guy.
As the summer goes on, Audrey and Seth connect in ways she’d never imagined and Audrey is happier than she’s been in a long time. She realizes that being a nurse might be the job she wants to do for the rest of her life. When an opening comes up in Seattle, the city of her dreams, Audrey can’t pass it by. Even as her friends start to fade away and her family is going through tough times of their own, she and Seth fight to stay together. Will Audrey end up with the job of her dreams or the boy of her dreams?
The Foreseeable Future is a joyful book that expresses the freedom and fear that encompass you as you make a big decision. Anyone who’s ever made a decision they know is right for them, even if others don’t approve, will instantly connect with Audrey. Emily Adrian has written a gorgeous telling of a girl who knows what she wants and will do anything to get there.
Book Review: The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas
Starr lives in the ghetto. She knows it and she’s proud of it. The problem is, she can’t be proud of it at Williamson. Her white school. To help with that, Starr has created two versions of herself – Williamson Starr and ghetto Starr. Every day she has to hide who she truly is at school until it becomes too confusing and Starr isn’t sure who she is. Then something happens that forces Starr to find out who she truly is and how brave she is, deep inside. One night, as she’s driving home from a party, she and her friend Khalil get pulled over. Starr goes home hysterical over Khalil who had just been killed by Officer 115.
As Starr starts to come to her senses, she realizes how wrong what happened was. Khalil had been doing nothing wrong. She finally concludes that the only thing he had done was to be black. Starr is outraged and is soon approached by a local lawyer who wants to help Starr as the incident is being investigated. With everything falling apart both at Williamson and at home, Starr hopes for the best with the cop. However, when the grand jury doesn’t indict Officer 115, Starr discovers how much strength it takes to speak up and fight for everything she believes in.
The Hate U Give is a thought-provoking novel about the cruelty and racism still in the world today. This book will open your eyes to things you’ve never even seen before and make you think about the differences that separate us today – after all, are we all that different? Reading this book will make you fall in love with Starr and her inner strength. Angie Thomas has written a truly inspirational book that will have everyone fighting back.
