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Goerge Orwell’s classic, 1984 follows one man’s nightmare odyssey through a world where freedom is slavery, war is peace, and ignorance is strength. Winston is a minor party functionary who struggles day and night with intrusive thoughts of hatred towards Big Brother and all that he represents. These thoughts he must keep concealed, for if the Thought Police have any inkling of his disdain for the party and the principles of Ingsoc they will send him to be tortured in the Ministry of Love, a fate worse than death. Along the way, Winston meets a woman, Julia, who he falls deeply in love with. They organize to meet regularly in a small room above an antique store in the poorer quarters of Oceania, where the proles live and the only place where there are no telescreens. However this euphoric and almost adolescent romance doesn’t last long, as the Thought Police detain them and they’re both sent to the Ministry of Love. Winston is put through torture so extreme and continuous that he starts to question the difference between his own thoughts and the ones that are being forced upon him. At the time when it was released, 1984 became an instant classic for its nuanced and poignant criticism of authoritarian regimes. The book can be interpreted as a warning for what may become our reality should we lose sight of the freedoms that we so often take for granted. 74 years after the books publication, Orwell’s vision of this dystopian world is still relevant to modern readers, as many of the elements of Oceania’s totalitarian party can be seen in the authoritarian regimes of the 21st century (i.e. China, North Korea). For a book’s message to still ring true and be apropos three quarters of a century later speakers volumes to its genius and cements its place in literature as a classic.

Beautiful Creatures is one of the more refreshing takes on the barrage of vampire/supernatural romance novels that saturated the market in the 2010′s. What sets it apart is its mixture of the vampire love story genre with a strong southern gothic. Reading this when I was younger, I remember it having a much stronger effect on me than most of the other vampire novels I had read because of its lush descriptions and complex characters.

The novel follows Ethan, a mortal, normal boy who lives in Gatlin, South Carolina. He keeps seeing a girl in his dreams, he meets said girl, her name is Lena, they fall in love, they can’t be together because of magical witch angst. It’s better than I’m selling it as, I promise. The best thing about Lena and Ethan’s relationship is that, in the moments they get to just be two normal teenagers, they seem genuinely happy and functional, and it does give the impression they would have been happy together if circumstances had been different. 

My favorite character is Ridley. She’s Lena’s cousin who was taken to the dark side, but as the novel progresses it becomes clearer she regrets her choices, which is very interesting. The whole narrative of Lena’s family falling to the dark side actually plays very well into the setting- the world that’s been built is so lush and grand that these concepts of large-scale feel right at home within them. That, to me, is a hallmark of strong writing and world building. Overall, the world and lore is one of the strongest components of the novel.

I would recommend this book to anybody who likes their supernatural romance novels with a little extra spice. I truly do think this stands apart from other novels cut from a similar cloth, especially with the rich developments that happen in later novels in the series. This novel really is a fantastic escape, with strong characters, rich settings, and a compelling story that genuinely feels surprising and fresh.

Yes Please by Amy Poehler is hands down my favorite celebrity autobiography. It is so witty, memorable, and reads so fluidly. 

I am a huge Amy Poehler fan for so many reasons. First, the woman is just really dang funny. Parks and Recreation has some of the best laugh-out-loud hilarious moments of any show that’s come out recently, but it also has so much heart. She’s paved such a way for so many female comedians, and she also cares so deeply about her craft. This book truly feels like a conversation with her. Like we’re just hanging out, watching television and these conversations just happen to come up. 

Poehler also possesses a remarkable amount of self-awareness. The last pages of the book are dedicated to her trip to Haiti after her divorce, when she felt like she desperately needed something to be different. This is an extremely privileged thing to say, and Poehler acknowledges how much her problems pale in comparison to others, especially those affected by the Haiti earthquake, which her humanitarian trip threw her directly in the middle of. She also really takes the time to thank those who have empowered her, especially her peers. There’s no sense of competition from Poehler, she genuinely sounds as though she admires and respected her friends and their endeavors so wholeheartedly.

I would recommend this book to anybody looking for something a bit lighter, as well as anybody who loved Parks and Recreation, or her era of Saturday Night Live. This would also be a super fun book to read with a group of close friends, as she frequently highlights the magic of female friendships throughout the book.

Suggested Reading is an amazing novel about friendship, perseverance, queso, and of course books. Clara is a book nerd to the max, her love of books has inspired her creation of the Tiny Little Libraries that have made her a Founders’ Scholarship finalist and the proud creator of a non-profit called LitHouse. As she starts her senior year off with an allnighter to read her favorite author’s newest book, “Don’t Tread on Me”, she’s optimistic about her future. But her last first day is nothing compared to what she hoped it would be. As she heads to her one true home, the library, she finds the librarians, Mr. Caywell’s, open email with a letter from the principal with a list of prohibited media, aka fifty newly banned books “Don’t Tread on Me” among them. As Clara protests civilly her complaints fall on deaf ears. So she does what any self-respecting book lover would do she starts a contraband library in her locker. With the help of new friends and unlikely allies, Clara will discover that our lives create filters that change how we see the world and the books we choose to let change us.

—SPOILERS—

This book is incredible. I knew from the moment Clara started narrating I would love her. I find so much of myself in her character I can’t even describe how close to home this book hits. The idea of banned books or ‘prohibited media’ as LA puts it makes me want to burn the world down and start over. Who in their right mind would ver prohibit someone from reading a book? A point that Clara makes many many times is the fact that books have changed her life so many times, much as they have mine, for all book lovers this book truly carries a piece of your heart. Also the idea of starting tiny libraries and a contraband library in her locker? Genius, I’m so intrigued by this idea and I wish id thought of it first. Also this book? “Don’t Tread on Me”? F***ing phenomenal, I’m literally losing my mind, this idea of Panem et Circenses is really getting me to question everything, I feel exactly like Clara at this point. I took Latin for three years and I know about the culture and the source of this idea and it’s really messing with my head. I wish this book was real, I would devour it. On a totally different topic, Prince Walsh can kiss my butt. He’s such an awful person, like wtf? LiQui is amazing tho, bless her sweet student government heart. Also, I want a queso book club. This book is what I want my life to be, y’all have no clue. But about halfway through the book the vibe totally changes. A little quote from me,

“Okay, so I’m writing this at 264. This book was good but now it’s really hitting different I can’t even tell you, I almost started crying up in the library because this is actually so heart-wrenching. This is what I’ve been feeling my whole life this book is the pure pain of what it feels like to find yourself, the good and the bad in the books you read, knowing they’re not real and feeling like there is no one in this world who also feels this, only fictional characters.”

This was the scene where Jack comes out to Clara. It hit me so hard, it put into words a feeling that many queer youths have, finding yourself in a piece of music, an artist, or a book can be life-altering and it can hurt because you don’t know what to do with it. This scene totally shifted the vibes for the rest of the book. But not too far after this another totally interesting thing happened, Mr.Caywell was put on paid leave because he wasn’t conforming to the change. But the fact that he encouraged Clara and gave her the courage to keep going with her UnLib, it really pushed me that much more into loving him, I wish I had such a wonderful librarian. Side note I love LiQui, she is so cool, also I love that a book inspired her to want to become the president and go to school for political science. Also small thing, the fact that Ashton has been running the GSA for years even before Jack was out, amazing, I love the fact that Clara is able to face her biases and come to terms that these people care for her and are her friends. And the boom in people wanting books is inspiring, even though its fiction, I love that people love to read. And then we’re at the football scene. It’s such a pure wonderful moment. Friends hanging out and being silly together, Jack is laughing and having a good time and things are all starting to look up, everything is good! And then everything crashes. As soon as she picked up her phone I knew. I knew and it hurt. The thing I think that hurt most of all though is the fact that Jack’s suicide attempt made her question her faith in books. But I think it also gave her much needed perspective for later in the novel. I don’t think that, if this hadn’t happened, she would’ve had the ultimate courage to stand up to withstand everything that was pressing against her because she finally figured out what she wanted to achieve through distributing these books. But then they suspend Ashton and call an emergency meeting, like what the hell is that? But it was inspiring that these people were willing to stand and fight the system with her, it was truly a powerful moment. And then we’ve reached the point, the ultimate end goal of all of her TLL’s and LitHouse. The Founders’ Scholarship dinner. And there’s Jack’s mother. This woman ought to be fully and completely ashamed of herself for everything. And the sad thing is, there are people exactly like that in the real world doing the exact same things. I think honestly that is the scariest part of this book the fact that it has and continues to happen all around the world. But I also want to give her the tiniest sliver of credit where it’s due, thanks to Mrs asshole for giving Clara the confidence and the inspiration to give a powerful speech on a topic that is something she really truly cares about. Then we get the first of the two ultimate plot twists in this book, Principal Walsh? Not so much of an asshole, after all, it really started to bring it all together. And then we’re at graduation, she made it with an amazing group of friends in toe. The fact that Jack was able to come out and escape his oppressive home life, I was so hoping something like that would be there for him. And this book ends so well on such a high note and was left with one last plot twist to fill our hearts with joy. Jack’s little brother Emerson? He’ll keep the UnLib going until the rule is forgone and there are no longer prohibited books. And that in the end, filled my heart with so much joy. I was hoping for a happy (non-romanticized) ending for this book and this really brought it all together in a nice bow. This book was phenomenal, I highly recommend it to all readers, avid ones especially.

Deja and Josiah are at an end. Not them specifically but their time at the beloved patch, a fall job they've both been working for years but as childhood runs out and college creeps ever closer so does the nostalgia. Since their time at the patch is coming to an end Deja convinces Josiah to ask out the cute girl he's been mooning over for years before its too late. We follow these two friends on a path to love though massive quantities of fall food, corn fields, and good times as these two pumpkin heads take advantage of their last day at the patch. 

--SPOILERS--

this was such a cute book! I love Rainbow Rowell already so when I saw that she was coming out with a cute fall themed graphic novel? I knew I had to read it. This is such a genuine heartfelt story, its very cute and relatable. I kind of knew from the beginning that they were going to fall in love I could see Deja dropping hints the entire time. The art was fantastic you could fully see the characters emotions and it such filled me with pumpkin spice feels. I love how even though we didn't see any flashbacks we got to learn about their story and their histories at the patch as they went from place to place. I also love deja’s obsession with fall themed food, I think we all kind of feel that. Josiah seriousness about his role at the patch is probably the most comical thing about this book, its just laughable how dedicated he is. My last and probably most favorite thing is that Deja is bisexual? Pansexual? Who knows! Because they don't make it her only defining characteristic! Yay!! Sorry, geeking out over accurate and adorable POC and LGBTQ+ representation. Anyway, overall this story was just an adorable quick fall read that I think everyone should stick their noses in for a bit. 

Suzanne Young also wrote The Program, and this novel takes place in that same world, except before The Program is implemented. The story follows Quinn, whose career is being a closer- somebody families can hire to get closure with a dead family member. However, she’s extended her contract as a closer past what’s considered healthy, and it’s beginning to take a toll. She doesn’t feel like she has her own identity or memories due to how long she’s been assuming the personas of the dead. 

This novel is a lot more accessible than The Program, in my opinion. While that novel tends to be pretty straightforward, The Remedy unfolds as a really nice mystery. Quinn’s desire for normalcy is also a lot more of a relatable plight than Sloane’s. She really just wants to be able to have a life, and she also worries about people being able to love her which is, once again, a very normal issue. Her love interest, Deacon, is also more normal than Sloane’s. James, the love interest in The Program gets a bit irritating at times just with his intensity, but Deacon is much more genuinely charming. I really like this novel honestly, and Young’s writing is really good in it. Overall, it’s a very strong novel, and builds on the world nicely.

I would recommend this novel to those who enjoyed The Program but felt it suffered from certain issues. I would also recommend this to lovers of mystery novels, as it’s a uniquely presented mystery. Quinn also has a persona of being able to take care of herself while still having access to emotions, so I would recommend to those who enjoy fleshed-out female characters.

Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”

Holmes: “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.”

Gregory: “The dog did nothing in the night-time.”

Holmes: “That was the curious incident.”

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Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow.

Christopher is a 15-year-old boy living in Swindon, England with his father and memories of his dead mother. He self-identifies as “a mathematician with some behavioural difficulties.” (And yes, “behavioural” is spelled correctly, if you’re British.) One day Christopher finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, dead in the lawn. Mrs. Shears, the dog’s owner, calls the police, believing that Christopher killed the poodle. When the police arrive, Christopher begins to act out and punches the police officer after the officer reaches out to touch his arm. He is taken into custody and later released with a stern warning. 

Despite his father’s warnings to stay out of other people’s business, he begins to chronicle his search for the dog killer in a journal - the book we are reading, which he refers to as “a murder mystery novel.” His investigation leads to some startling discoveries and truths that leave Christopher and his family reeling. 

There have been many, many books written about plus-size characters, but they usually are unified by one thing: the protagonist’s ultimate objective to lose weight. The protagonists of these stories are often on a quest that ends with them assimilating into society, often through weight loss. Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy, however, is very much not that kind of book- and is deliciously shameless in this fact.

Our protagonist in this novel is Willowdean Dickson, who is referred to as Will by her friends, and Dumplin’ by her former pageant queen mother. Will does not feel internalized shame about her appearance- in fact, the biggest source of shame she feels is from those around her. Unfortunately, one of her biggest supporters-her Aunt Lucy- has recently passed away. Despite this, though, her presence is very much felt in the novel. The only time the audience sees Will feeling remotely insecure is when her relationship begins with Bo, a handsome boy who works with her at the local after-school hangout spot, Harpy’s. Because of her newfound insecurity, Will decides to push herself out of her very large comfort zone and do one of the most terrifying things she can think of: enter a beauty pageant. 

I very much enjoyed both this film and movie. The movie genuinely stayed pretty faithful to the novel, which is rare. The movie was a bit more toned-down in terms of some of the discussions in the book, but overall it was a faithful adaptation.

One of my favorite part of the story was Will’s unlikely group of friends and the ways in which they really succeed making the pageant their own as well. Another trope often seen in novels with plus-sized protagonists is a sense of isolation from them, with them having very few friends, if any. But Will doesn’t fall victim to that, and we see her not only being social, but being extremely friendly and open-minded & open-hearted toward the people who enter her life & story. She is very accepting, and this comes across beautifully in her relationships with El, Millie, and Hannah.

Overall I would highly recommend this book to many people for many different reasons. It offers a very realistic portrayal of mother-daughter relationships, especially in times of grief. It also offers a refreshing take on a plus-sized characters, which is very important. Finally, it offers a very sweet but honest view of female relationships and friendships. Things are not always easy, and dumb, trivial things get in the way, but friendship is the overarching theme and conquers all of those small things.