Book Recommendations for High Schoolers

 

By Dhwani Desai

Books change the way people perceive life. Books also entertain and teach things, whether it be to a young audience or adults. They can help strengthen vocabulary as well. Here are a few books that I have read this year and a few I have read in the pat that have really stuck with me. 

Nightmares (9/10)

Nightmares is a trilogy written by two authors: Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller. These books venture through the journey of a young boy, Charlie Laird, who deals with many real life issues many kids face today. Some of these things include the death of a loved one, the introduction of another mother into his life, and moving from his own home to a new place. He has trouble sleeping, allowing him to discover a mysterious portal inside the house where nightmares come to life. This book was my favorite in elementary!

Cirque Du Freak (10/10)

The twelve, yes, twelve book series was very captivating and so addicting that i read it every spare moment I got in middle school. Bathroom breaks? Yes. Done with work? Time to read. Ended up finishing the whole series in three weeks maybe. It's about two friends, Darren and Steve, who score tickets to a "freak show" where many peculiar and unique people perform in front of an audience, for example, a person who could play jump rope with their own two arms. During the show, Steve sees that one of the performers was a vampire at the end. Steve asks the vampire to be converted, but the vampire refuses. Instead, he makes an offer to Darren to be converted, to which he agrees. Following this, a series of long roads and plot twists are introduced, one being a long-time feud with the Vampaneze people. I don't want to say much, but I will say that the ending of this series was very anticlimactic, and I didn't really like it much because it was something unexpected. I admit that I might have cried at the end, but overall, I loved it.

The Candymakers (10/10)

Amazing book! Its four point of views- Logan, the candymaker's son, Miles, a guy who hates optimism, Daisy, a cheerful and strong girl, and Philip, a boy who means business. These four people are competing in a candy making competition to make many unique creations, like a chocolate that turns into gum, then back to chocolate. The twist is that they all have their own secrets that I won't reveal, but I can tell you that these books are super sweet! (Cue the pun :)

The Inn Between (9/10)

Quinn's friend Kara was going to move away, so as a last celebration, both of their families planned a trip. On the way to their destination, they end up at a Victorian-style inn that gives Quinn the creeps. They stay the night, but in the morning, both the girl's parents disappear without a trace of where they could be. Both girls are left wandering about the in trying to find their parents, or a way out. I loved the plot twist at the end which I really want to spoil, but I can't. Basically, its a good book with scary vibes and an amazing writing style. I recommend reading this if you like a sort of "horror" vibe. 

The Lunar Chronicles (100/10)

Probably the best series I have ever read in my life. Nothing will ever be able to top this. If you are a big sci fi person and love fairy tales, you are going to love this series! In a world where Lunars exist, Cinder, a cyborg who is mistreated by her stepfamily and lives in New Beijing meets the dreamy prince and goes to the annual ball. Once she makes it there, a secret about her is revealed, one that she didn't even know about. While running away from the authorities, she faces various challenges, but for each challenge, she meets a new ally to help her, including Scarlet (Little red riding hood), Cress (Rapunzel), and Winter (Snow White) I love how the author, Marissa Meyer ads a nice futuristic twist to the fairytales and also how each character ends up with someone perfect for them. Overall, an awesome series that lived up to every expectation I had. If you are to read any of the books in this post, this one is the one for sure!

The Agathas (7/10)

Another mystery book about two girls, Alice and Iris working together to figure out who killed Brooke Donavan, Alice's ex best friend, to free Brooke's boyfriend from jail, who is also Alice's ex-boyfriend. The plot is amazing, and you wont expect who the killer is, but you'll get a pretty obvious clue in the end. I love how it includes news reports, transcripts, and texts, and a map at the start to figure out the town's layout. I want to warm you, I sort of paused halfway through the book because the beginning is slow, but it was worth it to find the killer. 

See What I Have Done (7/10)

This book is based on a real-life murder case that was sort of "unsolved." Lizzie Borden, a young girl, was suspected to have killed her father and stepmother, but because of a lack of evidence, she was acquitted and let go. This book gives an idea of what might have happened. The imagery is amazing. It's so descriptive, especially the gross aspects, like when it describes the smell of puke, or pear juice slowly slipping down a character's chin. This was such a cool aspect, and the author did an amazing job at writing this novel. One piece of feedback I had was that the ending wasn't very clear. It wasn't giving satisfaction and made reading the book a little less rewarding. Other than that, it was super good!

Their Eyes Were Watching God (5/10)

The characters of this book were great, and the phonetical spelling was a nice touch. Its just that the main character, Janie, got married to a slightly older man whom she disliked, so she ran away with a young man named Joe Starks. He helps in the creation of a town and becomes the mayor, holding Janie as his trophy wife while also abusing her. He eventually dies seeing as he was older than her. A few days later, she meets a young man named Tea Cake, and she runs away with him as well to the Everglades. Maybe I didn't like this book as much because I prefer fantasy fiction, but it wasn't a terrible book. 

Dark and Shallow Lies (9/10)

A pretty good book. The suspense was and mystery were amazing, and the way all of the clues lined up together was interesting. I also loved the imagery and descriptive language. The plot is basically about a girl who loved in Louisiana but moved to the city after her mom died. She visits every summer, but her best friend there goes missing, and that makes this summer unbearable for her. She tries to figure out what happened. Whatever the case is, Ginny Myers Sain's character, Grey, is determined to figure out what happened to her sister. 

Conclusion

All in all, I am a huge book lover, and I believe that they have the power to have a lasting impact on anyone and everyone who reads it. I hope you pick up one of these books at your local library or bookstore and take a read! I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it!