With the festivities of winter, comes the boredom that may clasp on as the break stretches on. Reading can provide the perfect reprieve from the grey and mundane of the winter. The Scribe, with the help of Librarian Brandi Young and South’s English teachers, has compiled a list of book recommendations and included the Goodreads rating for each.
Dystopia
- “Parable of the Sower”by Octavia E. Butler ★★★★☆ (4.21)
Set in a post-apocalyptic future where society has collapsed on itself, and the climate has significantly worsened, this story follows the sheltered 15 year-old Lauren. She is born with a condition that allows her to feel others’ pain and journeys out to create a safe community based on her beliefs. Recommended by Teacher Alyssa Wolfe, this novel really emphasizes systematic issues, such as the wealth gap, and expands them into the story’s world.
- “Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood ★★★★☆ (4.01)
Recommended by teacher Adam Jarvis, and sharing the same author as “Handmaid’s Tale,” “Oryx and Crake” is set in a world ravaged and ruined by a deadly disease. It follows a survivor, Snowman, as he looks back on his life, his friend Crake who created a group of genetically engineered humans, and Oryx, the woman they both loved.
- “Scythe” by Neal Shusterman ★★★★☆ (4.32)
The first in a trilogy, “Scythe“ takes place in a future where humanity is free from death and disease, so special people called Scythes are picked to kill/glean other people in order to keep the population in check. Teenagers Citra and Rowan are chosen to be apprentices to a Scythe and must navigate the moral complexities and dangers that come with their job.
Graphic Novels
- “The Talk” by Darrin Bell ★★★★☆ (4.65)
Cartoonist Darrin Bell talks about how cartoons and comics can address serious issues such as that of race and inequality. He does so by weaving in memories from his childhood to now, and the novel itself is titled around the talk his mother gave him about how he, as a black boy, couldn’t have a realistic water gun. Recommended by English teacher Emily Swank.
- “Mexikid” by Pedro Martín ★★★★☆ (4.26)
This book follows Pedro, a Mexican American boy as he navigates through his cultural identity. He visits his grandfather in Mexico, to bring him home to live with his already big family, and on the journey, he learns more about his heritage and what it means to grow up as a “Mexikid” in the US.
- “Huda F Are You” by Huda Fahmy ★★★★☆ (4.17)
Huda has always identified with being the hijabi girl, but when her family moves to a town with a large Muslim population, she is forced to explore her identity. This story is laced with humor as Huda navigates cliques and groups in her exploration.
Realistic Fiction
- “Chaos Theory” by Nic Stone ★★★★☆ (4.15)
“Chaos Theory” centers around high school senior Jonah, and the newly enrolled Shelbei, whom Jonah develops a relationship with. As they grow closer, the issues they keep hidden, like Jonah’s father’s alcoholism, and Shelbei’s past, bubble through and force them to accept and grow through it.
- “Patron Saints of Nothing” by Randy Ribay ★★★★☆ (4.22)
Recommended by English teacher Larissa Anders,”Patron Saints of Nothing” follows Filipino American teen Jay Reguero, who’s a senior in high school. With one semester left, he’s planning on slacking off, playing video games and then heading off to college, until news of his cousin’s death from the Philippines reaches him. Murdered as part of the Filipino President’s war on drugs, and with little information from his family, he goes to the Philippines to find out more about his death, and the part he played in it.
Fantasy
- “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern ★★★★☆ (4.01)
Celia and Marko have been trained by their master since childhood to compete against each other in magic, with a traveling circus as their battleground. As their competition progresses, they start to develop feelings for each other. Meanwhile, the circus grows more and more dangerous.
- “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V. E. Schwab ★★★★☆ (4.18)
In a 17th century village in France, Addie makes a deal with a dark god to escape an arranged marriage. The cost of her immortality however, is being forgotten by everyone she meets. As she lives through the centuries, she immerses herself in art, language and literature, but she also struggles with loneliness. That is until one day, a man at a bookstore remembers her name.
Nonfiction
- “Shadow Divers” by Robert Kurson ★★★★☆ (4.36)
Two American divers discover a German U-boat (submarine) from World War II off the coast of New Jersey, where a U-boat wasn’t even supposed to be. They become obsessed with the wreck, risking their life, as well as their relationship with their family, to solve the mystery.
- “Bless the Blood” by Walela Nehanda ★★★★☆ (4.34)
Bless the Blood is a cancer memoir, consisting of poems, narratives, and essays as Walela is diagnosed with blood cancer at twenty three. Their memoir includes accounts of what it’s like navigating the US medical system as a person of color with cancer, how the people around them have responded to their diagnosis, and facing the possibility of death.
