This is just a quick list of books to read, with a short summary and sometimes a link to other things I've written about it. (FYI, the purple words are the links).
1. Ranger's Apprentice A fantasy novel in medival-ish times involving Will, an apprentice to an awesome King's Ranger. Highly recommended.
2. Unwind Series: I've written a whole blog post about this series. Also, see my short summary here.
3. The Selection Series: A romance series where the Prince must choose one girl out of 25 to be his wife. America is one of the 25 selected, but she has some secrets of her own.
4.Life of Pi: A boy is shipwrecked onto a small lifeboat with several animals, including a dangerous tiger. Way cooler than I made it sound here. :) I haven't wrote a whole post about it, but here's one small thing I have.
5. Howl's Moving Castle: I have the summary on here. If you like wizards and fantasy, but in an old timey way, this book is for you.
6. Legend Series: AMAZING!! This is a dystopian novel (I know, I know) about a rich military family girl and a poor on-the-streets type of boy. Toss in a world transformed by global warming and a dangerous disease and you get cool. Add a bit of love (triangle? Or is it a love TRAPEZOID?) and you get awesome. Mix it all up with my approval and you get AUGGHHH THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!! Read it now.
7. Before I Fall: Cool repeating day story, with a twist.
8. Thirteen Reasons Why: A story about a girl who commits sucide, then sends tapes to all the people who made her do it. She had thirteen reasons (hence the title). Really sad but really good.
9. A Mango-Shaped Space: This is a short book about a girl who has synesthesia. That's basically where you see colors when you hear words, or letters, or music. Its pretty awesome.
10. Albatross: I just picked up this book from my English teacher's room one day, and it sucked me in. ( I might have "borrowed" it for a couple days..). IF YOU DON'T LIKE ROMANCE THIS ISN'T FOR YOU!! But if you are iffy on romance, go ahead and read it. Its about a girl falling in love with a guy who might have a *bit* of a different personality then what it first seems. The plot twist is so sly in this book that you feel as if YOU are going through what this girl is going through.
11. When We Meet Again: This is the true story of a couple in the Holocaust. So sad, but it is truly amazing, how lucky they were. Definitely a good (but sad) read.
12. Out of My Mind: I cannot recommend this MORE! Five out five stars. I've read this book about ten times, and EVERY SINGLE TIME I cry. No matter how much I prepare myself, I WILL CRY. So basically this is about a girl with cerebral palsy and she can't walk or talk. And while everyone assumes she's just....dumb, she's actually REALLY smart. And no way is she gonna let people keep assuming she isn't. This book can shatter boundaries. About social bias, how you think of those with disabilities, all kinds of things. You CANNOT set it down. Literally. Read it NOW.
13. Catch a Falling Star: This is a not so typical story of love in the summer. And, funny thing is, Carter and Adam weren't in love when they started dating. Not even close. Maybe that was because Adam was a MOVIE STAR and Carter was hired to play his girlfriend for good PUBLICITY. Yeah. Sounds interesting, right? Right. I thought so.
14. The Cats of Roxville Station. This is a relatively short and easy read, all about cats. It's more about cat behavior than an amazing story line, but the plot is STILL pretty well developed. A little depressing at parts (spoiler: some of the cats die…noooooooo!!!). But you can really learn a lot through this book. It follows Ratchet, an abused cat who was abandoned in a river. Mike, a young boy who lives near the foresty area where she was abandoned, is determined to befriend her. This really tells you a lot about cats and nature in general, so if you're not up to that, I don;t recommend it. Otherwise, cat lovers read this book!
15. Jurassic Park: Yeah yeah, I know what you're going to say. You watched the movie. Well, if you're going to say THAT, then I don't even know why you're reading this blog. Everyone knows the book is better than the movie. The book is different then the movie, and its wayyyy good. It has some violence in it (not between people. Between people and... never mind. You know), so if you don't like that then I wouldn't suggest this book. Otherwise, READ IT!
16. The Testing: I dissolved this book like *that*. Took me maybe three hours. Its a dystopian, and reminds me of a cross of the Hunger Games and The Selection. Basically every year the nation's top students are chosen for the Testing. This is a world after a huge World War Three, which is really interesting to hear about when Cia (the main character) talks about what happened. Like, some country nuked Washington D.C. Yeah, sounds cool, right? Go read it.
17. Premeditated: This is the story of a girl who goes to avenge her cousin who committed sucide because of a boy. So she gets herself into a fancy boarding school and finds the guy...but everything isn't as she thinks it is. OH no. Plot twist....
18. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt: This book follows a young girl, CeeCee in 1967, who has to take care of her mentally ill mother. But when tragedy strikes, CeeCee's great aunt arrives to take her away, and she is whisked into a world she's never imagined before.
19. Umbrella Summer: Annie knows all the things that can kill you. That's why she can't be more careful then she already is. She wears a helmet down the street, and goes through countless bandaids everyday, all because she's afraid after her brother died. This is a tear-jerking book. I cried so many times. You should definitely read it.
20. Eragon: This is about a boy who discovers a dragon. Thats the simple explanation. If I REALLY wanted to get into it, I'd probably have to write a book myself. This three book series is complicated and twisting, a whole world. Really, this is an amazing series, and while hard to read, I'd recommend them to anyone who's into fantasy.