By Chloe Kiparsky
The Knife of Never Letting Go
By Patrick Ness
Genre: Sci-Fi
Star Rating: 5/5
Ages: 13 and up
The Knife of Never Letting Go is the first book in the Chaos Walking trilogy. It follows Todd Hewitt, who lives on a recently colonized planet where all men can hear each other’s thoughts, and the thoughts of animals as well. One day, he has to run away from his village of 147 men (no women), and he stumbles upon a patch in the forest that is quiet. He can’t hear a single thought. What he discovers there changes everything, and he sets out on an action-packed journey that reveals things that should never have been revealed.
The descriptions in this book make it feel like you’re watching a movie, it’s crazy. It’s a little long, but you’ll devour it as if it were a hundred pages. This is one of my favorite books of all time: it is fast, intense, and heart-wrenching. Get this book as fast as you can, but be warned: if you’re like me, you’re going to start bawling.
The Girls I’ve Been
By Tess Sharpe
Genre: Young Adult Realistic Fiction
Star Rating: 4/5
Ages: 13 and up
Nora O’Malley has had a lot of different lives. Her mother is a con artist and ever since Nora was tiny, she’s been helping her mom con men by being the perfect little girl. She is at the bank with her best friend and her girlfriend one day when two men enter and start robbing the bank. (I know. It’s awesome.) She has to dust off her survival skills if she’s going to get out of this alive, all the while dealing with her conflicting identities.
I read this book in one night, that’s how amazing it is. It is incredibly fast-paced and such an emotional rollercoaster. A great book for people who aren’t big readers, The Girls I’ve Been is going to have you gasping at every new development.
Challenger Deep
By Neal Shusterman
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Star Rating: 4/5
Ages: 14 and up
Caden Bosch has been acting weird, and his family and friends are starting to notice. He tells his parents that he is joining the track team but instead walks miles and miles around the city, thinking. He is convinced that someone at his school is trying to kill him. He is living in an alternate reality where he is on a ship with a strange crew. He gets more paranoid and lost in his head and his hallucinations that his parents have no choice but to get him help.
The author’s son was diagnosed with a schizoaffective disorder at the age of sixteen, which inspired him to write this book. The choppy and sporadic writing style makes this book intense to read, but it is very affecting. Note: it will make more sense if you read the Author’s Note first. (Honorable Mention: It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. I’m not talking about this one here but it’s very similar to Challenger Deep and so powerful that you must read it)
The Sun and her Flowers
By Rupi Kaur
Genre: Poetry
Star Rating: 4/5
Ages: 13 and up
With five short sections - wilting, falling, rooting, rising, and blooming - this book of poems follows a brown woman’s journey through life, love, and loss. The beautifully simple poems are accompanied by the author’s own stunning line drawings. Read this in any way you would like, whether it be reading one random page a day, mulling it over in order, or just plowing through it, dog-earing pages left and right. This book represents the healing process rawly, tenderly, and lovingly. I would recommend reading it with a pencil because I guarantee you will want to add your own doodles next to hers.
Dear Martin
By Nic Stone
Genre: Young Adult Realistic Fiction
Star Rating: 5/5
Ages: 13 and up
The white cop who put Justyce McAllister in handcuffs doesn’t see - or care - that he is Ivy-League bound or that he is top of his class. All he sees is the dark skin. Shaken, Justyce has to deal with race in a way he has never had to before. One day, when driving with his best friend, shots are fired. Shots that can be deadly. The BANG will change his life.
For fans of Jason Reynolds and Angie Thomas, this book is fast-paced and full of banter, all while dealing with real-world issues. Lovable - and not so lovable - characters make this book amazing, and it’s one of those rare books that has a sequel (Dear Justyce) that’s just as good (if not better) than the first book.
Where the Crawdads Sing
By Delia Owens
Genre: Historical Fiction
Star Rating: 5/5
Ages: 14 and up
When Kya Clark was six years old, her whole family abandoned her. She grew up alone in the marsh, only going into town when she needed the basic necessities. She didn’t have any friends, and she garnered the reputation of being reclusive and crazy. When Chase Andrews is found dead in the marsh, people immediately blame Kya, who has grown into a free young woman. The story follows both Kya’s coming of age and the murder mystery, and weaves them both together gorgeously.
If I had a million dollars, I would give as many copies of this book away as I could. It was beautifully written and really makes the reader reflect on what has more impact on a person: the way they grew up, or who they grew up with. The writing style perfectly captures Kya and her culture, and contrasts it to the other people around her. I would recommend this book to anyone with any reading taste. I’m STILL thinking about Kya and her story, and I read it in September!