By Maddy Rodak
Staff Writer
Summer, without a doubt the best season of the year, is quickly approaching, and in between trips to the beach and adventures in the mountains, there are a number of books students might enjoy curling up with.
A brutal high fantasy inspired by ancient Rome, ‘Ember’ deals with high stakes and decisions that determine life or death. Laia, the heroine of the story, must team up with Elias, a soldier, in order to find her brother who has been arrested for treason. Not just a New York Times bestselling novel and praised by thousands, ‘Ember’ is also already in production to become a film, and just recently the author nabbed a deal for the sequel. Summer is the perfect time to explore the treacherous streets of the Martial Empire.
A light-hearted and wonderful read, ‘Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda’ is a breath of fresh air in the contemporary genre. Simon Spier, a junior in high school who is not yet ready to tell people he is gay finds himself getting blackmailed. If he doesn’t play wingman for the class clown, his sexual identity will be exposed. ‘Grasshopper Jungle’ author Andrew Smith calls the novel “delightfully funny and at times heart-wrenching”, and a “remarkable gift of a novel.”
For fans of John Green’s best-selling ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ and Rainbow Rowell’s ‘Eleanor and Park’, ‘All the Bright Places’ is a heart-wrenching love story not to be missed. Soon to be a film starring Elle Fanning, the novel is sure to cause a lot of buzz. Theodore Finch and Violet Markey meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, contemplating suicide. After talking to each other, they convince one another to step down. Written in dual point of view, the novel follows the pair’s journey through their senior year in high school and the challenges they face. By the end, there will surely be smiles as well as tears.
