As we steadily approach spring and Spring Break, here are a few books to brighten the season!
1. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
What it’s about: Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl who hasn’t done much in her 26 years. When she suddenly loses her job in a tea shop, she is forced into taking a job as a caretaker for Will Traynor. Will is anything but ordinary. He is a world traveling adrenaline junky who loves extreme sports and craves adventure. That is until an accident leaves him a quadriplegic and drastically alters his life. At first they nearly hate each other but, as time goes on, their friendship grows, and they help each other in ways they didn’t know possible.
Genre: Adult contemporary
Rating: 4.30/5 Goodreads
Bonus: Read it before you see it! The movie adaptation starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke is out on DVD now.
2. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer
What it’s about: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, All the Light We Cannot See seamlessly weaves together two unique points of view. The first being of Marie-Laure, a young blind girl who is captivated by science and the outside world and in possession of a cursed stone that just happens to be at the top of Hitler’s wish list. The second being Werner, a boy with a remarkable aptitude for technology and engineering, who learns the human cost of his intelligence, ambition, and silence. The narration is beautiful, the chapters are short, and the story unwinds like numbers in a combination lock, with a subtle intricacy giving way to a conclusion that will leave you in awe.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.31/5 Goodreads
3. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
What it’s about: A coming of age tale, set in the 1980’s, Eleanor and Park follows two teenagers over the course of a school year. They meet on the school bus and form a connection through comic books and mixtapes.They deal with issues of race and child abuse and cling to a relationship that is inevitably doomed to fail. This is a story about acceptance and falling in love for the first time.
Genre: Young adult contemporary
Rating: 4.14/5 Goodreads
4. Outlander by Diana GabaldonWhat it’s about: The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, has returned from the war and is reuniting with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly, she is thrown back in time to Scotland, and the year is 1743. Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life and shatter her heart. From here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
Genre: Historical Fiction / Romance
Rating: 4.18/5 Goodreads
5. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
What it’s about: Theodore Finch is an outcast fascinated by death. He constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. but each time something stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future since the death of her sister. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries; it’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Rating: 4.2/5 Goodreads