As winter break approaches, it’s time to restock your bookshelves. Take the time to catch up and curl up with some of these books over the holidays.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Atwood’s classic becomes more prevalent now than ever. She depicts a dystopia where the state has total control over women’s bodies. It follows Offred, a handmaid, that must bear children for the elite in the society. Not only will it keep you racing to turn pages, but it’ll shock you with the direction our world could take.
Quote: “We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories.”
the sun and her flowers by Rupi Kaur
If you read Kaur’s milk and honey, be sure to read her sophomore collection. It follows wilting, falling, rooting, rising and blooming through her poems that encapsulate the range of human emotions.
Quote: “On the last day of love my heart cracked inside my body”
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Cath has adored Simon Snow for all her life, but as she enters college she still can’t let go of her obsession. She is faced with new challenges of growing up and finding herself, while maintaining the tricky relationships in her life.
Quote: “Sometimes writing is like running downhill, your fingers jerking behind you on the keyboard the way your legs do when they can’t quite keep up with gravity.”
Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher’s humor and wit shines through her pages. This memoir follows how her role as Princess Leia molded her life. All Star Wars fans should be sure to give it a read before seeing her grace the screens as Leia one last time this December.
Quote: “I don’t remember exactly when I started referring to signing autographs for money as a celebrity lap dance, but I’m sure it didn’t take me long to come up with it. It’s a lap dance without cash being placed in any underwear, and there’s no pole — or is the pole represented by the pen?”
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
John Green has become a staple for young adult fiction. Turtles All the Way Down is his latest novel released just earlier this year. It follows a Aza as she navigates mental illness, growing up and the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett.
Quote: “We never really talked much or even looked at each other, but it didn’t matter because we were looking at the same sky together, which is maybe even more intimate than eye contact anyway. I mean, anybody can look at you. It’s quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see.”
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
On Nick and Amy’s five year anniversary, Amy suddenly goes missing. Her husband is then framed for her presumed murder. Flynn creates a thriller of how even the picture-perfect couple is different behind closed doors.
Quote: “There’s something disturbing about recalling a warm memory and feeling utterly cold.”
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Moriarty’s characters come alive in her pages of the rich and elite of Monterey. Jane, Celeste and Madeline are all multi-dimensional characters with their own secrets and lies that begin to spiral out of control at the elementary school’s trivia night, full of jaw-dropping plot twists.
Quote: “They say it’s good to let your grudges go, but I don’t know, I’m quite fond of my grudge. I tend it like a little pet.”
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
If you’re in the mood for nostalgic teenage romance, Jenny Han is an author for you. Her novel encapsulates the hope that a teenager can have for sweet summer months, and just how much can change in that time.
Quote: “It’s hard to throw away history. It was like you were throwing away a part of yourself.”
Room by Emma Donoghue
This story is told from the unique perspective of a 5-year-old Jack. Although the room has always been a home to Jack, it is where his mother has been imprisoned for the last seven years. It’s a heartbreaking story filled with the strength of a strong mother-son bond.
Quote: “If I was made of cake I’d eat myself before somebody else could.”
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Whether you could quote Liz Lemon word for word or not, Fey’s memoir is a must read. It’s the perfect mix of laugh out loud lines and heartfelt confessions from the “bossy” comedian.
Quote: “My ability to turn good news into anxiety is rivaled only by my ability to turn anxiety into chin acne.”
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
Danler captures just how lost you can feel when you’re twenty-two and doing everything on your own for the first time. Her novel is about Tess who lands a job at one of New York’s elite restaurants. She not only learns more about the food industry, but also the high and lows of this life.
Quote: “She belonged to herself only. She had edges, boundaries, tastes, definition down to her eyelashes. And when she walked it was clear she knew where she was going.”
The Girls by Emma Cline
Evie was just a normal girl in North California during the 1960s. That is until she meets Suzanne. Suddenly Evie is enthralled with Suzanne and a soon-to-be infamous cult that leads her to questionable decisions.
Quote: “All that time I had spent readying myself, the articles that taught me life was really just a waiting room until someone noticed you- the boys had spent that time becoming themselves.”
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
This classic novel spans two weeks following Ponyboy, a member of the Greasers gang. After violence ensues with the rival gang, the Socials, Ponyboy is tested. He learns where he draws the line from right and wrong when he feels as an outsider.
Quote: “It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset.”
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
Mia appears to have the perfect life, until her one life-changing mistake. What was supposed to be a simple, one-night stands leaves her kidnapped by the man she meets at the bar. Kubica pens a suspenseful thriller about just how much something can change in a night.
Quote: “The goal with teenagers is simply getting through it alive, with no permanent damage.”