Every March, the week before Spring Break, University of Arizona hosts an event called the Festival of Books. Due to my job, I wasn’t able to take the first part of Spring Break off, but that wasn’t all negative. It meant that I was able to see what the craze was all about and go to the Festival of Books.
I went both Saturday and Sunday to the festival and saw the excitement first-hand. There were people among people talking to booksellers and authors about literature. As a Creative Writing major, I instantly fell in love with this event. I was even able to pick up some fascinating books to enjoy during my break. Here is my UA Festival of Books 2019 Shopping Haul:
Image courtesy of Amazon.
01. LUCKY BY ALCIE SELBOLD
The author of the thriller, The Lovely Bones, is making a return with another heartbreaking story. Alice Selbold writes her memoir of how her life utterly transformed when she was brutally beaten and raped in a park near in college campus. At 18 years old she struggles with her recovery after the horrific night and how to tell people the truth. Selbold can take the story of her experience as a trauma victim and become an inspiration for others who went through similar situations.
“You save yourself, or you remain unsaved.”
Image courtesty of Good Reads.
02. SAY YOU’RE ONE OF THEM BY UWEN AKPAN
Uken Akpan can take tales of unimaginable deprivation and terror and make them into stories that will tug on your heartstrings. Say You’re One of Them contains a collection of short stories, each set in a different African country, but all five of them telling the harsh reality for children raised in Africa. Whether that means the discussion of religious tensions, violence in the area, or the intensity of poverty some had to go through, each one will give its audience a better understanding of the conditions in Africa.
“I think fiction allow us to sit for a while with people we would rather not meet.”
Image courtesy of Barnes & Noble.
03. THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ BY HEATHER MORRS
Lale Sokolov narrates the Tattooist of Auschwitz, a Slovakian Jew, a prisoner forced into the concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau located in Poland. When his captors discover he speaks several languages, he is forced to work as a Tätowierer (tattooist) with the task to permanently mark his fellow prisoners. After two and a half years of being imprisoned, Lale has experienced the harsh conditions and violence of the concentration camps, while doing his best to help the prisoners survive. One day in June 1942, Lale’s compassion heart falls in love with a young woman who is waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. In that first interaction with her, Lale vows to survive the camp somehow and marry her. Heather Norris is able, to tell the truth behind the endurance of love and humanity even during the darkest of times.
“Remember the small things, and the big things will work themselves out.”
Image courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers.
04. THE BETTER SISTER BY ALAFAIR BURKE
Alafair Burke is back with another thrilled that discusses the horror of family tensions. Chloe, the younger of the Taylor sisters, is depicted as the perfect sister, the smart sister. The other sister, though, Nicky, is a bit more reckless in comparison. Growing up was never easy for these two sisters due to their fight for attention. Finally, it seems like both of the sisters were happy in their life they had created for themselves once they grew up. Chloe had earned a scholarship to an Ivy League school, and Nicky was married to Adam Macintosh. That’s until fifteen years later; there are many changes to their lives, including how Adam is now married to Chloe. When Adam is reported murdered, the sisters are forced to confront the truth behind their hidden family secrets. The Better Sister is a story of how far a sister rivalry can go.