What’s on your bookshelf? It can be hard to find the right book to pick up in between quizzes, classes, and leisure time. If you’re in need of a book that really makes you think, this list is for you. Along with a quick summary and quote, I hope you can find something here that speaks to you.
Note: quotes do not contain direct spoilers, but pertain to major themes in the books that you may want to keep a surprise. Read ahead at your own risk.
“In an Instant” by Suzanne Redfearn
In an Instant tracks the response of 10 people to a traumatic event. Personalities shift drastically as the best and the worst of each character is brought out, revealing human nature at its core. Make sure to read the author’s note at the end as well.
Standout quote: “… sometimes, you just make the wrong damn choice,” (Redfearn).
“The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas
16-year-old Starr Carter navigates the aftermath of the shooting of her childhood best friend. Thomas’s tone shapes Starr into a compelling protagonist who readers cannot help but love. The Hate U Give is about race, yet it manages to beautifully capture all the moving aspects of a young black girl’s life.
Standout quote: “Funny. Slave masters thought they were making a difference in black people’s lives too. Saving them from their ‘wild African ways.’ Same shit, different century. I wish people like them would stop thinking that people like me need saving,” (Thomas).
“The Great Gatsby” by F Scott Fitzgerald
Yes, this is the book we all had to read for English class. As we reenter the 20’s, we have a closer look at the economic depression, cultural movements, and dramatic political changes of the 1920s than we ever could have imagined. Fitzgerald’s tone eerily predicts the Great Depression which, given context and the current state of the world, brings an entirely new meaning to the book.
Standout quote: “Why, my God! they used to go there by the hundreds,” (Fitzgerald).
“Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins
The final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay, dives deeper into governmental commentary than either of the books before it. While its predecessors mainly touched on capitalism, Mockingjay explores the emergence of a new movement that hopes to change the world for the better. Best read as a part of the trilogy, Mockingjay reveals the complexities of Collins’s world to show that things run much deeper than a simple black and white.
Standout quote: “But collective thinking is usually short-lived. We’re fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction. Although who knows?” (Collins).
“We the Animals” by Justin Torres
Opening in the collective perspective, We the Animals follows the life of three boys as they grow up in an unstable household. The transition from the fourth to the first-person narrative helps readers understand each character’s response to toxic masculinity.
Standout quote: “It was my grave. Paps had dug my grave” (Torres).
I hope these books inspired you to get some reading done during your free time! Enjoy!