1. The Rescue
By: Nicholas Sparks
The novel follows the life of Denise Holton, the mother of Kyle, a child with severe learning disabilities, and who is barely makes enough money to get by. Her primary goal in life is trying to teach her son to speak. Their lives soon get turned around when she meets Taylor McAden. The two meet when the firefighter finds Kyle after they get into an unfortunate car crash. The impeccable romance novel is far from the cliche, but instead is a heartwarming story of a caring mother who falls in love with a man who needs her just as much as she needs him. The twists and turns throughout the novel give the reader suspense that turns the page for you. The novel is a beautiful love story that you cannot help falling in love; it is a page-turning story about people who find another chance at love when they least expect it. 2. The Kite Runner
By: Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner is the story of two young boys, Amir and Hassan, who live during the fall of Afghanistan’s monarchy through the Soviet Military intervention. The two best friends lead very different lives as Hassan is Amir’s Hazara servant and Amir is a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. Though the book doesn’t necessarily follow the political events that erupt around the children, it flips through their lives as children and adults living in very different worlds. The story is a truly heartbreaking novel that details what was to many a cruel reality. It also discusses topics such as the rise of the Taliban and the travel of refugees to the United States. Although it may be a very heavy read in terms of how difficult their lives are and the hardships that the characters go through, it is definitely a novel that opens your eyes to a lot of the pain that people endure making you appreciate the little things around you.
3. The Touch Series
By: Laurie Stolarz
16-year-old Camelia is drawn into a new and deadly world where she meets Ben, the new kid rumored to have had a role in the accidental death of his ex-girlfriend. Everyone is afraid of him due to these wild rumors and he is exiled by everyone except Camelia. Ben takes Camelia into a world of danger in which she begins to receive threatening packages and mysterious phone calls and so she begins to question whether she can trust him. A dip into the five book series takes you into the magic of touch as each book is every bit as mysterious, exciting, thrilling, shocking, and dangerous as you want it to be. There is no way I can tell you exactly what this crazy intertwining romance is about without spoiling the entire series for you. But once you pick up the first book: You. Will. Be. Begging. For. More. P.S. You can thank me later ;)
4. Where She Went
By: Gayle Forman
The sequel to the novel If I Stay, which was turned into a movie starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Where She Went is a novel that tells you the story of what happens to Mia and Adam after the tragic accident that threw both their lives into a whirlwind of heartbreak. The novel takes place three years after the accident and is told in Adam’s point of view. Adam has become a famous music artist who lives in LA with his celebrity girlfriend while Mia attends Juilliard in New York City. By a stroke of coincidence, Adam is in the Big Apple and finds himself attending Mia’s performance. The two come together to revisit the past and tell us what happened to their relationship. Can they find it in their hearts to love each other again? Find out in the intriguing novel (that I shamelessly read during finals week when I probably should have been studying; I really, really NEEDED to know what happened).
5. Did I Mention I Love You? (DIMILY)
By: Estelle Maskame
When you go spend the summer with your father and his new family in California, after he abandoned you and your mother, you don’t expect to fall in love. In this novel, Eden Murno goes to California in the hope to get a break from her normal small town drama to stay with a father she hasn’t seen in three years, his new wife, and her three stepbrothers. He has a in Santa Monica and lives in a neighborhood of fancy, expensive houses which is not exactly what she expected. Her oldest step brother, Tyler, is a thing out of this world with his undeniable arrogance and huge ego, but she ends up spending the most time with him as she falls in love with the one person she didn’t expect to, him. In the first of three books, Tyler pulls Eden into a world of rule-breaking and partying, but what she can’t get over is what he is hiding.
6. 13 Reasons Why
By: Jay Asher
The classic novel that Netflix is turning into a TV series is everything you want in a book. In a nutshell, the novel talks about the consequences of the spreading of rumors and how they affect those around us. Set in a high school at a time when tape recorders were still a thing, 13 Reasons Why is a novel that follows a box of tapes that show up on Clay’s doorstep addressed to him with no return address. These tapes appear following the suicide of Hannah, a girl that went to his high school and whom he had feelings for. The series of 13 tapes are transferred to the 13 people on her list and each one of them is about one of the people who in a way contributed to her death. It is a heart breaking story about a young woman who lost her way amidst all the drama and gossip that erupts in high school. This is a book that I recently read and it is as compelling, suspenseful, and intriguing as critics said it would be. It’s a New York Times bestseller and was critiqued by Motoko Rich in 2009 who had this to say about the book: “With its thriller-like pacing and scenes of sexual coercion and teenage backbiting, the novel appeals to young readers, who say the book also gives them insight into peers who might consider suicide”.7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
By: Stephen Chbosky
Another book that revolves around suicide is the tale of a young Charlie’s life as a high school student following the sudden suicide of his friend Michael. The book is formatted as a series of letters that Charlie writes to an unknown recipient who he believes to be nice and understanding. Charlie is a very intelligent yet shy student who grows close to his English teacher that discover’s his intelligence. Pushing him forward, this teacher becomes his mentor and friend helping Charlie grow. He ends up finding a caring group of friends who discover how kind he is. This novel also has a gloomy tone to it as it discusses the darker aspects of Charlie’s life as well as the hardships that those around him endure. The novel also talks about the lives of his friends and the changes that erupt in their lives following the drama that comes along with being in high school. What makes it even better? It was turned into a movie (not as good as the book) starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller. 8. The Harry Potter Series
By: J.K. Rowling
Undoubtedly one of the most iconic book series ever written, the Harry Potter series tells the story of an orphan who lives with his hateful aunt and uncle and finds out he is a wizard when he turns 13. The young boy then attends Hogwarts, a school for witchcraft and wizardry, where he discovers the truth about how his parents were murdered and sets off on a path to battle one of the most evil wizards of all time. Each of the books talks about one of the years during which Harry attends Hogwarts and finds himself in exceptional trouble alongside his two best friends Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. The iconic trio have been portrayed in the famous movie series by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. For those of you who have already seen the movies, I can 100% guarantee that the movies do not do the books justice. You are missing out on so much magic. It is truly a beautiful look into a world that may be fictional, but you will love it all the same. P.S. The last book, in my opinion, is one of the best books I have and will ever read.