A good book will never leave you. That is why people, years later, are still emotionally attached to Hermione Granger, Percy Jackson, Nancy Drew, etc. Their stories, characteristics and traumas are what makes these fictional character, relatable.
Back when I thought that my future was on a stage, and not with a pen and paper, I read. I read anything that I could get my hands on. Now the only difference is that I know reading is more research than anything else (at least that’s what I keep telling myself).
Literature is a way to escape reality, even for a moment. If we’re being honest with ourselves, this reality that we are currently living in seems like it has been written by someone throwing darts on a board with no end goal.
Regardless, over quarantine, I got back into reading more books on a regular basis. So far, I have read almost 40 books this year. Three of the books that I read made me question my own sanity.
Ship of Theseus by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst
Ship of Theseus is a contemporary book with lots of mystery and some romance. It is designed to look like a library book written by V.M. Straka, an author who no one knows the true identity of. There are also two stories going on at the same time.
The primary story is the story of S, who is determined to remember who he is, as he is thrust into the middle of a strange ship with an even stranger crew and tasked with mission upon mission.
The other story happens in the margins. Two young adults leave messages to each other throughout the book. The different colored annotations refer to different times that they write the notes. Eric, the owner of the stolen library book, is determined to discover the identity of V.M. Straka as it destroyed his academic career. Jennifer, a just as determined undergrad, empathizes with Eric and decides to help him at whatever the cost.
Adding on to the two simultaneous stories, there are surprises in the pages that Jennifer and Eric have left for one another. There are postcards, letters, a decoder and much more. This made it feel like I had found this book, much like Jennifer had.
Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
Instructions for Dancing is a romance that broke me.
Evie is the heroine of the story, whether she likes it or not. Heartbroken by her parents’ separation, she swears off love. She refuses to believe it exists. If her parents did not have love, then who could?
One day, she stumbles upon a book, Instructions for Dancing. After she gets this book, she is able to see how a relationship started and how it will end when she first sees the couple kiss — probably her worst nightmare. This only furthers her belief that there is no such thing as love because each vision shows the end of a relationship.
The book has a note that says that it belongs to La Brea Dance Studio. When she goes to return the book, the owners convince her to sign up for a dance competition with their grandson, X. Between all the tango and salsa, Evie and X begin to realize a connection between them. However, Evie has to be able to take a risk to see if something could be between her and X.
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
Once Upon a Broken Heart is a young adult fantasy and is likely the first of a new series by Garber. Her first series consist of the three Caraval books, and this story takes place in the same universe. While it is not necessary to read the original series, Garber writes such fantastic and magical stories that you would be missing out if you skipped it.
Evangeline starts the story by asking a Fate, similar to a god but with no sense of morality, to prevent Luc, her love, from marrying her stepsister. The Fate in question? The Prince of Hearts, or Jacks, who is known as being heartbroken himself, forever searching for his true love. The only way to find them is by a kiss because everyone but his true love will die from his kiss.
Jacks agrees to help her on one condition: she kisses three people of his choosing whenever he decides. She accepts, unaware that a Fate, especially this one, has more than one trick up his sleeve. Her first kiss begins a snowball effect where she realizes that this deal may have been more than she could have ever bargained for.
I loved each of these books for different reasons. Ship of Theseus had me on the edge of my seat (or page) trying to figure out what would happen next. Instructions for Dancing was my first romance book and I related so much to a young woman who doesn’t believe love is in the cards. In Once Upon a Broken Heart, Evangeline, whose main goal is to be a good person, still makes errors and feels like a terrible person.
This year was filled with plenty of hate and trauma, so sometimes it is fun to read about love and magical stories. Besides, trauma is far more fun to read when it is not your own. I highly recommend and encourage you to check out one of my favorite quarantine books for your next read.