Stuck at home all day? Quarantine has been getting to all of us. The things we used to enjoy are mostly closed or not COVID-19 friendly. Social media can only provide us with so much entertainment before your feed gets repetitive and boring. But look no further, here are the top ten books that allow you to travel to different places and worlds.
1. Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Mysterious boarding school? Mystery? This book has it all. Follow Stevie Bell as she enters the Ellingham Academy, a school for the academically gifted, and try to solve the years-old murder mystery of Ellingham Academy. This book definitely keeps you on your toes.
2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Sometimes we have to root for the villains. They just have so much more fun. Six of Crows follows a group of misfits as they try to do an impossible heist. The diverse cast of characters in this novel is incredible, bringing laughs and tears to its readers.
3. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
The perfect dark academia book we have been looking for. Filled with mystery and magic, this book has been one of my favorites during quarantine. Ninth House follows Alex Stern, a former drug addict, who is given a second chance at Yale. She is pulled into the 8 secret societies of Yale where magic creates money and fame.
4. Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
Humankind has finally made space an inhabitable environment, but along the way, humans discovered other species living in space. Hundreds of years passed and these species coexist peacefully, well some of them. Tyler Jones, a student at Aurora Academy, discovers the comatose body of Aurora, a girl from three hundred years ago, and along with her, secrets of ancient alien species.
Aurora Rising is a great book if you love sci-fi and friendship. We can’t travel around the world during COVID-19, but we sure can travel to space through this book
5. Ace of Spades by Amanda Foody
Erienne Salta is a good girl, raised to be a mannered lady, but when her adoptive other disappears, Enne has to travel to the City of Sin to find her. Enne meets a street lord who teaches her the way of the City of SIn, and before she knows it, she adopts a new persona: one that differs so much from her actual self. But is it truly different from the proper lady she has been raised to be
6. Throne of Glass by Sarah J Mass
Celeana Sardothien is a former assassin, but after getting caught she was sent to the salt mines to spend the last of her days as a slave. However, the king has decided to hold a competition to choose the best assassin to serve the kingdom. This is Celaena’s way out, and she has no choice but to win.
This series spans 8 books, but every one of which is an incredible book that makes the story more complex and interesting. Throughout this series, readers are able to read about so many amazing, beautiful, fierce and bold female characters. This book is easy to read and will twist your heart and make you smile.
7. The Kinder Poison by Natalie Mae
Zahru has been dying for an adventure. Growing up in a small town, far from the kingdom’s capital, this might be her last chance at a once in a lifetime adventure. So, she sneaks into the royal boat bound for the party at the capital. However, somehow she ends up being the sacrifice of the game for the crown. Will she survive or will she die before she gets to live out her adventure.
8. You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
Romance books are a guilty pleasure. We hate to say we love them, but this book is a gem. Naomi and Nicholas both know their relationship is over, but they are about to get married. Neither of them wants to leave in order to avoid paying for the wedding fees. So what do they do? The two of them engage in pranks in order to get the other to break it off first, but along the way, things start changing.
This book is an amazing find about second chances at love and the real issues of relationships. It is incredibly heartfelt and an easy read.
9. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
An incredible book of defying gender roles in historical Russia. Vasilisa, our protagonist, is the free-spirited daughter of a minor count who has the ability to see Russian spirits. Terrified, her stepmother begins grooming Vasilisa for marriage, but as the spirits get restless, Vasilisa begins using her gift to protect the ones she loves.
This book is very well written with imagery and details you might not find in other books. The Bear and the Nightingale might just take you away from home and into the snowy wilderness of Russia.
10. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Imagine if your school tried to kill you at every corner. Well, welcome to the world of A Deadly Education. El is a student of Scholomance, a school for magic, but there are no teachers, and in every dark corner of the school, there are monsters waiting to devour you. Only a lucky few get to graduate. Will El be one of them?
Novik created a beautiful world that parallels Harry Potter’s but darker. This book was fun, El is a funny and relatable character.
