Book Suggestions

Rather than doing full book reviews, I'm just going to suggest a book and write a little blurb about why you should read it.

John Green is my male author crush (in a strictly literary way). The Fault in our Stars is beautiful, tragic, and incredibly thought-provoking. It is the story of two star-crossed lovers, who met at a cancer patient group therapy session.

This book nicely sums up the highs and lows of adolescent life in a series of letters from the protagonist, a wallflower named Charlie to a person who he calls "friend" (the identity of the "friend" is never mentioned). Although Charlie is quite an odd boy, he is still very relatable. The characters are easy to fall in love with in spite of their flaws. If you like this book I would suggest John Green's "Looking for Alaska."

 Jodi Picoult is my favourite author. In House Rules, she does a wonderful job of writing from the perspective of multiple characters, making you feel for characters that you wouldn't expect yourself to feel for. The story is about a boy with Aspergers Syndrome who is accused of murder, but what struck a cord with me was Picoult's portrayal of complicated inter-familial bonds.

A girl is shot and killed. Her boyfriend is accused. The novel flips back and forth between the aftermath of the event (jail, trial, etc) and the story of how the two fell in love. Beautiful, tragic. The kind of story that makes you wish you were able to jump through the pages and fix everything that went wrong.