Title: “The Nightingale” Author: Kristin Hannah Genre: Historical Fiction Quotation: “If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.” Kristin Hannah’s historical fiction novel “The Nightingale” follows two sisters as their lives are torn apart by the German invasion of France during World War II. Each sister must face her own demons during the war. Vianne must raise her daughter alone while her husband is a prisoner of war in German territory. Isabelle joins in the war efforts by secretly helping American and British pilots who have been…
"Room": A Review
Title: Room Author: Emma Donoghue Genre: Novel Quotation: “Scared is what you’re feeling. Brave is what you’re doing.” Would recommend to: anyone who needs to be inspired. Jack only knows of the room. He only knows the four walls that keep him inside, the handful of possessions him and his mother own, and the man, Old Nick, that visits at night, which relegates him to sleeping in Wardrobe. The room and what it contains are all that Jack knows because he was born in Room. Jack refers to everything in Room as a proper noun, because they are more than just things to him, they are friends. Because his mom, Ma, was abducted…
“Room”: A Review
Title: Room Author: Emma Donoghue Genre: Novel Quotation: “Scared is what you’re feeling. Brave is what you’re doing.” Would recommend to: anyone who needs to be inspired. Jack only knows of the room. He only knows the four walls that keep him inside, the handful of possessions him and his mother own, and the man, Old Nick, that visits at night, which relegates him to sleeping in Wardrobe. The room and what it contains are all that Jack knows because he was born in Room. Jack refers to everything in Room as a proper noun, because they are more than just things to him, they are friends. Because his mom, Ma, was abducted…
The Circle: A Review
Title: The Circle Author: Dave Eggers Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopia Quotation: “This was a new skill she’d acquired, the ability to look, to the outside world, utterly serene and even cheerful, while, in her skull, all was chaos.” Would recommend to: anyone who questions the role social media plays in our lives. An all knowing, all powerful global corporation with unlimited access to your personal data, running the gauntlet from your fingerprint to your first kiss? To many, this dystopian scenario conjures up thoughts of Google, Amazon, or Facebook gone rouge. In his dystopian novel “The Circle,” Dave Eggers takes us to what many will say is our not-so-distant future. The Circle is a…
The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.: A Review
Title: The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. Author: Adelle Waldman Genre: Fiction Quotation: “Dating is probably the most fraught human interaction there is.” Would recommend to: anyone dealing with a break-up looking for perspective. “I feel like you want to think what you’re feeling is really deep, like some seriously profound existential shit. But to me, it looks like the most tired, the most average thing in the world, the guy who is all interested in a woman until the very moment when it dawns on him that he has her. Wanting only what you can’t have. The affliction of shallow morons everywhere.” If you want a summation of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by…
Feed: A Review
Title: Feed Author: M. T. Anderson Genre: Science Fiction Quotation: “We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck.” Would recommend to: anyone who is weary of the development of technology. Feed‘s book jacket describes it as a science fiction tale of two teenagers who fall in love and choose to fight the “feed”, basically the internet in your head, together. I was expecting a story relatively similar to Divergent or The Hunger Games, both stories that include strong protagonists that challenge the current way of life to find something better. That is not what Feed is. Feed is the story of Titus and Violet and their struggle to overcome socio-economic prejudices they didn’t even…
Not That Kind of Girl: A Review
Title: Not That Kind of Girl Author: Lena Dunham Genre: Memoir Quotation: “You’ve learned a new rule and it’s simple: don’t put yourself in situations you’d like to run away from.” Would recommend to: anyone who needs to feel like they aren’t alone. Lena Dunham is the creator and writer of Girls, the hit show on HBO that follows the crazy lives of four girls in the city. Not That Kind of Girl was published in 2014 and hit #2 on The New York Times Best Sellers List after just one month on the market, and I can see why. I’ve been meaning to read this book for years, and when I finally got it I was thrilled. I wanted…
Eleanor & Park: A Review
Title: Eleanor & Park Author: Rainbow Rowell Genre: Young Adult Fiction Quotation: “But it’s up to us …’ he said softly. ‘It’s up to us not to lose this.” Would recommend to: anyone who likes John Green novels and out-of-the-box characters. Eleanor & Park features your atypical love story — an overweight, redheaded girl and a skinny Asian boy. Due to its uncharacteristic characters, author Rainbow Rowell has received a lot of questions about Eleanor’s weight and Park’s ethnicity. She is acclaimed for stepping out-of-the-box and presenting an interesting, different love story for young adults. Apart from their unconventional physical appearances, Eleanor and Park stand out for other reasons such as Eleanor’s abusive household and…
Eleanor & Park: A Review
Title: Eleanor & Park Author: Rainbow Rowell Genre: Young Adult Fiction Quotation: “But it’s up to us …’ he said softly. ‘It’s up to us not to lose this.” Would recommend to: anyone who likes John Green novels and out-of-the-box characters. Eleanor & Park features your atypical love story — an overweight, redheaded girl and a skinny Asian boy. Due to its uncharacteristic characters, author Rainbow Rowell has received a lot of questions about Eleanor’s weight and Park’s ethnicity. She is acclaimed for stepping out-of-the-box and presenting an interesting, different love story for young adults. Apart from their unconventional physical appearances, Eleanor and Park stand out for other reasons such as Eleanor’s abusive household and…
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest:A Review
Title: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Author: Ken Kesey Genre: Fiction Quotation: “Never before did I realize that mental illness could have the aspect of power, power. Think of it: perhaps the more insane a man is, the more powerful he could become.” Would recommend to: anyone that loves a classic or is interested in mental health. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is an entrancing novel about the conditions of mental hospitals during the 1960s. Kesey’s novel incorporates complex themes that challenge traditional thinking about mental health, democracy and the treatment of the “insane”. The novel is narrated from Chief Bromden’s perspective. A patient who has been on the ward longer than anyone…
