West Side Story recommends: books

In need of a book to read over spring break? Check out these mini book reviews from both our print and online staffers, featuring a wide array of genres, authors and topics.

Emma Brustkern, Print Entertainment Editor|March 13, 2018

Image courtesy of Pixabay (Creative Commons)

Online Copy Editor and Reporter Luke Reynolds recommends “I’ll Give You the Sun” by Jandy Nelson.

Summary: Twins Jude and Noah were once inseparable. Noah had his art, and Jude had her life. Now they’ve fallen apart. Jude is where Noah wanted to be two years ago, at a private art school, while Noah has given that up to pursue a facade of normalcy. What went wrong?

For: People who like experimental writing and aren’t afraid to get deathly attached to characters.

 

Online Arts Editor Harry Westergaard recommends “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger.

Summary: Holden Caulfield is a teenager who decides to abandon school for a few days and take a trip to New York to visit his sister before his parents learn of his expulsion.

For: Angry teenagers who’ve had enough of high school.

 

Reporter Natalie Dunlap recommends “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls.

Summary: The Glass Castle is a memoir in which Jeannette Walls describes her very unique childhood with her eccentric and at times abusive parents.

For: Anyone who enjoys human interest stories.

 

Print Entertainment Editor Emma Brustkern recommends “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Summary: Aristotle is an angry teenager with ongoing resentment toward his family and his culture. Dante is a sensitive boy who sees everything with an open mind. Despite having seemingly nothing in common, the two boys develop a close friendship and together they discover the importance of friendship and identity.

For: Anyone who loves a good coming-of-age novel or is in need of some more positive and diverse representation in literature.

 

Reporter and Distribution Manager Reagan Hart recommends “The Time Machine” by H.G Wells.

Summary: A man without a name invents a time machine, and plans to use it. He goes into the future, but gets stuck when he is cut off from his machine. He learns to navigate the future Earth populated by two species, the Eloi and the Morlocks. He learns about their culture and he teaches them about his own culture as he plots on how to get his machine back.

For: People who enjoy classics or stories like Doctor Who, since it has an interesting take on the future with different species that were once humans.

 

Reporter Lucy Polyak recommends “Yes Please” by Amy Poehler.

Summary: This book is Poehler’s autobiography, starting with her childhood in the Midwest and ending close to present day. It talks about her journey through the comedy scene in Chicago and how she ended up in New York and then eventually LA. It also covers the best and worst aspects of her life in a very funny but still open and honest way.

For: People who like to laugh or autobiographies in general. People who’ve enjoyed shows like Parks and Rec, The Office, or Saturday Night Live would also really enjoy the inside looks that this book brings.

 

Reporter Fatima Kamonna recommends “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart.

Summary: A suspense novel with an ending that will blow your mind.

For: Anyone that likes to read because you won’t see the ending coming

 

Print Editor-In-Chief Nina Elkadi recommends “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Summary: This book, put simply, is about a Nigerian woman moving to America for better educational opportunities. She ends up living in Princeton, New Jersey, where she goes to school. The kind of focal point is how she must take the train to Trenton, NJ to get her hair braided, which is where she begins remembering her past.

For: Anyone. Well, anyone who enjoys thinking, laughing and reflecting

 

Online Editor-in-Chief Fenna Semken recommends “My Life Next Door” by Huntley Fitzpatrick.

Summary: A love story that is a sort of a modern Romeo and Juliet. It’s set in summer on the ocean and two opposites attract, creating such a good story.

For: People who like romantic novels or are looking to get into the genre because this is a great start.

 

Assistant Sports Editor Deniz Ince recommends “The Westing Game” by Ellen Raskin.

Summary: It’s a mystery about a group of people who need to find out who killed Mr. Westing from his will. Pairs of potential tenants must solve the mystery to get a large sum of money and Mr. Westing’s business.

For: Anyone who loves mysteries.

 

Reporter Carmela Cohen Suarez recommends “Throne of Glass” by Sarah J. Maas.

Summary: “Throne of Glass” is about Celaena Sardothien who is an assassin from the kingdom of Adarlan. She gets sent to a prison camp for a year and is treated terribly there. Later, the prince Dorian Havilliard  helps her leave the prison. He says he will give her freedom if she competes to be his champion.Calaena ends up forming relationships with both the prince, her trainer and a princess from another kingdom. She also discovers magic that has been hidden away in the kingdom.

For: People who enjoy fantasy and want something that differs from the original prince/princess style. It is definitely good for high school level readers.

 

Reporter Anjali Huynh recommends “The Female of the Species” by Mindy McGinnis.

Summary: There are three characters’ perspectives that the audience gets: Alex, a girl whose sister is murdered and who has not been the same since; Peekay, a preacher’s daughter who isn’t so innocent; and Jack, a football star with a guilty conscience. It tells the story of how they meet and how all of their lives change drastically as a result of meeting each other.

For: Literally anyone. It shows a darker side to humanity, so it might not be for the light-of-heart, but if I could, I’d make this book required reading everywhere.

 

Designer Crystal Kim recommends “Born a Crime” by Trevor Noah.

Summary: It’s a coming of age autobiography of Trevor Noah in South Africa during apartheid.

For: Anyone who wants to read a great story. Disclaimer, there really isn’t a political agenda or message in this book; it’s his personal recount of his childhood and teenage years in South Africa.

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Opinion Editor Wingel Xue recommends “Angela’s Ashes” by Frank McCourt.

Summary: It’s a memoir about a kid growing up in Ireland during the potato famine and moving to the U.S. but still facing poverty there.

For: People who enjoy memoirs or historical fiction.

 

Online Entertainment Editor Kristina Rosebrook recommends “The Ranger’s Apprentice Series” by John Flanagan.

Summary: It’s a fantasy series about a young orphan boy who wants to go to Battleschool because he believes his father was a knight. However, he is not strong or big enough, unlike another orphan who bullies him at the beginning of the book. Instead, he is recruited to The Ranger Corp, which is an elite group that act as spies for the kingdom. Lord Morgarath tried to take control of their kingdom years before and failed, but now wants revenge on those who prevented him from gaining power. Will and Halt (his teacher) have to help prevent Morgarath from overtaking the kingdom.

For: People who like the movie Captain America and books like the Seven Realms series or other fantasy adventure novels. It’s similar to Captain America, because in both the main characters appear weak and insignificant to others at the beginning, but then quickly prove themselves to be special and important.

 

Reporter Caecilia Shoppa recommends “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess.

Summary: It is set in a dystopian future about a young boy and his gang who get high on drugged milk and commit crimes. The main character, Alex DeLarge, gets arrested for murder and is given the choice to either rot in prison, or be tested in an experiment to reverse his violent behaviors.

For: I would recommend this book to anyone who loves conspiracy, crime and going inside the mind of a sociopath.