Reviewed by C. Breitbach, January 2024
A thrilling novel in a world of magic, danger, and sin, Jester by Brielle D. Porter illustrates the choice between fame and what’s right. Lisette is disgraced following the execution of her father for assassinating the King. Lisette, a performer, never gets to inherit his magic as a result, meaning she has… Read more
Reviewed by L. Chapman, September 2023
In her non-fiction book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot chronicles the story of how HeLa cells led to massive medical breakthroughs like in vitro fertilization, the polio vaccine, and cloning. Once a poor black tobacco farmer, Henrietta’s cells were harvested from her during a biopsy… Read more
Reviewed by L. Chapman, September 2023
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides is a coming-of-age story that details the heartbreaking tale of the five Lisbon sisters told through the eyes of the boys living in their neighborhood. Over the course of a year, each sister commits suicide and their household becomes increasingly isolated from their local… Read more
Reviewed By Melanie Koopmans, September 2023
The Final Gambit is the third installment in the Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and continues Avery’s story from the second novel. Avery just has to survive a couple more weeks in the Hawthorne house before she becomes the richest teenager in the world, and the only thing getting her… Read more
Reviewed by Melanie Koopmans, September 2023
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides follows the main character, Alicia Berenson, a patient at a psychiatric institution due to the talented painter’s silence after shooting her husband multiple times. Theo Faber, a psychologist, becomes obsessed with what happened to her/what she did. As he… Read more
Reviewed by Melanie Koopmans, September 2023
In Jojo Moyes' novel, Me Before You, the main character, Louisa ‘Lou’ Clark, gets laid off when the local coffee shop she works at closes. Forced to find a last minute position, she takes up caregiving for a quadriplegic man named Will Traynor. Will was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident, forcing his very… Read more
Reviewed by Melanie Koopmans, September 2023
The Notebook by Nicolas Sparks follows the lives of Noah Calhorn and Allie Hamilton. They fell in love in the 1940s despite coming from different financial backgrounds. Sadly, their relationship was brief and lasted only one summer. However, several years later through something that can only be described… Read more
Reviewed by Emily Hafeman, September 2023
The book "I will always write back" is a true story about the perspectives of two very different pen pals. Caitlin is an American girl who is very wealthy compared to Martin who is a boy living a poor life in Zimbabwe. Caitlin and Martin were selected… Read more
Reviewed by Molly Koopmans, September 2023
In Lucy Scores book, “Things We Never Got Over” it follows Naomi Witt, a runaway bride, running away from not only her fiance but from her entire life.… Read more
Reviewed by L. Chapman, August 2023
In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell disects what truly contributes to the success of the best and brightest. Contrary to what the majority of people believe, Gladwell sets out to show that success is not truly meritocratic. While merit can contribute to one’s success, the large impacts of family, generation,… Read more