Note: This is the latest installment of a new HCK series in which the HCK writers recommend books for our audience!
It’s no secret that I love to read. One thing I love about books is that you can share them with others. Her Campus Kenyon has already received some amazing book suggestions from Jenna and Lexi, but I want to add some of my favorite titles to the midst. As a huge book nerd, I feel as if it is sort of my duty to share some of my favorite books with you.
1. The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie, by Jaclyn Moriarty. We’re starting off this list with my favorite book in the entire world. I have read it over 20 times (I’m serious). Written entirely in diary entries, notes, and emails, this book follows an eleventh-grade girl named Bindy, the smartest student in her grade. She often looks at her classmates as specimens that she needs to study or venomous animals that she needs to fear. When her health is declining, however, she must rely on the seven classmates in a new Friendship and Development class to save her life. Though this book is third in a series of companion novels, you do not have to read the other two before you start this one. It’s a quirky and thought-provoking read that will make you laugh, cry, and come back for 19 rereads.
2. Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman. I don’t normally consider myself an avid reader of high fantasy. In fact, many of the books on this list fall into the realistic fiction genre. Seraphina, however, had me hooked from the beginning. The story is set in a kingdom in which dragons can take human forms and live amongst humans. Though some dragons have assimilated into human society, a lot of tension and prejudice exists between the two groups. Our protagonist, Seraphina, struggles to hide her crippling secret: that her late mother was a dragon.
3. Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes. This is a classic that many of my peers read for class. Even though I never read it for school, I am so glad that I got to experience this touching story on my own. Flowers for Algernon follows a mentally handicapped man named Charlie Gordon, who is undergoing a series of surgeries to make him smarter. He tells his story through a series of progress reports that his doctors tell him to write. The titular Algernon is a lab mouse that underwent the same surgery as Charlie did, and is, at some times, Charlie’s only companion.
4. Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie. I have loved Agatha Christie’s mysteries ever since I was in middle school, and I honestly could have put any of her novels on this list. I believe, however, that Murder on the Orient Express combines everything that Christie is known for: unforgettable characters, witty dialogue, and an ending that you will never see coming. The night train from Istanbul to London is disturbed by the cry of Mr. Ratchett, who is later announced dead. With no way for anybody to get inside his compartment from the outside of the train, it is up to beloved Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, to uncover who on the train is secretly a murder. This book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and shocked me at its resolution.
5. Chopsticks, by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral. This book is unlike anything I have ever read before. It is told entirely in pictures, with a few words here and there scribbled on a postcard, or underlined in a newspaper clipping. The plot involves a young piano prodigy named Glory Fleming who falls in love with her Argentinian neighbor, Frank Mendoza. As the love story draws to a dramatic close, it is up to the reader to decide what is real and what is not.
6. The Whole Golden World, by Kristina Riggle. This is the thought provoking tale of an illicit relationship between a senior in high school and her math teacher. The story is told from the perspectives of Morgan, the student, Dinah, her mother, and Rain, the teacher’s wife. The story begins in the present day, at the teacher’s court date, where Morgan chooses to sit next to him instead of with her family. The rest of the novel is set in the past, detailing how the relationship grew and how it affected both families. What’s most successful about this story is that we learn to empathize with all three women instead of antagonizing against them.
7. Room, by Emma Donoghue. Five-year-old Jack has spent his entire life in Room. He lives only with his Ma and sometimes at night a scary man named Old Nick comes inside Room to hurt Ma, but Ma makes sure that Jack is hidden during that time. Inspired by stories of stolen captives, Donoghue weaves together an unforgettable tale about the love between mother and son while exploring the psyche of a boy who’s never seen the outside world.
8. Delirium, by Lauren Oliver. Delirium is set in a dystopian society in which love has been determined a deadly disease. Once they reach a certain age, teenagers are forced to undergo a surgery to expel love from their minds. Our protagonist, Lena, has always looked forward to getting the surgery. That is, until she meets a mysterious boy named Alex. While the plot may sound a little cheesy, the actual story is heart wrenching and beautiful. Oliver’s writing is superb and she goes at length to make this world as realistic as possible.
9. A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness and Jim Kay, inspired by an idea by Siobhan Dowd. This is probably the saddest, most beautiful book I have ever read, and yes, I did read The Fault in Our Stars. The story follows a young boy named Conor, whose mother is suffering from cancer. He is visited by a monster at night, but it’s not the monster that he was expecting. This monster is much less scary than the one in his nightmares. This book also has gorgeous black and white illustrations that add considerably to its atmosphere.
Whether you’re a bookworm like me or somebody who’s still a little sour towards reading, I hope that my list has given you some new book titles to consider checking out.