You’ve made it. Finally, Spring Break! No exams, no squishing yourself into the T to get to your 8 AM, no school whatsoever for a whole week. You have earned time to relax and let your mind destress. If you aren’t going anywhere special or if you are but still want a travel companion, do I have some books for you.
1. The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
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Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon took the Young Adult scene by storm a few years ago, even earning a highly successful film adaptation. If there one thing Nicola Yoon is known for, it’s making a great young adult romance novel and she certainly does with The Sun Is Also a Star. Natasha is a seventeen-year-old Jamaican immigrant on the verge of being deported. On her last visit to the US Customs Office, she fatefully meets Daniel, a Korean-American boy on the way to cut his shaggy hair and embark on his new life. Daniel has been looking for help in deciding what he wants to do in life and sees meeting her as a sign. Natasha is grounded by science and logic, so she doesn’t believe in fate or signs. She focuses on stopping the deportation of her family. Daniel is not grounded at all, he’s passionate and creative and thinks he fell in love at first sight. The two travel New York City together trying to understand each other and their futures.
Make sure to finish this book before May! The highly anticipated film adaptation, starring Yara Shahidi and Charles Melton, hits theaters May 17 of this year!
2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
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If you’ve read any Young Adult Literature, you have heard the name, Marissa Meyer. Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles have completely captivated young adult readers by twisting old fairytales with futuristic settings. Cinder is the first novel in the Lunar Chronicle series. Cinder is a cyborg girl who lives in New Beijing with her stepmother and stepsisters. One day, Prince Kai asks her to help fix his broken android. She hides the fact she is a cyborg from him and helps him. Cinder’s stepsister falls ill and her stepmother blames her. Her stepmother sends her away for testing. During the testing, it is found out that Cinder is immune to the disease her sister and so many others have caught. Prince Kai’s father is suffering from the same disease so the prince must deal with the Lunar Queen Levana who wants to marry Kai to form an alliance. Kai doesn’t want to marry her so he seeks out the true heir of the Lunar Throne; Princess Selene who is presumed dead but is also rumored to have been smuggled to Earth. This novel is amazing and is sure to make you come back for the second novel, Scarlet.
3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
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Little Women is a classic Young Adult novel beloved by all that read it. The March sisters, Jo, Beth, Meg, and Amy, all try to find a way to live in New England during the Civil War. Their entire goal throughout the book is to behave and improve themselves for their father who is away working in the Union army. The oldest Meg wants to overcome her vanity and complain less. Jo, based on the author herself, is a tomboy with a temper who wants to become more ladylike. Beth is a quiet girl who loves music and wants to overcome her shyness. The youngest Amy wants to be less selfish and become a generous and graceful woman.
There is also a highly anticipated film adaptation being made for Little Women to be released in 2019. The film adaptation is set to star Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Timothee Chalamet, Laura Dern, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Chris Cooper, and Meryl Streep. The film is also being directed by Academy-Award Nominated Greta Gerwig, so movie critics everywhere will be talking about it.