Reading has always been an escape for me. No matter what kind of day I've had or how much pressure I'm under, I can always confide in my favorite authors to whisk me away into a world where I can fully indulge myself in a fantasy. Because of this, I tend to go for books I can somewhat relate to, teen realistic fiction. Those sappy love stories that set unrealistic expectations of what true love is- yeah, that's my jam. One of my favorite authors, Nicola Yoon, has only authored two books: Everything Everything and The Sun Is Also A Star. I first read Everything Everything in the eighth grade... in one day. And I have read it countless times since then and now can finish it in about two hours. While the cheesy love story is nothing less than stereotypical perfection, what I find myself appreciating more about Yoon's writing is her wit. She writes in a way that makes me feel like I can't help but keep reading because the dread of not knowing what comes next is far greater than dread I will face if I keep reading, ignoring my body's hunger for sleep. My excitement for Everything Everything caused my eagerness to read The Sun Is Also A Star, a book which I recently read this past summer- a book equally filled with Yoon's wit. I spent two days reading this book, and even more days thinking about it afterwards. I had mentally prepared myself to be let down by the second work of my newly proclaimed favorite author (and yes, she was my favorite author after reading her only novel), however disappointing would be the last word I would ever use to describe her work. Her ability to go "full circle" in both obvious and discreet ways is something I appreciate about her work, as well as the relatable humor. Other teen-fiction novels I have read this past year include The Fault in Our Stars, Infinite in Between, and The Beginning of Everything. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a good teen fiction novel- no matter how cheesy or "basic" that may sound.
However, there is one book that I have read in the past year that I did not anticipate would interest me as much as it did. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett was the book I chose to read for AP World, and it was almost a thousand pages of nail-biting suspense intertwined with romance and betrayal. I started this reading analysis long before most other students and at about a fourth of the way in, I was recommending it to anyone and everyone who had not yet picked their book. Seemingly out of place in my list of this year's books, Pillars of the Earth challenged me to think from the perspectives of peoples from different incomes, with different pasts, fighting for different beliefs, and to top it all of all of whom were from a different time period.
Lastly, I will address the one book in the past year that I failed to complete: Go Set a Watchman, the sequel to the beloved To Kill a Mockingbird which is another book I have read countless times (including in the past year) and fall in love with more after each read. My expectations for Go Set a Watchman were extremely high and I hate to say that Harper Lee's sequel did not live up to the original (a phrase that is said so often, we as a society should question the need for sequels in the first place). You know how sometimes books can get off to a slow start? In my opinion, this book got off to a slow start... which was followed by a slow middle... and at that point I did not have the will power to read on.
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