Assignment 2 Abby Shadwick

During the last 12 months, I have read a variety of books. This year, I have challenged myself to read one book a month. Some of the most memorable include All The Light We Cannot See, Lovely War, and If You’re Out There. Overall, I enjoy reading fiction and realistic fiction. All of these books were realistically based, with (mostly) human characters, and teenagers or young adults. People, their minds, feelings, behavior, and challenges are what interest me the most. All The Light We Cannot See was definitely the most challenging to read, as the writing style was slow at times, but the overall message was touching. It observed two deeply sensitive teenagers in the midst of World War 2 and how their world’s eventually collided. Next, Lovely War was set in World War 1, and again about how teenagers from faraway places found love in the midst of their losses. It all sounds a bit cheesy now that I’m typing, but it was quite interesting. The best twist in the book was that the Greek gods Aphrodite and Hephaestus had waged a bet on the fate of these humans, and then the reader sees how it all played out. Finally, If You’re Out There was also about teenagers, but set in present day America. This book was actually a bit of a mystery, as one of the two main characters moves away and begins completely ghosting her former best friend. The former best friend begins investigating, and is shocked by what she finds. Overall, recommend all three reads. On the other hand, I would not recommend Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain (sorry Mr. Logsdon), but I am not enthralled by scientific reads.