Five Books Everyone Should Read is a feature we’re running in 2015. We’ve asked some of our favorite authors, readers and bloggers to share five books that touched them or have stayed with them throughout the years.
Today we have TG, Holly’s first-born and our sometimes guest reviewer, here to share her list of 5 Books.
Thinking back over the years, it was hard to pin down just 5 books I think everyone should read. These books have brought me considerable joy, and have stayed in my mind even when others faded. I would recommend them to anyone and everyone, so here you have them.
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She’ll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace- and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.
And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly’s Dusté and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.
As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can’t control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren’t so clear—.
Poison study takes an interesting perspective on the “girl learns to save herself” trope. It shows the main as multifaceted and human, while incorporating elements of fantasy that we all know and love. Magic, danger, personal and external conflict. It’s fast paced, descriptive (but not overly so), and crazy funny.
It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. In King City, the young King Nash is clinging to the throne, while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. War is coming. And the mountains and forest are filled with spies and thieves. This is where Fire lives, a girl whose beauty is impossibly irresistible and who can control the minds of everyone around her. Exquisitely romantic, this companion to the highly praised Graceling has an entirely new cast of characters, save for one person who plays a pivotal role in both books. You don’t need to have read Graceling to love Fire. But if you haven’t, you’ll be dying to read it next.
A beautifully written YA novel focused on the struggles of a “monster” girl named Fire (after her bright hair). I can’t count how many times I’ve read this book, but I would still recommend it. It’s got tons of twists and turns, relatable characters, and an interesting original premise. It has two companion books, Graceling and Bitterblue, but it stands on its own just fine.
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world’s only completelyaccurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.
So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth’s mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture.
And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist . . .
A hilarious book about an angel and a demon and their caddywhompus relationship. The demon is the real reason to read the book. I won’t spoil anything though, just read it.
Dragons Bait by Vivian Vande Velde
Fifteen-year-old Alys is not a witch. But that doesn’t matter–the villagers think she is and have staked her out on a hillside as a sacrifice to the local dragon.
It’s late, it’s cold, and it’s raining, and Alys can think of only one thing–revenge. But first she’s got to escape, and even if she does, how can one girl possibly take on an entire town alone?
Then the dragon arrives–a dragon that could quite possibly be the perfect ally. . . .
Short novel about a girl who is wrongly accused of practicing witchcraft. She makes a deal with a (very attractive) dragon. What more do you need to know?
13 Reasons Why by Debra Wiseman and Jay Asher.
You can’t stop the future.
You can’t rewind the past.
The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why.Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah’s pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.
Sad, very sad. Still, it’s well written and highly impactful. This book is told from the perspective of a friend of a girl who commits suicide. But she leaves behind a message for each of the people that she believed pushed her over the edge.
TG is 18. She likes animals, the color purple and long walks on the beach. Well, mostly swimming in the ocean.
She’s an avid reader, sometimes knitter, often opinionated aspiring art therapist. Pardon her feminism.