No Name

If you’re looking for book recommendations for the summer, you’re in the right place! For my last post, I have gathered a mix of books to hopefully inspire you to continue reading over the summer. Sci-Fi: Andy Weir’s The Martian is a pretty scientifically accurate, humorous, survival novel about an astronaut stranded on Mars. It’s engaging plot wise and emotionally, and is great when you want to read something that makes you feel smart but isn’t too heavy. If you like the book, you could also watch the movie which is pretty cool!  Historical fiction: Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See is a WWⅡ novel about a French girl and a German soldier and how their lives intertwine. It’s very rich in storytelling and nicely written, so if you like lyrical writing, a layered plot, and heavy topics, you’ll appreciate this book. Historical fiction/social commentary: Doctorow’s Ragtime is an interesting novel that mixes real and fictional characters in early 20th century America to ...

For my very last blog post, I really wanted to read a book that had summer vibes, because I am so ready for summer break! While I was researching some books to read, I stumbled across this title. In case you’ve heard of it before, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was adapted into a popular movie as well! The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is about four teenage girls who’ve been friends since they were babies – Carmen, Tibby, Bailey (called Bee), and Lena. They are all feeling pretty glum as summer break starts, as this is their first summer apart from each other. Carmen is visiting her dad, Bee is going to a soccer camp, Lena is visiting her grandparents in Greece, and Tibby is staying home. That’s when they discover a pair of magical pants! These pants seem pretty normal at first glance, just a pair of blue jeans. However, they fit all four girls (who have very different body types) perfectly. They decide to mail the Pants to each other throughout the course of the summer to s...

Hey guys, forever ago I made a review from the halfway point of Throne of Glass. Now I am back to tell you my final thoughts after finishing the series! First of all, these books are HUGE, but sometimes I wished they were longer because I enjoyed them so much. Sarah J. Maas is such an amazing world builder, and there are always so many twists in her stories. Because of the surprising changes, I can’t tell you much about the story or I will spoil the entire series.  Essentially, the story starts with a young assassin who was saved from a slave camp to participate in the king’s competition to find the best person to do his dirty work. From there, the story evolves to something so much bigger. There is romance, drama, sorrow, struggle, and so much happiness. After reading the first book, I could have never guessed just how much the story would change. This is absolutely my new favorite series. My favorite books in the series are Empire of Storms or Kingdom of Ash. As is typical fo...

  Warriors by Erin Hunter is a book series about a bunch of cats with their own civilization in the forest. I read this series back when I was younger, and have just started to get back into them.  In Warriors , there are 4 groups of cats; Thunderclan, Riverclan, Windclan, and ShadowClan. Thunderclan is known for their bravery, Riverclan is known for their swimmers, Windclan is known for their speed, and Shadowclan is known for their deviousness. The clans can be compared to the different houses of Harry Potter. Each clan has their own leaders, 2nd in commands (deputies), medicine cats, and warriors. Leaders and 2nd in commands are in charge of keeping everyone in line. Medicine cats are there to prevent and treat injuries. Warriors are in charge of the hunting and protection of borders from cats of other clans. Most of the stories revolve around some kind of dispute between the clans; sometimes a cat from one clan has attacked one of another clan; sometimes one clan steals a...

 First off, apologies for the late post! I had thought we were still in the third week of the blog cycle, but I guess I was mistaken... We have all read the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books when we were kids; the author Jeff Kinney does a great job at portraying Greg as a lazy, somewhat egotistical middle schooler, who often takes advantage of his best friend, Rowley Jefferson. But have you ever heard Rowley's side of the story? Diary of an Awesome Friendly kid by Jeff Kinney was published in April 2019, about 6 months after his book Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown , and portrays Rowley's relationship with Greg. The books' structure consists of multiple entries, each of which Rowley talks about his experiences with Greg. I will now overview the entries, and state points that stood out to me. The first few entries are about Rowley and Gregs' meeting. Rowley was in fourth grade when his Dad got a new job, so Rowley moved next to Greg. Even at their first meeting, Greg was ...

A common dilemma for teens in this era is that there’s not a third space to hang out and spend time. The options are primarily school or things that cost money. While there are other options like the park or just walking outside, you can’t really do that in the winter and that brings the question if walking outside every day is really fun for teens.  I present libraries as an option to solve this problem. I know that lots of people think that libraries would be a really boring hang out spot, but it’s actually not! Not only can you look around at the books, but most libraries host all kinds of events that are completely free. Most people that live in the same area have a library card so it is easy to obtain. For example, the Champaign Public Library hosts a teen lounge almost every week day at 3 o’clock. There is also something called Club Fred that is marketed for teens where you can do crafts and fun activities. These are just a few of the options that the Champaign library alone ...