Bookish Boyfriends, by Tiffany Schmidt, is a modern day combination of Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice. A mix of all the chaos, surprises, and romance of those two masterpieces. This book is relatable and insightful by letting you identify with the characters of old stories. It is about a high school girl trying to find her own story.
In Bookish Boyfriends, Merrilee Campbell is obsessed with books. All her free time is spent reading and summarizing her stories to her two loyal best friends, Eliza and Toby, and basically anyone who is around to hear it. Merrilee always talks about how boys are so much better in books than in real life. Until one day, she meets a mysterious boy at her new high school who seems suspiciously like Romeo. Merrilee thinks Romeo and Juliet is the greatest love story of all time. She wanders through the halls wondering if she will ever be his Juliet. Is this her story?
This never before seen combination of two classics has all the right components. If you are a fan of Romeo and Juliet, Pride and Prejudice, or romance in general, you will love this book. It’s a perfect read for people trying to find their own stories, and their own bookish boyfriends.
Author Archives: Cadie Peters
MunMun by Jesse Andrews
In MunMun, by Jesse Andrews, a different world is taking place. A world where your amount of money determines your size. For littlepoors, the world is dangerous and full of huge cats, crazy cars, and people accidentally stomping on them. For middles, the world is comfy; everything is their size. They have average lives, but live in fear of becoming poor and being scaled down at any moment For bigs, the world is tiny. They tower over literally everything, and are never completely full or hydrated. They have to eat entire cows and move in slow motion and whisper in order not to kill anyone smaller than them. The whole point of living in this world is to scale up, but the question is, where do you stop?
Warner is born littlepoor, along with his sister Prayer and friend Usher. They travel throughout their little, terrifying lives and try to find ways to scale up. The only problem is, it seems the world is built for everyone bigger. It’s difficult to scale up when it feels like everything is against you
MunMun is unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s a very interesting take on how money impacts people’s lives. It’s full of adventure, plot twists, betrayals, and interesting friendships. Andrews writes this in a different way, with fascinating spelling/grammar and impeccable descriptions. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a truly crazy story formed from an idea no one has ever seen before.
Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi
Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card is an informative yet fun book about being an illegal immigrant in the United States. Sara Saedi writes a memoir about being in the country illegally, while also struggling with your average teenager problems. It tells the story of her life through the years, with real excerpts from her childhood diary. Each chapter is a well written tangent about an experience in her life. Saedi shares her story full of ups and downs on her journey to get a green card.
This book is perfect for anyone who knows about the Iranian culture, or is part of an Iranian family. It’s relatable for Persians, but everything is also very clearly explained if you aren’t. Americanized is funny and sad, from prom and boys to living illegally in America. Saedi explains all the rules and warnings and of being an illegal immigrant in America. I learned a lot while also being thoroughly entertained. I loved how she included “Frequently Asked Questions”, usually about being an immigrant or an Iranian stereotype. Her life is interesting to read about. Her and her family go through so many adventures, some good and some bad. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a link to the Iranian style of life, and/or wants to learn more about the process and struggles of illegal immigrants. Saedi perfectly sums up breaking the law while just wanting a boyfriend and nice eyebrows.
York: The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby
Laura Ruby delivers a fantastic adventure in York: The Shadow Cipher. This is the first book in the series. It tells the story of a peculiar world ruled by two famous twins, Theodore and Theresa Morningstarr. Back in the 1800’s, these twins were amazing inventors of all sorts of machines and buildings set to use in New York, including the Morningstarr Tower. Right before the two disappeared, they left the ‘Old York Cipher’ in their wake, a series of ciphers and puzzles in the newspaper left for the citizens of New York to solve.
Back in modern day New York, another set of twins, Theo and Tessa (their grandpa was obsessed with the Morningstarrs and their cipher), along with their friend Jaime are being ripped away from their home. They live in one of the original Morningstarr buildings, which are all being demolished by a billionaire real estate developer. Their building, their home, was getting taken away. The kids realize the only way to save their building is to solve the impossible Old York Cipher. Their grandpa had said, while you’re trying to solve the cipher, it’s trying to solve you.
This book is written with so many twisters, you can never expect what comes next. From the moment I started this book, I could not put it down. It is an excellent read for anyone who likes “alternate-history adventure” with mystery and puzzles. There is so much adventure in this high-tech, unimaginable world. I can’t wait for the next book.
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
They Both Die at the End, by Adam Silvera is a heartbreaking, but heartwarming book. It tells the story of two teenagers nearing the end of their life. They live in a world where everyone gets told the day they’re going to die on their phone by a company called ‘Death-Cast’. They usually call around midnight so you can have as much time to say goodbyes and experience all your dreams as soon as possible. People dying are called Deckers. Death-Cast calls Mateo and Rufus today because they’re dying, but not before one more huge adventurous day.
Mateo and Rufus find each other because of an app called ‘Last Friend’, which is meant for Decker strangers to meet up and create a last friend on their End Day. The two boys face the world together, learning everything about each other and facing the fear of death. A violent Rufus and a cautious Mateo turn into the best of friends during their End Day.
Adam Silvera writes an original story, like no plot you’ve ever read. This book will keep you reading, wanting to discover every inch of Rufus and Mateo’s friendship.
All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater
In the book All the Crooked Saints, by Maggie Stiefvater, the Soria family lives with many secrets from the past, and many to come. The Sorias live in the town of Bicho Raro, located in the Colorado desert. The large family lives with pilgrims occupying the rest of their empty rooms. The Sorias fall in between the line of magic and faith. They have a designated person called the Saint, who can perform miracles to whoever passerby has searched for the famous miracle desert town and wants to be healed. The miracles happen by the Saint bringing out whatever darkness is in the person. These miracles are done in two parts. The Saint performs the first part, and the pilgrim themselves have to finish the second part. The first part is where the pilgrim’s darkness is brought out, usually in weird physical forms that make them abnormal. The second part is the pilgrim realizing what their darkness is, and solving it so they return to normal. Some of these crazy first miracles end up with pilgrims growing to be twenty feet tall, or gaining the head of a coyote. However, the Soria family cannot interfere with the pilgrims on their journey to the second miracle, or the Sorias themselves will end up with their own even greater darkness. Lately, the pilgrims haven’t been completing their second miracles though. Our three protagonists, Beatriz, Daniel, and Joaquin, run a pirate radio station on the side with none of their family in on the secret. Soon, they realize they can somehow help the pilgrims finish their second miracles with the help of their radio, as long as they are cautious about the long-known taboo and extreme darkness.
All the Crooked Saints presents a new take on family values, and coming together after years of drifting apart. This story is different from everything else you can imagine. Reading this fills you with hope and a newfound sense of miracles. Stiefvater writes with a description so real, the feelings of the characters come alive. This book is great for anyone who believes in miracles, or who believes family and friendship is a huge part in one’s life. Or with a taste for magical adventure. Magic is presented in a new way in All the Crooked Saints.
At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson
Shaun David Hutchinson writes At the Edge of the Universe with so many amazing characters. He evicts every feeling possible out of us. It’s impossible to put down. This book is a great story about a boy named Ozzie, and his boyfriend Tommy. One day, Tommy vanishes, and Ozzie discovers the universe is shrinking. Rapidly. And weird events keep taking place, targeting Ozzie specifically. While searching for Tommy, Ozzie gets paired up with a weird kid in physics named Calvin. They grow closer as the universe grows smaller. Ozzie’s life soon becomes a mess, with too many things happening all at once, and the world getting tinier and tinier.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves John Green with a hint of sci-fi. At the Edge of the Universe is an amazing story filled with love, sadness, and laughter. It is a touching story about adventure and finding yourself. Everyone needs to read this sometime in their life.