The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner follows the life of Amir, a boy from Afghanistan, through adulthood as he gains and loses friends and family members, escapes war, and learns to live in a new country, only to return to Afghanistan once more because of his relationships. Amir was living a peaceful life with his wealthy father (Baba), their servant (Ali), and the servant’s son (Hassan). Amir and Hassan were best friends, and kite fighting and participating in kite running tournaments were their favorite activities. However, one after another, terrible things happened to Amir and his family, including facing war. Ultimately, Amir works to repent for his past cruelties and make peace with his inner demons. 

This is a very well-written and moving story. I loved the plot, characters, character development, and details. There were many meaningful themes and beautiful metaphors. Best of all, everything was depicted as it should be with the seriousness it deserves. Nothing was watered-down or made to look more innocent or pure than it actually is. There was nothing about this book that I disliked. The only thing I could possibly think of is that I felt one character was let off the hook too easily, and that I wanted him to have an ending more fitting for his past actions. However, this is more about my dislike for the evil actions of a character than something I disliked about the book. 

This book is not for sensitive or faint-hearted people. It has very graphic, depressing, and violent content. Terrible things happen to the characters. As such, I would only recommend this book for those of age 16 and older. If you are someone who does not like reading about horrible things happening to people (including children), please do not read this book. Even I, as someone who is fine with violence and sad events in books, had trouble reading some parts of this story. This goes to show how realistic and well-written this book is. However, if you want to know about the realities of war and learn about what life was like for people in Afghanistan in the recent past, or even if you just simply want a beautiful and moving story, I would highly recommend this book. 

Gayathri Menon (Gum Spring Library)

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Klara and the Sun is about Klara, an AI robot that gets purchased to be a companion for Josie. The story is set in a place where the wealthy purchase such robots to act as friends for their children. Klara is happy to be in her new home with her new family. However, she soon realizes that something is wrong with Josie, and that there is a lot of tension within the family. The book follows Klara’s story as she navigates all the issues and tries to help her new family.

I loved how this book was very reflective on aspects of society and qualities of the world. It brought up multiple points of discussion, and used Klara as a medium to describe them. It also tied all of this well into the plot, which is something that a lot of books that contain such reflective commentary do not do. However, there were a couple things I did not like about this book. First of all, the ending was underwhelming for me. I would have liked it if it had ended differently than how it did, as I feel that the ending that was written was rushed and just overall not the best ending for the plot. I will not write anymore about this to avoid spoiling the book. The second thing I disliked about this is how this book would sometimes seemingly bring up important aspects of society or the world in general to discuss, but then would leave the discussion on a cliffhanger and would never return to it. In fact, there was one such topic that was brought up that seemed to be the main argument Ishiguro was making through the book. However, this topic was suddenly dropped at the end, and it seemed almost as if the opposite was being said instead. It was very confusing to understand what the author was trying to argue through the book. Overall, though, this is a wonderful and thoughtful book to read despite the few problems. 

This book would appeal to both teenagers and adults alike, especially if they are interested in reading about dystopian societies, like Sci-Fi, or want thoughtful social commentary. 

Gayathri Menon (Gum Spring Library)

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

Hello, my name is Occasional Reader and I will be reviewing Vengeful by V.E. Schwab, the sequel to Vicious. As this was the sequel to Vicious, I was quite eager to pick this book up as the last book was left on a cliffhanger. If I were to speak from a critical standpoint, I would say that what I liked about this book was that the ending made complete sense. The way all the loose ends were tied, as I mentioned in my review for Vicious, they make sense for each of the characters and their personalities. But if I were to speak personally, I didn’t enjoy the ending very much because there wasn’t much that was thrilling about it. Although the majority of the book was the same suspense I felt from the first book, the ending to this book felt almost anti-climactic because it felt as though the two books guide to this great climax, and then the rollercoaster flatlines. Ultimately, I was a little disappointed, but if I were to look at it from the author’s perspective, it makes a lot of sense. I think if I were to recommend this book, it would most likely be to those who read Vicious because the majority of the book is still a very well-written, thrilling sequel, especially with the introduction of new characters, and closes the finale to this universe quite well. Overall, I would give this book a 7/10. Thank you for reading!

Occasional Reader (Gum Spring Library)

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Hello, my name is Occasional Reader and I will be reviewing the novel Vicious by V.E. Schwab. This novel is about the characters Victor and Eli and how their spontaneous experiment for a college thesis goes awry and opens up a whole new world they begin to explore. As someone who isn’t big on sci-if, this book does an excellent job at introducing the paranormal elements in a way that makes you believe that they could be real. Each character’s actions agree with their personalities and there isn’t much plot armor, so you can enjoy the book without feeling as though the events aren’t realistic. Something I didn’t particularly like about this book was the method of writing. The way this book is written, there will be the climactic moment the entire book leads up to, so each chapter is titled by a time. For example, since the climax happens near the end of the book, the story leads to the climax through chapters in the past and are titled like “Three and a Half Years Ago” or “Three Weeks Ago”. Although it does build suspense to the eventual tip of the rollercoaster, it makes reading the book quite confusing because, at least for me, I had to go back and check when the event of the chapter would be taking place each time, which made the entire experience harder to enjoy. Someone who would like this book would have to be in their teens or young adult and someone who is either seeking a suspenseful thriller, or someone who is willing to try something new. This book is a fun journey and quite addicting too, so I believe most people of that demographic would find it to be a good read. Overall, I give this book an 8/10. Thank you for reading!

Occasional Reader (Gum Spring Library) 

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is a twelve year-old kid who has just found out about the world of mythological creatures that he had been living in the midst of. His best friend had turned out to be a satyr (half man & half goat) and his unknown father had turned out to be the god of the sea! He now must venture across the country to accomplish his first task along with the satyr and a daughter of another goddess, while getting used to the ways of the mythological world. His mission: To find the thief who stole Zeus’ master lightning bolt, which is the ultimate weapon of destruction, in a matter of just a few days. He faces several terrifying monsters, which are only a fraction compared to their master, the main antagonist and villain. 

I liked that this book was very action-packed and adventurous, which is perfect for a page-turning and exciting book. Percy never fails to keep us as the readers entertained, whether it was one of his epic fights with enemy monsters, or his hilarious jokes and comments that keep the trio sane in their journey. The amount of descriptive detail is also amazing because, while these monsters may seem so unreal because of their features, Riordan uses so much detail to literally paint a picture in our heads. Something I did not like about the book is the mild bullying that occured in the beginning of the book with Percy and Nancy Bobofit at Yancy Academy; however, that is a very minor detail. The book overall is one of the best that I have read. I give the book a 8.5/10 and highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a series like Harry Potter, might like Greek mythology, or anyone who just wants to read an exciting fantasy book.

Sanvi Pulluri (Gum Spring Library)

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

The book Little Fires Everywhere took place in the small, prestigious town of Shaker Heights where three families find themselves in difficult situations. This story compared the Richardsons, who were a wealthy family and the Warrens, who were a little poorer. The book was mainly about the two families interacting with one another and sometimes with the third family, the McCulloughs. 

I liked how the author described each character’s perspective in the novel. It showed the thoughts behind each of the characters’ actions. I disliked the end of the story however. I feel there shouldn’t have been a cliffhanger and instead a happy ending. I would recommend this book to teenagers and adolescents interested to read a story with a diverse plot.

Vijay Sriram (Gum Spring Library)

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell is for lovers of teen romance, angst, and deep emotions. I love the realness of Eleanor and Park’s dynamic.

It follows 2 high schoolers brought together by the trusty fate of their school bus. They live in a lower-class neighborhood in Nebraska. Eleanor is a spunky red-headed girl with a quick attitude who lives in close quarters with many siblings, a messed up stepdad, and a timid mom. Park is the only Asian boy in his neighborhood, with a love for music and comic books. Park quickly falls in love with Eleanor, but Eleanor doesn’t want him to see all of her flaws. 

Slowly, Eleanor lets Park into her world. Park’s family is hesitant at first when he brings a shy white girl into their home, but after understanding her situation at home, they become much more welcoming. The only significant problem in Park and Eleanor’s relationship is their lack of alone time. So, one night Park’s mom urges them to go out for pizza, which ripples into a deep hole of sad, heartbreaking events. 

KL (Gum Spring Library)

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell is for lovers of romance, surprises, and domino effects. I love how the story comes together and ends happily ever after. 

It follows Lincoln, a late 20-year-old who moved back in with his mom and has an obsession with going back to college. His sister, Eve, is married with 2 boys and urges Lincon every day to get a “life of his own”, that doesn’t require playing Dungeons and Dragons once a week with his only 4 friends and having their mom cook every meal for him. Lincoln decides he wants to turn his life around, so he gets a job as a security worker and starts to head to the gym (and eventually moves out). However, this security job includes super late hours and reading “flagged” emails of workers for his local newspaper. 

Jennifer and Beth are two journalist friends at this local newspaper, who often are inappropriate in their email exchanges. They are always catching up about their husbands/boyfriends, weddings they’re attending, who is pregnant, and more. Naturally, Lincoln ends up reading many of their emails during his security check-ins and finds out so much about the two girls. Beth, even with a boyfriend of 8 years, shows interest in the mysterious IT guy (Lincoln) and calls him the cute guy often in her emails to Jennifer. Lincoln is flattered when he finds out because he was starting to develop a crush on her already. The only thing standing between the two is 1) Lincoln knows so much personal stuff about Beth’s life and is still partially getting over his high school/ early college girlfriend, Sam, and 2) Beth has a boyfriend. The two end up meeting in shocking circumstances and the rest in inevitable.

KL (Gum Spring Library)

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

Lexi Smart is a normal, twenty five year old woman who is broke and lives in a low-key, shabby apartment. But when she wakes up in the hospital, she finds out that she hit her head, got amnesia, and lost three whole years of her memory. So Lexi is now twenty eight years old, is the head of her company, and is married to a very handsome and wealthy man. Confused, Lexi has to learn how her life went from boring to glamorous with one bump on the head. 

Remember Me? was fun to read, and I loved the amount of visual detail, character development there was. I also enjoyed how this book kept me excited and entertained from the beginning, as a lot of books don’t do this to me. With that said, the protagonist annoyed me. All of the characters in all of Sophie Kinsella’s books are the exact same – flirty, airheaded, and ignorant. The theme of amnesia was also confusing. As the reader, it was hard to keep track of and understand the time periods, as the book switched from pre-accident/before amnesia (3 years in the past), and after accident/with amnesia (3 years in the future). Additionally, I disliked the message that the author gave to the audience. Kinsella made it seem like it’s acceptable to cheat on your significant other if you fall out of love with them. I think that this is a horrible message to send to anyone, but especially to young adults who are starting to date themselves and starting to learn what love is. However, if you like romances, then this is a good book to read. I would rate this book an 8/10. In my opinion, readers should be 15+, due to sexual content and cursing.

Katrina Williams (Gum Spring Library)

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

Melody is a young girl who suffers from cerebral palsy. While Melody cannot speak nor walk, she has an incredible photographic memory. She is also far more intelligent than her peers, which her family, doctors, and classmates don’t realize. How will Melody overcome her challenges and prove herself to the world?

In my opinion, Out of My Mind is a book that all kids should read, no matter their age. I think if all kids were to read this book for a school project, it would decrease the amount of bullying. Out of My Mind really changes your perspective about people with special needs and disabilities, and I think it would make people more empathetic if they were to read this book. Additionally, Out of My Mind has a great amount of detail, as well as developed characters. If you love reading realistic fiction, then I highly recommend this book. I would rate it a 9/10. I also think the reader should be 10+.

Katrina Williams (Gum Spring Library)