"One of Us is Lying" by Karen M. McManus

💬: On one Monday afternoon, five students from Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, AKA the brain, is a smart, rule-following, geek. Addy, AKA the beauty, is the picture-perfect (but perhaps a little too perfect) popular girl. Nate, AKA the criminal, is already on probation for dealing and has spent his fair share of time in detention. Cooper, AKA the athlete, is an all-star baseball pitcher that has plenty of colleges in mind. And finally, there’s Simon. Simon is the school’s Outcast as well as the creator of Bayview High’s gossip app. Simon has information on everybody. And he plans to create the most drama he possibly can. 

But Simon never makes it out of detention. 

Before their detention is over, Simon dies. And according to the investigators, it was not an accident. Simon dies on Monday. But on Tuesday, he had planned to release information on all four of the students mentioned above. Immediately, these four students become suspects in Simon’s murder. Did one of them do it? Or did the real murderer use them as pawns? Every person has secrets. But what matters most is how far you’d go to protect them. 

👍: What I loved most about this book was how it told the story. I loved how each chapter told the story from a different perspective. It gives a cool insight of what each character is thinking but it never gives away too much. This book will have you questioning up until the very end. If you like modern mysteries with teenagers, I highly recommend this book! It exceeded all expectations and the ending made me gasp aloud. 

"The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

 

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💬: Sixteen year old Starr Carter lives two lives. One life is in the poor black neighborhood that she resides in and the other is in the suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy tension of having to live in both worlds is shattered when she witnesses her childhood best friend, Khalil, get murdered by a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. News spreads about Khalil's death and it soon becomes a headline across the nation. Rumors spread that Khalil was a drug dealer and a thug, but Starr believes that nobody knows who Khalil really was. Even her own best friend from school says that Khalil had it coming. When the police neglect the incident, it becomes clear that civilians must take matters into their own hands. Protests break out and Starr's neighborhood becomes a battle zone. And no matter what their opinion is, everyone asks the same questions: What exactly happened that night? and Why did Khalil get shot? Starr, as the lone witness, is the only one who can answer those questions. But as violence and brutality continues, she soon realizes that her identity must be kept as a secret. 

👍: What I liked most about this book was well... everything. I loved how the author compared and contrasted the two very different worlds that Starr lives in. Throughout the book, she tries to balance both worlds while dealing with the traumatic loss of her best friend.  This book is written from Starr's perspective which gives the reader an insight into how chaotic it is to try and live in two worlds at the same time. Because this book is written from Starr's perspective, we get an emotional and heartbreaking view on the events that occur.  Through it's beautiful writing, the book  and incredibly heart-wrenching. 

"The Shining" by Stephen King

 

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Happy Spooky Season! Today we feature Stephen King's The Shining as a spooky book to celebrate Halloween! 👻

💬: Jack Torrance's new job at the Overlook Hotel gives him and his family the perfect chance for a new start. The cold and bitter winters at the Overlook give Jack the perfect opportunity to connect with his wife Wendy and his five- year- old son Danny. It also gives him the chance to start his new book. But as winter draws nearer and the snow makes it impossible to leave, strange things start to occur. And the only one who seems to see them is Danny, who's gifted mind seems to attract the terrifying forces wandering around the hotel. As time goes on, the appeal of the Overlook Hotel fades into something much more dark... and sinister. 

👍: What I liked most about this book, without giving too much away, is the hotel's gradual change from the idyllic vacation spot to a sinister palace of lost history. King's writing makes you dread the Overlook even though you aren't there. When reading this book, you get a mixture of the Overlook's history as well as the Torrance family history. And I thought it was incredibly interesting to see how it all ties in together as one horrific tale about a grand hotel and its groundskeeper.