Fairest

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine [J Fiction]

by Christine, age 17

Fairest is a companion book to “Ella Enchanted”. Some of the characters are briefly mentioned, but the book takes place in the neighboring country of Ayortha, so there is not much overlap except for the character Areida. The plot is very interesting, filled with adventure and fantasy. However, the love story part seems like an afterthought. One minute he loves her (after just meeting her), then he hates her, and didn’t even defend her when she was unjustly accused, and then out of the blue he loves her again. It just seemed forced. Other than that, this book was quite good- very well-written.

Twilight

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer  [YA Fiction]

By Abi, 8th grader

Bella just moved to a new town and falls in love with gorgeous Edward… everything is normal, right? No! Edward is a vampire! He and his vampire family are getting Bella into more trouble than she ever could imagine.

Summers at Castle Auburn

Summers at Castle Auburn, by Sharon Shinn [YA Fiction, we don't own]

by Marina, age 14

An amazing book set in the time of kings and queens. Learn about the inner workings of the high class while having fun with devious Rosie. A must read, especially for highschoolers.

Princess Bride

Princess Bride, by William Goldman [YA Fiction]

by Christine, age 17

The Princess Bride is sort of a story-within-a-story. It is written as if it’s an abridgement of a classic “Florinese” novel. Florin is a country in the book, but the entire time that the story is being told, the author writes as if it is real. The book is so well-written that I had to go look it up online to see if it was true.

The story is about a girl named Buttercup who falls in love with a boy named Westley. Although the story is about their relationship, romance is not the focus of the book. It is much more a comedy or fantasy. I would recommend this book to anyone not intimidated by length. It’s a wonderful read.

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen [adult fiction]

by Christine, age 16

Few classic books have engaged me as much as Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen’s brilliance is truly evident in this, her most famous and most incredible work. I first read this book in seventh grade and enjoyed it so much that I’ve re-read it several times since.

The novel is about a young woman named Elizabeth Bennet and her sister Jane. Together they cope with the trials and tribulations of dealing with their obnoxious mother, trying to knock some sense into their improper younger sisters, and most importantly–trying to find love.

When Mr. Bingley comes to town, bringing his sister and his best friend, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley is well-received as a rich, friendly young man who would most likely marry one of the eligible young women of the town. Mr. Darcy is perceived as an arrogant, prideful person who deeply insulted Elizabeth at their first meeting.

As the novel progresses, we become aware that Mr. Darcy’s attitude towards Elizabeth is beginning to change. Mr. Darcy remarks that, “It has been some time now since I considered her to be one of the handsomest young women of my acquaintance.”

Then, Mr. Darcy proposes marriage. He tells Elizabeth that she has no money, no connections, and indeed nothing to recommend her to a good marriage. Despite his approach, he expects to be accepted. Instead, Elizabeth promptly turns him down flat. Her beliefs about Darcy have been influenced by the suave and ever-charming Wickham, who has told Elizabeth that Mr. Darcy played an integral part in preventing Wickham from receiving his inheritance.

Is it true? Is Mr. Darcy the prideful, arrogant man Elizabeth thinks he is? Perhaps…or perhaps not. I highly recommend you read this wonderful book — and discover the truth about Mr. Darcy.

Time Enough for Drums

Time Enough for Drums, by Ann Rinaldi [YA Fiction]

by Abi, Age 13

Jemima is a willstrong, uncontrollable teen whose tutor, John Reid, is determined to make a proper young lady out of her. Meanwhile, the Revolutionary War is starting and Jem’s older brother is joining. Then John joins and Jem starts missing him. Is she falling in love? This is an incredible book. Very well-written and factual.

Rebecca

Rebecca, by Daphne DuMaurier [YA/adult fiction]

by Christine, 11th grader

This book is a murder mystery/romance that is extremely well-written. It is about the second Mrs. deWinter and how she comes to find out what happened to the first Mrs. deWinter, Rebecca. It kept me guessing and was very interesting. I highly recommend it.

Eclipse

Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer [YA Fiction]

by Marina, 9th grader

As the third book in the Twilight series, Eclipse is the best yet. Back to her old self, Bella has to play peacekeeper between the vampires and the werewolves. She also has to decide between her best friend and the love of her existence. While dealing with werewolves and vampires at each other’s throats, she also has to deal with a pack of vampires bigger than the Cullens that are thirsting for her blood. It is the perfect balance between romance and action. Stephenie Meyer has outdone herself. It is completely worth the wait.

by Jeana, 9th grader

The last installment in the Twilight series, in my opinion, the strongest yet. Whilst Twilight and New Moon were almost completely romance-based, Eclipse seems to have more plot to it. The Edward-Bella-Jacob love triangle is a lot more interesting than Edward-Bella-Mike Newell. Even the romance is a lot less tedious. Overall, Meyer steps it up in all aspects in Eclipse. It’s definitely a major improvement on New Moon (which kinda made me wanna slap Bella. Hard.). I’m glad Meyer redeemed herself. I look forward to Midnight Sun!

New Moon

New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer [YA Fiction]

by Kristen, 8th grader

New Moon is the sequel to Twilight. Edward has left and Bella is unhappy. Many months pass by and she never talks to her friends and is depressed. But soon Bella visits Jacob, becoming reckless. She tries riding motorcycles. She even cliffdives. Edward then believes she’s dead and tries to kill himself. Bella must save the Cullens and herself before it is too late. Although Twilight was better, this book was still great and definitely worth reading.

by Marina, 8th grader

Although I’m a big fan of Twilight, New Moon was disappointing. As soon as Edward leaves, Bella turns emo. (No offense to emo’s) She tries to give up life and becomes very boring. Then her time with Jacob is even more boring. You have to read it if you’ve read Twilight, but it’s not very exciting.

Beauty

Beauty, by Robin McKinley [YA Fiction]

by Wendy, 11th grader

If anyone loves the “tale as old as time” as much as I do, they will adore Robin McKinley’s Beauty, a retelling of this classic fairytale. Written from a first-person perspective of Beauty, this novel does a wonderful job of humanizing all the characters, from Beauty (of course), to the invisible servants of the enchanted castle, to Beauty’s sisters. One can’t help but fall in love with the eager-to-please Beast, and although a happily-ever-after is, of course, anticipated, you are constantly kept in suspense of what happens next.

On a final note, to fans of the Disney movie: Belle’s love of books and personality is obviously influenced by this Beauty (McKinley published this in 1978 and the movie came out about 15 years later).