New Boy by Julian Houston, is a novel about an African American boy named Robert Garrett attending a private school in Connecticut called Draper in the 1950s. During his experience at Draper, Robert realizes he is treated much better in the North than he is in the South. He excels in his academics at Draper and enjoys his time at this new school. At one point, Robert goes into Harlem during a Thanksgiving Break and runs into Malcolm X giving a speech. Robert becomes interested in “the Movement” and realizes that people back home are planning to protest against segregation. Rob’s meeting with Malcolm X proves to be a turning point of this novel and for Robert. Through listening to Malcolm X, Robert is convinced to go back to the South and become a part of the movement for change.
My personal opinion about this novel is that it is a good book about a young black student that realizes that he needs to fight for change, depsite the fact he is not experiencing the realities of segregation while in school in the north. The author speaks the truth about life during the time, and this book is based on his early childhood. There is a lot to be learned about the 1950s and segregation through this novel. I really enjoyed this book because it showed me a more personal view of the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of Robert Garret.
Reviewed by Emmanuel B.
1984 by George Orwell (1949)
In 1984 George Orwell depicts a dystopian future set in the continent of Oceania. Here Big Brother controls everything, even down to people’s thoughts. If Big Brother thinks someone is even thinking about going against them, those people disappear (it is assumed that they are tortured and killed). The protagonist, Winston, has doubts about Big Brother’s rule and tries to find clues about the past to see if life was always this way. However, as he learns more, the more he is watched until he is eventually confronted.
This book is incredible. The imagery that Orwell uses to describe the world that Winston lives in is fantastic. He sets the tone for every chapter, like the first chapter, which immerses the reader in the dark and dreary environment of Winston’s everyday life. Every character gives the reader a different feeling to better set the scene, like the mindless, party-following Parsons or the mysterious O’Brien. Winston’s point of view is fascinating thanks to the many themes and use of symbolism as well as beautiful narration from Orwell. The plot thickens with every turn of the page leading to a fabulous ending.
Reviewed by Joe R.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (2015)
Rachel does the same routine everyday; she gets up, takes the train to work in London, watches life outside the window while she is on the train, gets to work, and then comes home looking at the same scenery. As she rides the train, there is one particular house that Rachel looks into everyday. She makes up the life stories of the couple that lives in that house in order to keep her occupied on the long train ride. One day, she notices that something is off about that couple and starts to get worried. As time goes on, Rachel becomes embroiled in the real lives of the people in the house and eventually is questioned by the police about the disappearance of a missing woman. From here on, life only gets harder for Rachel.
The Girl on the Train is a highly rated thriller, but I would state otherwise. The plot drags on and did not get interesting until halfway through the book. I feel like every chapter is the same, for the most part, and that everything is very predictable. Although this book is an easy read, I would not recommend it to someone who is looking for an exciting thriller.
Reviewed by Bethany G.
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee (2010)
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee is an investigation of the history and treatment of cancer. Mukherjee is an oncologist and uses personal anecdotes about his experiences with patients to aid in his explanation of cancer. By presenting cancer from a variety of angles, Mukherjee demonstrates how challenging the disease is and how difficult the battle to find a cure has been thus far.
The Emperor of All Maladies proves to be an excellent read. The history of cancer is explained with colorful language and a captivating voice that encourages the reader to turn the next page. Mukherjee’s incorporation of how the disease has critically shaped history makes the book even more fascinating. Mukherjee successfully translates complex scientific concepts into a language that is easy for anyone to understand. As someone who wants to enter the field of cancer research myself, I find this book to be extremely interesting and informative. I would strongly recommend it to all, especially those with even the slightest interest in science.
Reviewed by Matthew K.
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe (1979)
Taking place from 1947-1963, with a focus on the early 60’s during the Project Mercury missions in the Space Race, The Right Stuff follows seven soon-to-be astronauts as they go from the best fighter pilots in the country, to astronauts, and finally to American celebrities. This book is a nonfiction account of the pilots’ experiences as they go through the Project Mercury space mission, which explains the minutiae of astronaut life to the danger of the training and flying. Believed to be perfect by the rest of the world, the astronauts actually demonstrate lots of friction in their group. For instance, many of the pilots are reserved in nature, tending to shy away from journalists and are not happy whenever John Glenn, the “star,” speaks loud and proud to the media. Leading two lives, public and private, the seven pilots struggle to make it through the pressure of beating the Russians to space.
Tom Wolfe writes an excellent story that brilliantly gives an inside look at the lives of these legendary people. He managed to humanize the 7 men by showing his audience the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that the astronauts felt during their journey to stardom. Wolfe’s beautiful imagery describes the astronauts’ spaceflight and perfectly places the reader right in the capsule too. It was an incredibly fascinating read, chocked full of amazing history of NASA and the Space Race. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a love for great nonfiction storytelling and a fascination with space.
Reviewed by Andrew T.
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella (2015)
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella is the story of a teenage girl named Audrey who suffers from extreme social anxiety. After a traumatic incident at school, she is left with an anxiety disorder, and the only person she is willing to talk to is her psychiatrist, Dr. Sarah. Audrey is surrounded by a very loving family who cares deeply about what she is going through and who want to help her through this hard time. Although her family has been supportive, Audrey finds it very hard to discuss her disorder with them. When her brother Frank brings home a friend named Linus, she begins to open up to Linus and develops her first real romantic relationship.
I found this story very engaging and one that I could not put down. Kinsella does a great job of capturing the spirit of a young teenage girl and telling the story through her perspective. Although the book covers serious topics such as mental illness, Kinsella does a great job adding humor to the story through conversations that Audrey has with her family and by revealing the inner thoughts that go on inside her head. The light hearted take on something as serious as mental illness brings a sense of hope and reality to the story. Kinsella is a talented author, as not many authors can take something like mental illness and make it so easy to read about. Finding Audrey’s entertaining plot and humorous style captures the reader’s attention. I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a good book to read.
Reviewed by Maeve B.
More Than They Promised: The Studebaker Story by Thomas Bonsall (2000)
This book provides an depth look into the car company known as Studebaker from their impressive rise in the 1920’s to their eventual bankruptcy in 1966. Being the only company to successfully transition from wagons to automobiles, Studebaker has a rich in history, and the book notes every little detail of all the cars designed in their factory. It does not only discuss the engineering of the automobiles, but it also chronicles the fascinating story of the company’s decisions and often details gives the stories of the leaders who led the company to greatness and who also eventually led it to failure.
The book is cut and dry Studebaker history. It is obviously not for everyone, but I loved it from the beginning to end. It is not only interesting from a automobile industry standpoint, but it is also fascinating to read for the story itself, as it is truly a riveting narrative. I was practically on the edge of my seat the entire time and almost came to tears reading the last chapters of Studebaker’s decline. It is figuratively a roller coaster of emotions throughout, with all of the success being immediately followed by disaster. The writing was great, and the chosen quotes in the book helped immerse me in the time period. If you are not a Studebaker fan, I would give this book a pass; however, if you are genuinely interested in cars and the rise of industrialization in the early 20th century, then you should absolutely give this book a try.
Reviewed by Jack F.
A Time to Kill by John Grisham (1989)
A Time to Kill by John Grisham follows an extremely intense story of a young black girl who was raped by two racist white men and the repercussions for the retaliation taken by her father. In a predominantly white rural town, Clanton Mississippi, her father Carl Lee must find the best defense attorney he possibly can to get in order to be acquitted for murdering the two rapists. Carl Lee ends up choosing Jake Brigance, a close family friend who successfully represented his brother in a murder trial. The book outlines the extremely difficult process of a white defender trying to prove a black man innocent to a prejudiced, racist, and corrupt white jury. This book focuses on themes relating to justice and racism.
I really enjoyed this book because of the admirable determination and will power that was shown by Carl Lee, Jake Brigance, and their families. This book is action packed and was difficult to put down. Each page left me guessing what would happen next, and author John Grisham did an exceptional job portraying the grief associated with racism. The language used by Grisham brings the book to life and offers an engaging experience.
Reviewed by Stephen R.
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010)
Ship Breaker is a dystopian novel that focuses on a boy named Nailer and his journey out of poverty. In the changed Earth from the future, all metals and materials must be scavenged from previous creations, and the sea covers port cities. Also, there are frequently violent storms called city killers that can destroy even well built structures. Nailer’s usual day, usually scavenging copper wire from old ships, turns into a life on the run after he meets a wealthy girl with a bounty on her head. He leaves his old life behind with just a friend of his estranged father and the girl he barely knows, risking everything for a chance to leave poverty behind.
Ship Breaker was extremely well written that kept me excited and turning to the next page. One problem with the story is that it is fairly predictable; plot points at the beginning of the novel clearly will return later. Although predictable, having potential indications of future plot sometimes increases the anticipation of the moment, so this is not completely a bad thing. There is also a character that is very important to the plot who leaves the book in just a couple of sentences, which leaves an abrupt empty space. Ship Breaker has a sequel, which usually means the main character will be picked back up, but it is actually the character that went missing that stars in the sequel. This means that the usual “what happens next” ending is not really resolved, which was frustrating. The book was a page turner and a quick read, and it was lots of fun to read, but it certainly was not perfect. 
Reviewed by PJ M.
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (1990)
The Things They Carried is a series of short stories revolving around the wartime experiences of author, Tim O’Brien during the War in Vietnam in the early 1970s. This novel switches from third-person to first-person throughout the course of the stories, and engages in versimilitude, telling stories that are close to reality and highly believable, but are often fictional in part or in whole. O’Brien weaves a simultaneously non-linear but powerfully evocative series of related stories focusing on tales of the men in his 23rd Infantry Division. Varying in topic, these stories serve to illustrate the horrors and the routine of war. The novel shows both the comraderie that develops between soldiers in the lull of the war, and the cruelty and harsh reality of losing a fellow soldier and friend to the carnage of war. The story branches out even further, telling the tale of how O’Brien initially sought to evade the draft, and the stories of soldiers who have returned home, and struggled to find meaning in life after the horrors of war.
Despite not telling one cohesive story, this novel kept me interested and wanting to read more the whole time. In the novel, O’Brien addresses the manner in which he writes his stories, stating that though his stories may not be entirely accurate to real events, this is intentional as he means to evoke in his audience the true feelings he felt in the war, which sometimes required a degree of fictionalization. I would argue O’Brien was highly successful in this regard, as throughout the novel, I often felt as if I was thrust directly into the emotion and reality of the conflict. Though there are many stories and numerous characters in this book, they did not feel disjointed to me as they are cohesive in portraying the whole breadth of experiences in the war. The war stories told were gripping and intense, and the interaction between the soldiers was believable and not sugar coated in any way. Every character lived and breathed as a human character, with human flaws and fears which made their stories highly enjoyable.
Reviewed by Benjamin S.