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2nd Semester Independent Reading Reflection

*Due to the time-consuming nature of linking the titles and authors' names, I have decided to stop doing that. However, if you go to Goodreads, you can search the book's title and they'll give you the summary of the book, the average rating, and other readers' reviews. And I apologize in advance for the lack of book cover images, I was unable to format more of them the way I wanted.*

Image result for simon vs the homosapien agenda
Image result for the great gatsbyJunior year was crazy! I definitely didn't read as many books as I would have liked. However, luckily for me, I think I picked a good list of 22 books to read: 

Girl in the Blue Coat - Monica Hesse
Tasa's Song - Linda Kass
The Alice Network - Kate Quinn
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt
To Capture What We Cannot Keep - Beatrice Colin
The German Girl - Armando Lucas Correa
Everyone Brave is Forgiven - Chris Cleave
Bright Young Things - Anna Godberson
Beautiful Days - Anna Godberson
The Lucky Ones - Anna Godberson
Three Sides of a Heart - Natalie Parker
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Orphan Train - Christina Baker Kline
The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger
The Dangerous Art of Blending In - Angelo Surmelis
The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafron
A Study in Charlotte - Brittany Cavallaro
The Last of August - Brittany Cavallaro
The Case for Jamie - Brittany Cavallaro
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald - Therese Anne Fowler

As you may or may not be able to tell, a great portion of this list is indeed historical fiction. I have fallen in love with the genre and how long it takes to craft such a brilliant historical fiction novel. It is not easy work and I don't think the genre and their authors get enough credit. The first 11 books (and The Orphan Train) are of the historical fiction genre, and there's a diverse pot to choose from: World Wars 1 and 2, the 1920s in America, even the 1920s in France. All of the books were very well put together, with a lot of attention to detail the historical element of the genre required. If you're looking to get into historical fiction, I would recommend those books, along with Anthony Doerr's "All the Light We Cannot See." 

Three Sides of a Heart was an interesting read. I wasn't really expecting what I got, but it was a well put together anthology. Some of the stories were very hit or miss, and I have mixed feelings about how I liked the book, but I appreciate all of the hard work that went into putting such a diverse anthology together. 

I read two classics this semester, The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye. I loved the Great Gatsby more than words - and in my school, that is a minority opinion. However, Fitzgerald's control of language and the layers of the novel were so well crafted that I figured I might as well try more classic literature, which is why I decided to read The Catcher in the Rye. I didn't like it as much, but once I started understanding the hidden depths of the book, I appreciated it so much more. I do recommend if you're reading classics to not read with your eyes closed: these books require a lot of thinking and a lot of digging to find the provocative, hidden meanings. 

The Little Prince was such a fun book to read. I tried to read it in its original French, but after a while, I moved to the English translated version, and it did not disappoint. I would recommend this book to readers of all ages - such a cute book with hidden depths. 

The Shadow of the Wind was *so* well crafted. It was witty and easy to read, and yet I felt like I was apart of a much larger experience. I miss reading The Shadow of the Wind in ways that you can read it twice, but it won't have the same effect on you as it did the first time - but not in a bad way, in a way that makes you want to have others read it so you can talk about the experience. 

Brittany Cavallaro finally published A Case for Jamie and I just had to get my hands on it. I love the characters in her books so much - and this isn't the end of the trilogy, apparently! According to the last time I checked her accounts and Goodreads, there is another book yet to come. Let's just say that I can't wait!

I'm not going to lie - I saw Love, Simon in theaters before I read the book it was based on. But I saw the movie twice and laughed and cried both times, so I knew the book was well worth reading, and it was. I highly recommend - in this day and age, this book is exactly what we need as a society to show the true meanings of love and acceptance. And since the book was so well written, I couldn't put it down, even though I knew what would happen next. 

Lastly, I read Z. I love the Fitzgeralds, and that's all The Great Gatsby's fault. I decided to see for myself what Zelda had experienced, and I'm so glad I did. This is one of the historical fiction novels I'm glad I took the time to read. Despite it having the element of fiction, I felt like I understood Zelda as a person and historical person so much better, which is important, because when reading classics, it's good to have a basic understanding of the author. But Z gave me a deep understanding of who the Fitzgeralds were, context that I can now apply and find in his novels and her short stories. 

Summer has finally arrived! I hope to read more books, but senior year will be a crazy one, what with college applications and all. But that's doesn't change my advice: keep reading. It better helps one understand the world around them. And today, that's more important than ever. 
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