Back-to-school books

By: Kristen Joseph and Kylie Widseth

We know that no one wants to hear this, but back-to-school time is quickly approaching. Some people love it because they get to see all of their friends. Others dread the first day back because school makes them feel isolated, they hate the tests and assignments, or they just completely detest waking up early. If you’re apprehensive about school for the first reason, never fear! You don’t have to go back to school alone because there are so many fictional characters that go to school, too. If you’re like us, you probably like being able to relate to the characters in all your favorite books. So we’ve compiled a list of 6 books that take place in a high school setting to make this back-to-school season a little less bleak.

Twilight – For some reason this is the first book that came to mind for me. I guess it’s just because the scene in the movie when the Cullens enter the lunchroom at Bella’s high school is just permanently engrained in my mind. Now I’m sure you probably, and hopefully, don’t have vampires that attend your school. Besides the supernatural element, Forks High School isn’t too far from the average American high school. –Kylie

The DUFF – The DUFF takes place in a stereotypical high school filled with mean girls, not-so-mean girls, athletes, and the whole nine yards. I hope that your high school isn’t as cliquey as this suburban Atlanta high school. But as the movie and book goes to show, there is nothing wrong with being a little bit like a DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) because we should all stay true to our identities and embrace who we are. –Kylie

I Am Number Four – A significant portion of this book takes place in high school. The main character is fifteen years old and goes through typical high school struggles with friends, relationships, jocks, and bullies. The twist? Our main character is one of the last survivors from a planet called Lorien. Yup, he’s an alien. And he’s got powers like you wouldn’t believe. –Kristen

Hex Hall – This novel starts off in a normal high school, but when a love spell at prom goes horribly awry we’re taken to Hecate (Hex) Hall, a boarding school for delinquent magical teenage beings. You still have your mean girls and awkward outcasts, they just happen to be witches and vampires. At least your school doesn’t have to deal with their supernatural drama (I hope). –Kristen

Thirteen Reasons Why – I’m sure you’ve all heard of the Netflix series by now. It takes most of the major points from the book, but of course, the two formats still aren’t the same. Either way, the story is heartbreaking, and many of the things that take place actually happen to teenagers today. If you don’t read the book or watch the show, it’s still important for you to understand the issues it talks about. –Kristen

Anna and the French Kiss – This is one of my personal favorites. I love it so much that I’ve read it five times (don’t judge me)! It’s set in Paris, at an American boarding school. The main character, Anna, is sent there for her final year of high school by her Nicholas-Sparks-esque father. She’s less than thrilled about spending her senior year in a foreign country away from her friends, and experiences her fair share of first day jitters. But Anna manages to make some great new friends and fantastic memories in spite of it all. (Believe me, my description does not do the book the justice it deserves. I highly suggest reading it. 10/10 recommend.) –Kristen

If you’re ever feeling a little down this year, feel free to grab one of these books (or any other) to remind yourself that you’re not alone. We hope that everyone has a good and safe school year!

Relaxing Reads: Recommendations for Spring Break

By Kylie Widseth

As you might have guessed, when I’m not editing books my favorite pastime is reading. My favorite genre by far is contemporary, so spring break is one of the best times of the year for me: I get to read my favorite genre for a whole week straight!

I compiled a few of my favorite contemporary books, ones that I think would be perfect to read on spring break, wherever that may take you. Whether spending break at the beach or in your bed at home, these reads will be sure to delight and entertain.

1. The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon — I want to start out with the book that I most recently finished. I thought that this book wouldn’t be as good as everyone said because I had seen so much hype for this book, but oh my goodness, was I wrong! This book follows a Jamaican girl named Natasha and a Korean boy named Daniel. The two end up meeting up on a street in New York City on the day that Natasha is supposed to be deported. This book takes place over the course of a single day, and that idea alone still blows my mind. Please do yourself a favor and read this.

2. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover – Now I know Colleen Hoover can be quite a controversial author, but I really like her. If you like a good romance , she could be the author for you. Now I really can’t say a whole lot about this book because one of the big things that makes this book successful is just going in blind to the book. Don’t look up reviews or anything because even being spoiled a little can really ruin the beauty of what this book is. I’ve heard people say that her books keep getting better and better, and I definitely agree.. This book was the first one I read by her, and I almost regret it because none of her past books can match this one.

3. The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke – Sometimes I really believe that I’m a middle-aged women trapped in a young adult body. Either that or I am really starting to “grow out” of young adult books because I find myself reaching for adult books more and more. I think this book is a good in between because it has a really unique plot line that can appeal to younger and older audiences. It’s about a 35-year-old woman named Kate. Her fiancé, Max, decides to call off the wedding while they are at their rehearsal. As expected, Kate is heartbroken and confused. She struggles to really understand what went wrong when she discovers that her Facebook statuses are changing the outcome of her life, whatever she writes in her Facebook status comes true. Now just take a second to really imagine what they would be like! This could be a really great and exciting thing, but it also could create some issues. This book revolves around Kate really trying to understand why Max left her.

4. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult – Sometimes spring break can be the perfect time to tackle longer novels, or at least that’s what I like to do. This list wouldn’t be complete without a novel from my absolute favorite author, Jodi Picoult. I’m sure you know of some of her more popular books, but this is one of her most underrated books and my personal favorite. This book follows a wife and mother named June. Years ago, one of June’s daughter and her husband were murdered and a man named Shay is on death row for their murders. In present day, June’s daughter, Claire, has been diagnosed with a terminal heart condition and needs to have a heart transplant to survive. Since Shay is already on death row, he wants to donate his heart to Claire as a way to redeem himself. This book follows the trials and tribulations of whether Shay can actually donate his heart and whether June will let the man who killed part of her family donate his heart to her child.

5. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera – This book is by another one of my favorite authors. This book can be a little bit of an emotional one, but that only adds to its beauty. As with It Ends With Us, I’m only going to give a little bit of the book away. The main character, Aaron, is battling a decision about a Leteo procedure. This procedure would allow him to completely alter any memory in his life, and throughout the book he contemplates whether this is a good idea and what particular memory in his past he should change. I know that was an incredibly vague description, but once you really get into the book, it will all make sense. This book was incredibly beautiful and one of my favorite books of all time.

I hope at least a few of this books sounded interesting to you, and if you decide to pick up any of these books let me know what you think of them! Whether you decide to read this books or not, I hope you find just the perfect book to curl up with over your spring break! I know I’m particularly excited to read any and every spare moment I have.

Happy reading!

The Great YA Debate: Why Adults Should Read What They Want

By: Rebekah Sack

This subject always causes controversy, particularly among professors. The problem is this: “young adult” generally refers to teens — we can give a rough parameter of, say, 12 through 18 or so.

The thing is, there are a lot of adults out there picking up the YA titles — about 55% of them.

That’s bothering a lot of people. Ruth Graham, a writer for Slate, wrote an article called “Against YA” where she voiced her opinion on adults who read YA lit. Here are some quotes from her as well some others on why adults shouldn’t read YA and perhaps why they should.

Against Adults Reading YA

“Adults should be ashamed that they’re picking up books written for children.” -Ruth Graham, Slate (2014)

“Adults should be reading literary fiction, not fiction written for teens like Fault in our Stars.” -Ruth Graham, Slate (2014)

“You accidentally agree with the parents rather than the lovesick teenager.” -Cait @ Paper Fury (2015)

“You abandon your mature insights when you read YA literature.” -Ruth Graham, Slate (2014)

“You get an intense crush on the love-interest until you realize he’s 16 and you’re like 10+ years his senior.” -Cait @ Paper Fury (2015)

“But how can a grown-up, even one happy to be reminded of the shivers of first love, not also roll her eyes?” -Ruth Graham, Slate (2014)

“The endings are always satisfying. Aren’t you tired of it?” -Ruth Graham, Slate (2014)

For Adults Reading YA

“What draws me to YA lit is nostalgia.” –Meg Wolitzer, NY Times (2014)

“There might be a really rather honorable reason for adults to read young adult fiction: so they can discuss those books with their target audiences.” –Alyssa Rosenburg, The Washington Post (2014)

“As we know from Pixar movies, sometimes the children’s section has more true to life elements than art geared toward grown-ups.” –Caitlin White, Bustle (2014)

“The passage to maturity can be a shattering thing. Preparing yourself for that transition or looking back on that metamorphosis is hardly an un-serious act.” –Alyssa Rosenburg, The Washington Post (2014)

“’Young adult,’ ‘adult,’ and other publishing labels are nothing more than marketing tools. Sales, marketing and booksellers need to classify in order to sell and market books. Readers, however, do not.” –Caitlin White, Bustle (2014)

“To simply give up on romance novels or young adult literature as hopeless categories of fiction, fit only for the weak-minded or young and incapable of improvement, is to embrace a kind of snobbery and rigidity about what is worthy and what is not.” –Alyssa Rosenburg, The Washington Post (2014)

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So, you get an idea of what each side is saying, and both have valid points, don’t they?

The thing is, people are reading less and less — the number of people who don’t read anything has tripled since the 1970s. That being said, shouldn’t we be happy that adults are reading… at all?

The idea that an adult is socially banned from reading a specific type of book seems outrageous. The reasons for reading YA every once in a while are vast — there are mothers wanting to connect with daughters through literature, there are fathers wanting to remember what it was like to be a teenage boy, there are book clubs trying to dissect this arguably literary material.

Not every adult is sitting there reading Twilight and falling in love with Edward is what I’m trying to say.

In the end, you can read whatever you want to — and you should. If you enjoy indulging in a casual teen love story, why not do it? If you desperately need the satisfaction of knowing that a happy ending is coming, why not pick up that old favorite? If your brain is fried from all that ambiguous adult literary fiction (that’s a mouthful), why not pick up an easy read book for once? (Not that all YA lit is easy to read.)

Reading is reading, and while adults should pick up age-appropriate books often, there’s nothing wrong with reading younger material every now and then.

In the words of Georgina Howlett, writer for the Guardian:

“I know that turning 18 (and thus legally becoming an adult) changes very little, and in particular it changes literally nothing about your reading preferences. You don’t automatically begin loving classics, and you don’t start gravitating helplessly towards the general fiction section of bookstores – you just continue buying what you know you’ll like to read.”