By: Yulia K.
Winter break is fast approaching, and while a large population of the school is going away for the holidays, there are many others who are staying at home with nothing to do. For the convenience of the latter, here is a list (in no particular order) of three books to read in your spare time.
Impulse – Ellen Hopkins
For those not familiar with Hopkins' writing, it is worthy to note that her books are not written in prose. Instead, she tells her stories through the use of dramatic poetry and has a reputation for writing from multiple perspectives. In this case, the tale is told through the eyes of three teenagers: Conner, Vanessa, and Tony. Their paths cross when each of them is brought to the same psychiatric hospital for the same reason: attempting suicide. Each of the characters offers something everyone can identify with, and their destinies become a major concern to the reader as the story goes on. The book looks incredibly intimidating because of how thick it is, but don't worry! There's barely any text on the pages, and the suspense in some parts of it will keep you zooming through.
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
I was late in starting to read The Hunger Games series - I didn't think it could possibly live up to all of the hype that surrounded it. When I finally did pick it up, I couldn't put it back down. I read the whole thing in one sitting, and although I was a bit disappointed with the ending, I did not regret reading it. The story focuses on Katniss Everdeen, a tough and very believable character who lives in a post-apocalyptic world, in a country called Panem. Through a series of twists and turns, she ends up competing on a television show called (surprise, surprise) “The Hunger Games,” where all but one of the competitors are killed by each other in a fight to stay alive.
Uglies – Scott Westerfeld
As the first book of my favourite series of all time, Uglies introduces Earth as known by Tally Youngblood, the protagonist of this novel. At the start of the story, she is eagerly awaiting her sixteenth birthday, since it is at that time that she will undergo the operation meant to turn all sixteen-year-olds pretty. Just as she gets to the point where she can wait no longer, she meets Shay, another almost-sixteen-year-old. However, Shay doesn't see the idea of becoming beautiful as the same chocolate cake that Tally sees it as. It is essentially through Shay that Tally's story becomes so interesting and compelling to read. What appears at first to be a fluffy, teenage-girl story is actually embedded with themes of war, conspiracy theories, and the negative aspects of blindly trusting those in charge.
