Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Blurb submitted by Madelyn M.

Enclave is fiction

The book Enclave is based in a post-apocalyptic society which features the main character of the story, Deuce, who is only 15.  In this society, everyone lives underground, and the life expectancy is only 20 years due to the lack of sunlight and nutrients. When you reach the age of 15, you are chosen a name and put into a certain class that you will remain in for the rest of your life. Our main character is given the name Deuce and chooses to become a Huntress. She is paired with a young boy named Fade who grew up at the "topside" which is overrun with plague and gangs.  On a mission, Deuce and Fade see that a neighboring enclave has been overrun with monsters which they call Freaks. The two bring this to the Enclave elders to try and warn them of the atrocity that had occurred, but nobody would believe them and exiled them both to the topside. Once they arrive, they are faced with many new dangers and will their strength will be tested. Will Fade's memories of the topside keep them safe? Or will it cause them to meet their own death in a city of devastation?

I would recommend this book to anyone with a love for romance and science fiction novels. In most romance stories the book is overrun with romance and can sometimes force out the actual plot and story of the book, but enclave has just the right balance of plot, romance, mystery, and fighting. This story also teaches you things about trusting in others and how being naive can get you into situations that you do not want to be in. The story also gives us a picture of what may or may not happen in the future, by giving very realistic details and theories that could one day be our new reality.

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

Blurb submitted by MyKenzie H.
Outliers: The Story of Success is nonfiction

Success is not just some ability you are born with. According to Malcolm Gladwell, he tells you just that in his book about the key to success. Gladwell provides many case studies of different cultures and time periods showing you there are so many key factors to being successful.

 By using real-life examples and case studies, Gladwell proves to you that success is not an innate ability you are born with, you can get out of whatever situation you are born with and be successful.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Blurb submitted by James P.
The Hunger Games is fiction

The Hunger Games begins with Katniss Everdeen, a teenage girl in a dystopian future society. In this society, all the people are divided into 12 factions, and she is from the poorest one. In order to keep the people in line the country's leader started what is called the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games take two children between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district and then put them in an arena to fight each other to the death. All the kids are required to gather together to hear the announcement of who is to be chosen. Until this year Katniss's sister wasn't old enough to be chosen and, as luck would have it, she is chosen her first year. Katniss immediately takes advantage of her ability to volunteer to go instead of her sister. She then has to fight to survive, and things go much different than you would expect.

In the first part of the book, Katniss and her whole faction seem somewhat weak. But as it continues and you learn more about her and her faction you begin to understand how strong she really is. In the second part of the book, you see her become who she truly is.

This book kind of reflects our own society in many ways. It teaches young people to stand up to oppression and not to be afraid of authority. It uses a very dystopian society to teach young people that they can be a voice of change in their own society.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Blurb submitted by Colby H.
A Christmas Carol is fiction

Scrooge finds himself walking those icy roads every day. It's Christmas time and everyone around him is enjoying the presence of family and the children are running and laughing in the snow. But not him. After the agonizing walk, he makes it to work. Bob Cratchit, his apprentice, asks for Christmas Eve off. Initially, Scrooge refuses in an unsightly manner, but he comes around and offers a deal. After work the next night, Scrooge returns home unknowing of what he is about to encounter. Will he change the person he has become? A Christmas Carol is a calamitous, but hopeful, novel that will stimulate your mind.

No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies by Naomi Klein

Blurb submitted by Ian G.
No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies is nonfiction

Brands, brands, brands! It's the 21st century. Nowadays we have just got to have the best brand out! In this book, author Naomi Klein talks about the way brands have got us hooked. No matter what they are selling, they somehow find a way to grab our attention and get us to buy their product. What we fail to see are the things that go on behind the scenes such as the places these products are made or the type of conditions they’re made in.

The first part of the book is the part you can relate to, such as the advertisements that you and I see on TV or even on a billboard on an everyday street. The second part might not be something you’d be too familiar with, such as where these big brands make their products or how much money it takes for them to create them.

Using real-life cases and experiments, Naomi Klein shines a light on the big brands and the things that the everyday person wouldn’t know about them. This book will help educate readers on what these big brands go through to stay on top.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Blurb submitted by Mara C.
And Then There Were None is fiction

When ten strangers receive invitations to a mysterious island, all under different pretexts, they are surprised to find that there is no host to be found. The small group is alone on the island, except for two servants in the large home who are also confused by the mysterious circumstances. Due to dangerous weather, they cannot be reached by boat, nor can they swim the wide distance to the mainland, leaving them helpless. Tensions only rise when they receive a gramophone recording explaining to them the true reason they were all brought to the island: they must all pay for their crimes. It becomes a race against time as they are murdered one by one in a fashion that, they realize, follows the poem "Ten Little Soldiers." They must try to figure out who the murderer is and stop them before the poem concludes, fearing those last words: "And Then There Were None."

Every Day by David Levithan

Blurb submitted by Ashleigh C.
Every Day is fiction

The book Every Day is a romance novel about two star-crossed lovers who have a very odd situation. A, the main character, is like no other person. He doesn't have a body to call his own but, instead, every day he wakes up in a new body. One day he finds himself as a teenage boy named Justin so, like any other day, he goes on with Justin's life and tries to make things better for him. Then A meets Rhiannon, Justin's girlfriend, and he soon realizes she is not treated right by Justin, so he takes her to the beach and quickly falls in love with her. The story takes a turn, and now, instead of going along with the person's life he takes on for the day, he spends his day trying to find Rhiannon.

We Beat the Street: How A Friendship Pact Led to Success by Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt

Blurb submitted by Kayla W.
We Beat the Street is nonfiction

The book is about three African American young boys who grew up in a bad neighborhood in New Jersey where there were drugs, crime rates were high, and people were poor.  They were smart boys, but they had the struggle of dealing with peer pressure, drug use, and being minorities in a cruel world.  They made a pact that they would get out of this situation with help from each other.  They applied to pre-med and pre-dentistry programs at Seton Hall University and they all got accepted.  The pact they made was to push each other and finish the program together, and that is exactly what they did.

I would recommend this book to all teenagers, but especially to teenage boys.  It shows how hard it is for a male growing up without a positive role model, but there is always hope.  They went through some of the same things happening with the youth of today.   As long as there are friends with the same goals in life and they are there for each other, success is always possible regardless of your background.

Getting Away with Murder:The True Story of The Emmett Till Case By Chris Crowe

Blurb submitted by Grant P.
Getting Away with Murder is nonfiction

Getting Away with Murder is a very quick read that will leave you astounded. In the book it tells the story of a young African American boy from Chicago, Coming down to visit his cousins and uncles in Money, Mississippi. Once he got there, he wanted to impress all his other friends and said that he could go "pick up" the white lady that was working behind the counter of the convenient store. He went in there and ultimately had to be dragged out because of the show he put on in the store. Emmett thought he had done something very hysterical and cool, but he couldn't have imagined what was going to happen next. The woman's husband heard about the stunt the boy pulled and decided to take matters into his own hands.

The first part of the book is very friendly and a good story about a boy going to visit his cousins. It made me think of the times I went down on Christmas or summer break to see my extended family. The second part of the book is pretty horrific and disturbing. I don't want to give away too many of the interesting details, but the person reading this could probably guess what is going to happen next based on the title. The husband ends up brutally killing the young boy and is set free with the whole world watching and the whole world knowing he was guilty.

This book shows the injustices blacks had to face that took place not too long ago. It shows me how far the nation has come in such a short amount of time. I couldn't imagine how I'd feel if that was my brother or family member. This book is a great read if you like interesting true stories.

Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely

Blurb submitted by Ashleigh C.
Uninvited is nonfiction

Uninvited is a Christian book written by Lysa TerKeurst. The subtitle of the book is “Living loved when you feel less than, left out, and lonely.” Each chapter of Uninvited is about a different struggle the author went through in her life and how she overcame that struggle. Lysa is a very well spoken and relatable author. Everyone can get something out of Uninvited because it is likely whatever you are going through, she has gone through something similar. The book includes quotes from the Bible that relate to what she is going through in that chapter. The overall message of the book is that whatever you are going through, you can overcome, just like she did.

Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap by Ben Westhoff

Blurb submitted by Tyrell G.
Original Gangstas is nonfiction

This book is about how rap went from being a fun, funky, upbeat type music, to a hardcore, "real life" type music. The book talked about how N.W.A changed the rap game by rapping about what is going on in the streets. They did not sugar coat anything. They influenced other rappers to talk about what they see in the streets. They also revealed how the police were treating Black people in their hit song. It made people take a stand against police, and people across the nation tried to pursue equality. It also talked about Tupac and his road from superstar success to unfortunate tragedy.

West Coast rap evolved from being a baby brother of East Coast rap to becoming the most popular genre of music in the late 80s and early 90s. West Coast rap was often called “Gangsta Rap" because of the hardcore lyrics in the songs. Rappers did not mean it in any way to harm anyone. They were just rapping about what they saw every day in the streets. The would rap about drugs, guns, prostitutes, and liquor.

This book helps explain how the lives of rappers were back then, that just because they rap about guns and drugs does not mean anything. They just want you to grasp what their lifestyle is about.