So, books, you ask. Well, before I begin, I want to give you a fair warning: if you want to read something basic like Harry potter or twilight or lord of the rings or the fault in our stars, go ahead. They are all in the library. However, these are all obvious picks, and I will not be mentioning them in this list. I think our teacher will appreciate us all picking more interesting things, don’t you think? 

With that out of the way, let’s begin.

1. Carry On: the Rise and Fall of Simon Snow by Rainbow Rowell

I read this book in 3 days. It was that good.

Originally, the only purpose of this book was to make fun of J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter books. It has a similar setting, stupid references, ridiculous plot devices and everything in Carry On is so english it hurts. (The school that the main characters attend is in Watford, for heaven’s sake.) However, I loved this book because of the characterization. Every nuance of even the smallest side character is thought through, and the dialog is beautifully written. Even through all the stupidity and jokes, this book was touching, and it has some well-written emotional moments as well. This book was more lovey-dovey than what i would usually read, (yes, for anyone wanting a beautiful romance between a vampire and a human, this is your book!) however I wasn’t bothered by it as much as I thought I would be.

Anyway, highly recommended!

2. the Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

I have to admit, at first I didn’t like this book at all. It was too airy fairy, and I wanted ACTION! However, I read it again last year and realised how wrong I had been. Obviously, if you want action, this book is not for you. It’s about fairies and dreamer girls and evil queens and overthrowing fairy courts, and if that isn’t for you, that’s obviously fine. I would still recommend this book for most people. Personally, the reason I loved it was the feel of the setting. The book is mostly set in Autumnland, the part of fairyland that contains autumn. It gives the book atmosphere, and it is the perfect backdrop for the story.

3. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Speaking about wanting action, this book is THINGS HAPPENING! ALL THE TIME! NON-STOP ACTION!

I loved it. And I bet you would too. The setting is the current world, with a few rather impactful twists. The main one being that 10 years prior to the beginning of the book, all the kids in the US caught a disease that caused them to gain supernatural powers. Obviously, everyone’s first reaction to this is to send these poor kids, who have no power over their new abilities, to places that are basically concentration camps. The language isn’t overly complicated either, so overall i would suggest reading this if you want a proper ya rollercoaster.

4. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

This book is basically james bond with fairies. Armed fairies who are three times as cool as you would expect. I know I am suggesting a lot of books related to fairies, (more to come) but this one isn’t actually focused on the ancient fairy colony, rather a 12-year old mastermind named Artemis Fowl. He decides to capture a fairy and hold it hostage in a complex plan to acquire gold. This is a fun action-packed read, and perfect for someone who is never going to read anything ever again after this (as i’m sure some of you aren’t).

5. Charmed life by Diana Wynne Joans

This book is typical Diana. Beautiful, fulfilling, complex and unpredictable. It has complex characters, magic, and a ridiculously over the top mage called Crestomanci (who frankly makes the whole book better by simply existing). The feel of the book is very mysterious, but in a way that seems very friendly. Personally, I will read any Diana Wynne Joans book purely because she wrote them. Literally everything is always tied up at the end beautifully, to become 300 pages of self-contained wishes and happiness. If this sounds like the type of writing you would like, here are some other books by the same author:the Howl’s moving castle trilogy, the Chrestomanci chronicles (of which charmed life is the first, although they would work in any order), Enchanted glass and Hexwood.

6. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

I felt very compelled to include at least one Pratchett book on the list. This book is set in the Discworld, so that already tells you quite a bit about the style of writing. IT IS SO RANDOM. To be honest, this is actually less weird and wonderful than a lot of Pratchett books, and this one was written as a young adult book specifically. I loved it, but I would suggest reading a bit of it and seeing if it is for you, just in case. The writing style can be a bit controversial. Other Discworld novels include: The Wyrd Sisters, Mort and Guards! Guards! Among others, and i would suggest reading Diggers (not discworld, but still just as good) if your command if english culture is strong enough.

7. The Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black

This is actually three books, all put in an omnibus the size of my head. But, don’t be fazed by the immense size of the book, because it is actually AMAZING. This is actually one of my absolute favourites, and Holly Black is (in my opinion) an Awesome Writer. Her worldbuilding, the poetic undertones, the feeling of constant trickery, the beautiful plot arcs, the perfect description of everything….just…. SO PERFECT! This book is about faeries again (sorry) except this time they are deceitful, anger-ridden and alluring. In fact, this whole book feels like you stepped into a very real faerie tale, and the teller is taking everything very literally. The thing I loved most about this book, however, was how Holly writes autumn. Everything is so autumny, I fell in love with the book within the first three pages.

Of course, these are just my suggestions. There are so many other good books in the world (and on the library shelf). I tried my best to thing of some less obvious picks, and I hope some of these sound interesting.

But, I have a warning to give: do NOT read a Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. It was the worst book I have ever read. The grammar was off, the characters had no motive and the story was unoriginal. It is the perfect example of how not to write a book. So please, for the love of god, don’t read a Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie ryan.