Even though Valentine's Day happened a few days ago, there are still Hershey Kiss wrappers and red paper hearts in dorm common rooms. So of course, it is the perfect time to indulge in a novel or two about youthful love! Here to share two heartwarming tales of growing up and finding love is Isabelle So '20.
Play With Me and Ryan Hunter by Anna Katmore
Although Play With Me and Ryan Hunter by Anna Katmore are two separate books, they describe the same story from two perspectives. Play With Me is from Lisa Matthews’ eyes, and Ryan Hunter is from Ryan Hunter's.
Everyone in our society has a dream, and Lisa Matthews's is for her best friend Anthony Mitchell (Tony) to fall in love with her. She has already envisioned what a future with him would be like. The two friends have never been apart from each other ever since kindergarten, but Tony is a star soccer player who is going to soccer camp for five straight weeks. When he comes back, he’s different; he’s preoccupied with another girl. A girl
that he met at soccer camp, a girl that plays soccer as well.
Jealousy spurs Lisa to sign up for something she most certainly
regrets doing; she decides to try out for co-ed soccer. Tryouts ended up bloody, as the other players played fierce. However, that night, Lisa scores an invitation
to team captain Ryan Hunter’s party. This party is considered THE PARTY of the year and is
held by the ladies' man, the guy everyone claims is the "hottest boy on campus." At first, Lisa finds Hunter an arrogant playboy and despises him greatly. But when she wakes up
sleeping next to Hunter the day after his party, everything changes. As
the story unravels, not only does Lisa becomes torn between her feelings for Tony and Hunter, but both of the two boys may or may not feel something for her in return.
The corresponding book, Ryan Hunter, is the definition of surprising. This book
incorporates every detail and every thought a guy may have about a girl. This
story line is exactly the same as Play With Me except the fact that this
is told through Ryan's perspective. Everything you expect is exactly the
opposite.
These two books gave me chills the whole time I read them. While I
read Play With Me, I personally thought the story line was cliché in a
way that made the book adorably magnificent. But, while I read Ryan Hunter, my
whole perspective of the guys changed. It definitely made me look at guys a
whole different way. It made me want to re-read Play With Me, as what
went through Hunter’s head was completely different from Lisa’s.
Verdict: I would recommend this book for someone who is
looking for an easy read. A book that is not only gripping and relatable but
also irritating (there are parts that will make you anxious but also will make
you want to read more) in a way that makes it all adorably
interesting.
Winger by Andrew Smith
Winger by Andrew Smith is filled with relatable
experiences that strike the reader as not only entertaining but also tragic.
Ryan Dean is an extremely intelligent fourteen year old whom has
been accepted into a boarding school meant for rich kids in the Pacific
Northwest. Being a fourteen year old junior in a boarding school is already
tough, but with his sense of humor, rugby skills, and his appetite
for comic drawing, he is able to go persevere largely unscathed (okay, perhaps not.) At school, he figures out what is truly important to him and finds love along the way.
Throughout his
journey, he finds himself falling in love with his best friend Annie and one of his teammate’s girlfriend. Even though being a little
boy often leads to unwanted attention and other complications, he is able to cope and adapt to his surroundings, whether
it’s about friends, girlfriends, or sexuality.
In this book, Ryan is growing to understand what being mature entails, and he realizes that even when the unpredictable happens, he
must focus and hold on to what is important to him in life. Even when his
parents want to pull him out of school, he convinces them that he has made important connections with the people and things on campus, and that he cannot leave.
Verdict: Winger is a book that is relatable, humorous, and extremely exciting to
read. The book as a whole made me think about my own life personally, and it
really makes readers think about their own personal journeys and experiences.
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