Readers United Book Reviews | Highly Illogical Behavior and More Happy Than Not

Aisha Pasha '20 returns to share two books that feature exciting, unanticipated plot twists.

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

Agoraphobic sixteen year old, Solomon ("Sol"), hasn’t been outside of the confines of his house in three years. Completely content in his little bubble, he doesn’t expect Lisa or her boyfriend, Clark, to completely change his life. 

Lisa has been dreaming of getting into one of the best psychology programs for college and wants his help. Her elaborate plan is to encourage Sol, who doesn’t suspect a thing, to go outside and get over his phobia. She tells herself that this is the only way she can make herself stand out on her applications. However, when the three of them become closer than expected, Lisa starts to doubt her plan. She begins to wonder if after all of this, she can still hold onto the friendship that started out as a guaranteed college acceptance and morphed into a genuine, close bond.

I absolutely loved this book. It was relatively short—only 256 pages—so it didn’t take me long to get completely involved in plot and finish the book. Sol was such a quirky character and some of his dialogue had me laughing out loud. It was interesting to see how he interacted with Clark and Lisa after not seeing anyone other than his parents for the past three years. 

I think the most impressive character arc was Lisa’s. She started off as being okay with manipulating someone for her own benefit, but she grew so much by the end. I was surprised! Even though Clark was an important part of the story, I was glad that the book didn’t go off track and revolve around his relationship with Lisa. Their romance was just a small part of the novel, and Sol's growth is a more vital part of the plot.

Verdict: Highly Illogical Behavior was a funny contemporary about forming friendships that everyone should read. It is the perfect length to be able to read in a couple of days, so pick it up. This was a solid four out of five star book to me.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

More Happy Than Not is a heartbreaking yet inspiring book about the pain of the past and resurfacing emotions. Aaron Soto is determined to reach his happy ending after he failed to take his own life and after his father committed suicide. Aaron has an amazing girlfriend, a fantastic mother, and a new best friend, Thomas, to help him through his struggles. But as his feelings and emotions start to warp into things he doesn’t understand, all Aaron wants to do is forget. He gets a chance to do so with the new Leteo memory alteration procedure, which will let him remember what he wants and forget what he doesn’t. With happiness seeming father than ever, what does he have to lose?

I was amazed at how well written the story was. Despite the book being relatively short, Silvera successfully described Aaron's entire backstory and integrated meaningful character development and an interesting plot. While reading, I thought I had figured out what was happening, but I was completely wrong. The plot takes an interesting turn I didn’t see coming, and the unanticipated twist made me anticipate the ending even more.

Aaron’s relationship with the people around him made him a real and raw character—someone that people could understand. His pains felt real, and I couldn’t help but sympathize with him. I felt connected to Aaron and was genuinely happy with how realistically his character arc wrapped up at the end. 

Verdict: This book got me rooting for Aaron’s happiness and had me surprised at every page. If I could wipe my memory to read this book all over again, I would. Though the beginning of the book was a bit slow for me, I couldn’t put the book down after getting a little less than halfway through. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes a good “finding yourself” story—but make sure you have a box of tissues next to you, because this book will have you tearing up.

Readers United Book Reviews | The Beginning of Everything and Throne of Glass

Aisha Pasha '20 returns with a couple of books that have continued to linger in her mind after reading them.

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider is a refreshing and uniquely written masterpiece about how we define our own identities. This book is anything but the cookie cutter high school romance with a happy ending.

Ezra was a varsity tennis player with a future of competition and victory. But when a tragic car crash leaves him permanently injured, he is unable to continue what he has always found comfort in—tennis. Without tennis, Ezra doesn’t know what to do with himself and his time. Knowing he can’t do anything else, he joins the debate team. There, he reconnects with old friends and befriends the enigmatic Cassidy. He’s on the journey to find out what defines him, but revelations about his accident threaten to shatter the new happiness he just found.

This book was completely different compared to any other high school romance that I have read. Schneider made all of the characters have a great sense of humor and realistic voices. Ezra, the narrator in this book, had a hilarious outlook on life, and his comments made me laugh out loud. His anecdotes about how he grew up moved the story along and made him that much of a better character. In contrast, Cassidy was a mystery from the beginning. Even though Ezra and Cassidy’s relationship was built on secrets, it felt real and genuine. It was interesting to see how they grew throughout the book and see where their separate paths led them. After finding out about her actual past at the end, readers were still left with questions about Cassidy. Nevertheless, the ending was satisfying, and Schneider was able to wrap up everyone’s stories in a realistic way.

The writing style has to be my favorite part of this book. Schneider knew when to write lyrically and when to be direct to really evoke emotions from the readers. Funny, heart-warming parts were complemented by utterly heart-wrenching events.

Verdict: I would definitely recommend this book for those who like books about high school life and want a refreshing and hilarious read. I wasn’t able to pull myself out of the book, becoming completely invested in the story.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas has a spot as one of my favorite books of all time. Celaena Sardothien, the most feared and ruthless assassin in the land of Ardalan, is given a chance at freedom when the Prince of Ardalan gives her the opportunity to be his pick for his father’s assassin competition. If Celaena wins, she will become the King’s personal assassin and get what she wanted after living in the cruelest prison for a year—freedom. After living a life full of tragedy and anger, Celaena feels like she deserves it. She takes the offer and is determined to win for herself and for the others she soon learns to trust. Each round of competition weeds out the weak candidates; however, competitors soon start disappearing, their bodies being found mutilated days later. Celaena is given the task to find out who or what is killing the competitors, but what she finds isn’t what anyone expected, and her life is thrown sharply into danger.

Maas writes her characters in a beautiful way, making them come to life. By the first page, you can tell Celaena is a force to be reckoned. Her mind is sharper than anyone else’s in the book; she is constantly analyzing people’s movements, thinking of escape routes, and determining who she can trust. However, the reader realizes very quickly that Celaena is not simply an unfeeling robot. Celaena allows herself to befriend her companions, Nehemia, Prince Dorian, and Captain Westfall. What I found most interesting about Celaena was that nothing stopped her from making humorous remarks towards her friends to get under their skin, but at the same time she was cautious to not let her real self show on the outside. She underwent major character development throughout the book as she learned to trust people and look back at her past in order to think about her future.

Verdict: I would recommend this book to people who enjoy high fantasy, because the world building throughout this series is amazingly detailed and captivating. I also would recommend it to those who like books with a competition in them and the occasional fight scene here and there. The sixth book in the series is coming out this year, so start the series now and dive into the world Sarah J. Maas has created!

Readers United Book Reviews | The Young Elites and Every Last Word

For our third installment, Aisha Pasha ’20 returns to share a couple of books she has been reading over the past couple of weeks.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

After writing her New York Times best-selling series, Legend, Marie Lu wrote The Young Elites, the start of a new series. This dark novel follows the rise of a villain. In Estenzia, people who survived the terrible blood fever were marred and called malfettos. Some even gained powers and were referred to as the young elites, living in cruel conditions and burned at the stake daily. A scared malfetto teen, Adelina Amouteru, lived in constant fear of her hateful father and the government so when a secret organization, the Dagger Society, offered her a place in their group, she took the chance. As she found her place with the other marred malfettos, she changed. Her strength was known to feed on the fears of others. Her friends saw the growing evil in her. The question was, was she willing to follow the good in her heart or let the evil prevail?

The characters in this novel are like nothing I have ever seen. Adelina is the exact opposite of a hero. Readers get to see into her delusions and get to know her dark heart. Enzo, the fire prince that welcomes her, was an interesting character to see grow. He went from guarded and aloof to more open. The other members of the young elites were a needed light in the darkness. They added a sense of friendship and community to the book.

What made this book so appealing to me was the fact that this book was the story of the anti-hero. Adelina’s terrible and horrifying thoughts are depicted in the story as well as everything wrong in the world she lives in, justifying her dark desires. You can see how the past of a person can shape them into the person they grow to be. Readers also see the impacts Adelina’s actions have on her newfound friends.

The descriptions of the setting, characters, and battles are amazing and vivid. The palace and villages seem to come to life. You never forget what the characters look like since it is an integral part of the story to know what deformations the blood fever left on the malefettos.

Verdict: I would recommend this story to people who enjoyed the Legend trilogy because Marie Lu’s writing has only improved. I was completely invested in this story and was devastated when it ended. The rest of the series increases in its intensity as the darkness surrounding Adelina’s heart starts to consume her. I definitely recommend checking it out.

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Every Last Word is a contemporary novel about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and the effects it has on daily life. This book isn’t a normal story of high school drama. Samantha McAllister is one of the popular juniors in her class and wants to keep it that way. She strives to keep her OCD at bay and away from the prying eyes of her “friends” that she holds so dear. Any misstep will cause her catapulting out of the comfort of normalcy. When Sam meets hilarious Caroline, a girl her friends would never approve of, she cannot mention her new best friend to anyone. Caroline opens Sam up to the poetry group at her school where she actually feels like she can be herself and connect with people like her. She even gets to reconnect with an old classmate, and along the way, learns how to not let her OCD define her. But something she finds out makes her question everything she has ever known about herself.

It was so interesting to see how much OCD affected Sam’s every decision, keeping her from living the life she always imagined living. The book also portrayed OCD accurately and didn’t sugar coat any of the terrifying thoughts that come with this disorder. Sam was the typical popular girl on the outside but a mess of questions, panic attacks, and dark thoughts on the inside. It took immense self control for her for her not to question everything she did. After reading the book I was surprised at the amount of character growth that she went through in the one year when she stopped forcing herself to conform to one image. Caroline’s friendship was also something I enjoyed in the book. It added light to the story and showed that friendship can pull people out of the darkest of times and also impact a person positively and even negatively.

Verdict: If you are looking for a deep and emotional read this book is definitely for you. The writing was absolutely beautiful and descriptive and the poetry in the novel just added to the flow of events. I finished it in one day, not able to pull myself out of Sam’s world and back into my own.

Introducing Readers United Book Reviews | Illuminae, Legend, and Station Eleven

Readers United is the student book club group under the umbrella of the library, and they are starting a new series of book reviews written by members to help the Choate community engage in reading! If you would like to be involved in this effort, please email Truelian Lee (tlee17).

We are beginning our first installment reviews with science fiction and dystopian books: Illuminae, Legend, and Station Eleven. The books below are available to be checked out at the library.

It can be hard to figure out which books to read during our free time—which we definitely have a lot of, after we’re done juggling a myriad of classes, sports, and extracurricular clubs. Here to help is Aisha Pasha ’20, a science fiction aficionado with a discerning eye for books you won’t forget reading, and those you wish you left sitting on the library shelves.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

The world is ending in 2575. Or that is what the people of Kerenza thought when their rival attacked their planet with the intention of leaving it in ruins. But not everyone was fated to death that day. Three space ships managed to escape the planet, with teenage protagonist Kady aboard one and her recent ex-boyfriend Ezra on another. Both find their place in their respective crews and slowly begin to realize that there is more than just the approaching enemies to worry about. Soon, they reconnect through instant messages, security footage, update papers, and other means of communication. They end up being possibly the only remaining survivors with the power to save their people.

My favorite part of the book was the characters. Kady and Ezra encountered numerous trying and difficult situations, almost to the point of disbelief, but Kaufman and Kristoff did a phenomenal job at making them relatable, particularly as teenagers. Though Kady had technological abilities like no other and Ezra was one of the best soldiers on his ship, they were teenagers with normal lives who were suddenly thrown into assuming an adult role. They were not infallible. Readers will get inevitably attached to every character.

The suspense of the book kept me at the edge of my seat. Right from the beginning. Illuminae casts the reader right into the action, starting with the attack on the people of Kerenza. This isn’t one of those books that describes the world for half of the book; rather, it slowly revealed different aspects of the Kerenza government and society.

Another part of the book that made it engaging was the fast-paced plot. The series of events flew by, and the story never lagged. It didn’t feel like there were any unnecessary chapters.

Above all, the realistic turn of events was what made me love the book the most. Illuminae didn’t brush over death, because death is inevitable in war. The book also doesn’t flinch from delving into the psyches of its characters after a death of a loved one. In addition, Kaufman and Kristoff weren’t afraid to show the ugly side of the battle, the side where innocent people are unfairly treated and where not everyone gets a happy ending.

Verdict: I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys action stories in the vast expanse of space and for anyone who appreciates the art of the plot twist.

Legend by Marie Lu

Legend was one of the first dystopian novels I have read, and it continues to be one of my favorites. It is a classic story of how the most unlikely of people can end up salvaging a corrupt government. The two protagonists, June and Day, are on two different sides of society. Day is a wanted criminal, while June is a highly praised soldier. When June’s brother is killed, she suspects Day, and is sent on a mission by her Commander in order to find and kill Day. Meanwhile, Day is desperately trying to search for the antidote to the plague outbreak in order to save his younger brother. They both will do anything to get what they want and will even go against their own beliefs. When their paths cross, they realize that their perceptions of the world around them may have been entirely false.

The characters really captivated my interest; I loved each and every character in the book. Despite being the antagonist, Commander Jameson was one of my favorite characters for the way her lack of sympathy was described. In addition, Day was very admirable in his refusal to give up hope. He is optimistic in nature, calling himself Day because a new day brings a new beginning. Despite living in the slums, he still had hope that one day he would be able to save his family from the plague that was slowly taking his brother’s life. Though Lu’s characters did experience some character development, they didn’t change their views without reason. For instance, the characters didn’t change their opinion on the government until an event showed them the true colors of the people that were supposed to protect them.

Lastly, the world building was absolutely phenomenal. There was a lot that Marie Lu had to explain and she did not disappoint, diving into the history, laws, and hierarchy of her fictional society with gusto. Marie Lu introduced the laws and caste system early on in the book to give the reader a solid understanding of the world they were about to dive into but not enough to overwhelm. Over the course of the book, more aspects of the government and the state of the country were revealed.

Verdict: I would recommend this book to any dystopian fans, or anyone who likes reading about revolutions and tragic romance stories.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mendel

Some of you may have breezed through Station Eleven when it was the assigned summer reading last year, but the book is definitely worth a second glance. Station Eleven is a sci-fi novel that depicts a desolate earth after a mutated flu plagues wipes out most of mankind.

The main protagonist, Kirsten Raymonde, is an actress in the Traveling Symphony who shares her love of theatre and art with survivors in hopes of keeping the Shakespeare and music alive. However, the Traveling Symphony’s peaceful travels soon come to an end when a mysterious prophet is intent on hunting and killing every member.

St. John Mendel does a fantastic job of emphasizing the loss of modern-day conveniences after the epidemic, encouraging the reader to ponder the role of technology and its impact on relationships in society. Additionally, it was interesting to see the role that theatre and music played in this brave new world. Besides serving as entertainment, art was the only vestige of the time before the epidemic, and people treated it as a source of comfort.

What made this book stand out from any other book I’ve ever read was the artful juggling of multiple points of view. This book switches perspective quite frequently, providing snippets from the past and present of various characters’ lives. To me, the most interesting aspect of this book was how all of the characters’ stories were intertwined.

Verdict: If you didn’t like this book the first time around, try picking it up a second time! I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a mysterious novel with enigmatic characters and elegant prose.