Somers Library Blog

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green is about Aza Holmes, a high school girl who suffers from extreme OCD and anxiety. When she and her best friend, Daisy, find out that David, one of Aza’s old friends’ billionaire father is missing and there is a massive reward for anyone who can find him, they decide to get involved in the search. During this effort, the two of them go on many adventures causing Aza to face some uncomfortable situations and creating some turbulence in their friendship. But Aza also experiences many struggles in her daily life. She can’t keep up a conversation, even with the people she’s closest to without getting lost in her thoughts. On top of this her OCD causes obsessions with germs and illness that end up making her do some unsafe things in response. It is especially hard for her because her best friend is loud, quick-witted, and extroverted, and ends up overpowering her in most conversations. As the story progresses, Aza develops a disdain for Daisy, thinking

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. SchwabThe Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab focuses around a girl named Addie, born in the 1700’s, who has been cursed by the devil to live a never ending life of immortality, after she wishes to have time to “live freely” right when she gets married. After all, her wish is to simply “leave a mark on the world”. Along with living forever, she is cursed to be forgotten by anyone who meets her, making it difficult for her to form any kind of relationship with people. Until one day she meets a boy named Henry who works at a bookstore and remembers her name after she attempted to steal a book the first time they met. Henry is like Addie as well, in which he made a wish with the devil to be enough for people and live up to everyone’s expectations. When they meet they realize they have more in common than they thought. V.E. Schwab uses a good amount of the book telling Addie’s story before she meets Henry and the things she’s done and expe

Few books have been taught in schools as extensively as William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. One of the most frequently banned and challenged books, it shows a layered insight into good and evil and shows a realistic rendition of what a world without adults would look like. The novel tells the story of a group of British schoolboys, whose ages range from 6 to 12, stuck on a deserted island after their plane is shot down. The story is set during a future war, and the boys, with no way to communicate with the outside world, form their own community on the island. Rules are put in place and jobs are assigned and for a short while things go smoothly. This cast of boys includes Ralph, the confident elected leader, Jack, the brash leader of the hunters, Piggy, the intelligent but whiny voice of reason, and Simon, the mysterious outsider. Eventually though, things take a turn south. Divisions between the group, matched with the looming threat of a beast spotted lurking on the island, slowly u