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TeenTober 2019 – Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

I stumbled across this book when browsing the shelves for beautiful covers and you gotta admit, this cover’s pretty stunning.

Although yes, I only picked this book up for the cover, once I read the back I knew this was a read I would enjoy. Behold, the story of three aspiring prima ballerinas navigating expectations, jealousy and modern-world problems.

Being a dancer myself, this book was a lot more relatable to me than it probably would have been for someone else. I could understand the terms and language used in it and their struggles were my struggles. For that reason, my rating will probably be slightly higher than yours so keep that in mind.

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TeenTober 2019 – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I’ve been trying to read some classics lately but to be honest, I find them quite drab. The style of writing is very different than what I’m used to reading in the YA genre. However, they’re classics for a reason so I have made it my personal goal to finish these famous stories by Grade 12.

The Great Gatsby isn’t actually narrated by Gatsby himself which struck me as very peculiar when I first started reading it. It’s narrated by Gatsby’s neighbour, Nick, who has just moved to the fictional island of West Egg, next to Gatsby’s enormous mansion.

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TeenTober 2019 – Exo by Fonda Lee

Exo by Fonda Lee

A long time ago, there was a war between the aliens and humans. The aliens won and gave humans some technology to let humans have very strong shells. Humans with these are called exos. There are also humans still against the aliens called Sapience. Donovan Reyes, the son of the exo government was captured by the Sapience and his father won’t negotiate. Donovan’s life is on the line, if his father negotiates, sapience wins, if his father doesn’t Donovan dies.

This book was great because it had an exciting mix of action and science fiction. I would recommend this book to 13 years and up because of the rare but gruesome scenes.

TeenTober 2019 – The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The first time I tried reading this book, I got to about page 7 before I gave up and returned it. My 12-year-old self just did not like the perspective the story was written from, she found it too boring and not action-filled enough. In Grade 9, I tried it again and now it’s one of my favourite books, ever.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak takes place during the Holocaust, centred around a girl named Liesel, who has just lost her brother and is now living with foster parents. What sets the story apart immediately is that it’s told from Death’s perspective, who meets Liesel just 3 times in her life but finds her incredibly intriguing. Liesel’s story is one of laughter and one of tears but it’s also one that everyone should read.

I would recommend The Book Thief to absolutely everyone and anyone. Although it’s definitely not a light read, you won’t regret taking some time to fully process it. This is one of those rare books that made me truly cry. Cry with tears streaming down. Death really does have a way with words… The plot, the world, the characters, everything is so well written that you just can’t help but fall in love with it all. The final rating is a 100000000000/10, read it and then comment on this post, we’ll cry together :’)

TeenTober 2019 – One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

Image result for one piece volume 1

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

So according to my sources, One Piece has lost in the first round of the RPL’s Battle of the Books, which comes to a surprise to me as One Piece has sold over 455 Million units worldwide and is the third best-selling comic books series in the world, only being topped by Batman and Superman. But none of this would matter if One Piece wasn’t good. Luckily for Eiichiro Oda, One Piece‘s author, and you the reader, One Piece is fantastic! Let’s talk about the why.

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Welcome to TeenTober!

In association with Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), RPL is pleased to announce “TeenTober” where we celebrate everything libraries; (digital literacy, reading, technology, writing, etc.) throughout the month of October.

Visit the Brighouse branch and vote for your favourite book in our month long Battle of the Books (titles were chosen by our Teen Ambassadors) to help determine a winner.

Lastly, share your favourite book or what you are currently reading on the Blog. We will be handing out weekly book prizes starting on October 6th.