Now that school is back in session, students are looking for some new books to read, whether it is for fun, or you are being forced by your English teacher. The perfect book out there waiting to be read. Here are a few recommendations.  (Click here to see the first five books I recommended!)

1. The Divergent series was written by author Veronica Roth. If you like fantasy worlds and adventure, this is the book series for you. It follows the adventures of a girl named Beatrice “Tris” Prior. It all starts when she has to decide which faction she wants to be a part of. There are five factions: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. She then has to go through a very competitive and incredibly difficult initiation to get into the faction of her choosing. As the initiation goes on, she realizes that maybe some of the people she thought were her friends might be planning her demise. What will happen to her? Will she get through initiation or die trying? Read the first book called Divergent to find out. This book is available on Amazon.com, Amazon kindle, and Goodreads.com.
2. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is a standalone semi-autobiographical novel written by Joanne Greenberg. Deborah, a sixteen-year-old girl, suffers constantly while being tormented by inner demons, that aren’t actually there. She has the mental illness schizophrenia; this makes it difficult for her to differentiate from reality and what is going on in her head. Everyone including Deborah is pushing her to live a “normal” life and not let this illness get the best of her. Will she be able to live the life she has always wanted, or will she continue suffering? Read this book to find out! This book is available for download on Amazon Kindle, also available for purchase on Amazon.com and can be found at multiple Barnes&Noble locations. The other place you can find this is in the High school English classroom.
3. Five Survive is a standalone book written by Holly Jackson. Redford “Red” Kenny is on a roadtrip with five other people for spring break. While on the road, things will take a turn for the worst. Now they are just trying to get out of their RV alive with a crazed murderer looking for a secret that one of them is keeping. Will they get out alive, or all be killed before the secret is revealed? Is it big enough for them to all possibly die trying to keep it. This book is available on Amazon.com and at multiple Barnes&Noble locations.
4. The Maximum Ride series was written by James Patterson. There are nine books in the series. The books are about a group of children who all have wings, and the leader of their “flock” is Maximum “Max” Ride. These kids were all created in a lab, and since their escape, they have been on the run. One fateful day, the youngest of the group, Angel, is kidnapped by the people from the lab. Will Angel be found, or will she be lost forever? Read this series and find out! This book series is available at the Belfast Public Library and available for purchase on Amazon.com.
5. A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare is an excellent play to read and perform. There is never a dull moment when Puck is around spreading joy and a bit of chaos wherever he goes, especially on that one fateful night when he comes across two people in the woods. That is really when things start to go awry. Now Lysander no longer loves his girlfriend, but her best friend instead. Demetrius is trying to make Hermia fall in love with him. Helena is offended since she was led to believe she is being made fun of. Who will end up with whom: will Helena find the true man of her dreams? Read this play and find out! This play is available for purchase on Barnes&Noble, Amazon.com, and Walmart.com.