What is West Reading?

As the school year begins once again, there's one question that I know everyone is asking: What did people read this summer?

So, I asked around, and here’s what I found.

First, I met with IB student Mia Winkler. Over the summer, Mia read There There by Tommy Orange. The novel is about twelve different Native Americans who are all heading to the same powwow. By reading their individual stories, you get insight into their personal lives and learn about what it’s like being Native American in our country today.

Mia describes the book as “fantastic,” and when asked if she would recommend it to others she said, “Absolutely, I think it’s important for everybody to read.” There There is told from many different perspectives, which provides a well-rounded view of each story.

Mia read this book for her IB English class and is also going to be reading Wandering Stars, another book by Tommy Orange. Wandering Stars is new, so it is not yet in the KW library, but There There is available to check out.

Em Wistner, a senior, and a very avid reader and writer, who is also writing her own play for her CAS project, recommended I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea. This novel is about Laure, a teenage girl involved in a Parisian ballet, who is offered a deal promising power, influence, and respect after being faced with racial discrimination. After taking the deal, Laure is left to deal with the consequences.

Em actually got the book from the Bookmobile at West Fest last year! She said the cover art and synopsis “instantly grabbed her.” When asked if she could compare the book to any others, she mentioned the writing and overall vibe of V.E. Schwab, and books like These Violent Delights. 

Em highly recommends this book to anyone who likes horror with eerie undertones. She specifically mentioned liking the transformation of characters throughout the story. You start off loving some characters, and then slowly watching them devolve, and even the main character succumbs to the negative effects of power and privilege. 

“I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next, but I was excited to be a part of the ride,” says Em.

Sam West, a senior on the baseball team, recommended Eragon by Christopher Paolini. This novel starts with the title character from a poor village who finds a dragon egg. After the egg hatches, he raises the dragon to fight in a war against an oppressive king. Sam says that a highlight of the book is the amount of detail Paolini used. The book is highly immersive. 

Sam would 100% recommend this book to others; in fact, it was recommended to him. He read it over the summer, and when asked to rate it, he said it was a “ten out of ten.”

Eragon is the first novel in the five-book Inheritance Cycle series, and the first four are available to check out in the KW library. The fifth book, Murtagh, was just published last year. Eragon also has a movie from 2006, but it has mixed reviews.

If you’re a big fan of media like Game Of Thrones, consider checking out Eragon!

Aside from students, it’s always nice to know what the faculty is reading. So, our new librarian Mrs. Martin was consulted.

Mrs. Martin read Bruiser by Neal Shusterman. This book is about a teenage boy named Brewster “Bruiser” Rawlins, who has the supernatural ability to take pain- both physical and emotional- away from the people he cares about. Despite being a loner, Bruiser becomes close with a brother and sister named Tennyson and Bronte. Bruiser and Bronte start dating, and her family takes Bruiser in, yet he is reluctant to let these people into his life because of his ability.

Mrs. Martin describes this book as a “page-turner,” and that she kept wanting to know what happened next while reading. She’s a big fan of the author Shusterman and has read a lot more of his titles which are all available to check out in the library. Some include the Unwind series, Dry, and the Scythe series. 

“He has a way of making you think about things you’ve never thought about before,” says Mrs. Martin.

Bruiser is available to read on Sora, and Mrs. Martin highly recommends it!