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                                              Stephanie Land's memoir "Maid" is an honest and candid account of her experiences as a single mother navigating poverty, domestic abuse, and the challenges of the welfare system. Throughout Stephanie's novel, she sheds light on the hidden struggles faced by many Americans living in poverty. This book shows the raw portrayal of her struggles, and highlights the roadblocks she had to face in order to raise her daughter safely under these circumstances.      The title of the book comes from the job that changed the trajectory of her life and brought hope and light onto her situation. Finding friends and allies to help her steer through her tough times and to help Stephanie follow her dreams in creative writing. Because she wasn't close with her family, she bonded with people while she cleaned their houses or bon...

                                             I am going to first say that I did not know that Speak was a book. I have always thought it was just a movie (even though I haven't seen it.) Interesting 🤔. OH also! This novel does have a very heavy topic that if I explain it all in my review it would spoil the majority of the book so I am going to try my best and go into as much detail as I possibly can. Ok now enjoy!      The novel  Speak by: Laurie Halse Anderson follows a shy freshman girl named Melinda Sordino and her start at a new school. Being new and an awkward teenager in general Melinda finds it difficult to talk to classmates and make friends. After a life changing incident unfolds at a party she is invited to, she has to learn how to navigate her emotions alone and looses all connection with her peers...

   The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is a coming-of-age novel that is set in a small country town in the 60s and explores the lives of two social groups, the Greasers and the Socs. Ponyboy Curtis is both the narrator and main character of The Outsiders and his experience helps show the raw challenges these kids have to face to escape their society’s standards. Identity, friendship and the loyalty the greasers have for each other all play an important role in this novel.  I believe that the character development in this novel was very well written and shows how each member of the Greasers deals with their own struggles. Because they are such powerful characters they allow the readers to form a deep connection with them and their stories. The novel explores themes of social class by showing the environment these teenagers grow up in, adding depth to the book. This allows the readers to think about parallels to these issues in real life and better understand the world. The writ...

       The Summer I Turned Pretty by: Jenny Han is a coming of age novel written about the main protagonist Isabel (Belly) Conklin and her summer experiences. Every summer, Belly, her mom Laurel, and her brother Steven  all take a trip to Cousins Beach where they spend their time with Laurels childhood friend Susannah (Beck) and her two sons Conrad and Jeramiah Fisher. This book is mainly about Belly navigating her life through her transition of becoming a young woman and creating new relationships with people. This novel reveals the themes of romance, friendships, childhood, and personal growth. For Belly, she is caught in a tough situation. She has always had a crush on Conrad Fisher who has always been there for her however, this summer is different. Conrad is distant because of his parents divorce and because of health complications with his mother. He always idolized his father but now he doesn't know how to feel about the situation as it is sudden for him....

       Everyone has that special book or book series that changed the reading game for them. I feel like mine was the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu. One adventurous day in my seventh grade literature class we took a trip to the library and I decided to take a risk and check out a new book series. Before this I had never read a science fiction novel and actually enjoyed it. Legend by Marie Lu  is set in the future Los Angeles, United States that they now call the Republic. This book follows the main character June and her adventures as the youngest prodigy in their military. She is set up for success because of her family and her wealth but is also under pressure when she is sent on a mission to arrest the most wanted criminal in the slums. This is when she meets Day, the main suspect for her older brother Metias’s death. As these two fight each other for their families more things are uncovered and friendships are made but some also break. I would totally recommend...

     Violets Bent Backwards Over the Grass is a book full of unreleased songs and poetry written by the one and only, Lana Del Rey. In this collection of poetry she writes about her simple day to day interactions with people and just random things she wants to talk about. Although this doesn't seem like the most interesting book to read it does show a very enlightening perspective on where she gets her music inspiration from. There are various images in the book that show a little more about what the poems are about and what they mean to her, which I feel, adds a special touch and is what makes the poems unique. My favorite poem of hers happens to be one of the first poems in the book titled "Violets Bent Backwards over the grass."  My favorite line of this poem is "I decided to do nothing about everything forever" which is accompanied with an image of a dandelion in a patch of grass. Real.      When I found out she had written a book, I was very...