Sharing our favourite books within the school’s community! – 2nd edition

[This is the second edition of the article I wrote from January’s edition. Feel free to check it out if you haven’t yet.]

Note: the title of each book will contain a hyperlink for the book platforms StoryGraph and Goodreads, containing important information such as the main themes and content warnings.

The Colour Purple (Alice Walker, 1982)

OIS Library status: not available

“The book is written in a way that you can connect to the characters' challenges, emotions and relationships. The themes addressed in the book were important in 1982, and are still relevant discussion topics today.” – Ms do Vale

This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is about a young black girl named Celie, who is raised in the deep American South, in an environment characterised by poverty, segregation and family abuse. Celie’s destiny is changed when she meets Shug Avery, an African-American woman, who is a successful artist, and who inspires Celie to free herself from the cage that is her past and begin her journey of finding happiness.

Killer Vending Machines Wrecked My School Lunch (Matt Brown (author) and Paco Sordo (illustrator), 2019)

OIS Library status: not available

“It is funny, has some pictures and also has a fun story.” – Elise (Year 7.3)

Drishya Samode is a young girl who loves to build robots. One day, Drishya’s school gets hi-tech vending machines that can walk, talk and see. However, when her school is hit by an electrical power surge, the vending machines start to act strangely. Only Drishya can save her school from the diabolic machines – will she be successful?

If It Bleeds (Stephen King, 2020)

OIS Library status: only other titles by the same author are available

“It is a very mysterious book. The writing makes it feel as if you were in the book and it is a great reading experience. Like many other Stephen King books, it is a heavy book you could say; this is not because of the actual weight of the book, but because of the thinking sensation that you get after reading it.”

This book consists of four novellas, one of them being “If It Bleeds”, which is, in fact, a sequel to King’s 2018 novel The Outsider. The novella tells the story of private investigator Holly Gibney, who is watching the newscast about a bomb attack that happened at a middle school, but, inadvertently, she notices something strange about the reporter, which makes her believe he is actually connected to the attack… The other three novellas are “Mr Harrigan’s Phone”, “The Life of Chuck”, and “Rat”. If you’re a fan of horror and short novels, this might just be the book for you!

Wild (Cheryl Strayed, 2012)

OIS Library status: not available

“Very inspiring. It's a story about a journey of self-discovery and based on true events.”

In this memoir, the author recounts perhaps the most chaotic and existential experience of her life. After her mother’s sudden death due to cancer, and amid a destroyed marriage and dismantled family, Strayed hits rock bottom. With nothing else to lose, she decides to walk 1,770 km of the west coast of America by herself, despite having no experience in hiking. Her motive? Perhaps this journey will help her piece together her life, which will be worth it… if she manages to get out of there alive.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad (Robert T. Kiyosaki, 1997)

OIS Library status: not available

“Talks about finances and improves your financial literacy.”

This self-help best seller was written by Kiyosaki, a businessman who teaches what he has learned about money and finance growing up with two fathers – his real father (“poor dad”) and his best friend's father (“rich dad”).

Skulduggery Pleasant series (Derek Landy, 2007-…)

OIS Library status: available

“It was a good distraction from the real world and every book was interesting and captivating. It was also quite funny.”

Stephanie, a 12-year-old girl, thinks she lives in a mundane world where works of fiction are merely that – fiction. However, this changes when her uncle, a writer of horror books, dies and she discovers that his stories were not fictional after all. As she soon finds out, there are evil forces trying to find a mysterious key, and Stephanie must find the key before they do. However, she can’t do this alone, and she will soon seek help from the skeleton of a dead wizard – the great Skulduggery Pleasant.

Becoming (Michelle Obama, 2018)

OIS Library status: not available

“I think it is a very enjoyable book, it is not hard to read but there still is a challenge to reading it.”

Becoming is Michelle Obama’s deeply personal memoir that chronicles the experiences that have shaped her into who she is, from her modest childhood to her time as one of the world’s most famous female figures. This is the story of a woman of colour that has repeatedly throughout her lifetime defied other people’s expectations. Her ambition and self-belief are what make Michelle Obama and her story a big inspiration to all the girls and women who read the book.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Jeff Kinney, 2004-…)

OIS Library status: available

“It is funny.” – Alexander M. (Year 7.2)

Greg Heffley is a boy who has just begun attending a new school, where the younger kids walk the same corridors as the older, taller and more arrogant teenagers. This is a chance for Gregg and his best friend Rowley to show how mature and cool they are, and how they are deserving of the “popular kid” status. However, it seems that Rowley is having more luck in this department than Greg. In his “journal”, Greg shares his journey of trying to reach popularity, and the funny and ridiculous situations he goes through as he continuously fails.

The Love Hypothesis (Ali Hazelwood, 2021)

OIS Library status: not available

“It’s a very wholesome, geeky romance.”

This witty romance is an interesting take on the “grumpy meets sunshine” trope, in which third-year PhD candidate Olive Smith gets involved with Adam Carlsen, a young and disgruntled professor, who agrees to be part of a fake relationship, just so that Olive can stop her best friend from worrying about her (non-existent) love life. Will Olive and Adam be able to keep this relationship fake, or will it unfold into something more?

The Islamic Enlightenment (Christopher de Bellaigue, 2017)

OIS Library status: not available

“It’s interesting and I've never really looked at Islamic philosophies before.”

Islam is more often than not viewed as an “old-fashioned” religion that is reluctant to evolve and adapt to modern times. Journalist Christopher de Bellaigue doesn’t share the same view. In this book, de Bellaigue recounts the history of Islam from the 19th century to now, focusing on the figures that have brought change and reform to the Muslim world – from Egypt’s visionary ruler Muhammad Ali to Iran’s first feminist Qurrat al-Ayn.

The Boy at the Back of the Class (Onjali Q. Raúf (author) and Pippa Curnick (illustrator), 2018)

OIS Library status: available

“It is good for all ages.”

Based in part on stories the author encountered when working in refugee camps, this novel is about a group of friends in a British school who is one day introduced to a new kid in their class. Ahmet, the new kid, is very quiet and prefers to sit in the back of the class, but the group of friends soon finds out that he is a refugee who has been separated from his family. As such, they decide to befriend Ahmet and try to help him get accustomed to his new life in a foreign country. This is a story about friendship and kindness that will warm the readers’ hearts, let it be children or older people.

The Midnight Gang (David Walliams (author) and Tony Ross (illustrator), 2016)

OIS Library status: available

“It’s an adventure book and it shows how these kids’ dreams can come true even with their disabilities.”

When Tom gets hit on the head with a ball, he is sent to a hospital ward with other injured and disabled children. Some of them are part of the Midnight Gang, a secret group that goes on adventures in the hospital while others are fast asleep. Tom becomes part of the group and embarks on a journey full of adventure, friendship and magic.

The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954-55)

OIS Library status: available in English, Portuguese, Dutch and Spanish

“I love the thrill of adventure and sense of danger.”

This renowned book series continues the story that had begun in the book The Hobbit. At this point in the story, Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered almost all of the Rings of Power – sacred objects that will render the person who has them absolute power. However, there is still one missing – the One Ring. This ring is kept by a hobbit, who will have to destroy it. Nonetheless, destroying this special and powerful ring is no easy task and it will take a whole journey full of obstacles for the hobbit to be able to completely destroy it and impede Sauron from gaining absolute power.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (Rick Riordan, 2005-2013)

OIS Library status: available

“It is an interwoven and exciting series that is also good at educating people on Greek mythology.”

In a world coinhabited by humans, monsters and Greek gods, Percy Jackson is just a regular American boy… or perhaps not. When Percy starts noticing that he can do strange things that would require supernatural power, and, unable to control them, starts getting in trouble in school, his mother decides it is better to tell him who his father really is – Poseidon, the God of the Sea. Subsequently, she sends him to a summer camp for demigods, in which he will learn to control his powers and make new friends. But it is also in the summer camp that he learns that he will have to embark on a dangerous journey to prevent a possible fight between gods.

All the Bright Places (Jennifer Riven, 2015)

OIS Library status: not available

“I like the book because of the emotions the author displays. Moreover, because of the impact it had in my thinking and the people around me. But I would only recommend it to older people since it talks constantly about suicide.” – Rita Correia (Year 10.3)

This YA novel centres around an unlikely pair of teenagers – Theodore Finch, who is a melancholic and lonely boy fixated on the idea of death, and the popular girl Violet Markey, whose sister has recently died. When the two meet by chance one day, they form a bond over their struggle with depression and decide to embark on a spiritual road trip around their home state of Indiana. This novel, despite being heavy, provides an insight into mental illness in young people, and the way they view themselves and the world.