Summer’s over and fall is upon us. School is back in session—which means that the season of required school reading has returned. Chances are, your new curriculum is not filled with the kinds of page-turners that would make Yoda pleased.
Gif via The Cantina
So, you can always opt to Sparknotes your required readings and pick something more enjoyable instead.
Check out Bookstr’s Three to Read, the three books we’ve picked for you to read this week!
Our Hot Pick
A Match Made in Mehendi
Synopsis:
Fifteen-year-old Simran “Simi” Sangha comes from a long line of Indian vichole –– matchmakers — with a rich history for helping parents find good matches for their grown children. When Simi accidentally sets up her cousin and a soon-to-be lawyer, her family is thrilled that she has the “gift.”
But Simi is an artist, and she doesn’t want to have anything to do with relationships, helicopter parents, and family drama. That is, until she realizes this might be just the thing to improve her and her best friend Noah’s social status. Armed with her family’s ancient guide to finding love, Simi starts a matchmaking service-via an app, of course.
But when she helps connect a wallflower of a girl with the star of the boys’ soccer team, she turns the high school hierarchy topsy-turvy, soon making herself public enemy number one.
Why?
Your teenage years are filled with SATs, gratuitous class projects, and extra-curricular activities to beef up your college applications, in addition to actual college applications. High school can be hard. It can be even harder when your plans to climb up the social hierarchy of your school backfire. Author Nandini Bajpai’s upcoming release presents a relatably quirky and admirably entrepreneurial protagonist who just wants to use her talents to be all that she can be. Kirkus Reviews describes A Match Made in Mehendi as, “A sweet and quirky romance told by a protagonist who will steal readers’ hearts.”
Our Coffee Shop Read
Gun Island
Synopsis:
Bundook. Gun. A common word, but one that turns Deen Datta’s world upside down.
A dealer of rare books, Deen is used to a quiet life spent indoors, but as his once-solid beliefs begin to shift, he is forced to set out on an extraordinary journey; one that takes him from India to Los Angeles and Venice via a tangled route through the memories and experiences of those he meets along the way. There is Piya, a fellow Bengali-American who sets his journey in motion; Tipu, an entrepreneurial young man who opens Deen’s eyes to the realities of growing up in today’s world; Rafi, with his desperate attempt to help someone in need; and Cinta, an old friend who provides the missing link in the story they are all a part of. It is a journey that will upend everything he thought he knew about himself, about the Bengali legends of his childhood, and about the world around him.
Amitav Ghosh‘s Gun Island is a beautifully realized novel that effortlessly spans space and time. It is the story of a world on the brink, of increasing displacement and unstoppable transition. But it is also a story of hope, of a man whose faith in the world and the future is restored by two remarkable women.
Why?
History can be interesting (depending on who’s telling it). It can also be riveting when told through folk tales that invite investigation and interpretation into the deeper roots of where those stories come from, and what they foreshadow lies ahead. Award-winning author Amitav Ghosh provides a protagonist who has spent his life immersed in other people’s stories but finally gets the chance to live his own. His journey leads him to the prospect of a brighter future, while also revisiting his connection to the stories and cultural legends that shaped his early life. If you’re looking to embark on an adventure from the comfort of your local coffee shop now that it’s getting too cold for the beach, then look no further.
Our Dark Horse
Twist and Shout: An Awkward Life with Tourette’s
Synopsis:
One day I woke up with Tourette’s Syndrome, which isn’t something I even thought possible at the time. The book you hold in your hands was originally a way to cope with that. I wrote it to help myself, but hopefully, it helps you or whoever you are buying this for. It will become obvious as you read this book that I don’t have everything figured out. But I did learn quite a lot since my diagnosis. Things like empathy (which I lacked for quite some time). Things such as how cruel people can be but also how loving and accepting too. Things like how to be a friend to someone. How to look outside and appreciate the fact that you exist. How to realize that there are people out there that currently do and will love you unconditionally. Within this book are the ramblings of a depressed English Major who (with the help of many people) realized that life may not be easy, but it sure is worth it.
Why?
Just one moment can change your life forever, and actually making peace with those changes might feel like it takes forever. What you pick up along the way are the people who embrace what they truly love and admire about you despite the difficult stuff, which author Tyler Oberheu opens up about with real strength. Oberheu brings a necessary attention and awareness to Tourette’s Syndrome with Twist and Shout while throwing in some laughs (mild and wild) for your consideration.
All In-text Images Via Amazon.
