The pandemic has hit us all with a blow and we are all left finding consolation and comfort in different activities. Bookworms, or as defined by us the creature for whom the time is so little and the books are so much, find their all-time solace in a book. And when it’s young-adult or contemporary fiction we can’t keep it without devouring them whole.
John Green, Jandy Nelson, Jennifer Nevin, Rainbow Rowell- sounds like a perfect night for booklovers.
But they have a distinctive habit of coercing their favorite novels on their friends because they for their awfully bad luck are missing out on some of the greatest stories of all time.
So, if you are that reader or that friend, here are the five light reads you should definitely try out (sponsored by a die-hard bookworm)
1. If you could see me now by Cecelia Ahern
If you have read Ahern before, you must know it is always backed with profound and kind lessons for life. If you could see me now is one such story. Elizabeth’s life is all but a happy one. Her father is an emotionally distant one with an alcoholic mother and on top of that is her carefree sister who has left her three-year-old son Luke in Elizabeth’s care. Luke has a mysterious invisible friend Ivan.
When out of nowhere Ivan enters the picture Elizabeth is left feeling comfortable in his talks and stories but dubious. With his penchant for adventure and his colorful way of seeing the world, Ivan is everything Elizabeth wanted to be.
If you could see me now proclaims the grey life of a schedule bounded person for whom the chaotic world full of adventure and risk seem too much. It is a story of friendship with oneself, of being pleased with one’s soul. It is a story that’ll make you feel heartbroken and delighted, touched, and crushed. If you could see me now is all about finding yourself and seeing it, appreciating it daily.
2. See you in the cosmos by Jack Cheng
Eleven-year-old Alex Petroski loves space and rockets. His dog is named Carl Sagan based on his real-life astronomer hero. All he wants to do is to launch his iPod in space so that the lifeforms outside will know how people on earth live.
From Las Vegas to Los Angeles and to Colorada, his venture is one filled with a funny, loving, heartbreaking story.
The moment I started reading it, I knew it was something different, something original filled with the ups and downs of life. The story of friendship between Alex and Seth the Buddhist guru reverberates the lessons one can learn from a child.
There was a scene where Alex wanted to record the heartbeat of a man in love. How cute is that? Very, I know. Read it if you want something humorous and decent, funny and heartwrenching, and overall the beauty of life.
3. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.
Seventeen-year-old Eleanor considers herself weird with a face covered in acne and the fat supporting her more than her family. Park is everything but out of her league – Smart, handsome, and funny.
When one day Park decided to sit with her, Eleanor is filled with uncertainty. What does Park see in her? Is she even beautiful?
“Art isn’t supposed to be beautiful, art is supposed to make you feel something.”
My all-time favorite quote, for everyone, consider beauty to be weaved with love however what is intricated with love is a different kind of beauty– one that cannot be seen but can only be felt.
Eleanor and Park is a saga of young love. It is a story of innocent affection, one that doesn’t see the size or scars one that is replenished with the inner beauty and of hope.
4. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.
Eleanor Oliphant- She is struggling with social skills with her timetabled life neglecting as much human contact as possible.
Is Eleanor going to die out of nowhere? No. Is Eleanor going to fall in love suddenly? No. Is Eleanor going on a wonderful adventure? No.
Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine is a completely simple story. What is different in it is, it’s an extraordinary ordinary story of being distinct from what everyone perceives to be normal.
What is different is Eleanor’s perception of life. Why is shaving important? Why is a person supposed to marry? Why can’t she live alone? Why do people eat different things when they can live on wine and sandwiches? Why do people go to parties?
5. Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmer.
Juliet Young always writes a letter to her world traveling photojournalist mother and cannot resist even after her death. Every day she leaves a letter near her grave.
Declan Murphy isn’t the sort of guy you would want around you. Struggling to dodge demons of the past, he gets enrolled in community service. When he stumbles upon eerie letters near a grave he can’t resist responding.
Julie hates Murphy in real life. She thinks of him as a trouble maker with whom she should retain her distance. But neither Murphy nor Juliet knows that they are not actually strangers. Letters to the lost is a story of superficial personality and character gauged by us. It is a reflection of how a beautiful soul doesn’t need external beauty.
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