Review by Jude

Armada by Ernest Cline

The book “Armada” by Ernest Cline is a sci-fi book set in 2018. He is about to graduate from high school, when he sees a UFO flying above his hometown. But this is no ordinary UFO; it is a ship from his favorite video game, Armada. He believes he is just a crazy teenager, until it turns out it’s a lot more real than he thinks. But something still seems off. The bad guys are acting exactly like they do in the videogame, and everything seems a little too easy. 

Review by Katie

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

"The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion is a memoir about Didion’s experience and her grief following the death of her husband, John. Only a couple days before his death, their daughter, Quintana, was hospitalized, and Didion is forced to simultaneously grapple with that and her loss. The account begins on the day of John’s death and ends the day after the one-year anniversary of his passing. It documents Didion’s emotional process in all its grittiness and honesty. She relives the love she shared with her husband and all their memories, positive and negative. She searches for any signs or clues that pointed to her husband’s death, convincing herself she could’ve prevented it. She explores her own self-pity and the irrationality of grief, or trauma in general. This is where the “magical thinking” title comes from -- the idea that Didion can reverse her husband’s death if she tried hard enough, or if she could’ve stopped it, or if she missed a symbol that would’ve warned her. The entire book is startlingly heartbreaking.

Review by Sweksha

Uglies by Scott Westerfield

"Uglies," written by Scott Westerfield, is a novel that exemplifies one of the most popular ideals in modern society: being beautiful on the inside. The novel is set about 300 years in the future after an oil virus that caused explosions and pollution which completely destroyed civilization. Most of the plot takes place in a small isolated town in the wilderness known as “the smoke.” The main character of the story, Tally Youngblood, is about to turn sixteen years old. In a few weeks, Tally will have the operation that will turn her into a bubbly and beautiful “pretty.” As a pretty, Tally will travel to a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun with her friends. But, Tally learns a life-changing secret and now she faces an impossible decision whether to save herself or everyone else.