End of Year Book Reccomendations

End of year 

Katie & Adam & Emma 

Don’t let the forest in  

This is Emma Manley's favorite book of this year. 

What do you do when the loss of someone you love tries to claw out your heart? You hide.  And for Andrew, that meant burying himself in the stories of monsters only Thomas could survive.  This is the best piece of work I've ever been gifted the honour of reading. Thank you, C.G Drews -Emma 

Dragon's Jaw 

This is Adam Mirowski’s favorite book of this year. 

It’s a really exiting book by a veteran of the Vietnam war about numerous attempts of taking down Dragon’s Jaw Bridge  

Mistletoe and Murder 

This is Katie Murray's favorite book of this year. 

It’s an amazing book for any kids aged 10+, it’s an amazing way to murder mystery/crime/mystery in general to see if you like it, it’s an amazing book overall and I would recommend it to anyone who’s trying to get into murder mystery books.  

Percy Jackson and the lightning thief 

This is Anabel Healey Bird’s favorite book of this year.  

It’s an imaginative, yet still relatable story with characters that seem very real. It’s based on Greek mythology, and I would recommend it to any mythology nerds! It’s about the children of Greek gods and the epic quests and journeys they must go on. Although it is fantasy it’s also a coming-of-age story and you get to watch the characters grow up throughout the story. It is also told from the perspective of the protagonist Percy Jackson, and Rick Riordan, the author, does an excellent job of capturing characters and writing from their perspective. I would recommend Percy Jackson to kids, teenagers, and young adults, it’s an extremely captivating, humorous, and heartwarming read, while still covering serious topics. Lastly, I would especially recommend it to any neurodivergent person, the main character Percy, has ADHD and dyslexia, as well as most of the half-bloods and it does a really good job relating to neurodivergent teenagers.  

The dagger and the flame 

This is Ailbhe Walsh’s favorite book of this year.  

My favorite book that I read in the past year was The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle who is an Irish author. This book is about rival groups, Cloaks vs Daggers. I really enjoyed this book because the writing in it is amazing and creates a whole new world for you to love and explore. -Ailbhe 

Robert Graves’ Greek Myths 

This is Angie Moloney’s favourite book this year. 

It is a collection of stories from and about Ancient Greek mythology. I read a lot of Ancient Greek mythology retelling and have found a lot of wonderful titles that beautifully paint different scenes, but I find Graves’ collection especially interesting and enjoyable as his book provides you with possible variations of each tale. He lays down the basis of a story and then goes through some of the different ways people have told it over the years, before then sharing his own opinion on what he thinks is the correct version.  

You are given a wide lens through which to be shown the myths and given all the facts and opinions possible to help your understanding while leaving an abundance of room for you to form your own theories and opinions about the series of events. -Angie 

Mój ostatni tydzień 

This is Michalina Grenczuk’s  favourite book this year.  

It’s a fantastic book that deals with themes that are heavy but are a reality that some people deal with in their day to day lives, such as grief, sexuality, abuse, death, depression, chronic illness, substance abuse, and so much more. This book portrays death not as a clock, something that ticks away until it’s time, but instead as something that just happens. It could happen to anyone, on any day, anytime, anywhere, and as much as we may prevent it from happening or try to forget it exists, it will always linger. But instead of closing ourselves off from the world or simply living in denial, we can cherish it, for even though those who are gone can't live on, the memory of them, as well as their legacy, certainly can. 

“Będę żył tak długo, jak będziesz o mnie pamiętał” (“I will live as long, as you remember me”) – Mateusz, page 325 

Toilet Bound Hanako Kun 

This was Rebecca Crowley’s favourite book this year 

It’s a great manga, I really enjoyed reading it, it’s a mystery, supernatural horror plus the light-hearted humour/ romance. Overall, it’s fun to read, the art style is beautiful and the characters are amazing, so I really recommend reading this. 

Ignite Me  

This was James Sheehan’s favourite book this year 

My favourite book I’ve read over the past year was “Ignite me”, by Tahreh Mafi. This is the third installation in the “Shatter me” trilogy, a YA, Dystopian, Romance series and in my mind it’s the best. Throughout the whole series the author uses language and notation to show the protagonist’s lack of contact with the world. "Ignite me” wraps up her reconnection with the world and her own strengths as a person as she learns to fight and to think for herself as a leader. On the other hand, the book does an amazing portrayal of the evolution of love and how relationships affect people so deeply. Throughout the series, Juliette formed a bridge back to a life she never had the opportunity to get. The process of it all is written so poetically and I think this book wrapped it up perfectly.

Powerless 

This was Mayra Ortiz Soto’s favourite book this year 

I loved powerless since the authors Writing style is sooo captivating and her creativity outstanding I loved the way she executed her world with all the plot twists and how she made the powerless powerful she showed the value of a strong personality and she thoroughly accomplished character development. 

The House of Earth and Blood 

This was Eve Madden’s favourite book this year 

I found 'the House of Earth and Blood' a very action filled book. It is filled with cliffhangers and revelations about the characters, making it a book I could never put down. The author Sarah.J.Maas is very good at writing fantasy and making books interesting. 

Erik Menneste Son 

This is Alma Persson’s favourite book this year 

I like how the author creates an original adventure in the world of the Norse gods while also telling the original tales. It’s a nice combination of Norse mythology and modern day