During this hard time in which we are all quarantined in our homes one of the most common problems most people are having is staying entertained. Some people have come up with many different ideas but in my opinion, one of the best ways to stay entertained is by reading a good book. You will find in this piece a list of ten enticing books that you should try reading during these days in which we are quarantined.
Insignia by S.J.Kincaid
Genre: Science fiction
Number of pages: 446
Awards: Winner of the 2015 Young Adult Alabama Author Award from the Alabama Library Association
Earth is in the middle of WWIII. The planet’s natural resources are close to gone and 2 sides are fighting for control of the solar system. This war is being fought not with people but with machines controlled by people. Tom Raines is 14 years old who is given the chance to fight for his side. But joining the fight comes at a cost. Is he prepared to pay it and change his life forever? Or will he walk away from it all and go back to his old life? Insignia is the first book to an amazing trilogy definitely worth reading.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Genre: Science fiction
Number of pages: 374
Awards: 2011 Goodreads choice awards favorite book
No, I’m not talking about the movie. I’m talking about the original book published in 2011 and written by Ernest Cline. The book happens in the year 2044. The world is full of pollution and all of its natural resources have been used up. Most people go to a virtual world known as the OASIS to escape the modern world in which they live. Wade Watts has dedicated most of his life to studying puzzles in the world to find the giant fortune of the OASIS’s founder who left his entire fortune to whoever could solve the riddle and find the fortune hidden in the thousands of worlds all over the OASIS. When Wade solves the first clue he finds himself in a race against other players to solve all of the clues. Only that these players are willing to do anything to beat him to the final prize. This is a book which you will not want to stop reading.
Ranger’s Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
Genre: Adventure fiction
Number of pages: 249
Awards: 2012 ALA popular paperbacks for young adults award
Rangers have always scared Will. The Rangers, people who just seemed to appear out of nowhere. The villagers believed that the Rangers practice magic to make themselves invisible to everyone. And now Will has been chosen as a Ranger’s apprentice. Will soon comes to learn that the Rangers serve as the protectors of the kingdom serving only the king. Soon after Will begins his training as a ranger, information reaches his master that trouble is brewing. The exiled lord of the mountains of rain and night Morgrath is gathering an army to take back the kingdom. This time he intends to win. The first book to one of the longest book series of all time.
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Genre: Fantasy fiction
Number of pages: 342
Awards: 2009 Goodreads Choice Awards Best Middle Grade & Children's
In the kingdom of Carthya, a civil war is about to break out if the news comes out that the king, queen, and prince have been killed. In an attempt to unify the people and take control of the kingdom a nobleman of the court called Connor devises a plan to have an impersonator pose as the king’s long lost second son as a way to get himself in power. 4 orphans are selected to compete for the role including a defiant boy called Sage. Sage knows about Connor’s true intentions but has to do as he is told or be killed. Unfortunately for him, his rivals have similar plans. And so the 4 orphans compete with each other. Layers of treachery unfold until the truth is found which may prove to be even more dangerous than before. What will be Sage’s fate? Victory or death. An amazing book that starts an amazing trilogy.
No fixed address by Susan Nielsen
Genre: Fiction
Number of pages: 288
Awards: 2019 IODE Violet Downey Book Award
Felix Knuttson is a twelve-year-old kid with an amazing mind for trivia. His mom, Astrid has a problem holding onto jobs and homes. When they are kicked out of their apartment from Vancouver they move into a camper van for the month of August until Astrid can get a job again. September roles by and they are still living in the van. Felix must keep the van a secret from his friends and everyone he knows. As the weeks go by and his situation becomes even worse Felix struggles more than ever to hide it from his friends. When he is given the chance to compete in a national quiz show with a huge cash prize he is determined to win and get his life back like it used to be. But what happens is not what he expects. A heartwarming story which will open up your mind a little more.
Renegades by Marissa Mayer
Genre: Science Fiction
Number of pages: 556
Awards: 2019 Dragon Award -- Young Adult / Middle-Grade Novel (Nominee)
The renegades are an order of prodigies (humans with amazing powers) who emerged from a crumbling society and brought order and peace. They are a symbol of hope to everyone. Except for the anarchists who they overthrew. Nova has always had a reason to hate the renegades. She will do anything to get the revenge she seeks so badly. When she joins the renegades to sabotage them and get her revenge she meets Adrian a renegade who believes in everything the renegades stand for. a bond between both of them begins to form. But Nova’s allegiance is to a man who will stop at nothing to end the renegades. A trilogy that you will not be able to put down.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Genre: Dystopian fiction
Number of pages: 487
Awards: Goodreads Choice Awards Favorite Book
In the future, most of the world is in ruins. To survive the society of Chicago has split into 5 factions each one representing a special trait Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On a special day, every year every 16 year- old has to pick one. Beatrice ( who grew up in Abnegation) makes a choice that surprises everyone including herself.
During the trails that follow she must compete with her group to gain a place in the faction. While training she discovers a plot that could lead to war. As well as this she has a secret that if revealed would mean certain death for her. Now she must decide to share her secret to save the ones she loves or die trying. A book which will surprise you at every page.
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Genre: Fantasy fiction
Number of pages: 501
Awards: Governor General’s Literary Award for English-language children's literature
Matt Cruse is a cabin boy aboard the huge airship named the Aurora which ferries wealthy people from city to city. This is the life that he has always dreamed of. One night the ship rescues a dying balloonist who speaks of magical creatures flying through the skies. Convinced the old man is crazy Matt puts these thoughts aside. That is until he meets the balloonist’s granddaughter who convinces him that these creatures might actually be real. When the ship is boarded by pirates and crash lands aboard an island. Matt discovers that these creatures may be truly real. But is everything on the island as it seems? A book which mixes adventure and mystery into a brilliant page-turner.
Friend or Foe by Michael Morpurgo
Genre: Historical fiction
Number of pages: 112
Awards: the Carnegie Medal for outstanding new English-language book for children or young adults.
It is the second world war and the Germans are bombing London. David has a personal reason to hate them. They killed his father. Then the Blitz happens and all of the children of London are evacuated to the countryside. He and his friend Tucky are assigned to live with strangers. One night they see a german warplane crash in the field next to the house. Both of them have reason to hate the pilots who bombed London and managed to escape the crash but how can they hate them when one of them saves David’s life. A book about the war from a different perspective than we usually read.
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Genre: Murder Mystery
Number of pages: 288
Awards: Was turned into a movie which won an Oscar
A calm cruise down the River Nile on a small cruise ship is interrupted when a young girl named Linnet Ridgway is found shot through the head. She was one of the richest people in England who had everything until she lost her life. Hercule Poirot, a detective who happens to be taking a holiday in that cruise sets himself the task of uncovering this mystery. But in this desert setting, nothing is what it seems like. A book which will leave you wondering who did it and will surprise you when you find out who actually did it.
Those are the ten books I definitely recommend you trying to read now that we have all this spare time in our hands. Hopefully you will enjoy these books as much as I enjoyed them.
