Books have always been a crucial part in one’s development and growth. Books have played a quintessential role in every student’s life by introducing them to a world of imagination, providing knowledge of the outside world. Books function as survival kits, they influence us and leave a lifetime impact on us. Here are some of best picks of the week for your mental and pleasurable development!
Gallant by V.E. Schwab****
Everything casts a shadow. Even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. A seam, where the shadow meets its source. Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal- which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home- to Gallant.
Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant-but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?
The Maid by Nita Prose***
Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. A clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirits, ‘The Maid’ explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different- and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara****
From the author of the classic A Little Life, a bold, brilliant novel spanning three centuries and three different versions of the American Experiment, about lovers, family, loss, and the elusive promise of utopia. Story of a world in 2093, riven by plague and totalitarian rule, an influential scientist’s damaged granddaughter tries to navigate life without him- and solve the mystery of her husband’s disappearances. The incredible power of this remarkable novel is driven by Yanagihara’s understanding of the aching desire to protect loved ones- partners, lovers, children, friends, family, and even our fellow citizens.
Violeta by Isabel Allende ***
This sweeping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea tells the epic story of Violeta del Valle, a woman whose life spans one hundred years and bears witness to the greatest upheavals of the twentieth century. She tells her story in the form of a letter to someone she loves above all others, recounting devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, times of both poverty and wealth, terrible loss, and immense joy. Told through the eyes of a woman, Isabel Allende once more brings us an epic that is both fiercely inspiring and deeply emotional.
The Nutmeg’s Curse by Amitav Ghosh****
In this ambitious successor to The Great Derangement, acclaimed writer Amitav Ghosh finds the origins of our contemporary climate crisis in Western colonialism’s violent exploitation of human life and the natural environment. The Nutmeg’s Curse argues that the dynamics of climate change today are rooted in a centuries-old geopolitical order constructed by Western colonialism. Writing against the backdrop of the global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests, Ghosh frames these historical stories in a way that connects our shared colonial histories with the deep inequality we see around us today. The novel offers a sharp criticism of Western society and speaks to the profoundly remarkable ways in which human history is shaped by non-human forces.
