5 Quotes from Undiscovered gems
“I am a collection of oddities, a circus of neurons and electrons: my heart is the ringmaster, my soul is the trapeze artist, and the world is my audience. It sounds strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange.”
In the realistic fiction novel, Mosquitoland by David Arnold, Mim Malone embarks on a cross-country odyssey to break free from the carnage of her misshapen family after unraveling the truth behind her mother’s illness. As she navigates towards the one person she can connect with, Mim stumbles across a variety of mixed characters that detour her along a path that completely redefines her perception of home, sanity, and love.
Awaken by Katie Ray Kacvinsky → Science-Fiction
‘“It's like looking through a microscope your whole life," he said. "You miss the whole picture. Sometimes you need to get lost in order to discover anything.”’
In the science-fiction book, Awaken by Katie Ray Kacwinsky, the essence of Maddie’s existence is encapsulated within the constraints of the technology through which she sees the world. With everything at the touch of her fingertips, she confines herself within the walls of her home as everyone else does. Then, she meets Justin--a member of a rebel organization that is willing to fight for a life uncensored by the artificiality of technology. Through Justin, she is awakened to the beauty of the connections and creations that tether people to one another.
Skyscraping by Cordelia Jensen → Poetry
"Newborn stars take millions of years to form, billions of tons of mass to make. But, the constellation of a family can shift shape in seconds."
In the realistic fiction story told through verse, Skyscraping by Cordelia Jensen, senior Mira is hit with bombshells that threaten to tear the fragile fabric of the relationship with her father. She isolates herself from the comforts of school and family, as she struggles to grasp the implications of her parent’s recent divorce and her father’s illness.
Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan → Historical Fiction
“We sit like that until the sun bleeds into the night sky and the cracks in the wooden shed door glow pink. When this happens, I know we've made it through the worst of it. Pain is like sadness; both are easier to bear in daylight.”
In this historical fiction novel, Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan, Amadou is trapped with his younger brother in the tortuous cycle of forced labor in a cacao plantation in Africa. He is consumed by the need to meet the quota day after day in order to protect them from deadly beatings. Yet, when the first girl arrives--Khadija--his thirst for freedom is renewed by her fighting spirit that refuses to accept a life bound to the plantation. When an atrocious accident leaves his brother’s life in danger, the three of them decide to attempt an escape that resounds of their resilience and bravery in the face of danger.
Book of Lost Things by John Connolly → Fantasy
“Stories wanted to be read, David's mother would whisper. They needed it. It was the reason they forced themselves from their world into ours. They wanted us to give them life.”
In the fantasy novel, Book of Lost Things, David loses himself in the stories that once rooted him to his deceased mother. However, the haunting voice of his mother guides him to a world where reality and imagination blur as he is caught between the lines of distorted fairy tales. Desperate to find his mother and return home, he sets out to find answers through the King’s famous Book Of Lost Things. Along his journey, he meets individuals both heroic and villainous that strangely parallel aspects of his own reality who usher him forward. As the reader follows David’s expedition, the book strongly echoes of themes surrounding the transition to adulthood and the way that stories embed themselves in our lives.
