Whether you already have an endless TBR with books waiting for you to finally pick them up, or you are currently in search of books you can read next, here are some of the books I have read and loved over the years. You should definitely give them a try, chances are you won’t regret it.

1.A popular series that deserves the hype: The Hunger Games

In my first draft, this section got a bit too long, so I went ahead and drastically shortened it. I am telling you this, so you know that I am only telling you the bare minimum here. You can also expect a separate post about this series soon (or maybe some separate posts, who knows? 😇).

I know many people have read this series already but not everyone has, so this is my attempt to convince you to give it a go if you have not read it yet (or reread it, if you have already read it).

For anyone who doesn’t know: The Hunger Games tells the story of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen who volunteers to take the place of her younger sister in an event called the “Hunger Games”. These Games are hosted annually by the Capitol and each of the twelve districts sends one girl and one boy from the ages of 12 to 18 to the Capitol who will later compete with each other in a fight to the death, until only one survives. While in the arena, Katniss struggles not only to survive but also to keep her humanity amidst all the cruel acts she witnesses and is sometimes forced to commit in the Games. What starts as Katniss’ personal story slowly developes into a whole nation fighting against the injust system they are living in.

This is my favourite series ever! 😍 It just included everything I could wish for. Especially the strong emotional bond I developed with the characters over the course of the three novels and the feelings it evoked in me while reading made this series special. At the same time, the story manages to deliver not only a beautiful story of a girl who gives a whole nation hope by refusing to let the Capitol take from her what she loves but it also possesses a lot of depth and discusses a lot of topics that are relevant in today’s society. While there is also a romance sub-plot, the story is much more than the “Team Peeta” or “Team Gale” debate, which surrounded the series especially in 2012 when the first movie was released.

To everyone who would like to know more about the world, its history and the backstory of President Snow or who enjoyed the social commentary of the Hunger Games, I can also recommend the prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”. While I understand the mixed reviews, it is quite different from the original trilogy in terms of pacing, perspective and plot (for me it was especially noticeable that reading from Snow’s perspective didn’t allow me to bond with the characters the way I did in the original trilogy), I definitely think it was a worthy contribution to the series and I personally loved it! (I also don’t think the goal was to redeem Snows actions at all, only to understand his character and his behaviour better. I still hate him as much as I did before, if not even more…😅)

2. Two stories to inspire you to pursue your dreams: Hope in a Ballet Shoe and I Am Change

Hope in a Ballet Shoe is an autobiographical novel of Michaela DePrince, co-authored by her adoptive mother, in which she recounts her story from an orphan in war-torn Sierra Leone to a ballerina in America. We get to experience all her struggles but also her determination to keep going and the kindness shown to her by her friends and her family.

If you are fascinated by dance, especially ballet, this story is a must-read. It was wonderful to see how ballet gave Michaela hope and a reason to keep going. Even if you are not a dancer and have nothing to do with dance, her story is a beautiful one and shows how far a little kindness can go in difficult times as well as encouraging you to never lose hope.

For more information, have a look at my review:

Review | Hope in a Ballet Shoe

I Am Change follows a girl called Lilian as she grows up in a rural village in Uganda. She is passionate about learning and strives for an education but where she lives girls are not expected to be smart and going to school is a privilege that is denied to many of them. Despite all of the obstacles in her way, Lilian is not going to give up and does everything in her power to pursue her dreams.

While the story is fictional, the author took her time to actually talk to Ugandan girls and find out about their lives, so the story draws from actual accounts when depicting the lives of Lilian, her sisters and her friends. Seeing Lilian’s passion for an education and all the obstacles put in her way of getting one simply because she is a girl and her parents don’t have enough money was devastating but at the same time also inspiring. It reminded me of the privilege education truly is and how what we take for granted is often tied to struggles elsewhere. I would truly recommend this book to everyone!

3. A childhood favourite: The Neverending Story

I have to be honest, years have passed since I have read this book (it was probably eight years ago), so I do not remember many details about this book. What I do remember is how much I loved the story and the world it is set in.

We follow a young boy calles Bastian Balthazar Bux, who loves reading and on his way to school discovers an old bookshop where he steals the “Neverending Story”. While his classmates are at school, he skips class and spends the time in the attic of his school, reading the book he has stolen. He reads about a world that is starting to dissolve and about a boy chosen to help the Childlike Empress by finding a cure for her illness, which is likely related to the dissolving world. Suddenly, he finds himself catapulted into the book and is transferred the task to save the magical world with his imagination, all the while experiencing many adventures and struggles himself.

Now that I am writing about the book and find that there are many things I have forgotten about (I needed Wikipedia to help me with some facts about the book…😇) I am inclined to reread this book. I know that I loved this story as a child and that it was my favourite book for quite some time. While this story is targeted at children, I think even older reader’s will enjoy it (as is the case with many children’s or YA books, as I have discovered). I will definitely give you an update when I have reread it!

4. A fascinating and relevant YA Fantasy: The Gilded Ones

One problem that I am facing as a reader is the struggle to find a new favourite book. It is not that I don’t find any books I like, I haven’t read any books I have really disliked in ages, but most books are either average reads (you know, the ones you don’t dislike but don’t really like either?) or they are good books I like, some even that I love. But there are certain books, and only very few of the many books I have read over the years have achieved that, that just grip me and don’t want to let me go. So far, those books were exclusively ones that were set in a world different to ours (which is probably because those books have a special magic to them), which was no different with The Gilded Ones.

When I picked this book up, I was fairly interested in the plot. What I did not expect was for the story to transport me into another world and lock me there the way it did.

The book is set in a world in which girls and women have close to no rights. Furthermore, a ceremony held when the girls are teenagers ensures that they bleed red because golden blood is the blood of demons, in which case the girls are to be executed. When Deka is found out to bleed golden, her only escape is the army of “demon girls” created to help fighting off the monsters that terrorise Otera. On her journey, she faces betrayal but also discovers friendship. Most of all, she finds out that the system she has accepted for all her life is wrong in many ways and that the truth was often hidden from them.

The world Forna created was unique and something about the way she wrote it made it feel so real, as if I were actually there. It was not only the world though. It were also the characters that populated it. They felt like actual people, multi-faceted humans that each had their own unique personality and story attached to them. The role given to them by society shaped them but it didn’t define them. There were good and bad people in all groups, which is why that world felt much more realistic. I loved the way this book tackled stereotypes and explored how people suffer from expectations placed on them. This book delivered a great balance of relevant themes and a unique and empowering story about girls who stand up for themselves and each other in a world where they are told to have no value.

5. A unique story to discover something new: Bearmouth

I read Bearmouth in a matter of just a couple of days because for some reason, I couldn’t put that book down . It definitely wasn’t anything like what I had read before.

We follow Newt, a boy working in a mine to support his poor family. Down there, he is constantly faced with dangers but he doesn’t question the way things are. It’s what “the Maker” wants, he is told, and he listens. In his free time, another boy teaches him to write, giving him the opportunity to share his story in written form with all of us. He tells us of the dangers he encounters, about the friends he makes, and about the new boy, Devlin, who sparks change in the mine. Devlin, who opens a new perspective on their life and gives the boys hope that their life doesn’t need to be that way, if only they dare to question what they are told.

It took a while to get used to the writing style that reflected Newt’s knowledge of the English language (meaning a lot of spelling mistakes) but after a while, when it was easier to decipher the words, reading the story in Newt’s words made the world of a difference. It didn’t feel like reading about him, it felt like actually being there with him, listening to him tell his story and experiencing everything he does. If you are searching for a quick and enjoyable read that offers you a wonderful story, you should definitely give Bearmouth a go.

6. In face of the (unfortunately) still relevant issue of racism: The Hate U Give

Starr is living in two worlds: her predominantly black neighbourhood and her predominantly white school. When she has to watch as her best friend Khalil is shot by a police officer, not only does her world come crashing down on her but she is also suddenly forced to face the decision on whether to keep quiet and accept the injustice or to raise her voice and dare to make a difference, despite all the dangers associated with it.

This is definitely a book that is deserving of a reread. I also still need to watch the movie although I have seen in the trailer that they made some changes which I personally did not like. I still think it is worth to give it a try. Anyway, back to the book. As it has already been quite some time since I have read this book a lot of things that happened in the story have already escaped my mind again. I still remember the impact it had on me though. It was the first novel I read that thematised racism and it was shocking to see how much the colour of one’s skin can influence people’s lives and the difficulties Starr and her friends had to encounter simply because they are black. Even though this is a fictional story, knowing that what Starr experiences is still the reality for many people is terrifying and made the book a very emotional and relevant one. Especially with the recent Black Lives Matter movement and the police killings that sparked the protests, we were all reminded that racism is still an issue in today’s world. I think everyone should read this book at least once in their lifetime!

7. History from a different perspective: The Dictionary of Lost Words

When Esme is a young girl, she sits under the table when her dad and his colleagues are working to collect words for the first Oxford English Dictionary. She has always had a huge interest in words and their definitions and as she becomes older she gets increasingly involved in the making of the dictionary herself. But she soon discovers that the definitions of the words provided by the dictionary cannot always do the words and their meaning justice and that some words are missing completely. With the women’s suffrage movement gaining power and the Great War destroying life as it used to be, Esme discovers how much the language we use is shaped by the way society thinks and at the same time also shapes the way society thinks.

I loved the original idea of exploring history and society through words, which gave the novel a special twist that set it apart from other historical novels. While a lot of things changed throughout the novel since it does cover a big timespan (we follow Esme from being a little girl to becoming a grown woman), the theme of words and their meaning was present throughout the whole novel. There were also a number of social issues discussed, such as women’s rights during the time period and the effects of war on society. If you enjoy experiencing history and are interested in the role of language throughout the time I can only recommend you to check out this book!