Upper School Summer Reading (2022): Fantasy/Science Fiction

They killed my mother. They took our magic. They tried to bury us. Now we rise. Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie's Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.

After battling the impossible, Zélie and Amari have finally succeeded in bringing magic back to the land of Orïsha. But the ritual was more powerful than they could've imagined, reigniting the powers of not only the maji, but of nobles with magic ancestry, too. Now, Zélie struggles to unite the maji in an Orïsha where the enemy is just as powerful as they are. But when the monarchy and military unite to keep control of Orïsha, Zélie must fight to secure Amari's right to the throne and protect the new maji from the monarchy's wrath. With civil war looming on the horizon, Zélie finds herself at a breaking point: she must discover a way to bring the kingdom together or watch as Orïsha tears itself apart.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever--and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can't get rid of him. When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free. However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school's resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He's determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

Throne of Glass is an fast-paced and action-packed fantasy adventure story about a female assassin fighting for her freedom. I enjoyed it because of the story and amazing characters. Highly recommended to anyone who can read!

Recommended by Erin

The edges of the world in which you live determine your perception of reality. What if you could open your eyes to see beyond the borders of your world?? Sci fi, fantasy, and philosophy all combined in a delightful novel that can change your life!

Recommended by Ms. Glassmire

This book is very suspenseful. Vivi and her family are haguari -- members of an ancient sect that can turn into jaguars. When her parents are mysteriously murdered, Vivi must find her true self in order to solve their murders.

Recommended by Victoria Tirado

This book is about woodland creatures that live in an Abbey called Redwall. It sounds weird out of context but it's fun to read because the characters personalities are reflected in the type of animal they are and the story is very satisfying. -- Recommended by Tara Knoblock

It is the Norse Myths retold with a good sense of humor and imaginative interpretation. -- Recommended by Drew Forsberg

This book is well written and has many aspects that many different people can appeal to as well as it's strong word choice, imagery, and use of metaphors that makes it a good book for discussion. The novel revolves around a young girl named Lucinda Price who is sent to Sword & Cross Reform School in Savannah, Georgia, after she is accused of murdering a boy by starting a fire. -- Recommended by Nichole

A group of teenagers, each with a different skill set, are brought together by the leader, Kaz, to pull a heist. Set in a mythical world, it's got action, adventure, magic, and just enough romance that it doesn't feel overkilled like in other novels. Perfect for anyone with an affinity towards heist stories and magic.

Recommended by Alex Grabias

Meet Rossamund, a boy who is about to begin a dangerous life in the service of the Emperor. What starts as a simple journey becomes a dangerous and complicated set of battles and decisions. Humans, monsters, unearthly creatures . . . who among these can Rossamund trust? D. M. Cornish has created an entirely original world, grounded in his own deft, classically influenced illustrations. Foundling is a magic-laced adventure that will transport the reader.

This is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

The Martian is a great novel that blends science fact with fiction in one hilarious and cohesive package. It is a great read for those who wish to learn more about what it would be like to live on Mars, as well as Mars in general. Specifically this book tells the story of astronaut Mark Watney in his struggle to stay alive on a dead world. Note that this humor is centered, in part, around elements of coarse language. This is such that I would only recommend that it be read by new eighth-graders and those older. However, I feel, that none of this detracts from the overall pleasantness of the story.

Recommended by Christopher Spitaels

This book is a classic and will likely make the reader laugh. These are both due to the author's unique wit, writing style, and bizarre plot.

Recommended by Raymond Reeves

It is about a man with a mental disability, and it shows his character development throughout the book. I liked it because of the parallels between the main character and the rat, the evolution of his character, and the touching but sad story.

Recommended by Fiona Price

This is a new book that hasn't even been published yet. So why am I already proposing it? Because it has been compared to: The Martian (loved it!), Ready Player One (loved it!), World War Z (liked it a lot!), and the books of Michael Crichton (loved most of them!). Anything that is in a similar vein to those is something I simply HAVE TO READ! And then the opening passage is an interview at the Enrico Fermi Institute that starts with the question "How large was the hand?" and the response is "6.9 meters, about twenty-three feet; though it seemed much larger for an eleven-year-old." I'm already hooked!

Recommended by Mr. Upton

Dune is a novel about two feuding royal families, the Atreids and the Harkonnens, set in the far future on the desert planet Dune. It follows the son of the Duke Atreids, and his life on the planet after his family's power and property is usurped by the Harkonnens. This one of my favorite books because it has an absorbing story, and has a world that is extremely well crafted. It is a classic and is worth the read.

Recommended by Thomas McDermott

Slaughterhouse 5 is the parable of Billy Pilgrim, a World War II POW, who has become “unstuck in time” and who and is able to see all the events in his timeline out of order or even simultaneously. He tries to reconcile his own life as he come to terms with the senseless horror of what he saw in the war.

Vonnegut uses his absurdist style to explore the ideas of free will, the nature of time, and the senselessness of war. Also, there are aliens. ""So it goes."""

Recommended by Drew Forsberg

It's a fast and affecting series of novellas about how a family simultaneously navigates a science fiction landscape filled with monsters and the equally as horrifying situations of the Jim Crow era. -- Recommended by Mackenzi Turgeon

The Eye of Minds is the first novel in the Mortality Doctrine series set in a world of hyperadvanced technology, cyberterrorists, and gaming beyond your wildest dreams . . . and your worst nightmares.

It is very futuristic and intriguing. I really enjoyed the tech twist. -- Recommended but Zachary Stolberg