For some people, a movie based on true events is the inspiration to pick up a book and read. Others, like Xavier seniors, say they don’t have time to read outside of class anymore. Sometimes, however, you just need some suggestions. Here are four of the books and series I have read (not recently) and enjoyed. Read on readers!

Author:  Sarah Price

Not really a whirlwind Romance from the beginning, the meeting between Amanda and Cuban-born superstar Alejandro Diaz is very accidental to say the least. While Amanda is  traveling through Manhattan on her way back to her Amish community, she is struck by Alejandro’s limousine, who takes responsibility right after to take care of all her injuries. Alejandro returns Amanda back to her family in Lititz, Pennsylvania and offers to stay on the family farm to help, an offer Amanda’s deeply religious kin accept. While leading very different lives, Alejandro and Amanda form a genuine friendship, along with the realization that it may be something more. Sarah Price beautifully engages her readers in a tender drama that leaves you wondering if two very different worlds, the Amish and English can collide. As Alejandro’s world becomes Amanda’s and Amanda seeks her own path in the light of Alejandro through the series, their meeting and time on the farm establish the premises for how they’re love is formed and how much they can overcome together. With Amanda’s deeply rooted faith and Alejandro’s secular world, you’ll be desperate to finish the whole series.

Author: Danielle Steel

We all have that one friend, or group of friends we’ve known forever. Danielle Steel takes this idea and runs with it to write a deep and intricate book like Friends Forever. Five friends all meet on the first day of kindergarten and just from that, one knows what happens. It’s something you expect just from reading the title. However, Steele uses Gabby, Billy, Izzie, Andy and Sean, known as the “big five,” and the magic connection they form together as a catalyst for how much the relationships we have with the friends in our lives can be special. The “big five’s” seemingly perfect lives are buffeted by unraveling families, unfortunate missteps, and losses. One by one, each of the friends turn back to their group to regain their footing. This theme of  friends always being there for you is one of my favorite throughout the whole novel. Spanning decades, Steele grips your heart as she vividly describes each of the characters and ultimately lays out the final message; no matter what challenges you may face in life, if lucky, you can face them with a friend forever by your side.

Author: Rachel Renee Russell

The Dork Diaries has always been one of my favorites. Rachel Renee Russell makes Nikki Maxwell’s situations and struggles relatable and funny at the same time. While it may seem as though Russell has stretched the series too far, (with 13 books in the series) each book has its own unique story with new characters as well. The books are all fast reads as readers follow Nikki in all her drama including juggling school, her annoying but cute younger sister, her crush, Brandon, and local, but clearly jealous rich girl, McKenzie. All of these situations make Nikki who she is. The idea of the book being Nikki’s diary as she tells us her emotions and plans is one of the best aspects of the book and engages the reader with its black and white writing and drawings.

Author: Monica McKayhan

The Kimani Tru series has a group of African American authors who write specifically for  Black young adults. However, this doesn’t take away from the real life lessons they depict in their stories for all young adults. The Indigo Summer series follows Indigo as she manages her social life, boyfriend, and life as a growing teenager in her hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. I think the author, Monica McKayhan, presents the situations so vividly that the reader places themselves in Indigo’s shoes. What would you do in certain situations that are out of control or when you feel their unfair? In Deal With it, Indigo struggles with accepting that her best friend, Jade, is the captain of the dance squad instead of her and McKayhan depicts the conflicting emotions of Indigo. Reading how Indigo tries to tell herself she’s not jealous along with coming to terms to the fact makes the story real and forces the reader to think about a time when they had to come to terms with their own feelings, even if they’re not always pretty.

If all the stories above do not seem interesting even after reading my reviews, then I have failed you as the reader. However, I only recommended these books because I couldn’t get enough of them even after I had put them down. I finished reading Friends Forever in about a week after getting it from the library. The way Steel presented the lives and stories of the characters was gripping and real. When I say real, I mean that their experiences were things that everyday people go through. Having those feelings and escapades written down and put in a story not only captures my attention, but engages me with the characters and their lives throughout the book. It’s always easy to read things that you can relate too and with all of the books I recommended, I could see part of myself in a character’s action or life, such as Amanda and her deeply religious kin (family) portrayed in Plain Fame. Each book made an impact on how I viewed certain situations; yes, even Dork Diaries because I really am just a dork!

Happy reading everyone!