Talon Tomes

The Talon suggests some great reads for young Falcons everywhere.

Between homework, sports, and all the activities that keep us occupied most of the time, it can be hard to squeeze in some quality reading time. However, if you do have a moment to escape into another world, the Talon has some great reads to recommend.  Perhaps you have heard of them, perhaps you haven’t. Either way, they should make their way to your reading list!

Looking for Alaska by John Green

With all the buzz surrounding Green’s novel The Fault in Our Stars and its upcoming film adaptation, it’s easy to overlook his stunning first novel, Looking for Alaska.

The story follows Miles Halter, who leaves his unsatisfactory life to attend a boarding school and search for the “great perhaps”.  Essentially, he wants to find some excitement and growth and really live, something we can all relate to.

 Miles quickly makes friends, including Alaska Young, who is as wild and flawed as she is beautiful.  She teaches him more about life, love, and adventure in a semester than he has learned in his entire life.

This book will make you laugh and make you cry.  A big twist in the middle of the novel sets the course and you can’t help but to fall in love with and root for the characters, even with their mistakes and faults.  The sign of a truly great book is when the characters feel so real to you that you care about what happens to them.  This definitely is not a light beach read, but it will make you think and leave you feeling satisfied. Highly recommended!

The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan

This novel is similar to Looking for Alaska in that it involves the relationship between teens and tragedy.  The plot weaves between the past and present as its characters explore what tragedy really means.

Every senior at the prestigious Irving School, including main character Duncan, must complete the Tragedy Paper, a thesis that illustrates how literary tragedies can apply to real life.

Duncan is left some CDs that tell the full story of a tragic event that happened the previous year, an event in which he was inadvertently involved.  The narrator, Tim Macbeth, an albino, fell deeply in love with the wrong girl, which led to a downfall reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Hearing the story can help Duncan avoid the same mistakes with his own love, Daisy, forgive himself for his involvement, and write the best Tragedy Paper in the history of the school.

Don’t read this book if you have something important to do! The unique way the author presents the story will draw you in immediately and won’t let you go.  The tragedy that occurs at the end of the book is foreshadowed so heavily that the book becomes almost predictable at the end, but it’s still worth it to read through and truly experience this amazing novel.

Happy reading!