My Bucket List

 

• Nailed by Patrick Jones

Nailed is the typical story of anti-conformity teen struggle. It's based around a teenage boy, similar to myself, who deals with a disapproving parent and general social awkwardness. This book is extremely appealing to me in the fact that it's relatable. I enjoy books that I can place myself right beside the character, and a book like this is exactly what I look for. I'm extremely picky about my book choice and Nailed appears to be the perfect fit.

• Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Crank is the story of a monster. Not the average creature-lurking-in-the-closet monster, but a monster that consumes seventeen-year-old Kristina. The monster is crystal meth. I've always been highly fascinated with learning about drugs and the mental, and physical, effects they have on humans. This book falls in with my teen-struggle fixation, but is also strikingly realistic. I've read one other Eleen Hopkins book, years ago, and her writing is incredible. This book looks ideal for my taste.

• Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

This story follows the three separate lives of Vanessa, Tony and Connor. Each of these three teenagers are tossed into a psychiatric hospital after trying to commit suicide, and their lives are dramatically altered thereafter. This book is also by Ellen Hopkins, so it follows in the same pattern of attraction for myself. Her stories are so vivid and life-like, and her writing style is impeccable. I look forward to this roller-coaster story she has created.

• Cinder by Marrisa Meyer

Cinder is- of course- a story about a struggling teen, but this story has a bit of a plot twist: Cinder is a cyborg. Loosely based off of the classic tale, Cinderella, Cinder is a sixteen-year-old cyborg who has an incredible knack for fixing things. Generally, I immediately put futuristic books back on the shelf after a glance, but something about this Beijing fantasy caught my attention. In the description, the style of writing Meyer has done is unique and a little bit odd. I love books with a twist, and this definitely has what I search for.

• Ordinary Beauty by Laura Wiess

This story is the tale of a girl, named Sayre, who was unplanned and unwanted. She grew up in the shadow of her mothers spiraling addiction and abuse. Now that her mother has self-destructed herself to the point of near death, Sayre is at her bedside with one simple question: did her mother ever love her? This story hits so close to home, because I've seen my mother experience similar pain caused by my grandmother. This story appears as though it would reflect such heartache as accurately as possible, and accuracy is something hard to come by.

• Why We Broke Up by Maira Kalman

This story is written as a letter from a box. Min is giving her ex-boyfriend, Ed, a box with all the reasons they broke up. This book is extremely compelling to me. The idea of learning the story of each item found within the box draws me in like a magnet. It appears to be one of those stories that you can't put down, no matter how hard you try. The stories-within-the-story are always so unique and usually rare, but they're also the most riveting, in my opinion. To me, description is key, and this appears to have intricate detail and explanation.

• Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

First and foremost, Where Things Come Back, is set in Arkansas. As soon as I read that line, I was hooked. This story is about a boy whose life drastically changes the summer before he is a senior in high school. His cousin overdoses, his town is obsessed with a supposed sighting of an extinct woodpecker and his gifted younger brother goes missing. It also follows a young missionary in Africa, who is in search of a meaning that has "far-reaching" consequences. Although these two stories seem to be set so far apart, I believe that the book will intertwine the stories excellently. I love the description on the back of the book and the diction is very appealing.

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chebosky

The set-up of this story, alone, has me hooked instantly. I love books that have poetic or written-letter formats, and that is exactly what this book consists of. The story is written as a series of letters from Charlie. It appears that the book doesn't reveal who Charlie is or where he's from, but he discusses what it's like to grow up in the hell-hole known as high school. It's a coming-of-age type story, and it pulls you through Charlie's journey as if you're right by his side. I can't wait to read this book. On Amazon, readers of Looking for Alaska, by John Green, often bought these two books together. I'm a major fan of Looking for Alaska, so I have a feeling that The Perks of Being a Wallflower should be just as good.

• Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

In this story, a girl named Lily has written a series of dares in a book at the local book-store and is waiting for the right boy to come along and obey. Dash finds this book and decides it's his duty to accept the challenge. The story pulls you into these strangers lives and the challenges they send each other. I like the level of anticipation this story has set up, just pushing readers to keep turning the page until they finally come face-to-face. The story format and structure is very intriguing to me. I've also heard that Rachel Cohn books are very well written, and that is very appealing also.

• Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

I've heard countless good reviews about this 1967 story. It's about a girl who is whisked away to a mental hospital where she spends the next few years of her life. The detail is what caught my eye initially. The way Kaysen describes fellow patients and their care-givers with "razor-edged perception" is right up my alley. I look for books that display things as realistically as possible, and this book is said to have done a fantastic job of such. I have never read or heard a negative statement about this book, so I look forward to reading it soon.