Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series – Rick Riordan
It was during a camp with Royal Rangers, which I used to attend, that I was introduced to the Percy Jackson series by a friend. He had just finished the first book and asked if I wanted to have it, and after reading it and liking it, I continued on to read the whole five-book series. The most interesting part about the book was the interpretation of and usage of the world of Greek mythology.
This series helped me to learn of and become familiar with many Greek deities, lores, and explanations for earth’s behaviors (lightning, wind, the sky, et al). The story never had a dull moment, there was always something new or interesting or a struggle going on. The series is written for lower reading levels, but the content is intriguing and will appeal to all ages.
Till Death by Jennifer L. Armentrout
During college, Sasha was kidnapped and held prisoner for months. She survived, and after she escaped, left her hometown to try to get away from the memories and the place where it occurred. Ten years later, Sasha comes back in hope of reconnecting with her mom and old friends, facing her fears, and finding peace with her past while helping out at the family business.
Firefighting – Basic Skills and Techniques by Mike Ertel and Gregory C. Berk
This was just a textbook I read through when I was exploring the possibility of a career in the fire department. It was during the summer before my junior year of high school. At the local fire department, I participated in a day-long ride along with two EMTs and a mock interview with the fire chief to gain some experience. At the Thurston County fire district, I briefly tried out the firefighter explorers program which helped me to see that I just wasn’t that interesting to continue pursuing a career in the fire department.
Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard
After his girlfriend mysteriously goes missing after a vague letter to him when she was on a business trip, Adam goes on a search to find her. It is really hard not to spoil stuff, so I’ll leave it at that.
Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds
Scur, a soldier, is captured by a rogue group who didn’t honor the peace treaty and was tortured. They inject her with a device called a slow bullet, which slowly drills through the individual’s body as it travels to the heart to kill them. The group leaves, and she has to cut the bullet out of her leg to keep herself alive, becoming unconscious in the process. She wakes up from a hibernation pod and remembers nothing after the torturing. With the help of an engineer, she organizes a sort of democracy among the rival groups aboard the damaged ship she finds herself upon. The ship is malfunctioning, and it turns out the ship has traveled for thousands of years.
The book is about her revenge and reorganizing and recovering from the events that trapped everyone on the ship.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
This book explores a world where people have been subjugated by a government bent on controlling all human action and thought. Books are banned because they show people a world where they can think for themselves, and firefighters use fire to burn all books they can find.
It emphasizes the importance of reading and thinking for yourself. Though I guess there are probably other meanings classes may focus on. This is a quick read, and often a choice reading in high school English classes.
1984 – George Orwell
1984 is a fiction story using a farm and animals to demonstrate what communism is and how it can come to exist in a country. After reading it, I do see the parallels to what I know of Stalin.
Beast Quest – Adam Blade
Not sure if this counts, since it was technically my mom that read it to me. I have only the vaguest remembrance of some parts from this series, as this was before I could read well. My mom laughs about how excited I was to hear what happened and to have her read it, while she thought the series was ridiculously predictable and repeated the same material every book.
Halo