I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite winter activities includes curling up with a good book! So I thought I would take it upon myself to interview some of the staff and students of Tahoma High School and see what books they choose to read in their spare time. Who knows, one of these recommendations may inspire you and you might choose to enjoy one of these books during the holiday season. 

The first student interviewed is Sumaiyya Zunairah. Zunairah’s favorite book is ‘Starsight’ by Brandon Sanderson. The book is the second in the ‘Skyward’ trilogy. The books are a series of young adult sci-fi novels which follow a 17-year old girl living in a ruined world called Detritus where she is under the constant attack of mysterious aliens. When Zunairah was asked why she enjoyed the book, she simply stated “I really like the way the book is written and the storyline is incredibly interesting”. 

Bethany Dinius, another sophomore at Tahoma high school really likes the book ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ by Stephen Chbosky –which is also a major motion picture– “The main character Charlie really brings the reader along on his journey and accurately represents what it feels like to be alone sometimes.” Dinius reasoned. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is centered around Charlie, a Freshman in high school who is struggling with both grief and fitting in at school. It’s an interesting mix between a coming-of-age and epistolary novel which isn’t typically seen.  

Yeabesira Wesenyeleh favors the book ‘Girl In Pieces’ by Kathleen Glasgow. This book is about a teenage girl’s battle and recovery surrounding self-harm. When asked, Wesenyeleh expressed “I really enjoy the relatability of the main character and the way the author made her really vulnerable to the reader since the story isn’t really a narration but rather told exactly from Charlie’s perspective. It helps the audience really connect with the character and at times it’s almost as if you are growing with her as a person.” 

Mr. Colette the Tahoma High School librarian has a lot of favorite books but one of his all time favorites includes Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’. The book follows the 20 year-old heroine, Elizabeth Bennett and is centered around her family, friends, romance and overall life as one of the oldest of five girls. Colette stated “I love Pride and Prejudice, I always have and I’ve read it a number of times. What I like most about the novel is how complex the characters are and the idea that even back in that time period, people were really judgemental of each other, just like how they are today. It kinda just shows that things haven’t really changed very much and we still create prejudices about people that we don’t really know anything about.” 

Thank you for reading, and I hope you have taken an interest in one of the books recommended.