Do you like to read but don’t know what to read next or want to venture into different genres? Well, I have compiled a small list of book recommendations that you should check out.

 I asked Ms. Strasser about her current favorite read. Strasser is a teacher here at Tahoma High School and the head of the Tahoma Page Turners club, which is exactly what it sounds like, a book club!  

1. The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford

Summary:

“Dorothy Moy breaks her own heart for a living. As Washington’s former poet laureate, that’s how she describes channeling her dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art.”

“But when her five-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has truly come to haunt her.” 

“Through an experimental treatment designed to mitigate inherited trauma, Dorothy intimately connects with past generations of women in her family”

“Dorothy endeavors to break the cycle of pain and abandonment, to finally find peace for her daughter, and gain the love that has long been waiting, knowing she may pay the ultimate price.” (bookbrowse.com)

Strasser gave some insight into what the book is about and said “It’s about how inherited trauma affects multiple women in the same matriarchal line throughout generations.” She would recommend this book to female readers and readers that are interested in epigenetics.

Strasser was surprised by how much she liked this book, she mentioned that “Sometimes I struggle a bit with the opening to Jamie’s books,” she then followed up with “but 15 pages into this one I was hooked.” She especially liked the last 50 pages, “With so many different plotlines and characters, it was very satisfying how Jamie brought everything together.”  Strasser loved the concept, shifts in narration, and all the various characters.

This second book is a personal recommendation. If you like a good cry but also a little bit of romance this book is for you. It does talk about a very sensitive topic, suicide, so it could be a very heavy read for some people; But otherwise, it is a great book. 

• In 27 days by Alison Gervais

Summary:

This story follows a high school student named Hadley Jamison and her experience in saving her classmate, Archer Morales who ended his life. 

Although she barely knew Archer, she decided she would attend his funeral 

anyways. She felt that there was something someone could have done to prevent it, “Hoping to find some sense of closure, Hadley attends Archer’s funeral.”  (Google Books – In 27 Days) 

While at the service, she is approached by “death” who gave her the opportunity to go back 27 days to try and stop Archer from ending his life. Little did she know, it was not going to be as easy as she thought. Archer is extremely closed off and quite rude at times which makes it hard for Hadley to reach him, although she eventually did. 

This “mission” was also not the safest for Hadley as there were many obstacles in the way, “But just as she and Archer connect, a series of dangerous accidents starts pushing them apart. Hadley must decide whether she is ready to risk everything–including her life–to keep Archer alive.”  (Google Books – In 27 Days) 

Once I started reading this book, I could not stop. It sucked me in and was really hard to put down. If I could read it for the first time again I, 100% would. This is definitely one of those books you have to take a break from and process before you move on to another one.

The original copy of this book is on Wattpad (if you want to read it for free) but it was published soon after and is sold on Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble.

If you are looking for something new to read or these are right up your alley, you should totally check these books out!

If you want more book recommendations you can look into what the page-turners are reading on their Instagram @ths.page.turners. Meetings are every second Wednesday of the month during power hour A and B in room 209.