Every bibliophile has certain books that get stuck inside their mind. The books that when you finish you want to be able to start over and read it again. Mrs. Prange always gives the best recommendations whenever you need your next good book. I got to ask her, “What are your personal favorite books you have read?” She picked out books that she learned more about historical events (she loves historical fiction) or books that made a big impact on her. Here are seven of Mrs. Prange’s favorite books:
- Flawed by Cecilia Ahen
“If you break the rules, you will be punished”
Celestine North lives in the perfect world. She is a role model student and daughter. In her society you get branded for your crimes, you are flawed. Celestine sees a flawed man getting mistreated and decides to help him. Next thing she knows, she is branded, she is flawed. This science fiction YA novel will teach that you should do the right thing even if it comes with a cost.
- Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
“It’s kinda like how we have to do with ourselves. Get rid of the things that don’t do us any good. If it won’t help the rose grow, you’ve gotta let it go.”
Seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter, the son of a former gang legend, needs a way to support his family when his dad is in jail. The only thing he knows is to sell to the King Lords. With the money, he can help his mom who works two jobs. However, his girlfriend tells him he is going to be a father. How can he finish school, deal with, and be the dad his son needs? How can he prove he is different? Angie Thomas the author of The Hate You Give writes the perfect young adult fiction about racial and social injustice.
- Mad Honey by Jodi Piccoult
“We are all flawed, complicated, wounded dreamers; we have more in common with one another than we don’t. Sometimes making the world a better place just involves creating space for the people who are already in it.”
A Good Morning America Book Club pick was one of Mrs. Prange’s favorites. She recommends everyone “just jump right into it for its full effect on you and your heart.“ Don’t do any research, just open the first page and let it take you somewhere special.
- Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham
“I understand now that history only moves forward in a straight line when we learn from it. Otherwise, it loops past the same mistakes over and over again”
When seventeen-year-old Rowan Chase finds a skeleton on her family’s property, she doesn’t know it would lead to a century-old murder. A hundred years earlier, seventeen-year-old Will Tillman makes a violent encounter and finds himself in a racial firestorm. This historical fiction is recommended to anyone who doesn’t know much about the 1821 Tulsa Race Riots. Mrs. Prange says “We all need to read this book, as I believe it still applies today.” Booklist also says “Fast-paced, tension-filled look at race, privilege, and violence in America.”
- Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton
“Life happens whether you’re worrying about it or not, and it seems presumptuous to think we have much of a say in how things play out.”
Two women find themselves in Key West on Labor Day weekend in 1933. Mirta Perez is celebrating her honeymoon with her newly arranged husband. Elizabeth Preston is trying to help her wealthy family after the Wall Street crash. During the holiday weekend, these two ladies will cross paths unexpectedly. However, there is a dangerous hurricane forming, coming towards the island. Mrs. Prange read this book when she and Mr. Prange were on their way to Key West. It was the perfect Historical fiction she needed for her vacation.
- They went left by Monica Hesse
“And now we’re supposed to live with people who either wished for our deaths or looked the other way while it happened.”
Mrs. Prange loves to learn about the Holocaust. She took a class in college and she got to meet Eva Kor, an American-Romanian Holocaust survivor. She got to meet Eva again at a Library conference too. This story follows Zofia, an eighteen-year-old girl who just gets told the war is over and she can leave the camp. She gets home and finds nobody is there. All her family members are gone. Her goal is to find her brother Abek who hopefully is also liberated and not gone too.
- Saving Red by Sonya Sones
“I didn’t even notice that, along the way somewhere, she’d become my best friend.”
Molly Rosenberg’s school requires community service. She decides to go to the homeless families on the streets to get it over with before winter break. She meets Red, a spirited homeless girl a few years older than her. Molly makes it her mission to find Red’s family for her. However, she won’t talk about her past. Molly understands she doesn’t talk about things that happened last year to her. Molly and Red came together to help each other talk about things they have only told each other.
All these books are in the SHS Media Center ready for someone to pick them up and open to the first chapter. Go check one out and tell Mrs. Prange if you liked it. Also, take the chance to thank her for everything she does for the library, clubs, and the school as a whole! She does so much for students and staff to get involved in the library or groups. She runs books, chess, and game clubs held in the library. Let’s make sure she knows that we see her hard work!
“Everyone is a reader; some people just haven’t found their favorite book.”
