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For 5th grade summer reading, I was required to read Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I remember going to Barnes and Nobles with my mom and buying the thick hard cover version; it made me feel like I was finally old enough to read "intellectual" and "grown up" books. (even though it really wasn't that looking back!) Wonder tells a story of a boy with facial disabilities starting 5th grade and I felt more attached to the story, because I was going to be in 5th grade just like the main character Auggie was going to be. The book included few chapters from the perspective of other characters in the novel, such as Auggie's bully, and I realized that the same story and situation can be and feel different when seen through a different point of view. A little fun side note, I thought that my 5th grade teacher resembled Mr. Browne, the main teacher in the novel, so much; his name was Mr. B too!

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Growing up, I have watched the Harry Potter movies multiple times, but I never wanted to try reading the novels; I guess I was intimidated by the thickness of the books and I thought that they would be boring compared to the movies, which was packed with thrilling action and visual elements. When I was around 13 years old,  my love for the series sparked again and I wanted to attempt reading the book version of Harry Potter now that I felt like I was old enough to commit to reading a long series. I instantly fell in love with the books and understood why so many people had told me to read the book versions. Unlike the movies, which felt rushed at times, the novels made me feel like I was right next to Harry, Ron, and Hermione in their everyday lives. Frankly, I don't think I have ever found a novel as exciting as the Harry Potter series. Reading the series truly was an eyeopening experience, because I never thought that I was a type of person who was capable of reading for "fun".

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I first learned about Jenny Han's work when To All the Boys I've Loved Before aired on Netflix. The movie inspired me to read her books including the To All the Boys series and The Summer I Turned Pretty series. Most of her work are young adult romance novels and I loved how her writing made me feel like I was the main character in the novel. During my early teenage years, I remember being obsessed with her work and wishing that I would one day be able to experience what her characters experienced in her novels.

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Out of all of the books that I had to read during my underclassmen years, The Great Gatsby has to be my favorite. I was excited to read about the old money and the new money and their rich extravagant lives. I remember I felt both sorry and angry at Gatsby for wanting Daisy so much when she was not even that great of a person. Subtle symbols in the novel such as the green light, which symbolized Gatsby's unreachable obsession with wealth and Daisy and the billboard of an optometrist looking down at the wrongdoings of the rich showed me that writers can include small symbols that can have tremendous meanings behind.

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The fun colorful style of the graphic novel was what made me pick this one out of other options. The autobiography tells a story of the author's life as a Filipino-Egyptian American and the struggles that she had to face growing up surrounding her identity and unique cultural background. Malaka Ghirab candidly portrays the times when she felt like she did not belong anywhere and reminds the readers that the diversity within us is what makes our world so special and enriching. I felt like I was reading a magazine at times when she included little puzzles and games!