‘The Help’ by Kathryn Stockett- This book is about the seemingly impossible friendship between 2 Afro-American (consistently referred as ‘black’ in the book) maids and their white mistress’s daughter. The books stands out because of its intriguing plot. It takes a while for the story to kick off but that makes the book feel very natural. I also got to know about the lives of domestic help and how they were sometimes ill-treated by their masters and mistresses – something that I have only heard of.
‘The Da Vinci Code’ by Dan Brown- In this book, the protagonist (Robert Langdon) and a French cryptologist Sophie Neveu, have to solve the mystery of the murder of the curator of the Louvre (Jacques Sauniere). They also realize that they have to find and protect some very important historical documents. In order to do this, they need to crack the clues set up by the curator before someone else does. I would recommend this book because the author has made the clues intelligently by adding some historical context to it and you are forced to read what happens next. I also enjoyed exploring (thanks to Google) a lot more about ancient brotherhoods such as Illuminati or Priory of Sion. The book might be inappropriate for certain age groups because of mention of grown-up content.Also, there are a lot of French, Latin words in the story which can make it a complicated read.
‘Educated’ by Tara Westover- This memoir was the most hard-hitting book I read in my vacations this year. It is the memoir of Tara Westover and her family who lead a survivalist lifestyle and don’t believe in the government. As a result of this, she cannot go to school, government hospitals (even if during serious health condition) and they are expected to follow strict religious rules. As she grows up, she realises that if she wants to obtain an education she will have to go away from home as her father and brother become even more radical. This book is about Tara’s struggle to obtain a good education despite her family’s oppressive views. If not for anything, I will recommend this book for people to appreciate our good fortune. The author’s writing style made me feel as if I was right there, experiencing the story with her. It was very visual.
‘Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls’ by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo- This is a book that contains stories of 100 girls/women who have challenged the thinking and mindset of the society around them and done something great in life. It is also the most funded original book in the history of crowd funding. They are a take on the original good night stories about a princess waiting for a prince to come and rescue her. The stories are written in a way that girls (or even boys) of all ages can enjoy them and get inspired. People might object to the fact that some of these stories are of pirates and conquerers, but these women too were rebellious and strong in their own ways. So I think its OK to have such stories included even if they may not create the best impression on young girls. I would recommend this book to young girls so that they get inspired to do something great in life and find a role model they can look up to.
'Becoming’ by Michelle Obama- This book is the autobiography of Michelle Obama who was the First Lady of the US for 8 years. It talks about her journey from a simple family of Chicago to being First Lady and wanting to create an impact in the world. Firstly, I would recommend this book because of her writing style. To say the least, it is an extremely well-written book. Events transition so smoothly that it felt like watching a movie. I could empathise with Michelle and her struggles. I found her story so inspiring and full of strength that she is now my role model just by reading the book. Though I am neither an American nor a minority, I got so engrossed with her life-story that reading the book became highly engaging (I literally finished the book in two days)
Thank you for reading.
