This week, some books about friendship!

Wonder

Goodreads rating: 4.45

August “Auggie” Pullman, a boy with facial deformities, enters fifth grade. It’s his first day of school EVER, previously being homeschooled by his mother. Being different is not easy. Auggie is ostracised and bullied but learns that there’s kindness in the world. One just has to change his/her view.

If you still haven’t read this book, then switch off whatever device you’re using to read this article and GET THIS BOOK NOW. Yes, it’s that good. There’s also a movie if you like that kind of thing. Wonder is a brilliant book because it doesn’t just give us the victim’s perspective but of other characters’ perspectives too. Palacio does a great job of capturing the complexity of reality and doesn’t fail to point out our own flaws in the process.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Goodreads rating: 4.21

The Perks of Being a Wallflower follows the life of fifteen-year-old Charlie as he navigates through his first year of high school. It’s brutally honest in its account of drugs, sex and just being an introverted teenager.

Regardless of whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert (or whether or not you like to label yourself as such), this book will definitely tug at your heartstrings. It’s written as a series of letters from Charlie to a “friend” and this format takes some time to adjust to. However, you’ll be caught up in the story and how accurately it depicts a teenager’s life.

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

Goodreads rating: 3.77

Carmen, Tibby, Lena and Bridget have been best friends since birth. They’ve also spent every summer together. But not this year. This year, the four best friends will be parting different ways. When the four find a pair of pants that fits all of them, they form a “sisterhood.” They mail the pants around throughout the summer, all the while discovering facets of their personalities and lives they never knew before.

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants isn’t a stereotypical YA novel featuring cliches and all that (okay, maybe one or two cliches but I swear, that’s it). That’s why I enjoyed it so much. It deals with sexuality, love, family and lots more. And Brashares manages to thread all these deeper themes into her writing without it being too overwhelming.

All three books are available in the library, just waiting to be borrowed!