LibGuides: Upper School Library: Summer Reading

OES Teachers Recommend

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Call Number: FIC MUR
ISBN: 9780374600303
Publication Date: 2023-08-15
Recommended by Stephanie Portman
"It's been my favorite book of 2023! Murray tells the story of a dysfunctional family where each member keeps secrets from the others. The chapters rotate and tell their story from the perspective of the mother, father, son and daughter. It's part mystery, part drama and even has some humor. It may take a little time to get into, but stick with it. The ending will make you want to find someone who has read it and discuss what you think happened!"
Soundtrack: “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance” by Sinead O’Connor
The Compound Effect (10th Anniversary Edition) by Darren Hardy
Call Number: 158.1 HAR
ISBN: 9780306924637
Publication Date: 2020-09-15
Recommended by Rebecca Knight
"Are you ready for some non-fiction?! Do you ever feel bored, then other times feel like you can’t keep up with everything? What if there was way to map your life and reach your goals without cycles of boredom then panic? In “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy, you will discover how even the smallest choices can lead to monumental changes over time. As a high school science teacher, I see this book as a powerful tool that reinforces the scientific method applied to personal growth and success. This book is perfect for reaching your long-term goals while staying balanced, focused, and in control!"
Good Talk by Mira Jacob
Call Number: GN 921 JACOB
ISBN: 9780399589041
Publication Date: 2019-03-26
Recommended by Josina Reaves
"Good Talk is a graphic memoir about an Indian American woman's attempts to help her son come to terms with his biracial identity in the US. She examines her own racial coming-of-age and considers how to write a better story for her child. It's funny, honest, and revealing."
Soundtrack: “Beat It” by Michael Jackson
Happiness Falls (Good Morning America Book Club) by Angie Kim
Call Number: FIC KIM
ISBN: 9780593448205
Publication Date: 2023-08-29
Recommended by Asha Appel
"Part family drama, part mystery, part coming of age novel, part exploration of living with a sibling with special needs, this novel has it all. It's totally fun, completely moving, and very well constructed."
Lie with Me by Philippe Besson; Molly Ringwald (Translator)
Call Number: FIC BES
ISBN: 9781501197888
Publication Date: 2020-04-07
Recommended by Stephen Pyle
"An incredibly short novel that packs a gut-wrenching punch. Queer. 80's. French. What more could you want? Beautifully written, atmospheric, and the last page will break your heart. I'm sorry and you're welcome."
Soundtrack: “Smalltown Boy” by Bronski Beat
Lone Women by Victor LaValle
Call Number: FIC LAV
ISBN: 9780525512080
Publication Date: 2023-03-28
Recommended by Lindsey Zanchettin
"A dark and twisty and incredibly inventive take on the Western narrative about a woman who carries a mysterious trunk all the way to Montana with her as she takes up residence on a homestead. What's in the trunk might not be as scary and dark as the secrets she left behind! LaValle's terse writing style and fascinating characters will have you breezing through the story."
The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas Contreras
Call Number: 921 ROJAS CONTRERAS
ISBN: 9780385546669
Publication Date: 2022-07-12
Recommended by Emily Stone
"In this witchy memoir, the author, who is descended from shamans and ghost whisperers, summons stories from the living and the dead to connect her own experiences to those of her Colombian ancestors. Surprisingly funny, genre-defying, and haunting, the book unravels legacies of violence, machismo and colonialism."
Soundtrack: “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Call Number: FIC CLA
ISBN: 9781635575637
Publication Date: 2020-09-15
Recommended by Maggie Gilbride
"It is a fantasy novel about a parallel universe that a young man finds himself in, and how he figures out where he is as he starts to lose himself to the world. It drops you into this world and you figure out where you are as he does, and then half way through the book something is discovered and it just sucks you in until the end."
Soundtrack: “Everything in its Right Place” by Radiohead
Star Splitter by Matthew J. Kirby
Call Number: FIC KIR
ISBN: 9780735231665
Publication Date: 2023-04-25
Recommended by Erika Jelinek
"Jessica Mathers has just been teleported to a space station orbiting the planet where she and her scientist parents will be stationed for the next year, 14,000 light years from Earth. Things go awry pretty quickly, because when she wakes up after teleportation she finds herself in a shuttle that has crash landed on the planet, and she is utterly alone. The only evidence of other humans is the bloody handprints coating the walls and the recently dug graves outside the shuttle. This book is harrowing, unsettling, thought provoking, and impossible to put down.
Soundtrack: “Wandering Star” by Portishead

OES Class of '25 Recommends...

Babel by R. F. Kuang
Call Number: FIC KUA
ISBN: 9780063021426
Publication Date: 2022-08-23
Recommended by Julia Chen
"Babel is set in early 1800's England in an alternate reality where society is largely powered by magical silver bars and the power of language translation. It follows the life of Robin Swift, a Cantonese boy taken from Canton in his youth by his benefactor Professor Lovell, as he grows up, studies at Oxford to become a translator for the empire, and eventually begins to question said empire and where his loyalties should lie. It's packed full of Chinese etymology, powerful writing, and well-deserved quips on the British, and it's finished off with an incredibly tragic ending.
*Please note* THIS WILL PROBABLY MAKE YOU CRY BY THE END BUT IT'S WORTH IT."
Soundtrack: “Motion Sickness” by Phoebe Bridgers
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Call Number: FIC YOO
ISBN: 9780553496642
Publication Date: 2015-09-01
Recommended by Nisma Qureshi
"I will recommend this book to anyone and everyone forever. It is a beautiful intersection of visual and written art and is a great twist on the classic "boy next door" trope. In short: Maddy is an 18 year old girl who has SCID (a disease that forces her to stay in her home); she is a wonderful student and spends most of her free time reading. Her life is perfect and quiet until the new neighbors move in. Olly is the complete opposite of Maddy; he is the epitome of chaos. When these two meet through their windows, both of their lives change forever."
Soundtrack: “Polaroid Love” by ENHYPEN
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
Call Number: FIC WHI
ISBN: 1682633241
Publication Date: 2022-06-07
Recommended by Shriya Myneni
"Such an amazing book. The imagery during the body horror moments were powerful, and the religious trauma’s impact on the character is fascinating. Just such an incredible book. TW: Google it cuz there are so many."
Soundtrack: “Body Terror Song” by AJJ
The Kite Runner 20th Anniversary Edition by Khaled Hosseini
Call Number: FIC HOS
ISBN: 9780593717264
Publication Date: 2023-10-03
Recommended by Lina Paykar
"The Kite Runner is the first english novel written by an Afghan author, Khaled Hosseini. This novel is a story of friendship, family, betrayal, and redemption. I have a very personal connection to this book because it Khaled explores journey of a Hazara in a Pashto world. This novel paints a realistic portrait of Afghanistan about which most readers probably know very little and enables readers to separate the people of a country from its leaders (the Taliban) and/or groups (terrorists) associated with it. Main reason Khaled wrote he said was when he heard that the Taliban had banned kites in Afghanistan and kites are a very popular daily playing they do."
Soundtrack: “Ay Dil Ay Dil” by Dawood Sarkosh
Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
Call Number: FIC OWE
ISBN: 9781250191908
Publication Date: 2021-10-19
Recommended by Atlas O’Hare
"Vanja Schmidt, the goddaughter of Death and Fortune is a thief. She steals the identity of the princess she used to serve as a maid then steals the riches of the nobility to fund her escape plan. Little Thieves is the story of how she gets caught. With vivid world-building that transports you into a harrowing world of twisted nobility and vengeful gods, and with plenty of LGBTQIA+ representation, this book has quickly become one of my all-time favorites!"
Soundtrack: “Tongues and Teeth” by the Crane Wives
Vicious by V. E. Schwab
Call Number: FIC SCH
ISBN: 9780765335340
Publication Date: 2013-09-24
Recommended by Adrianna Camara
"Vicious follows two college friends as they try to figure out the causes of supernatural abilities. The story deals with moral dilemmas and you can't really figure out who is 'good' and who is 'evil.'"
Soundtrack: “Problems” by Mother Mother

OES Class of '24 Recommends...

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
Call Number: FIC PRA
ISBN: 9780060012359
Publication Date: 2008-08-12
Recommended by Hunter Boyer
"The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents is, quite literally, a different take on The Pied Piper. The story is from the perspective of Maurice, who is a cat that can talk, and the group of rats that are also able to talk (they also all have names, but there's too many to list). There's also the kid that plays the flute. Basically they're scamming towns into paying the kid to play the flute and get rid of the plague of rats that had just recently appeared. Until that is, they come to a town where their plan goes awry."
Soundtrack: “Storybook” by Geoff Zanelli and Jon Brion
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Call Number: FIC MUI
ISBN: 9781250313195
Publication Date: 2019-09-10
Recommended by Yuankai Gao
"Lesbian space necromancers in a brilliant murder mystery. You'll be hooked from the first page with witty narration, fall in love with the characters and the world, and devour the trilogy and hope that the Alecto the Ninth comes out as soon as possible."
Soundtrack: “The Traveller” by Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen
A Map for the Missing by Belinda Huijuan Tang
Call Number: FIC TAN
ISBN: 9780593300664
Publication Date: 2022-08-09
Recommended by Alexander Matthews
"A Map for the Missing chronicles a Chinese-American professor's journey returning home to rural China to search for his missing father and care for his illiterate, struggling mother. Along the way, he battles challenges to his identity, family, and everything he thought he knew about his homeland in pursuit of justice and the truth. Bouncing back and forth between the 1990s and the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, this novel offers compassionate insight into what it means for one to reconnect with their heritage, seek forgiveness, and discover the importance of belonging and home. Amazing for those interested in immigrant stories, history, politics, sociology, and connecting with an engaging, heartfelt read!"
Soundtrack: “Waiting Room” by Phoebe Bridgers
Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
Call Number: FIC JAC
ISBN: 9780062422675
Publication Date: 2018-05-22
Recommended by Tatum Hillis
"Such a good and fast read, banned, really enjoyed."
Wilder Girls by Rory Power
Call Number: FIC POW
ISBN: 9780525645580
Publication Date: 2019-07-09
Recommended by Kaitlyn O’Neill
"A group of girls that have been forced to live remotely after a mysterious illness has taken over their school and the surrounding area. In this dystopian world, girls are being taken to be experimented on, principals are not what they seem, zombie parents lurk in the woods, and all Byatt, Hetty, and Reese want is to go home. YA horror meets The Last of Us, meets Yellowjackets, meets tragic sapphic teens. (Does contain mature content: gore, body horror, and suicide.)"
Soundtrack: “Dear Arkansas Daughter” by Lady Lamb

OES Class of '26 Recommends

Blood and Moonlight by Erin Beaty
Call Number: FIC BEA
ISBN: 9781250755810
Publication Date: 2022-06-28
Recommended by Sanya Sanghvi
"This book is a murder mystery with a magical twist. The main character, Catrin, witnesses the murder of a girl late at night. The girl was an aquaintance of Catrin's and she had seen her with her caretaker just a few hours ago. Stuck in between helping the detective find the culprit, unveiling who the murderer is, and covering for her caretaker, Catrin navigates the situation while discovering new things about herself. I think this book is written really well and the plotline unfolds in a captivating way that keeps you on the edge of your seat!"
Soundtrack: “Window” by Joji
Circe by Madeline Miller
Call Number: FIC MIL
ISBN: 9780316556347
Publication Date: 2018-04-10
Recommended by Riley Smith
"Circe is a brilliant retelling of an ancient tale, this time through a lens more forgiving of its female protagonist. The novel follows the goddess Circe, best known for deceiving Odysseus in The Odyssey, throughout the course of her entire story, expanding on the existing literature and imagining a true, three-dimensional world complete with compelling, dynamic characters. Primarily based in the development of said characters, Circe is told in the incredibly beautiful language of Madeline Miller, whose name you might recognize from her other book, The Song of Achilles. The way that this book is written is simply spectacular, and it's just as exquisite in Spanish."
Soundtrack: “The History of Man” by Maisie Peters
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One: the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Call Number: FIC RIO
ISBN: 9780786838653
Publication Date: 2006-04-01
Recommended Jasmine Phelps
"It’s character driven, action packed and humorous, also contains a ton of fun facts about Greek mythology. (Also really easy to read since it’s for kids)."
Soundtrack: “Srgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles
Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley
Call Number: FIC TOO
ISBN: 9781534453852
Publication Date: 2021-03-09
Recommended by Lucie Kilburn
"I really enjoyed this book (I read almost all of it in a day) because the magic system is really cool and the main characters are gay. This book is about Tamsin, a witch who was banished from the witch world and cursed to never feel love, meaning she has to take it from other people in order to feel things, and Wren, a source of magic who has hidden her ability to detect magic her entire life. They meet when a magical plague starts and Wren asks Tamsin to help catch the culprit in exchange for giving up the love she feels for her father. Adrienne Tooley does a good job of dropping breadcrumbs about the characters and their motives throughout this book, which made it really fun to read."

OES Class of '27 Recommends

Avatar, the Last Airbender: the Rise of Kyoshi (Chronicles of the Avatar Book 1) by F. C. Yee
Call Number: FIC YEE
ISBN: 9781419735042
Publication Date: 2019-07-16
Recommended by Will Allderdice
"A book that takes place in the universe of Avatar the last Airbender from the perspective of a previous Avatar, Kyoshi. I've never read a book with better writing, theming, and characters. You're so easily able to picture the story unfolding, and it'll keep you captivated all the way through. Highly recommend for fans of Avatar."
Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
Call Number: FIC GRA
ISBN: 9780316158237
Publication Date: 2022-08-30
Recommended by Jane Qu
"Signa Farrow could not die. Her body would go cold. Each time she dies, a smoky shadowy figure would come to meet her. Then she would come back to her body and come back to life. Pushed between different guardians after her own parents died, eventually she ended up at Thorn Grove Estate, where her cousin's life may be sabotaged and near death. Warning: She kills herself but she has powers that make her come back to life every time."
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
Call Number: GN WAL
ISBN: 9781250178145
Publication Date: 2018-10-02
Recommended by Gina Putzolu
"On a Sunbeam is a YA science fiction graphic novel. The book captures a feeling of melancholic wonder through its beautiful art and touching story."
Soundtrack: “Dear Arkansas Daughter” by Lady Lamb
The Wide Starlight by Nicole Lesperance
Call Number: FIC LES
ISBN: 9780593116227
Publication Date: 2021-02-16
Recommended by Mina Liu
"It's a very strange book centered around my favorite niche of 'girl goes insane in grief over the death of her mother, travels to a different country, and hallucinates.' It's trippy and hard to distinguish reality from fiction in some parts, but that all adds to the beautiful nordic fairytale vibe of the book...which contrasts with it's darker themes about generational trauma. At least, that's what I think it's about. I highly recommend reading this book while sleep deprived."
Soundtrack: “The Water Is Fine” by Chloe Ament

Upper School Library: Summer Reading

Summer Reading 2023

OES Teachers Recommend

OES Class of '25 Recommends...

OES Class of '24 Recommends...

OES Class of '26 Recommends

OES Class of '27 Recommends