Reading doesn't have to be boring, it can grow your mind and broaden your horizons, especially if you pick the right one. In this article I’ll be giving you recommendations based on the genre's bildungsroman (a novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education), historical fiction and dystopian fiction.

 

Bildungsroman 

The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Sallinger 

The Catcher in the Rye follows the details of Holden Caulfield two days after his expulsion from Pencey Prep during which he encounters many different characters including a prostitute, an ex-girlfriend and his sister. Through these encounters, his inner feeling about the world and its people are revealed. It contains themes of alienation, growing up and angst. It may be controversial, but I love this book. I’ve written more about this in another article, make sure to check it out. 

The Book Thief – Markus Zusak 

The book thief is about a young girl, Liesel Meminger, during World War II in Nazi Germany. Her foster parents hide a Jewish man who eventually has to leave to avoid drawing attention to the family. This is what my friend found it, “The Book Thief was an absolutely fantastic book as it was from the perspective of a German child during Nazi Germany and had me laughing at the start but crying in the end. He best book in the world.” 

 

Historical Fiction 

The Secret History – Donna Tartt 

The story is narrated by Richard Papen who looks back onto the events that leading up to the murder of their friend Edmund “Bunny” Corcoran where the events leading up to the murder are revealed sequentially. It is a novel about intellectual ideas as well as a murder mystery without the whodunnit element. My friend told me, “It’s honestly one of the best books I’ve read. The story keeps you interested throughout with suspense building up in every scene. Each character is unique, and the relationships established throughout are developed nicely. Overall, I found it very entertaining with a storyline that instantly hooks the reader from the beginning to the end. 

 

The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas  

The Count of Monte Cristo is about Edmond Dantes who is wrongfully imprisoned by four jealous men in the infamous Chateau d’If, a prison no one has ever escaped. Once he escapes, Dantes seeks revenge on them. A classmate said, “The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the best classics ever written, the plot of revenge intrigued me, and it really helped show that inside everyone’s heart there is some darkness, not everyone is perfect, I loved it so much.” 

 

Dystopian Fiction 

Arc of a Scythe Series – Nael Shusterman 

This is a YA dystopian series consisting of three books: Scythe, The Thunderhead and Toll. The series is set in a future where humanity has conquered war, disease, hunger and even death itself. So, to beat overpopulation they need scythes; scythes pick a random person every day to kill. It follows Rowan and Citra, two teenagers who become apprentices to scythes and must learn the art of killing. This series plays with the ideas of death and morality which makes this an enjoyable and interesting read, I highly recommend it. 

The Chaos Walking Trilogy – Patrick Ness 

The trilogy is set in a world where all living beings can hear each other’s thoughts. The main character Todd is raised in Prentisstown where there are no women. He is taught by the mayor that all the women of the world were killed due to a germ released by Spackle, but one day he finds Viola, a woman. What else has the mayor been hiding from him? My friend loves this series, she said, “The chaos walking trilogy is one of the best teen series I have ever read, the entire dystopian world he created was truly unique and great and had me gripped from the first page. With its twists and turns that had you in tears, it’s a true masterpiece and I would recommend it to everyone.” This is truly an amazing read and I highly recommend it. 

 

I really hope you give one these recommendations a chance and that it inspire you to read more.