Bird-Pollan - Assignment 2

 During the last twelve months I haven't read that many books. My mom recommended me a few books over quarantine and I have, honestly to my surprise, enjoyed them all. My favorite was definitely Normal People by Sally Rooney but a really close second is Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. Normal People was my favorite this year because once I started it I couldn't take my eyes off of it. It was just so entertaining! I loved it because it follows two people and their relationships with both each other and the world around them as they grow up. It inspired me. Rooney explored a world that I felt like I could both relate to and see myself in as an adult. It even revolved around Trinity College in Dublin for a bit; that's where I wanted to go to university in middle school. It's such a beautiful school and I definitely romanticized it.

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld was my second favorite book this summer. I read it immediately after finishing Normal People and in the beginning I thought it couldn't even possibly measure up. As I kept reading I found it to be just as good. It was good in a different way though. I thought it romanticized life as a teenager too much, in the end. My life is nothing like Lee Fiora's.

I've reread a few books from middle school over the summer because they're my comfort novels. Among the many, my all time favorites are The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (the first time I read it, I read it in an afternoon) and Eleanor & Park (I read this the first time during a really good time in the eighth grade and I've loved it ever since). I reread the both of them and they never fail to make me happy.

I'm currently reading Modern Lovers by Emma Staub on and off. I've been busier recently so I haven't had a lot of time to settle down with a book, but I am definitely enjoying it. It focuses around two families in New York with children my age which makes me feel more connected to the book.