Saddleback students’ book recommendations

From around the Saddleback College campus, here are some of students’ favorite books. From romance to fantasy to coming-of-age, everyone can find something they will enjoy from these recommendations.

A sports romance novel by Chloe Walsh. Tesia Ziobrowski | Lariat

‘Binding 13’ by Chloe Walsh
Jordan Gallo (freshman)
Major: Child and Adolescent Development
Description: “The book follows a young Irish girl who transfers to high school after traumatic bullying and a dark honey life, and an accomplished rugby player trying to recover from a severe injury. The two begin to develop a deep bond of friendship and more as they attempt to face their respective struggles together.”
Opinion: “I would recommend this book and the whole series because I think it’s very emotionally powerful and a very genuine story that talks about important issues like abuse while still being a very enjoyable story to follow along. The book is both heavy and fluffy, and filled with great writing. One of the most compelling parts about the series is its phenomenally developed characters and relationships.”

Abby Jimenez’s romance novel, Yours Truly. Tesia Ziobrowski | Lariat

‘Yours Truly’ by Abby Jimenez
Hennessey Synnott (freshman)
Major: Nursing
Description: “The book is about Brianna and Jacob who are both ER doctors who have a horrible first impression of each other. Over time they fall for each other while dealing with struggles on their own.”
Opinion: “I would recommend this book because it’s a great story about two people who fall in love while they both deal with anxiety and healing from past trauma and it just relates to me.”

The fantasy trilogy, Powerless, can be found at Barnes and Noble. Tesia Ziobrowski | Lariat

‘Powerless’ by Lauren Roberts
Kaiya Schultz (freshman)
Major: Psychology
Description: “The first book is about a world where a plague spreads and ends up giving some people powers. The people with powers are called the Elites and the ones without are the Ordinaries. One of the Elite princes (Kai) goes to basically the slums of his kingdom and ends up getting saved by an Ordinary (Paedyn). Paedyn is then voted by all the Ordinaries to represent them in the annual Trials that happen. Kai is also a part of the Trials, they end up kind of teaming up and falling in love. Lots of stuff happens with them, with Paedyn and Kai’s older brother Kitt (the future king) and the King himself (who’s not a good guy) before and after the Trials that lead to the next two books.”
Opinion: “This series itself is my favorite because the love story and the twists are so good. It’s a bit of love at first sight and the main characters are so in love no matter what happens. It’s definitely set the bar high for me.”

Sandra Cisneros’ beloved classic, The House on Mango Street. Tesia Ziobrowski | Lariat

‘House on Mango’ Street by Sandra Cisneros
Anne Tantoco (freshman)
Major: Communications
Description: “It follows a young woman named Esperanza, and her life as she grows up in her small neighborhood within a latino demographic. Much more than seeing life through her eyes, she shares her daily life in a story-like manner which emphasizes the interpersonal connections, big and small, making an impact on their relationship — and her world.”
Opinion: “I really enjoyed how metaphorical and in depth the material can be, as Cisneros utilizes a lot of symbolism. I also really enjoy her writing style and imagery, which makes it easier for me to read the short stories which are generally a couple of pages long. I enjoyed how she incorporated her culture in her writing, and how she includes her personal experience into the circumstances of her characters — it’s something amused by. Overall, it opens your perspective and allows you to see the significance in the small things. Certainly a quick and fun read!”

The Bone Ships is a high seas fantasy series. Tesia Ziobrowski | Lariat

‘The Bone Ships’ by R.J. Barker
Altan Bilgin (sophomore)
Major: Marine Biology
Description: “The series is about warring nations that use ships made from the bones of dragons for warfare, but then they ran out of dragons to hunt. After the first dragon in years is sighted the nations try to gain the upper hand by hunting it down.”
Opinion: “I like this series because it has all the things I love, dragons and pirates. It includes a lot of its own vocabulary so it was fun to learn the different words and sayings that were used.”

The Catcher in the Rye is an amazing coming of age novel. Tesia Ziobrowski | Lariat

‘Catcher in the Rye’ by JD Salinger
Avery Brostrom (freshman)
Major: Health sciences
Description: “Holden is kicked out of his school similar to how he has with countless others and has to kill 2 days in New York until his winter break starts and he can officially go home. With this time he contemplates reaching adulthood and reflects on the inauthenticity of life and his own personal struggles.”
Opinion: “I do recommend it, I love its themes of growing up and mental health and the main character’s struggle trying to hold on to his youth.”

This tragic novel is a classic and can be found at Book and Noble. Tesia Ziobrowski | Lariat

‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Alivia Martinez (freshman)
Major: Undecided
Description: “The Great Gatsby is about a rich man named Gatsby who throws big parties to win back his old love, Daisy. But things go wrong, and he ends up alone and unhappy. It’s a story about dreams, love, and loss.”
Opinion: “I recommend The Great Gatsby because it’s a short but powerful story about dreams, love, and the cost of chasing success.”

JK Rowling’s most popular series, Harry Potter. Tesia Ziobrowski | Lariat

‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ by JK Rowling
Noe Alvarez (freshman)
Major: Kinesiology
Description: “A boy discovers he is a wizard and there is a whole other world of new things that he can’t wrap his head around. He is targeted the whole series by the man who killed his parents.”
Opinion: “I recommend the whole series because it’s my first time reading books that i’ve actually enjoyed and is very interesting.”

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a historical fiction novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Tesia Ziobrowski | Lariat

‘Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Elaina Martinez (freshman)
Major: Undecided
Description: “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” tells the story of Evelyn Hugo, a famous movie star. She hires a journalist to write her biography for her, she reveals stories and events that the public was never aware of. Evelyn expresses how her life was nothing how the public would have imagined it. Evelyn wants people to know who she really is, instead of who they want her to be.”
Opinion: “This was the first book I ever read on my own that I truly enjoyed. It tells a story of someone who is so beautifully human and you can’t help but relate and feel for her. I found myself annotating and highlighting phrases or sentences that really stuck with me. This book helped me actually start to enjoy reading.”

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