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13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do  By Amy Morin (2014)

Reviewed by Abigail

This self-help book follows a therapist who just faced a great loss of a loved one. Morin discusses the obstacles she faced in her life, especially during the grieving period, and covers how she improved her mental health. This story teaches what traits strong people don’t have, and pitfalls that people fall into that can negatively affect their mental, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing. Morin also covers how to surpass those challenges. The book also offers action items on how to improve the quality of one’s life, and how to become more at peace with oneself and increase life satisfaction.

This is one of the first self-help books I’ve ever read. This book has helped me so much in acknowledging negative elements in my mind, and how to prevent them from interfering from my inner peace. I found this book to be very useful, and the explanations for each section understandable and effective. The book is highly effective as it also offers action items for what a person can do to become mentally stronger than they were before.

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix (1998)

Reviewed by Claire

Among The Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix was originally published March 1, 1998, and is a dystopian YA novel that takes place in a future where the government has taken
drastic measures to prevent overpopulation. Parents are only allowed to have two children, and having more than that is illegal. Luke is a third child. He’s been in hiding his entire life and now can’t even go outside. New houses are being built where his woods used to be, so he can no longer go outside without risking being seen. Luke had never met another kid before, besides his brothers, especially not another third child. Then, he sees a girl next door, in a house where two boys live. Her name is Jen, and she’s a third child, just like Luke. Jen wants third children to have rights and is not afraid to stand up to fight for them. Jen has a plan that she’s sure will give rights to third children everywhere. However, her idea is dangerous, and Luke doesn’t know whether or not he is willing to put his life on the line. Now, Luke has to decide whether or not to come out of the shadows or stay hidden.

I loved reading this book, and I enjoyed every page. I loved the characters in this story and how they all thought and acted differently. Jen and Luke were two completely different
people, and it was interesting to see the two of them together. Jen was fearless and willing to do anything to stand up for the rights of third children. She never really liked following the rules and often broke them. Luke, however, was timider and hesitant to stop hiding. He followed the rules and listened to his mother. The setting is described well since Luke spent a lot of time observing his surroundings. With him no longer being allowed to go outside, he watched the other houses on the block and talked about the other families that lived there. The setting was developed through his observations and description of the outdoors, something he often did as he had little else to do. I would recommend this book and all of its sequels. This is the first book in the Shadow Children sequence and is worth reading.

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore (1982)

Elantris, the debut novel of Brandon Sanderson, is a masterpiece of fantasy. After the fall of the great city of Elantris 10 years prior, the nation of Arelon has struggled under its merchant king, waiting for the day his likable and passionate son takes the throne. They can only hope that he can take the throne and save Arelon before the militant theocracy of Fjordell turns its sights on the country once protected by the quasi-deific Elantrians that ruled it. Weaving multiple storylines into each other with expert precision, Brandon Sanderson could not have done any better with Elantris.