Water by Subhash Vyam
This is a picture book for young adults. The story covers a village that is dependent on water but this all changes when the nearby city wants to build a dam. This story was very fun to read and it had unique and strange illustrations that I enjoyed. I also loved the weird tales that involved water from the village.
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
This story covers a young girl named Romy who is alone on a spaceship after her parents and the rest of the crew died. Romy is on a space mission going towards a place called Earth 2. At this point, she is closer to Earth 2 than the original Earth so NASA (her only contact with Earth) has left her on course. One day, Romy gets told that another spaceship is coming to her so they can go to Earth 2 together. Overall, this story was very interesting and intense towards the end. The twist that comes towards the end shocked me so much! This is one of my favorite books I’ve read this semester.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Speak is about a teenage girl who is going through some negative things in high school because most of the population does not like her. This is due to Melinda calling the cops on a party. In the book, you find out why she called the police but I do not want to spoil it in this blog post. This book was a reread for me because I read it in high school but it was still a great book. The story seems relatable to students who would classify themselves at outcasts. This story does have some touchy subjects so just keep that in mind if you are going to pick this one up.
Speak: The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson
As you could guess, this is the graphic novel adaptation of Speak. I wanted to read these two side-by-side to see how they compare. Overall, the main story was the same and there was somethings missing but they weren’t incredibly important. The art in this graphic novel was very cool and realistic which I think matched the story very nicely. I think they did a good job of keeping the tone and voice of the story even in the graphic novel. This still has the same touchy subjects as the original novel!
Happy Reading!
Rachel's Mind 
I love that they have both a novel version and a graphic novel version. While I was student teaching, we read a book that also offered a graphic novel version. It was great to be able to offer that to students who struggled with the traditional text.
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That is a great idea! I will have to remember that when going into the classroom!
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Speak is on my list! I am planning on reading it next! Would you recommend the graphic novel or the original one?
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It all kind of depends on what kind of reader you are. I like the graphic novel version better because I enjoy pictures!
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The Loneliest Girl in the Universe sound like a book I would love too. I read Speak and loved the book. I will have to keep my eyes open for the graphic novel. I would like to read it also!
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I got mine in the bargain section at BAM in Rapid. 🙂
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I’ve read the two novels but not the graphic novel. I truly enjoyed the two novels. Both would make the top five books I’ve read this semester! I’m glad you liked them! Happy reading!
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Happy Reading! The graphic novel was a nice little treat for me!
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