Your summer reads - Life skills

Need some inspiration for your summer reads? Check out the recommendations from our Learning Resource Centre advisers:

A Game of Thrones : A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

“A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”

The first opus in a series of seven volumes, A Game of Thrones, chronicles the struggle for power in the violent realm of the Seven Kingdoms. The Houses of Stark, Lannister and Targaryen all have a claim to the Iron Throne. Expect epic battles, treachery, heroic acts and mythical creatures! The TV adaptation of the much-acclaimed modern fantasy came to a close earlier this year so why not pick up a copy of the book from a MidKent College Learning Resource Centre?

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

“In principle and reality, libraries are life-enhancing palaces of wonder.” 

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with social skills but leads an uncomplicated, carefully timetabled life from which nothing is missing. Or so she believes. Until one day, a simple act of kindness shatters her world and forces her to explore her past again and open her heart little by little.

In turns heartbreaking and funny, it is a wonderful story about loneliness, friendship and resilience that will touch your heart and make you think.

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

“I am always saying "Glad to've met you" to somebody I'm not at all glad I  met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though.” 

First published in 1951, this coming of age novel has been beloved by many generations ever since. Its hero-narrator, Holden Cauldfield, sixteen, recalls the two days of his life he spent underground in New York after having been expelled from his prep school. Confused and disillusioned, Holden searches for truth and rails against the “phoniness” of the adult world. He ends up exhausted and emotionally unstable. A modern classic of teenage angst and rebellion and a must read.

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.”

Auggie Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school, until now. He is about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. he has to contend with friendships, fall-outs and bullying, but manages to maintain an upbeat attitude throughout it all. The thing is Auggie is just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. Moving and uplifting, his story is truly inspirational.