Blink once. A month flies by. Time distorts itself before your eyes. Blink twice… and three quarters of the school year have already passed. Whether you have squandered those three quarters or not is entirely a personal matter, but regardless, summer looms before us all at Morris Hills.

The difference in atmosphere is tangible. When you breathe in, you smell less french fry grease and more sunscreen and euphoria. The vent army chugs their final puffs of steam as they instead begin to dispel air conditioning. When students mill in the hallways, there are less grumbles of discontent and more of blissful afternoon plans. The hallways practically buzz with anticipation for the period of temporary tranquility that awaits Morris Hills… Emphasis on temporary. 

With summer break also comes the cursory summer reading assignments. (quit groaning all of you; I don’t want to hear it). Regardless, it is my greatest pleasure to introduce this year’s summer reading theme to all you struggling students 😉 

First, I have a confession to make: school has ruined reading for me. This revelation came as a bit of an astonishment… From as far back as I can remember (this was when I thought reading Rainbow Magic made me cool), I have always been an avid consumer of literature. Whenever I see a book now, I would rather drop-kick it like a small child. Since when did reading books become more of a tedious chore and less of a respite from stagnant reality? 

That answer is pretty straightforward: it’s my English teacher’s fault. The solution, meanwhile, required more thought. That’s when I realized (another epiphany) that this wasn’t the first time my love for reading seemingly disappeared. It always appeared to wane over the school year and swell in the summer. I would go from reading numerous books a month to barely covering one in half a year. From here, the solution became relatively straightforward: read more in the summer. 

Wow–what a convenient segue! I shall now introduce 2022’s summer reading theme… Pop Into a Good Book! Without further ado, I would like to provide book recommendations for this theme. 

To me, “pop into a good book” evokes impressions of timeless, old-Hollywood movies. It is the buttery smell of popcorn, the luminescent glow of the screen, and the hushed whispers amidst the velvety darkness suffusing the theatre…can you tell I miss going to the movies? 

In accordance with this vision of mine, here are some movie-worthy book recommendations for 2022’s summer reading theme! The majority of these books already have movie adaptations, so in case you cannot actually muster up the resolve to read, you can watch the movie instead 😉 

1. The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
2. Romeo and Juliet – William Shakespeare (please watch the Leonardo DiCaprio version)
3. Crazy Rich Asians – Kevin Kwan
4. The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
5. The Princess Diaries – Meg Cabot
6. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before – Jenny Han
7. The Maze Runner – James Dashner
8. Call Me By Your Name – Andre Aciman
9. The Perks of Being a WallFlower – Stephen Chbosky
10. The Life of Pi – Yann Martel
11. Emma – Jane Austen
12. Dune – Frank Herbet
13. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
14. The Sun is Also a Star – Nicola Yoon
15. Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones

Have a great time reading, or watching ;)))) I do encourage you to pick up a physical book, though, because school hasn’t actually killed what we hold dear… Rather, school has taught us what we should hold dear. 

Do yourself a favor: drop kick pop into a good book!