Student’s Favorite Books to Read

As a cozier season arrives, here are some students’ favorite books to read recently.

By Melina Contreras

As the internet continues to grow, there has been a recent 16% drop in reading from 2023 to 2026. So, it is nice to see that some students sit down with a book. People enjoy various types of book genres such as fantasy, horror, mystery, sports, and many more.

An example of fantasy, part of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows; the conclusion to J.K. Rowling’s fantasy series Harry Potter.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, written by J.K. Rowling. follows the iconic trio Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald (Ron) Wesley. After Voldemort and the Death Eaters have taken over the Ministry of Magic, the trio operates without the protection of Hogwarts to find the remaining four of Voldemort’s Horcruxes and destroy them to render him mortal.

They learn that the locket Horcrux is in the possession of Dolores Umbridge at the Ministry of Magic. Harry and his friends infiltrate the Ministry and steal the locket from Umbridge, but are unable to destroy it.

The locket’s dark magic affects Ron, who abandons Harry and Hermione. Later, Harry and Hermione are attacked by Voldemort’s snake, Nagini, but manage to escape. Soon after, they are captured by bounty hunters known as Snatchers and are imprisoned in Malfoy Manor.

Harry and Ron are thrown into the cellar with Dean Thomas, Luna Lovegood, Mr Ollivander, and Griphook the goblin, while the Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange tortures Hermione. The house-elf Dobby helps the prisoners escape, but is killed in the process.

After stealing the Elder Wand from Albus Dumbledore’s tomb, Voldemort is unable to make it obey him. Believing that Severus Snape is the master of the wand, Voldemort uses Nagini to mortally wound him.

Before dying, Snape passes his memories to Harry. Voldemort then casts the Killing Curse on Harry, who then awakens in a dreamlike place. He is greeted by Dumbledore, who explains that the curse destroyed the fragment of Voldemort’s soul inside Harry, and that he can now return to life.

Harry subsequently regains consciousness and pretends to be dead. Harry reveals himself to be alive and duels with Voldemort, who casts another Killing Curse. However, the Elder Wand refuses to kill Harry because he is its true master since the wand was passed to Draco when he disarmed Dumbledore before his death, then to Harry when he disarmed Draco at his manor. Voldemort’s spell rebounds and kills him.

Alan Cantolan Verdia, ’30, said, “My favorite book is the Harry Potter series. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry Potter tries to find the Horcruxes, and at the end of the book, he defeats Voldemort. It’s full of surprises and very interesting. J.K Rowling. A lot of people were reading the books, and it made me want to read it too.”

The final book of the Harry Potter series is enjoyable if you like that kind of storyline. Of course, the story only makes sense if you read the other six books first.

Moving on from fantasy, another genre people enjoy reading is Horror. An example of this genre is a famous three-book horror anthology series, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Specifically, Volume 3, More Tales to Chill Your Bones.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: More Tales to Chill Your Bones is the final volume of the three-book horror anthology series, written by Alvin Schwartz. It consists of 25 short stories. In the 3rd story titled “Faster and Faster,” Schwartz starts with a fairy tale mood: Sam and his cousin, Bob, went walking in the woods. The only sounds were leaves rustling and a bird chirping. In this way, Schwartz pulls us into the story with a pretty conventional beginning but one that sounds as if he could be plopped down next to us by a fire.

Eventually, the boys find a drum, and Schwartz writes: “But Bob could not resist trying the drum. Instead, he sat on the ground and held it between his legs. He beat on it with one hand, then the other, slowly at first, then faster and faster, almost as if he could not stop.”

Kaitlin Paniagua, ’30, said “My favorite books to read are, like, any horror and suspense books because it’s like, more enjoyable. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. In that series, it’s really good. There are like 4 books. The 3rd is my favorite. It explains short scary stories that are chilling and interesting. It has a really good story; it all ties in together at the end. I started reading it when I started getting into more fiction books and scary stuff. Yeah, I would recommend it.”

If you are into horror, this is a series that you could read. You don’t have to read the first book to be able to read the others, as the books are unrelated to each other and do not connect.

Now that the horror genre is covered, another genre that students enjoy reading is young adult fiction or mystery. An example: Caraval, the 1st book written by Stephanie Garber.

The first book of the Caraval series follows two sisters. Scarlett and Tella. The two have never left the tiny island where they live with their cruel, powerful father. Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for Scarlett, and she thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over. But that year,  Scarlett’s long-dreamed hope of getting an invitation finally arrives with the help of a mysterious sailor. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend.

It turns out this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner. Whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over; a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

The man posing as Legend turns out to be just an actor, and the game is revealed to be an elaborate illusion orchestrated in part by Tella. She then explains that she planned the game with Legend using letters to escape their abusive father and find their mother. Characters who “died” during the game, including Dante and Julian, are actually alive because Caraval’s magic brings participants back, though they keep physical scars from their injuries.

At the end of book one of Caraval, Scarlett finds her sister Tella alive after she leaps from a balcony.

Katelyn Abbott, ’29, said, “I really love fantasy books. A book I just read that I really liked was called Caraval. It’s basically about these two sisters who get invited to this magical game-like thing or island; it’s kind of like Hunger Games and Harry Potter together. It’s really good. I like it. I think the characters were really good; the plot had some good twists and turns. It was really interesting. I’ll be honest, I saw it on TikTok. Yeah, 10/10. Reading’s good for you.”

The adventure of the sisters Scarlett and Tella in the first book of Caraval really sounds like a magical, fantasy plot-twisting fun. Maybe pick it up and give this one and the other two books a try.

Another genre that has yet to be covered is sports. A great example of this is The Olympian Mindset written by Terry Schroeder.

The Olympian Mindset is written by a six-time water polo Olympian, Terry Schroeder. It follows the central quote, “You don’t rise to the occasion. You fall to the level of your alignment.” Schroeder argues that peak athletic performance, psychological healing, and lasting vitality are not separate pursuits.

Instead, they stem from the same core: Control over body alignment. Schroeder recounts this period from 1980 – 1992 as a player and his head coaching period. The book navigates life’s hard-to-solve problems. Especially those of an elite Olympic athlete, and gives readers another perspective on the power of the human spirit.

Von Borowicz, ’27, said, “Right now, I’m reading a book called The Olympic Mindset by Terry Schroeder. It is about how to build a gold medal life, having alignment, and discipline in your life. It also covers good habits to have. I like this book because, first of all, the author is a water polo player, and I relate to that. He’s a very good water polo player and coach. It’s a good source; he’s also a chiropractor, so with the alignment part, he just talks a lot about how you have to have balance in your life, and it’s nice cause you can kinda relate it to your life. I was at a water polo camp at Pepper Nine, and he was there and told us about it. So then I looked into it, and then I bought it.”

Even from the summary we got, it’s clear the quote “You don’t rise to the occasion. You fall to the level of your alignment” is a big part of the book.

Shifting back to fantasy, another good book to read is the series, Land of Stories, written by American actor, singer, and writer Chris Colfer.

The Land of Stories, the first book, The Wishing Tree, is the first book in a 6-book series about two siblings- twins. The female, Alex, and the male, Connor. Just before the twins’ 11th birthday, their Father, Mr Bailey, dies. The twins’ lives basically go downhill from there. They lose their house, and their mother, Mrs Bailey, works longer hours to make ends meet. Before the twins’ 12th birthday, their teacher starts a fairy tale unit. Alex is absolutely thrilled, as when they were younger, their grandma would read them a book called “The Land of Stories.” On their 12th birthday, their Grandma gifts them “The Land of Stories”. Throughout the week, the book will glow and hum as Alex reads it. Eventually, Alex and Connor fall through a portal and land inside the Land of Stories book.

The first creature they meet is named Froggy. The frog tells them about how they need to collect items to make the wishing spell, which should help them get back to their world. Unfortunately, the twins aren’t the only ones who want the wishing spell. snow white’s stepmother, the Evil Queen, recently got out of prison, and with the help of the hunter and his daughter, the huntress, she is collecting the ingredients. In the end, the twins, with the help of Froggy, stop the Evil Queen. And it is revealed that both Mr and Mrs Bailey are originally from the fairy tale world, and Alex and Connor go home.

Cameron Kross, ’29, said, “I would say that my favorite book to read… It’s an old series called The Land of Stories. Cause it merges you into a land of fantasy, and it kinda just makes you visualize what things would be like to live in a fairy tale. The author’s name is Chris Colfer. I came to start reading this series because I watched a TV show that the author was in, and I grew to know more about him and the books that he’s read, and I just got involved with these books. I’d say my favorite is definitely the first book. In the first book, there is a pair of twins, and they read a book that their grandmother had gifted to them, and it’s just about the realm of fairy tales, and then they get essentially teleported into this world, and they try to figure out how to get back into the real world.”

Whether it be fantasy, horror, sports, or many more, for some students, it isn’t about the characters but the plot itself. Some people can be inspired by whatever the message of the book is. It’s nice to see that some students still enjoy reading despite the rise in technology.

Tags: Art & Entertaiment, Melina Contreras, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, rhs