As spring break gets closer, I can’t help but yearn for a week I can spend adding to my neglected bookshelf. In hopes of making your spring break an eventful one, here are five page-turning books of different genres that you won’t be able to put down and my favorite quotes from each. 

Fantasy: “The Other Side Of The Sky” by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

“I don’t know if I believe prophecies. I don’t know if I believe in her gods or her destiny. I don’t know if I believe in any of this. But I believe in her.” 

One of my favorite fantasy books of all time and a frequent re-read whenever I’m bored, “The Other Side Of The Sky” by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner will never disappoint. It follows Prince North, who falls from a technological city floating in the sky that he will one day rule over, and lands on the Surface. He then forms a close friendship with the Surface’s living goddess, Nimh. This book does an excellent job with pace; it starts slow and allows the reader to soak in the intricate world the authors built before quickly building to the epic collision of sky and surface. The relationship between North and Nimh, combined with the excellent writing and seamless blending of both science and magic, creates the perfect way to spend your spring break. 

Sci-fi: “Gone” by Michael Grant

“The pain was her whole world now. Pain and fear.” 

Renowned author Michael Grant can’t seem to write a bad book, as he has done it again with the smashing sensation that is “Gone.” The first in a nine-book series of the same name, “Gone” follows a group of young teenagers that wake up in a world where everyone aged 15 or older is, well, gone. From there, the rag-tag team of teens must stand up for itself and take care of the younger children in an adult-less world. This novel is perfect for fans of action-packed reads full of humor, romance and political power.

Horror: “The Grace Year” by Kim Ligget

“It feels like freedom, but we know it’s a lie. This is how they break us. They take everything away, our very dignity, and anything we get in return feels like a gift.” 

I’ve never been the biggest fan of horror, but Kim Ligget’s “The Grace Year” swept me away. This novel follows 16-year-old Tierney James as she and a group of other girls are sent to a remote campsite in the woods, where they must get rid of all their “magic,” something many have died trying to do. Chalked-full of commentary on the relationship between the girls and hard decisions that come with adolescence, this gory story blurs the line of morality.

Realistic fiction: “My Sunshine Away” by M.O. Walsh

“I can’t imagine the fear within these men. I can only imagine their choice. A creature with wings must use them, of course, or else go the way of the dodo.” 

M.O. Walsh holds the realistic fiction genre in a chokehold with this novel, which explores the fragile difference between love and obsession. Set in the small town of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the book travels back in time through the unnamed main character’s memories of his first love and the juvenile mistakes he made, showing the dark secrets that lurk in the neighborhood he grew up in. Written beautifully, this book is an amazing way to spend your spring break. It will deepen your understanding of dark, life-changing concepts that are seen all too often in the real world. 

Nonfiction: “Flyboys: A True Story of Courage” by James Bradley

“This is a story of war, so it is a story of death. But it is not a story of defeat.” 

Showing the horrors and honor that come with war, “Flyboys: A True Story of Courage” will transport you into the dark past of American history. The novel reveals, for the first time, the extraordinary story of nine American Navy and Marine pilots sent to bomb Japanese communications towers during World War II that got shot down. It unwinds the decades-old mystery, dating back to Japan’s first confrontation with the western world. I’ve always been fond of both historical fiction and nonfiction, but this well-written, fast-paced story was so wild that there were times I thought the whole thing was made up. I don’t think any other book will ever compare.