With Spring 2025 in full bloom, so are the top books that those in WAHS have read this year: Through the eyes of fantasy lovers.
English teacher Chris Martin, who has made it a point to read daily, has gotten into the “The Stormlight Archive” series by Brandon Sanderson.
“I got through the first book, and I’ve started the second book, but kind of paused for a little bit, but really looking forward to finishing that series. It’s great, great characters, great story. So it’s pretty fun,” Martin said.
As of spring 2025, the first book in “The Stormlight Archive” series, “The Way of Kings,” had become one of his favorite books.
“Yeah…it quickly just skyrocketed to one of my favorite books of all time.. I was fully immersed in all [of] the world that he was building,” Martin said.
Sophomore Erin Bledsoe, a “100% fantasy” fan, has also gotten into several book series’ this year. They are currently on the third book of the “Keeper of the Lost Cities” series by Shannon Messenger and third book of the “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series by Sarah J. Maas. Their favorite part of Maas’ books had been the character development in Sarah J. Maas’s series.
“[Throughout the series] we learn that [the characters we rooted against are] actually really good and the characters that we originally liked are bad characters,” Bledsoe said.
Bledsoe also likes the “Keeper of the Lost Cities”.
“The ‘Keeper of the Lost Cities’ was a really easy storyline to follow, while still being able to deep dive into the mysteries that it has,” she said.
Meanwhile, sophomore Molly Anderson, who also follows Sarah J. Maas’ “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series, is focused on refreshing her knowledge on the series.
“I’m currently rereading a lot of Sarah J. Maas books,” Anderson said. “Especially because I reread, or I just recently read her most recent book, which required a lot of previous knowledge on a lot of her other series.”
Anderson’s favorite book is “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” by Lisa See, one of her favorite authors. She appreciates the cultural diversity that See presents in her novels.
“I really like her books because she focuses on a side of Asian culture that we don’t usually see in a lot of other books…because, we usually see the Europeanized or Westernized parts, [but] I’m always…really interested in learning about something that I haven’t known,” Anderson said.
Now, Martin and Anderson, like Bledsoe, are all fond of fantasy as a genre. However, they all like to switch it up and get a feel for other genres. Martin has gotten fond of horror since last October; Anderson likes some of her books with a romance subgenre and prefers a slow burn.
“Fast paced books just happen too much. I like a good slow burn and figuring [the suspense] out,” she said.
For Martin, reading is also an investigative experience. “Not every book is going to be that five star read…but I’m going to learn something from it,” Martin said. “I think that’s the mentality I try to bring to every book I read.”
Additionally, he also offers encouragement towards those who are reluctant to branch out to other genres.
“To anybody out there that hasn’t found that genre that they’re dedicated to, keep going,” he said.
As well as Anderson’s advocacy for discovering new books.
“Just go read some books, expand your literature. You never know what you’ll find, if you look further up,” Anderson said.
