After a long winter, it finally feels like spring is here! Especially with all of the pollen and upcoming finals. Of course, the first thing I'm thinking of is what books I want to read during my spare time. Here are five books that would be great to read during the spring.

1. The Upside of Unrequited By Becky Albertalli

Despite not being big on romance novels, there's something about the spring that makes me more willing to sit down and read a quick one for fun. The story seems fairly stereotypical at first; a girl who wants to fall in love with a handsome hipster boy. Molly's problem is that she's overweight, and she is used to being rejected. But then she meets a co-worker; a total chubby nerd that she's sure she'll never fall for. The main reason I was interested in this novel was the potential for more exposure on stories about girls who may experience body image issues due to their weight. I'm hoping it will live up to its potential!

2. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Once again, I'm not big on romance, but seeing as this book is going to be a movie soon, I figured it was time I read it. The premise is that the narrator is sick; she's so allergic to everything that she can't even leave the house. She only talks to her mother and her nurse, Carla. Then one day a boy moves in next door. The narrator and the boy, Olly, begin to talk and get close. I can sort of tell where it's going from there, but I'm interested in reading it anyway. I'm hoping there will be something in it that surprises me!

3. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Inspired by a lot of the author's own experience of being black and seeing how violence against black people is viewed in America, this book is bound to be a great segway into this conversation. It tells the personal experience of a girl named Starr Carter who is close to a boy who is killed by police. Before this, she balanced her life living in a poor neighborhood and attending a fancy suburban prep school. Her world is shattered as the community around her wants to know what really went down, and Starr is the only one who can answer it. I'm really hoping this book can be eye opening and insightful!

4. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

After reading Benjamin's other book, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, I knew I would be picking up pretty much anything else written by him. This book follows Sal, a boy who thought he knew his place in his life, until he hits senior year. Suddenly he's realizing he's not who he thought he was, but isn't sure who he really is. It's bound to have a lot of interesting, universal questions that will leave me with a lot to think about afterward. I'm hoping to leave this book thinking more about myself.

5. The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro

Of course, I will be reading this book after reading the first in the series, but I wanted to include this book on my list. The series follows Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson, two descendants of Sherlock and John, as they travel across Europe to discover shocking truths about the Holmes and Moriarty families. I haven't read much into what the second book is about to avoid spoilers, but I'm excited to read a retelling that isn't based on fairytales for once. As much as I love fairytale retellings, it's more interesting to see retellings based off of more unique source material. It also helps that I really enjoy a lot of the Sherlock series, and I grew up on Nancy Drew. I'm hoping there will be a lot of mystery and intrigue!