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FEATURES
What is #BOOKTOK? By VRITTI GODANI Staff Writer
Over the past few months, #BookTok has taken over the internet. With genres ranging from romance to thriller, #BookTok accommodates people with all sorts of interests. Videos posted under the #BookTok usually consist of common literary tropes, book recommendations, and book reviews and has received up to 25 million views. Some of the top authors on #BookTok includes Elle Kennedy, Colleen Hoover, and other romance writers. Out of all the genres on #BookTok, romance seems to be the most popular. Romance novels such as It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover and The Deal by Elle Kennedy initiated the emergence of #BookTok. Novels that take place in a college setting are usually the ones that gain the most popularity on #BookTok. However, #BookTok also praises classic novels like Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald. Junior Julienne Granadino stated that “The Deal is one of my favorite books. I heard about it first from a TikTok and I read all the books in the Off-Campus series after reading that book”. As mentioned before, Colleen Hoover is one of the biggest authors on #BookTok. It Ends With U, Ugly Love, All Your Perfects, and Maybe Someday are all romance novels written by Colleen Hoover that have grown popular on #BookTok. Contrary to most of the popular books on #BookTok, most of her books are about mature adult relationships and mention triggering topics, so please be
sure to consider that before you read any of her books. The Off-Campus Series, which takes place in a college setting on the east coast and follows the adventures of a group of friends, written by Elle Kennedy has also become a well-known #BookTok name. Other popular books on #BookTok include They Both Die at The End by Adam Silvera, which follows Mateo and Rufus, who discover that they only have one day left to live. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is an adaptation of Homer’s Iliad as told from the perspective of Patroclus, who follows Achilles into war, not knowing that the next few years will test everything they know and keep close to their heart. Additionally, there is no lack of thriller and mystery books on #BookTok. One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus is one of the most popular mystery books on #BookTok, and follows 4 high school students who go into detention together, but only come out with 3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn explores the silent killers of marriage when the wife of the main character goes missing. We Were Liars is a dramatic book with an unexpected ending that has left most of the readers, including me, with a dropped jaw. Not only did #BookTok revive the enthusiasm towards reading, but it also created a large community of young readers from all around the world on TikTok. #BookTok reintroduced a form of entertainment that most of us have forgotten about or left in our childhood. Overall, #BookTok brought back the joy of reading in many young adults.
vgodani@arcadiaquill.com
Photo Courtesy of WIKICOMMONS.COM
arcadiaquill.com
NOVEMBER 2021
AHS Thanksgiving Traditions By ANNA ODELL Staff Writer
While in today’s day and age most people don’t celebrate a ‘harvest’, Thanksgiving is still a day to commemorate everything that we have been blessed with or are grateful for. Every person’s celebration is unique to their family. These traditions are important to each individual because it’s a time for families and/or friends to come together and celebrate one another in addition to the things they’ve overcome in the past year. Thanksgiving is a holiday dedicated to acknowledging all the things a person is thankful for. Everyone that chooses to celebrate Thanksgiving has their own traditions that are unique to them. Especially at Arcadia High School, there are, unsurprisingly, many different Thanksgiving traditions amongst the students. “Usually my family just eats duck together in the evening,” states Nathan Liu, a junior at Arcadia High School (AHS). This is the way he has celebrated Thanksgiving for as long as he can remember. He can count on this yearly occurrence as he knows that the tradition of eating duck with his family won’t change in the coming years.
His experience however, is different from other students at AHS. “My dad makes dinner for us and we stay home for the day,” comments junior Emily Kwon. Thanksgiving, for her family, means enjoying the togetherness this holiday brings. It’s the little things like these dinners that Emily enjoys because she gets to spend quality time with her family which is often taken for granted. “Some relatives come over and we all say grace at the table and then we eat the dinner that my mom and aunties prepared for us,” adds senior Odessa Hairapetian. Seeing her extended family is what matters most to her on this day. During the height of COVID-19, it was challenging to get together with anyone other than immediate family members. Meeting with cousins, aunts, and uncles is priceless for her, seeing as how those kinds of interactions were heavily restricted over the past year. “On Thanksgiving, during the day, we start off by preparing the food for the Thanksgiving dinner. Throughout the rest of the day we play games such as Jenga, Monopoly, or Apples to Apples until the dinner is ready. During the meal we say thanks and ‘dig in’ and after we all pass out,” says junior Camila Cosme. Lasting pretty much the whole day, her Thanksgiving consists of giving thanks and making sure each person feels loved and appreciated. It’s a very important aspect of their celebration because sometimes, thanking our loved ones can be easily forgotten. aodell@arcadiaquill.com
Graphic Courtesy of PIXINIO.COM
