Well Gone, Gone, Gone takes place a little bit after 9/11. The protagonist, Craig, is a bit of a loner and doesn't relate to people. His only friends are basically all of his pets. There's like 11 of them and the books starts off with him waking up and being told by his mom that apparently they were robbed and all the animals escaped since the door to the basement (Craig's room) was left open and the animals got out. Through the course of the book he tries to find them all. The main plot though is his relationship with Lio, a new guy at school. Lio is quieter than Craig, but he can still hold a conversation. Eventually, they end up kissing and Craig wonders if their relationship will progress and if he'll get over his ex, Cody, who still sends him angry emails. At first I was reluctant to read it, but it really was one of those books that was so interesting that I couldn't put it down. I think a lot of it has to do with the reader not being told the character's past. The book is from Craig and Lio's pov. It starts off a little slow, but after the fourth chapter it gets better.
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea is about the lives of people who are from North Korea. It follows a lot of point of views and they are all connected because one point of view is a mother, then her daughter, then the daughter's crush. A journalist writes the story after talking to their friends and family and she really tells how it is in North Korea. It's not just no internet connections it's other ways that the people are manipulated and after falling on hard times the characters have to survive or face starvation. I honestly think it's one of my favorite books because it's like a history lesson and a story.