Trying to find your next page turner? Here’s our top three essential reads for PC students. These picks include a fiction coming-of-age story, along with incredible memoirs, so grab a copy to read while drinking your pumpkin spice latte!

Our first pick: Turtles All The Way Down, a young adult fiction novel written by esteemed author and educator John Green. The story follows a young high school student, Aza, who is plagued by severe OCD and anxiety. Her constant awareness and fear of bacteria crawling all around her is coupled with frequent existential dread. A sudden and impulsive adventure with her best friend leads Aza toward an unexpected love interest that intensifies her mental illnesses. The focus is tied to Aza’s struggle to attain an inner peace that she feels is impossible to reach.

Our second pick: Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America, a nonfiction book written by former Wall Street bond trader Chris Arnade. In the eye-opening novel, Arnade himself quits his stable career and decides to explore the deindustrialized and abandoned cities that he feels he is partially responsible for economically destroying. He documents the lives of the homeless, addicted, and forgotten. Arnade shines light on the lives of Americans who are the most overlooked. Throughout the novel, Arnade encounters many individuals, and he is consistently shocked to discover how many people value connections with their community and loyalty over money, a quality he admires.

Our third and final pick: Educated, the winner of the Audie Award for best Autobiography/Memoir and the work of Tara Westover. Westover describes her childhood growing up in rural Idaho with her survivalist Mormon family and the difficulties that came with it. She describes her parents as devoutly self-sufficient – she never received professional medical care or a formal education prior to separating herself to begin her new life as a college student, for example. Having never been a functioning member of society before her newfound freedom, Westover struggles to balance the responsibilities of her new life. The memoir goes on to depict Westover’s academic achievements and the value they hold in her own independence.

Don’t hesitate to pick up a copy of one of our top three essential reads for every college student.