Recently I got out of my reading slump and I have been reading at least one book a week, if not 2 or 3! I wanted to share some of the books I recently read to give you a few book ideas to read this summer. I always love seeing other people’s recommendations too!
Orphan Train-
“Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to “aging out” out of the foster
care system. A community service position helping an elderly woman
clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and
worse…
As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and
memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they
seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian
was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose
destinies would be determined by luck and chance.
Molly discovers
that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that
have haunted her for her entire life—answers that will ultimately free
them both.”
Cinder is not like most of the books I have read, but I still ended up really enjoying it and I can’t wait to read the rest in the series!
“Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen
with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her
stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the
handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an
intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty
and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her
past in order to protect her world’s future.”
All The Bright Places- this one is lighthearted at times, but it also can get really serious.
“When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school,
it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to
discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet
make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be
himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after
all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the
days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins
to shrink. “
The Girl on the Train- If you read Gone Girl and enjoyed it, I recommend reading this one as well. I have discovered I love mysteries like this. It was very unpredictable too, which is one of the reasons I loved it! It also is one I could barely put down… I came home after school one day and sat outside reading it for 3 1/2 hours until I had finished the second half of it!
“Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she
rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes,
and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple
breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows
them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is
perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.
And then she sees
something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but
it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself,
Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably
entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone
involved. Has she done more harm than good?”
What Alice Forgot- This is another one that was hard for me to put down. It is pretty long and took me a few days to get through even though I was reading it pretty consistently, but it didn’t feel like it was slow when I was actually reading it.
“Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child.
So
imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym (a
gym! She HATES the gym) and is whisked off to the hospital where she
discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, she has
three kids, and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the
events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to
reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her
sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those
super skinny moms with really expensive clothes. Ultimately, Alice must
discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s
possible to start over…”
I Was Here- this was a pretty sad book, but just by reading the summery of it you can tell that. It kind of reminded me of 13 Reasons Why. I did like If I Stay better than this, but I would still recommend reading this one!
“When her best friend, Meg, commits suicide by drinking a bottle of
industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is
understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so
how did she miss the signs of Meg’s depression? But when Cody travels to
Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers
that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates,
the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town
in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer,
and some secrets of his own. And about an encrypted computer file that
Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she
knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.”
What have you read and loved recently? I would love to get more recommendations for summer reading!
xo, Scarlett
