The Summer Reading List
14th December 2015
So, as you may know, I am a primary school teacher. In Australia, we have just started our summer holidays and I've already knocked over a novel in a day. A Facebook friend saw my rant about awesome books and requested that I write a list of recommendations for people to check out. This seemed like a daunting task. How could I possibly write down all the books that I love? There are so many!
I decided to create a list of (some of) my most recent favourite reads and title it as "The Summer Reading List". I hope you enjoy!
The Summer Reading List
Attachments - by Rainbow Rowell
This is a great story with an original, but cheesy, story line. Set in 1999, this story involves an email security monitor falling for a girl that he's never met. Do you believe in love before first sight? It was a great read. I love Rainbow Rowell. She keeps me guessing right until the very end and I never know how her stories will finish. The characters are flawed, but lovable and the plot had many unexpected twists and turns.
Eleanor and Park - by Rainbow Rowell
This was my first book by Rainbow Rowell and it completely took my breath away. I couldn't read another book for days because I was still living in the world of this book. I don't know if I can write a summary that will do this book justice. Set in 1986, Park (in his black shirts and headphones) meets Eleanor (with her chaotic family life) and it turns his life completely upside-down. This story is heart-warming and heart-wrenching at the same time. It is amazing.
Every day - by David Levitham
Every day A wakes up in a different body, in a different life. He has learned to just live through his days quietly, trying to go unnoticed. This is until he meets Rhiannon and everything changes. What can I say? It’s so interesting to fall in love with a character who is never the same again. Every day this character experiences the feelings and emotions of other human beings. It’s so interesting to see inside the mind of A, a being that has seen it all. The full spectrum of human emotions. This book made me think about what it means to be human and helped me to feel grateful for the experiences that I get every day.
Everything, Everything - by Nicola Yoon
The first book by Nicola Yoon and she already has me wanting more. This book has such a unique concept that I was hooked from the back cover. Maddy hasn't left her house in seventeen years. She has a rare disease called Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) and has been living inside her quarantined house her whole life. She wants to leave and travel the world but she won't last 48hours outside. Olly is the new boy next door and he is determined to save Maddy from her life. But what can he possibly do? The writing was gorgeous. I was able to feel the excitement with Maddy as it leached through the pages and into my heart.
The Flywheel - by Erin Gough
This is a cute girl meets girl romance that presents the struggles of finding oneself when everything seems to be going wrong. Delilah is having a rough time, her Dad has just disappeared for a holiday and left her running the family café while trying to pass school. She misjudged a crush on a girl at school and doesn’t know how she can show her face there again. How can she sort out all of her troubles without her Dad finding out (he has enough troubles of his own). I loved following the ups and downs with Del, though at some points I just wanted to reach through the book and give her a big hug.
Paper Towns - by John Green
Or anything by John Green for that matter! He’s a great writer who gets me invested with his believable characters. The characters in this story don’t always do what you think that they should but you can’t help but love them. Quentin (Q) has always loved Margo Roth Spiegelman, his quirky neighbour, but they have barely spoken since they started highschool. Until one night where Margo convinces Q to take her on a whirlwind adventure before she disappears. Now Q is determined to follow the clues to find out what happened to her. Fast-paced and mysterious, Paper Towns kept me wondering to the very end and even past that final full stop.
The Pause – by John Larkin
This 2015 novel explores the devastating effects of teenage suicide. Declan has been struggling with something in his past that won’t stop haunting him. He had a seemingly perfect life right before he decided to end it all. As he stands on the train platform waiting to end it two versions of his life appear. In one version he jumps and sees the devastation of his family and friends and in the other he pauses. That one pause made a world of difference. But which version is real? Is either of them? This is another book that I couldn’t put down. I needed to find out if Declan was going to be okay. I loved this story, though it tore my heart apart multiple times. It was amazing and I would definitely recommend it.
Poison Study (Study #1) – by Maria V. Snyder
Okay so just warning you. I LOVE Maria V Snyder. I own almost every book that she has written (I have 13!) and I enjoy all of them. Poison Study is a story about a young woman named Yelena. She lives in a world where the rules are strong, everyone wears a uniform all of the time and magic is prohibited. Oh yeah, did I mention that she is also sentenced to death for murder? That is until she gets given a lifeline. She can escape death row and become the new poison taster for the Commander. Avoiding poison soon becomes the least of her troubles. She is being hunted for revenge, she is falling for her captor (Valek) and she is suddenly showing signs of magical talent. No plot synopsis that I can write would ever do this story justice! Just go out and read it for yourself you won’t regret it. I promise.
The Rosie Project - by Graeme Simsion
Ever wanted to experience falling in love through the eyes of someone who doesn’t know it is happening? Scientist, Don Tillman, creates a questionnaire to help him find the perfect partner as part of his Wife Project. He uses his knowledge of statistics and data to decide exactly what he needs in his future wife. He goes on many dates and completes his questionnaire, strangely none of these women seem to like the idea of the Wife Project. Then Don meets Rosie. Crazy, unstructured, illogical Rosie. She doesn’t fit any of his boxes, so why is he so interested in keeping her around? This is a great story about how love can find you in the most unexpected ways. And how it can’t be explained by science.
Zac and Mia – by A.J. Betts
If you want a happy book where nobody is sick and everybody is happy then turn around. Zac has cancer and spends a lot of his time at the hospital, away from family and friends, getting his treatment. The last person he expects to meet in his ward is the angry, feisty Mia. It begins with a knock on the wall to quiet her music and becomes a friendship that both of them desperately need. Follow the emotional rollercoaster that is this book and see the different sides of the effects of cancer. Can you get better by pretending it doesn’t exist? What is it worth living for if you are constantly sick? I felt like a got a tiny peek into the lives of Zac and Mia and had a chance to feel with them.
That's all I'm writing at the moment. There are so many more that I'll need to write about later! Please add your comments at the bottom telling me your favourite books this year. Because goodness knows that I need more to read!
I decided to create a list of (some of) my most recent favourite reads and title it as "The Summer Reading List". I hope you enjoy!
The Summer Reading List
Attachments - by Rainbow Rowell
This is a great story with an original, but cheesy, story line. Set in 1999, this story involves an email security monitor falling for a girl that he's never met. Do you believe in love before first sight? It was a great read. I love Rainbow Rowell. She keeps me guessing right until the very end and I never know how her stories will finish. The characters are flawed, but lovable and the plot had many unexpected twists and turns.
Eleanor and Park - by Rainbow Rowell
This was my first book by Rainbow Rowell and it completely took my breath away. I couldn't read another book for days because I was still living in the world of this book. I don't know if I can write a summary that will do this book justice. Set in 1986, Park (in his black shirts and headphones) meets Eleanor (with her chaotic family life) and it turns his life completely upside-down. This story is heart-warming and heart-wrenching at the same time. It is amazing.
Every day - by David Levitham
Every day A wakes up in a different body, in a different life. He has learned to just live through his days quietly, trying to go unnoticed. This is until he meets Rhiannon and everything changes. What can I say? It’s so interesting to fall in love with a character who is never the same again. Every day this character experiences the feelings and emotions of other human beings. It’s so interesting to see inside the mind of A, a being that has seen it all. The full spectrum of human emotions. This book made me think about what it means to be human and helped me to feel grateful for the experiences that I get every day.
Everything, Everything - by Nicola Yoon
The first book by Nicola Yoon and she already has me wanting more. This book has such a unique concept that I was hooked from the back cover. Maddy hasn't left her house in seventeen years. She has a rare disease called Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) and has been living inside her quarantined house her whole life. She wants to leave and travel the world but she won't last 48hours outside. Olly is the new boy next door and he is determined to save Maddy from her life. But what can he possibly do? The writing was gorgeous. I was able to feel the excitement with Maddy as it leached through the pages and into my heart.
The Flywheel - by Erin Gough
This is a cute girl meets girl romance that presents the struggles of finding oneself when everything seems to be going wrong. Delilah is having a rough time, her Dad has just disappeared for a holiday and left her running the family café while trying to pass school. She misjudged a crush on a girl at school and doesn’t know how she can show her face there again. How can she sort out all of her troubles without her Dad finding out (he has enough troubles of his own). I loved following the ups and downs with Del, though at some points I just wanted to reach through the book and give her a big hug.
Paper Towns - by John Green
Or anything by John Green for that matter! He’s a great writer who gets me invested with his believable characters. The characters in this story don’t always do what you think that they should but you can’t help but love them. Quentin (Q) has always loved Margo Roth Spiegelman, his quirky neighbour, but they have barely spoken since they started highschool. Until one night where Margo convinces Q to take her on a whirlwind adventure before she disappears. Now Q is determined to follow the clues to find out what happened to her. Fast-paced and mysterious, Paper Towns kept me wondering to the very end and even past that final full stop.
The Pause – by John Larkin
This 2015 novel explores the devastating effects of teenage suicide. Declan has been struggling with something in his past that won’t stop haunting him. He had a seemingly perfect life right before he decided to end it all. As he stands on the train platform waiting to end it two versions of his life appear. In one version he jumps and sees the devastation of his family and friends and in the other he pauses. That one pause made a world of difference. But which version is real? Is either of them? This is another book that I couldn’t put down. I needed to find out if Declan was going to be okay. I loved this story, though it tore my heart apart multiple times. It was amazing and I would definitely recommend it.
Poison Study (Study #1) – by Maria V. Snyder
Okay so just warning you. I LOVE Maria V Snyder. I own almost every book that she has written (I have 13!) and I enjoy all of them. Poison Study is a story about a young woman named Yelena. She lives in a world where the rules are strong, everyone wears a uniform all of the time and magic is prohibited. Oh yeah, did I mention that she is also sentenced to death for murder? That is until she gets given a lifeline. She can escape death row and become the new poison taster for the Commander. Avoiding poison soon becomes the least of her troubles. She is being hunted for revenge, she is falling for her captor (Valek) and she is suddenly showing signs of magical talent. No plot synopsis that I can write would ever do this story justice! Just go out and read it for yourself you won’t regret it. I promise.
The Rosie Project - by Graeme Simsion
Ever wanted to experience falling in love through the eyes of someone who doesn’t know it is happening? Scientist, Don Tillman, creates a questionnaire to help him find the perfect partner as part of his Wife Project. He uses his knowledge of statistics and data to decide exactly what he needs in his future wife. He goes on many dates and completes his questionnaire, strangely none of these women seem to like the idea of the Wife Project. Then Don meets Rosie. Crazy, unstructured, illogical Rosie. She doesn’t fit any of his boxes, so why is he so interested in keeping her around? This is a great story about how love can find you in the most unexpected ways. And how it can’t be explained by science.
Zac and Mia – by A.J. Betts
If you want a happy book where nobody is sick and everybody is happy then turn around. Zac has cancer and spends a lot of his time at the hospital, away from family and friends, getting his treatment. The last person he expects to meet in his ward is the angry, feisty Mia. It begins with a knock on the wall to quiet her music and becomes a friendship that both of them desperately need. Follow the emotional rollercoaster that is this book and see the different sides of the effects of cancer. Can you get better by pretending it doesn’t exist? What is it worth living for if you are constantly sick? I felt like a got a tiny peek into the lives of Zac and Mia and had a chance to feel with them.
That's all I'm writing at the moment. There are so many more that I'll need to write about later! Please add your comments at the bottom telling me your favourite books this year. Because goodness knows that I need more to read!