Hey guys! We are half way through summer, and by now you might have already read through your summer reading list. So I have six recommendations, two of which are series, to add to your list. For me, the perfect summer book is easy to read, has a compelling story line that makes me want to binge-read and a little bit of romance. I want to preface that if you are looking for serious, thought-provoking books, this isn’t really the list for you (except maybe the last one). Most of these are light and fun, but I did try to put some variety in the list. Anyways, my recommendations:
Classic Beach Read – Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
This is a classic beach read in the sense that it’s a YA chick-flick kind of book. The story is about a girl named Anna who moves from the US to attend a boarding school in France. She (of course) develops a friendship/crush on a British boy, and the rom-com ensues. The story is easy to read and quite absorbing, but the French boarding school element adds some variety. I was able to learn a little bit about Paris and France, so it added something to being just a simple novel. Now this book isn’t for everyone, but it is totally cheesy and can be a little much sometime, but sometimes that’s just what I’m looking for.
Classic Beach Read x 3 – To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series by Jenny Han
If you want to read a full review of this series, check out my blog post about it! This series is perfect for summer because it’s simple and easy to read. It’s cheesy, with tons of those moments that give you second hand embarrassment. But the scenes with Peter K are just so cute and worth it. I read through this novels pretty quick, and now I’m excited to watch the movie!
The Bachelor Meets Hunger Games – The Selection series by Kiera Cass
This series was my summer read for a couple of summers. I read the books as they came out, so it was a new book in the series each summer. I just associate these books with summer for some reason! Anyways, the series is about a future with a caste system (similar to Hunger games). A bunch of girls compete to win the prince’s love and become a princess (Bachelor). This book is just super fun to read. There are so many twists and turns, but also just some petty girl drama as well. The series does have some political commentary, but it’s pretty obvious and surface level. The plot line is just so unlike other YA novels that I had a lot of fun reading it.
YA Contemporary with a Twist – Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
This is different that your average YA novel because the main character, Samantha, has OCD. It has the foundation of your average novel with the high school drama and the romance, but it also tackles many important issues with mental health and illness. I found this book addicting because I wanted to read more about the romance but I also wanted to learn more about Samantha and how she deals with her OCD. This novel also has a wild plot twist near the end, so this novel is truely a roller-coaster ride.
Groundhog Day meets Mean Girls but darker – Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
The movie doesn’t do this book justice. Like it was good, but there is so much more depth in the novel. The novel follows the story of Sam, bitchy mean girl who dies on February 12 and relives the day multiple times. Sam is such a well developed character – you like her and you hate her at the same time. I was extremely absorbed into the plot line, I kept on wanting to know what Sam would do when she woke up again. This story is so interesting and so unlike anything else I’ve read. I read this novel back in high school, and I still sometimes think about passages in the novel. It’s thought-provoking, and that ending. Man I cried. Just read the book and don’t watch the movie.
An Addictive ‘What If’ – Every Day by David Levithan
This book makes you think without going too deep. The story follows ‘A’ who wakes up every day in a new body – male and female but always the same age. ‘A’ falls in love with a girl named Rhiannon, and they try to make their relationship work amist ‘A’ interesting circumstances. This is a novel where I actually find the romance to be some of the least interesting part. I was always curious to see what body ‘A’ will wake up in. But what I like most about this novel is the philosophical debates that Levithan brings forward to the reader. The book discusses gender, disability, and mental health. It also discusses being a bystander and when to step in. I often found myself sitting and thinking about aspects of this novel. Yes there are some technical plot holes (you never really understand how A is the way it is) but I was so addictive to this novel. The writing is simple and something you will just speed through.
And those are my six summer reads recommendations! Let me know if you guys liked this type of post, I can do other ones like historical-fiction or series or even my all time fave books!
xoxo
Lea
Leave it to Lea 