Favorite summer reads

I've made it to September! I just finished book #43 toward my goal of 60.  I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate with some highlights from the summer:

Memory of Light- Another homerun from Francisco Stork. He always packs a punch with the depth of his characters and the grittiness of their situations. This one is the story of Vicky, who attempted suicide but was saved by her cat and her nanny. In the mental ward of a hospital to recover, she meets 3 other teens who have various problems but are able to understand her in ways no one in her family does. Things get intense when each of her new friends has a close encounter with death and Vicky is the one who helps them. 

Circe- If you're a reader, you have probably heard of this one. Stories of Greek myths are always a favorite of mine and this one did not disappoint, even with the hype. It focuses on Circe, a minor goddess- daughter of Helios, the Titan sun god and a nymph. She is banished for experimenting with witchcraft but finds love on her own terms living on an uninhabited island. Her island was a minor stop for the hero Odysseus, but year he spent there left her with a son that would change the course of their futures.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe- This one's a modern classic and I finally got around to it because it is one of this year's picks for Battle of the Books. I don't know the right way to describe this story other than to say it just made me feel good. I loved the friendship between the two boys Ari and Dante who meet at the public pool one summer. Their friendship completely changes their lives, even though Dante moves away. Be warned- it is a tearjerker. 

Family of Liars- Prequel to We Were Liars. This novel focuses on 3 Sinclair sisters shortly after the youngest dies of drowning. One summer, when some boys stay with them on the island, another tragedy takes place that the girls cover up and take to their graves. 

All of Us Villains- Described to me as the Hunger Games competition with the magic of Harry Potter, I knew I would need to read this one. Seven families must send a representative into the Tournament to fight to the death. The winner gets exclusive control over high magic for the next 20 years. This year's tournament will be different- a book was just published revealing families' secrets and the ins and outs of the tournament. One girl, a tournament hopeful, thinks she knows how to end it all. 

Julie Murphy for the win!

I have loved Julie Murphy ever since I learned her first book was written during National Novel Writing Month. Amazing. This is about her latest story, If the Shoe Fits. 

I loved this story that is half Cinderella and half a season of the Bachelor. So our main character is named Cindy of course. She has just graduated from fashion school, where her specialty was shoes. She’s moved back home to California, with her stepmom, 2 stepsisters, and triplet toddlers who she’s agreed to nanny for over the summer while she figures out her next steps. Her stepmom-who’s not evil, by the way- is the producer behind the hit reality TV show Before Midnight. She’s mid-crisis when Cindy arrives because two contestants have just bailed days before they are set to begin filming. Cindy’s older stepsisters get recruited at the last minute to fill in. Then somehow Cindy also gets caught up in the action. Now, our heroine is not your typical TV show bachelorette. She’s a plus-size girl, and you know social media is not kind to anyone on those shows. But the chance to parade her shoes on national TV is too good to pass up for a girl with no job prospects. And word is the bachelor comes from a fashion mogul family. So the three girls embark on the journey with promises to keep their family connection to the show on the DL. Fast forward to meeting the bachelor. It’s none other than Cindy’s very own Prince Charming from the plane ride to California from New York. But how often do fairy tale endings happen in real life? Especially for overweight girls? What if one- or both- of her sisters fall in love with him too? And who will be the contestant that everyone loves to hate? This book is impossible to put down once you pick it up!

A Ballad Worth Singing

     It's been a while since I blogged about a book. It's been a while since we've heard from Suzanne Collins. It was worth the wait. In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, she goes back to the very early days of the Hunger Games- the tenth to be exact- during a time of postwar reconstruction for the Capitol. The protagonist is none other than Coriolanus Snow, who is now a student on the verge of graduating and attending university. He hopes he will receive a scholarship for his excellent grades and reputation. The family's status since the outbreak of the war has been tenuous. Losing his parents and their income had left Snow and his cousin Tigris penniless, with only the opulent penthouse left to disguise the losses. Living with their grandmother whose grasp on reality is faltering, all hopes have been pinned on Snow's future to save the family name. That's where the Games come in. The Capitol believes they will not last much longer if they cannot figure out a way to make them more interesting and less dreary. The students have been brought in to mentor the tributes, and Snow believes that winning is his chance to secure the scholarship he needs. Unfortunately, he is assigned a tribute from district 12, the girl no less, whose only talent seems to be singing. But his relationship with Lucy Gray will forever change the course of his life. Obviously, I don't want to spoil anything for HG fans, so I will just leave it there. 

    What makes this novel a standout is twofold: the complicated nature of Snow as a protagonist and the deeply philosophical analysis of war that he and the gamemakers continue throughout the story. It's rooted in the works of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau and reminded me of another classic science fiction story, Ender's Game. Don't pass this up as an attempt to make a little more money off of the trilogy- it's bound to bring in new fans and will give old ones a new look a the controversial issues the novel was criticized for. It's a daring and well done addition to the series. 

A couple of new booktalks!

Are you bored? I made a video of a couple of new booktalks for reading suggestions! The Cousins by Karen McManus and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. Check them out here: Mrs. Rockett's booktalks

Summer recommendation