Friday, June 6, 2014

Amazing Reads: Summer reading recs

This is a totally different kind of Amazing Reads installment this week. One I might continue in a random rotation of things. Who knows? It's up in the air - whatever flows works or whatever works, flows? Something like that.

Anyway, I've decided that instead of giving you my annual (or at least I think it's been annual) list of what I'm PLANNING on reading this summer, I'd start with a list of books I am going to recommend that YOU read this summer.

And then next week I'll write up the never-ending list of those books I want to read one day and hope to get to during these next few months.

None of these books are books I have received for review and therefore this is not remotely a sponsored post in any way. All of these books have piqued my interest and so I bought myself a copy. By the way, there will be affiliate links throughout this post, should you be so inclined to head on over to Amazon immediately and make a purchase. Links will go to hard copies available for purchase on Amazon.

Are you ready? Stay with me for a while. You'll be glad you did!


fiction, books, reading, list, summer, beach reads, YA novel,

Have you not read this yet? I waited. A long time. And then finally I decided - okay - so it's THAT good? I'll read it. And it is. It's THAT good. It's categorized as a Young Adult book by many, but I think it's so much more than that. And I honestly didn't know much about it when I finally picked it up, so that helped and that's why I won't tell you too much here. But there is tragedy and loss in this story. And so many people are avoiding it because of that. Which I get, but at the same time? I would overlook. It's really well written and worth a read. Promise.



Another Young Adult book recommendation from me? I know - it's totally not my style - right? But this book was such an incredible read. It's touching, emotional, real and raw. It's a story from the perspective of a young boy whose life is nothing like yours or mine. It's the kind of book you'll want to hold onto so your kids can read it when they get older. I know that much because I'm holding onto my copy, for sure. It's something you have to read. Trust me.  



Perhaps this book was on everyone's list last summer. I don't know for sure because I didn't read it then. But I finally got to reading it and I really enjoyed it. It was a pretty hyped up book so while I was reading it I was kind of like, well, where's the good stuff? And then I realized I was already in the thick of it. It was a really good read. It's got some quirky characters and some you'll recognize and some you'll wish you didn't. It's a national bestseller for many reasons.  



I enjoyed this book. The story was made up of some incredible characters. Strong and well-defined. I found that the setting was beautiful, and that the voice of each character pulled me in. Some of it was confusing, a lot of back and forth, but I was able to get past that and look back at the book and find myself recommending it to friends and family. You know how you do that? People look for book suggestions and you find yourself going back to the same handful? That's how I remember this book. As one I'd recommend. And so here I am. Recommending it!  




An incredible book written by a thirteen-year-old boy with Autism. And when I say incredible, I truly mean it. This book comes from his mind. His inner self. He answers questions beyond what you might think he'd be capable of answering and tells us more about what it's like living with Autism than you'd ever imagine you'd be able to find out. I honestly don't have enough words to express what reading this book was like. Oddly enough, I first heard about it while watching Jon Stewart. Apparently the press he gave the book led to it topping the charts, and rightfully so. It's intriguing when you first consider it, but beyond that when you actually read it. So do. Read it. You'll never be the same once you do.

Okay, I'm going to wrap this up for now because if I don't I'll keep going and going and going. I might have to turn this into a series, or at the very least a two-parter. I hope you will look at some of these books, if not all. And I totally just noticed that all of the covers are blue. Blue is soothing and professional, right? Or something like that. * Looks down at myself and realizes I'm wearing a blue t-shirt. Hmmn. *

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read my suggestions. If you pick up any of these books do let me know what you think!

17 comments:

  1. Blue is a good color!

    I've picked up a book because of the cover color before. I'll try reading almost anything once.

    The Reason I Jump and Where'd You Go, Bernadette have both been on my reading list for months. I need to get to the library and reserve copies.

    Wonder is AMAZING. It is one of my daughter's favorites. She has read it several times this year.

    The Fault In Our Stars is great. But Looking For Alaska will always be the John Green book that owns my heart.

    I haven't heard of Beautiful Ruins, but I'm going to add it to my list, too, because you have good taste!

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  2. I loved the quirkiness of Bernadette. And I need to see Fault in Our Stars now! That last one sounds really good!

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  3. Just getting ready to read The Fault in Our Stars. Thank you for the recommendations!

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  4. We all have The Fault In Our Stars on our brains. Here is my midlife perspective of the book: http://www.themidlifeguru.com/fault-stars-john-green-whats-noise/

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  5. I was just looking for a few new books to add to my library list, so thanks! I also read TFIOS and loved it, but I just read Looking For Alaska (per Tracie's recommendation) and it rivals the other for space in my heart.

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  6. I read both Beautiful Ruins & Fault in our Stars last summer. Loved both. I started Where'd You Go Bernadette today on your recommendation. Loving it & flying thru!

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  7. Great list! And I've yet to read any of them. Good to know that I should bump them higher on my To Be Read list -- especially if they're perfect for summer!

    Hopped over from the Midlife Women group on Facebook. Great to find another woman blogging about books!

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  8. Great list! And I've yet to read any of them. Good to know that I should bump them higher on my To Be Read list -- especially if they're perfect for summer!

    Hopped over from the Midlife Women group on Facebook. Great to find another woman blogging about books!

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  9. these look great Andrea, thanks for the recommendations. I'm going to download a few of them for our cruise that is coming up in 27 days!!

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  10. Wonder and The Fault in the Stars are two of my favorite books! They may both be YA books but they are NOT just for kids. Also, while Fault has tragedy, it is also a great love story.

    I haven't read the others so thanks for the recommendation. I'm off to the library now!

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  11. I need to make summer reading list. I will look for these books in stores.

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  12. There are so many books out there it's great to get recommendations from real people :)

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  13. A few of those were on my hold list already :) I just put The Reason I Jump on my list, and I can't wait to read it!

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  14. What a great list. I have Fault in our stars as my 'next' book.. but I have to finish the divergent series first.

    Yes.. yes.. I'm always behind.

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  15. I didn't expect to like Bernadette, but I totally loved it. I've been avoiding your two YA picks for months because I don't want to cry.

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  16. Fabulous choices!! I read all five of those last year and highly recommend them. I had my 10yo read Wonder, too, so we could have a mini-book club meeting.

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  17. The only one I've read so far is the Fault in our Stars. It started out good but didn't live up to the hype for me. I need to check out these other books!

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