I don't know if I was channeling my inner student this past month or if I was just nostalgic for those Summer Reading Lists because I found myself reading a lot of Contemporary Young Adult novels, a genre I rarely read. But I tell you, the Standouts below should be - if they aren't already - on school reading lists everywhere.
Books Read in August: 11
Total Books Read in 2013: 63
Standouts:
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick - this is an uncomfortable and unsettling book to read. It pulls us and pushes us to places we don't really want to go, but we will because we want to know what happens. My heart hurt for pretty much every character in it. An excellent read.
*****
Right Behind You by Gail Giles - another difficult, emotional read but it feels less raw, less gritty than the one mentioned above. It is so well done that I made a note of the author so I can hunt down more of her work. And because I was just so blown away by the brief summary of the novel, I'm sharing it right here:
When he was nine, Kip set another child on fire. Now, after years in a juvenile ward, he is ready for a fresh start. But the ghosts of his past soon demand justice, and he must reveal his painful secret. How can Kip tell anyone that he really is--or was--a murderer? (Goodreads)
*****
Thousand Words and Bitter End by Jennifer Brown - these are two books I wish every teenager - not just the girls! - would read. Thousand Words is about "sexting" and Bitter End is about teen dating abuse, but both novels are really about choices and decisions - good and bad - and taking responsibility.
*****
Have you read any of the Standouts? Will you add any of them to your To Read list? How did your summer reading go? Read anything fantastic? Read something that disappointed you?
