My Really Late Summer Reading List

So, I moved from one city to another this summer.  Started a new job.  It's been busy.  But...here are the cool books I read this summer that I thought y'all might like.

Just a quick word about each one.

Maniac Magee - Can't believe I never read this one, but it was such a gem. A classic story with memorable characters.  One of those that you just have to read no matter when it happens.

Divergent - Beatrice lives in a future Chicago in which society is divided into factions.  She's in Abnegation but must decide when she's sixteen what faction she will align herself with.  Her choice could have serious consequences not only for her but also for all the people she loves and knows.  This was the first book/series that I thought came close to The Hunger Games.  I really loved this book.  Couldn't put it down.  Loved the characters and just the questions it brought up about people/their personalities.




Insurgent - Sequel to Divergent.  A must read if you like the first one.  I am, of course, just sad I've got to wait until the final book comes out.








The Name of the Star - I love, love, love anything by Maureen Johnson.  She's a smart, cooky, cool writer.  This book is different from her others.  It follows Rory, who's going to boarding school in London.  She's from Louisiana, so it's a huge culture shift.  But, she's game.  She meets people at school.  What's interesting here, though, is that London has a lot of history....not all of it great.  Someone has been recreating the Jack the Ripper murders from the past.  This book is boarding school fun meets London ghost hunting.  Super, fantastic fun!!!



Where Things Come Back - An award winning book and definitely worthy.  I loved this book because it is written from two totally different points of view.  The two narrators aren't even a part of each other's story...until they are.  I remember thinking...how is this all going to connect, and when it did....I was floored.  It was a really good, gritty book.  Check it out.






Out of My Mind - An easy read, but a really moving book.  This book is from the point of view of a girl with cerebral palsy.  She can't move or talk, but there's so much happening inside her mind.  You get a front row seat at she works through all these challenges at school.  A good read to remind you to walk in another person's shoes so that you can understand new perspectives about the world and how you treat and view people.

Anya's Ghost - I've been  trying to read more graphic novels.  This one was great!  I really, really loved it.  Anya is having issues with friends and school and just everything like every other kid in the world.  Her family's Russian and she deals with that, too.  Anyway, she ends up falling into a well and there is a skeleton down there!!!  She ends up talking to the ghost who belongs to the bones.  At first it's actually kind of cool, but then it begins getting weird....A fun high school, annoying ghost, be who you are story.