I’ve had a lot of time to read this summer, and it’s honestly been amazing! During the school year, I always get so caught up in school work and friends and taking care of myself and sleep (because I am not the one to be staying up till 4 am to finish a book or TV show) to read, so I make sure to take advantage of all the actual free time during the summer and actually read.

#1: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daugther by Erika L. Sanchez

3.5 Stars

This is the first book I read this summer! I took a YA creative writing class my spring semester, and Ms. Sanchez was the professor of the class! She’s a really sassy, interesting person, and I knew that if I got to meet and interact with a published author every week, I had to have her sign a copy of her debut book.

The book, centered around the life of Julia (pronounced the Spanish way, she’d like to have you know) begins with the funeral of her sister, Olga. Olga was their parent’s favorite daughter, while Julia is known as the troubled, disrespectful little sister. The story follows Julia dealing with grief, family drama, and self-discovery in the aftermath of her sister’s death.

Julia wasn’t my favorite character ever, as she was pretty abrasive and even rude at times. However, by the end of the book, she definitely grew as a person, and I began to understand her more. I learned a lot about Mexican culture from reading the book, which is always one of my favorite parts of reading, discovering new perspectives.

#2: Lady Renegades by Rachel Hawkins

4 stars

This is the third and final book in the Rebel Belle series. I started this series in the summer of 2015, and I loved it. The series follows Harper Price, an overachieving HS junior, whose life completely changes after she accidentally becomes a Paladin, which is basically a member of an ancient line of supercharged bodyguards. She finds out she must protect David Stark, her school’s head reporter and basically her nemesis. The drama of the book increases as she realizes David has some magical, future-telling powers of his own that could literally explode their little Southern town.

I didn’t love the last book (but keep in mind I read it 4 years after the rest of the series, yikes), but these books are really fun and entertaining, and the plotline was really unique. I’ve never read a fantasy book from the perspective of a sweet-tea-drinking Southern Belle. I loved all of the relationships and characters in this series, and I would definitely recommend if you’re wanting a bit of lighthearted fantasy adventure in your life.

#3: Cress (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer

5 stars

This was the third book in the Lunar Chronicles series, one of my absolute favorite series of all time. The whole series is loosely based around sci-fi retellings of fairytale classics. The series is set in a futuristic world where there is deadly plague called letumosis killing thousands around the world, and the Earth is in conflict with Luna, an advanced society of people with mind control powers living on the moon. Alright, the premise sounds kind of out there, but trust me, it’s absolutely amazing!

The first book in the series starts with Cinder (based on Cinderella), an orphaned cyborg mechanic living with her cruel stepmother and stepsisters in New Beijing in the Eastern Commonwealth (a futuristic country based on China). After one of her stepsisters contracts letumosis, she ends up meeting Prince Kai, and the plot thickens from there.

I actually re-read Cress because it is my favorite in the series. This book builds off of the story of Rapunzel, with the main character, Cress, being trapped by an evil a Lunar mistress on a satellite orbiting the moon. Cress was one of my favorite characters in this series because she’s this sweet little hacker genius. The book was such a nostalgic read, and I had a bunch of fun reading it. So, if you take away anything from this list, READ THIS SERIES! And hit me up when you do, so we can geek out over it together!

#4: More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth

5 stars

I’ve followed Elaine Welteroth’s career since around 2014 when I first started reading Teen Vogue, and I admire her so much! She was both the youngest and first black chief editor in her company’s history! Her personality, her drive, her intelligence, her faith (and don’t even get me started on her hair!) are all awe-inspiring.

More Than Enough is a memoir, so it follows Ms. Welteroth’s journey from little entrepreneur to the mogul she is today. I particularly loved the chapters on the uncertainties she faced in college, dealing with relationships and careers. If you enjoy reading the words and life stories of inspiring, hardworking people, I would definitely recommend this book!

#5: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

4 stars

This is the first book in the Shatter Me series, and it’s been out for quite a while. When I was asking around for some summer reads and someone recommended the series to me, I finally decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed!

The book is set in a dystopian world and follows 17-year-old Juliette, who has been imprisoned after accidentally killing a little boy. “Accidentally” meaning her touch is deadly, a problem she’s been dealing with her whole life. The government in this dystopian setting is called the Reestablishment, and the action begins after they decide to take Juliette out of jail to use as torture weapon.

I’ve read a bunch of dystopian novels, but I’ve never read one with a superpower premise, so it was definitely a fresh take for me. Tahereh Mafi’s writing style is beautiful and poetic, which makes the story even more interesting to read. The sixth and final book is being released next year, so I have plenty of catching up to do!

#6: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

4 stars

The movie for this book came out 2014, so that’s when everyone and their mama started reading Gillian Flynn. But I’m usually pretty late to popular required reading, so I’m reading it here in 2019. I also may have read the Wikipedia summary of the movie back in 2014, but I’ve been wanting to read something from Gillian Flynn for a while, so I figured why not read the book anyway. And books are usually different from the movie right?

Anyways, this plot was definitely worth the hype. It’s about Nick Dunne, whose wife, Amy, disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary. Nick is attractive and charismatic but aloof, so her disappearance gains national attention and becomes a case of “of course, the husband killed her”. But the police can’t find a body, so where is Amy?

The story switches between Nick’s perspective and Amy’s diary entries, and there is definitely a case of unreliable narrator here, as you wonder who is telling the complete truth.

The story was a bit slow at times, but the build-up was definitely worth the ending. The plot is also similar to A Simple Favor, the 2018 movie starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick. If you love psychological mysteries, I would definitely recommend this book if you haven’t given it a try yet.

#7: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

4 stars

All I can say about this book is awwww. It’s a YA romance classic, and I’ve heard so much about it that I decided to finally give it a try. The story is about Anna, whose narcissistic but well-meaning father decides to send her off to a boarding school in Paris. Though she is less than thrilled to be sent away from her family and friends for her senior year of high school, she soon meets a cool group of friends, including the charismatic Etienne St. Clair (who, of course, has a girlfriend). Throughout the school year, Anna learns to love Paris and becomes really close friends with St. Clair, which is tricky when she starts to have feelings for him.

The story as a whole was really cute, and the Paris setting was beautifully described. I felt like I was taking a tour through Paris along with Anna, which definitely fed my travel bug. If you’re looking for a well-crafted light-hearted romance, this is definitely the book for you!

#8: The Girls by Emma Cline

3 stars

This book, the author’s debut novel, got a lot of attention when it came out in 2016. When I saw it on the library shelves, I decided to give it a try. It is based on the infamous Manson Cult from the 60s.

The book starts with Evie, a 14-year-old girl who one day sees a group of free-spirited, poorly dressed girls running through the park. While at the convenience store, she meets the leader of these girls, Suzanne, and she becomes completely infatuated with her. Suzanne takes her to the ranch, headed by its inhabitants’ “spiritual” (but really just manipulative) leader Russell. The story follows Evie’s summer spent on and off the ranch as she deals with the aftermath of her parent’s divorce and lost friendship.

I was mostly interested in this book for its themes revolving around growing up as a girl, in a world where so much of our youth is spent trying to impress the opposite sex and just people in general with our appearance. The story itself was kind of slow at times, and the writing was also a bit too flowery for my tastes. However, I appreciated the book for its reflective and thought-provoking qualities.

And those are the books I’ve read this summer! I hope you consider picking up one of them to read!

Sincerely,

Lindsey

Hey! I’m Lindsey,

a computer science student at Princeton University.  Welcome to my blog! I wanted a space to capture my thoughts online about school, fashion, and anything else that might interest me in life. I hope you learn a little something while you’re here. Enjoy!