Summer Reading, Part 1

Summer reading suggestions for kids of all ages by Jo Walton (via Shelf Awareness)

This article caught my eye since the suggestions came from Abu Dhabi and I used to have family there. The suggested reading is standard but solid.




On the YALSA blog you can find information about their Sync Audiobook giveaway. It's two books a week through August 1st. This weeks books are LITTLE BROTHER by Cory Doctorow and THE TRIAL by Franz Kafka.

Until midnight Greenwich Mean Time you can download an abridged version of Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. It's read by the fabulous Derek Jacobi, so I highly recommend dropping by AudioGO to get your copy.



Open Road Media is having a sale on 50 titles through July 12th. Open Road Media does ebook originals, ebook versions of print books by independent publishers, and ebook editions of out-of-print works. Some titles of interest to younger readers are COUSINS by Virginia Hamilton and two Boxcar Children collections.

Books of Summer 7/7

NEVER CRY WEREWOLF by Heather Davis



Summer's finally closing, but there are a few summery books still coming out, like this recent offering from debut author Heather Davis. Shelby's at camp, but that's a bad thing. Her stepmother finally convinced her dad to ship her off to "brat camp." And if Shelby slips up, she's going to be moved to the kind of camp you see on the news, the management being arrested for abuse. I never do grasp why the father is willing to give in, given the terrible things you hear about brat camps, but he does.

Of course, it turns out the counselors are the least of Shelby's problems. Austin Bridges III may be super hot, but he's got a family secret and the full moon is coming. If Shelby helps him out, she'll suffer the consequences.

NEVER CRY WEREWOLF is a super-quick, light read. You might think it's too late for this summer, but save it for the next. Imagining the creepy woods will keep you cool on a hot day.

Books of Summer 6/7

SURF MULES by G. Neri

Summer's almost over, but the Books of Summer list is yet to be completed! Here's another hardcover for the list - one that's far better than it ought to be. I picked this one up expecting it to be so-so, an impression enforced by the prologue that recounts one of Logan and Z-boy's dumber exploits. But SURF MULES quickly becomes an emotional novel that will appeal to boys.

Logan's smart for a surfer, but it takes more than brains to go to college. And when his former best friend dies on the wave he spent his whole life wanting to ride, Logan is thrown for a loop. So when his other pal Z-boy hooks him up with the local drug dealer for an easy job, he takes it. And of course, things go terrible wrong.

(Everything I know about drug muling I learned from this book and Maria eres llena de gracia, neither of which make it an attractive job despite explaining very well why people would do it.)

SURF MULES combines comedy, adventure, and poignancy to create a book that is far less silly than it seems on the surface. Reading about Logan's last summer before college is a good way to cap off your own summer.

Books of Summer 5/7

Yes, I will finish this list, but there were other things I wanted to post first. (Did you enjoy a full week of reviews? There weren't very many comments, so I doubt I'll be repeating the experiment.)



HIGHWAY TO HELL by Rosemary Clement-Moore

So this one is a little less affordable and a little less wieldly than my previous choices, as it's only available in hardcover. I do know a lot of libraries carry the Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil series, and a library copy is a good way to tide yourself over until the paperback becomes available. (Or maybe you're a little weird and like hardcovers better.) This one is also about Spring Break rather than summer, but we'll give it a close enough.

For those who haven't read the first two books in the series, don't worry. The only overarching plot so far is the main characters getting better at using their abilities and furthering their relationships. The books standalone quite well. Protagonist Maggie Quinn is snarky and capable, as is her best friend Lisa. (And Lisa is quite ready to call any guy out if he tries to be their white knight.) They're stranded in small town Dulcina, Texas when all they wanted to do is hang out on South Padre Island. Once more, Maggie has stumbled upon something that goes bump in the night.

What really struck me about this entry in the series is Rosemary Clement-Moore's addition of two new characters: a Catholic bruja and a seminary student. She does an excellent job of representing and respecting the theology without making it right or wrong. She applies the same weight to Lisa's New Age and science based ideas of how good should fight evil. It would be silly for a series about good and evil, set mostly in the real world, to ignore real theology. But it's also not the place of a YA novel to tell people what to believe. So I like that Clement-Moore handles the subject carefully and always puts telling the story first.

Funny, fresh, and fierce, HIGHWAY TO HELL will distract you from the boring parts of your own road trip. (And make you happy that the exciting parts don't include demons.)

Books of Summer 4/7

THE VAST FIELDS OF ORDINARY by Nick Burd

Like DUST OF 100 DOGS, this one is about the summer after graduation. Aside from that, no resemblence. Okay, there is one more: it rocks pretty hard. How hard? I gave away the ARC (which Robbie gave to me) and I'm going to buy it when it comes out in paperback.

Dade's a gay boy in a small town, and he's fed out with Pablo, who won't go public. (Even though everyone knows they're together - which Pablo's girlfriend does not appreciate. She's not nice, but her motivation is understandable.) But he starts to hang with a neighbor's niece who moves in and finds a new romantic interest, Alex, at the taco place. Dade's choices aren't always smart, but he's figuring out how to be comfortable with who he is. Pablo, on the other hand, is unhappy to be left behind.

The ending did not turn out how I expected, but it worked. And usually I dislike protagonists who drink and do drugs, but Nick Burd presented it well. This isn't an action packed book by any means, but it's a good examination of character. This one is perfect for a hot day best spent indoors.

Warning, since I'd want to be warned about this: you might cry a little, but it's not an overly sad ending.

Books of Summer 3/7

DUST OF 100 DOGS by A.S. King

Wow, these things are just getting more expensive. This one is a ten-dollar committment, but it's still paperback for easy carriage. You've probably already heard of this one, and while it does move back and forth in time, Saffron Adams is a girl heading to a Caribbean island after graduation. Definitely summery.

Long ago, pirate queen Emer Morrisey was cursed to live the life of 100 dogs. The book unfolds with both the story of how an Irish girl became a pirate queen, and how her new human incarnation plans to recover her treasure. There's also a dirty old man living on an island, near where the teenage Saffron must go. Some of the twists are pretty obvious, but A.S. King's strong writing disguises that fault.

DUST OF 100 DOGS blends things together, making it a good story for people who like historical, contemporary, romantic, and paranormal fiction. This one is great for a day where you don't have much to do, so that you can read the book in one sitting. You'll want to put the pieces of Emer and Saffron's lives together.

Books of Summer: 2/7

CRUEL SUMMER by Alyson Noel

Alyson Noel has hit it big with EVERMORE, the first in her Immortals series, but her previous books were not paranormal. And CRUEL SUMMER is a perfect for keeping you entertained in teh sun while you wait for your tan to develop. (Or, in my case, tuck yourself under man-made shade because your skin does not know the meaning of the word "tan.")

Colby's been out with the in crowd most of her life, but she's finally made it in. Of course, her summer of partying and developing a relationship with the hottest guy on school is put on hold when her parents ship her off to Greece to live with her aunt for the summer. Normally I'd hate Colby's whining about being sent to Greece, but Noel does a good job of preventing her point of view.

Of course, her point of view does change as she realizes she's in GREECE, and meets hot local Yannis. And as she continues contact with home through e-mail and a blog she comes to realize what makes a good friend.

Just a look at the perfect blue sky on the cover tells you what most of the book is going to be like. It's simple and predictable, but still fun and affecting. And if you don't get to it this summer, maybe it will brighten up your winter.

Books of Summer: 1/7

I came up with something to do: seven books of summer. These are books for summer, about people doing summery things, and convenient for summer.

Choice number one?

DEATH BY DENIM by Linda Gerber



Okay, so you should read DEATH BY BIKINI and DEATH BY LATTE first. It is a mystery series and this is the one that reveals the Mole's identity. In Paris!

But seriously, this series is cheap and pocket-sized. You can toss all three in most purses and have something to read in the bus/car/plane. And believe me, these books will make the trip far more exciting. (Especially if you're driving through Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. If you live in those states, please tell me what you do for fun.)

Back to the book: Aphra and her mom have escaped to France, but they're about to be separated after an unexpected death. And it seems that her path is about to cross Seth's again . . . perhaps my favorite touch was the return of a character from DEATH BY LATTE. I liked him in his brief previous appearance and really worried when he got hurt since he didn't have main character immunity.

Linda Gerber answers many questions in the third DEATH BY . . . novel, though I hold out hope the series will one day be continued. But with all the murders, spies, and explosions of DEATH BY DENIM, you'll definitely be distracted from the more boring parts of summer.

And if you finish the book before you reach your destination, you can play with the cover cutout.