Summer Reading

During the school year, hardly anybody has time for reading that isn’t directly mandated by an English teacher. During the summer, though, the opposite tends to be true. Whether you need a casual beach read or something more serious to occupy a plane ride or road trip, here are some recommendations (by genre) for stories you shouldn’t miss out on.

Science Fiction

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: This is the first installment of the Wayfarers books, a series that follows the crew of a run-down tunneling ship, making highways through space. This particular book follows the motley crew of humans and aliens, including a reptilian pilot, AI control system named Lovey, a pair of rambunctious human engineers, and the newest recruit: a seemingly naive human file clerk named Rosemary. Unlike most science fiction stories, which have dramatic plots and battles, this book focuses on character development, with the crew members each having distinct personalities and relationships. Rosemary and the crew travel together to different planets, completing jobs and making supply runs, and in the process reveal underlying themes of inclusion, war, and family.

Historical Fiction

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley: This is an easier read, considering it’s aimed at elementary and middle school students. It follows Ada, a ten-year-old girl who has been locked in her mother’s run-down London apartment for her whole life, as she sneaks out for the first time, to evacuate the city with the rest of the children at the beginning of World War Two. Born with a birth defect that means one of her feet is twisted to the point where she can’t walk, Ada has only just learned to walk. With her younger brother Jamie in tow, Ada escapes to a small rural town and the care of a surly woman named Susan, and although she’s insistent she doesn’t need anyone to take care of her, she slowly learns to trust again. This book covers heavy topics of abuse and war, but in a way that a ten-year-old could read. It has been one of my favorite books since elementary school.

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien: Part memoir, part fiction, this novel is a series of short stories detailing the fictionalized experiences of O’Brien and his fellow soldiers during the Vietnam War. The stories are from different periods in the war and time after and include asides from the character O’Brien, who is writing about his own experiences. Despite it being something I was forced to read for class, I ended up enjoying the story and actually caring about characters such as Kiowa, a Native American soldier who seemed to have a sense of morals and care for his fellow soldiers. Through numerous short snapshots of life in Vietnam, the book reveals larger themes of war, guilt, honor, and PTSD.

Thriller

Brother by Ania Ahlborn: Micheal’s adopted family lives in the middle of Appalachia, and on the surface seems like any other rural, fairly traditional family. They have some interesting habits, though, which include grand theft and taking any girl that catches their mother’s eye. Trying to break away, Micheal befriends a girl working at a record shop, but he can’t escape from the blood in his family. Pick any gruesome, thriller-esque topic that a book might mention, and this book has it - from murder and manipulation, to incest and rape. I’m not a huge thriller fan in general, but this story has been traumatizing enough that I haven’t been able to forget it.

The Chain by Adrian McKinty: In comparison to my other thriller recommendation, this book is much tamer. It follows a young mother, Rachel, whose daughter Kylie has been kidnapped. Her kidnapper, though, is another mother seeking the return of her own child. The general premise of “the chain” is simple - your child has been kidnapped, and the only way to get them back is to kidnap another child. Refuse and your child dies, contact the police and your child dies. There is no way to break the chain without risking not only your life but the life of your child as well. This book brings up interesting ideas of morality and how far parents are willing to go for their children as Rachel attempts to free her daughter.

Fantasy

Home is not a Country by Safia Elhillo: This is a novel in verse with some fantastical elements, following the experiences of Nima, a Muslim-American girl who feels like an outsider in all aspects of her life - too different to fit in, but not different enough to belong somewhere else. She fantasizes about who she could have been - Yasmeen, the other name her mother was considering naming her - and wishes for a different life entirely, clinging to an idealistic image of what could have been. But her fantasies aren’t just simple imagination, and her life is more fragile than she knows. This powerful story showcases what it's like to be different and the importance of understanding with gorgeous poetic language.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: This is one of the most confusing books I’ve ever read, but definitely worth it and short enough that you don’t spend too long languishing. The main character of the story isn’t sure of his own name, but he is called Piranesi. He lives in the House, an infinite series of halls filled with statues, streams, water, and little else. Outside of the House, there is nothing. Inside the House, there is only him, a scientist called the Other, and the birds. “Piranesi” loves the House, and lives to explore it. As he explores, though, his reality slowly starts to change, and Piranesi begins to speculate about the worlds beyond his own Halls. The book has a very powerful voice, narrated as a series of journal entries, and encourages deep questions about reality and identity.

Romance

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall: I’m not a big romance fan, but this book was refreshing in that it was, quite literally, something different. It follows the romance of two college students, each with their own friends and personalities, but instead of being narrated by the love interests themselves, it is told from the perspective of those around them. The main characters Lea and Gabe get along, but for whatever reason, their romance just isn’t working out, despite the fact that everyone around them is convinced it should. From the best friend to the bus driver, to the bench and the squirrel, the narrators urge the relationship forward, creating a thoroughly entertaining and light romance read.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven: Mental health meets romance meets good writing and characters, making an unforgettable story of love and loss. Violet and Finch meet on the ledge of the bell tower, and it is clear that at least one of them intends to die. Instead, they become unlikely friends, taking road trips around their state and learning to enjoy what’s around them. The story is understandably heavy, with several emotionally devastating moments in addition to happier interludes. 

Nonfiction

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates: Written as a series of letters from Coates to his son, this story outlines both the reality of life as a Black American as well as reflections on Coates’s own mistakes to help his son to learn from them. The novel speaks to the idea of the “Dream,” an ignorant, sheltered view of the ideal America free from racism. It calls for the reader to look past that illusion to see the darker truth beneath. In doing so, it forces you to confront the reality of racism and brutality, not just as another statistic or headline, but as a pain that people have to live through daily. 

Realistic Fiction

Far From the Tree by Robin Benway: Family is often a difficult concept to define, but for the main characters of this story, it is harder than most. The book follows three blood siblings all given up by the mother. When Grace, adopted at birth, gives her newborn baby up for adoption, she decides to find her blood siblings and arrange for them to meet. In doing so, she finds Maya, whose adopted family is full of cracks, and Joaquin, who was never adopted at all. Each character has plenty of reasons not to let anyone else in but slowly realizes that having someone to rely on might not be a bad thing. The story deals with themes of abuse, alcoholism, teen pregnancy, and the meaning of family, and does an amazing job of contrasting the characters’ personalities and struggles.

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