If you’ve checked my blog in the last month, you may have noticed that my ‘Currently Reading’ section has been changing pretty frequently. Ever since graduating and coming home with all this free time, I’ve been reading like crazy. The last four years, I haven’t had the chance to sit down and read the way I did when I was in high school or even when I was on break. Now that I’m done with school, I haven’t been able to stop reading. I think it might be partly due to catching up with the books that I had piled up and mostly due to procrastinating my own writing. Whatever the reason, I’ve loved the lifestyle change. So, simply, here are seven books and what I thought about them.
This book cover is so pretty (that font, I’m swooning) that I had it sitting on the table in the sitting area of the bedroom of my apartment. It just looked good among the decor. The book is just as pretty on the inside as the outside. It’s a cute love story and premise of Lara Jean, through a kind of strange and, in her mind, traumatic turn of events, finding her first boyfriend. This kind of book is a perfect, light summer read, especially if you want to that young, first love kind of feeling. It’s set in Virginia, which I appreciate since going to college there. It was a little something extra understanding the references on a personal level.
What I loved most: the characters. They’re vivid and unique, each having a distinct personality, which—from experience—can be hard to achieve.
The second book in the trilogy, this book continues the story of Lara Jean and her new boyfriend (I won’t tell you who, don’t want to ruin it). This book is just as charming as the first. Luckily, I had all three books bought and ready to read because I’m not one who’s good at waiting. As soon as I finished the first one, I wanted to keep reading. In this, Lara Jean’s past (in the form of a boy) resurfaces in her present, complicating everything that she had become so comfortable with. I think I read this one in two days, it was that engaging.
What I loved most: the love triangle. I’m a sucker for a good love triangle.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. This is the last book of the trilogy set a year after the events of the previous. Fun fact: this was originally going to be just two books, but the author Jenny Han felt like she wasn’t done writing Lara Jean’s story and wrote another book. I’m glad that she did because after reading just two books, I wasn’t finished with Lara Jean either. This book was a little more frustrating than the last two but in a good way. It was the kind of frustrating that makes you talk to the characters after they’ve done something you don’t want them to do. This just came out last month so I won’t say much besides go read the trilogy.
What I loved most: the realness of growing up. And that she mentioned my college (Go Dukes!).
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how amazing this book is. It’s a movie, it’s a New York Times bestseller, everyone’s talking about it. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I can say that the book is so good and probably better (because the book is always better). I think I read this book in a day. It’s a quick read, but it’s engaging, funny, and has a lot of heart. I loved the characters and the story and had that weird achy feeling you get only after finishing a good book where you think (okay but what do I do now?). Nicola Yoon and this book inspire me because this is exactly what I want for my own books. This book was published in 2015, picked up for a movie in 2016, and premiered just last month, in 2017. That’s the path I want for my books.
What I loved most: the voice. It’s so unique in the way the story is told.
This is Nicola Yoon’s latest book and, I’ll be honest, I liked it, but I liked Everything, Everything more. This one, though, tells a story in a different way by pulling from not only the two perspectives of the main characters but also secondary and minor characters told through the perspective of the universe. I appreciate that view of story telling. The entire story also takes place in the span of a day (an incredible feat to stretch an entire book out that way). Also loved the ending. At first, I hated the resolution, I was mad and kind of in denial, but I kept reading and ended up loving it. There’s nothing like a good emotional roller coaster ride until the very end of the book.
What I loved most: the diverse main characters (we need more of those).
I started this book last year and only got a couple chapters in before I put it down, thinking that I didn’t like it. For months, it just sat in my room, unread with the page I left still marked. After reading the last five books, I decided to give this one another chance. And I’m glad I did because it turned into good summer read. It starts out with an attention grabbing event and I’m not sure why I thought that wasn’t enough to continue reading before. The rest of the book is dramatic in all the right places, frustrating in the best way, and has a great slow reveal of the characters’ past hardships.
What I loved most: an inside (albeit fictional) look on reality TV
This book has me torn. I love the premise: falling in love with your childhood celebrity crush (I mean, yes please. I’d be writing this next to Jesse McCartney). I love that the main character isn’t perfect (she doesn’t get into her dream pre-college program and now she’s struggling with her identity in art). I even love the plot of working on a movie set for the summer (dream job, right?). But even though it was cute, to me, it just kind of fell flat. I didn’t blow through it like I did the others on this list. I would read a few chapters and put it down instead of blowing through huge chunks at a time. But despite that feeling of flatness, I was still longing to read it and to know what happened. Though I may not be enthused, and it’s definitely not my favorite of the list, I still recommend picking it up because it is a cute summer read.
What I loved most: the attention to detail of movie making.
Click the books to shop them through Barnes & Noble and I’ll see you back here in seven more books. What are you reading this summer?
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