It's summer, which means I have a little more spare time, which means I'm going to try to catch up on my book posts. I love being able to look back on these and see what I've read!
Tradition
If you are looking for a book that address sexual assault, especially in private schools, this was a great one. Jules, a senior, has broken up with her boyfriend at boarding school and is on the outs. But she is then sexually assaulted by him. No one believes her, because he was her ex.
Jamie is new to the school. He doesn't have the same financial background as the other students and is there on a hockey scholarship. He becomes a friend and ally to Jules during this time.
Here's what I loved: this book really explores some big themes about why guys get away with sexual assault and how others aid that by not stepping up. Plus, Jules and Jamie have no romantic interest. Jamie is just a guy doing the right thing and stepping up.
Quiver
Not a fan of this one. It's about two neighbor girls, one from a liberal family and one from a super conservative, quiver-full family. I felt like it just had very stereotypical characters. Plus, the quiver-full dad was abusive. Look, I'm not a fan of that movement, but I also don't think all of the men in that movement are abusive. I was worried that a teen reading this book with no other knowledge about that group would make some big assumptions.
That Night
This was an interesting book. It focus on the aftermath of a mass shooting, following the lives of two teens affected by a movie theater shooting in Queens. What I loved was that we got to actually see the fall out long term of a shooting. It wasn't my favorite book of the year, but it did offer a different view point.
Blackthorn Key: The Assassin's Curse
If you've got a middle grade reader who likes a mystery, these are great books! This is the third book in the Blackthorn Key series.
Christopher helped solve the murder of his master in the first book, fought the plague during the second book, and now he's back working to protect the King of France in this one. These books are set during the middle ages, full of mysterious Latin phrases (which I LOVE), are fast paced, and are full of historical facts.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
I listened to the audiobook of this, and it took me almost a year--not because I didn't like it! It isn't necessarily a kid friendly book, so I had to find time when Jack and Gil weren't around.
This book is about Eleanor, a quirky, almost child like character living along in London. Things change when she meets Raymond. He's funny and big hearted, and that helps break her out of her systematic life. But the ending was a total surprise.
I would definitely suggest this. I know it took me a while with the audiobook, but it was really fun to listen to it!
And the Ocean Was Our Sky
Oh goodness, I loved this book. It's short and beautiful. It's a retelling of Moby Dick from the whales' perspective, and it has the most amazing illustrations. It's also really accessible for most ages. I would give this to a 5th grader or an 80 year old and hope that both loved it!
The Summer of Jordi Perez
This was a delightful read! One thing I'm always searching for in diverse books is a book that's not focused on how hard the diversity is. Not that those books aren't important! But sometimes it's good for readers to experience a book with a main character of color who is just living life. A book where the characters get to have struggles just like every other character. Or in this case, a main character who is a lesbian who is interested in a girl but isn't struggling with also coming out. Does that make sense?
Abby is the main character, and she is so fun. Seriously, I wanted to be her friend. She's artsy and creative and funny. She's plus sized, and, even though she takes pictures of her fashion choices, she always keeps her face out of them (even though she runs a popular fashion blog!. But she starts dating Jordi, a photographer, who tries to push her toward showing her face to her blog followers. There's some tension there, but there's also just sweet relationships, both with Jordi and with some friends
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