Summer Reading Adventure

I conquered the YA Bucaneers Summer Reading Challenge, which ran from mid-June to the end of August:


My YAB Summer Reading Challenge Books:

  • Biography or Memoir: WILD by Cheryl Strayed; SUMMER AT TIFFANY by Marjorie Hart
  • Non-YA: SECRET DAUGHTER by Shilpi Gowda Somaya; B IS FOR BETSY by Carolyn Haywood
  • Classic: REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier
  • Debut author: WISH YOU WERE ITALIAN by Kristin Rae; MY FAIRE LADY by Laura Wetterstein; WILL THE REAL PRINCE CHARMING PLEASE STAND UP? By Ella Martin
  • SUMMER in the title: SUMMER AT TIFFANY by Marjorie Hart; SUMMER OF MY GERMAN SOLDIER by Bette Greene
  • Published the year I was born: SUMMER OF MY GERMAN SOLDIER by Bette Greene
  • Male protagonist: TAKE ME ON by Katie McGarry
  • Freebie: THE MUSEUM OF INTANGIBLE THINGS by Wendy Wunder
  • Disliked as a kid: FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC by V.C. Andrews
  • Old favorite: FORGET YOU by Jennifer Echols
  • TBR a long time: ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER by Stephanie Perkins; REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier
  • Printz Award winner: WHY WE BROKE UP by Daniel Handler
  • Set at the beach: BIGGEST FLIRTS by Jennifer Echols; FORGET YOU by Jennifer Echols; GOODBYE, REBEL BLUE by Shelley Coriell
  • LGBT theme or main character: EVERYTHING LEADS TO YOU by Nina LaCour
  • Poetry or novel in verse: OUT OF THE DUST by Karen Hesse
I knew from the start that I wanted to try to read at least one book from every category, so it took some planning for some of the categories and for others, I read multiple books just because what I felt like reading fit into a certain box.

The challenge prompted me to read books I probably wouldn't have picked up otherwise, books that I've been meaning to read for a long time, books that were disappointing, books that are now favorites.

My favorite of all of these? WHY WE BROKE UP by Daniel Handler, a Printz honor book, which came as a bit of a surprise.

From Goodreads:
I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened.

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

I had two false starts on Printz books, novels with synopses that appealed to me but that didn't grab my interest quickly enough. But WHY WE BROKE UP - wow. It immediately sucked me in and kept me turning pages. After a while, I slowed down because I didn't want it to end. I dreaded the ending, but knew that it would be beautiful and true.

Since school let out May 30, I've read a total of 35 books. I can't remember the last time I read so many books in one summer.

What was your favorite read this summer?


Summer Reads - 2014

Conversion
Summer of My German Soldier
Out of the Dust
Everything Leads to You
Why We Broke Up
Isla and the Happily Ever After
House of Ivy & Sorrow
Take Me On
Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe
Rebecca
On the Fence
Secret Daughter
Summer at Tiffany
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
Goodbye, Rebel Blue
My Faire Lady
#scandal
Will the Real Prince Charming Please Stand Up?
To All the Boys I've Loved Before


Sara's favorite books »

Comments

  1. But the real question is: Do you still dislike Flowers in the Attic??? :)

    WHY WE BROKE UP is on my TBR-list, I might have to bump it closer to the top. The reading challenge was a blast!

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  2. Congratulations on completing he challenge! I couldn't quite do it myself but I read a couple on your list. I loved Wish You Were Italian - the setting was wonderful and the characters were youthful, which was refreshing. Open Road Summer was definitely one of my favourites too. However, my favourite summer reads were All Our Yesterday's, Landline, and I Am Pilgrim.

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  3. Well done on completing the challenge. I really like the premise of WHY WE BROKE UP I'll have to read it soon.

    The best book I read this summer was LITTLE LIES by Laine Moriarty, it's really good.

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