Summer Reading

To our delight, guest bloggers Maggie and Lynette are back with their picks for great reads for summer!  Grab a blanket, your sun block, and your big floppy hat and get ready to hit the sand with one of these great books!  Take it away, ladies:




Summer and reading go hand in hand. Whether you're forced into it à la high school English class or simply love reading on your own, summer is a fantastic time to crack open a good book. So settle down in a beach chair on a sunny day or on your couch when those thunderstorms are raring and pick up one of these reads! Whether you choose a post-apocalyptic novel or a classic story you haven't had a chance to read, these books are guaranteed to take you far away from your every day life.










The Passage - Justin Cronin
If you're going to read one book this summer, or this year even, make it The Passage. While its intimidating size (approximately 800 pages) has frightened some readers away, those who have taken on the challenge have not regretted it. The author himself describes the novel as a story about a girl who saves the world, but The Passage is much more than that. While readers discover early on that the world has ended due to a scientific experiment gone horribly awry, the way that Justin Cronin tells the tale of the destruction of our society creates an unbelievably gripping story you will be unable to put down. Suffice it to say that after I'd started this novel, I spent two days with the book either in my hands or sitting next to me while I waited to pick it back up again. Once you start this engrossing book, you simply won't be able to stop reading it!





A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness 

Harkness has created a beautifully diverse world where vampires, daemons, witches and humans coexist, despite humans remaining unaware of the existence of the other species. The novel's protagonist is an alchemical scholar writing an academic paper in Oxford before accidentally calling a book out of the stacks. Little does witch-born Diana know that this book has been missing for hundreds of years…or that all three of the supernatural species desire to possess it. A Discovery of Witches begins as a mystery revolving around a book and rapidly becomes a history of the magical world. Despite the obvious similarity between this book's main romantic story and the romance between Bella and Edward in the Twilight Saga, I enjoyed being a part of the world Harkness created.
One Day – David Nicholls
Are you a sucker for stories about friendship and love? What about tales that focus on friendship and love spanning the course of 20 years in what feels like the blink of an eye? David Nicholls’ One Day tells the story of Dexter and Em by touching base in their lives on July 15^th each year, giving you a glimpse into events that have passed and the large and small moments that comprise their lives. Dex and Em are both lovable and exacerbating, and their experiences ring true to how life (at least for this writer, and at least thus far) takes you to places you never expected and changes the opinions you so firmly believed in during your youth. That said, a warning—Nicholls’ shows no mercy when it comes to exposing his characters and readers to painful, traumatic events. Prepare yourself for some heart-wrenching moments.






**Even if you don’t read One Day, you can still see Dex and Em’s story on the big screen! It comes out soon and stars Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.**



Fated – S.G. Brown
The thing about Fated is that it’s awesome. (Read the book and you’ll get why this is funny.) In all seriousness, S.G. Brown’s Fated is a richly crafted tale about Fate’s role in modern society.  Known socially as Fabio, Fate is tired of his job and envious of Destiny’s, who guides humans on their paths to success whereas Fabio is tasked with helping the average Joe make it through the day. When Fabio falls for Sara, a human on Destiny’s path and strictly off limits, he finds himself breaking all the rules to be with her – and to improve the lives of his humans, who he stopped caring for hundreds of years ago – and consequently changes his own destiny. With excellent supporting characters and clever narration, this is definitely a fun summer read.



The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane – Katherine Howe
While I’m not a huge fan of novels that explore historical periods side by side with a more current narrative, I thought Howe did an exceptional job in Physick Book. Readers will meet Connie, a Harvard graduate student in the 1990s who is searching for the subject for her doctoral dissertation. While Connie looks for the subject that will guide her life for the next few years, she also begins the arduous task of cleaning and restoring her grandmother’s house near Salem. Yes, Connie’s search leads her to the life of seventeenth century witches in Salem. While that’s no surprise to anyone reading the novel, what I found surprising was how strongly I wanted to curl up in Connie’s grandmother’s library and sit in her favorite armchair. Definitely an enticing read, the Physick Book is a beautifully written historical mystery that also manages to force the reader into seeing the past in a new light.



Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
Time to change things up a bit and go with an oldie but a goodie. Written more than 25 years ago by Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game is a science fiction masterpiece that still enthralls new fans each year. Andrew Wiggen, known as Ender because he is the embarrassing third child in a society where having two children is the acceptable norm, is an exceptionally bright and gifted young boy plucked from his home by an organization whose sole focus is protecting the human race from extinction. Why? Because Ender is Earth’s greatest hope against the Buggers, an alien race that has nearly destroyed humanity twice. Ender is sent to the Battle School, where he is tested beyond all others to prepare him for his destiny. The biggest question you must ask yourself when you read Ender’s Game is this: will they break Ender’s brilliancy and compassion for others… or will he save the world? Trust me when I say you want to find out the answer. 




XOXO,
Maggie & Lynette
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Great Reads in Teen Fiction

As "Eclipse" week comes to a close and the initial excitement has wained, we figured we would remind our readers that there are plenty of things to fill the time until "Breaking Dawn" is released. We love "Eclipse" and the Twilight Saga... but at this point we're sure many of you have probably already finished the series in it's entirety, including Breaking Dawn and also the newest novella The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner.  Now until Ms. Meyers comes out with some new things, we've got to keep ourselves busy and explore some other options.  But, let's get serious here -- will we continue to subject ourselves to more and more teen novels even though we're halfway into our twenties? You bet! With so many similar books out there, we've got to wonder, is there anything that can compare to the excitement that Twilight brought us?  Luckily, there is!  Here are a few easy reads in the area of Teen Fiction/Fantasy that we think are perfectly acceptable and engaging for young adults and the young at heart.







Craving some more Meyer?  Then "The Host" is the perfect one to start with.  Although technically categorized as Sci-Fi, it is certainly as addicting and enthralling as Twilight but without the teeny bopper overtones.  This is a more adult book in general in terms of the theme and writing, but still involves the love triangles that we so adore in a good romance.  We went into this book quite skeptical and came out extremely pleased with it.  We don't want to give too much away with this one; you really need to read it for yourselves! We promise you will not be disappointed!








The Vampire Diaries, now a hit TV show on the CW, is probably your best bet if you are seeking another dangerous and seductive vampire romance.  Elena Gilbert is the main character of these novels, by L.J. Smith,  and in this story she quickly gets wrapped up in a love triangle with the handsome and irresistibly charming vampire brothers, Stephen and Damon.  The twist: Elena is a dead ringer for Stephen's first love and now the boys are fighting to win her love.  Many people might be upset with us for saying this, but we think these books are on par with, if not better than, Twilight because they have a stronger, more alluring plot and much more well developed characters.







"The Hunger Games" will quickly pull you into it's post apocalyptic world of politics and corruption in which working families starve while the rich just get richer.  In this book, children are chosen at random to fight, to the death, in a ring where people watch from home much like a reality TV show. The clever reader will notice that this story bares a striking resemblance to "Battle Royale," a controversial Japanese film released in Japan (currently not distributed in the US), but as the plot progresses, the book develops into a unique and entertaining piece of fiction.  It focuses on the main character, Katniss, and her relationships with her family back home, her allies and romance in the games, and her struggle to survive not only for the sake of living, but to ensure that she wins and is able to feed and provide for her family back home.  It's an emotional, thought provoking, adventure that we're certain you won't be able to put down!







You wake up in a metal box that opens up inside a large area surrounded by big stone walls.  You have no memory of your life, except for your name, and have no idea how you got there or where exactly you are at all.  All you know is you are in the "Glade" and there are other boys there with you, all with a similar lack of memory.  You then come to find out that every day the stone walls open up into a maze and every night the stone walls close and the maze changes itself; no one has ever solved the maze and no one has gotten out. To make things more interesting, the next day a girl arrives, the first and only girl ever to arrive in "The Glade", and she has something mysterious written on her hand. Sound like something that might interest you?  Then, "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner is for you. While it does get off to a slow start, keep reading because the ending is certainly worth it. It is the perfect mix of adventure, action, and mystery that keeps you entertained and you'll be pleased to know this book is 1 or 3, so there are more to come.  






"Shiver", by Maggie Stiefvater, is the only one of these that neither of us have read yet.  We put it on here because of the fabulous reviews it has received from our most trusted friends, and also because it has been on our "to read asap" list for months.  Anyway, the synopsis: Grace, one of the main characters, is obsessed with the wolves that live behind her house and one wolf in particular, the one with the yellow eyes, is obsessed with her right back. Sam lives two lives, one as a wolf and one as a human...but the longer he spends as a wolf, the harder it is for him to go back to human form until one day he won't be able to change back at all.  The story, told from the alternating perspectives of the two characters, deals with the relationship, romance, and struggle of the characters as they fall in love and fight to stay together.  How does this not sound like a captivating story?  Plus..it's a series!  Woohoo!






And, finally, there's "Beautiful Creatures" - co-written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.  This book features Ethan, a high school aged boy, as the main character (weird..right?).  Ethan's life is pretty normal, until he starts having recurring dreams of a girl that he has never met before.  Then, one day, Lena arrives in town and Ethan realizes that she and the girl from his dreams are one in the same.  He also learns that she has seen him in her dreams as well and for some reason there is a very strange connection between them that leads him to wonder if his dreams are really dreams or visions of a past life.  As they work together to uncover the mystery behind their dreams, Ethan discovers things about Lena and her family's dark curse that threaten to ruin their relationship for good. For those of you tired of the whole vampire fiction category, "Beautiful Creatures" offers a  refreshing and uniquely told story that pays homage to the witchcraft, curses, and magic that was so popular back in the mid 1990's. 









XOXO
Jen & Saira
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