Summer Lovin’: Summer sun, reading’s begun!
By: Funfetti
When I’m feeling a little homesick for warm weather and sunshine, or seasonal disorder has really kicked in, there are a few books that always get me in the summer mood. Of course when I’m working forty hours of week and the summer still continues outside my window (how is that fair?), I need these books to remind me of all that I’m missing out on. It sounds depressing, but it actually makes me feel like I’m having a summer vacation of my own. So I’ve compiled a list with some of my top recommendations. Hopefully you’ll add one or 2 to your summer reading list!
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume: I don’t know about you but when I think about Judy Blume I think Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge - elementary school GENIUS. But Judy Blume has actually written two novels meant for the older crowd and one of them is an ultimate favorite of mine, so much that my paperback looks like it’s been through a war. Summer Sisters spans the friendship of two girls who couldn’t be more different. Vix is the shy, straight A-student and Caitlin is glamorous from a young age - the girl everyone wants to be friends with. So Vix is shocked the day that Caitlin befriends her, and ultimately invites Vix to spend the entire summer with her and her family in Martha’s Vineyard. This “escape” changes Vix forever, as her friendship with Caitlin grows and she begins to go back to MV every summer after that one. Soon there are older boys in the picture, marriages, divorces, and secrets while the girls continue to grow closer and farther apart at the same time. Powerful, addicting, and at times, heartbreaking, this novels asks the questions: Can a friendship survive when two people are going in completely different directions? Will whatever pulled together two people as kids hold up when everyone starts to grow up? (Picture source.)
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares: I remember resisting this series for a long time; I couldn’t wrap my head around four girls sharing a pair of pants. I just didn’t get it. But one day that green soft cover got the best of me, and I sped through the book so fast I barely came up for air. Four very different girls were basically destined to be friends. Before they were born, their pregnant moms all became friends at a pre-natal aerobics class. All the girls were born within a few weeks of one another, and this basically cemented their friendship for the past 16 years. This is the first summer they will be spending apart, and when one of them stumbles upon a “magical” pair of jeans in a thrift store that somehow fit all of them – they decide to send them to one another throughout the summer as a way to be closer. It sounds weird but it’s really sweet, and I love reading how each of their stories unravels. Ultimately, this book is about growing up, finding yourself, and the survival of friendship through all of that. (If you can’t get enough, there are three other books in this series + a 10-years later novel was just released last week.)
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The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks: Ignore the Miley Cyrus film for a minute. I’ve read almost all of Nicholas’ books (except 2) and I know how he loves to mix and match love and tragedy and romantic overtures. This is his first venture into the young adult world, and he freaking NAILS it (especially after a few yawners in the adult realm). Veronica is forced to spend the summer away from New York City, and instead with her dad and younger brother in North Carolina. Before her parents’ separation a few years before, Ronnie was a piano genius – taught by her dad – but since his “betrayal” and “escape” to the South – she hasn’t touched a key or talked to him at all. While being her angry teenager-y self, Ronnie manages to find love with a neighborhood boy destined for bigger things, but her reconciliation with her father is still the main love story. (A point the movie sorely missed.) I love the world that Nicholas creates in his novel; it feels much more complete than the settings of his other novels. It was a substantial world that I never wanted to leave, even when the going got tough. And while I’ve always been impressed by how well Nicholas can write a love story as a man, he has always convinced this reader that he is very in tune with the lives and thoughts of today’s teenager. A warning: carry tissues. (Picture source.)
Boy Crazy Stacey by Ann M. Martin: A blast from the past but a book that always makes me long for summer. The Pike Family asks Stacey and Mary Anne to accompany their large family to the Jersey Shore for a few weeks during the summer. First of all, Stacey and Mary Anne couldn’t be more different, the kids are semi-out of control, and Stacey, of course, falls in love with an older guy lifeguard. Drama! I think I always liked this particular book because the vacation spot reminded me of where I spent many summers as a kid. (Picture source.)
One Fat Summer by Robert Lipsyte: I think this was on one of my summer reading lists for middle school and it instantly became a favorite. I’m always a fan of a book where a main character goes through a major change, and this happens to Bobby – an overweight kid, spending his summer at a lake dealing with bullies, a tough boss, and a not-so nice dad. His best friend, Joanie, goes through her own transformation as well. The insecurities these teenagers face are very raw, and are at times, uncomfortable but as a reader, you hope against hope that they prevail. Great read. (Picture source.)
