My Summer Reading Recommendations
Photo by Florencia Viadana on Unsplash
In case anyone is looking for some books to wind down the last weeks of summer, here’s what I’ve been reading. Heavy on the Middle Grade, since one of my current project is a MG and I wanted to get a diverse idea of voice, tone, plot and character to see where mine fits. So, if you’re also looking for some great fiction for your kids (about ages 8-11) I can recommend all of the below.
Plus, my adult fiction and nonfiction reads – and some fantastic compilations of newer books from LitHub and Buzzfeed’s YA recommendations for summer.
Let’s face it, you’re going to want to take the rest of the summer off to fit these in... or is it just me who wants to spend the rest of the summer reading all the other books I haven’t gotten to yet?
MG Fiction
When You Trap a Tiger – Tae Keller. I loved this story, about a Korean-American girl who moves with her mom and older sister to live with her grandmother, or halmoni. Will Lily succeed in returning the stories her halmoni stole from the tigers in time to save her? Will she find her voice, her courage, and her place in this new town? It perfectly blends Korean folklore with a tale of family, connection, friendship, magic, and love. Winner of the 2021 Newbery Medal.
The Elephant in the Room – Holly Goldberg Sloan. This heartwarming story follows, Sila, a Turkish-American girl whose mother is trapped back in Turkey, facing immigration woes. One day her father goes to fix the truck of a lonely but wealthy older man who ends up adopting a circus elephant. Sila and her friend Mateo, who is on the autism spectrum, spend the summer helping the man care for the elephant. This is one of those “quiet” stories focused on friendship, connection, and compassion – really lovely.
Gregor the Overlander – Suzanne Collins. First in a fantasy series about a boy who accidentally chases his baby sister through a grate into a secret world called the Underland, filled with odd humans who ride giant bats and battle giant rats with the dubious help of giant spiders and cockroaches (the cockroaches turn out to be good guys, by the way). Engaging and fast-paced, with a solid family story, and stands alone while setting up the series well.
Half a World Away - Cynthia Kadohata. Jaden was adopted from Romania into an American family, and to say he’s a troubled kid is putting it mildly. Now his family is traveling to Kazakhstan to adopt another kid – and Jaden wants no part of it. This book highlights the challenges of international adoption, both on the ground and at home, and also how the time in Kazakhstan helps Jaden learn to connect with his parents as well as other people, including his potential siblings. Told from a 1st-person POV, it puts you in Jaden’s shoes in an unsentimental way as he attempts to navigate his world and his relationships.
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp – Kathi Appelt. Lots of fun, with a great voice like someone telling a Southern fairy tale. This tells of two raccoon brothers, J’miah and Bingo, and their attempts to save the Sugar Man swamp from a gang of wild feral hogs, intertwined with the story of Chap Brayburn and his attempt to save his family’s café from the developer who wants to move down the swamp and create an alligator wrestling arena. Rollicking pace, lots of humor that combines a warm family story with ecological themes.
Nessie Quest – Melissa Savage. Ada Ru really, really wants to go to Disney World. Instead, her family spends the summer in Scotland, on the shores of Loch Ness. She becomes involved in the “Nessie Quest” - the search for the famous monster – and finds friends and adventure (and even a touch of age-appropriate romance) along the way. This hits a lot of good notes – strong voice, a likeable character who makes mistakes and learns from them, a theme of accepting others for who they are and keeping an open mind... the interesting thing is there’s not really an antagonist here. It’s more Ada Ru coming to terms with her situation, and seeing that her negativity is really her biggest nemesis.
Adult Fiction
Niccolo Rising – Dorothy Dunnett. Yep, more Dunnett. This is the first book in her House of Niccolo series. I read it when it first came out, and didn’t love the series nearly as much as the Lymond Chronicles. I’ve heard as a Dunnett fan you tend to prefer the series you start with. This takes place a century or so before The Lymond Chronicles, and the first book follows dyeworks apprentice Claes as he goes from seemingly happy-go-lucky buffoon to starting to become a force to be reckoned with in the worlds of commerce and spycraft. Like all Dunnett’s books, this is dense, and we only discover Claes slowly, as the other characters do. I’m much better at catching the details and nuance now, so I’m liking this better than I remembered, but it does take some work! Rewarded by an immersion into life in 15th-Century Europe.
Fugitive Colors – Lisa Barr. This novel, about a group of painters in WWII era France and Germany, is, frankly, a depressing read. Well, any stories of Nazi persecution are not exactly meant to be light reading. It follows one character in particular, a Jewish-American painter who escapes his Orthodox upbringing to paint first in France, then follow his newfound friends to Germany just as the Nazis are taking power. What would you do to save art? To save your friends? It takes on themes around the importance of artistic freedom, love, and truth, woven through a multi-decade tale of persecution and redemption. My one caveat is that sometimes the characters did stupid things for no other reason than the plot demanded it. Yes, they had “reasons” but after one blunder you would think they had learned? If nothing else, it highlights the difficulty for writers of writing believable obstacles and challenges for your characters.
Nonfiction:
Nom de Plume: A Secret History of Pseudonyms – Carmela Ciuraru. A fun and fascinating history of famous authors who chose to write pseudonymously, including the Bronte sisters, George Sand, Fernando Pessoa, Mark Twain, Isak Dinesen, and others. Explores who they really were, and why they chose to write under a pseudonym.
The Faraway Nearby - Rebecca Solnit. Part memoir, part rumination on life, connection, art, history, storytelling, the dislocation of travel... it’s a hard book to describe, since its essays weave so many strands together. Overall, it talks about the importance of story to our lives: the stories we tell about ourselves, our families and friends, our world. Lyrical and thought-provoking.
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment – Robert Wright. Takes some of the central tenets of Buddhism, sich as the concepts of “emptiness” and “no-self” and runs them through the lens of modern neuroscience, with a philosophical bent. The author is a practicing meditator and secular Buddhist, who goes deep with the subject. Best for people who already know Buddhist thought and philosophy well – definitely not an introduction! In fact, I’ll have to reread this to really grasp some of the concepts and how they connect. If you are interested in the intersection of these topics, however, this is excellent.
If you are looking for a broad range of newer books to check out, here are links to other summer book lists:
LitHub has compiled The Ultimate Summer 2022 Reading List – collated from a bunch of other recommended reading lists, according to how often they’ve shown up.
If you’re into YA, Buzzfeed has a list of 40 Highly Anticipated YA Books You’ll Want to Check Out this Summer, with lots of fun recommendations in romance, mystery, fantasy, and historical and contemporary fiction.
What have you been reading this summer? Let me know your recs in the comments!
