fun

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

the unexpected everything

Andie’s summer is all planned out – she’s going to avoid her congressman father, throw herself into a prestigious medical internship, and maybe spend some time with her group of friends. But, when a political scandal hits her father’s office, all of her plans go out the window. With her dad taking a leave from his office, he’s around all the time, and that prestigious internship disappears in the wake of the scandal.

On a whim, Andie responds to an employment ad… only to find herself unexpectedly employed as a dog walker for the summer. It’s in this unexpected development that she meets a totally swoon-worthy guy, gets to spend a whole lot of time with her friends, and comes to an understanding with her dad.

The Unexpected Everything is another super cute Morgan Matson story with incredibly well written, believable characters I’d like to hang out with. Plus, there are emojis in the text, and they’re so much fun. Definitely check this one out! ❤️

Holding Court by K.C. Held

After kind of a crazy day at school and a long evening of running errands with two kids in tow, I came home to this amazing package from Entangled Teen:

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In case you can’t tell from the picture, that’s actual magnetic poetry (magnetic “prophecy” for the sake of the book), and I was ridiculously excited by this. I started reading immediately and couldn’t have been happier with what I found within those pages.

Because it’s a unique premise, let’s start with the official blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Jules Verity knows exactly what’s in store at her new job at castle-turned-dinner-theater Tudor Times. Some extra cash, wearing a fancy-pants dress, and plenty of time to secretly drool over the ever-so-tasty–and completely unavailable–Grayson Chandler. Except that it’s not quite what she imagined.
For one, the costume Jules has to wear is awful. Then there’s the dead body she finds that just kind of…well, disappears. Oh, and there’s the small issue of Jules and her episodes of what her best friend calls “Psychic Tourette’s Syndrome”–spontaneous and uncontrollable outbursts of seemingly absurd prophecies.
The only bright side? This whole dead body thing seems to have gotten Grayson’s attention. Except that the more Jules investigates, the more she discovers that Grayson’s interest might not be as courtly as she thought. In fact, it’s starting to look suspicious…

Now, a YA romantic comedy mystery? Count. Me. In.

The protagonist, Jules, is a fascinating, lovable, honest, and quirky character that I just couldn’t get enough of. Her seemingly random psychic blurting made me LOL more than once, and her love of Grayson Chandler’s abs created plenty of adorably awkward teenage crush moments.

I don’t remember reading anything with a premise quite like this before, but it reminded me of a fun, younger version of Psych, which was one of my favorite shows when it was on. The dead body finding and mystery solving kept the story moving at a good pace, along with the hope that Grayson and Jules would actually get together.

Holding Court is pleasantly clean, too – a few little cuss words, but nothing major, and an appreciation of Grayson in Tudor tights and a flowy shirt, but no actual sexual situations. I’m 100% comfortable with putting this in my school library, which is awesome.

I really, really look forward to more from K.C., and I’d love to see Jules (and her family and friends and, of course, Grayson) in a few more books. Definite series potential! Find it here on Amazon or at your favorite bookstore!

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

love and gelato

I have all the love in the world for well-written YA books involving an American teen travelling to a place I’d love to go, and Love & Gelato absolutely did NOT disappoint.

When Lina’s mom dies as a result of a quick-moving cancer, she feels obligated to fulfill one of her mom’s final wishes: that Lina would go to Italy and spend some time getting to know the country and the man who Lina has been told is her father, though she’s never actually met him. Obviously, because she’s grieving her mom’s death and in a foreign country and surrounded by people she doesn’t really know, there’s a huge adjustment period for Lina.

But, of course, Italy works its magic (the architecture, the pizza, and the gelato) and Lina meets a cute foreign boy, Ren, and his group of friends that she starts to explore the country with. She’s also given a journal that belonged to her mom while she studied abroad in Italy, and as she gets into it she realizes it’s the story of her mom and dad’s romance. With the help of Ren, she tracks down and finds answers for the mysteries contained in her mom’s journal, including the truth about her dad.

Lina finds love and adventure along the way, and the story is really just beautiful. It also left me really, really wanting to go to Italy… But I had to settle for making some Italian food. Love & Gelato comes out next week, so make sure you check it out! Find it here on Amazon or at your favorite bookstore.

Tone Deaf by Olivia Rivers

tone deaf

For this one, let me start with the official blurb:

Ali Collins was a child prodigy destined to become one of the greatest musicians of the twenty-first century—until she was diagnosed with a life-changing brain tumor. Now, at seventeen, Ali lives in a soundless world where she gets by with American Sign Language and lip-reading. She’s a constant disappointment to her father, a retired cop fighting his own demons, and the bruises are getting harder to hide.

When Ali accidentally wins a backstage tour with the chart-topping band Tone Deaf, she’s swept back into the world of music. Jace Beckett, the nineteen-year-old lead singer of the band, has a reputation. He’s a jerk and a player, and Ali wants nothing to do with him. But there’s more to Jace than the tabloids let on. When Jace notices Ali’s bruises and offers to help her escape to New York, Ali can’t turn down the chance at freedom and a fresh start. Soon she’s traveling cross-country, hidden away in Jace’s RV as the band finishes their nationwide tour. With the help of Jace, Ali sets out to reboot her life and rediscover the music she once loved.

I can’t say that I’ve ever read anything quite like this before, and I loved it. Ali and Jace and their experiences both with music and the Deaf culture were absolutely fascinating. I loved their connection with each other through music, even though Ali couldn’t technically hear Jace’s music.

I also love that Ali is a great, strong, smart protagonist. Despite not having much in common with her life situations, I immediately identified with her as a reader and couldn’t help but cheer for her all the way through. I’m also a fan of how skillfully Rivers brought in the topic of abuse and how beautifully it was woven into the story.

All in all, this book is highly recommended! CHeck it out here on Amazon or at your favorite bookseller.

Jesse’s Girl by Miranda Kenneally

jesses girl

 

Miranda Kenneally’s Hundred Oaks series is one of my favorites. It’s full of strong, intelligent, admirable female protagonists and exciting, rewarding, and well-paced plots. There’s not a single one that I haven’t liked. I love that all of the stories are set in the same town, too, so that we see some of the characters from previous books, allowing us to check in on old friends. There are currently six published, with the 7th coming out this summer (side note: while I think it would work best if read in order, each book is its own stand alone story, so you can read them out of order).

While I have liked them all, I can say that Jesse’s Girl, the 6th book in the series, is my absolute favorite of them all (probably because my love of stories involving normal people/famous people romance is real). It’s a slight departure in that the main character isn’t sporty, but it’s classic Hundred Oaks in every other way. In Jesse’s Girl, we get the story of Maya and Jesse. Maya’s a 17 year-old in high school, and when she says she wants to be a rock star when she grows up she’s assigned to Jesse, Nashville’s current teen music heartthrob, for a career shadow day.

Maya and Jesse both agree to this shadow day, but neither one of them are real excited about it. As they spend time together, though, they see the potential for a friendship and more. Jesse helps Maya step out of a bad music situation she’s been in and embrace a more positive future in music, and she soars. This is a surprisingly realistic and very well written story despite the improbability of this situation actually happening.

Because of some content, I’d recommend Jesse’s Girl (and the rest of the Hundred Oaks books) for 9th grade and up. Click here to find it on Amazon, or look or it at your favorite bookseller!

Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

emmy and oliver

I laughed, I cried, I swooned (a lot), and I totally ignored my students the morning after I started reading Emmy & Oliver because I couldn’t wait to finish reading.

The storyline was intriguing, but I think what I loved most about Emmy & Oliver was the incredible quality of the characters. Emmy and Oliver were great, in fact I’d go so far as to say that I think Emmy’s one of the best protagonists I’ve ever read, and their cast of supporting characters was awesome.

Emmy & Oliver would make a great choice for any summer reading situation, whether it be a day at the beach or a day spent curled up in bed. Go check it out Emmy & Oliver. And, on a side note, Robin Fenway’s other titles are different in style and genre but are also fun reads, if you find that you like this title and want more from the same author!

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

serafina and the black cloak

 

With all the hype leading up to the release of Serafina and the Black Cloak, it’s pretty clear that Disney’s looking to discover and be a part of the next big book franchise. I think they may just have found it.

Well-written and intriguing, Serafina and the Black Cloak feels like something wonderfully familiar and new all at once. In the vein of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, Beatty has written the beginning of a great hero journey series for middle schoolers, but with one major difference… The hero is a girl. And, not just any girl, but a truly unique one for reasons that I won’t tell because it’ll spoil parts of the book for you. Throughout the book, Serafina goes through the process of questioning who she is and what her purpose is, and she comes out on the other side of it as an admirable and strong young woman. Set during the time of the Vanderbilt family and the Biltmore House in the mountains of North Carolina, historical and factual details are woven into the narrative seamlessly, which creates a fascinating delve into historical fiction for middle grades readers. The supporting cast of characters are remarkable, too; they include the Vanderbilt family, a wide variety of people who have come to stay as guests in their home, and the large staff that kept a place like the Biltmore House running.

There’s a battle between good and evil here, and good wins out just as we’d expect in an MG title, but it’s done in a fresh way and comes across as something different. The book never really fully delves into witchcraft (portrayed as evil) or paranormal stuff, but there are touches of it that make the story mysterious and a little spooky. When the evil force driving the antagonist is finally defeated, it’s with something clearly good, which makes me comfortable with recommending this for school reading for grades 4 and up.

Serafina and the Black Cloak comes out on July 14th, and it should be everywhere when it comes out… But, click here to see it on Amazon (where it’s already listed as a #1 New Release) if you’d like to preorder it, or check with your favorite local bookseller to order it.

Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout

hello i love you

 

I loved this. And, since there’s so much going on in it that I can’t possibly explain any better than the official blurb does, read this:

Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who’s topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother’s breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start.

She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie’s twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can’t stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her friendship with Sophie. As the months go by and Grace adjusts to her new life in Korea, even she can’t deny the sparks flying between her and the KPOP idol.

Soon, Grace realizes that her feelings for Jason threaten her promise to herself that she’ll leave behind the music industry that destroyed her family. But can Grace ignore her attraction to Jason and her undeniable pull of the music she was born to write? Sweet, fun, and romantic, this young adult novel explores what it means to experience first love and discover who you really are in the process.

So, I would imagine that I’m not the only one who didn’t know anything about K-Pop before reading this, but after some googling (oh my goodness, fandom insanity) I got a pretty good feel for the K-Pop culture. It made for a fun setting for Hello, I Love You because it’s not just set in Korea but also sort of within this subculture that I found fascinating. As a character, Grace is flawed and very human, and as a result of recent tragedies doesn’t start out this book as a very likable person. By the end, though, Grace’s transformation is realistic and hopeful. I loved Jason and Grace together and rooted for them the whole way through.

In a word, I thought is was wonderful. Check it out here on Amazon or get it from your favorite book store!

What should you binge-watch this summer?

I’m a serious fan of TV with smart writing, and the best-written show I’ve seen in a very long time is Jane the Virgin. Now, had I judged the series by its title, I never would have watch it. But oh my goodness I’m so glad I saw the original trailer that got me hooked on it. Every episode makes me laugh out loud, but the protagonist (Jane, who is in fact a virgin even though she’s pregnant) is a seriously strong young woman with an admirable set of morals and dreams she’s not afraid to go after. Find some episodes on The CW’s website, or watch the series from the beginning on Monday nights on The CW, or just give in and stream the entire first season on Amazon for less than twenty bucks. It’s really good stuff.

 

Kissing Ted Callahan (and other guys) by Amy Spalding

kissing ted callahan

 

Kissing Ted Callahan is fun, quirky, sweet, and funny all at the same time. With a glowing compliment from on of my favorite YA authors, Stephanie Perkins, on the cover and a comparison to Easy A, I knew I had to read it. I’m glad I did, too!

In it, two L.A. teens, Riley and Reid, challenge each other to act on their crushes after finding their other two bandmates in a compromising position. They chronicle their adventures in a notebook that they trade back and forth, and what results is a story full of music and fun and the hope of romance, and it gets bonus points for making me laugh. I like Riley’s parts better, but it was all good stuff.

This book is out now, so check it out! You can find it here on Amazon or at your favorite bookseller.