I’m in the process of moving blog posts from my old website to this new platform in order to keep everything all together and in one place. The following post is from October 26th, 2019.
Okay, okay, I know- it's almost the end of October, and I'm just now giving you my book recommendations? Well, maybe I needed some time to compile my research! Or maybe I just forgot that I had the beginnings of this post saved in my drafts. You decide. ;)
To be honest, though, I really did have a really hard time choosing what books to write about in this post. I read a lot of books this summer- more than I probably read in the rest of high school combined, honestly! I've really been enjoying young adult books recently, and I know that this genre typically gets a bad rap for being "fluffy". However, they are all reads that don't require a whole lot of analysis or deep reflection to understand, but that isn't to say that many of them don't feature deep themes that will leave you thinking about them long after you've closed the back cover.
I do want to apologize that I don't have physical copies of all these books, so I've used some photos from publishers and authors (sources are linked). I also wanted to say that I LOVE LIBRARIES and used and discounted book sites- my favorites are Book Outlet (less selection, but these are new books!) and Thriftbooks. I've added links to all of the books that I could find on these sites in case you would like to purchase them yourself, and I've also included an Amazon link. Amazon also has used books, and Barned and Noble, of course, is well known as a reliable place to find new books in-store as well as used ones online here in the US. However, nothing in this post is sponsored! I just want you to be able to enjoy these books too if you so wish. :)
So, let's get started!
Honorable Mention: Autoboyography by Christina Lauren (Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings)
Buy this book on Thriftbooks here
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"It still irks me that I'll probably spend most of my life dividing the people I know into two groups: the ones who support me without question and the ones who should."
In Autoboyography, California teen Tanner Scott falls in love at first sight. The problem? Tanner's love interest is no other than local celebrity and soon-to-be published author Sebastian Brother, who also happens to be a member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints. While Tanner's bisexuality is accepted by his family, he has kept it hidden from everyone else, including his best friend, Autumn, since moving to a primarily Mormon community in Utah several years prior. This book explores the conflicts between religion and sexuality.
Autoboyography is a book that I really, really enjoyed- the plot is really cute and well-paced in my opinion, and I enjoyed it as a lighthearted romance with the deeper themes of how Sebastian's religion conflicts with his and his family's views of his sexuality. I also liked the setting- Tanner's ongoing drafting of a novel for a school assignment is an important and influential part of this book, and I found that and its integration to be a really interesting and unique plot point. I would definitely reread this book, but at the same time, it's at the bottom of this list because of the slightly problematic way that the authors have represented Tanner's bisexuality, as well as the many details that were just a tad too unrealistic for my taste.
(photo from the book's Amazon listing)
#5: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
Buy this book on Thriftbooks here
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"I'd heard all this before, but I also knew that this line of argument worked. If you tell people that they're being attacked for their beliefs, then suddenly they want to defend their beliefs, even if they didn't really have them before. It's pretty amazing, really."
I read this book at the beginning of the summer, and I honestly was not expecting to enjoy it. I almost didn't read this book at all- I've read every John Green book, and I've been continually disappointed in the way that the plots seem to just float above the depth that they could have with a little further development. I (unfairly) expected Hank Green's debut novel to be similar, and I could not have been wrong. I'm thankful for Ashley's continued recommending of this book over on her Instagram story!
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing follows the journey of April May, an art school graduate living in New York City, and her accidental discovery of "Carl", a mysterious metal giant that she assumes to be an art installation. April and her friend Andy upload a video on "Carl" to YouTube, and overnight the two friends are swept into what can only be described as a worldwide phenomenon that April stands at the center of. This book is fast-paced and features insightful commentary on the subjects of cyberfame, politics, as well as navigating relationships in the age of the internet. The ending of this book is surprising, and not one plot point is predictable. There is a romantic subplot between April and another female character that feels very well-placed and not added in just for "diversity points", becoming an integral part of the story. Above all, this book is funny, which allows it to tackle really complex themes without being dramatic or condescending towards either the readers or the characters.
There is rumored to be a sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing in the works.
#4: Mosquitoland by David Arnold
Buy this book on Thriftbooks here
Buy this book on Book Outlet here
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“I swear the older I get, the more I value bad examples over good ones. It's a good thing too, because most people are egotistical, neurotic, self-absorbed peons, insistent on wearing near-sighted glasses in a far-sighted world. And it's this exact sort of myopic ignorance that has led to my groundbreaking new theory. I call it Mim's Theorem of Monkey See Monkey Don't, and what it boils down to is this: it is my belief that there are some people whose sole purpose of existence is to show the rest of how not to act.”
Mosqitoland is a book that I saw many, many times on bookstore shelves before I finally caved and purchased it at the recommendation of my friend Julia. Besides having possibly the most beautiful and mood-setting cover art of any book I've ever read, what's between the covers is equally as wonderful. Mim, the book's main character, is not the annoying, angsty teen narrator that one might expect given her current situation- running away from her father and stepmother in "Mosquitoland" to be reunited with her mother in Cleveland, Ohio. Instead, Mim is a witty, strong, and intelligent heroine who is also kind of a hot mess, which makes her that much more relatable. Mim's journey and the friends she makes along the way contribute to making this a book that, when finished, leaves you feeling like you've been torn out of another world and thrown back into your own.
#3: The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown
Buy this book on Thriftbooks here
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"You know that feeling where, like, the world is spinning at a thousand miles an hour and there's nothing you can do to stop it and then you start to feel like there's nothing you can do about anything ever?"
Sydney is convinced that her father's unexpected death has to be more than just a freak accident, and she is determined that his career as a psychiatrist had to have had something to do with it. She befriends local "golden child" June Copeland after seeing her at her father's funeral, and the two become close friends, although it's clear that someone isn't too happy about this.
Unless you're a big fan of British film and art YouTube culture, this is probably a bit of an obscure book. Savannah Brown made her debut as a poet before releasing her first novel, The Truth About Keeping Secrets. This book is poetic in itself- the author molds language around her settings and characters, making them feel that much more realistic. A mystery book that tackles the deeper theme of grief, Brown uses dark humor and metaphors to truly draw the author into Sydney's world.
#2 The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
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"Sometimes you can be inserted into another person's life just by witnessing something you were never really supposed to be a part of."
I bought this book in my recent order from Book Outlet without really knowing anything about it- honestly, I just really liked the cover, and the title sounded intriguing. Plus, it was four dollars- so, no contest.
I was not disappointed. I already want to reread this book, and I've only just finished it. The way that the author has written a realistic fiction story that just feels so magical is amazing to me. The book is set in Alaska in the 1970s, and all of the characters are inextricably intertwined with their setting. Plus, it's told in alternating perspectives- four, to be exact.
I can't write too much of a summary without giving away important plot points, but trust me- you will want to read about Ruth, Dora, Alyce, and Hank and his brothers forever- my only complaint about this book is its length, although I think that that's also where it gets some of its character: the details in this book are sharp, visual, and purposeful, and not a single sentence is wasted.
#1: I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson
Buy this book on Thriftbooks here
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"Meeting your soulmate is like walking into a house you've been in before- you recognize the furniture, the pictures on the wall, the books on the shelves, the contents of the drawers: you could find your way around in the dark if you had to."
Jandy Nelson's I'll Give You The Sun is quite possibly my favorite book ever, not just of this summer. Twins Noah and Jude grew up as almost complete opposites, yet absolutely inseparable. Now, however, Noah and Jude feel that they don't even know each other. Exploring the ideas of tragedy, family, and romance through a poetic, artistic writing style, this book is so full of wonderful quotes.