It's the end of the summer! (Boo, hiss.) And I completed the YA Buccaneers' Summer Reading Challenge! (Yay!) I did it by the skin of my teeth. But I did it! Over the past two weeks, I reread Jane Austen's PERSUASION—my favorite Austen novel—to fill the "classic" category. Then, I beta-read a friend's middle-grade manuscript that happened to be set on Sanibel Island, in Florida, which counted as my book set at the beach. And finally, this week I worked my way through ADAM OF THE ROAD, to fulfill the "book I disliked as a kid" category. Honestly, I don't remember reading ADAM OF THE ROAD, much less disliking it, but when I asked my mom for recommendations, this was the one that came to her mind! So how did it hold up? It was a bit slow, and you can definitely tell it's 70 years old…but I didn't hate it. Would I recommend it to a kid today? Perhaps, if the child in question was really into history, especially medieval history. Would I read it again? Probably not. Can't win 'em all.
Here's the final rundown, with links to my original post about each book:
Biography or memoir: WILD by Cheryl Strayed
Non-YA book: LANDLINE by Rainbow Rowell
Classic: PERSUASION by Jane Austen
Debut author: BEHIND THE SCENES by Dahlia Adler
Book with 'summer' in the title: THE SUMMER I WASN'T ME by Jessica Verdi
Book published the year I was born: THE BFG by Roald Dahl
Male protagonist: VICIOUS by V.E. Schwab
FREEBIE: FIRE WITH FIRE by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian, THE STORYSPINNER by Becky Wallace, SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo, and many more!
Book I disliked as a kid: ADAM OF THE ROAD by Elizabeth Janet Gray
Old favorite: THE HISTORY OF LOVE by Nicole Strauss
Book that's been on my TBR a long time: OCD LOVE STORY by Corey Ann Haydu
Printz Award winner: JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta
Book set at the beach: TURTLE TRACKS by Stefanie Wass (read in manuscript form)
Book with LGBT characters or themes: SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli
Book of poetry or novel in verse: CRANK by Ellen Hopkins
In total, I've read 26 books since we kicked off the Summer Reading Challenge! Not bad at all. As we go into the fall, I'm going to shift back into writing about and recommending books on a less formal schedule—but I promise not to stop Friday Reads entirely! And who knows…maybe I'll find time to blog about some other things, as well...
Hope everyone has a lovely Labor Day weekend!
~Kathryn