I’m not finding a lot of reading time this year. Maybe it’s graduate school. Or maybe it’s that I’m just really lazy. I’m up to 14 books in 2019. I’d say that’s a pretty respectable number, but what strikes me is the quality of books I’ve been able to enjoy as winter has moved into spring, then into summer, then back into spring, then summer, and on and on, ad nauseum…

Amazing Books that Everyone Should Read Right Now!!!

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak was one of the books that sent me, several years ago, on this YA journey.  Shout is Anderson’s memoir-in-verse that inspired her to write Speak. Every girl needs to read this book, and so does every boy.

For Every One by Jason Reynolds

A book everyone needs to read to themselves and to each other. We need more books just like this.  Some might breeze through this book book in a hour or less. Others might savor every page, basking in the wisdom of Reynolds.  This book is a mentor text gold mine.

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

GREATEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL I HAVE EVER READ!!!! Must I say more? I will. This book’s protagonist, Bri, let’s the reader see an authentic young adult attempting to find herself in a world she doesn’t totally understand.  I’m an adult that doesn’t understand this world and yet…wisdom abounds. I can’t even…

Sequel Successes and Follow Up Fun!!!

The Vanishing Stair (Truly Devious, #2) by Maureen Johnson

I loved Truly Devious for so many reasons.  Massive and mysterious Gothic mansion setting? Check! Plucky and intelligent teenage sleuth? Check! Fast paced narrative that weaves in authentic “teenager sounding” dialogue? Check! This sequel is a win for everyone involved and I can’t wait for the final book in the series!!

Odd One Out by Nic Stone

I have a nasty habit of moving about 80(ish) pages into a book and then losing interest. I let myself stray to far from this book for too long. When I book talked this book for my students, I noted how it wasn’t so much about a love triangle, it was more of a love circle. The confusion about how we are supposed to feel about ourselves feels authentic, even to this old man.

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus

I enjoyed her first book, One of Us is Lying, but this one missed me, somehow.  The plot twist was interesting, but predictable, and I struggled to keep up with the constantly switching points of view.  Me not liking this book may reflect more upon the reader than the writer and I HATE that I didn’t like this book, but reading it wasn’t particularly enjoyable. Others will love it and I will not be a person that denounces it based solely on my own discomfort.

Fun Books that May not be for Everyone

Bull by David Elliot

A book in verse that retells the story of the Minotaur. I didn’t realize how much a book could make me feel uncomfortable, both linguistically and contextually.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

If you love twist endings, or are far more intuitive than I am, you will love this book. An examination of total mental meltdown through the eyes of our current generation of teenagers, this book has many layers.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

Another book I let gather dust on my nightstand. The story of Shirin and Ocean.  A girl who clings to her faith in the face of bigotry, while at the same time exploring forbidden love.  Excellent lesson for us all.

The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson

This was a weird, wild book. Don’t believe the words or the pictures, both can lead you astray in this fantasy story about clashing cultures and an unpredictable friendship.

Guilty Pleasures

Wolf Pack (Joe Pickett, #19) by C. J. Box 

A guilty pleasure, a wheelhouse book.  When I can’t get wait to get to another Jack Reacher story, Joe Pickett is the next best choice. I could see our junior and senior boys loving the easy escapism this book provides.  Like a romance novel for readers with beards.

Verses for the Dead (Pendergast, #18) by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Aloysious X. L. Pendergast is a lone wolf FBI investigator with a mortician’s wardrobe and the gaunt, pale skin to match.  He solves the bureaus most bizarre cases using a combination of inductive reasoning and the focus of a Tibetan monk.  I will never pass on an offering from Preston and Child because they, so deftly, mix intrigue with well crafted prose.

Adrift (Corps Justice – Daniel Briggs #1) by C. G. Cooper

My wife has been trying for at least a year to convince me to read free e-books from Amazon Prime.  This book had an interesting concept, not unlike the books I love from Lee Child. A former soldier finds himself caught up in the middle of a small town turf war and, while he didn’t light the fire, he is more than willing to put it out.  Not that I’m a master of the written word, but having crafted a sentence or two, I can sympathize with an author when I see he or she needs a good editor.

Charles Moore can’t wait to see what the Battle of Winterfell does to his beloved Westeros. He’s trying to be a diligent reader, but he’s not trying as hard as he could be.  He enjoyed seeing the whole family together for the first time in a long time over the Easter Weekend and he’s ready for grad school to be over for the semester.